Tag: Clayton Naluai

  • Now & Then: A Way of Harmony

    The Surfers Tahiti - Generations Magazine - August - September 2012In 1957, brothers Al and Clayton Naluai attended Glendale Junior College in California where they befriended two other Native Hawaiians, Bernie Ching and Pat Sylva. They started to compile Hawaiian tunes together for the choir director and came up with a signature harmonizing style. They did concerts up and down the West Coast. While singing in a backyard luau, a friend tape recorded them for fun. One thing led to another and they were discovered by Hi Fi Records. The group was named “The Surfers,” and they cut their first album, “The Surfers on the Rocks.” It became a local best seller.

    The quartet embarked on a sensational career that took them through the next 26 years!

    At age 43, Clayton learned that his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer. Up to that point, his life had been defined by show biz, but it was time to do something else. In 1980, he left the business and turned his focus toward family.

    Over the years Clayton had studied Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido under the late Master Koichi Tohei. The master taught the principles of unifying mind and body and its application to daily life.

    Clayton Aikido - Generations Magazine - August - September 2012Fifty years later, Clayton is a 6th Dan Black Belt and a founder of Lokahi Ki Society, where he serves as its senior advisor. He has dedicated his life to creating programs for people to experience the power they naturally have through unification of mind and body.

    Clayton is particularly passionate about keeping seniors active. So, I asked Clayton is it ever too late for a senior to consider training through Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido’s mind and body unification? He replied, “It’s never too late.”

    I have been attending Clayton’s classes for the past two years. The exercises have greatly improved my physical flexibility, balance, strength and fluidity. It helps me stay in a calm and focused state of mind. Practicing the same state of mind outside of the dojo I can now deal with life’s challenges one at a time — more calmly, more clearly, more focused. Most importantly, it has improved my outlook on life, diet, exercise and hope for mankind. I’ve dropped 25 pounds, lowered my blood pressure and put off my diabetes.

    You may also experience many benefits through practicing, studying and experiencing this form of Aikido. For more info, contact Lokahi Ki Society:

    phone(s): 808-372-7724, 489-5255, 258-6814
    email: lokahiki@me.com
    www.lokahiki.com/Lokahi_Ki_Society/Welcome.html

    In 1957, brothers Al and Clayton Naluai attended Glendale Junior College in California where they befriended two other Native Hawaiians, Bernie Ching and Pat Sylva. They started to compile Hawaiian tunes together for the choir director and came up with a signature harmonizing style. They did concerts up and down the West Coast. While singing in…

  • Retirement: Start Again

    When one thing ends, another begins.

    There is something about retirement – the word retirement, the thought of retirement, the actual process of retirement – that brings mixed emotions. For some folks the word retirement causes excitement, for others terror. And, there are those who vacillate from one to the other. We retirees experience all of these emotions at one time or another. I know … I’m 75 years old, and have been retired for 32 years.

    So what is the primary cause of terror? Fear! Fear of the unknown. Most of us are not prepared for retirement and being unprepared affects every area of our lives: spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, relationally and financially.

    The literal definition of retirement alone is frightening.

    1. The act of retiring. (That’s not so bad.)
    2. Removal from service. (Now we go into denial. ‘I’m alright. That’s not going to happen for many more years.’)
    3. Withdrawal into privacy or seclusion. (Now things begin to get heavy.) Removal, withdrawal, seclusion.

    In this light, can you think of anything positive about retirement?

    To top it off, our society and government doesn’t paint a pretty picture of retirement. The federal government predicts that the average person will be dead, busted or broke by the age of 65. And common statements such as ‘a person gets weaker as he or she gets older’ and ‘older people don’t contribute; they drain our resources’ don’t seem harmful when we’re younger, but as we get closer to retirement age, they begin to chisel away at our mental well being. Our self-esteem begins to waiver. Our self-image begins to slide downward. We begin to lose our sense of dignity and hope, our sense of being alive. Whether we are financially well off or not, it doesn’t matter. We fade off into seclusion mentally and physically, a place where self-destruction begins … “the beginning of the end.”

    Bleak as the picture may seem for us retirees, there is hope. We can create for ourselves a new beginning.

    All we need to do is draw a line in the sand and take the following four steps:

    • Declare: I’m a child of God, created for greatness and have something significant yet to do. This signifies purpose.
    • Dream: Imagine for a moment that you are living your final 24 hours. How would you approach the next few hours?
    • Decide: To act as if it is your last day.
    • Association: Hang out with like-minded people. People with common dreams, common goals, going in the same direction, supporting one another in a new beginning.

    The key to a new beginning? Begin! Begin now!

    When one thing ends, another begins. There is something about retirement – the word retirement, the thought of retirement, the actual process of retirement – that brings mixed emotions. For some folks the word retirement causes excitement, for others terror. And, there are those who vacillate from one to the other. We retirees experience all…