Your Three Selves

We are each unique. Each of us experiences life a little differently, and no two of us express quite the same combination of talents and skills. Yet, for all the differences, we all share the same basic urge toward mastery of ourselves and of the world around us. The urge is called by many names and clothed in many forms, but it is present in every human being. Dominant in the world today is the philosophy of achieving mastery of life by forceful control—of emotions, of people, of situations, and of the environment. Obviously, this approach doesn't work very well. Now here is a practical alternative, a philosophy that says we create our own reality, that we have the power to change it, and that the way to start is by mastering—in a loving way—our hidden self.

According to the philosophy of Huna, each of us has three selves: a subconscious self, a conscious self, and a superconscious self. All three are aspects of a whole, yet they have separate functions and must interact as a team in order for a person to have a healthy, happy, fulfilling life. When for some reason there is disorder or conflict between them, the result can be physical or mental illness and disrupted social or environmental conditions.

Most modern psychologies accept the idea of a conscious and subconscious mind, though few have yet gotten as far as the superconscious. As for the Huna concept, the superconscious is not God in the sense of a Supreme Being. It is more like God Within, the Christ Self, or the Buddha Nature of the individual. Another way to think of it is as a sort of guardian angel. The ancient kahunas did believe in an Ultimate Being—Kumulipo—which would equate nicely with the highest Western concepts of God. But, having an eminently practical attitude toward life, they felt that this Being was so far beyond ordinary experience that it was a waste of time to speculate on its nature.

Besides the three forms of consciousness and, of course, a physical body, each person has two other components: an aka body, and mana. Aka is a Hawaiian term that is somewhat equivalent to astral or ether in English. Plasma could be another English equivalent. It is the stuff of which the physical universe is made; another term is "universal substance." An aka body is a quasi-physical field that surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body, and I will have more to say about it later. Mana is the force or energy behind life, thought, and practices termed magical for lack of understanding.

AN ANALOGY

Let me try to bring this rather abstract explanation down to a concrete level through the use of analogy, remembering that analogies are never perfect.

You have probably seen and heard the televised account of the astronauts walking on the moon. Try to recall in your mind an image of one of those space-suited men. Relating to Huna, now, the space suit could be likened to the physical body. From the outside it seems to have a life of its own, but all activity and purpose leave it when the man inside takes it off and hangs it up. In effect, it is dead, lifeless, without the inner man. The physical body of the astronaut, in this context, can be likened to the subconscious mind. It moves the arms and legs of the suit/body in a more or less automatic way. The mind of the astronaut plays the same role here as does the conscious mind in Huna, i.e., it gives direction and purpose to the entire physical being.

Aka is something like the air inside and outside the suit (you may remember the bright glow around the astronauts that looked like an aura), and the powerpack on the back of the suit supplies the energy (mana) that both operates the suit and provides life for the two inner selves. The powerpack also furnishes the energy to maintain contact with Houston (the superconsciousness). Houston, like the superconscious, gives encouragement and advice and knowledge, but never help unless it is asked for or unless there is danger that the mission will not be carried out.

THE SEVEN ELEMENTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL

Although the kahuna has many ways of describing the individual, I am using one here that lists seven elements, six of which have already been mentioned:

1. The Subconscious. This is frequently called "the Low Self" by those who have studied the works of Max Freedom Long, but this is not meant to be derogatory. In Huna, the proper term would be ku, or sometimes unihipili.

2. The Conscious Mind. "Middle Self" is another term used by Long, but like "Low Self" it can be misleading. This is lono or uhane in Huna.

3. The Superconscious. "High Self" was the designation given by Long, and it is good in certain ways. But calling the three selves low, middle, and high causes many problems in understanding because these terms have so many different connotations. Even the common association of the subconscious with the body, the conscious with the brain, and the superconscious with some kind of spiritual essence floating way above your head really isn't justified either physiologically or in Huna philosophy. The superconscious is aumakua in Huna, and also kumupa'a or 'ao'ao.

4. The Soul. For the sake of simplicity and practicality the soul is not often discussed because it doesn't have a function and it can't be trained. It simply exists. It is the essence of your being, your personal identity, your awareness of being aware. The Huna term is iho.

5. The aka body of the individual.

6. The mana of the individual.

7. The physical body, or kino.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS

The roots of the word ku give us an interesting picture of the subconscious or Low Self from the kahuna point of view. The roots reveal among other things a self that can set up or establish things (like habits), that can change into something else or move from one state of experience into another, that likes to feel in control of situations, that may act spontaneously without regard for others, that can have positive or negative complexes, and that seeks peace, freedom, and relaxation. The root meanings of unihipili are very similar and include the ideas of acting as a servant, acting secretly or in a hidden way, and of becoming very attached to people, places, and certain ways of doing things. We have here from the Hawaiian language an excellent image of the subconscious that conforms very well to the understanding of modern Western psychology. It is discussed more fully in chapters 2 and 3.

The subconscious reasons like a computer, drawing conclusions from a given premise or experience. Contrary...