Keep It Pono, Do The Right Thing

The word Pono means many things to the Hawaiian People. The most common interpretation is the meaning, Do the Right Thing. This is a talk and meditation on how you can learn to listen to your inner self and find out how to do the right thing in your life.

Transcript

Aloha,

I'm Reverend Cindy Palas and I thought I'd talk about an Ioan word that's called pono.

Isn't that a beautiful word?

P-O-N-O,

Pono.

And I've been living in Hawaii for over 30 years now and there's some wonderful words which you just can't quite match in other cultures.

And pono's one of them.

Of course you probably have heard a lot about ho'ono pono pono.

Notice pono pono pono.

Pono's very much at the center of that.

But maybe in that practice of forgiveness,

Pono comes into play.

But the word pono gets used a lot beyond just in ho'ono pono pono.

Because pono means to be right,

To do things right.

And that doesn't necessarily mean righteousness,

Although it is interpreted that way sometimes.

But I think in every practice in every culture,

I know the American Indians have the red road.

You follow the red road,

Things go right.

I think there's always some interesting,

Deep,

Deep connections in our souls to doing what is right.

And that brings up a lot of points like what's your motivation?

Do you have a conscience?

Are you listening to your conscience?

There are hundreds of words and phrases that are deeply rooted in these ancient cultures of Hawaii here.

And this is what we hear most,

I guess,

The word aloha,

Which is a way of living,

A way of being,

Of carrying the presence,

That living spirit with us.

And it's so,

So beautiful.

But pono is a very,

Very wonderful part of living with aloha.

And there's a state motto we have here in Hawaii.

And it translates,

The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

Mauke ea o ka aina a kapono.

The aina a kapono.

Aina i kapono,

Sorry.

The I isn't E in Hawaiian.

Aina i kapono means we are actually,

The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.

And not just the land,

It's the life of the people as well.

I mean,

Pono is so powerful because it's applied to so many ways of our life in the community.

And in the Hawaiian dictionary,

And there's a few of them,

But this is the one that gets used most often,

There's six Hawaiian meanings and 83 English translations of the word pono.

That's a lot.

Just a few of the direct translations for pono in English show that it's from that idea of goodness,

Uprightness,

Morality,

Correct your proper procedure.

I mean,

I see even here in Hawaii bumper stickers that just say pono.

Or sometimes it's a little sticker on the window that says pono,

Live with pono.

The objective of excellence,

Personal communal well-being,

Welfare,

Shared ideas of wealth,

Such as equity.

It's also a way of communicating the benefit,

A purpose of something.

And it's also a true condition of nature.

So looking at these wonderful meanings of the word,

You can see how powerful the word pono is.

I wrote a poem that relates to that,

And I want to share that with you.

It says,

Before the light of day,

The stars sing their hymn as a lay,

A blessing of their cosmic mysteries,

In harmony with the universe in such a symphonic display that the soul comprehends this message,

For spirit speaks in light.

And it's up to us to convey the language that's understood,

When what mere words can't even begin to say.

Let me know your language,

Lord.

Let me be your instrument,

I pray.

And let me carry the song so eternal light,

The eternal light of the stars sing forth in their own very way.

Let me know your spirit,

Lord.

Let me be inspired to receive the fire that burst the cosmos,

That from the silence speaks.

For yours is the eternal song.

You hold the purpose I seek.

And in the time that is given here,

May I serve your loving energy that makes all of life complete.

Let me know your language,

Lord.

Let me be your instrument,

I pray.

And carry the song so eternal that the stars sing it forth every day.

So there's a bit of the intention.

Now,

I know His Holiness the Dalai Lama always gets up early to meditate.

And he takes the time in the morning when he gets up to make sure his motivation is correct.

Motivation is very,

Very,

Very important.

It is our compass.

It's our rudder.

It's our direction,

Right?

So you have to also look at what is your motivation.

Are you in Pono?

Are you in harmony?

Are you doing the right thing in a given situation?

So this is something we all can try to live with,

This concept of being living with Pono,

With what's right,

Doing what's right.

An example of that was like,

We'll say some dog knocked over a neighbor's trash bin.

And you go ahead and you pick it up,

You know?

You do something that's nice.

So it involves kindness as well.

And doing things in a way that keeps all of life in balance with good actions.

So we try to live that way.

And of course,

That's not always easy.

And sometimes if we're busy,

Aloha and Pono can go out the window.

