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Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter                    
                                                                                                                               Photo by Janet Clark

'A'ole e 'olelo mai ana ke ahi ua ana ia.
Fire will never say that it has had enough.
The fire of anger will burn as long as it has something to feed upon.
 
'Olelo No'eau - Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings #225           
Collected, translated and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui   
   
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In This Issue
Linda Reaux

Upcoming Events 


MAHALO NUI LOA
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
Poliahu Shawls
Poliahu Shawls Available 
for Sale!
They are wonderful as 
 Holiday Presents!

We have a beautiful array of Poliahu shawls hand-screened in Waimea in different colors.

Poliahu is the snow goddess of Mauna Kea. 
The mountain is Poliahu. 
Poliahu is the mountain. 
We are Mauna Kea,
Mauna Kea is us.

Shawls are $35 each and go to support the effort of protecting Mauna Kea.

Email Kumu June or come to the Zen Life & Meditation Center at 38 Lake Street in Oak Park to purchase one.

 For information about what's happening check out:
 NEW Mauna Kea Stickers for sale
Autumn in Oak Park
November 8, 2015
 
An incident with my husband a few days ago caused angry feelings to arise in me.  We were preparing breakfast.  He was sitting at the dining room table waiting for water to boil for his poached eggs.   

He began complaining bitterly (it seemed to me) about how we make so many announcements after sitting practice but don't announce what's really important.   He's said this before to me but not with as much emotion. I hadn't really heard him before.  

But I heard him this time.   I also "heard" something extra - something that wasn't there - something I projected onto the situation.  I heard him attacking me in some way - suggesting that it was my fault that announcements of upcoming events didn't emphasize what was really important.   I reacted defensively and said, "Why are you talking this way?  It sounds just like kvetching to me!"

He immediately toned his manner down when he heard what I said and realized what he was doing.  I continued a bit harshly, "I'm just starting to have my breakfast and I have to listen to this?!"

We teach at our zen center that various situations can stimulate negative emotions in us.  When that happens we have a choice to continue to make more drama for ourselves and others (having the emotion work us) or start the process of working with the emotion.  

The first thing to do - then or later - is to name the emotion.  For me it was anger.  Second is to identify the intensity of the emotion on a scale of 1 - 10.  10 being most intense.  Mine was 8.  If the intensity is over 5 or 6, it's best to have a cooling off period before doing or saying anything.  It's hard to think straight when you're angry.

Third is to identify the trigger.  The trigger was my husband complaining about the length of announcements, letting off some steam.  

The fourth step is interpretation.  What is the story that I was telling myself?  My story was that it was my fault and that I wasn't good enough.  The story can be very seductive and may be quite habitual so even though the story is making you miserable, you keep staying with it.  Notice that behavior if you can.

The fifth step is to become embodied which means to shift the focus from your mind to your body and really see what's going on there.  You'll have to shift from "knowing" what happened to opening to a more spacious "not knowing." 

Set your thoughts of being right aside and fully bear witness to your body.  The body has incredible wisdom.  When I did that, I noticed that my eyes felt a little squinty like there was pressure in my head.  I noticed my chest and neck felt tight, and my body ached a bit but honestly I didn't want to be in my body or feel too much - I just wanted to be done with the feelings.  I felt like I was caving in on myself.  

When you feel this way, it's good to stay with the body because returning to the mind and obsessively thinking about the storyline is more fuel for the fire. 

I eventually noticed an old thought going through my mind, a thought of not being appreciated or respected.  When I'm in that frame of mind, it's all about ME and the other person always seems wrong. But that's not helpful or true.

I stuck with that story in my mind for most of the day and observed how I felt.  I noticed that the story only fueled my feelings of being dis-respected.  When I got busy and let the story go, I felt better, but it still lurked.

In Non-Violent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg teaches that when people communicate they are just saying "please" (when they're trying to get their needs met) or "thank you"  (when their needs are met).  Many people aren't skillful when they say "please" because they don't even realize they have needs or understand that it's ok to have them.  So they overreact.

In the midst of my suffering, I did have fleeting empathy for my husband.  It's a big job running the zen center.  Since I'm co-founder we talk to each other whenever we're having an issue.  I knew that he was saying "please" unskillfully.  Yet because of my anger, I couldn't empathize with the burdens he carries.

Thank goodness for my practice of meditation.  It was a beautiful day and I felt like going for a walk.  I listened, walked in the warm sunlight, saw gold and red autumn leaves shimmering in the breeze.  It helped to clear my mind.  It wasn't my husband that was wrong.  He was just expressing frustration over a need that wasn't being met. But I didn't have to meet it, not then anyway.  Just listening to him would have been a gift.   

I realized he was a catalyst for some strong emotions that arose in me.  And emotions are part of being human.  I moved through it thanks to my meditation practice and my relationship with my husband is stronger.

Meditation is an antidote to strong emotions.  It helps me to pause, breathe and observe without becoming absorbed and losing all perspective.  Slowing down lets us see with more clarity and respond skillfully instead of just reacting.  Reacting only fuels the fire.   These kinds of negative interactions are difficult but ultimately prove to be the best teachers for learning patience and humility. 


