As a life-long skeptic and empiricist of the most stringent western traditions, it has always been difficult, if not near-impossible, for me to admit the possibility of extra-sensory phenomena. Perhaps that also helps explain why I am not a Christian or a believer in any other religious faith, since formal religions require blind faith in intangible acts and virtual possibilities.

As I have often mentioned, however, one of my fondest wishes has been to experience something…anything…in my life that cannot be explained away by science and technology. However much I like to humor myself that I have an open mind, I recognise that when it comes to certain subjects I bring with me a built-in skepticism and disinclination to accept dogma on faith alone. This can, naturally enough, result in one leading a fairly boring, unremarkable life, at least on a spiritual level, so if the following reflection comes across as stale and boring, my sincere apologies!

Despite my strong tendencies towards non-belief, or possibly because of them, I have always found the subject of unknown phenomena to be of considerable interest. There is something extremely intriguing about inexplicable phenomena for the rigid empiricist: almost a desire to be proven wrong, to be shown that there is FAR more out there than the conventional senses will admit to.

In recent years my interest in these possibilities that seem to transcend the pragmatism of rational analysis has increasingly drawn my attention to areas of intangible inquiry. Of particular interest is the subject of Hawaiian Huna, or the essence of ancient Hawaiian connections with higher spiritual forces. Curiously, it was an initial attraction on my part to the mysteries of quantum physics that led me down that path.

For those who have received a conventional education in the arts and sciences, traditional physical science in the form of classical physics is likely about as far down that complex path to awareness that most of us have traveled. Quantum physics is an area of study that is normally of interest to only a very few among us, quite likely due to the fact that contemporary higher education has devolved from its original purpose of training the human mind to think to a process of training individuals in job skills that will enable them to work in scientific and technological fields of employment. Think of today’s college education, then, as a sophisticated work-study program, if that helps to embrace my outlook. When you are training hard to become a doctor, lawyer, or Indian chief in today’s commercially dominated capitalist economy, there’s precious little spare time left over in which to wander about aimlessly in an area of study as complicated and mystifying as quantum physics.

Yet it was my initial plunge into the arcane and perplexing mysteries of contemporary quantum physics that demonstrated to me possibilities that my rational western mind had long since closed off. To toss out an example, consider the heretofore solely fantasized subject of parallel universes. Science fiction of the purest form, right? Wrong, since according to the essential doctrines of some schools of quantum physics theory, conventional sensory reality as we understand it may well turn out to be far more fantastic than the wildest science fiction story imaginable. Anyone who has delved into the hypothetical explanations of sub-atomic physics will quickly see that the ‘single unified universe’ of classical Newtonian discipline is at such odds with sub-atomic behavioral data as to be almost totally incongruent. As one reads further on the subject of quantum theory, one begins to see that a whole new paradigm of exponentially vast hidden understanding yawns just beyond the limits of our conscious senses. Once that awareness gains a hold on the reflectively astute individual’s perceptions of the ‘allowable’ range of possibilities, cultural expressions of creative literature (such as Douglas Adams’ ‘The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’) start to take on a whole new meaning.

For example, Adams’ use of a propulsion system in his stories referred to as ‘The Infinite Improbability Drive’ for most thoughtful readers is merely a very, very clever story device that combines with many other similarly amusing nuances in his book to entertain us. However, for the person who has studied advanced physics in a classroom, it is impossible to be unaware of the strange similarity this story device of Adams’ has with a particular quantum hypothesis known as the ‘Heissenberg Uncertainty Principle’ that states it is impossible to determine with exact certainty the precise location of a sub-atomic substance at any given moment, due to the fact that any active attempt to do so will immediately alter that substance’s behavior unpredictably. Confusing? It certainly is to me, but recall if you will that we’re discussing something that doesn’t comfortably fit any of the preconceived Einsteinian conventions of classical relativity. Some considerable confusion is therefore permitted to most of us with IQs of less than 150.

Since I could spend hours going on about the polar perplexities and seeming contradictions of quantum behavior (albeit in a grossly inept and thoroughly simplistic manner, given my ignorance of all but a few, teeny, tiny aspects of the topic), suffice it to say that the central idea that my initial dabbling in quantum theory produced within me was the awareness that a great number of things previously regarded as mere ignorant religious indulgence and expressions of rustic primitivism (magic, sorcery, ESP, telekinesis, out-of-body experiences, and ‘supernatural’ events in general) are suddenly no longer quite so fantastic. After all, if the mechanics of the sub-atomic world can behave in a manner that strongly reminds one of sorcery and magic (with many highly educated and internationally acclaimed academicians and physicists avowing the possibilities as being legitimate and respectable), what does that say about indigenous native shamanism and the traditional spiritual customs of so-called ‘primitive’ cultures around the globe?

