Don't be a Haole - Aloha Breathing for Energy

Aloha. The power, the love, the magic of this word is eternal. But aloha is not just in Hawai‘i. You carry it with you everywhere you go and you can connect to aloha, any time, anywhwere.

Stop whatever you are doing right now and do this exercise with me. Take a full deep breath in through your nose. As you do so, think to yourself “Aaaaalooooo”. This breath should take about 4-5 seconds on the inhale. Next breath out through your mouth with an exagerrated “HAAAAAAA”. Make this sound noisily and it should last about twice as long as the inhale.

So when you head out holiday shopping and the parking lot at the mall is bumper to bumper: Stop and take that full breath through the nose, exahale through your mouth with a loud “HA”, it will reconnect you to the aloha.

Are your kids bouncing off the roof because winter break is here? You are trying to figure out when you have time for getting the decorations up, cooking for relatives and still working 40 hours a week? Inhale deep through your nose, exhale through the mouth with a loud “HA”, connecting you once again to the aloha.

Is it time for end of year reviews, you have to see your boss who seems to be in a bad mood all the time and you are nervous about how he is going to be today: Inhale through your nose and breathe out through your mouth, “HAAAAAA”. You will calm as you connect to the aloha.

No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, you can connect to the aloha that resides within you always. Breath in through your nose… “aaaaloooo”, breath out through your mouth… “HAAAAAA”. Wherever you go you can build energy through connecting with the life force of aloha within you.

The Hawaiians named the first white visitors to the islands “Haole” – Ha, meaning “breath” and Ole, meaning “lacking. Prior to chants or prayer or any statement, Hawaiians breath deeply. The white visitors did not, thus the name haole.

Don’t be haole. Stop right now and do the Alo-Ha breath for the next several minutes. In through the nose, “aaaloooo”, out through the mouth “HAAAA”. Relax and just let the aloha fill your life energy. Let yourself be at one with aloha.

Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale

Alika

Making Hawai'i and the world a Better Place

I learned this morning of some fantastic news. The Governor of Hawai‘i, Linda Lingle, announced that the state of Hawai‘i will be partnering with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations to the Hawaiian Islands.

This news excited me for many reasons. Aside from the obvious ecological and economical benefits Hawai‘i will experience from this, it serves as a reminder of something that Hawaiians have long been known for – sustainability.

When Captain Cook and his expedition first arrived in the Hawaiian islands, they were amazed at the agricultural system that existed. The Hawaiians had created a system of cultivation, agriculture and sustainability that could not be exceeded by any other country in the world.

This system was set up instinctively. The concept of “private property” was unknown in Hawai‘i, but they had a complex system of land division known as ahupua‘a. The ahupua‘a started at the top of the mountain peak and ran all the way into the ocean. Each pie-shaped segment contained everything a village would need to survive – land for cultivation, fish, salt, fresh water, etc. Resource rich ahupua‘a were smaller than those with less resources.

Ecological sustainability was enforced through the ancient kapu (taboo) system. The kapu prevented destroying forests that provided forest products or watershed. It put restrictions on fishing certain species of fish throughout the year. The farmers of Hawai‘i did not till the land and practiced soilbuilding. A cycling of crops and plants breeding allowed the Hawaiians to develop diverse crops resistant to disease. What the Hawaiian people knew and practiced was that by constantly working within the boundaries of their natural environment, they were able to live a sustainable existence measured by abundance and leisure time.

Which brings me back to my excitement from today’s news. Those of us who have lived or ever rented even rented a car in Hawai‘i know that fuel costs in the islands are highest in the U.S. Much of this cost is attributed to the incredible expense of getting fuel to the islands. What Better Place and Hawai‘i are doing is taking our natural renewable resources – wind, wave, solar and geothermal – and using them as the blueprint to putting Hawai‘i back on the path to energy sustainability.

It is my hope that all of us can look to the ways of the Hawaiians to serve as a guide and constant reminder of the need to be in harmony with our surroundings.

Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale,

Alika

Tutu Wisdom: The Story of Alana

As is common for most of this at this time of year, I have been thinking a lot about my family, my friends and my loved ones. I was thinking the other day about all the influences on my life and who has been the strongest. Without a doubt, my Tutu (grandmother) has been one of the major driving forces in making me the person I am today. She taught me about my people, our culture and how we can heal ourselves and others through both physical and mental work.

I spoke to my grandmother over the weekend as I was writing on the Aloha Life and wanted her advice on how to present certain concepts. As we talked, suddenly all of these memories and stories started to come rushing back to me. One I would like to share is the story of Alana.

Alana was a young girl who lived on the island of Kaua'i. Alana's family had often spoke of a magical place in the middle of the jungle where a fantastic waterfall cascaded down into a pool of the purest water. Alana dreamt about this place and one day asked her makua (father) how to get there.

Alana’s makua smiled at the girl and pulled out a large machete. He pointed toward the dense foliage covering the mountain and said, “My dear, that is the way. Go and enjoy yourself.”

Alana was upset that her makua would not just take her but she set out in the direction he sent her. She reached the edge of the jungle and realized she could not even see light coming through the trees. She began swinging the machete and began to cut away at the brush.

For hours Alana swung and hacked at the ferns and vines and as she did, she became tired and dirty. Makikas (mosquitos) swarmed her and she was bit more than once by the centipedes. Several times she thought about giving up but she did not. After nearly six hours of cutting her way through the jungle, she suddenly heard the roar of the water. She doubled her efforts and was suddenly in the most beautiful clearing where the birds sang, butterflies surrounded her and the waterfall cascading into the pool was even more beautiful than she imagined. Alana instantly dove into the pool and drank of its cool, fresh water. Never before had Alana felt a spring that filled her with such complete happiness.

That night, when Alana returned home, her makua asked her if she made it to the pool. “Yes,” Alana replied, “but why did you not take me? Why did you make me head out there on my own?” Her makua smiled and said, “My darling Alana, if I showed you the way, it would have been just another pool to you. I knew that if you cleared your own path, when you reached your goal, it would exceed every expectation.”

This story was told to me by my tutu the first time she ever told me of our practice of Ho'oponopono. Like Alana, I learned that I must clear what blocks my own path in order to reach my goals. Once I was able to remove my negative thoughts, guilt and all my other perceived blockages, a light shone through that allowed me to open my heart and mind to a whole new level of communication.

Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale,

Alika

Always with Aloha, always with gratitude

Many of us are facing difficult times lately. We wonder if our house is worth what we paid, if our 401k's will hold up, if the new administration will make a difference.

I live every day of my life with Aloha. This is something II learned from my grandmother who learned it from generations of my Hawaiian ancestors - a life philosophy based on an ancient belief system called Ho‘omanamana.

Part of living this life, this Aloha Life, is the realization mana (energy) goes where you guide it. I found myself watching various cable news stations earlier today and realized that I was putting a lot of energy into conjecture as to what the future holds. I decided to take some time to think about what I am grateful for -- and what better time to do it!

I write quite a bit on the meaning of the Hawaiian word aloha. With this special day of thanks upon us, I thought maybe I would examine more closely the other word that is so prevalent in the Hawaiian language -- mahalo.

While we use mahalo to say thanks and express gratitude, the word has a deeper meaning used to acknowledge the divine in everyone. Mahalo can be divided into three other Hawaiian words:


Ma - by means of

Ha - sacred breath

Alo - in the presence of

To say mahalo to someone is to wish them always in the presence of the Divine breath. To say mahalo is more than to just express gratitude, it is to wish upon the recipient the Divine Blessing.

I hope that all of you here in the U.S. have a Happy Thanksgiving and to my loved ones - those I know in person and those I have only met through this online community - Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale - Always with aloha, Always with mahalo.

Alika

Set Yourself Free Using Ho´oponopono

Every one of us has people, things, emotions and situations, that, good or bad, consume our mana, or energy, and deplete our personal power. Aside from the impractical option of shutting these forces out, how do we deal with these things without leaving our mana completely drained?

My Hawai’ian ancestors have a tradition called Ho´oponopono or, translated literally, "to make right". It originated as a way for the family unit to deal with life's difficulties and evolved into a healing process we use to mentally cleanse ourselves or simply, to turn everything over to our Amakua or higher power.

