Self-Suggestion and the New Huna Theory of Mesmerism and Hypnosis, by Max Freedom Long, [1958], at sacred-texts.com
In past ages, several arts, sciences and other unclassified but compact units of knowledge were developed by slow steps to various levels of perfection.
The science of Mathematics was sufficiently exact to allow almost full perfection. The several arts which were developed have not been greatly advanced even in modern times, although such things as Law, Medicine, Physics and Sociology have advanced to new levels.
Of the unclassified but compact units of knowledge, only one was pushed almost to the top level. This was the unit which we are coming to call "Huna" or, to give the word its translation, "The Secret".
Huna is difficult to classify because it includes at least three poorly developed sciences, two of them still in their infancy, Psychology and Psychic Science. These are the sciences of man considered as a conscious being who lives in a physical body during the period of earthly life, but survives and lives in a different "body" after death. A branch of Psychology which also needs to be included in any survey, is that now studied as a condition of consciousness in which the vague thing called "mind" functions improperly. This is still labeled Abnormal Psychology. It deals with such things as dual personality changes.
Belonging to this classification also is Religion. It is farthest of all from reaching scientific standing.
In sorry fact, it becomes more and more darkened and muddled year by year as dogmas and cults increase, almost all based on "revelation" instead of the sciences of consciousness.
Religion is, in reality, the science of the relationship between man and any living beings higher or more evolved than himself who may have an influence on his life, either here or hereafter.
Ethics or Morals should be considered as separate departments, and naturally fall under Sociology, although always mingling with Religion.
The science of Huna can and does cover and include all of the items listed above. This would make it so complicated that a mountain of books could not describe it fully were it not for the fact that all the dogmas, misinformation and speculations which now clutter or block the paths of the several branches of the one actual science are absent in the approach to Huna.
The known and deduced history of Huna is a very fascinating chapter which carries us from the most remote times up to the present moment.
Little is actually known of the origin of Huna. It may be deduced, however, from the fact that part of the lore can be recognized in the earliest recorded writings of Egypt, that the priests or "Keepers of the Secret" (kahunas), had either lived in the land of the Nile or had been in contact for some time with its peoples .
As Huna possessed a simple version of its secret science as well as a more complicated and carefully guarded version for the more intelligent, we find in early Egypt the simple or exoteric part of the knowledge presented openly and in such a form that
even the men of low intelligence could grasp and use some of the values.
The esoteric or initiatory material of Huna was kept within the hereditary priesthood of the kahunas, never being written down. But in order to allow a lasting and foolproof account of Huna to be preserved for all the ages, a special language was invented, providing a means of giving an inner and outer meaning to any statement of the teachings. Such statements as were made in this "sacred language" formed a code which could not be broken unless one already was familiar with at least part of the Huna lore and with the word-symbols used to name elements of the system.
It is evident that the kahunas and their people made up a race apart from the Egyptians and others with whom they either lived or were closely associated. It is also rather clear that, sometime between the Mosaic and Christian periods, they left and began a long migration to find new homes in what we now call "Polynesia". In their new homes, speaking only the "sacred language", they flourished for a number of centuries, preserving intact their language and the secret knowledge which it had been constructed to conceal and yet reveal.
In their new Pacific Island homes, the kahunas used no writing, depending on memory alone to keep Huna pure and intact. But the initiate kahunas who remained behind, and who may have been of a different race, allowed the writing down of teachings from Huna. The writing was never done in any dialect of the "sacred language", but original statements were translated invariably into some other tongue. This hid from the eyes of the curious the words which had
originally been made to carry double meanings, and made it all but impossible for anyone not familiar with the language of the "Secret" to break the code.
The initiates remaining in the Near East after the migration of the ancestors of the Polynesians, took it upon themselves to put much of Huna into the veiled forms of writing. They produced the Gnostic writings as well as much which was later incorporated with other materials in assembling the New Testament. Some of the veiled writings also crept into later parts of the Old Testament which already contained much Huna legendary lore, of which the story of the Creation and of the Garden of Eden may be said to be typical.
