Brine

This episode is from my podcast when it was called And Still the Waters Rise. The conversation is with guests, and language perpetuators (aka professors) Kaliko Baker, PhD (from Hawai'i) and Rangi Matamua, PhD (from Aotearoa) about how one's native language is the foundation of culture as well as personal and communal identity. We discuss how a long-term investment in master-level language initiatives can have many spillover effects, including significant economic impacts and a strengthened national identity even for non-native speakers. This is a timely topic as lanaguage loss is at an all-time high globally. An excerpt from a recent Smithsonian SmartNews article by Kat Eschner underscored this succinctly--"The grimmest predictions have 90 percent of the world's languages dying out by the end of this century. Although this might not seem important in the day-to-day life of an English speaker with no personal ties to the culture in which they're spoken, language loss matters. Here's what we all lose: 1. We lose the expression of a unique vision of what it means to be human; 2. We lose our memory of the planet's many histories and cultures; 3. We lose some of the best local resources for combatting environmental threats; and 4. Some people lose their mother tongue.

Due to the experience of my fatherʻs passing, I took a deep dive into understanding how so many contemporary societies have become disconnected from the death process, which I believe is the reason so many cultures have lost the ability to live life to its fullest. This conversation is with my dear friends Mikiʻala Ayau, a cultural practitioner, and Cortney Gusick, owner of Pahiki Eco-caskets.

A very personal account of how my family chose to take care of my fatherʻs body after he passed in 2018. Our path was steeped in Native Hawaiian protocol but the experience transformed me as a Hawaiian and more deeply as a human. Based on this experience, I believe that the chaos of our current reality mirrors are lack of a relationship as well as familial and personal accountability specific to the processes of birth and death.

A timeless conversation with Keoho Lewis about cultural practice, healing modalities, and martial arts.

A conversation with Dr. Manulani Meyer about culture, knowledge systems, and the holographic nature of intergenerational wisdom.

A cool convo with Hip-hop artist extraordinaire, DJ Spooky aka. Paul Miller, who had just released an amazing album featuring sounds he recorded in Antarctica of melting ice. The location is a earthy-chic cafe in Soho about a week after the presidential election of 2016. We had been involved in a 3-day pop-up Culture Lab called CTRL+ALT sponsored by the Smithsonianʻs Asian Pacific American Center, and we chose to grab a light breakfast before I retuned to Hawaiʻi. We talked politics, which then moved into his interest in sound recording, music, mathematics, climate change, and ultimately how to accept the complex nature of life.

This is an original episode from Salted Logic - the podcast, from when the show was called And Still the Waters rise. DJ Spooky (aka Paul Miller) waxes rhapsodic about hip-hop, climate change, and politics. This show was recorded in a cool Soho restaurant after we had both participated in an art exhibition pop-up sponsored by the Smithsonian’s Pacific Asian American Center. As well, this was recorded just days after Donald Trump had been elected. We were all in shock. This is an interesting journey into the past. Everything we spoke about is relevant today. Curious? Take a listen. Use the player below or listen on Apple Podcasts and Sound Cloud. Visit www.SaltedLogic.com

JUSTICE LEAGUE is a guided meditation for anyone who desires to begin identifying and releasing trauma held within the body. However, it is dedicated to, and was inspired by those who consider themselves protectors and healers of our communities, our environment and our sacred places. Trauma often occurs to healers or to those who take a stand to create positive social change on a large scale so it is important we continue to circle back and heal ourselves as well as to provide sanctuaries not simply for those who are at the heart of injustice but those who are the live out the role of protectors for us all. www.saltedlogic.com

CODE RED provides a momentary respite from intense anger/rage. As anger is but a symptom of other, larger and/or deeper issues in our lives and this guided process is meant to help you feel the root emotions, address the source of this potentially destructive state, and to build capacity for healing and greater self-awareness as you move forward.

This is the shortest guided meditation offered in the collection thus far. Momentary Bliss can be done in a standing or seated position or laying down. This meditation is helpful as a mid-day respite from stress, overwork and over thinking.

This guided meditation is for overall relaxation, especially during the workday. Inspired by those who like to work at standing desks this meditation was created to support the development of a meditation practice during the middle of the day in situations where laying down or even finding a comfortable chair is not an easy endeavor or not possible. The meditation begins with breathing exercises and some body movement. It then helps you to release tension from your head to your toes via a body scan visualization.

This specific episode is called BRING IT! a standing meditation meant to help you find a central point of strength and personal empowerment. This session can be used before an important event in your life where you desire to or need to BRING IT... This mediation is meant to support you being your best self by showing up!