To make things right through Ho´oponopono is so simple—but to do so, we have to accept two simple concepts. First, everything we experience in our lives, positive, negative or simply the backdrop of the world around us, gets filtered through one simple truth—that our reality is what we have created.

To fully comprehend this, we can compare our lives to a movie. Every one of us is the star of our own movie. We have our supporting cast (friends, family), special guest stars, and many, many extras. Everything we experience, feel, hear, and see—it is all filtered through the lens of our lives.

So knowing that we are the stars of our own movie does that mean we have total control over everything that happens to us, allowing us to prevent anything bad from ever happening to us? Of course not! The reason for this is that while we are the stars of our own movie, everyone else is the star of his or hers. That person who you pass on the freeway while driving your car is just as wrapped up in his existence as you are in yours.

While it is important to understand that we create our own reality, it is equally important to understand everything is connected to every other thing. My Hawai'ian ancestors called these connections we all share aka cords and they can best be described as an ethereal bond between us and everything we experience. Visualize a spider moving around and leaving a thread at every point she connects to a surface. Like the spider, we create a thread of energy between us and everything we see, touch or feel.

Once we have accepted these two simple principles, it becomes very easy to “set things right” through Ho´oponopono.

Sit quietly and visualize all of your loved ones. See your parents stepping onto a stage below you being joined by your siblings, children, and extended family. Who else belongs on that stage, who else are you connected to? Exes, teachers, authority figures, pets, and friends—see them all joining your relatives below you on the stage.

Is it only people that deplete your mana? What else takes your energy from you? Money, temptation, judgments, your job, obsessions and probably most importantly, yourself.

You have assembled quite a cast of characters on the stage below you. Every person, thing, and emotion on that stage is connected to you through the aka cords. Each aka connection is taking from you while you take from them. Some of these connections are supportive, while some are parasitic. Look at everyone on the stage and ask them, “Do you support me with the merging of my Amakua, or higher self?” Those that you know answer yes will leave the stage with total love for you.

Everyone remaining on the stage have something that is a piece of you—your love, your power, and your energy. The aka cord connecting you to everyone on the stage sits in a shadow and is hard to visualize. Take back the missing piece from them and pull it back within you. If you have a piece of them, know that you have held onto this for too long and return it to them.

Imagine the white light from your higher power illuminating you. Breathe deeply of this light and then exhale forcefully, breathing the light onto everyone on the stage. As you share the light from your Amakua, the aka cords connecting you will be illuminated. These aka cords connecting you to everyone represent your past dealings with them – how long do you want to be connected to your past? Ask your higher power to offer forgiveness to everyone on the stage and when you do, understand that you are receiving forgiveness as well.

It is clear that when we stay connected to these past events, our mana is depleted leaving us with less energy to focus on living in the moment. It is time to cut these connections to the past. Pulling from the strength of your higher power, sever each aka cord connecting you to those still on the stage. As you cut each cord, watch as what is on the other end slowly drifts away. One by one, your regrets, guilt, anger and sadness all leave you and when you are done, one cord will remain—that of the love of your higher power.

Ho´oponopono is not a one time process. I incorporate it into my daily meditation.

As time goes by you will see that there are fewer and fewer aka cords connecting you to those remaining on the stage but they will still be there. Ho´oponopono allows us to deal with everything in a way so that a minimum amount of power is taken from us. It shows us that when we accept accountability for our actions and forgive everyone and ourselves, our existence is made right.

Ke aloha wale, ka mahalo wale,

Alika

Reacting vs. Responding

Aloha everyone!

From Taoist traditions to the teachings of my own Hawai'ian people, much is written about Reacting vs. Responding. Is there a difference and what is that difference?

When we are faced with a stimulus or situation, we either react or respond. Is one better, can we control which we choose to use? Generally speaking, a response is based on our present situation, a reaction delves deeper into ourselves and is base on our histories.

