Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review - Foundations of Huna

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Book Review - Foundations of Huna

About the Book
"We all have everything we need for personal transformation at any moment." So says international trainer, coach, and kumu (teacher) of Huna, Dr. Matthew B. James. Over the past fifteen years, Dr. James has helped thousands of students-- from elite athletes to CEO's to human potential trainers -- to reclaim the meaning, joy, and excitement of life.
 
Too many of us live lives of "quiet desperation." We continue to struggle to get the basic "nuts and bolts" of life that come so easily to others. Or we might acquire all the things that we thought would bring happiness – the home, the family, the careers – but somehow they fall painfully short. And despite the shelves of self-help books, the hours in "get-better" seminars, the years of affirmations and therapy, we still end up with the same questions:

Why do we feel more sadness than joy? More stress than excitement?
How did life become so lifeless, routinized?
What's the point of it all anyway?

Matthew B. James, Ph.D., asked these questions earlier than most of us. He practiced Transcendental Meditation at five years old, pursued training in contemporary therapeutic disciplines during his teens, earned various graduate degrees in his twenties, and recently completed his Ph.D. in Integrative Psychology. But it was his training in Huna, the indigenous Hawaiian science of consciousness, that finally brought lasting change into his own life.

 "We've forgotten how to work with the fundamental power we each have within," says Dr. James. "We've become dependent on governments, medications, religions, therapies, spiritual leaders. Huna teaches us to become independent self-transformers by accessing and effectively using our own intrinsic personal power."

Known as the Trainer of Trainers, Dr. James integrates the ancient practices of Huna with cutting-edge therapeutic techniques to help us build the solid foundation necessary for true transformation. His powerful trainings teach us to:

  •  Awaken creativity and potential by clearing limiting beliefs and past emotional challenges:  Ho'oku'u
  • Open ourselves to inner peace, freedom, and love by healing our relationships: Ho'oponopono
  • Experience joy and vitality by tapping and aligning with our essential life force: Ho'omana

"Personal transformation is not about a weekend seminar that gets you high then leaves you flat within days. You've always had all the answers, all the power you need within yourself. But true personal transformation requires a solid foundation in the workings, the laws, of consciousness. The ancient Hawaiians had this foundation and were able to create health and happiness effortlessly. Any one of us can do the same."

About the Author

Matthew B. James, Ph.D., international trainer, lecturer, and educator, embodies the principles he teaches. While devoting himself to his integrity, Dr. James has built an international firm dedicated to personal transformation and heads a university which provides in-depth education in consciousness studies. Throughout his work, Dr. James weaves effective modern technologies with timeless ancient wisdom.

Dr. James has been immersed in spiritual studies and the science of human potential since the age of five. He began his training in childhood, learning meditation and siddha yoga directly from such teachers as Baba Muktananda, as well as studying Huna, the primordial science of consciousness of Hawaii, from Uncle George Na'ope. In the '80's, Dr. James studied directly with several well-known teachers in the human potential movement, including Tony Robbins and Richard Bandler. In the last fifteen years, Dr. James has become the Trainer of Trainers himself. Chris Howard and many other prominent trainers have spent time studying with his organization, learning both the modern techniques for personal transformation and the ancient practices of Huna.
  
Dr. James is President of American Pacific University, which offers degrees in esoteric studies, as well as in clinical therapeutic disciplines. He is also President of Empowerment Partnership, a firm that delivers transformational seminars and intensive trainings throughout the US, Canada, Asia, and Europe.

Most importantly, Dr. James has the honor and responsibility of carrying on the lineage of Kuauhaoali'i  Huna. He has been a student of Huna, the ancient science of consciousness and energy healing of Hawaii, since 1990. The lineage Dr James continues includes the Bray family and Uncle George Na'ope (named by the State of Hawaii as a Golden Living Treasure). Dr. James is committed to teaching the Huna tradition, fully and undiluted, to as many students as are called to it.

Dr. James's degrees include an MA in Organizational Management, a DHC in Clinical Hypnotherapy, and a Ph.D. in Integrative Psychology.

My Take On The Book
I had never heard of Huna before reading this book. I will say though that Dr. James does a great job at making the concepts of Huna to a person that is new to the concepts. 


I was surprised at how ancient Huna was and how the concepts transcend and connect closely with spirituality, at least in my point of view. I was interested to see and read the accounts of how this ancient tradition assists and applies to your own
health, career and family life.


I found this book easy to read and after reading it, I have hope for a a higher satisfaction within my life and know that if I work hard I will be moving forward to find the true passion and happiness that Dr. James speaks of in regards to the concepts of Huna! 

 
If this book sounds like one that you would like in your own library you can find it on Amazon!

1 comment:

MM said...

Contrary to what this book and others may lead you believe, Huna is not a Hawaiian practice or religion. We Native Hawaiians also take offense to the insinuation by Huna teachers and practitioners that this Huna religion is so old and secret that even we don't know about it. They are speaking of a people who can chant their genealogies back to the Creator and were so aware and observant that they had names for virtually every species (not just genus) of flora, fauna, and geological formation that existed on the islands.

Finally, no one has been able to verify or identify any of the people or documents that Tad James, Matthew James, Serge King, and their forbearer, Max Freedom Long, have offered as their evidences of authenticity. Yet, many of us agree that if Huna philosophy and practice have helped others, it does not need the fabrication of being Hawaiian to stand on its own merit. The ancestors of Native people have already been raped and pillaged enough.

I ask you to keep this in mind as you read this book: Not one of its claims to Hawaiian culture is true.