Ho' oponopono -- Improving the World by Loving Yourself

[Xienkula1]

This is a pretty awesome article, have any of you experimented with Ho'oponopono?

It is pretty strong and there are seemingly interesting overlaps of Hawaiian terminology

and the dan tians as well as jing chi and shen being somewhat similar to three levels of mana,

mana, mana mana, and mana loa.

 

''Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a

complete ward of criminally insane patients--without ever seeing any

of them. The psychologist would study an inmate's chart and then look

within himself to see how he created that person's illness. As he

improved himself, the patient improved.

 

When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How

could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the

best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn't

make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the story.

 

However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist

had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho 'oponopono. I had never

heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the story was at

all true, I had to know more. I had always understood "total

responsibility" to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do.

Beyond that, it's out of my hands. I think that most people think

of total responsibility that way. We're responsible for what we do, not what

anyone else does--but that's wrong.

 

The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would

teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His

name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on

our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his

work as a therapist.

 

He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years.

That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous.

Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot

or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs

against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a

pleasant place to live, work, or visit.

 

Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an

office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he

would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to

heal.

 

After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being

allowed to walk freely,' he told me. 'Others who had to be heavily

medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no

chance of ever being released were being freed.' I was in awe.'Not

only that,' he went on, 'but the staff began to enjoy coming to work.

Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than

we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was

showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.'

 

This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: 'What were

you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?'

 

"'I was simply healing the part of me that created them,' he said. I

didn't understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for

your life means that everything in your life- simply because it is in

your life--is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world

is your creation.

 

"Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or

do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says

or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete

responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste,

touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is

in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the

economy or anything you experience and don't like--is up for you to

heal. They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections

from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and to

change them, you have to change you.

 

I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live.

Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr.

Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in ho 'oponopono

means loving yourself.

 

If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you

want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal you do it by healing

you.

 

I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing,

exactly, when he looked at those patients' files?

"'I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over

again,'

he explained.

"That's it?

"That's it.

 

Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve

yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.

 

Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one day, someone

sent me an email that upset me. In the past I would have handled it by

working on my emotional hot buttons or by trying to reason with the

person who sent the nasty message.

 

This time, I decided to try Dr. Len's method. I kept silently saying,

'I'm sorry' and 'I love you,' I didn't say it to anyone in particular.

I was simply evoking the spirit of love to heal within me what was

creating the outer circumstance.

 

Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He apologized

for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn't take any outward

action to get that apology. I didn't even write him back. Yet, by

saying 'I love you,' I somehow healed within me what was creating him.

 

I later attended a ho 'oponopono workshop run by Dr. Len. He's now 70

years old, considered a grandfatherly shaman, and is somewhat

reclusive.

 

He praised my book, The Attractor Factor. He told me that as I

improve myself, my book's vibration will raise, and everyone will feel it when

they read it. In short, as I improve, my readers will improve.

 

"'What about the books that are already sold and out there?' I asked.

"'They aren't out there,' he explained, once again blowing my mind

with his mystic wisdom. 'They are still in you.' In short, there is no

out there. It would take a whole book to explain this advanced

technique with the depth it deserves.

 

Suffice It to say that whenever you want to improve anything in your

life, there's only one place to look: inside you. When you look, do it

with love.

 

~Article sent to me by Trisha Pope.

[Friend]

Edited February 4, 2013 by Friend

[Jetsun]

I tried it and had a strange experience of someone contacting me I hadn't been in touch with for about ten years just after I had worked on my connection with them. But the problems I had with it is that I took on too much blame for my environment already so I didn't think the practice was suitable for people like that.

[Cat Pillar]

I may have to give it a try. I've heard of it before, but never really practiced it.

