The Deeper Meaning of Aloha

Besides these common meanings, the word Aloha holds within itself all one needs to know to interact rightfully in the natural world. These insights describe an attitude or way of life sometimes called “The Aloha Spirit” or “The Way of Aloha”.

alo, 1. sharing 2. in the present
oha, joyous affection, joy
ha, life energy, life, breath

“Using Hawaiian language grammatical rules, we may translate this literally as “The joyful sharing of life energy in the present” or simply “Joyfully sharing life”.

But another layer of meaning may be found by factoring in the meanings of the roots words in aloha.
“A” means “to burn” (figuratively, to sparkle) and it is also the name of mold found in souring foods.
“Lo” is short for lo’o and loa’a which mean “to obtain or procure”.
Together these indicate a transformation of energy (burning, sparkling….. ),
a product of an energy transformation….
and an effort to get or obtain something,
like consciously manifesting or creating.
This brings us to another translation of Aloha.
“To consciously manifest life joyously in the present.”
This is our prime directive. “

So Uli, the controlling deity of these symbols, is the highest feminine aspect of creation. Since Mana is in the domain of the feminine, it is especially appropriate that the control of the symbols is in Uli’s hands.
Man without the goddess energy is unmotivated - not moved to action.
Woman is the creator - it is she who creates life, and so brings out the life force energy—Mana.

To the High Priests (Puhio kaoka) Uli was known as ``Na Wahine o ke ao,’’ ``The Resplendent Lady of the Sky,’’ ``The Lady of Light,’’ ``The Lady of Wisdom,’’ ``The Lady of Enlightenment,’’ ``The Goddess of the World.’’ And the High Priestesses gave Uli the title of ``Kea Kea Lani Wahine,’’ ``The Heavenly Goddess of the Cross of White Light.’’ Temple Priests addressed Uli by her consecrated name, ``Na na I A E,’’ which only they were permitted to utter with utmost humbleness. Only those few Kahuna who reached the most rarefied and exalted plane of spiritual illumination addressed Uli as ``Ka Wahine Ke La.’’ Some translators have said that Ke la means ``The Lady That,’’ or ``The Goddess That,’’ whereas the word Wahine when applied to Divinity means ``goddess.’’ Esoterically, kela means ``That.’’ But concealed within the Huna, or profound depths of the word Ke La (Te Ra to the ancients) is a very important esoteric meaning: the Sun, identical to the Egyptian reference to the Spiritual Being that is the generative force behind the Sun, or the Light and Life of the Sun.

Uli was the female generative force of the Sun, the goddess of the Sun, ``Ka Wahine Ke La!’’ In many Eastern religions God is referred to as ``That.’’ In the Book of Genesis the Hebrew prophet Moses stated that God said unto him: ``I am That I am.’‘

Ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra (pronounced La in modern Hawaiian) as the Supreme Spiritual Being behind the Sun. The Christian ``amen’’ appears to have stemmed from the ancient Egyptian ``Amen-Ra.’’ In tracing the origin of the early Egyptian religious beliefs, one might go back into primordial times to the sacred teachings of the Holy Mu of Ka Lua, the Lost Continent in the South Pacific region. The Mu were the world’s original worshipers of the Spirit of Fire, the Supreme Being that is the Light and Life of the Sun, and the generative power of radiant energy behind the Sun of our Universe. And it was from Ka Lua that the Hawaiians derived the teaching of the Holy Mu. When European voyagers discovered Hawaii, the High Priests of the Temples of Divine Worship were still teaching to initiates the sacred and inspired spiritual philosophy of the Mu of Ka Lua.

Uli was the most important female deity in the ancient Hawaiian pantheon of gods, for she was the mother of gods and goddesses.

It was Uli who released the Living Water that flowed in the Breath of Life from Keawe unto the females of earth’s peoples, just as the male gods released the Living Water that flowed from Keawe unto the males of earth’s peoples. Uli was referred to by the ancients as ``the goddess with the discerning eye who perceived everything that transpired on Earth.’’ Sometimes the kahuna spoke of her as ``Uli nana Hewa.’’ ``Uli sees all injustice and unrighteousness.’’ And at other times the goddess was spoken of as ``Uli Nana Pono,’’ ``Uli beholds all justice and righteousness. Nothing escapes her all-seeing eye.

.... (Remember you get what you focus on, so focus on what you want. If you want light, focus on the light. Declare yourself to be the conscious cause of all that happens in this universe and thereby take responsibility for all that happens.This is the step that raises you to the stature of magnificence and makes you the Kahuna. To gain maximum control in the universe, assume cause for every effect.

BALANCE: With regard to balance, it is important to remain balanced, grounded—”...it is not enough for our mental and spiritual development that we draw down the Divine Light, we must also draw up the earth forces. Only too often mental health is sacrificed to spiritual development through ignorance of, or denial of, this fact. Nature is God made manifest, and we blaspheme her at our peril… The adept never speaks of hell, but of the kingdoms of unbalanced force. [Fortune, 1922]

The word ‘HA-WAI-I’ expresses several root meanings:

HA: the Sacred Breath of the Creation of Life

WAI: the Sacred Water that Sustains Life, a symbol of great abundance

I: emphasizes what comes before it

HA-WAI-I can therefore be interpreted as “the people and the place gifted with an abundance of the forces that create and sustain life”.