In the Hawaii islands, as most of us know only too well, nearly all of the authentic ancient Polynesian culture has now vanished, thanks largely to the invasion of western evangelical pentacostal Christian religious influences. When the first missionaries arrived in the Hawaiian Islands back in the early 1800s, they found a flourishing culture of spiritual naturalism permeating the behavior and beliefs of the native Hawaiian peoples. The chief practitioners of this culture’s spiritual customs were the Kahunas, a term that may for our purposes be translated roughly as ‘Keeper of the secrets’, but that in practical terms described a range of abilities from simple adeptness in arts and crafts to dark abilities to manipulate fearful spiritual power.

Since the Christians regarded the indigenous Hawaiian spiritual culture as one of pure pagan idolatry and ignorant primitivism (grossly antithetical to Christian belief in a ‘one true God’), the Christian haole malihini (white mainlanders) set about making the practice of traditional Hawaiian spiritualism unlawful. Severe fines and jail terms were levied on anyone thought to be a practicing or acknowledged Kahuna. In short, the traditional spiritual customs were not just replaced by the newly imported religion (Christianity), they were made unlawful and forbidden to any and all. In the nearly 190 years that have elapsed since the Christian missionaries first made landfall on the islands, this core of the ancient culture has been assiduously repressed and consistent efforts made to harshly proscribe any attempts to preserve the old spiritual beliefs through those who might regard themselves as Kahunas (legitimate or otherwise), or be regarded thusly by others.

As a result of this principal influence, but substantially augmented by the lack of a formal written language through which to document or otherwise preserve the ancient wisdom and knowledge, in today’s Hawaii there are almost no authentic practitioners of the old ways left. Here and there in modern Hawaii one runs across individuals who call themselves Kahunas, but in most cases these individuals are hybrid interlopers (mostly recent arrivals to the islands) who have combined a mishmash of ‘New Age’ ideas to arrive at their self-proclaimed status, and adopt the appellation of ‘Kahuna’.

Those few indigenous peoples of the islands, who may have received the transmission of ‘Ha’ (the sacred ‘breath’ of spiritual knowledge that is imparted from a spiritual master to his successor) as Kahuna novices, have learned from experience to keep well away from conventional haole (imported western) culture and isolate themselves from contact with malihinis (mainlanders). Thus, for all practical purposes, the ancient culture of indigenous Hawaiian spirituality has almost vanished entirely.

A few westerners have adopted the Hawaiian culture, however, and superficially explored the ancient spiritual ways, some writing books on the subject. One such individual is William Chiles, otherwise known as ‘Pia of Hawaii’. He has written a few books on esoteric parapsychology subjects that appear to combine New Ageism with traditional shamanistic beliefs, to arrive at a synthetic and somewhat distorted interpretation of ancient  Huna precepts (in this context, ancient Hawaiian spiritualism). Chiles claims to have survived a near-death experience in the midst of a ferocious fire-fight in Vietnam, during which he experienced a revelation of spiritual substance. Regrettably, he has taken much of what little is known about Huna to white outsiders and woven in his own blend of New Age parapsychology to produce his own unique ‘take’ on Hawaiian spiritualism. Sadly, this may be seen in some of his references to the Hawaiian Islands as being surviving fragments of the ancient (mythical)  land of  ‘Lemuria’ and some of his claims of there being so-called ‘power points’ on the Big Island, his somewhat contrived New Age use of crystal paraphernalia and related dogma, and so forth. Despite all this, ‘Pia’ seems to have developed quite a following on the Big Island and although he makes an exaggerated point of disclaiming to be a Kahuna, it is clear he regards himself as one and does not make much effort to deflect such allusions. As a person with some Native American blood in him, it is perhaps understandable that he draws from shamanistic cultures all over the planet in formulating his unique outlook on Huna, but the end result is far from a pure interpretation.