It is simpler in the short term to react to things but it is healthier to your spirit to learn to respond. It is important to know that a response is never repeated. How can this be? As some of you know, one of the key points to living an Aloha Life is Now is the Moment of Power. Everything that happens to all of us is new and current. If we are living in the now no event in our life will be duplicated. When you react to a situation, you are reacting to past events, response happens in the now.

All of us both react and respond. Some of us are more inclined to be responsive to most situations whereas others of us are more inclined to be reactive. An interesting exercise is to think of the people you know and classify them (without judgments) as reactive or responsive. Be sure to include yourself in one classification or the other.

The first time I did this exercise myself, I felt that I, and most of the people I know, have a tendency to be reactive. I started to think about the things around me that illicited the same reactions over and over. I started to recognize patterns that truthfully, were just becoming automatic for me. Once I was able to isolate these reactions and the stimuli that caused them, I was able to focus on changing that pattern.

When we react to situations, we become predictable and boring. Think back to the the reactionary patterns you have. It is important to know that if you can identify these reactions, so can everyone else around you. One of the things that all of us as humans share is the desire for power. Unfortunately, many of us strive to have power over others. When we react to situations, we allow for others to identify our patterns and to manipulate our reactions to their benefit or simply, we give them power. By responding to stimuli, we take away the power others could wield and develop it into a power over our own choices.

In understanding the difference between reactions and responses, and identifying what happens when we choose to exercise either, you can begin to see that responding gives us more personal power and ultimately, more happiness.

Alika

Spread some ALOHA today!

Aloha everyone!

I just returned from the International New Age Trade Show in Denver where we received such a fantastic amount of support from everyone there. It was so rewarding to see the evolution of the Aloha Life as it absolutely permeated the convention. It was my joy to pass out flower leis to everyone I could and the brightly colored leis adorned the necks of everyone there throughout the weekend.

Many of you have probably read my previous posting on Living with ALOHA. At INATS this week I was reminded of something important - the true power of Aloha. From morning to evening, I was in the convention center greeting everyone with Aloha. What I realized is that everyone I greeted smiled. I pointed this out to the other people with me at the show and we decided to take this further. After the show we went out in downtown Denver and just wished everyone we met Aloha. Every single person stopped and smiled.
Spreading aloha is my kuleana (duty, spiritual path) and the joy it gave me this week was especially deep. From wiccans to tantric yoga teachers, psychics to sales reps - everyone we met stopped, smiled, and wished us Aloha in return.

I wish for you all to experience the Aloha. Try it! Go out into your world and wish everyone you meet with Aloha. The experience will amaze you and fill your heart with joy!

ALOHA!
Alika

King Kamehameha - In celebration of his Aloha

Aloha everyone!

Today is June 11, 2008 and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy King Kamehameha day! This day is a day where we honor all things Hawaiian, in particular celebrating the life and legacy of King Kamehameha I, perhaps the greatest leader of the Hawaiian people ever. Perhaps you all will indulge me as I would love to share the legacy of Kamehameha with all of you.

The Hawaiian people had a prophecy that told of a male who would be born and would become the greatest of all the chiefs of the Hawaii islands. The prophecy spoke of a sign appearing in the form of a comet to announce his birth. In 1758 Kamehameha was born and at that time, Haley's Comet was visible to the naked eye.

When Kamehameha was born, the rulers of the other islands put out the word to kill the baby. The little community where he was born conspired to keep the future king alive and transported him to a secluded mountain area on the island of Hawai'i where he lived until the age of 13.

Kamehameha eventually did conquer the other chiefs and united Hawaii under one rule. Although King Kamehameha is known for being a great warrior, what he did after he became king was equally important.

Kamehameha instituted the Mamalahoe Kanawai or Law of the Splintered Paddle. When he was raiding a village prior to the unification of Hawaii, he caught his foot on a rock. Two fisherman who he had been attacking, hit him over the head with a paddle that caused it to break. They ran, leaving the warrior unconscious. Many years later, these two fisherman were brought before the king for punishment. Instead, the Kamehameha took the blame for attacking innocent people and released the two with gifts and land. The new law read "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety," and essentially protected non-combatants in wartime.

