Healing Shapes

Some years ago, while reading a short statement by Seth in the book Seth Speaks, which said, "I communicate with your dimension, for example, not by willing myself to your reality, but by imagining myself there," I felt a light go on in my mind. This initiated a whole string of ideas which culminated in the fact that I hadn't yet developed an instant healing technique based on simple imagery that anyone could apply without a lot of thought. Of course, I have developed a lot of imagery techniques that are extremely simple compared to many others, but not as simple - nor as effective - as I wanted one to be. This line of thinking led me to recall various attempts I had made to formulate a set of basic symbols without much success or persistence. I had done some work with petroglyphs, with energy effects of geometric symbols of varying complexity - the simplest being the circle - and I had experimented with Reiki and other symbols supposedly designed to produce healing or manifestation. However, I thought that most of these were difficult to remember or visualize and no more effective than simple affirmations.

Suddenly a simplified system came into my mind: the use of only four symbols, each with a fundamental meaning related to its shape, and each of which demonstrated strong energy effects. These were a Circle, a Triangle, a Square, and an X.

Their simplicity was indisputable, but what about their power? At first I wondered about that, but then I realized that I had been experimenting with these shapes through my energy research ever since the early seventies.

Early experiments with crystal balls led me to discover that a simple black circle on white paper could produce the same visionary effects. And the same drawing could evoke energetic effects in anyone who gazed at if for at least one minute. Furthermore, I found out that a hula hoop was highly effective as an energized meditation space. I gave some consideration to adding a spiral as a separate symbol, but in the end I decided that the spiral was only a variation of the circle. The overall effect of circular energy was to promote physical and mental harmony.

The triangle is related to pyramid energy, with which I have done very extensive research. In experimenting with simplification, I found that a pyramid framework worked just as well as a solid-walled pyramid. Then I found that the triangular frame of one side of the pyramid worked as well as the whole pyramid for most purposes. The general effect was to intensify or amplify energy.

The square is found all over the world as a symbol of stability and strength. In my energy research I found that the corners are areas of intensely active energy, but that as a whole this energy becomes stable, grounding, and strengthening.

The X or cross is an extremely ancient symbol used to represent the magical properties of a crossroads or threshhold in cultures all over the world. The symbol itself is represented by gods and goddesses like the Greco-Roman Hecate, Ganesha from India, and Papa Legba or Eshu from Africa. Crossroads are considered to be places of intense energy with two seemingly opposite characteristics: on the one hand they are openings to other worlds, and on the other they bar the way to those same worlds. It appears from researching the use of the shape culturally and experimenting with it energetically, that the cross form is an opening or meeting point, and the X form is for obstructing or blocking.

So far I've merely been reaffirming meanings and energy effects that are known in many places by many people. The extension of their use into the mental realm comes from another area of my research, the use of thoughtforms.

A thoughtform is a structured thought, held in the mind or projected outward into the environment for the purpose of influencing situations and conditions. In order to maximize the effect of the thoughtform, it can be associated with a keyword that helps to focus the intention.

After careful pondering I decided to experiment with four symbols, each accompanied by a single command word, thus:
Circle - Heal!
Triangle - Increase!
Square - Strengthen!
X - Stop!

The way I have used this is to think of something I want to influence, project a thoughtform of the symbol over it, and state the keyword. Repetition is part of the process.

Here are just a few of my experiences:
1. One morning I had tension in my chest and a feeling of mild depression. On the way to Talk Story I imagined a circle on my chest and said "Heal the tension!" Then I put a triangle inside the circle and said, "Increase my self-esteem!" I immediately began to feel relief from the tension and the feelings were gone by the time I reached our museum where talks were being given. On the way I had repeated the process several times. After the Talk Story I received a lot of compliments on the session and on my work, but that wasn't unusual, so I didn't think much about it. We then went to the Aloha Beach Resort for lunch and in the lobby Dickie Chang, a very well known video commentator at that time, stopped to introduce himself, praise my work, and tell everyone around that "This man is a treasure!" Later he stopped me at the buffet and did it again. This was most unusual. Also, during the meal the chef came and talked to our group for a long time, also unusual.

2. I experimented further with using the symbols for various aches and pains and tensions and feelings and got very rapid results.

3. It has also worked on many occasions for quick manifestations of intents and desires.
For some reason I put this whole project aside to work on other things a few years ago, but it has come back into my awareness and I would ask anyone who is interested to try this out and let me know how and if it works for them.