Several others have also studied Huna, but again almost exclusively outsiders (white, non-native Hawaiians) from other ‘New Age’ backgrounds. The few (if any) authentic kanaka maoli (native Hawaiians) who are legitimate Kahunas have not exposed their knowledge to the outside world (at least not that I am aware of), and I’d guess that those who might be tempted to do so would not be truly authentic or have genuine bona fides as Hawaiian spiritualists.

Mindful of these caveats, I’ll list a couple of interesting books that anyone desiring to take a look at what’s out there might consider. One is ‘Pia of Hawaii’s’ The Secrets and Mysteries of Hawaii, ISBN 13-978-1-55874-362-5, Health Communications Press, 1995; another is Brad Steiger’s Kahuna Magic, ISBN 0-914918-34-6, Whitford Press, 1971 and still in publication; and Enid Hoffman’s Huna: A Beginner’s Guide, ISBN 0-914918-03-6, Whitford Press, 1976 and still available. There books would probably be grouped under ‘psychology, occult sciences, and parapsychology’ in book stores.

Although best undertaken with an open mind (and bereft of the biases I admittedly bring into my own investigations of ancient Hawaiian spiritualism), these books are very valuable for some of the basic concepts of Huna that they offer. Basic understanding of the so-called ‘trinity of the self’ that formed the basis of Hawaiian spiritualistic belief is covered in all of them. This is the concept that every person has essentially three selves within that together form the whole person, a ‘lower’ (or subconscious) self called the Unihipili, a middle self called the Uhane (or conscious self), and a higher self called the Aumakua (a higher, purer consciousness).

One hears the term ‘aumakua’ used just about every day in modern Hawaii, by both locals and visitors alike, but in many cases there is a sort of disconnect in terms of true understanding of exactly what the term refers to. Locals often refer to their ‘aumakua’ in the context of being a protective spiritual ancestor, while many haole malihinis (white mainlanders) who are cognizant of the term use it to refer to mythical spirits. In the strictest sense, an ‘aumakua’ is actually one’s higher self or higher consciousness, although due to traditional Hawaiian timespace precepts of the past/present/future continuum, the aumakua may actually be regarded as a departed family member or ancestral force that is specifically linked to an individual.

The ancient Hawaiians believed that an individual communicates with his/her higher consciousness not directly through the rational consciousness, but through the subconscious. Thus this link from the ‘Uhane’ (or conscious middle person) must first communicate with the subconscious (lower) state and ‘request’ that it send on any desires or wishes to the ‘Aumakua’ by virtue of a link referred to as ‘aka’ (or a connecting thread of substance). The higher consciousness (Aumakua) is believed to contain a template of one’s perfect state of being and it is the function of the conscious mind (Uhane) to formulate a desire to the subconscious mind (Unihipili) via an aka of purified spiritual intent.

Granted this is a most basic and grossly simplified representation of the ancient Hawaiian ‘trinity of self’, but you must forgive the fact that I am not yet far along the path of understanding of these concepts myself yet. I have a considerable amount of study remaining before I even begin to grasp a small fragment of what Huna actually consists of and how it manifests itself. In that sense, it parallels my understandings of quantum physics, which are only half-baked at best, at this point.

I suppose the important thing to consider here is that all of this should suggest that there are a vast number of potentials and possibilities that we cannot afford to close off to ourselves simply because we cannot see them, feel them, or quantify them in the classic western empirical manner. It has long been my belief (one of the few I am maintain unwaveringly) that we human beings are still at a grossly primitive level of development, comparatively speaking, and that our understanding of what we perceive as irrefutable reality is still as undeveloped as a baby’s cerebral cortex at birth. It helps to keep in mind that in the face of what we see and identify as the Universe, each of us appears to be no more significant in that greater scheme of things than a single atom of the silica that makes up a grain of sand at the bottom of the ocean. That outlook at least puts a useful perspective on our insatiable efforts to learn the (possibly) unlearnable and know the (perhaps) unknowable.

True understanding in life is achieved only by virtue of much diligence and applied effort to achieve broad awareness. It is as true of attempting to learn some the many possibilities of life that have yet to fully disclose themselves to us as it is of a beginning surfer’s efforts to ride a board. We must therefore all strive to constantly maintain an open mind and consider all the possibilities of life equally. To do anything less means to fall back into the morass of basic human mediocrity and there’s enough of that out there already without contributing to the population).

In the words of one of Mary Kawena Pukui’s collected traditional Hawaiian proverbs: “He ‘o ‘ia ka mea hawawa e ka he’e nalu!” (“The unskilled wave glider falls back into the water.”)