Marya Mann : Blog : Halloween & Our Ancestors | Yoga For Happiness

Halloween & Our Ancestors | Yoga for Happiness

Halloween may have lost much of its spiritual significance for costumed Trick or Treaters and candy-stuffed nightwalkers, but Celtic and Druidic traditions of the harvest, feasting, and meeting up with the ancestors have survived for a lucky few.

In Hawaii, this is the start of Makahiki, a three-month-long celebration when regional clans complete the harvest, put aside status and rivalries, lay down their swords, and feast, make art, serve offerings, play games, and aim communal energies toward living in peace.

Throughout the world, it was believed at this sacred time, on October 31st, known as Hallowmas or Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead dissolves, the veil is lifted, and the dead can revisit our physical world, for good or ill purposes. To protect against potential evil, celebrants would dress up trees, paint their faces, and carve pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns with a candle burning in its center to illuminate the path of the soul, in life as well as after death.

This celebration of the spiritual realms through sacred holy days is a reminder that good and evil will do battle for our attention if we let them. It’s up to each of us to review our thoughts, energies, words, and deeds to maintain steadiness, a positive attitude, and a healing grace in whatever ways we can.
Our ancestors came up with the idea of handing out candy or coins as a way to pacify the dark forces which tend to become stronger as the days of summer light give way to the darker days of the winter solstice.

The root word of Halloween – ‘‘hallow’‘ – means ‘‘holy.’‘ The suffix “een” is an abbreviation of “evening.” It refers to the Eve of All Hallows, the night before the holy day of November 1st, All Saints Day, which was added to the indigenous Halloween celebration by Catholic priests brought to the region by Spanish conquistadors. Called Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, in Mexico and Latin America, Halloween honors the ancestors with lively celebrations rooted in Aztec rituals and a celebration of All Souls on November 2nd.

In New Zealand, the Mauri culture would try to intimidate an offending army by scaring off the “bad,” by sticking the tongue out of the mouth, and crossing and rolling the eyes up into the head to look as frightening as possible. This was meant to scare off mischievous spirits as well as approaching enemy forces.

The three-day celebration of Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day has many meanings for different people, but this sacred season is always a good time to celebrate the three levels of the Soul – the Primordial Soul, the Heart-Mind Soul, and the Spirit Soul. As humans naturally come closer to the world of the spirits and all the goodness available to us, we also draw closer to the Earth, taking care during this harvest season to love and be kind to each other, all the elements and species, and all Beings on our journey toward new light.

I feel grateful for the ancient ones whose footsteps we follow, and for the movers and trailblazers like you, like us, we who are doing all we can to forge a better future, making mindful pathways forward toward the light.

To tend and befriend the body while nourishing your Soul, join us for Evolutionary Flow Yoga tomorrow, All Saints’ Day, in West Hawaii

YOGA FOR HAPPINESS
Friday, November 1, 9:30-11:00 AM – Kundalini Breathwork, Kindness, and Kindling Our Joy
At Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary

Grow your goodness! Changing your perspective by moving differently and opening your heart — this is the power of loving kindness for All Beings. Love begins with us. By activating the higher centers of the body, heart, mind, spirit, and soul, Yoga lightens up our psychosomatic system while teaching us to learn from pain, to metaphorically “see in the dark.” We become impeccable warriors, moving energy organically and away from the darkness to dispel the negativity habit.

Even one minute of mindfulness, according to Dr. Rick Hanson’s research, marinates us in a more positive outlook. It begins to overcome the brain’s “negativity bias” and to re-wire our bodies for well-being.
In this class, you’ll learn quick and effective tools for restoring yourself during and after stress, pain, and loss while building resilience for ongoing renewal.

WHEN: Friday, November 1, 9:30 – 11 am
WHERE: Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary
Painted Church Road – for directions please go to www.paleaku.com
FEE: $15-20 Sliding Fee Scale

For more detail, please visit http://www.maryamann.com/calendar/110119-yoga-for-happiness-master-class/ or call Kona Coast Yoga and Wellness at 808-345-0050.

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PLAN AHEAD:
NEW WORKSHOP: SOUL MEDICINE
Saturday, November 23rd, 1:00 – 4:00 pm: Learn 3 Sacred Kapu of the Spiritual Warrior & Soul Cluster Empowerment

NEW MASTER CLASS: PATANJALI’S SUTRAS & THE PEACEFUL FLOW
Friday, December 6th, 9:30 – 11:00 am: Explore 8 Limbs in the Classical Tree of Yoga
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