This guided visual meditation is called SUNRISE and is meant to help you restore your positive energy, achieve an open heart and mind, and to walk through the world in an integrated way with all life. In preparation for this journey find a comfortable, safe space where you can lie down undisturbed for the duration of this session.

BRINE S2.E8 - My guest for this conversation is Clarinda Tusitala Braun. A Fijian and Samoan mother of two, she has spent the last 10 years consulting hundreds of clients to not only earn sizable incomes but to prioritize making a positive impact on their communities. Now living in Hawaii, she desires to make an even more substantial impact by intentionally supporting indigenous women and women of color. Voices of Mana: The Matriarchal Business is her workshop series that is grounded in indigenous knowledge, and backed by her connection to her ancestors. Clarinda seeks to use her journey to help others embrace being “the modern matriarchs envisioned by our grandmothers, healing and giving mana to generations past, present and future.” Our conversation delves into her journey of healing and the ways she hopes to support women to be successful in business and in life. For more information on this show go to https://saltedlogic.com ... To listen to Clarinda's podcast go tohttps://www.thematriarchalbusiness.com

My guest for Brine S2.E7 is Justyn Ah Chong––an independent filmmaker, and Native Hawaiian, who was born and raised on the island of Oʻahu. He seeks to tell culturally rooted stories that amplify the depth and breadth of the wisdom of his ancestors, while simultaneously providing a platform to showcase the relationship between the intergenerational genius and trauma that has produced our contemporary Hawaiian experience. * Our conversation begins with the importance of storytelling as humans, we then move to why cultures and communities need to keep this practice alive in order to maintain control over their own narratives, and then we dive into how he carved his path into the film world and some of his own projects. * At present, Justyn is promoting his directorial debut, Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki, a short film that highlights the Hawaiian poet Wayne Westlake, whose work was ahead of its time. The film is making the rounds in festivals across 2019 and 2020. See www.saltedlogic.com for more info and links! * Justyn graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in 2011 with a B.A. in Film Production and a Minor in Business. Upon graduating, he returned home to Hawaiʻi where he worked as a full-time videographer and editor at ʻŌiwi TV – Hawaiʻi's first and only indigenous television broadcasting network. There he had the opportunity to craft his skills behind the camera and in the edit bay on numerous mini-documentary projects, news pieces, commercial work, and non-profit videos. Through ʻŌiwi TV he's been blessed to travel the world, sailing with and documenting the Hōkūleʻa's Worldwide Voyage and has collaborated on several PBS national documentaries, including the Nā Loea series, and Let's Play Music! Slack Key with Cyril Pahinui and Friends. Aside from his work at ʻŌiwi TV, Justyn was a co-director with Matthew Ward on Wichita, his first feature-length film that was developed and produced with colleagues from USC. * For more info and links see www.saltedlogic.com

Wainani Arnold, the namesake of Wainani Wellness, was raised and resides in Hawai`i. From a young age, she lived and breathed hula, which planted the seed for her growth in all forms of dance. Her current work utilizes yoga, Ayurveda, gyrotonics, and pilates; our conversation is about her journey from dance to healing, and then how she created a sanctuary for people to find and grow personal and communal wellness. We talk about the challenges of staying centered when you run a business, even when that business is about healing. The thread that runs throughout our talk is the importance of using your intuition to find the root cause of any health issue and to make self-centering the starting point. - - Wainani is a graduate from the Kamehameha Schools.  She attended Chapman University and holds a BFA in Dance Teaching & Performance along with a minor degree in Sociology. Wainani has had the opportunity to perform professionally all over the world and is passionate about her work as a movement educator, choreographer, and performer; she is also a co-founding member of Volary Aerial Company.  As a faculty member for Balanced Body with her original training through BASI Pilates, she holds certifications in - Yoga, RYT 500, Ayurveda Yoga Specialist, and the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® method trainer (GYROTONIC® method Level 1 Pre-Trainer, GYROKINESIS® method Level 1 Pre Trainer, GYROTONIC® method Level 2 and all Specialized Equipment). For more information about the programs at Wainani Wellness Center, please visit https://www.wainaniwellness.com

