Max Freedom Long
Encyclopedia
Max Freedom Long was an American teacher and New Thought
philosopher.
to teach in elementary schools. When he arrived, he claimed that some Native Hawaiians
were practicing what he called magic
. Long wrote that at first he was skeptical of this magic, but later became convinced that it worked. He devoted the rest of his life to creating theories about how the Native Hawaiians did what he claimed they did, and teaching those theories through the sale of books and newsletters.
, who were priests and master craftsmen who ranked near the top of the social scale. Long founded an organization called the Huna Fellowship in 1945 and, starting in 1936, published a series of books on Huna.
There are no accepted Hawaiian sources - Malo, Kamakau, 'I'i, Kepelino - that refer to the word Huna as a tradition of esoteric learning.
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
philosopher.
Early career
Shortly after graduating from UCLA in 1917, Long moved to the island of HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to teach in elementary schools. When he arrived, he claimed that some Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
were practicing what he called magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. Long wrote that at first he was skeptical of this magic, but later became convinced that it worked. He devoted the rest of his life to creating theories about how the Native Hawaiians did what he claimed they did, and teaching those theories through the sale of books and newsletters.
Invention of Huna
Long decided to call his compilation of teachings Huna, because one meaning of the word is "hidden secret." He wrote that he derived it from the word kahunaKahuna
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession." Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow...
, who were priests and master craftsmen who ranked near the top of the social scale. Long founded an organization called the Huna Fellowship in 1945 and, starting in 1936, published a series of books on Huna.
There are no accepted Hawaiian sources - Malo, Kamakau, 'I'i, Kepelino - that refer to the word Huna as a tradition of esoteric learning.
Books by Max Freedom Long
- The Secret Science Behind Miracles, 1948 (ISBN 0875160476)
- Mana or Vital Force, 1949
- Secret Science at Work, 1953 (ISBN 0875160468)
- Growing into Light, 1955 (ISBN 0875160433)
- Self-Suggestion and The New Huna Theory of Mesmerism and Hypnosis, 1958
- Huna Code in Religions, 1965 (ISBN 0875164951)
- Short Talks on Huna, 1978 (ISBN 0910764026)
- Recovering the Ancient Magic, 1978 (ISBN 0910764018) (originally published 1936)
- What Jesus Taught in Secret, 1983 (ISBN 0875165109)
- Tarot Card Symbology, 1983 (ISBN 0910764077)
- Psychometric Analysis
Hawaiian traditions
- Jensen & Jensen, Daughters of Haumea (Pueo Press, 2005)
- June Gutmanis, Kahuna La'au Lapa'au: Hawaiian Herbal Medicine (Island Heritage, 1976)
- E. S. Craighill Handy, Polynesian Religion (Kraus Reprint, 1971)
- Pali Jae Lee and Koko Willis, Tales From the Night Rainbow
- Makana Risser Chai, Na Mo'olelo Lomilomi: Traditions of Hawaiian Massage & Healing (Bishop Museum, 2005)