What is Mana?

Mana - 

1. nvs. Supernatural or divine power, mana, miraculous power; a powerful nation, authority; to give mana to, to make powerful; to have mana, power, authority; authorization, privilege; miraculous, divinely powerful, spiritual; possessed of mana, power. Cf. -āmana. Mana makua, parental authority. Leo mana, voice of authority that is obeyed. Mana kiaʻi, guardian power. Mana loa, great power; almighty. Noho mana, to wield power.  www.wehewehe.org 

So speaking from my perspective as a Hawaiian, I consider my Mana, my personal power, my essence, my energy that connects to source and yet defines me through a unique pattern of vibrational frequencies as my unique self, in which I resonate and most importantly how I, non-verbally communicate to my "outside" environment....ALL that surrounds me. 

Why is Mana important?

Well...with recognition and understanding of your own personal mana, it will allow you to live in full relation to all living things and therefore live inPono or full harmony with all of life simply by the CHOICES that you make. My Kumu Lomi! Maka'ala Yates interprets our Hawaii state motto of "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono" as "The very life, breath and spirit of the land endures in right relationships between people and all living things." I have personally adopted this motto for most of my adult life, giving recognition that we are a part of a whole at all times, and therefore how we emulate our Mana, is what shows up in our world immediately surrounding us. This is the physical reality of our larger environment in which we,once again, are interwoven into. The best visual I can come up with is the sceene in Avatar, when all the indigenous people are sitting in circle all connected and chanting to the great tree, which is connected by a larger energetic root system to the whole forest. Oh I love that movie! 

How is mana important to your home? 

As I have stated in most of my writings thus far, "Your home is an extension of your Mana." So an easy way to grasp this, is to:

• First think from your gut...your na'au. 

• Then picture your home in your mind.
• How does that picture make you FEEL?
• Is your home your sanctuary? 
• Or does it steal your Mana-your energy from you just thinking about the disarray, or clutter, or disfunction? 
•  Now I invite you to examine your na'au (gut) and listen to your inner voice of wisdom when I ask, "how does your home reflect the state of mind, or state of be-ing you are currently in?" 

Remembering that you are a unique expression of source and all that surrounds you, will allow you to recognize that this unique stamp that you have on the world is also reflected within your home. From your unique choices of style to the way you enjoy the flow of your home. We can all use our homes as our personal mirrors to where we are in life and how our Mana is showing up in the physical within our surroundings. 

I want to say Mahalo, thank you, for taking the time to "Listen" to your Mana, whatever it was that may have been revealed to you. It is "through understanding comes knowledge, through knowledge comes life and well being." In some upcoming blogs I will discuss some ways in which you can start to shift your mana within your home to best serve your highest and healthiest self! I will also be soon posting about my current trip to Portland and what trends are sweeping the home decor world, and how you can re-create those "feelings" within your own Hawaiian Homes! So stay tuned! 

Much love, Kamaile

Finding Inspiration

Finding inspiration is really an oxymoron because the root words of inspiration mean to be "in spirit" or from my perspective, to be in full awareness of the oneness that connects all of life. Hawaiians truely lived from this space, from the knowing and honoring all that surrounds us, and therefore our multitude of traditions and protocol reflect the honoring of all that is living and all that makes up our environment. So really when I "look" for inspiration, what I'm really doing is just tapping into the stories that all things and people want to share, including the furniture I upcycle. Your home, and flow within your home has a story. You have a story. The people who came before you had a story. It is not that those stories are lost when you move into a new space, it is just that the energies have shifted and now you add to those stories by creating new experiences. So...here's the million dollar question, "what would you like to experience within your environment?" "how do YOU personally want your life to reflect your inner smile?". When you can go within, and as we say 'listen to your naʻau', is where you will find YOUR inspiration. For me, one of my greatest sources of inspiration is turning to my past, our past, Hawaii's past! "Nana I ke Kumu" - Look to the source. Kumu can mean source, it can mean teacher, it can reference a tree, but in Hawaiian thought, and what is expressed here in this Noʻeau reflects the concept of looking to our ancestors who were our source of knowledge and our wisdom keepers. So I found great strength in the words on my first piece "Kūlia i ka nuʻu" - strive for the summit. Look it up, seek out the ike behind it for yourself. Find meaning that applies to you, for you, through the poetic words that our ancestors left us. Other than that, this piece is special to me because I love to see my goals and visions in front of me, and I love organization! So I see this as a working vision board, or an idea board, or a to-do list board that inspires and motivates you! I hope you love it as much as I do! Aloha, Kamaile