The Basic Teaching of Huna, the Three Selves

THE BASIC TEACHING OF THE 3 SELVES:

One of the most important parts of the ancient teaching is that we are not just one mind, but that we are made up of three minds. The Kahuna knew this thousands of years ago.

In the "infinite wisdom" of the missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1819, it was decided that the Hawaiians were "heathens," that they couldn't have thought as deeply, or as logically as the newcomers from Boston. That is unfortunate, because the missionaries did not realize mental illness was virtually unknown before the arrival of the white man. Mental illness was rare because the Hawaiian Kahuna had a more highly developed system of psychology, and mental health than is present even today.

In 1970, Milton Erickson, M.D., had nearly brought the Western perception to the level of understanding of the ancient Hawaiians. He had a nearly complete understanding of the Conscious Mind and the Unconscious Mind and their functions.

THE CONSCIOUS MIND: Long before Dr. Erickson, the ancient Hawaiians called the Conscious Mind, Uhane.

'Uhane: 1. Soul, a spirit.

First, appreciate that you aren't just a Conscious Mind. The Conscious Mind is the logical, reasonable, rational part of you -- the part of you, you know, and call "I" when you say, "I think... I am... I do... I have..."

The teachings of ancient Hawaii, said that as there was a Conscious Mind (which most of us know), there was also an Unconscious Mind (which most of us do not know). And just as there was a Conscious Mind and an Unconscious Mind, there was also a Higher Conscious Mind. Each of these minds were separate, distinct from the other; so, that your Conscious Mind had hidden from its consciousness an Unconscious Mind, which had certain functions and which was separate, distinct from the Conscious Mind. Further, there was, also hidden from the Conscious Mind, a Higher Conscious Mind which also had very specific functions and which were also separate and distinct from the Conscious Mind. And that the Conscious Mind could not perceive either of these minds directly, except in certain states of consciousness. Since we are already relatively aware of our Conscious Mind, the next mind to get to know, then, is our Unconscious Mind.

THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND: What we call the Unconscious Mind, the ancient Kahuna called, Unihipili. Taken as a whole Unihipili means grasshopper...Hmmmm. If we look at the meaning of the root words that make up the word:

u: The seat of our emotions from which come feeling or grief; to stem from the heart; the mother element; the milk of life.

ni: To pour out a liquid;

hi: To blow out with force any liquid from the mouth.

pili: To cling, stick adhere, touch, join, adjoin, cleave to, associate with, be with, be close or adjacent; close relationship, relative; to belong to.

The Unconscious Mind is a very important part of you. Think about it for just a moment. Here's a part of you that runs your body; it makes your heart beat, causes the lymph system to circulate, your breathing to continue, your eyes to blink, your stomach to digest your food, and many other tasks that you never even considered. Consider this too. How aware are you of all the various things that your Unconscious Mind does? Maybe more importantly, how well do you know your Unconscious Mind? Do you consider your Unconscious Mind as a close and trusted friend, or are you at odds with your unconscious? The ancient ones taught that really trusting and getting to know your Unconscious Mind was a very important task -- the first step. Whatever your relationship with your Unconscious Mind, you will probably find that you are much closer to it than ever before as you read on.

The ancient ones, the La'au Kahea (the Kahuna who were psychologists), postulated that the Unconscious Mind had certain functions, which we could call the Prime Directives of the Unconscious Mind.

Next, we'll look at the Higher Self.

THE HIGHER SELF: The great Kahuna, Daddy Bray, who lived in Kona (he died in 1968) said that mankind is made up of material and spiritual parts -- mankind is made up equally of matter and spirit, like a magnet with one pole in matter and one pole in spirit. If that is the case, then the whole of mankind has not yet been recognized by western psychology. The Kahuna say we are also a Higher Conscious Mind. The term used in ancient times was Aumakua, meaning:

Au: A flame of fire whirling through the air, as a spirit; or spirit; yours, mine, spirit of another person.
Makua: Parent, older, senior, mature; or to sustain.
(The word aumakua was also used as a "grab-bag" term meaning any parental spirit, and included many ancestors and gods who were worshiped under this term. To avoid confusion, we will refer to this case as aumakua, and the Higher Conscious Mind as Aumakua.)

Next, what is the relationship between the three minds of mankind, and how are they connected?

More about The 3 Selves

Click here to read about the fundamental principles of Huna