7/28/2019 Getting Centered

1/3

GETTING CENTERED

by Serge Kahili King

Although they use different terms for the concept, many religions and

philosophies emphasize the high importance of "being centered." They may tell

you in their own language to be centered in God, in Love, in Spirit, in Service, inYour Heart, in Beauty, in The Present Moment, or in the space two inches below

your navel (which goes by many names in Eastern traditions). There's no doubt

that it's a great idea to be there. I want to talk about how to get there.

Naturally, I'm going to call upon Hawaiian tradition for help. The Hawaiian

"place" for being centered is thepiko , the navel, which also means a "center."

One of the names for Easter Island isKa Piko O Ke Ao , the "Navel of the

World". Quite a number of ancient cities or areas have used that or a similar

name for themselves, and that gives us a clue to a deeper meaning. In this respect

it refers to "that point from which, toward which, and around which everythingelse moves." Literally and figuratively, the navel represents our connection to the

source of life. Symbolically then, the navel is a direct conduit to the source itself,

and to be centered in the navel is to be centered in the source.

In case you are starting to wonder whether this is a promotion for meditating on

one's navel, rest assured that it isn't. Navel meditation is a good technique for

certain things, but my point is leading elsewhere. In Hawaiian culture the navel

area is also the center for the "heart, mind, and feelings" because these are

alternate meanings for the wordna'au , "intestines." Another word, mana'o ,

relates to thought, mind, belief and opinion, but in addition to expectation,concentration and memory. Hawaiians recognized intellectual thought as being

something quite different and associated it with the brain.Manawa , the key

word for the Huna principle "Now is the moment of power," also means "heart,

feelings, affections" in addition to "the crown of the head." To confuse you a

little further before I make sense of all this, the wordpiko can be used for the

crown of the head and the genitals, as well as the navel. Have patience, the point

will be made.

It seems reasonable to suppose that in order to be centered you have to know

what centeredness is like. Surprisingly, very little is written or said about the

experience itself. The terms "bliss" and "oneness" have been used a lot, but they

don't really convey anything to someone who has never been there. It's like trying

to describe your trip though the Sahara Desert to friends and family back in your

home town who have never traveled outside of their own area. First they try to

look interested, then they go blank, and finally, as soon as they can, they start to

fill you in on the local gossip. In order to want to be somewhere, there has to be

7/28/2019 Getting Centered

2/3

something there that you would consider worthwhile, something you can relate to

as a good thing.

So here is my description of what centeredness is like. I can do this because I've

been there, and I'm still working on the skills to get back there more often.

Anyway, one characteristic of centeredness is peacefulness. When you arecentered you feel peaceful. You have no conflicts causing stress, your mind is

clear, and your body is relaxed in a way that really feels good. Another

characteristic is loving connectedness. You feel loved and you feel like loving

everyone and everything around you. Fear ceases to be. A third characteristic is

confidence. You feel able to do what you want and able to handle any

circumstances that may arise. It's a very creative feeling where anger and

frustration are non-existent. The last characteristic in my description is harmony.

You feel like a significant part of everything that was, is and will be. All sense of

insignificance, alienation, and being out of touch with life is gone.

Sounds great, right? Sure. Sounds impossible for most people, huh? It might

sound that way, but it isn't. Anyone can do it, but that doesn't mean it's easy to

do. If it were easy I wouldn't be writing about it, partly to help you and partly to

help myself. If it were easy we'd all be there right now. But it's do-able.

What I'm about to give you is a way to get there. It isn't so much a technique as it

is a certain kind of behavior to practice. What I'm giving you won't lock you into

centeredness (I don't know if that's possible or even desirable), but it will help

you get back to center when you've strayed away. The objective here is to get

closer to centeredness each time you try. It isn't a promise that you'll experiencethe whole thing on the first try. If this can help you get a little more centered than

you are - a little more peaceful, a little more loving, a little more confident, a

little more in harmony - then that's a good thing, especially if you can keep

getting a little closer every day.

Remember all the Hawaiian stuff above? It leads to the idea that feelings, or

emotions, are the meeting place of mind and body. They are the means by which

your mind and body communicate, with each other and with the world. Feelings

are your feedback. The better you feel the more centered you are. So the practice

is one of doing something that will make you feel better, without a lot of effort,something specific. All you have to do is to practice giving, the kind expressed in

the Hawaiian wordmanawale'a. It means "to give freely and willingly' and a root

translation would be "glad heart."

What do you give? Anything you want, as long as it's done consciously, freely

and willingly. But you don't have to be limited to material things. And it's not a

7/28/2019 Getting Centered

3/3

question of giving anything away. It's about giving gifts. Here are some ideas of

what you can give: acknowledgement, attention, appreciation, gratitude, prayers,

wishes, encouragement, support, presents, and healing or helpful thoughts and

acts. You can give to other people, to anything in your environment, to anything

or anyone you know of, to God or the Universe, and to your own body, mind and

spirit. The objective is to give as much as you can as often as you can, and togive with the conscious intention of giving a gift. It sounds easier than it is. At

some point you are likely to experience resistance or strange sensations as the

practice stirs up deep patterns of thought and behavior. But the path of giving

leads to centeredness.

The state of being centered is well illustrated in this Hawaiian proverb which

refers to a person who can remain calm in the face of difficulty:

He po'i na kai uli, kai ko'o, 'a'ohe hina puko'a

Though the sea be deep and rough, the coral rock remains standing