Hawaiian Thought of the Week October 1, 2014

mana: power; empower; authority; privilege; spiritual

In Hawaiian culture, mana is a spiritual quality that is considered to have supernatural origin, a sacred force. It is a form of a spiritual energy in addition to healing power, which can be found in places, objects as well as within people. Mana can be found in just about everything in existence and may either be good or evil, beneficial or dangerous.

Our kūpuna have taught us that there is a chance for us to gain or lose mana in everything that we do. Hopefully for us who work at PIDF, mana is often possessed or gained through our pono thoughts, words and actions, respecting the balance that exists in our lives and our kuleana to find and maintain that balance, being mindful that there is a proper time and place for everything.

Historically in Hawai‘i, there have been two paths to mana. Some have found that delicate balance between Kū and Hina; others have found it between Kū and Lono.