In late years a long study was conducted in Polynesia which resulted, in the year 1931, in the discovery that there had been such a secret system as that of Huna, and in the partial breaking of the code so that the inner teachings could be laid bare. However, it was not until about the year 1950 that the coded Huna contained in the Gnostic and New Testament writings were recognized. At that time it was seen that by translating these writings back into one of the Polynesian dialects, preferably the Hawaiian, the inner teachings could be brought to light through the use of the ancient code.
The inner or esoteric teachings of the Gnostic and Christian writings were found to be that part of Huna always retained for the initiates. The parables attributed to Jesus furnished excellent examples of the way the code was used from times immemorial. The simple outer meaning intended for the less intelligent masses lies on the surface, teaching some simple lesson, but hidden by the code is to be found
information running parallel with all the best findings of modern Psychology and Psychic Science, that is, in so far as they have limped ahead. In addition, the rediscovered Huna system adds much more information to what we have managed to evolve for ourselves before arriving at the present stalemate in those lines of research.
Huna corroborates all we know of the subconscious and conscious parts of mind, but adds much invaluable information about their natures, forces and special abilities. It presents to us the super-conscious and shows its characteristics in turn. As to man in his abnormal mental states, Huna offers some enlightenment where simple disease is not at fault. But, when it comes to the explanation of the startling things uncovered by Psychic Science in its studies of spirits and the "supernatural", Huna offers the only explanations ever found which will explain the mechanics of everything from telepathy to table tipping: from prediction and psychometry to the temporary return in the flesh of the "materialized" dead.
Any person who may wish to check on Huna findings can now purchase a good Hawaiian-English dictionary and a Hawaiian-English New Testament to use in examining the surprisingly clever way in which the original kahunas placed double meanings in words and roots of compounded words to conceal the inner meanings while laying open the outer. The language is very simple to work with in this way, and with the addition of the knowledge of the meaning of a few symbol word meanings, checking can proceed with ease. The main symbol words are "light", for the High Self; "water" for any of the three grades of vital force used by the three "selves" of the man, and
[paragraph continues] "heavy breathing" for the accumulation of extra vital force to be used by the low self in various activities which fall under the heading of "psychic", these including telepathy, the use of mesmerism or any form of suggestion, prayer made in the Huna manner to the High Self, and the production of spiritistic phenomena by the disincarnate including table tipping, levitation, poltergeist activities and even full materialization, apports and transportation. Any mention of the symbol words for "cords, threads, tubes, water ditches or ropes" will point to the sending of a flow of vital force through a strand of invisible or "shadowy" (ectoplasmic) material which may connect the low self with another person or, especially, with its own High Self. The "knot" indicates any of the several things which may prevent such a flow of vital force from the low self to the High Self. A similar symbol meaning is found in any reference to a block or other obstruction of a path. In the Bible, from Isaiah through the New Testament, the "stumbling block" in the path is the symbol most often used, but the "cross" and "crown of thorns" also symbolize these "knots" which we think of as "fixations, complexes or spirit obsessions".
Considering the ease with which anyone can run a check on the present Huna findings, even with no knowledge at all of the Hawaiian language, there is really no excuse at all for anyone to refuse to consider the proofs and evidences which are so greatly important to the sciences covered by Huna in its very wide scope, or the new and penetrating light which it throws on Religion, especially Christianity and those religions in which early Yoga forms a part.
Admittedly, it is and will continue to be hard for
those who have accepted the religious beliefs of any branch of Christianity to bring themselves to face the possibility that what they have come to believe as all the truth possible to obtain, is only the outer part of a large whole. Those who believe that they have already taken all needed steps to win "salvation", may be distressed to learn that there are "mystery" teachings which need to be understood before the full "salvation" can be attained.
While some mention of the inner teachings have remained in the accepted New Testament, much has either been lost or edited out, although many passages containing Huna symbol words have remained, such as, in John I: 10–12:
"The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light (High Self symbol), that all men might through him believe.
