Hawaii Will Always Be Home with Cindi Heffner

Throughout his career, Scott Nishimoto has served as an advocate for equity and peace-building in Honolulu. He shares an array of stories about how his parents, partner and children have influenced his perception of aloha and valuing every person's experience when it comes to embracing the human condition. In his early days as a nonprofit executive, he met Pono Shim and that initial encounter led to years of friendship and growing to understand the power of storytelling. This podcast title, "Part of this World," is inspired by a movie song (you may know it!) that Pono shared with Scott. Enjoy Scott's powerful and humorous narrative. Mahalo! Learn more about Ceeds of Peace: https://www.ceedsofpeace.org/ Read "Talking Hawaii's Story: Oral Histories of an Island People" edited by Michi Kodama-Nishimoto, Warren S. Nishimoto, and Cynthia A. Oshiro https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/talking-hawaiis-story-oral-histories-of-an-island-people/ Interview originally recorded in November 2023.

In this episode, Luella Costales, Rachel Alm and Molly Mamaril discuss what it was like to work closely with Uncle Pono, both personally and professionally, to capture the nuances of what his leadership looked like in a daily setting. The trio also discuss individual hana and the struggle that many students of the aloha response are feeling - how do we move forward confidently after receiving the baton from our mentor? Mahalo for tuning in as we kick off 2024!

In this episode, we are fortunate to spend time talking story with Jason Mejia who serves as a Fire Captain with the Honolulu Fire Department. As he approaches his retirement this month, he reflects on his 27 years as a civil servant and his efforts to strive to be a conduit of aloha. Most recently, he was able to fulfill a goal of helping the Honolulu Fire Department establish "E Ohana Hou" as the foundation of the department's most recent strategic plan. As many listeners know, "E Ohana Hou" is one of Pono Shim's lessons of bringing your gifts to the world, unleashing them in perpetuity to contribute to the collective well-being of all. One of Jason's favorite lessons from Pono is: "Make the connection and the story will follow." We hope you find this to be a reflective and meaningful conversation. Mahalo! The "E Ohana Hou" video can be viewed here: https://www.oedb.biz/videos To view Honolulu Fire Department Community Resources for fire safety and preparedness, please visit: https://fire.honolulu.gov/ and https://www.youtube.com/@HonoluluFireDepartment.

Live Aloha. Living in Hawaii, many of us recognize the white bumper stickers with the ohia flower and have undoubtedly heard the "live aloha" phrase over the years. What is the backstory of this initiative and what does live aloha really mean? In this episode, we talk story with Rachel Alm to learn about the interesting behind-the-scenes details of the Live Aloha initiative which was established in 1993. As a child, Rachel was positively influenced by her parents, Robert and Cynthia Alm, as well as her father's friend, our dear Pono Shim. She recounts many Zippy's meals as a middle schooler, where she spent memorable time with him learning about aloha through his mentorship, years before he launched his first Aloha Response cohort. Rachel's awareness and personal aloha practice are a powerful embodiment of how to bring aloha into our everyday interactions with others and the greater community. Now as a young professional, she continues to contribute to the wellbeing of Hawaii - and beyond - from her home in Bend, Oregon. Learn more about the Live Aloha program and the 12 commitments: https://www.livealohakakou.org/ https://www.livealohakakou.org/12-commitments Email address: livealohahui@gmail.com Mailing address: 165 Waokanaka Place, Honolulu, HI 96817 @livealohakakou

We welcome Cindi Heffner to this episode of "Above the Sides" in our first recording outside of Hawaiʻi. Cindi is the Kumu Hula of Haʻaheo O Hawaiʻi, a hula hālau based in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she has lived for many years. Cindi shares how she has maintained her spirit of aloha in all the places she has traveled to throughout her life and how her ʻohana, and many of our kama'āina (children of the land), have found home in new places as part of the Hawaiian diaspora. 2020 Census data indicated that more than half of all Native Hawaiians, roughly 370,000 people, now live in the continental U.S. This highlights a growing economic trend due to the high cost of living and housing and job opportunity limitations. Our discussion centers around how aloha can live beyond Hawaiʻi through its people - and that home can also be in your heart. We hope that you find Cindi's story compelling and uplifting. “In the 21st century, the world will search for peace and they’ll look to Hawaii because Hawaii has the key and that key is Aloha.” - Pilahi Paki

Have you ever wondered where our trash goes after the dump trucks make their rounds? In this episode, we are thrilled to have Henry Gabriel, a veteran solid waste manager, give us a Trash 101 lesson on everything that happens to the waste in our grey, blue and green bins. It is clear from his stories that he loves his job and is sharing his gift with Hawaiʻi - helping us better manage our garbage. Henry shares about the four R's: reduce, reuse, recycle and repair and how leaning in to the resourcefulness of previous generations can help us build resilience today. We hope you enjoy Henryʻs engaging stories and his tips on how share aloha with our island home in tangible ways, beginning with our very own trash bins. To learn more about the City and County of Honolulu solid waste management or the Tour de Trash, please visit: https://www.honolulu.gov/opala.

We are fortunate to welcome Ryden Iwamoto to this episode of "Above the Sides." As a rising second-year college student and an OEDB board member, Ryden shares with us his hopes for Hawaiʻiʻs future, his path to studying Economics and Data Science at the University of Chicago and his intention to live out Pono Shim's teachings, especially the notion of "connection, not correction." He discusses what a thriving Hawaiʻi economy could look like and how he aspires to return home to Hawaiʻi after his studies. We hope you find this talk story interview insightful and meaningful. Enjoy!

In this episode, Ashley Ono shares about her path to the aloha response and how it has influenced her personal and professional approach to people and healing. As a medical doctor, she has explored her own mindfulness practice with bravery and continues to explore how her hana, her gifts, can best serve the community in a fulfilling and life giving manner.

This episode features an audio clip of Pono Shim from an Aloha Response cohort meeting that was recorded in 2021. In this recording, he shares about the Aloha Spirit Law and the backstory of how it was developed in 1986 due in part to his father, labor attorney Alvin Shim, and two esteemed kūpuna, Pilahi Paki and Tenshin Tanouye Roshi of the Chozen-ji. We hope that you will find it revealing and memorable. Enjoy! Learn more about the The Aloha Spirit Law here: https://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/home/lawaloha.html