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The Secret Science Behind Miracles
Max Freedom Long chronicled the spiritual powers of the shamans of Hawaii, the Kahuna. Although not an ethnographic account of Hawaiian healing, Long's book is enfused by anecdotes and personal experiences in the islands of Hawaii.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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October 25, 2023This probably isn't my cup of spiritualism, but a friend says it's really important to him, so I'm adding it symbolically to my to-read list.
February 21, 2008
Max Freedom Long was the preeminent western scholar on Huna, the psychological philosophies of the ancient polynesian culture that incorporated "miraculous" events such as hands on healing, fire/hot lava walking, spirit communication and management, and psychic occurances. This text is a compilation of his case studies and field work that flesh out these spirtual theories. MFL arrived in Hawaii in 1917 as a teacher and became fascinated by accounts of "magic" and the beliefs of some of his Hawaiian friends.
Hawaiian history is interesting -- explorer James Cook "discovered" Hawaii in 1778, but the natives had inhabited the islands for thousands of years prior. The native Hawaiian culture did not keep written records, everything was recorded in stories and encoded in the beautiful rolling language, and information was passed down from generation to generation verbally and emotionally. So in the space between the first europeons to arrive in Hawaii and the time Max Freedom Long arrived in 1917, there were a lot of changes and needless to say, a lot was lost in transition. The "well meaning" Christian missionaries attmepted to completely outlaw any Hawaiian spiritual rites and practices, and thus this way of life was forced into secrecy and continued to survive in privacy, passed down through Hawaiian families. The Hawaiian-English dictionaries made by the missionaries are incredibly short-sighted and self-serving.
At the point MFL began his studies, he set out to prove to himself that the tales of firewalking and healing could not possibly be true -- on the contrary he found documented research and several accounts that confirmed the existence of this strange magic, thus his life and work became devoted to uncovering the secrets of this culture that had been all but destroyed and driven to secrecy. He was able to uncover bits and pieces of these ancient traditions, enough to form working theories and lead to some enlightened experiences, and his body of work, including this book published in 1948 are invaluable historical documents.
Hawaiian history is interesting -- explorer James Cook "discovered" Hawaii in 1778, but the natives had inhabited the islands for thousands of years prior. The native Hawaiian culture did not keep written records, everything was recorded in stories and encoded in the beautiful rolling language, and information was passed down from generation to generation verbally and emotionally. So in the space between the first europeons to arrive in Hawaii and the time Max Freedom Long arrived in 1917, there were a lot of changes and needless to say, a lot was lost in transition. The "well meaning" Christian missionaries attmepted to completely outlaw any Hawaiian spiritual rites and practices, and thus this way of life was forced into secrecy and continued to survive in privacy, passed down through Hawaiian families. The Hawaiian-English dictionaries made by the missionaries are incredibly short-sighted and self-serving.
At the point MFL began his studies, he set out to prove to himself that the tales of firewalking and healing could not possibly be true -- on the contrary he found documented research and several accounts that confirmed the existence of this strange magic, thus his life and work became devoted to uncovering the secrets of this culture that had been all but destroyed and driven to secrecy. He was able to uncover bits and pieces of these ancient traditions, enough to form working theories and lead to some enlightened experiences, and his body of work, including this book published in 1948 are invaluable historical documents.
March 10, 2019
საოცრებებით სავსე წიგნია ეს :)
January 3, 2017
If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing
August 4, 2018
Fascinating work showing the cultural and religious climate of a fast changing period in our history.
This book reviews the author’s decades of field work and personal experience leading the reader to the conclusion that life is what you make it (seriously, you are always creating) and guilt will be your downfall not your guide.
The format is easy to follow as the author always states his point, gives examples and closes with commentary. Personal bias is painfully obvious at times (usually when it comes to occultism popular around the turn of the 20th century) although he names the leaders in the fields referenced and doesn’t push a belief system on the reader, merely explaining through commentary his own personal experiences which are never enough evidence for me in relation to the occultism... but, he is using the example of the phenomena to explain its connection to certain Huna practices and success. Ok... thin but I see where you’re trying to connect it with a phenomenon familiar with the populace at the time to bridge a gap.
Everything comes back to the Huna practice which he emphatically states is not a religion and further explains how it leaves room for all practices, beliefs and experiences... because that is the foundation upon which Huna is practiced. You see, all the ills of society are caused by our experiences, and resulting rigid beliefs and practices that over time cause psychological (guilt) complexes from which we need to free our mind. Huna is about healing the mind and body. He lays out Huna as an ancient form of psychology with better results than modern day practices although not readily accepted by modern minds because they assume it’s all just magical, woo woo phenomena. Fascinating... worth further study, Huna that is.
This book reviews the author’s decades of field work and personal experience leading the reader to the conclusion that life is what you make it (seriously, you are always creating) and guilt will be your downfall not your guide.
The format is easy to follow as the author always states his point, gives examples and closes with commentary. Personal bias is painfully obvious at times (usually when it comes to occultism popular around the turn of the 20th century) although he names the leaders in the fields referenced and doesn’t push a belief system on the reader, merely explaining through commentary his own personal experiences which are never enough evidence for me in relation to the occultism... but, he is using the example of the phenomena to explain its connection to certain Huna practices and success. Ok... thin but I see where you’re trying to connect it with a phenomenon familiar with the populace at the time to bridge a gap.
Everything comes back to the Huna practice which he emphatically states is not a religion and further explains how it leaves room for all practices, beliefs and experiences... because that is the foundation upon which Huna is practiced. You see, all the ills of society are caused by our experiences, and resulting rigid beliefs and practices that over time cause psychological (guilt) complexes from which we need to free our mind. Huna is about healing the mind and body. He lays out Huna as an ancient form of psychology with better results than modern day practices although not readily accepted by modern minds because they assume it’s all just magical, woo woo phenomena. Fascinating... worth further study, Huna that is.
December 9, 2020
It’s fascinating to find out that the kahunas somehow came earlier than psychology or psychoanalysis upon the concepts of subconscious and conscious and their relation with the world and the spirits. Written in the 1930s, the book also advances some of the themes that currently are part of the mainstream because of the Law of Attraction long standing literature. I enjoyed it.
May 18, 2020
Not my cup of tea
September 16, 2023
Fascinating study of the Huna Religion before it had disappeared by an anthropologist in the early 1900s. I tried some of the magical techniques described and found they actually work. Go figure...
June 9, 2024
Best introduction to kahuna magic
March 30, 2025
Espectacular! Brillante trabajo de Max! Gracias 🫶🏼
February 1, 2008
These books by Max F. Long changed how I did things, and looked at the world and changed my life. I was able to take out the christian concepts and put it to use, changes your whole outlook at prayer and magic for healing and other things.
June 14, 2009
An important book, one of the first of it's kind.
June 14, 2009
The first I read by MFL, the one that made me want to read more of his work
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October 10, 2008Great exploration of the intangible experience in our humanity.
June 14, 2009
Another seminal work
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews