 This is Think Tech Hawaii. Community Matters here. Welcome to Shrink Rap Hawaii. My name is Steven Phillip Katz. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist right here in Honolulu. And I am so happy today because I have a friend and colleague and she's our guest today. And we're going to learn things that I think most of you have never known about. I'm pleased to introduce Ingrid Stotlupri. Hi. Welcome to Shrink Rap. Good to be here. Thank you. So, Huna. Yes. H-U-N-A. Alright, so let's say that's all I know is how to spell H-U-N-A. What else would you tell me about Huna? Huna is Hawaiian and means secret or that which is hidden, that which is not easy to be seen. And it's a name given to very, very old Polynesian philosophy of life. And these old teachings are kind of as old as the oldest truth of mankind, but as new as modern quantum physics. And very, very important to lead a better life, to fulfill your dreams, to be successful, loving, happy. So you can incorporate that in your daily life. You come from Salzburg, Austria, and you don't, it's not too close to Hawaii. Completely on the other side of the cloud. How did you hear about Huna? What a track did you? That was a fun story. You know, I was in the end of my life coaching studies and just exchanged with a friend audiobooks. And she gave me an audiobook called The Urban Shaman in German at that time. And I was like, never heard about that. And like, okay, you know, she always has good hints. So I'll listen to that. And after five minutes I was just hooked. It was such a good stuff. What hooked you? Yeah, kind of the simple-ness of these teachings, but the depth and width of this teaching, you know. And the kind of like Serge Kahili King, who wrote the book, and I think one of the most well-known authors about this philosophy and Hawaiian Shamanism. He's just to the point, you know. He explains it in a very simple, concise way. And with a lot of examples, you can incorporate in your daily life. So it's a good read. So is Huna an example of Hawaiian Shamanism? I think Huna is the basic philosophy of the Hawaiian Shamanism. And it's, you know, like all Polynesian, not just Hawaii, you know. But those teachings are found in ancient wisdoms all over the world. The only thing I like Huna so much is because it's so concise. For example, just seven Hawaiian words are the seven principles. And it's like you have the tip of seven icebergs and ice mountains. And then it's the Hawaiian word. And then there's all the knowledge in depth and width to it. So tell us. These seven words are Ike, Kala, Makia, Manawa, Aloha, Mana and Pono. And yeah, to go really into that, we need more time. But I tell you the translation Serge Kahili King gave to those principles. And then maybe we can talk about one or two a little more in depth. Okay. So Ike would be the first principle. It says the world is what you think it is. And what you think your beliefs, your expectations are what creates your experience. So for example, if you think the world is a dangerous place to be in, to live in, then you might experience it that way because you have all those beliefs. And if you think the world is a happy place to be, you might experience it that way. Like a little bit, you know, Paul Vatslavik, self-fulfilling prophecy. The story with the hammer, maybe. I don't know that story. Yeah, that's a very interesting story about a guy who is thinking, I need a hammer. I want to hang a picture. I'll go to the neighbor and borrow it from him. But this neighbor was recently not so nice or he, I don't know what he thinks of me. And then he all gets worked up in his head about that neighbor and that he might not like him or that he is like not a good person. And then he would knock on the door and would shout to the neighbor, keep your hammer. He didn't say a word. You know, that's his own precept. So you create. Absolutely. So that's Ike. And then so the thing to do about Ike is to really be aware of your beliefs, be aware of what you think about the world, because that's what creates your experience. So the second would be color, which means there are no limits. And this is a mind-blowing one for sure, because we experience our limits every day, you know. But what we can do again about it is to think, okay, maybe we create our own limits. We create, we have limiting beliefs. We could maybe change. And it says too on a different level, not on this objective reality level, like on an energy level or on a spiritual level. There are no limits. There really are no limits. And, you know, modern quantum physics explains it too. You know, I'm not ending here, and you too. You know, we have this feel of energy around us. And so that's a very interesting principle to go into depth too. And for us, it's just the idea, be free, you know. Be free to choose your path. Be free to choose the beliefs or the mindset that helps you, and not the one which is limiting you, you know. So that's color. And then there is makia, a very interesting one. I like that one