The transmission
Max Freedom Long (1890–1971) was an American schoolteacher who moved to Hawaii in 1917 and developed a fascination with the kahuna (Hawaiian priest-practitioners).
Unable to obtain direct initiation, he constructed his own interpretive system — which he named “Huna” (Hawaiian for “secret”) — claiming to have reverse-engineered the kahunas’ lost psychological and magical knowledge, partly through analysis of the Hawaiian language.
He founded Huna Research and authored The Secret Science Behind Miracles (1948) and The Secret Science at Work, presenting a model of three selves (the low/subconscious unihipili, the middle/conscious uhane, and the high self aumakua) connected by mana (vital force).
Modern scholars and many Native Hawaiians regard “Huna” as Long’s largely New Thought-flavored invention rather than authentic Hawaiian tradition — a contested provenance worth flagging.
What they gave
The three-selves model: A practical psychology in which the conscious mind must enlist the subconscious to reach the high self — a clear mind-power architecture.
- Mana as directed vital force: Frames focused intention as accumulating and directing energy toward goals.
- Subconscious as the operative layer: Echoes and reinforces New Thought emphasis on programming the subconscious.
- Disputed authenticity (flag): Often presented as ancient Hawaiian wisdom; scholarship treats it as a 20th-century reconstruction.
The line they stand in
Influenced by: claimed Hawaiian kahuna lore; New Thought psychology; early psychical research.
- Influenced: Serge Kahili King; the modern Huna movement; later self-help including Joe Vitale’s Zero Limits.
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Revelations they taught
Essential Works
- The Secret Science Behind Miracles1948
- The Secret Science at Work1953