An Answer To A Tough Question

A number of people over the years have asked me why some things happen so easily for some people, while others have to put a lot of effort into programming for them. And why one person finds some things are brought about easily while he or she has to program hard for other things. The question has always reminded me of a magazine ad I once saw that featured two babies in diapers sitting on a blanket. The baby on the left was looking placidly at the camera while holding a silver spoon in its mouth. The baby on the right had what can only be described as an avaricious look on its face and it was reaching for the spoon. The message was that some people are born to wealth, while others have to do something to get it. That still leaves the question open, however, and it isn't limited to wealth. Some things are easier for some people and harder for others in all areas of life. Why?

There are many answers, depending on your philosophy and culture.

Predestination is one answer. In this philosophy everything is predetermined, either by God in some form or by impersonal Fate. The upside is that it's not your fault. The downside is that it leaves you helpless.

Another answer is "karma." The popular conception of this idea is that your experience in this life is determined by your behavior in a previous life. The upside is that if you were a good boy or girl you will have a good life this time around, and the downside is that if you were a bad boy or girl you will have to pay off your "karmic debt" by experiencing whatever bad things you did to other people. Two more downsides, of course, are that it leaves you just as helpless and it is your fault.

A third one is that it's all God's Will. By this theory, God has a Plan in which you are required to play a part, even though he doesn't tell you what it is. The upside is that everything is God's fault. The downside is that it doesn't matter what you do or don't do - God will always decide the outcome.

There are lots of other answers, naturally, including the fairly popular one that says all the good stuff that happens is due to God, and all the bad stuff that happens is the Devil's fault, but most of them are simply variations on the theme of human helplessness. So, we'll skip all the others and go straight to Huna philosophy.

In this philosophy, the answer to the question at the beginning of the article is that it has to do with what you believe about yourself and about life. Right now you are manifesting everything in your life quite automatically without any apparent effort. When you have no blocks about a particular thing, the slightest thought can bring it into your experience. People who seem unusually lucky in certain areas simply have no fears or doubts to get in the way in those areas. So they can decide on something related to those areas and have it happen with ease.

It is when you want to change a long-standing conditions in your life in a conscious way that you often have to apply so much time and energy in manifesting the change. This is because you must also change the beliefs that brought you to your present condition. When changes seem to occur on their own, it is because you haven't noticed a more gradual change in beliefs that has been taking place on a "subconscious" level.

You manifest your own reality. But it is the total "you" that does this, not the conscious mind alone. To put it accurately, your Higher Self creates your reality according to the beliefs you have established in your Ku (subconscious). And those beliefs are established by concentrated attention and repetition by your Lono (conscious mind).

To change your experience, you must change yourself.

The rule of life is that you get what you concentrate on. Just be sure you know exactly what it is that you are concentrating on. Many think they are concentrating on having health, wealth, love, success, or spirituality, when they are really concentrating on the lack of it.

Manifesting something very different in your life will depend on the strength of your motivation, the persistence of your concentration on what you want instead of what you don't want, and the degree of confidence you have that the Universe will help you get the best possible outcome according to these factors.

Feelings

One of the most perplexing problems that people have is how to deal with their feelings. Just experiencing some of them is hard enough, but people are further confused by various recommendations to "go ahead and feel them," "let them take you to their source," "analyze them," "go ahead and express them," and "change them." It's not surprising that some of these recommendations seem to contradict each others. Perhaps it will be helpful to consider dealing with feelings in terms of "types."

Type 1: You get a mildly unpleasant feeling that doesn't really interfere with your work or relationships. It could have a multitude of sources, from burnt toast for breakfast to someone else's emotional spillover. It isn't worth being concerned about. Turn your attention to something else and it will automatically transform itself.

Type 2: You get a more unpleasant feeling that does interfere with work and relationships and your own self-esteem. First step, find some way to express it without disrupting your work or relationships. If you can express it safely to someone else, fine; otherwise, do it when alone or in your imagination. Often this process alone will transform the feeling into something more positive. If not, take step two, which is paying attention to your thoughts and to your environment (including people) when the feeling comes on. In this way you can learn to pinpoint the source of the feeling and deal with that. It might involve changing ideas or opinions; using a mental or energetic technique; or changing your environment (even a cluttered desk can be depressing). If you can deal successfully with the source, the feeling will change automatically.

Type 3: You have a recurring or constant unpleasant feeling that interferes with your effectiveness. You have found the source as far as you can tell and have tried to deal with it, but this hasn't worked very well. In all likelihood, the feeling is linked to a habitual idea about yourself or about life, but just knowing that won't change it, and just saying you are changing it won't change it either. I won't kid you, the solution at this stage requires effort. It will mean consciously and with determination forcing yourself to behave differently and think differently in spite of how you feel. You don't force yourself to think of something unrelated at this stage (that may work with Type 1 or 2), because here that will only result in suppression. Instead, you force yourself to think and behave in a way that is the direct opposite of the feeling. Consciously and on purpose you generate the opposite feeling, too. You break the old habit by replacing it with a new one, and you maintain the effort until the job is done.