So what makes Pono work?

Pono works not because you have to do what's right.

It's because you have a passion.

You really want to do it because you understand the good that is there.

When you do act in the right way,

When you do the right thing.

There was a movie that just came out,

Do the Right Thing.

Doing the right thing is so basic in life.

And it also ties in with our connection to our inner voice,

Our inner guidance,

Our inner self,

Our inner soul.

So let's take a few minutes here and just breathe and let's set our motivation and our opening breaths here.

And let's really kind of take a very clear,

Deep look at what is motivating us.

Because it's so important.

It can really be the energy that you put into your life that you may not even be aware of.

Sometimes it's an old pattern that sets your motivation.

Is your motivation based in ego consciousness?

Or is it really based to fulfill what your true purpose is?

So breathing in deeply,

Breathing in that clear light,

That Pono energy.

Breathing it in deeply and holding it for a couple of seconds.

And just allowing yourself to breathe it out.

Being totally comfortable,

Totally aligned with your inner purpose.

Breathing in and holding your pure energy from the light of your soul.

And allowing that light to fill every cell of your body as you breathe out.

And now let's breathe in some light and be aware of how your body feels as you breathe out slowly.

Feel yourself,

Feel your energy around your head.

Be aware of how you're holding your head.

Be aware of your breath.

Take a few minutes here just to be aware of yourself.

Releasing any tension,

Any stress in your head area,

In your neck area.

Are you holding any stress or tension in your shoulders?

Breathe in and release any tension going down into your heart.

And go deep into your heart here.

Breathing in energy of love into your heart.

And allowing that energy to build up a clear path to the love within your heart.

Breathing in gratitude for that love in your heart.

And breathing out,

Allowing your heart to be free of any blocks.

And breathing in,

Let that energy of love pour on forth down through the rest of your stomach and your spleen and your liver,

How's your lower back,

The base of your spine.

Is there anything there you need to forgive,

Anything you need to release?

Are there any emotions that need your love right now?

And your healing energy,

Sending that energy there to whatever needs to be healed and released and loved,

Loved,

Loved.

And allowing the energy to go deeper into your thighs and your knees and your calves.

And now see all of yourself in a beautiful circle of pure white light all around your entire body extending out six feet.

Circle with gold.

You are in a sacred place within your soul right here in your body.

And allow yourself to be in touch with your soul's energy.

And ask yourself from that place of the objective observer,

Am I clear in what my motivation is?

Do I have clarity as to what my true purpose is?

What are you aligned with as you're motivating for us each day?

Are you living a life that is pono?

A life that is aligned with what is right?

Are you able to hear yourself speak to you and guide you?

Take a couple of minutes just to build that beautiful bridge of communication from your soul to your mind.

See yourself as an open channel receiving direct impressions and guidance.

Let your soul be your compass.

Let the energy that is pono guide you in doing the right thing and being clear as to the right thing to always do in your life.

Breathe that energy deeply,

Deeply,

Deeply in.

And take a moment to perceive what for you is your motivation.

What is pono for you?

What is really right and the right thing to do?

What makes you strong in your body,

In your mind,

In your soul,

In your life,

In your work,

In your love relationship?

See this beautiful energy that is so empowering coming to you right now.

If there's anything you need to forgive,

Release it.

Release it and forgive the other person for anything that must be forgiven right now.

Release it,

Release it.

And let yourself send that energy love.

If there's anything in yourself that needs to be forgiven right now,

Allow yourself to be forgiven and send yourself loving compassion and understanding and clearing.

Set that energy free,

Free,

Free and let it go free.

Add any ties to anything that may have occurred around it that is not pono.

And now allow yourself to feel that clarity,

Feel that motivation,

Feel that light and that love and that strength when you are aligned with your highest purpose.

Breathe it in and as you breathe out,

Say thank you God.

And so it is coming fully back into your consciousness,

Feeling purified and clear,

Forgiven and strong.

A mama,

A mama,

Ua noa,

The prayer is freed.

May you always walk your life with the total love of Aloha.

In doing what is pono,

What is right.

God bless you always.

Reviews

Extraordinarily beautiful meditation, perhaps one of the very best, love it!!

Thank you for teaching us about the wisdom of pono. May all beings flow with the energy of pono.

beautiful meditation thank you

Beautiful thank you for sharing with us 💜🕊

So inspired and energized after listening to this. Thank you!!