King Kamehameha's rule was one of peace. Not just peace among the people of the islands, but also peace with the rulers of other nations, including many European nations. He created laws that were created to protect the peace. While in battle, Kamehameha had created many heiau (places of worship) that he rededicated from war to peace. King Kamehameha was loved by his people and that love continues to this day.

Aloha and Happy King Kamehameha Day!

Alika

Living an Aloha Life and learning from each other

The other day I was being interviewed on a talk show when the host asked me why, with so many philosophies, religions and spiritual practices out there, would people look to something like the Aloha Life for guidance. While I can assure you that my publicist was going ballistic at the challenging nature of this question - I welcomed it as I feel that it is definitely a topic that warrants exploration.

There is an ancient Hawaiian saying - 'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi or Not all knowledge is taught at the same school. This saying is often applied to students of Hula but it applies to all of us on so many levels. One of the greatest challenges we have to achieving world peace is a lack of understanding of each other. If we all took a moment to learn more about each other, we would be able to not only understand what motivates those different than us, but also to possibly apply some of what we have learned to ourselves.

When I began my spiritual journey, it began with a deep Catholic upbringing that was infused with the traditions and practices of my Hawaiian ancestors. My grandmother's teachings encouraged me to explore the practices of other peoples and learn from the lessons their leaders taught. I have been very blessed as Hawaii is a place that peoples of all beliefs come to and it is easy to learn and be exposed to a variety of philosophies.

So much gratitude goes out to so many of my teachers who have been able to teach me how each of their philosophies is special and unique. But what I am most grateful for is how I have been able to learn how similar they all are. While we often have different names, ways and methods for honoring our beliefs - what is consistent is that our goals are all the same. We have another saying in Hawaii - Ua lehulehu a manomano ka 'ikena a ka Hawai'i or Great and Powerful is the knowledge of Hawaii. I believe this is true but I also believe this is true of the knowledge that all people have. I am honored to share the knowledge of my ancestors with you and even more honored that you all have chosen to share yours with me.



Mahalo and much Aloha to you all!

Alika

Malama ka 'aina

Aloha on this Earth Day 2008!

I have a deep connection to the Earth as it has for generations supplied my ancestors with an exceptional bounty in so many ways. Born of fire in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, my ancestors discovered the land that many now consider to be paradise after many, many weeks at sea. These islands were plentiful in resources and provided the people of Hawaii with everything that they could ever desire. Because of this, it instilled in the Hawaiian people a spirituality that includes a reverence for the land, ecological fishing and farming techniques, sensible water use, and the concept of a spiritual power that permeates everything.

Last week I was in a meeting with the company that produces my DVDs and the subject of being "green" came up because of a recyclable packaging that we are considering for the packaging of our DVDs. Someone brought up the fact that "being green" is just a marketing ploy and the trend will not last.

While it is true that this trend toward "green" is one that many companies seem to be embracing because it is a trend, I say GREAT! The important thing is that companies are embracing it. I encourage everyone - corporations, families, and individuals - to look to the indigenous people of the world for inspiration on how to gain control over our resources. The Hawaiian people and other indigenous people throughout the world have an approach that is fundamentally different from that of the Western approach. The people of Hawaii recognize the necessity to emphasize balance, reciprocity and sustainability rather than domination, exploitation and exhaustion.

It is important for us as citizens of the world to malama ka 'aina or "care for the land". This was a concept that my ancestors developed not just for themselves, but for future generations.

So the "green" trend gives me hope. Hope that the world is discovering that we need to protect the Earth because if we do not, the Earth will not protect us. The little things we all do - recycling, driving hybrids, public transportation - they all help but we all know we need to do more. No matter how big or small or how simple or how difficult the effort may be, the effort makes a difference. I encourage all of you to find what you can do to make the difference in your land -Malama 'aina to care for the land and Aloha 'aina to share with others about the land.

Mahalo!

Alika


For the record - we made the decision that we will be offering the recyclable packaging for all of the DVDs.

Reaching to Heaven!

Aloha everyone!

Wow, what an amazing time the last year has been. I have been supremely blessed with all the new friends I have made this year and am looking forward to making many more in the coming months.

