Hawaiian Lomilomi Massage

and "The Four Levels of Reality"

When people find out that I am a practitioner of Lomilomi massage (an ancient form of massage performed in the Hawaiian Islands for centuries), the most common and obvious question is “How does it differ from other types of massage?”

In order to give a description of and explanation of Lomilomi, I find it very important to first discuss the “four levels of reality”, the human aura and how they relate to this style massage.

It is well accepted these days that the human body has an energy field and the existence of the aura (differing levels of energy, not unlike a rainbow) has now been proven by science and can be seen with Kirlian photography and by those who are sensitive enough to human energy to see it with the naked eye.

The Shamans of every culture agree that as we experience our human existence we will operate from the four different levels of reality (although some cultures do not make the conscious division). Everybody does this and for almost the entire population they swap and change into and out of these realities without realizing it.

The difference for a Shaman or a “Healer” is that they are able to, through training, swap and change consciously at will depending on what is required at the time.

First Level Reality

The first level of reality is the physical level. When we operate on this level we tend to see things as being separate from one another. For example, I have this body, you have that body and therefore we are different. I like classical music, you like heavy metal therefore we are different. I am a man, you are a woman, therefore we are different.

On this level we want and need our physical needs met. We need physical comfort in the form of food, shelter and the experience of physical pleasures. These pleasures may take the form of the physical touch of another, playing sport or simply bathing our feet in a warm bath.

As you can imagine what is enough physical pleasure and comfort for one person may not be enough for another, therefore again you are different to me. This “everything is separate” way of looking at our existence may unfortunately lead to a belief in “lack”, the fear of not having enough and is the shaky foundation on which the competitive business environment is built. When taken to the extreme, looking at the world only in this manner can lead to conflict between people and wars.

On the other hand, the great thing about this level of reality is that through the use and manipulation of natural laws of separation we have been able to invent creature comforts like cars, televisions and computers. So it can be very useful to operate on the physical level of separateness when it is appropriate.

Lomilomi massage as with all body work therapies operates on this level in that the practitioner's hands are on 'your' body indicating separateness between the practitioner and the client, however lomilomi is far more than a fist level reality therapy………

Second Level Reality

The second level of reality is a well accepted understanding in shaman traditions that everything is connected. This is often represented as a spider’s web with each individual at the centre of their own web with branches radiating outward infinitely.

So in fact whatever you do will affect everyone and everything in the universe or if you want to scale it down a bit, the world, although your actions will have more of an effect on your family members and close friends than they will on a penguin living in Antarctica. The reason for this is that the quantity and quality your interaction with others will affect how your personal webs will overlap and therefore how much influence you will have on one another.

So, for example, if you want to help rid the world of poverty and you believe in abundance and prosperity this will have a ripple effect on humankind. When your thoughts of abundance and prosperity radiate out through your web, your beliefs will vibrate and affect the webs of others.

So just when you thought you were powerless in trying to rid poverty in the world, think again, every time you think in terms of prosperity and abundance you are changing the consciousness of human kind because everything is connected i.e. our webs overlap.

From an auric point of view, the second level of the human aura relates to our relationship with ourselves. The more we relate to ourselves in a loving positive way the more we will find that the people around us will pick up on our energy and act in a more loving way towards us and others.

If we treat ourselves with respect and without compromising our inner truth, we will find that others around us we treat us with respect and will validate our inner truth because everything is connected and the vibrations in our web will affect the vibration of all webs.

The lomilomi practitioner is very aware that we are all indeed connected and that because of this are very conscious of their attitude when they approach a treatment. They know that the subconscious of the client will ‘feel’ whether or not the practitioner is in a state of reverence for the client or as the Hawaiians say “Aloha” and this has a profound affect on the success of the lomilomi session.

It is stated that lomilomi massage is about 25% technique and about 75% attitude (unconditional love). This is why this form of healing is called Lomilomi as it means “loving hands”.

Third Level Reality

Level three reality is that of dreams and symbols. Everyone dreams but not everyone remembers their dreams on waking. It is during the dream time that important messages for our “highest good” are sent from our spiritual aspect to our subconscious and if we are able to remember details of our dreams on waking, our conscious mind, with practice, can interpret these messages for us. Once interpreted we can if we choose to, make the necessary changes in our waking reality.

We also receive these messages in our waking state in the form of symbols. An example of this may be we see some one in the street that reminds us of one of our friends we haven’t contacted for some time.

On seeing this “symbol” we may call our friend to find that they are sick and need our help or it may be that they have begun to learn painting which is something that we always wanted to do but hadn’t got around to it and this contact with our friend encourages us to follow through with our dream. This type of “symbol” contact is often referred to as synchronicity.

From an auric point of view, the third level of human aura relates to mental clarity.

Sometimes when we are searching for answers to challenges we become very confused and our conscious mind becomes muddled. At these times if we are able to tune into our intuitive mind through dream or symbol interpretation we can often spontaneously find the elusive answer we had been seeking.

A lomilomi practitioner taps in to the higher realms during a healing session and may receive guidance in the form of pictures, images, words or symbols that are to be passed on to the client at the completion of the session.

Fourth Level Reality

Fourth level reality is that level which is the goal of many of the world’s spiritual philosophies. It is when everything becomes everything, everything becomes nothingness, nirvana, unconditional love, becoming one with god, satori etc.

