 This is the Art of Thinking Smart from Think Tech Hawaii. Welcome to downtown Honolulu. I'm here today with Meliana Meyer, who is one of those infinite hyphenates. I think I'm gonna have to look that up, Michael. She's an artist, a filmmaker, an author, and a community leader, just to get started. And she keeps all of those pieces together. And we're trying to understand how to think smart in this extremely fast-moving world. Just a brief note about what we mean by thinking smart. Let's say you're in your mid-twenties, and you have a brilliant idea for a new app that you just know that every kid is gonna want to use on the Internet. And you want to become a company that gets bought by Google five years from now for $500 million. That's your vision. That's your goal. So right now at this moment, you probably have several things that you're thinking of. You need to raise some money. You need to attract some talent. And you need to establish your brand. Those are three of the main things. Yeah, so you might think, okay, let's raise $10,000 with crowdfunding and we'll pay for a couple of months of development to raise money. You might think, well, let's make a viral video that's gonna go on YouTube and Pinterest and get everybody watching it. It's gonna be funny, it's gonna be strange, it's gonna be silly, but it's about our great new idea. And you might say, and I've got a friend in Columbus who I met at college who knows how to code, so I'll just have him do the coding for us. So those are three very immediate things that you could do. And in our short attention span culture, you might say, okay, let's go do them. You can knock those down and get them all going in one day. But those may not be consistent with your goal in five years of selling your company for $500 million to Google. So someone who thinks smart will think, okay, I'm five years from now, we have the product, we have the finance, we have the people, we have the brand. Everything is ready to sell to Google. What did I have to do to get here? So there's a visioning process. Right, a backwards thinking by design, exactly. Exactly, they call that systems integration. That's how they got to the moon, by the way. A bunch of engineers sat down in 1963 when President Kennedy said, we're going. And they said, okay, we're on the moon, let's figure out how we got here. Okay, what do we have with this? And I think that you do something like that in a very different way. But your visioning has multiple steps built into it. And you're not always just responding to immediate, spontaneous opportunities. You have a vision, you have a purpose. I was interested as we were preparing for the program today, just for 20 minutes. We were talking, and while we were talking, you were drawing. Correct. Right, so what were you doing here? Well, you know, I think what I want to share with you in thinking smart about work is that the work that I'm trying to do has to do with finding your passion, understanding what you can do with that passion and proceeding or going forward. And in terms of just thinking smart, it's not only the thinking part, it's the na-ow part, it's the intuition part, it's the passion part. It's putting all of those things together. And as my sons are in their 30s and 40s, when I listen to them speak, they aren't forward thinking by design. They're saying, okay, this is an end goal, but my end goal isn't $500 million at Google, although maybe that's a good idea. My goal is trying to figure out what peace and justice and dealing with historical trauma can lead a community to in terms of wellness. So for me, this is really an important conversation because somehow we as a community have to do things differently. And by that I mean we have to sort of reach out to each other in ways that we haven't done before. So that's why I'm actually here and wanting to think smarter in terms of how do I position the work that we all are doing in community because there's great work that's being done in all areas of our community. So I'm just one little piece and it's a privilege to be here today. We use the word now for our non-Hawaiian speaking people and people watch this around the world. What is now? Now is an important aspect and for artists it's very critical because it's your sixth sense. It's your intuition, your instinct. So as an artist, you do call forth spirit and you call forth all your ancestors and you get out of your own way because it's not a thinking thing art so much as it's a holistic experience that has to do with all other senses and not just the intellect. So thank you for mentioning that. There's a reason about this because it's really a bowl. It's a bowl, see. So I'm just trying to do something on the inside. So that's for tomorrow. It's a three-dimensional thing. Correct. Absolutely. On a two-dimensional surface, yes. Right. So one of the things that you do that I find fascinating is you partner with one or more artists and possibly with groups of young people who may not be artists at all but are visioning people and to create a community image and it goes really very much against the Michelangelo tradition of the Western artist which is the great genius who has a beautiful vision and executes it as a statement of his or her soul and it's a Mozart. But there may be a number of Mozarts and other people who are not exactly Mozarts but it creates a whole that may be greater than the sum of its parts and it's an artistic statement. Absolutely. Well, when you're working with extraordinary friends who happen to be extraordinary artists to boot and then because I'm an educator I always love to include young ones, students or ala ka'i or apprentices. It makes for a community event. So