BRINE 2.5 features D.S. Moss, host of the top-ranked podcast (#30 in 2017 by The Atlantic) The Adventures of Memento Mori: A Cynic's Guide for Learning to Live by Remembering to Die. If you havenʻt listened to his show you should (but start AFTER you listen to this episode) and if you are curious about what you will experience, D.S. describes his podcast as exploring the science, mysticism, culture, and mystery of death. The show is satirical and philosophical, and follows D.S. as he attempts to reconcile his own impermanence and live a more meaningful life––but the problem is, life keeps getting in the way! Our conversation is about how Mr. Moss (a film lover and screenwriter) leveraged his talent and passion for storytelling into creating a top-rated podcast about the magic of memento mori… and somewhat on a whim no less. There is certainly more than one strategy to living life to its fullest but this is one of the more unique backstories, which showcases how serendipity can merge with intense curiosity to further a person’s personal vision and mission in very unexpected ways. We also talk about how delving into the topic of memento mori and having conversations with mystics, monks and morticians has changed him as a human. To learn more about The Adventures of Memento Mori and to buy some cool Mori-Merch go to RememberTodie.com OR Brine's home base SaltedLogic.com

The story of Kealopiko, a culturally-rooted Hawai’i fashion, and lifestyle brand is the focus of this episode. The storyteller is Hina Kneubuhl, one of the company's three co-founders, who shares how a botanist, a linguist and a creative got together to develop an innovative partnership that prioritizes cultural values, fulfills community needs, highlights native flora and fauna, as well as ‘ōlelo Hawai’i (the Hawaiian language) and moʻolelo (stories of place) through the vehicle of fashion. From how they create new collections and maintain their personal values to new partnerships and ensuring their production is sustainable and eco-friendly––our conversation affirms that working to bridge intergenerational knowledge with a contemporary aesthetic and technology can produce a new form of community-driven commerce that uplifts culture and prioritizes our connections to the natural world. As they like to say E ʻaʻahu nō a hoʻohanohano i ka ʻāina nei! ... "Wear it and honor this place!" ... To learn more about Kealopiko visit Salted Logic’s blog ( https://saltedlogic.com/blog ) or their website ( https://kealopiko.com ).

Brine (2.3) is a conversation with community leader and lomilomi healing practitioner, Keola Kawai’ula’iliahi Chan. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, Keola shares his journey to become a lomilomi practitioner, teacher and community leader. A musician at heart, he brings a life-affirming melody into any room, including the classroom where supports the transfer of knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the next. He is a man who seeks to rebuild communities from the inside out. Keola has been involved with many amazing projects but two of the most noteworthy are the founding of Hui Mauli Ola in 2002, and taking on the position of Ka Pounui (director) of the ʻAha Kāne Foundation in 2013. The former is an organization addressing the health and wellness of the Native Hawaiian people through hands-on healing modalities (like lomilomi), and the latter focuses on the advancement of Native Hawaiian men in order to transform the social fabric of Hawaiʻi one person, and one family at a time. Learn more about Keola and his work on website and blog. Go to www.saltedlogic.com

This episode is a conversation with lomilomi (Hawaiian "massage")practitioner, Keohokalani Lewis. We begin with his personal journey to become a healer. We quickly expand into healing and martial arts philosophies and tie our ideas to overarching natural and universal cycles. The core principle that we cycle back to again and again is to first "heal-thyself." Our talk looks at the many ways we, as a society, are out-of-sync with greater natural cycles and how our sole use of the Gregorian calendar, can often limit our understanding of long-range cycles and intergenerational knowledge. We touch upon nutrition and how gut health is a mirror for personal and communal health. Farther into the podcast more of the martial arts philosophies are brought to the table and we ask... "why don't people heal?" or "why is it that some people get sick despite living seemingly "healthy" lifestyles?" As is not surprising Hawaiian history and politics are lightly sprinkled throughout. Go to www.saltedlogic.com for more information.

My guest is the hard-hitting, Bellator MMA Flyweight Champ, Ilima-Lei McFarlane. We talk about her fight game but also who she is outside of fighting, what she wants to be remembered for, and her commitment to philanthropy, which includes her scholarship for Native girls 12-18 for programs with Intertribal Youth and Native Like Water. She is a super cool mana wahine; a powerful female force. She is also down to earth, funny, and has a true fighter's spirit. But not just in the ring. She is a fighter for community culture and the next generation. She has a scholarship with Intertribal Youth and Native Like Water for Indigenous girls 12-18 years old. She loves her family, especially her mom and dad, which I gotta say is what makes her fight game unstoppable. She loves hard and fights hard. Go to SaltedLogic.com for more information on how to donate to her scholarship. For more information this podcast, go to https://saltedlogic.com // For more information on the Ilimanator Scholaarship, visit http://www.nativelikewater.org (photo: Bellator MMA)

