Huna Article
Huna International
Starting Points for Healing
by Pete Dalton
At an event earlier this year, other participants and I were asked to focus on particular parts of the world
where healing would be particularly beneficial. In the wonderfully diverse group I was in, it was
interesting to see different people's reactions and approaches to this activity. While undoubtedly everyone
shared the extremely positive intention of wanting to provide healing, I was curious about the differences
in people's starting points and reactions to this this activity.
One thing that I found particularly noteworthy was the differences in people's reaction to the current
situation of the thing or situation that they considered needed healing. In a few cases people looked
distinctly upset from thinking about an aspect of the world that they thought needed healing and reported on
how it was such a bad situation and how terrible things were and how bad it made them feel. One person
believed that to provide any focus on a situation that was not desirable was not useful, as it would give it
more 'negative' energy and reinforce it, so they were reluctant to think about it.
This made me reflect on the kalakupua approach--that of the Huna adventurer--in relation to this
situation and what it takes to be most effective in this activity. My belief is that the best intentional
healing is accomplished when the healer works from a place of empowerment, connection and love.
In order to make a change, it certainly helps to be aware of how things are presently. Awareness is an
important starting point. Focussing on the current situation does not mean that you are condoning it,
feeding it or contributing to maintaining it in some way. To be effective, one could choose to accept the
current situation as it is and combine this with the strong expectation that things can change. As we know,
everything changes over time. However, an even more effective approach is to actively give your permission
for a situation to be as it is currently. This places you in a position of extreme power and is a position
from which you can then give yourself permission for things to change. It also avoids any sense of denial,
avoidance or disbelief and the associated emotions of fear, anger and sadness. It enables you as well to
bring the situation fully into your present moment, the only place from which you can make changes. I urge
you to try it and feel the difference in your body as you do so.
Focus is also important and one very practical approach to healing is that of focussing on giving energy,
love and compassion to the helpers in such situations. It helps with this kind of healing to be as specific
as possible.
It is not necessary to empathize with a situation in order to bring about healing. It is certainly not
useful to empathize so much that it causes you to feel terrible. Certain emotions can reduce a person's
effectiveness, and extreme empathy in such situations can be disempowering and debilitating even if well
intentioned. Here I am mindful of the process of grokking--a form of deep identification with another
person, thing or situation. An important aspect of successful grokking is to maintain the '1% shaman'
throughout the process. That is, to become the thing you are grokking as much as possible while still being
able to make changes to influence something to follow a different pattern. Without doing this you can be so
absorbed in the other thing or situation and lack the volition to make any changes. Empathy is not the same
as caring. It is possible to care about a situation without being absorbed with empathy for it. So to be
effective it is useful to ask the question 'how much do I need to be absorbed into empathy with this
situation in order to be of assistance?'
Of course, the judgement of whether a situation is bad or good is just a subjective judgement. Whilst
evaluations of what is 'good' or 'bad' provide powerful initial motivations to act, continually dwelling on
and labelling, something as 'bad' tends to keep you focussed on what is wrong with a situation and to some
extent 'sticks' you to it. What is more empowering after the initial motivation is focussing on making a
difference and thinking thoughts which imply movement and empowerment such as 'let's change this!'
An analogy which I really like is that of the spider web, a common symbol used by some shamanic cultures.
This has parallels with the symbol of the Eye of Kanaloa, which can be viewed as a symbol of the aka web
that connects everything. It is possible for a spider to be caught in its own web, but very very rarely does
this happen. The spider is prepared and also knows where to tread, and so can remain effective in its world
whilst not getting stuck in its own web. So it is with our own web of connections. We are more effective
when we can connect without becoming stuck.
When it comes to healing, being as effective as possible is desirable. I believe that this means acting from
a place of empowerment. If we consider the principle of Pono and that the means determines the end, surely
using the most empowered and effective means for healing will produce the most empowering and effective
results. Starting from a point of empowerment enables everyone to employ their wonderfully diverse healing
modalities in the most effective way to achieve those aims.
I would like to close with reference to an excellent protocol for helping those involved in the aftermath of
a natural disaster which was developed by Serge Kahili King and outlined in an article entitled "Shamanic
Healing in the Wake of a Disaster". I consider it worth repeating here as it can provide an effective
starting point for healing and one that can easily be adapted to suit a variety of circumstances.
The steps are as follows:
1. It doesn't matter where you are or what posture you are in, and you don't have to close your eyes if you
don't want to.
2. Imagine a comfortable place. It could be out in Nature or in a building, it doesn't matter as long as
it's comfortable to you.
3. Ask for a symbol of all the people who were hurt in any way, physically, emotionally, mentally, or
materially. Let the symbol take the form of a single natural or man-made object, a sound, or a feeling. This
allows you to focus on helping many people without strain. If you want to ask someone or something specific
to provide you with the symbol. go ahead. Otherwise, just trust and ask.
4. When something new or different appears in your imagined, comfortable place, accept that as the symbol.
If the symbol needs fixing or healing, use your imagination to fix it or heal it. If the symbol looks or
feels fine, do something to make it even better, or imagine filling it with strong, beautiful energy in the
form of light or sound. When you are finished, silently say something like amama, "so be it," or
"amen."
5. Next, ask for a symbol of all those involved in helping the people who were hurt, and follow the same
guidelines given above.
6. When you are all finished, just say, "Mahalo," or "Thank you," and trust that the good powers in the
universe will respond by manifesting your intentions in whatever way is possible.
7. Repeat the process whenever you feel moved to, for this problem or any other that may come up. You can do
this for as many different things as you want, such as the animals, the plants, and the buildings, as well
as for the hurt ones and the helpers.
Pete Dalton © 2017
Pete Dalton is an Alakai of Huna International living in the UK. For more information on his work visit
his website www.urbanhuna.org
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