THE DEEPER MEANING OF ALOHA by Curby Ho`ikeamaka Rule

For those who follow the path of Huna, or are fortunate enough to live in Hawai'i, it is common for us to use the word Aloha. We use it in greetings and farewells and in expressing love. But the word means even more, it is a way of life.

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".

The spirit of Aloha was an important lesson taught to the children of the past because it was about the world of which they were a part. One early teaching goes like this:

Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!
As the child grew, the need for a fundamental code of ethics was taught. This code is found within a deeper layer of the meaning of the word Aloha. The code is derived from one of the acronymic meanings of Aloha.

A, ala, watchful, alertness
L, lokahi, working with unity
O, oia'i'o, truthful honesty
H, ha'aha'a, humility
A, ahonui, patient perseverance

The kahuna David Bray interprets this code as "Come forward, be in unity and harmony with your real self, God, and mankind. Be honest, truthful, patient, kind to all life forms, and humble." He also stated that to the Hawaiian of old, Aloha meant "God in us."

So far, within Aloha, we have found an explanation of our place in the world and a code of ethics to help us with our interactions in the world. The only thing we are missing is our "prime directive" while we are here, and that too can be found within the root words that make up Aloha.

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

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

But another layer of meaning can 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, souring food), a product of an energy transformation (the mold), and an effort to get or obtain something.

To me this sounds exactly 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.

Another translation of Aloha gives us the a prime method of acquiring the Mana or spiritual influence, to use in manifesting. Breathing in the present moment. Awareness of your breath and correct normal breathing increases Mana and concentrated breathing increases mana even more.