Aloha.
Aloha is a Hawaiian word and it's associated with a greeting,
Hello or goodbye.
But did you know the literal meaning of aloha is the presence of breath or the breath of life?
And for the Hawaiian people,
There is more,
There is the aloha spirit,
Which is an attitude and expresses actual guidelines that can help us live lives based in kindness,
Patience,
Respect,
Togetherness,
Affection,
Empathy,
Peace and love.
Aloha spirit.
That's what they call it.
The aloha spirit.
The aloha spirit,
The coordination of mind and heart within each person.
It brings each person to the self.
Each person must think and emote good feelings toward others.
And aloha spirit is actually written into the Hawaiian statutes,
Offering a mutual regard and affection,
Extending warmth and caring with no obligation in return,
The essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence.
Aloha means that you hear what is not said to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.
Let's practice.
Let's embody.
Let's inhabit the aloha spirit together.
Get comfortable either seated or lying down.
If you feel comfortable,
Close your eyes and let's just breathe together.
Taking a breath in and a breath out.
Easy,
Gentle breathing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And allow your attention to rest with your heart as you breathe in and out.
Gently placing your attention on your heart.
The ripple effect of aloha,
Its deep meaning,
Begins by loving and with loving yourself.
Breathing into your heart.
Tapping into the love of self.
Having a life of aloha is filling your heart so full that all that love and empathy and compassion and respect and togetherness,
All that love and peace spills out of your heart and into the world so that you can't help but spread love wherever you go and to whomever you meet.
Breathing into your heart,
I invite you to practice the aloha spirit first on yourself.
Asking yourself the question,
How can I love myself today?
How can I show myself compassion and empathy today?
And if you have a journal by your side,
I invite you to turn toward your journal and answer these questions.
How can I express the aloha spirit?
Love myself,
Have compassion for myself,
Be kind to myself today.
I'll give you some time and I'll come back.
Let's proceed.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
As you're writing in your journal or breathing into these questions,
You might ask yourself,
How can I offer and share the aloha spirit?
How can I offer and share the aloha spirit in my life?
What tiny action might I take to express and embody this spirit,
This attitude of kindness and patience,
Compassion,
Respect,
Togetherness,
Affection,
Empathy,
Peace,
And love?
How might I move this out into the world,
Share this?
Is there something I can do or some things I can do to share this spirit?
I'll give you some time to contemplate and write if you wish,
And I'll come back.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
There is a beautiful ripple effect of aloha.
As you use the word aloha,
As you live and embody and infuse your life with aloha,
With a pure heart and good intention,
The more you express this beautiful spirit of love and compassion,
The more it comes back to you.
So I invite you to live the aloha spirit wherever you are and whatever you do.
I invite you to infuse yourself every day with this beautiful spirit of the Hawaiian people,
This gift they've given to us.
And let's pay it forward and give the gift of the aloha spirit to those we meet in our lives and to ourselves.
Thank you so much.
Aloha.