that's really an important part or aspect of what we do and it's very cultural. Collaboration, cooperation. It's like being in a canoe. If you think you can paddle a canoe by yourself well then you don't know anything about paddling and you're going to drown all by yourself. In other words, you need a crew of six. You need a steersman. You need a first paddler who is your stroker, your second who calls. And in art it's the same way if you work in teams and you support everyone's interest area as in talent area and you work ensemble together. So it's a very important aspect of knowing and understanding Hawaiian culture to see that because even in Michelangelo he had apprentices they just didn't get very much credit whereas in Hawaiian style you want to give everyone who you work with that kind of credit. The person who's in charge is invisible to the extent that that's possible. It is true because there's so many people involved and it is such a process that calls forth everyone's talents. It's really exciting. What you're describing I think is really useful for anybody who's building a team to go after any objective. So that 20-something person that we were just describing he or she is going to need to have collaboration skills and be able to build a team that's diverse and yet unified at the same time. So we're talking Hawaiian culture here and we're talking murals and art. But I want people to be sort of doing a right brain, left brain translation of that as we go through. And it's important because it's not one thing or another and you don't have to choose between doing art and doing science. The whole part is to understand the complexity of the whole and know that it takes everything to make things work. Well complexity and simplicity how do those interrelate from your creative process? That's actually a really good question and I think most innovators and problem solvers you just try to go to the core of what you want to say like this mural that we have worked on it's called Aina Aloha. I mean it's this gathering of love for the land and you see the work and what it does is it gives a message, it's a story but within the story there are specific iconic images. So what you try to do from the simplifying point of view is to get to those essential messages and then expand so that people can see something in its totality. So then you can understand the complexity and what you'll be seeing with the mural project is a very unusual opportunity because it's a two-sided mural installation. Typically murals are one-sided. Where did the wall go? Exactly. The wall is actually in the middle because now it's an installation you have to walk around it. So the original piece is six by 20 feet and it was painted by Al Agunero, Cahi Ching, Solomon Inos, Hari Nani Orm, Carl Powell and myself. And this was an invitation and a challenge to these artists. Must have been a pretty big garage you were working on. We were. We actually worked at Camp Mocalea and we worked at the Bishop Museum as well. But the challenge for everyone was to paint away sorrow and pain and historical trauma. So that is what we did. And there's a mural and we'll give you a link for that mural so you can see it. But after we finished this mural on one side, they said, but we're not done with the paint part. And I said, oh, well, I'm sorry. It's all under this mural and we've got it documented. And you guys, we've done what I thought we could do. How do you feel? We're still not done dealing with the paint. So then they decided to paint on the other side. So that's what you're going to experience when you see the mural. Well, let's see the mural. You actually brought a small-scale reproduction of it. I did. I'm not sure. Yes, they have it. Yes. Yes, you have it, guys. Let's put it on the screen here. Yeah, that'd be great. Yes. So, is this the first side? Yes, it is the first side. This is the first paint. Is it? Actually, this is the first painting. It goes from right to left. From right to left. So we're actually, you're seeing it in its totality now. Wow. And then I'm going to start with this story on the right as it's coming up. We start with the cumulipo, which is, you can see the polyps on the far right. Yeah. And then the second image is an image of Ki'i Kahiko, old things and traditions. Wow. The next piece is Brother Ha Loa Nakalau Kapalili, Brother Kalo, exactly. And then we come to the Kupuna Mountains, the Elder Mountains. And Spirit is in the middle with, and it's Makaku and creativity, which is the most important. Is that the white light? Yes, the two birds representing that. And on the bottom of the mural, it's all grounded by Aina, that which feeds us. Aina is left. Correct. And on the left, you have these Umeke, these kalabashes that you can see when coming out of. So they represent our protocols and our language and the revival of our customary practices. And then you have something that looks like a lele, an altar, which is being used today at Pu'u Kohala in other places to give offerings. Yeah. And then we have an image of a young boy who is really a stand-in for the next generation. And he is wearing an ahu'ula, which is a cape of innovation, of new ideas. So it looks like feathers, but it's really very much in keeping with Think Tank and all these great programs. And to the left of him is an avatar image that Kupuna and Elder is holding for him to assume when he's ready and willing. So this whole new generation of youngsters have that kuliana or responsibility to do the work. So we're kind of going from the beginning of time until today. Correct. And we have this young person hopefully ready to take, assume the mantle of this new image. She used a very interesting phrase. He