Here is a simple guideline for a difficult process. I call it the Triple Whammy FUDS-buster (FUDS = fear, unhappiness, doubt, stress):
1. Increase your energy (breathe deeply and slowly)
2. Bless the present (change negative words to positive words)
3. Trust yourself (change negative thoughts to positive thoughts)
4. Expect the best (change negative posture to positive posture)

It works, but only if you use it.

Fields Within Fields

Aka is a Hawaiian word that refers to the essence of matter, or what might be called the "Universal Matrix." It is related linguistically and conceptually to the Sanskrit akasia and can be thought of as the Hawaiian equivalent of the Akashic Records. It can also be compared in some ways to "astral matter" or "etheric matter."

Esoterically, aka serves two main functions. One is to take on form in response to thoughts. In other words, the idea is that thoughts give form to the aka. The weaker the thought, the less substantial the form; the more intense the thought (i.e., the more energy that accompanies it), the more substantial the form. It is for this reason that the Hawaiian word for physical matter--kino, which is usually the term for the human body--can be reduced to its roots and translated as "a highly energized thoughtform (ki=energy or force; ki'i=image; no with a macron over the o=an intensifier; no'o=thought)." The second function is to act as a perfect medium for the transmission of energy.

There are different ways in which this can be understood. One way is to use the concept of aka threads.The idea here is that whenever you think of a person, place, or object, you send out a line of force through the omnipresent aka, a portion of which forms itself into what can be called an aka thread. Through this thread you can then send or receive ideas and/or emotional-psychic energy, and information from any of the senses.

A further concept along this line is that whatever you come into contact with through any of the senses results in the automatic creation of a "sticky" aka thread that serves as a continuous link between you which is activated by thought and which makes future contact easier. The people, places, and objects with which you have the most contact produce a multitude of threads, which serves to explain why mental contact is easier with them. It also gives rise to the shamanistic symbolism of a spider web to illustrate these connections.

However, the above is a simplistic and pragmatic teaching which serves the needs of non-technological people. If you apply it as a hypothesis it will work as a practical way of thinking. But there is a more refined approach used by some present-day "Hunatics" in regard to the psychic links between persons, places, and objects. This approach teaches that within the universal aka field are an infinite number of individual aka fields. Furthermore is the idea that the aka field of every physical thing acts like a radio/television transceiver. It radiates or broadcasts its own unique frequency or energy pattern and receives and retains impressions from other patterns radiating toward it. When you pick up a rock, for instance, the aka field of the rock retains an impression of your energy pattern and your aka field retains an impression of the rock's pattern.

Thereafter, no matter where you are, when you think of that rock it is like tuning in to a unique radio/tv signal and establishing a resonant link with it. If you concentrate your thoughts on that rock, it is then like beaming a specific signal of your own, or "sending out an aka thread."

The more energy associated with such contacts, the stronger the impressions received or the signals beamed. The strength of the impression depends on: (1) the nature of the contact (physical touch leaves a more energetic impression than mere proximity); (2) the frequency of contact (a high number of contacts leaves a stronger impression); and (3) the amount of emotional energy present during the contact (handling the rock while in a highly emotional state would result in a stronger impression).

Thus, in picking up objects handled by others, the first and most powerful impressions received would be those which had been impressed with the most energy. Similar principles apply in beaming thoughts outward. Continuing along these lines, we have the idea of aka experiential memory fields. This would mean that the experiential memories of individual people and things form fields that continue to exist even after the physical forms are gone. It would also mean that similar fields could resonate with each other and form what might be called group fields. This could be used to explain things like electronic technology products were difficult to understand and absorb by adults when they were first made available to the general public, but today seem to be second nature to children as young as three.

Of course there is a strong resemblance to the theories of Rupert Sheldrake in all of this, and that makes it more intriguing. More important, though, is the fact that this admittedly hypothetical system can be put to practical use for teaching and learning just by assuming it's true and finding ways to access these fields through such practices as meditation, self-hypnosis and creative imagination.

A Different Point of View

As we know from the first principle of Huna, there are many different ways to think of anything. In this brief article I am going to explore a different way to think of how we experience life.

According to this point of view, we have direct experience of this world in two ways: through physical senses and emotional feelings.