a lot. Energy flows where attention goes. So where we put our focus on, where we put our attention on, that gets energized. And that's a very, very, very important principle for your whole life. Because if we put our attention on the problem, on what we don't want, that gets energized. So that gets more in our life. And we don't want that. We want good things to happen. So we have to put our focus on that. We have to really learn how to switch our focus. And to focus on what we want, on the good things. And so I energize that. Because what I do a lot in my practice is work with couples. I was just working with a couple. And they're fighting about the stupidest little things. And they know it. And they can't stop it. And that's why they're coming. And I mean, it's really bad. They could break up. And they're desperate to change. They love each other. And they don't know why they keep getting into these fights. And I talked to them about how in the beginning of a relationship, the honeymoon period of a relationship, there's something that they call overriding positive regard. So that when I first meet you, everything you do just adds to your wonderfulness. Right? If you trip and fall down, oh, she's so adorable, right? Isn't that cute the way she did that, right? Or if you forget something, it's like, oh, wow. I just love her more because of that. And then, of course, later on, you focus on the negative. Like, why is she so clumsy? Why can't she remember everything? Right? Or the classic of when I first met him, I just loved his sense of humor. And now I hate him because he's never serious. Right? And so trying to work with the couple, trying to refocus, because when you focus on the negative in a relationship like that, you just bring out more of the negative. Right? If all you do is focus on the mistakes the other person made or you are thinking that their intention is towards you is negative, then it creates them. Absolutely. Because you get defensive like the guy with the hammer, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep your hammer. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes it's just the story in the head and the other person is not even thinking the way you think. So in this case, definitely I think a very, very good exercise for this couple would be to just take a deep breath and change the focus. You know, really, for both of them, you know, change the focus on the other side of the metal, you know? Because there's always two sides of everything, you know? At least. At least. So yeah, that's a beautiful book written by Serge King as well is Healing Relationships. It's right on that theme. And one of the exercises definitely I would suggest would be immediately changing the focus and thinking about what I like in this person, what I love, what he does good. Okay, that might be, you know, not what I want now and maybe you can tell the other person, you know, I would like you to do that instead of criticizing, ah, you did that to me now. It's always much easier, you know? If you criticize people, and that brings us to the Aloha principle, criticism diminishes love, compliments and appreciation, gratitude raises Aloha. So... Yeah, it's funny, I just thought of this couple again because they got into this argument about they were hiking and she said, you know, I feel like I'm walking alone. Come on, catch up to me. And he's like, I'm standing right next to you. So if she had said instead, I love it when you're next to me. Same message, really? Absolutely. Then it's praise instead of criticism. Absolutely. I would love it so much more if we could, you know, get side by side or if you hold my hand or whatever, you know? And then he would be pleased because he gets, you know, an idea of what he wants and not just what he doesn't want because what he doesn't want is just one thing. And it could be so much more what he wants. So it's much easier to be precise in what you want. I think that's a very, yeah, it could be very helpful for a lot of relationships, not just the relationships between couples. Oh, business relationship, friends' relationship, parent, child. Absolutely. So focus, makia, is a very, very, very interesting principle. And then there would be manawa, which is called now is the moment of power. Uh-huh. Right here. And this moment is all our power, you know? If we are here with all our senses, with all our sense perceptions, we have so much more charisma, power to use. We are not preoccupied with, you know, thinking of yesterday or fearing something about tomorrow. We are here and now with all our senses and can be, you know, here and now we can plant the seeds for the future and even harvest what we did in the past. Uh-huh. But we should not kind of, we should be aware that this present moment is everything we have. Right. Every moment. And that's the beauty and the important thing and that's in principles like mindfulness, the power of now, a katali, puts a lot of emphasis on that. Yeah. Hold that thought. Yeah. Right now I'm hearing a voice in my head saying we need to take a break. We'll be right back. Don't touch your mouse. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. I'm going to the game and it's going to be great. Early arriving for a little tailgate. I usually drink but won't be drinking today because I'm the designated driver and that's okay. It's nice to be the guy that keeps his friends in line, keeps them from drinking too much so we can have a great time. A little responsibility can go a long way because it's all about having fun on game day. I'm the guy you want to be. I'm the guy, say good morning. I'm the guy with the age you were growing. I'm the guy that says let's go. Hello everyone. I'm DeSoto Brown, the co-host of Human Humane Architecture which is seen on Think Tech Hawaii every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. And with the show's host, Martin Desbang, we discuss architecture here in the Hawaiian Islands and how it not only affects the way we live but other aspects of our life, not only here in Hawaii but internationally as well. So join us for Human Humane Architecture every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Think Tech Hawaii. Welcome back to Shrink Wrap Hawaii. I'm still with Ingrid Shtutler-Pree. And Ingrid, we were talking before about something you call piko piko. Can you remind me? I'd demonstrate that with me. Yeah, piko piko is a breathing technique, a Hawaiian breathing technique we use for relaxing, for energizing our body. And it's a good example for this Makia principle where we put the energy flows where attention goes. And it's a kind of focused breath technique. So as you inhale through your nose, you put your attention on the crown of your head. And as you exhale, you put the attention either on your belly, on your piko, that's what piko means center, so center to center, either on your belly or if you want to have a little piko flush, you put it on the soles of your feet so you have an even wider energy flow. And it would be like that. You breathe in through your nose and focus the crown of your head and then exhale and focus on your feet, for example. And you just put the focus there. You don't inhale through those centers, you just switch focus. And as you switch the focus, you see that you can't think of something else while you do that because your thoughts are with the focus. And of course the breath energizes your body and every cell. Very calming. Very calming and at the same time energizing. So it can be used in every situation like before a talk, while a talk, even before I do this for centering before a client comes, for example, to really be in the present moment, right there, right for this person. And it can be done while the couple is hiking and getting all worked up and in a fight and they could say, you know what, let's take a break and do some pico pico press. And then switch the focus. This is simple, sometimes not easy, to really do it, you know. Yeah, when you get all worked up, you say, I don't want to do that. It could be like their exercise for the next week, you know, I don't know when you see them again. And then they can tell you how to feel with it because that's a very powerful exercise. It is, it works for me. So what was the next principle? The next principle would be then one of my favorites, aloha. And you know, all the Hawaiians know aloha means hello, goodbye, but the deeper meaning is love. And I learned from Serge Kahili King, my Hawaiian teacher and mentor, an even deeper meaning called, which means like the syllables of this world like aloha and ha. They have an even deeper meaning and it is the joyful sharing of life energy in the presence. So this is aloha. To joyful share life energy in the presence. So even we share aloha now. Yes. We are fun. And the secret is that, you know, there were a lot of teacher coming to this planet and telling us about the love principle, even Jesus, you know. Right. And the Hawaiians see it that way and when you share aloha, then you get attuned to the divine power which they call mana. So aloha and mana go together and it's like a powerful love and loving power. And so attuning to this energy of life, this love energy, gets you powerful in the present moment to change your life, to pursue happiness, to be successful. And the very secret about how to, you know, practice that is to bless everything or everyone who incorporates that what you want, what you like. Like for example, if you want to become rich, you don't need to be an envy rich person. You have to bless them. You have to bless everything that incorporates richness or that like abundance, like abundant water in the ocean, like everything abundant, for example. And then this creates your own higher vibration, your own energy flow and with the principle mana and manawa, you incorporate that in your life more because you focus on it. So you energize that. And that's a very simple technique and I practice it every day to raise my energy level. Just when walking, I like the Nordic