said, painting away our pain. Yeah. Talk a little bit more about, because I'm seeing some of what you're talking about. Yeah. To my eye and feeling this looks insightful and deep and hopeful and joyous, it's serious. It's very serious. But it's not frivolous. It's not necessarily fun. Yeah. But you have, there were six artists connected with painting this. Correct. Did each artist take on one subject and paint it? No. And then you figured out how to merge them? No. Thank you for asking. Because the piece was actually done successfully in a week's time because everyone moved. So that's the process that I, that I challenged everyone to. And so this is the sixth piece we've done or seventh mural we've done. We've done murals at the, the convention center, the Bishop Museum, Camp Mocalea. So this being a traveling mural has gone internationally to healing conferences and things. And you'll see on the other side, if we can show the other side. Let's show the second one. Let's do that. Because what you're going to experience is that... This is the completion. Correct. Are we also going right to left on this one? No. This, this side you can enter from any position. Okay. So it's, it's very abstract. And it's meant to, to bring people to pain and sorrow and historical trauma in a way that the other side got painted away. So, so the kupuna I've talked to, they've also said, we like this piece because we can talk about the pain. I see the, I see the blood. Yeah. Blood and gore and, and disease and death and sorrow and... To the left of center there, there's something that looks like some hands. They are hands. Is that an imagination? They are hands. And then you have this incredible heel tessellation, these little portals of healing. So it's not the Guernica of Picasso that was doom and darkness exclusively, it was actually this piece allowing for the healing from the other side of the mural to come through in these little pieces of teal. So it's a really novel idea that happens to, to engage the viewers and it's meant to go along with a film project that I'm trying to finish because this is outreach for the film. I do see the Guernica character of this. Yeah, yeah. For those who may not be familiar, just Google Guernica, D-U-E-R-N-I-C-A is the great masterpiece of Pablo Picasso in the time of the Spanish Civil War. Correct. Capturing the... The whore. The blood and the death, the anarchy, the, the Civil War, brother against brother, sister against sister. Yeah. It's a very painful piece. I don't... Have you ever seen it live? Yes, I have. It's a very large piece. It's hard to approach. It is hard to approach. And actually this piece... It's still dripping. You're right. And this piece is too, Michael, because people have responded to that red side. And it's so hard, the red side, so I'm really grateful to say, please, if, if, if you need a moment, walk to the other side. Let's take a break for a moment. Okay, thank you. To walk to the other side. Thank you. Aloha. I'm Kauai Lucas, host of Hawaii Is My Main Land, here on Think Tech Hawaii every Friday at 3 p.m. We address issues and importance for those of us who live here on the most isolated land mass on the planet. Please come join me, Fridays at 3 p.m. Mahalo. Aloha. This is Kaili Akina with the Weekly Ehana Kako. Let's work together program on the Think Tech Hawaii Broadcast Network Mondays at 2 o'clock p.m. Movers and shakers and great ideas. Join us. We'll see you then. Aloha. My name is Mark Shklav and I'm the host of Law Across the Sea. And Law Across the Sea is a program that brings attorneys who have traveled across the sea and live in Hawaii or are staying in Hawaii for a time to talk about their travels, where they're from, where they're going and bring it all together, because really, we're all connected some way, although we travel across the sea. So I hope that you'll tune in and watch our program. Thank you very much. So we're back here now with Meliana Meyer on Thinking Smart. And Meliana is making us smarter and smarter by the moment here. I feel my IQ rising. And my EQ also, my emotional quotient is being nourished. And that's a very big part of success of any kind. Yeah, absolutely. Now, let's go to another example that I find fascinating. This was something that was done for Hawaii International Forgiveness Day last summer. And it was... One of our artists. ...a community visualization that was done by Solomon Enos. Correct. And in this video, you'll see 90 minutes compressed into just about three minutes. And what he was... Well, you set it up. You talk. Well, you need to know that working with Solomon and the others in our work together is a real gift because they are generous of spirit. They are insightful. They are able to do extraordinary work. Or we are together ensemble because we have a collective vision. So I think in terms of the Forgiveness Project, they too or we too all share that vision of working towards forgiveness. So when Solomon was asked to do this piece, he was listening to extraordinary presenters. He was listening to Ramsey Tom. He was listening to... Fred Luskin. Fred Luskin, yeah. He was listening... Talking about gratitude. Exactly. But very much Western approach and Hawaiian approach. Exactly. So when you have Saul working like this, he's working to create a vision of wellness through the creative modality of the visual. And there's a live audience of a couple hundred people. There's a live audience, correct. Yeah, up on the poly. So the people in the audience are participating in a way as well. Exactly. And they will be asked to contribute as well. But Solomon does this very, very well in terms of setting up what we call an underpainting or a sketch, a