[Xienkula1]

Thanks for your replies, yes it is helpful for entity removal for sure and there are many benefits, but as Jetsun pointed out, it can stir the subconscious pot quite a bit, although this seems mostly to be for a higher purpose that our egos may not want to engage with. I have had many such experiences where I worked on an unwanted connection and had that person contact me as a result, an exchange I did not want, but brought up opportunity to do more cleansing, as I continued to cleanse, the person would move on. So it really does seem to stir the crap up but in order to purify it, though as with going through a healing crisis or a detox, it is not always easy or fun, but we usually are better for it in the end. But yes, tred lightly is always good advice. Also it can be said 'I am sorry, please forgive, I love you, I let go, thank you, I am the I'

Edited February 4, 2013 by Xienkula1

[Aetherous]

Being responsible for what I say or

do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says

or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete

responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste,

touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is

in your life.

 

Yes!

[Birch]

And what about children who are mis-treated by their parents, are they responsible for that?

 

 

[Aetherous]

Yes. For example: they're responsible for getting out of that situation, for healing themselves, for not repeating those actions to anyone else, etc...

[Birch]

http://www.nonkilling.org/pdf/b6.pdf

[Birch]

Yes. For example: they're responsible for getting out of that situation, for healing themselves, for not repeating those actions to anyone else, etc...

I don't get how it would be healing for a child to say sorry for hurting the people who mistreated them. I must be misunderstanding this.

 

Edited to add definition of responsibility:

 

1the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone:

women bear children and take responsibility for childcare

 

 

2the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something:

the group has claimed responsibility for a string of murders

[in singular] (responsibility to/towards) a moral obligation to behave correctly towards or in respect of:

individuals have a responsibility to control their behaviour

 

 

3the opportunity or ability to act independently and take decisions without authorization:

we expect individuals to take on more responsibility

[count noun] (often responsibilities) a thing which one is required to do as part of a job, role, or legal obligation:

he will take over the responsibilities of Overseas Director

Edited February 4, 2013 by -K-

[Aetherous]

It's a good thing to let go of grudges, and to wish everyone well, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.

Anyway, don't mean to try to convince you of something you would rather not be convinced of. I'll chut up now.

[Xienkula1]

Kate I understand where you are coming from, and yes from the perspective of the bereaved and abused, it seems totally inappropriate to say sorry to your abuser, what Ho'oponopono actually aims towards is to say sorry to your subconscious or abused child mind, your unihipili 'moves through the grass like a snake' to anything in you that had any role in the situation, as according to this form of the practice, anything unpleasant you are experiencing is related to a memory of a previous situation which is bound to skip like an old dvd over the same unpleasantness, ho'oponopono is petitioning the child mind to release this subconscious memory and appeal to the superconscious mind who is beyond error of time and space to edit it out and reboot the subconscious hard drive so that inspiration and purpose can then have room to grow. One of the major contentions with the view of ho'oponopono is that it involves perpetual apologies, and yet we were born into this matrix of duality we call the world seeming without any power or will, how are we then to blame ourselves responsible for this experience? The answer may be the difference between accepting blame and taking responsibility. Responsibility means you are empowered to see the situation for what it is and respond appropriately, whereas accepting a position of blame renders you stagnant and guilty. There may be a tendency for people to confuse the process of taking responsibility for a situation and accepting blame. Taking responsibility feels empowering. Although, perpetual apologies are not for everyone, in any case the point being the apology is not to the party but to your subconscious thoughts of them and the scars those have impacted upon you. Thus you are taking responsibility for the scars, and releasing yourself from their impact.

[liminal_luke]

I think I've been looking for something like this. I'm in a relationship with someone with mental health difficulties. It's difficult because I have all sorts of ideas for things he might try to heal (meditation, art, diet, exercise, herbs, etc.) but mostly he's not interested in following my advice. Which would be ok except I have to deal with him not getting well. Of course I could leave but that's easier said than done, and I really do love him.

 

This seems appealing because it sounds like I can influence the situation without needing him to do anything, just by working on myself. I might try it and see what happens.

[Birch]

It's a good thing to let go of grudges, and to wish everyone well, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.

Anyway, don't mean to try to convince you of something you would rather not be convinced of. I'll chut up now.