"He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Two of the early Church Fathers, Clement and Origen, writing in the years around 200 A.D., gave complete evidence of the existence of the inner side of the Christian teachings. For an easy checking source of this material, Annie Besant's book, "Esoteric Christianity", is recommended. It is to be found in most libraries as it has been placed there by the Theosophical Society. Here are some passages quoted by Mrs. Besant:
Clement, in his "Miscellanies":
"The Lord . . . allowed us to communicate of those divine Mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them. They did not certainly
disclose to the many what did not belong to the many; but to the few to whom He knew that they belonged, who were capable of receiving and being moulded according to them. But secret things are entrusted to speech, not to writing, as is the case with God. And if one say that it is written, 'There is nothing secret which shall not be revealed, nor hidden which shall not be disclosed, 'let him also hear from us, that to him who hears secretly, even what is secret shall be manifested. . . . And to him who is able secretly to observe what is delivered to him, that which is veiled shall be disclosed as truth; and what is hidden to many shall appear manifest to the few. . . . The Mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth of the speaker; rather not in his voice, but in his understanding. . . ."
Note the effort made in this passage to explain and still not explain fully, the fact that a foreign set of words had to be used, and when spoken, must be understood by the one to be initiated. For instance, if the word "water" was used in explaining some part of the Mysteries to the candidate, it would be meaningless unless its hidden meaning of "vital force" had been divulged. It is probable that the necessity for using the words from the "sacred language", caused the eventual loss of the knowledge of the Mysteries. To memorize and retain the symbol words without first learning to speak the complete language, would be difficult. Substituting of words would soon result in the loss or changing of original meanings. In India it is to be supposed that the early writers on Yoga were at least partly initiated into Huna, for the basic Huna method of accumulating extra "mana", or vital force, for various uses was slowly developed into a
set of elaborate breathing exercises, while the Sanskrit word, "prana", which means "breath" or "to breathe", came into use to replace the Huna word, "mana". Or it is possible that some effort to give the symbol or code meaning of Huna, in which "to breathe hard" ("ha") stood for the accumulation and use of vital force.
To return to the evidence of the existence of the inner teaching in Christianity, let us consider statements made by Origen:
"The object of Christianity is that we should become wise. If you come to the books written after the time of Jesus, you will find that those multitudes of believers who hear the parables are, as it were, 'without', and worthy only of exoteric doctrines, while the disciples learn in private the explanation of the parables. For, privately, to his own disciples did Jesus open up all things, esteeming above the multitudes those who desired to know His wisdom."
Here is another bit from Origen which explains how the inner teachings were worked as symbols into supposed historical records. "It is sufficient, however, to represent in the style of a historic narrative what is intended to convey a secret meaning in the garb of history, that those who have the capacity may work out for themselves all that relates to the subject. . . . Now, in the next place, if any one has the capacity let him understand that in what assumes the form of history, and which contains some things that are literally true, while yet it conveys a deeper meaning . . . these remarks are to be understood as being made by us with a concealed meaning. . . ."
In the Gnostic writings, of course, may be found a large variety of attempts to record the substance of
[paragraph continues] Huna or similar mystery teachings without revealing too much. Whether or not the kahunas originated the system of presenting inner and outer teachings, it is not to be denied that in the early Egyptian times when Huna ideas were being absorbed and distorted in the process, there was the secret knowledge reserved for the initiates and mentioned in the inner temple. A similar tradition existed among the Jews where the "veil" of the sanctuary symbolized the division into inner and outer teachings.
In giving an outline of the ten simple elements of which Huna is composed, it can be shown how very simple the system was and is. However, because these elements name things often completely unfamiliar to the reader, or because they name something similar to items about which the reader already has set opinions, there needs to be much explaining and a very considerable effort to show why the Huna concepts are more reasonable than those held in the several modern schools of thought. These expanded presentations may be found in earlier books on Huna, especially "The Secret Science Behind Miracles".
In Huna man is said to be made up of nine parts which are possessed both in life and in the condition of survival after death. One more part, the human physical body raises the count of parts to ten during life on this level.
Primarily, man is made up of three "selves" or spirits. These count as three parts of the man.
Each "self" or spirit of the triune man has a thin and invisible body in which to live. These count as three more parts. They are the "bodies" in which the "selves" live if separated by any chance during
physical life or after death. Normally the low and middle selves blend and intermix their "Shadowy" bodies and surround and impregnate the physical body with them during life, but withdraw and live on together after death as disincarnate spirits. The High Self always lives apart in its own "Shadowy" or "aka" body, to use the Hawaiian word.