working sketch that others can begin to work with. When we work as a group, we all participate in this process and create an image together and then create and scale up together. So the process is very vital to set up, to engage, to talk about what you vision. And the result then is something extraordinary that you're seeing right now. It is his vision of what the conversation moves him to create. So there's images within images. Exactly. There's landscapes. There's faces. Correct. There's vegetation. There's stars. There's... There's a worldview there. Yeah. There's a perspective of the world and of forgiveness that... And he's making it spontaneously without any plan. Exactly. He's not tracing her. No, no, no. He's coming from his now. His gut, his instinct about what the conversation has given to him. Solomon also does very carefully conceived, quietly executed masterpieces. Yes, he does. I would call them. Yes. If you just Google Solomon, enos, e, n, o, s, then you can see more samples of what he does. Absolutely. So this is one that was created as a community work of art. And after this was done, I understand the 200 people came up and colored it all in. That they did. Yeah. And you know, that experience is very different because it's spontaneous and you accept different things happening so you don't really have attachment to the completion of it necessarily. Yeah. But it's the experience of participating. So it's really... It's really what we're trying to do with the forgiveness work that we all participate in. It's engaging people in understanding that we all have a part in both healing and forgiveness. So it's not one side or another. It's all of us doing the work together. And you can see a lot more of this at Hawaii Forgiveness Project. Correct. Correct. Absolutely. I understand you're going to be talking about this mural. Yes. The Aloha Aina mural. Right. So that is Love of the Land. Love of the Land and Aina Aloha is also that the land cares for and loves us which is the name of the film project. So that's at the Bodhi Tree here in Honolulu. Is it the Bodhi Tree or is it the Jewel? It's the Bodhi Tree. Okay. Okay. On Judd Street near downtown Honolulu. Okay. And that's at 4 p.m. tomorrow or Friday. Okay. 4 to 6. Everyone here is invited to come. Wonderful. So forgiveness now. This is a loaded word for lots of people and it takes some study, some feeling, some understanding to even grasp it, especially in the context of Hawaii and our original people and the overthrow and the queen. Can you paint in some of the details there? Well, you know, it's not a hard story to tell because it's been written. It is very clearly available for everyone who lives in Hawaii to know the truth about what's going on. So once you know the truth, then we have the responsibility, each and every one of us, to find out more and see if we agree or not, but truth is the truth. I mean, it either happened or it didn't. So there's no alternative reality going on here and so the important part is... There's no fake news. No, no fake news. Although Hawaii has had a very difficult relationship with all of that, just given its history in terms of the overthrow and who's run things and who's been in charge. But you know, Liliuokolani is our fearless leader because she was a woman of faith and she was a woman of justice and she loved her people and her land and that's what all of us in all of these different areas today are doing were practicing Pono. And this was 120 years ago. That is correct. But they were still very much alive in the hearts and feelings of the Hawaiian people. And they will never... They're still happening. They will never go. And my aunt, Aimanavehi, for example, and Joseph, they were royalists who were lovers of the land and Liliu. So she was a confidant of the queen. So the work I do is a continuation of her work and I humbly just ask always for the permission to do the work and to be of service to the people because they have a lot of work to do. Your link to the queen is coming literally from your now. Absolutely. And I'm grateful about that because each of us has a responsibility to assume a mantle or to make a difference in community. So if someone wanted to understand both the triumph and the tragedy that's represented by the overthrow and didn't know anything, I think that you could probably Google Ilani Palace and read from there and there are other links that will come up through there. Absolutely. And you can read. So Ilani is I-O-L-A-N-I. Right. With an okina up before the eye. Right. So Ilani Palace. Right. A few blocks from here. Correct. And it was a place where something really extraordinary terrible and something extraordinarily beautiful and poetic happened. Can you just tell us a little bit? This palace was built by Kalakaua, Liliuokalani's brother. And it was to represent to the world that Hawaiians were people of justice, intellect, and regard of law, the rule of law. And it stands as an emblem for us today of this leader's deep intellect and understanding of world events. So for us too, Liliu's story is one that we all can embrace and actually there's a book called Hawai'i's Story by Hawai'i's Queen which is really important to read. So please feel free to do that and just know that each of us needs to not only think smarter but be appreciative of the context within which we live and understand that there are lots of negotiations that need to go on. She confronted injustice and violence and abuse and terror with forgiveness. And a call for justice that we are still responding to today. But it's motivated by forgiveness. So tomorrow at 4 p.m. we'll go deeper and look into this mural. Thank you so much, Michael. Appreciate it. Aloha.