Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby's Total Health Newsletter #46. Week ending Apr 18th, 2010
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• This week's Quote

1. 3-D Movies And Their Health Hazards
2. The Sacred Power Of Huna [Hawai'ian shamanism]
3. Accentuating A Positive Attitude
4. Teleclass You May Have Missed
5. Caution: Many Women Risk Birth Defect Meds Without Knowing
6. What's In A Word?

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This Week's Quote:

Huna [Hawai'ian shamanism] teaches that life begins at the moment of conception, which is called aka, the word for "first glimmer of moonlight". Conception was an incredibly joyful act, in which the participants were absolutely aware that the sublime urge of orgasm would result in new light, new life. Conception of a child was a conscious act, shown by the phrase au moe laua a i laila ko'u, "they slept together and a child came." Moe means "dream", as well as "sleep", and a child is believed to arise out of the "shared dream" of a couple.

Rima Morrell, The Sacred Power Of Huna (see item 2)

1. 3-D Movies And Their Health Hazards

Actually, just checking the working of my new video camera. But I thought I might as well make it useful, while I was at it!

2. The Sacred Power of Huna: Spirituality and Shamanism in Hawai’i

A book by Rima A. Morrell; this is a review I wrote for her when the book first came out.

I love this book! The writings of Max Freedom Long are the undisputed authority on the secret science of Huna but his words are dry and lack the sparkle of this authoress. Rima's pages are tumbling with the joy of new-found knowledge and she is able to communicate her own sense of wonder and excitement successfully to the reader.

The book begins almost as a travelogue of Hawai’i – the real Hawai’i, not the tourist glitzy fake. The unfolding poetic descriptions make it seem, indeed, like a glowing islandscape of magic, rhythm and light. It seems inevitable that a system of supernatural powers and transformational rapture should arise in this environment.

In Huna, consciousness is divided into the subconscious mind (similar to Freud’s), the conscious and the super-conscious, or higher self. It is remarkable that an isolated island philosophy should have come up with this preferred model centuries, maybe millennia, before Western sophisticates adopted it.

Right away one is made aware that the nuances of the Polynesian language, and the secret Huna language in particular, are crucial to the mind structures which give rise to the magical process. I was left wondering, therefore, if anyone who does not speak the language can ever truly grasp the inner secrets of Huna. I’m not sure that it is possible; but I am impressed by Rima’s determination to unlock the meanings of the words she uses to involve her readers. As someone who loves language and its derivations, I personally found the erotic and magical overtones fascinating and deeply instructive.

Perhaps giving the Hawaiian names for each night of the month is going a little too far but I was quite entranced by word groupings such as the weed-tangled-waterway (the vulva) and scooping out the eyeballs (infidelity). Ua kanaka is interesting: “with person”, meaning pregnant - it is difficult to see how abortion could be contemplated in a culture which uses this expression. And of course the many different words for “rainbow” – so appropriate to a land of water and light.

Rima takes the Hula dance as her central platform. It is far deeper and more spiritual than its populist image. Hula is a true shamanic ritual, designed to induce an altered state of consciousness and open up pathways to the higher self. This is no surprise, given the manifest eroticism that is at the core of Hawaiian culture. Sex is seen as a legitimate vehicle of the sacred, in fact a path to the spiritual, much as it is in the Hermetic and Hindu traditions.

Huna is ultimately about energy and harmony – harmony of the subconscious, conscious and superconscious. But also, as depicted by Rima, it is about beauty and about love and about the wonders of the natural world. She constantly draws metaphors between the landscape descriptions and the terrain within our hearts and minds. Self and others can all benefit from the guidance of Huna, if only we knew more! Rima’s delightful book will fulfill a vital role in introducing many people to what she describes as the “bejewelled path” to knowledge, through Huna

If you are looking for revelations of secret technique, you might be disappointed. But the book does offer practical suggestions at the end, such as turning a holiday in Hawaii into a pilgrimage. I approve of this, since that’s all the most of us will ever have the opportunity to do.