Reently, while I was in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to work with this amazing soul who had contacted me some time ago about Aloha Life. We did an intense one day session where I introduced her to Kilo Lani yoga and half-way through she asked me why I chose to name the yoga I teach Kilo Lani.

In the Hawaiian language, Kilo Lani means literally "to reach to heaven". While there is the obvious reason of the lengthy stretches we do for naming Kilo Lani the way I did, it wasn't the only reason.

One thing I have learned while living this Aloha Life is that if we as individuals constantly are striving to reach to heaven, it truly brings to us heaven on earth. For me, being able to share joy and happiness with all of my friends ever day is a definite heavenly experience, but I also feel that an integral part of living this Aloha Life is a healthy body and a positive mind-set and Kilo Lani yoga helps me personally with both.

I hope all of you are reaching to the heaven every day. If we all could spend some time every day striving to live heaven on earth, so much of what goes on in this world would be avoided.

Blessing to all of you and Malama Pono!

Alika

Aloha!

That word means so many things to so many people - love, friendship, welcome, greetings, farewell - to me it means all of things and also to hear what is not said, to see what is not seen and to know the unknowable.

In the language of Hawai’i, "Oha" means "The Joyful" and "Alo" means "Sharing". There is also another meaning where "ha" means "of life energy" and "alo" means "in the present". This sharing of life energy can be an amazing experience to behold as anyone who has spent time on the islands can attest. This sharing of energy or joy is at the root of our becoming in tune with the frequency of mana or "divine power".

It is not a secret, spreading Aloha is what is needed to achieve success, health, prosperity and happiness!

In 1970, one of our kapuna (elders) who we called Aunty Pilahi Paki, told a governor’s conference that our ancestors meant for us to share Aloha, that it should be Hawai’i’s gift to the new millenium. She informed the room that the world would turn to Hawai’i for peace because Hawai’i has the key - that key is ALOHA.

Aunty Pilahi Paki developed ALOHA into an anagram that in 1986 was adopted into the Aloha Spirit law by Hawai’i. It helps to coordinate the heart, mind and spirit of a person and to bring good feelings to the universe.

ALOHA is...

A - Akahai, meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness.
L - Lôkahi, meaning unity to be expressed with harmony.
O - ’Olu ’olu, meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness.
H - Ha ’aha ’a, meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty.
A - Ahonui, meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

Together these five steps are the beignning of something powerful. Our world has become a village and we need to protect that village with the strongest tools we have. There is nothing more powerful than ALOHA and best of all it is available to everyone! Spread ALOHA today, a kind word or smile puts you on the path!

Mahalo and blessings to you!

Celabrating an Aloha Life - Aunty Genoa Keawe

On February 25, one of the world's truly inspirational souls moved on to the next life. Many of you knew Aunty Genoa Keawe from her amazing performances at the Marriott Waikiki, many of us locals know her for her contributions to appreciating Hawai'ian music.

Aunty Genoa was born in 1918 in the most humble of settings - a stable in Kaka--ako. Aunty Genoa always was raised with an appreciation of music and at age ten she began her musical training as a member of the Mormon church's choir.

She began her professional music career during World War II, performing for officers' clubs and at bandstand shows. It was a difficult time for musicians and she supplemented her income driving taxi and selling leis.

Aunty Genoa had always taken great pride in her Hawai'ian roots and she felt it her calling to share the spirit of Aloha with the people of the world. She began recording music in 1946 and many say she had the greatest Hawai'ian repertoire of music anywhere. She recorded albums originally with the 49th State Hawaii record company and Hula Records before starting her own record label - Genoa Keawe Records.

Over a career that spanned more than 50 years, Aunty Genoa and her band brought Hawai'ian music to the world. Her sweet signature falsetto set the standard for many Hawai'ian artists of today.

Aunty Genoa left this world at the age of 89. While she had many fans, she considered one of her greatest accomplishments her beautiful family including her eleven children.

Aunty Genoa had a special place in my life as her most famous song - "Alika" - had obvious special meaning to my mother. Blessings to Aunty and her family, mahalo nui loa for eveything you have done and all the ways you have touched the world. May the Spirit of Aloha you have brought to the world live on eternally.

Auntie Genoa Keawe 1918 - 2008