IT ALL STARTS WITH A SPECIAL KIND OF LISTENING. A listening, that is so deep, so clear, so unencumbered that there is no mistaking what you are hearing. It is in PŌ – The Place of Origin – that the Ancestors reside. The Ancestors who know and your potentials. They know all that is possible for you. Want to heal and develop personally and professionally? It all starts with discovering the interconnectedness of your own identity. It is only through that process you will truly understand your spiritual sacredness and the sacred nature and importance of your relationship with “place”…
Listening…to the “song” of Place is to listen into the “songs of PŌ – The Place of Origin. You might have a different name for it in your Tradition or way of understanding things.
We MUST come to understand the Place of Origin, if we are to really understand ourselves. Our history tells us how…
We can go back to the very first Kahunas, the first Kahunas of the First of the First Nations people. They migrated through the South Pacific trying to escape Spiritual Corruption.
Spiritual Corruption continues today and each one of us experiences it AND contributes to it at some point. That’s a confronting thought…
…at some point the Kahunas knew they would have to stop running. There was no escape from the corruption the human mind, the Ego, can inflict on the Practices of Spirit. There was only one decision, to stop and make a stand.
And that’s what they did.
They brought with them profound and intricate understanding – the level of understanding that can only come from Pō, the Place of Origin.
From the level of understanding of Pō, they constructed a way of life around the Teachings of Pō that encapsulated the Spiritual Energy of Pō into a way of thinking about life. And themselves as part of life. One fed the other. Because the thinking was uncorrupted, daily life was also uncorrupted…
And so it continued for generations… The Kupuna/Elders provided the direction of life which included the reverence of care of the land, which was not only part of life, but considered part of the family.
They ensured each person was educated in the TEACHINGS OF PILINA – Relationship, developing Protocols and Ceremonies that upheld AND continued the understanding of the INSEPARABLE UNIFIED NATURE of their relationship with land, the ocean, rivers, streams, rain, sun, clouds, stars, animals, birds, insects and fish – everything that could be seen, heard, touched, smelled, felt, tasted and everything unseen, unheard, untouched, unsmelled , unfelt, untasted as well.
People lived at a different level to most of us today.
They lived at a level of uncorrupted Spiritual Pilina that translated to HOW they lived in each day. They didn’t have to think about their Spirituality, they were it.
They understood themselves. They understood the Cosmos, the Universe. They understood Pō – the Place of Origin. They heard it, touched it, smelled it, felt it, tasted it and learned to see the unseen, then add this learning to how they lived their daily lives.
They heard its “song”, the many voices that are present within Pō. And because they heard its “song”, they could hear and understand the song of their Place, their land, where their homes were built. They understood that there was a COMMUNICATION between their Place and the Place of Origin – a PILINA.
One song is part of another song – the sound of your Place is the sound of Pō. That’s what makes a place SACRED.
Your ability to hear it, understand it and communicate with it – to understand and make yourself understood in return – is what gives you your SPECIFIC & UNIQUE PILINA with YOUR place.
It gives you your IDENTITY. Becomes part of you. You become part of it. It’s a reciprocal relationship. You can’t become separate from it – but when you do experience separation, that conflict you feel within, is the sound of place calling you back.
Your identification with Place, as part of Place, is what gives you AND It, sacredness. You both hold the mana/the spirit energy of the Ancestors, which reside within Pō, the Place of Origin. It’s like a fingerprint, and you and your Place carry it. Together. Sharing the same breath and the same life force.
Both of you powered by the Mana of Pō.
In our School of Hawaiian Spiritual Studies, we learn this type of Pilina has a name: WAHI PANA AU PAU. You and your Place are the sacred story of Pō. When you come to know Pō, which is ongoing by the way, you come to know more of yourself. It’s then that you really begin to understand yourself better.
Your unfolding story of Pilina, gives your Place more mana/spirit power. Makes it more sacred bese you come to know your own sacredness, and this is what you give back to place each time you remember it.
It’s you that keeps your place Wahi Pana – Sacred. And vica versa. Your Place is You…Pilina with Place is Pilina with yourself…
☝🏽 Where to next Kumu?
- Get to know your Place; what is it now? What is it’s history? What are First Nations stories about it? – doing you research can lead you into an exciting adventure and deeper connection with People & Place
- Get to know your Place by visiting a spot you feel drawn to: maybe intuitively, maybe through your reserach or other knowing and quietly meditate or pray in this Place. Observe Protocol 👇🏽
- Develop Yourself: our Spiritual Intelligence Courses 1 – 3 take you on a journey of self-discovery starting with yourself, then Nature and finally the Cosmos. You can do these by Distance Learning, at your own pace with support from Kumu and the Wise Guides when you need it 👉🏽 bingo
- Join our Path to Pa’a Course: this is for both Spiritual Seekers and Practitioners and is all about the Foundation Teachings of our Ancestors from Halawa Valley Molokai, including teachings about Wahi Pani and how you can develop your relationship .👉🏽 check it out with the free course intro
- Join our Hawaiian Studies Club: classess, forums, resources, biz building help, discounts on sessions 👉🏽 go here for more
📧 I’d love it if you keep in touch and get to know the SoHAD and what we do better. Every couple of months we send out our free News Magazine with Course Information, articles, first looks and Course Premieres and other goodies from ourselves and our friends.Get on the list if youʻre feeling it 👉🏽 here 😊