Perhaps the key to personal grace, as the authoress says, is that the real land of Huna moku or “secret island of paradise”, which resides deep within each of us.

order here on Amazon

[this is not an affiliate link. I just LOVE the book]

3. Accentuating A Positive Attitude

Recently I talked about optimism; how it boosts the immune system.

Some years ago I published in a blog the story of a Scotsman who was depressed. He was in an American psychiatric hospital and actually ready for the anesthetic before being administered electro-convulsion therapy (ECT), when some clever nurse spotted the real problem causing his depression: he’s Scottish!

True story: no, really!

Scots have a natural disposition to see things gloomily. Perhaps the fact they always see the glass half empty is the reason for the widespread drunkenness (joke!) But the Irish are perennial optimists and they get drunk in about the same proportion as Scots.

Thing is, a cheerful attitude is not just a mind thing. It’s reflected in the physical body too. Cheerful, willing and optimistic people are generally healthier, have stronger hearts, and tend to live longer. They're even more resistant to colds.

Optimism can be measured on an EEG. Enthusiastic people have more activity in the left prefrontal lobes of their brains, while those with more active right prefrontal lobes tend to get stuck in negative emotions. Maybe a bit counter-intuitive! The r-brain types who like to boast their creative, lovey-dovey side seem a miserable lot by comparison with us hard left-brainers!

A brain imaging study found that, when asked to think about future positive events, the more optimistically inclined had higher activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, which may be significant (sorry for that quick bout of Latin diarrhea; all cleaned up now). It’s a part of the brain which is located along the midline and seems to play a role in moderating emotional reactions. Malfunctions in this area can cause depression or anxiety.

Here's something positive:

Depressed? Lost? Feel inadequate? Lonely?

A sensational new drug will help you!
Click below to learn more (click anyway, it's a joke!)

Sight challenged subscribers download the mp3 file here

4. Recent Teleclass You May Have Missed

I recorded a few teleclasses recently, on the theme of logic and mind powers. The latest was about how to grow any project, business or enterprise, from nothing to abundance. I call it my "Structures Of Change". Could you use that sort of knowledge?

It's just logic really. But the gurus don't teach this! According to them, all you do is think positive and what you want will fall out of the sky. Oh yeah?

I posted the recording for you all to listen here:

Structures Of Change Recording

5. Caution: Many Women Risk Birth Defect Meds, Without Knowing

It will not surprise my readers that many prescription meds can cause birth defects. But what is shocking is the ignorance of doctors about this issue; hence many women were not being counseled to take birth control precautions when the prescription was written.

The general rule, drummed into me at med school decades ago, is any woman of "child bearing age" is equivalent to a pregnancy. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHEN SHE MIGHT GET PREGNANT. She may, indeed, already be pregnant, without having missed her period! So women of that age have special demands in prescribing, which require exceptional care and knowledge. Do doctors show this additional skill? Uh, nope...

A US study carried out at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that one in six women of reproductive age filled a prescription for a medication labeled by the FDA as increasing risk of fetal abnormalities. Yet none had been given adequate contraception advice.

Unfortunately, fetal damage from whatever cause often happens before the woman is even aware she is pregnant. By the eighth week, fingers and toes are all present and the chance of real deformity is passed. By the 10th week, the brain is expanding at the rate of about 250,000 more neurons per minute.

It’s a marvel!

6. What's In A Word?

Halt

It doesn't just mean to stop!

Halt means to walk with a limp; be crippled, lame; also: to have doubts, to hesitate, to waiver. It's from Old English, whereas halt, to stop, comes from the Old High German halten, hence halz.

It sounds strange, to say "He was halt" but that's how it's used. Remember the expression "the halt and the lame"?

So, that's all for this week!

Be well; find the sacred in all you do, otherwise don't do it!

Prof.

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