 

I'm not disputing that it's worth giving up a grudge or wishing others well. This has to do with responsibility. What you're saying is the mistreated child is responsible for his being mistreated? I disagree with this entirely. Furthermore, children who are mistreated often look to themselves as the source of blame anyway.

 

The original ceremony (as you can see from the pdf above) was a collective ceremony where the parties exchanged forgiveness. I think that makes a huge difference.

 

What I do agree with you on is that the mistreated person has to deal (see definition of responsibility above) with the consequences. Has to heal themselves and also should be aware of the dangers of 'passing on' the damage. None of those include taking responsibility (see other part of the definition, as 'blame') for having been mistreated.

 

 

[Birch]

Kate I understand where you are coming from, and yes from the perspective of the bereaved and abused, it seems totally inappropriate to say sorry to your abuser, what Ho'oponopono actually aims towards is to say sorry to your subconscious or abused child mind, your unihipili 'moves through the grass like a snake' to anything in you that had any role in the situation, as according to this form of the practice, anything unpleasant you are experiencing is related to a memory of a previous situation which is bound to skip like an old dvd over the same unpleasantness, ho'oponopono is petitioning the child mind to release this subconscious memory and appeal to the superconscious mind who is beyond error of time and space to edit it out and reboot the subconscious hard drive so that inspiration and purpose can then have room to grow. One of the major contentions with the view of ho'oponopono is that it involves perpetual apologies, and yet we were born into this matrix of duality we call the world seeming without any power or will, how are we then to blame ourselves responsible for this experience? The answer may be the difference between accepting blame and taking responsibility. Responsibility means you are empowered to see the situation for what it is and respond appropriately, whereas accepting a position of blame renders you stagnant and guilty. There may be a tendency for people to confuse the process of taking responsibility for a situation and accepting blame. Taking responsibility feels empowering. Although, perpetual apologies are not for everyone, in any case the point being the apology is not to the party but to your subconscious thoughts of them and the scars those have impacted upon you. Thus you are taking responsibility for the scars, and releasing yourself from their impact.

 

And in this we agree. It's why I brought up the definitions:-)

[Aetherous]

What you're saying is the mistreated child is responsible for his being mistreated?

 

Nope. Unless he decides to stick around or not change the situation.

[Birch]

Nope. Unless he decides to stick around or not change the situation.

 

Dude, had I had the opportunity to move out before I did, I would have.

[suninmyeyes]

Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve

yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.

This resonates .

 

After reading this article I have realised that I have been 'doing' naturaly /spontaniously something like ho'oponopono .

[Jetsun]

Perhaps approach it with the lightest touch?

 

I especially enjoyed doing the practice when walking about town. With no thought on any one or any situation. An expression to the world around me. Might that be of interest to you, Jetsun?

I agree doing it lightly is good, I'm not sure what I would be asking for forgiveness for or saying sorry for though in that situation?.

 

I have tried to master it but it is difficult to not stir up blame and guilt when taking responsibility for everything. It is essentialy similar to a regression to the first few years of your life as in those years you thought everything that happened was about you too so it is a tricky area to work with cleanly.

[Birch]

I've tried versions of this (Metta being one of them) and I actually tried it like the OP suggested. i have this experimental way of doing things, and before I can discuss techniques like this, I want to try them. I had a very emotional and tearful experience with it. Definitely with respect to the blame/responsibility issue where the distinction is very blurry (and to the abuser's advantage) To anyone doing this by themselves, it takes guts.

 

I also want to offer this to the thread http://crcvc.ca/docs/victim_blaming.pdf

[Mokona]

Suggest using Secret Smile and Taoist 6 healing sounds in place of this technique.

 

 

Unless you are also planning on healing a psyche ward in your town. Remember, if you just heal yourself everyone you work with, no matter how mentally ill will suddenly be cured. What will that do for the poor staffers who work at these places? Unemployment!

 

Honestly, what a scam. Where are all th patients that suddenly healed, sane? Not a asingle one provded testimony? Hawaii is a damn small island. You'd think this sort of thing would make the news...

[Birch]

Suggest using Secret Smile and Taoist 6 healing sounds in place of this technique.