The people and the islands are called Hawai’i and Aloha is our way of life.

Ancient Hawaiian life was enamored of Nature as divine energy.
Songs and chants praised the moon and the stars, the rivers and the flowers, the wind, the creatures of the sea, and the beautiful island paradise of Hawai’i. Hawaiian songs relate to the rhythm and movements of nature.
Believing that the center of the universe exists in all beings and things, the ancient Hawaiians knew compassion, patience and joy, developing a deep respect for nature and the Akua (Spirit-in-all-things), (and it remains so today).

To a tourist a local may say Aloha at the luau, but you’ll have to look much deeper to find the true meaning of Aloha. Commonly, Aloha is used both in greeting and in parting. It is also said to mean “love surrounds you” offering friendliness, acceptance and kindly blessings.

‘The Way of Aloha’ addresses a prevalent modern complaint - most of us in the world today have been trained to respond to life as warriors. We’ve been taught that the world is a dangerous place-the root belief of the warrior.

“The world is a loving place” is the root belief of Aloha.
Reacting to life as a warrior is sometimes easier for some, simply because it is what we are taught from our cultural heritage.
And, in our history, it is a path which has proven to be effective at least for the short term. As warriors, we will emphasize danger, the destruction of enemies, and the cultivation of allies. As a group, we’ve been taught that to succeed, we must ‘conquer or be conquered.’

In contrast, ‘The Way of Aloha’ is a practice that emphasizes acceptance, forgiveness and cooperation through the development of spiritual awareness.
It is the cultivation of Mana (divine inner-power), friendship and unity, a very real and easily integrated practice of skills that allows the individual to explore existing personal realities while simultaneously immersing oneself in the ethic of true acceptance.

“Love and be loved” the ideal of Aloha, is a very active yet nonviolent path, a practice of non-judgment. In Aloha, one asks, “What can I give?” rather than, “What can I get?”

‘The Spirit of Aloha’ perceives life as a series of circumstances that we attract to ourselves, gleaning from them opportunities that allow us to act more consciously and effectively, monitoring our growth by perceiving and evaluating our choices.

Aloha will bring you a new response to your life, creating Pono, harmony and balance in your relationships. Pono is righteous, being open and flexible in your thinking of how you will receive the answer to a prayer or a desired outcome. Sometimes it requires that you don’t think, and you just hold the focus lovingly, pray about it, or simply give it up to God.

Mana is the principle of divine inner power that is essential to the Aloha philosophy. It encompasses the idea that each one of us has the authority to think for ourselves and live our own truth.

There is an ancient Hawaiian philosophy:
Ola mai i loko mai
“Health comes from within”.
There is no need for protection when one’s root belief about life is that ‘the world is a loving place’.

Each of us can choose to refuse into our personal space anything or+anyone+ with which we do not resonate. Within us is the center of the universe where we find the living God, Aumakua. When we truly attune ourselves to this divine Source, we find it to be infinite in both scope and power.

It is we who have the choice of how to use this awesome power.
The warrior will use it to destroy enemies, within and without.
‘The Spirit of Aloha teaches us to find or create ways to use it for the benefit of society, and to heal ourselves and others. Interestingly, the way of the warrior and ‘The Way of Aloha’ can accomplish the same goals using entirely different approaches.

Essential to creating a life of community living is the idea of Kahi, oneness, and Lokahi, harmony and unity. To practice Aloha, we need to give up our deeply rooted assumption that we are all separate—to feel our inner connections with all people, places, and things.

It’s the belief that we are all separate that enables us to dump raw sewage into our beloved Kai (oceans) and spill each other’s blood in war, which contradicts our most basic human need: to love and to be loved, the spiritual law of Aloha.

Aloha is pure joy.

Aloha is also the fragrance and colour of a beautiful flower, the sound of children laughing, and the taste of ripe tropical fruit dripping with nectar.

Aloha is the wondrous rhythm of Life, as well as the Spirit in and behind all Creation. ‘The Way of Aloha’ can be practiced and experienced anywhere, any time and with anyone. It is a path of love, harmony and appreciation for the beauty in all things and it is only available in the eternal moment of Manawa (now).

Please take a moment now and just say the word slowly: A L O H A
Say it again even slower: Aloha.
Close your eyes and feel your energy change as you say it a few more times, letting it in while breathing deeply for one full minute can change your day, your mood and your life.
Feel the warm loving feeling this generates – the sun is shining in your heart! This is the great gift of Aloha ....

Please join me in the task of returning Mother Earth to the purity of her first days. This is a great task but one that I know we can accomplish together.
Help to bring others to The Point of Understanding.
Help heal all life, for we are all connected, we are all one.

Preserve the language, preserve the culture, preserve the ‘Aina (land), live in balance, live aloha.”