walking with the poles. I'm the only weird one on Kahlua beach with the walking poles. And when I do that, I just, I'm thankful, I'm praising or I'm blessing my surroundings, you know, the beautiful ocean, the palm trees, the weather. In Salzburg when I'm walking, the beautiful mountains or the snow or architecture, whatever is there. Just this feeling of appreciation. Appreciation, gratitude and praise or complimenting raises your own energy level. So it not just helps the person. You are giving a compliment too, which always feels good. But it feels good for yourself too. To give it. To give it. And in my seminars and even in my coachings, I try a technique with a kinesiologic testing where you really can prove that to a person. Like when you compliment yourself and you make this testing with the muscle testing, when you compliment yourself, your test is strong. When you criticize yourself, you get weak. The same happens if you criticize another person. You are testing weak. So I think if enough people know that, that criticizing others or even swearing and stuff like that, drains your own energy. They might stop that. But it's very hard for people. In a culture, I think especially in Hawaii, there is a culture of humility. It goes against the grain for people to praise themselves to think highly of themselves. How does that fit? What do you do about that? Sure. The same in Austria. We were, there was even a saying, I'm so much in English now that I forget my German, but it's not allowed to praise yourself. Be proud of yourself. But we have to overcome that. And I think when I have clients who are Christians, for example, then I come with one of the commandments and Jesus said to us, love thyself, love thy neighbor as thyself. And you have to first love and be nice to yourself and then you can do it to others. So I think it's just natural and I don't know when on the way we lost that, that it's natural. We don't need to put us higher than others, but we can put ourselves on the same high. Well, it reminds me of the Hindu Namaste, which is I recognize the God, the Goddess inside of you. Beautiful. That's why these teachings and this knowledge is ancient and all over the world. It's not just Huna saying those things, but it's even in a very nice and concise way gathered by those old Polynesians. So I don't want to forget to be covered. Mana pono. We just have mana and pono. Mana is all power comes from within. So even like the divine power comes through us. So you can see like the spark of God within us, which is all the power we have. And we can get inspiration from our higher self or from God, but through us it's working. So this is mana. And then pono is the principle, effectiveness is the measure of truth. So if it works, it's true. If it doesn't work, try something else. So that means too to be flexible to try something else if it doesn't work. And Huna is everything that works. So for example, Hawaiian Shaman would incorporate all other techniques he would see or find somewhere else and incorporate it because if it works, it's Huna. Yeah, I think that's why like in counseling, I don't come in with a plan. Like, oh, you told me this and then I'm going to do ABCD. I don't know because to me it's all about the relationship. And my relationship to my client is just if they're working on their relationship with a significant other or anybody else in their life, it's the same thing. It's all about the here and now. Which word is that? Manawa. Manawa, right? It's all about what's happening now between us so that we can navigate it. So how can I come in with a plan? And even if I do have a sort of general outline, it needs to be flexible. What's the word for that? Pono. Right. It's interesting because the word pono sometimes is used differently. The meaning of pono, one of the meanings is to make things right. Pono is to live right? Right. Right just like that. And one, this effectiveness is the measure of truth. It does also mean if you want to pursue a good goal, you have to do it in a good way too. You don't walk over dead bodies to a good goal. That's not pono. So pono would be a good goal and a good way to do it. Of getting there. Right. So it's sort of the opposite of the ends justifying the means. Absolutely not. They have to be the same. Absolutely. And what you said with the client, I think that for me, I do the same too because, and you too, we have all our background. We have all our studying in terms of different techniques, different approaches. But when their person is over there, you have to be present with that person. Right. You get about the technique. Absolutely. And then sometimes the magical happens and you feel what's the next right thing to do. And then asking the client would be like, oh yes, that would be the next step. So they're telling me right now, be pono to wrap it up. And we have to do this some more. Thank you Ingrid so much for coming on to shrink wrap Hawaii. And I hope you catch us on our next installment of shrink wrap Hawaii. Aloha.