“Io---the Creator---is in the very breath we take.
Everything has Io in it.”
Kahu Kauila Clark, who passed away on December 24, 2017, was a Native Hawaiian traditional healer, knowledge keeper, and artist of note. In this documentary, Kahu Kauila shares in his own words about the life experiences that led him to become a healer and teacher of the most ancient and pure strain of traditional Hawaiian spirituality.
Kauila's “talk-story” encompasses the ancient Hawaiian beliefs in the Oneness of all Divinity and Creation, and the necessary balance between the Ku, the male energy, and the Hina, the female energy. In his stories, teaching, and ceremonies, he wove these energies together, balancing conflict through the process of restoring to rightness known as Ho'oponopono, bringing individuals and communities back to the spirit of Aloha that animates all life.
“Everything that has life has Aloha,” said Kauila. That spirit was inherent in his healing work, his art, his teaching to local and worldwide audiences, and his activism as the past Chairman of the National Association of Community Health Centers in Washington, DC.
How to Donate
You can donate through PayPal on our website www.globaldiversityfilm.org. We are now under the sponsorship of the non-profit Perception International, so your contributions will be fully tax-deductible. As noted at the end of the video, donations can also be made to Kogan Spiritual Center.
Please make your checks out to Perception International with GDFP/One Breath: One Life in the memo, and send to:
Debra Denker
369 Montezuma Avenue, #332
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Mahalo for your generosity.
Kauila was a repository of traditional Hawaiian knowledge, and his mixed ethnic background and varied life experiences served to enhance and enrich both his knowledge and his ability to convey it. He was one of only seven Kahunas certified as Traditional Hawaiian Practitioners, but always preferred the title of Kahu, or priest, to that of Kahuna, which means “keeper of secrets.” In these times when humanity faces crucial practical and spiritual decisions about its own future, as well as the future of the myriad species with which humanity shares its home, Kauila felt that profound indigenous knowledge of harmony and balance must be shared, not kept secret.
The narrative structure of the documentary will be Kauila's words from an extensive free-ranging interview conducted in October, 2016 by co-producer Kathe Boucha. In collaboration with Kauila, questions were prepared that cover everything from the origins of Hawaiian spirituality to how Ho'oponopono can be applied in the prison system and in restoring ecological balance in Hawaii and worldwide. Kauila's spiritual guidance took these questions as a starting point and spontaneously journeyed to unexpected places and insights.
Kahu Kauila's passing gives even more urgency to the completion of this film, which will include interviews with some of his apprentices in Hawaii and Alaska about what they learned from him and what they take forward.
The film will also be a retrospective of Hawaiian history, culture, and change. It is unique in that it will focus not only on pre-Colonial Hawaii but on the most ancient traditions before the twelfth century arrival of Pa'ao,the figure who brought to Hawaii thousands of gods, the concept and practice of war, and the hierarchical system of chiefs, commoners, and slaves.
One Breath: One Life will weave visual beauty and inspiring words into a story of the breath that infuses all life and encompasses Aloha as both a worldview and a way of life. The film will tune in to the ancient rhythms of balance and reconciliation, connecting with the ancestors of the Hawaiian people, and the spiritual ancestors of all people.
As we move forward with production, we will allow the film to decide its own form, length, and platforms. Possibilities include the film festival circuit international public TV audiences, and contemporary media platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.
One Breath: One Life is a project of the Global Diversity Film Project (GDFP), a program of the non-profit Perception International, in association with Catalyst Artistic Productions.
The co-producers are Debra Denker and Kathe Boucha, a close associate of Kauila Clark's during the last several years of his life. Debra Denker, a documentary maker with decades of experience in social and spiritual documentary, is the director.
In Loving Memory of Kahu Kauila Clark
Trailer for a full-length documentary, One Breath: One Life, on classical ancient Hawaiian spirituality, featuring Kahu Kauila Clark.
---Kahu Kauila Clark