We probably don't even think twice about the fact that we make contact with the world through our physical senses, because that seems so self evident. With our eyes we see light in the form of color, shade, intensity, contrast, shape, size, and texture; vertical and horizontal distance; movement and patterns. With our ears we hear sound in the form of tone, intensity, harmonics, loudness, dissonance; and blends of frequencies that enable us to recognize individual people, objects, and sound sources. We experience touch in the form of pressure, texture, heat, cold, movement, and more. Taste and smell have their own ranges of physical perception as well. What I am proposing here is that we make a parallel contact with the world through our emotional senses. 

When you experience anything you have both a physical perception and an emotional one.

Some philosophies have used the concept of an "emotional body" to get this idea across, and the idea that we sense emotionally through our aura or energy field is intriguing, but we can instead simply say that you have two sets of senses, or two main ways of perceiving the universe.

In addition to the physical perception of sight, there is an emotional perception of sight that occurs at the same time. It's important to understand that I am not talking about an emotional reaction to what you see, but to an emotional perception that is related to the act of seeing. I'll bring up the subject of reactions a little further on.

To help you understand what I mean, think of it this way: physical seeing produces an image; emotional seeing produces a feeling. To use an example, when you look at a sunset, your physical perceptions include the ones I mentioned in the third paragraph above. At the same time you may have emotional perceptions of beauty, expansion, happiness and the pleasure that comes from a release of tension. So, looking at something produces both an image and feeling feelings about that image. The same would be true for our other senses. Each one would produce a physical perception as well as an emotional perception. And perceptions relate to awareness, not to reactions.

Reactions are separate experiences that occur as a consequence of perception. Of course, when reactions become habitual it is very difficult to make that distinction. However, perception is a characteristic of our senses. Reactions are learned, consciously or unconsciously.

It is possible to simplify our understanding of the physical and emotional reactions themselves by recognizing two categories of reaction for each set. All of the physical reactions can be described as varying degrees of pleasure or pain. All of the emotional reactions can be described as varying degrees of insecurity or confidence.

Recognizing that all your emotional reactions fall into one of these categories can be helpful in dealing with them. Fear, anger, hate, jealousy, anxiety are all expressions of insecurity with their own parallel to physical pain. The body tension that accompanies them is a well-intentioned but poor attempt to regain security. Happiness, joy, true pride, and the sense of accomplishment are all expressions of confidence, which is akin to physical pleasure. The names that are given to emotions based on insecurity or confidence merely reflect the thoughts in our mind at the time.

It is curious that in English we use the verbs "to sense" and "to feel" both physically and emotionally. French is more clear, with sentir used more for physical sensing and both se sentir  and ressentir used for emotional sensing. Hawaiian equivalents are too complicated to go into here.

Staying with English, like many animals we can sense danger, fear, friendliness, confidence, and that mysteriously compelling awareness of what we call charisma.

The main thing to note, to contemplate, and perhaps even do something about, is that, just as we can train our physical senses, so can we train our emotional senses. Further, just as we can develop our physical skills , there is the possibility of developing our emotional skills, as well.

The Hula Experience

As an avid observer of life, I find it very interesting to watch people watching hula. Typically, the locals are completely focused on every part of every performance, and the eyes of the malihinis, the visitors, glaze over after three or four dances.

In researching the whys and wherefores (by asking a lot of questions) I have finally concluded that the real problem is one of understanding. Most visitors, and a surprisingly large number of residents, simply don't understand what the hula is all about. So, this article is designed to inform all those who wonder what the fuss is about... what the fuss is about.

First, the word, hula, means "dance" (sorry, guys, it doesn't mean "shake those hips"). Since it's a Hawaiian word, it refers to Hawaiian style dancing, which is usually divided into three types: kahiko, which refers to a more traditional style of dancing with traditional costuming; 'auana, which is a flowing style generally using modern Hawaiian costuming; and hapa haole style, also affectionately called "hotel hula," which may feature coconut bras and blue-spangled faux grass skirts made of plastic.

Let's continue with just a little bit of legend. This is a very simplistic overview to show that not all Hawaiians agree on how the hula started.

On Molokai the story is that hula came to these islands a very long time ago from Tahiti, brought by a man named Laka, assumed to be related to the male god/hero Rata in the South Pacific.

On Kauai the story is that hula came to these islands a very long time ago from Tahiti, but one version says it was a woman named Laka who brought it, and another version says it was brought by a set of twins, male and female, both named Laka.

On the Big Island, the most popular story says that hula was invented right here by a human woman named Hopoe, who taught it to her goddess friend, Hi'iaka, who taught it to her elder sister, Pele. I like this one in particular, because it is a rare legend of a human teaching something to the gods.