A basic definition for Restorative Justice is as follows: a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. This definition, however, as logical and straightforward as it is doesn't speak to the kind of justice that is employed as standard practice across the globe, and this includes the United States. Experiencing the justice system, especially for indigenous peoples and (those we too easily label) minorities, is one that is not only inequitable but can have far-reaching, intergenerational effects that delay and even halt forward movement towards holistic, intergenerational, community-wide health and wellness. To discuss how this topic is playing out in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, And Still the Waters Rise, episode 31, features Hawaiʻi litigator, Sonny Ganaden. His essay Law of the Canoe: Reckoning Colonialism and Criminal Justice in the Pacific is slated to be published in 2019 along with other authors in a volume entitled DeTours: A Decolonial Guidebook to Hawaiʻi by Duke University Press (2019). As the show is intended to be a starting point, the conversation is by no means a comprehensive review of this globally relevant topic. However, it is a doorway through which you can find interesting threads to follow on your own as well as a means to better understand how one version of inequitable (or colonial) justice is playing out in the Pacific today. With that said, the hot topic issue that needs immediate action is the industrialized incarceration that is coming to Hawaiʻi in the form of a private prison. This prison, set to replace the current OCCC is far more than a newly designed structure. After listening to the show, ASTWR hopes you will choose to act now! To learn more and for additional resources, go to: http://saltedlogic.com/ *** Guest Bio: Sonny Ganaden, is a lawyer, writer, artist and teacher. In 2012, he was the lead writer of the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force Report, delivered to the legislature in 2013. In 2017, he was named "Best Single Writer" by the Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is an instructor in the ethnic studies department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is a surfer and paddler.

Hoʻomana is the first show in a series called––Life and death dialogues. The collection of conversations will be at least three shows, consisting of this monologue, a show on death care and a show on holistic birth.This first installment is a retelling of my own fatherʻs passing earlier this year (2018) and my experience taking care of his body, as well as the series of events that have pulled me into the death care space around cultural perpetuation and environmental stewardship.  For more information, see the blog post on this show at: SALTEDLOGIC.COM

HOLEWA – Life and Death Dialogues, Part 2 is the second in a series about having agency for those intimate processes we all share. Regardless of our socio-economic background, our level of education, our culture, geography or beliefs – we are all born into physical bodies and those bodies die. The topic of this show builds upon Part 1 where I tell the story of how my famly chose to care for my dad in his death. This show is a conversation with Mikiʻala Ayau Pescaia and Courtney Gusick who are also working in the #deathpositive space. We talk about the state of Native Hawaiian death practices as well as the ecological implications of current practices in the death care industry (at least for the US). We talk about the challenges as well as potential ways forward to re-establish a positive relationship with the death process. For more information, see the blog post on this show at SALTEDLOGIC.COM

As global momentum behind indigenizing education––and developing learning models that break from the industrial-era paradigm––grows, what is the status of Native Hawaiians within higher education? And what are the benefits of supporting multiple knowledge systems to driving wider social change? This conversation looks at these questions and takes you on a journey that offers interesting stroies from history that are very relevant for today. We ponder whether Liliʻuokalani could be a founder of the University and make a connection to the Heisman Memorial Trophy. The conversation is driven by the perspectives of Dr. Willy Kauai, PhD., who has worked within the Native Hawaiian Charter School system as well as the wider Univ. of Hawaiʻi system, and is currently the Director of Native Hawaiian Student Services at the flagship campus at Mānoa. A closing note: Although only quickly mentioned near the end of the show, Kamaoli Kuwadaʻs essay We Live in the Future. Come Join Us, Is worth the read; you can access it on the Ke Kaʻupu Hehi ʻAle Blog: https://hehiale.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/we-live-in-the-future-come-join-us/ For more information, see the blog post on this show at SALTEDLOGIC.COM

Solomon Enos, Native Hawaiian artist––and and pure, stream of consciousness––is my guest for episode 27. Our conversation underscores his vision and commitment to growing inner peace and outer expressions of aloha and love. We also interweave his philosophy on life, creating an internal alliance with your molecules and observations of the human condition, with the role of art to catalyzing change, the genealogy of money, and whether he can live forever! We also touch upon his amazing graphic novel, POLYFANTASTICA, which spans 40K years and might just be a reality the multi-verse. If you want to know more about him and his amazing art and multi-media creations, just google him and go to his website: http://www.solomonenos.com

This episode is a conversation with language perpetuators (aka professors) Kaliko Baker, PhD (from Hawai'i) and Rangi Matamua, PhD (from Aotearoa) about how one's native language is the foundation of culture as well as personal and communal identity. We discuss how a long-term investment in master-level language initiatives can have many spillover effects, including significant economic impacts and a strengthened national identity even for non-native speakers. This is a timely topic as lanaguage loss is at an all-time high globally. An excerpt from a recent Smithsonian SmartNews article by Kat Eschner underscored this succinctly--"The grimmest predictions have 90 percent of the world's languages dying out by the end of this century. Although this might not seem important in the day-to-day life of an English speaker with no personal ties to the culture in which they're spoken, language loss matters. Here's what we all lose: 1. We lose the expression of a unique vision of what it means to be human; 2. We lose our memory of the planet's many histories and cultures; 3. We lose some of the best local resources for combatting environmental threats; and 4. Some people lose their mother tongue.

