A Taste of Mana

... the human beings (Native Americans), my son,they believe everything is alive.Not only man and animals. But also water, earth, stone.

Grandfather Old Lodge Skinsin Little Big Man

This book is about a philosophy, a technique, a process called SelfI-dentity Through Ho`oponopono®—simply referred to hereinafter asHo`oponopono. This term traditionally refers to an ancient Polynesiansystem of conflict resolution and forgiveness. Here, Ho'oponoponorefers to an inner process that is a natural development from its historicalpredecessor.

It is, first and foremost, a problem-solving strategy. What distinguishesit from most other such strategies is that it seeks to solve problems byworking on oneself rather than on external circumstances. When usingHo`oponopono, one finds that, as the self is brought into a state ofbalance and clarity, the external world is experienced as less problematic.In fact, problems are seen as opportunities to achieve greater balanceand clarity. In addition, the ongoing practice of Ho`oponopono can leadto a more harmonious experience of life, and the knowledge that one'shappiness is not dependent upon external events.

While this subject can stand on its own, for me its beauty andrichness are enhanced by reference to history and cultural context.Our modern western mindset reduces our healing interventions to the"active ingredient." Yet, that ingredient in an herbal medicine, whenextracted, synthesized and concentrated, brings daunting side effects inthe absence of buffering influences supplied by the "inactive" rejectedplant components. So historical and cultural factors surrounding apractice add to a person's ability to assimilate it so it is no longer merelyone more technique in the repertoire.

I trust that learning somethings about the soil from which Ho`oponoponosprings will also help you appreciate its beauty as well as its utility. Ibelieve you will come to see that, while Ho`oponopono is thoroughlyHawaiian, it carries a universal resonance that is needed to achieve acomplete understanding of our human nature and, in turn, achievehealing and wholeness.

From Kaua`i to the Big Island of Hawai`i, Hawai`i is a land that is atonce ancient and newly forming. As the lava of Klauea volcano flowsinto the sea, cooling and solidifying into new land, the ancient teachingsare at the same time flowing into new forms and new expressions.

The psychospiritual teachings of Hawai`i express the collective experienceof a tropical island civilization and carry the spirit of this particular landand people. While the beauty and profundity of the teachings may beseen as unique facets of this beautiful land, their ultimate value is thatthey have tapped universal principles embedded deeply within humannature itself. These principles address the structure of mind, its relationto the Divine, and knowing how to use the energy that powers thisstructure to evoke internal freedom and healing.

Anyone who is open to the people of these islands soon learns thatsovereignty is a big issue. Statehood was not welcomed by consensus,and there is lingering resentment concerning the overthrow of themonarchy in 1893 and the annexation by the U.S. in 1898. Whilepolitical issues are peripheral to the heart of this book, the desire ofall people to be free, independent and self-determining is not. Just asthe Hawaiian nation might find its fullest expression free of foreigndomination, so individual human beings can find fullest expressionfreed from the domination of deeply imprinted thoughts, attitudesand beliefs that hide their true identity and highest potential. In a veryreal sense, we are all colonized people. We all struggle against powersthat seem to dominate us—addictions, worry, self-defeating behavior,depression, disease, or other afflictions that overrun us with regularityand persistence, so that we often cast ourselves as victims, rather thanthe heroes in our own stories. The quest for personal sovereignty is, in avery real sense, the central sacred task of each person. A psychologicallysovereign individual is comfortable in her own skin—self-assured yetflexible, at ease with change, and able to participate in the affairs offamily and community in a way that benefits all.

The challenge is how to lay the groundwork for such a sublime stateof being. Often, our desire to pursue it begins with a spontaneousand unexpected experience. I had never had any particular interest inHawai`i, but in 1999 my wife Judith attended a professional conferencein Honolulu and I went along. I spent the days driving around O`ahu.

Leaving Waikk on the first day, I headed windward on the PaliHighway and pulled off on a spur road with a view of stunning greencliffs descending to the ocean. When I was a very young child I used toplay, over and over again, a 78 rpm recording of South Pacific in whichJuanita Hall sang Bali Hai. This haunting melody resurfaced in my mindwith all its original magic upon encountering this remarkable visage justminutes outside Honolulu. After lingering awhile and allowing myselfto begin to ease in to these powerful new surroundings, I then proceedednorth on Kamehameha Highway, named after the ali`i (chief) whounited the islands under one rule in 1810. After passing through thecity of Kne`ohe the scenery steadily merged into more rural stretcheswith blue-green ocean to the right and verdant mountains to the left,reflecting the long process of island-building by the central volcano.O`ahu actually consists of two such volcanic ridges, whose ancient lavaflows merge into a central valley.

I began to enter an extraordinary state of mind, a sense of profoundwell-being that was clearly more than a sense of pleasure in the beautifulscenery or the relaxation associated with being on vacation. It wasparadoxically ecstatic and serene at the same time. My internal beingand the external environment seemed in resonance, an energy thatfelt loving, welcoming and powerful. This remarkable state persistedthroughout the remainder of the day and beyond.

Later, in attempting to understand this experience, my reading ledme to the Hawaiian notion of mana. Mana is supernatural energy orspiritual power contained and expressed by objects both animate andinanimate. People of outstanding ability or mastery in any field arethought to possess more mana than the ordinary person. It did notseem to me to be a far stretch to think that certain geographic locationscould be regions of abundant mana, and that this might account for...