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