Malama pono (take care of your body, mind and heart),

June Kaililani Tanoue
Kumu Hula

P.S.  Here's a  slide show of photographs of our performance at Purdue University last month.  Thanks to Deb Swihart for her photos and music by Te Vaka and Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom.
Linda Reaux
 
Linda Reaux came to my hula class a few years ago.  She said she wanted to reconnect to her South Pacific roots.  She was born at  Bataan Refugee Camp in Morong, Philippines.  Her mother is from the Pacific Islands and father is from the Southwest (United States).
   
She attended Northland College in northern Wisconsin and graduated in 2012. Her academic focus encompassed Natural Resource Management and Native American Studies. She's worked as a wild-land firefighter, tribal and community relations/outreach projects, environmental restoration projects in the Midwest, East and West coasts - all of which have prepared her for her current position as Water Resources Program Manager for a tribal government. She lives in Ashland, WI.  I began this interview by asking Linda why she came to my hula class.
 
Linda Reaux:  The following quote has stuck with me ever since I first started dancing jingle dress back in 2008. 

Why We Dance
By MariJo Moore

Why we dance:
To dance is to pray, 
To pray is to heal, 
To heal is to give, 
To give is to live, 
To live is to dance. 

Growing up, I wasn't immersed in any cultural activity on either side of my family. When I went off to college, I took the responsibility of getting to know my history, who I am to begin paving my future. My post-college job took me on an Oregonian adventure where I was exposed to Pacific cultures and activities.  This inspired me to pursue the other part of me that wasn't unlocked. 

In the summer of 2012, I took a water resource management position, which took me back into the south shores of Lake Superior. There was an upcoming environmental conference in Chicago; I began researching opportunities to visit and participate in Pacific cultural activities, as those opportunities are not afforded in northern Wisconsin. Your website surfaced in my search and I decided to reach out to you. It felt like a shot in the dark, but I went through with it regardless. 

I will never forget being warmly welcomed by the other dancers and learning the graceful, yet stern movements.  One of the days during that winter week, I remember staying after to watch the advanced class. As, I watched Lori dance and listened to your chanting, I began to cry. 

They weren't tears of sadness, but of healing from being lost. Culture is everything. Without a culture that ties us back to the land and water through song, dance, stories, and traditions, what do we have to share with each other and future generations? 

June: Would you tell me a little about jingle dancing?

Linda:  It's a gift to be able to dance. I don't dance competitively - I dance for the ones who can't dance, those who aren't here with us on this physical plane or ones who are sick. The designs I bead and sew are representations of my history, my name, and my clan.
 
There are many interpretations to the Anishinaabe origin story, but what was shared with me while I was putting together my first dress years ago is this.  

A medicine man's granddaughter was very ill. He had a dream in which a spirit wearing the jingle dress came to him and told him to make one of these dresses and put it on his daughter to cure her. When he awoke, he and his wife proceeded to assemble the dress as described by the spirit of his dream. When finished, they and others brought his granddaughter to the dance hall and she put on the dress. During the first circle around the room, she needed to be carried. During the second circle around the room, she could barely walk and needed the assistance of several women. The third circle around the room she found she could walk without assistance and during the fourth circle around the room, she danced.
 
Traditionally and still today, the jingles are made from the lids of snuff cans. These are bent and molded into triangular bell shapes and attached to the dress with ribbon or fabric in a pattern designed by the dancer. It takes between 400 and 700 jingles to make an adult jingle dress. The jingle dress is made of a cloth, velvet or leather base adorned with jingles made out of a shiny metal.

June:  What issues are you passionate about and why?

Linda: Well, that's a loaded question - hahaha. 

I'd have to say the first two things that come to mind are cultural revitalization efforts and water.  Many tribal practices, not just here in the United States, but around the world, are tied to specific locations that have strong spiritual and sacred meaning. From the regalia that dancers wear to the content in which singers sing about is reflective of the natural environment that we are exposed to. Because of the histories of tribal people to the land, knowledge, and traditions that have been established through the decades and centuries, I believe it's the key to a sustainable future. 

Secondly, water - water is life. In the context of science, water is the property that scientists look for to see if any life can thrive on a planet. It's used in everyday living - from washing our hands, to the wild rice that I just had for lunch, to certain tribal ceremonies, and to the traditional medicine I used for my cold. Sometimes, we forget the role that water plays because it's masked so well. With multiple users such as, commercial, industrial, residential, and cultural of the water, it's important to protect quantity and quality of our water resources.

June: Anything else you'd like to say that I missed.

Linda:  I'd like to thank the dancers, teachers, and elders I've met along the way of this self-discovering journey. I'm very grateful for guidance and laughter. 

About Us
Successful Halau Fundraiser with Hawaiians Kumu Michael Pili Pang, Keikilani Curnan, Davin, Al, Ryan

Halau i Ka Pono - the Hula School of Chicago is a sister program of the Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago located in Oak Park, IL.  Kumu Hula June Kaililani Tanoue established the school in 2009 and has been teaching hula since 2003.

 

Halau i Ka Pono means School that Cultivates the Goodness.  We teach Hula which is defined as the art of Hawaiian dance expressing all that we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel.

 

Hula and healing go hand in hand in our Halau. The dance connects us to the grounding energy of the earth and opens us to the warm spirit of Aloha (love). 

 

 

Come join us!  We have wonderful introductory classes for adult beginners!  No experience necessary.

 

Contact Kumu June at [email protected] for more information.  May your lives be full of aloha blessings!