 

 

Unless you are also planning on healing a psyche ward in your town. Remember, if you just heal yourself everyone you work with, no matter how mentally ill will suddenly be cured. What will that do for the poor staffers who work at these places? Unemployment!

 

Honestly, what a scam. Where are all th patients that suddenly healed, sane? Not a asingle one provded testimony? Hawaii is a damn small island. You'd think this sort of thing would make the news...

 

The story was promoted by Joe Vitale

[Mokona]

The story was promoted by Joe Vitale

Lets do a google search on the guy..

 

I had read several of Joe Vitale's books and then became a member on his site (Mr Fire.com). I thought I would receive inspirational messages for the day, etc.. to my email address. Instead, I was bombarded 4-6 times per day on audio programs or books by others I must buy, products where he obviously takes a share in the profits (alright if it ways once/month but this was crazy!!). This left a very bad taste in my mouth. Also, he mentions in several of his audio programs and books how he gave $15000 for a machine for a sick boy he didn't know because that's just the freat kind of guy he is. Well, Mr Vitale- good people never mention their charitable efforts! His latest ploy when I cancelled my membership was to spend dinner with him for 2-3 hours for $8000 in Texas, where you get to pick his brain. If you want to listen to truly inspiring and honest people, listen to Wayne Dyer or Esther & Jerry Hicks.....avoid this guy like the plague!

http://www.scamdetective.com/Online-Marketers/Joe-Vitale/Joe-Vitale-breaking-products-acceptable

 

Another great review:

 

http://mrfirespyre.blogspot.com/2010/08/joe-vitales-empire-of-miracles.html

 

Ah! Joe and the law of attraction:

 

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/8/3068342/prosper-scamworld-internet-marketing-boiler-room-joe-vitale-mitt-romney (Lovely New Age BS)

 

Don't cha all thank me at once.

[Xienkula1]

Yep Joe Vitale is part of that whole Secret group along with Bob Proctor and the gang. However, there's the message, and there's the messenger... Joe's goals could be just shameless self-promotion and aggrandizement based on Ho'oponopono. As to whether we could interview all the patients that were released from Hew Len's ward, good for you for thinking critically! I would love to do this as well, and let's see how many actually are 'healed.' There are numerous stories of people claiming all kinds of sudden and miraculous healing with Ho'oponopono, I have met a few and experienced some myself. That's the encouragement that has kept me going. Also, it's important to realise as with most 'ancient' and 'secret' systems, they are almost always post modern innovations or at best post modern reconstructions of 'ancient systems.' For instance, what we know of as Ho'oponopono in this article, was not the Ho'oponopono of ancient Polynesia prior to colonization. In fact the implementation of the Hawaiian word Ho'oponopono for this process of conflict resolution is a recent artifact. Originally, the process involved the Kahuna who acted as a mediator between two parties in conflict and the divine, who served to identify the source of the conflict and create the opportunity for parties to forgive each other and release all ill feelings, then they would enjoy a feast or lu'au usually. This process worked for the people, it helped them get along with each other and let go of grudges, often physical illnesses would disappear Later, a Hawaiian woman named Mornah Simeona would change this system and take out the Kahuna or mediator and put that responsibility directly on the the divine principle of the 'I.' She also added a lot of non-Hawaiian foods and remedies designed to release resentments and the past, this was perhaps an innovation on the traditional foods served at a lu'au reconciliation feast. Next, she was influenced by theosophy, Blavatsky, channeling, the bible, and so this coloured the new incarnation of this Polynesian practice with a Christian New Age overlay. This to me doesn't discredit the system, it simply shows it in new clothes, though I cant help but feel sorry that the original format of practice has been recast in such a non-Hawaiian, non-Polynesian way as to uproot it from its original context and it is my hope and prayer their are still native people holding the original culture and knowledge in all its integrity, although in my experience the original spirit is still present.

[Birch]

I think the only discredit here goes to several of these so-called innovators.

It's like saying we can practice clinical psychotherapy by invoking staged sessions on ourselves.