A spoken word session with Naiʻa. For more information, see the blog post on this show at SALTEDLOGIC.COM

This is a solo show by me (your host Naiʻa). The inspiration for this episode came from a few areas of my life––my recent move to further my role as a healer, the amplified craziness of the world in late 2017, and a FB post about the poison that can be injected into the lives of those who choose to take a public stand against the status quo and to help amplify the voices of the marginalized. I was inspired to speak to the need to amplify more than the struggle but for healing more broadly. As well, for those who are often called “protestors” or “activists” there can be a great deal of trauma directly from "doing the good work" and this is what inspired this talk around the importance of moving away from helming as a practice and towards seeing this as a natural and essential part of human existence (which can be much more challenging for some cultures than others). As well, we are so good at discussing trauma and the trauma of victims that we have forgotten to have a solid succession an for the next generation of healers (in the broadest sense). We need to and do their best to increase healing and peace for all and show the next generation how to do this more effectively. This show also mentions my newest podcast STILL THE WATERS, which is a growing collection of guided meditations and related talks; they show is also found on Sound Cloud and iTunes. For more information, visit SALTEDLOGIC.COM

A conversation with Bonnie Kahapeʻa Tanner, program director and captain at the Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging academy. Kahapeʻa acquired her sailing skills, and many life skills, under the mentorship of Clay Bertelmann and the Makaliʻi ʻohana, as well as Papa Mau. These experiences, combined with her degree in psychology and various teaching positions, set the stage for her to create a voyaging academy. Her objective is to build self-awareness, cultural awareness, and leadership capacity in the next generation. We talk about her journey to become a sailor/captain, howKānehūnāmoku (the actual wa'a or canoe) came to be, her commitment to learning and perpetuating knowledge, and the impact made upon her by amazing mentors. Overall, this show is about how spending time on a canoe is really about finding your purpose, and deepening your understanding of life. For more information about the topics discussed during the show, please visit http://hanaucreative.com orhttp://www.andstillthewatersrise.com. You can also listen and subscribe in iTunes. [Photo courtesy of Kaipo Kiaha]

Naiʻa was inspired by the US Independence holiday, Hawaiiʻs political history, racial and social tensions around the world––as well as her own perspectives on the meaning and purpose of her life. This show asks people to question their own existence and purpose as not only human beings but spiritual beings as well.

“I totally know [my success] is becuase of the privilege I had growing up in Makaha,” says Duane DeSoto, a world class waterman and world longboard champion who shares the experiences that have made him the man he is today: a committed father, community leader, lifelong learner and friend of the ocean. Duane's familial and personal legacy is also a core element of the discussion and we dive into the vision and mission of Nā Kama Kai (http://nakamakai.org) his non-profit that seeks to build community capacity through ocean education. Duane also shares his thoughts on his recent experience sailing aboard the Hōkūleʻa(http://www.hokulea.com), the traditional double hulled voyaging canoe or waʻa that is circumnavigating the globe through 2017. For more information visit SaltedLogic.com

DESIGN THINKING has been one of my focuses lately and as I have been working to grow my own business and social enterprises in the last two years. However, I have put more focus to it as I have witnessed the discussions around many vital cultural and community issues devolve into nothingness or stagnate in the doldrums to the same old solutions. As Design Thinking is revolutionizing "business as usual" in the corporate wand business world, I have been ruminating on how these skills and expertise could be better used to address complex social issues, especially for local communities and indigenous peoples. For more information visit SaltedLogic.com

Can we be true to our cultural values while also participating in an economy that doesn’t necessarily shares those values? Naiʻa offers another “going solo” episode to share her thoughts about the difference between VALUE and MONEY and her hopes for a future where these two elements of the economy are brought into congruence. For more information visit SaltedLogic.com

A conversation with Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer about indigenous (or holographic/human) epistemology or utilizing the body, mind and spirit to reach an deeper sense of self and community and a connection to the natural world. As she says, “It is time to run with like minds… to change the course of history and to build a sustainable future for humanity."