On a more physical human level, these are the times when we become “at one” with another person or object. For example we may be watching gymnastics on television.

We watch in awe as the gymnast goes through an amazing routine on the mat. Our consciousness merges with theirs and we lose track of time and space and become at one with the moment as they tumble across the mat and leap up into the air to do a double somersault with a half twist. When the gymnast comes crashing down twisting their ankle, we feel the pain and are sick to the stomach.

Is it their pain or is it ours?

Their pain is our pain, the gymnast and we are one.

We may turn to our spouse or friend and make comment “ouch” and cringe, but then realizing it really is their pain not ours we are suddenly brought back to the separateness of first level reality.

These moments are experienced by sports people and performers and is often referred to as being “in the zone” or “in the bubble”; times when they can’t do anything wrong and it is as if they are being played through by a greater power and there appears to be little effort on their behalf.

On the fourth level of the human aura, we need to give and receive love in many different types of relationships. It is on this level that we experience unconditional love for a spouse or child and is the level on which we feel the pain of our child that has been flattened on a football field by an opponent.

The lomilomi practitioner uses “loving hands” during the healing session. What this means is that the practitioner conducts the session in a spirit of unconditional love. The client will sense a tremendous amount of inner peace (and healing)as their subconscious (inner child)is able to relax knowing that it is safe and loved.

Every human being will, from time to time operate on the four different levels of reality. In fact these are just all normal human functions and are divided into four levels here purely for convenience.

Lomilomi and the Four Levels of Reality

All massage is a first level healing art because the practitioner has “their” hands on “your” body. Lomilomi is different to most massage as Lomilomi is performed on all levels of human reality and in particular on the fourth level.

Once the client is on the table, the practitioner will align their higher self with that of the client i.e. will connect with the client at the fourth level of reality or fourth level of the human aura. This is the level of unconditional love and is the bridge between the physical levels of the human existence and that of the spiritual levels.

While the practitioner remains in this state throughout the session they are open to receiving guidance from their own higher self and the higher self of the client and are guided by these “spiritual” aspects as to what is required to assist the client for their highest good at that time.

This means that no two sessions will ever be the same “routine” and in one session the strokes may be very light and gentle at stages and very deep and rigorous at other stages.

During the session, the practitioner, if guided to, may perform an energy healing/balance which is a second level healing art and at the conclusion may deliver important symbolic messages from the third level to the client.

The objective of the practitioner is always to perform the healing that they are guided to do which sometimes is different to what the client may have been expecting at the beginning.

For example, a client may feel tired and think that they need a soft relaxing session, but in fact the tiredness may not be caused by lack of energy but by emotional blockages that require vigorous strokes to remove. Once removed, the client will feel energized.

On the other hand sometimes a client will arrive seemingly full of energy, but are in fact running purely on adrenalin and need slowing down, the strokes may be soft and nurturing and the client may leave feeling like they could sleep for a month because that is what they really need to do to heal themselves.

What to expect from a Lomilomi session

Interview

Each session of lomilomi is approximately 90 minutes and begins with an initial consultation.

In this time the client may tell of any of their life’s goings on, or not. It can be similar to a counselling session, however not so formal; in fact it is like chatting to a friend. This helps the practitioner to understand where the client is at and allows them to clarify any issues they may have or wish to resolve.

Once the practitioner has a clear sign that the client is ready for the body work, they will ask the client to undress and lie on the table under a sarong that will be used for the draping. While the client does this the practitioner will leave the room to prepare themselves on all levels for the healing session that will take place.

The Lomilomi Massage

The first and most unusual part of lomilomi is that the client lies directly on the vinyl of the treatment table. This allows for uninterrupted full body and under body strokes which is one of the unique features of this style of massage.

The massage begins with the practitioner placing their hands on the client’s body, initially in silence to make the connection on all four levels and then they may say something aloud, may request that the client set their own intention or may not say anything at all.

It is during this time that the practitioner will ask for guidance as to what is required for that client at that time and then the massage will begin.

The strokes are with hands and forearms to all areas of the body. It is very important that the whole body is massaged because each and every cell, organ and body part has its own soul intelligence and if areas are missed they will feel neglected and may request attention in other ways e.g. illness.

The practitioner is guided as to the areas and strokes required during the session which may also include gentle stretching of the joints and movement of the limbs. The strokes are usually rhythmical and with the intensity of the focus and the intent of each stroke the sensations experienced by the client may be like “floating on a cloud” or “rocking gently in the sea”.

Both hands and forearms are used simultaneously and almost always on different parts of the body. The conscious mind finds it very difficult to focus on two things at once, so it tends to “give in” and allow the much deeper healing to take place.

Approximately half the lomilomi session is performed with the client face down and half facing up (this may vary from session to session). When guided, the practitioner may use hot stones to help relieve tight spots or salt water for cleansing of the skin and aura.

De-brief

At the completion of the session, there is a “de-brief” and the practitioner will inform the client of any anything else that may need to be brought to their attention.

The entire lomilomi session is conducted in a spirit of “Aloha”; that being love and respect for the divine within each individual and because of this the client leaves feeling completely nurtured by the experience.

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