Each self possesses the life force or vital force, which is called "mana" by the kahunas, and which is symbolized as "water". There are three grades or potencies of this life force, and each is counted as a part of the man, adding up to a total of nine.
The physical body counts as one part, when it is being used, and so the number 10 has come down to us as the "perfect number".
The number 3 is a symbol standing for either the three selves, the three shadowy bodies or the three grades of mana or vital force.
The number 4 symbolizes the low self, its vital force, its shadowy body and the physical body, over which it has charge.
All such uses of numbers and geometric figures such as that of the triangle, the five pointed star and the cross, have been used in the past, and one who knows the significance of the symbols knows Huna in broad outline. To know how to use the knowledge of the ten elements is, of course, less simple.
We have seen that in the use of mesmerism and suggestion, there are involved elements not included in the list of human elements but similar in some ways to one of them. For instance, we have the tiny thought forms which are made by actions of the consciousness of the two lower selves. These are given bodies made of the shadowy substance of the low self,
and they can float along on a flow of vital force as it moves by way of a shadowy thread or cord from one person to another, producing a telepathic response. Or the thought forms may flow with the gift of empowering vital force to the High Self as the "seed" from which the answer to the prayer will be grown to maturity and made manifest on the physical level.
The unrationalized thoughts or impressions held by the low self form the fixations or complexes which are so important to Huna and are symbolized by the cross of the crucifixion (or the simple X cross denoting that a path is closed), as well as the "stumbling block in the path". Here again we have thought forms in bodies made of the invisible ectoplasmic substance.
A companion piece to the complex is the disincarnate spirit, be it a low or a middle self, of the sort referred to as "devils" in the New Testament. These dead individuals may be made up of a low plus a middle self, in which case they are normal spirits. Or the two selves may have been separated by some accident of death or because of long illness and unconscious periods prior to death. In any event, the low self alone (being irrational and so more dangerous) or the normal two-self spirit may obsess the living to some degree. Complete obsession means insanity, but partial obsession may show as a large or small degree of response to the control exerted on the living by the obsessive dead. While such influencing of the living by the dead is usually bad, it can be for good, although the spirits moved by a desire to bring good are seldom long in contact with the physical level of life after their passing over.
A further addition to the ten elements of man, as
found in Huna, relates to spirits or entities ranging higher or falling lower than man in the evolutionary march. Above the High Selves are said to be level after level of Higher Beings, some once having been humans, some not. Below the human level range the lesser entities, most of whom are evolving slowly upward toward life as men. However, there is ever provided a body made of the shadowy substance in some degree or other of rarification for the entity to inhabit, and there is always some potency of the life force or "mana".
The Huna lore presents no perfected God, but, instead, a great and ever-evolving conglomerate of consciousness evolving from low to high, and always embodied in some form of the shadowy substance while empowered or made alive by the life force in some of its many potencies or vibrational rates.
Each evolutionary level of life is marked by its characteristic awareness as a level of conscious being. The low self has only the reasoning ability of the higher animals, itself still being an animal in a body. But it has the power of memory.
The middle self does not remember. It relies on the low self to do all the remembering for the man while it uses inductive reason, which is its mental gift, and so is able to guide the low self.
The High Self has a still more evolved type of mentation which is difficult for the lower selves to understand except to see what such mentation can accomplish in action. It can see into the future to a certain distance and can change the future to a large extent for the individual if asked to do so and if given a steady daily supply of the basic vital force to use in making the changes. It can use the vital force to
make instant changes in physical matter under the right conditions, and so bring about instant healing. The limits of its ability to make such miraculous changes remains unknown in so far as that part of Huna which has been recovered to date is concerned.
The departments of Ethics or Morals, in Huna, are covered by the negative command NOT to hurt others, and on the positive side of the inner teaching by the command to love and help where this is possible. One is the command for the animal or low self and for the less evolved masses. The other is for the more evolved and intelligent as represented by the middle self, and exemplified in the lives of the High Selves and Higher Beings of all levels.