Hula as a dance consists of a relatively small number of steps, each with its own name. The dancer also uses a kind of sign language to illustrate the meaning or purpose of the dance. Kahiko hula is typically accompanied by chanting and traditional instruments, like skin and gourd drums, bamboo rattles, and sometimes castanets made of stones. 

'Auana hula is usually accompanied by singing and a band playing guitars and ukuleles. The locals who focus so intently are probably doing so for one of two reasons - or maybe both. First is the skill of the dancers, chanters or singers, and the musicians. The dancers especially are subject to intense scrutiny for the way they place their feet, how they move their bodies, the positioning of their hands, and the direction followed by their eyes. The second reason is the content, and how well it is expressed. 

The content of kahiko dancing is mostly concerned with legends, ancient gods and goddesses, chiefs, and royalty. That of 'auana can be virtually anything, from romance, to gossip, to praise of people and places, to simply telling about a great party, picnic, or adventure someone had. For those who understand Hawaiian, hula is a special treat, because the chanting or singing will most likely include word-play, innuendo, and hidden meanings. 

At competitive events like the Merrie Monarch Festival, the dancing follows a strict pattern, for the benefit of the judges. First, there is the entrance, called kaʻi, which is usually chanted by the dancers; next is the dance itself, and finally there is the exit off stage, called hoʻi, which is a kind of procession accompanied by chanting or singing. If you have an opportunity to see the Merrie Monarch Festival, in person, on television, or on a DVD, don't miss it. There is nothing else like it in the entire world.

The Chemistry of Love

I was almost going to call this article "Mechanistic Scientists Strike Again!" However, "The Chemistry of Love" sounds so much better.

Mechanistic science began during the Renaissance in Europe, partly due to an increased interest in actual experiments rather than philosophical and theological discussion, and partly as a reaction against religious restrictions and blind superstition. Out of that came the idea that everything is separate, and that in order to understand the whole of something you have to understand the parts. Another way this is often expressed is that the whole is the sum of its parts.

These ideas led to a further idea that Nature operates like a vast machine, and to an even further idea that, in order to get truly accurate results from an experiment, objectivity was paramount. That is, the observer must distance himself from the experiment, suppressing all feelings and opinions, because they would interfere with the experiment. Eventually, as this form of science became more mechanistic, all emotions, sensations, and non-objective thoughts were considered subjective, and therefore suspect, and were rigorously excluded from experimental consideration. And that brings us to the event that initiated this article.

On February 12, 2009, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald ran an article written by Seth Borenstein titled "Understanding the Science of Romance." Subheadings included "Scientists study brains to unlock the secret of love," and "Brain's regions reveal romance."

Here is a quote from the beginning of the article: "Like any young woman in love, Bianca Aceveda has exchanged valentine hearts with her fiancé. But the New York neuroscientist knows better. The source of love is in the head, not the heart." A few sentences later the statement is made that "love mostly can be understood through brain images, hormones, and genetics."

And what was the source of this conclusion? It appears that when people who claimed to be in love (a subjective decision if there ever was one) were shown photographs of their loved ones, a tiny area in the center of the brain, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) shows activity. This is an area that produces dopamine, a precursor to adrenaline. It also appears that brain scans of people who claim to be broken-hearted show additional activity in the nucleus accumbens, associated with hormones that are associated with addiction. Long-time lovers, instead, show activity in the ventral palladium, an area that produces hormones related to stress reduction, and the raphe nucleus, associated with calming hormones.

People with certain kinds of feelings show activity in certain areas of the brain. That's not surprising, since mind, body, and emotions always interact. The mechanistic interpretation, though, is that the neurotransmitter chemicals and hormones cause the thoughts, feelings, and sensations of love and romance.

One researcher says, "Love works chemically in the brain like a drug addiction." Another one says, "The brokenhearted show more evidence of what I'll call craving. Similar to craving the drug cocaine." The conclusion, derived from these subjective interpretations, is that soon we'll have pills to bring on whatever feelings of love we want to create, or to heal whatever experiences of love are unpleasant.

Here's a subjective opinion of my own. The more we try to ignore the subjective side of love, the less we will ever understand it. That's like trying to understand life by analyzing the chemistry of what is called "living matter," when a definition of that is also subjective.

In fairness, one of the scientists mentioned in the article retains some open-mindedness. He says that, although love might theoretically be stimulated by chemicals, it's better to engage in the behavior that stimulates the chemicals, like hugging, kissing, and intimate contact. And at the end of the article he states, "My wife tells me that flowers work as well. As a scientist it's hard to see how it stimulates the circuits, but I do know they seem to have some effect. And the absence of them seems to have an effect, as well."