HO’OPONOPONO I
UNIVERSAL HEALING FOR HUMANITY
Introduction
Ho’ponopono is about Spirit and not about technique. Although considered an ancient Hawaiian clearing, counseling and healing method, it has now been recognized as part of the original art and science of healing and spiritual development of the peoples of the Earth. It is constantly evolving although there are a few versions of Ho’oponopono still practiced in Hawaii today which are substantially different in approach from Morrnah Simeona and Dr. Stan Hew Len’s methods.
They include:
1. Ho’oponopono through a bodywork style called Lomilomi, which produces energetic releases and Clearings mediated through the therapist’s hands from trigger points and the joints of the body. This is done as part of the lomilomi massage or can be given purely as a bioenergetic treatment. In this method the client is not actively involved as the therapist leads the sessions.
2. A Conflict Resolution method, which is a consciously Multi-dimensional Clearing method and includes elements of Spiritual Mediation referred to later in this article. This method is used in family, work or organizational conflicts.
3. Removal of curses, dark forces and possessions. The Hawaiians deeply believe these exist.
4. Clearing of land and buildings that are filled with spirits, darkness or the energy of bloodshed. The ancient Hawaiians were constantly feuding and there were many bloody battles. They believe that the energetic footprint of these battles remain in the land where the battles took place. To prevent further bloodshed or conflict on the same land, they clear the land of all negative energies so future generations can live in harmony.
In the past 17 years of practicing in this field I have noticed that Ho’oponopono and Shamanism workshops have become increasingly popular, although the practices are fairly demanding. These healing practices seem to attract people who are interested in spiritual growth and personal development, or expansion of their awareness and their connection to universal spirit.
More recently, therapists and spiritual counselors have been attending these workshops after reading the few available books on Ho’oponopono, (Katz, 2004; Vitale 2007). They now want to experience this healing energy. When people are realigned to the Ho’oponopono consciousness, it awakens inside awarenesses that we all faintly remember.
Ho’oponopono means “to make right,” or “to rectify an error”
Effectively, it means to make it right with the ancestors, or your family, friends or anyone or anything with whom or which you have a relationship. This can include the animal, vegetable or mineral kingdoms and indeed our planet. Originally Ho’oponopono was used to correct the wrongs that had occurred.
Na kala: The Fortune of Forgiveness
Hawaiian values include a profound code of forgiveness. They believe that when we forgive others, we our also forgiving ourselves. Kala means “to untie, unbind and set free.” The person, group or nation to whom the wrongdoer is indebted free themselves and the ‘others’ of the karmic debt or wrongdoing. It does not exist anymore. This could only be done by unbinding attachments to the past wrongs; by making right the future.
Other healing traditions have similar teachings. For instance, in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), there is a saying, “People do the best they can with the resources they have available.” This is a forgiveness concept – especially when you include yourself as one of those “people.”
Taking the plank of wood out of our own eye before removing splinters from others
Dr. Ihaleakala Len Hew distinguishes his Hawaiian approach from traditional Western therapy where the therapist considers that the source of the problem resides within the client rather than within the therapist. In Ho’oponopono, the therapist comes from the position of having created the issue, and not the client. In Hew’s approach it is the therapist’s responsibility to help clients in working through their issues. He suggests that the unacknowledged heavy burden of responsibility on the therapist in the Western paradigm could be an explanation for the high rates of clinical burnout in psychotherapy.
In Ihaleakala’s version of Ho’oponopono “the therapist must be willing to be 100% responsible for having created the problem situation, that is, he must be willing to see that the source of the problem is erroneous thoughts within him, not within the client. Therapists never seem to notice that every time there is a problem, they are always present!” (Hew, web reference)
When we look at family patterns through Western eyes, we are inclined through family customs to follow the clan traditions and behavior patterns. In Eastern and Middle Eastern traditions, this is a much stronger societal pattern, where people would say they feel compelled to comply with these customs. We tend to accept these as the best ways to behave because “that’s the way we have always done it in our family.” As a result, certain generational themes are passed down the family line, such as compassion for the underdog, charitable activities, greed, anger at “others” that may justify revenge killings, or any number of other beliefs and behaviors.
Often, people complain about the bad behavior in others when they themselves are guilty of the very same behavior. In this form of Ho’oponopono we first recognize the behavior in ourselves and then clear it away from ourselves. When a skilled practitioner does this type of clearing, it also clears from the other person or group.
In my practice of Ho’oponopono, when I cleared stuck or negative energy from land, buildings and spirits, it automatically lifted from the townsfolk because we are all interconnected. The bloodshed and negative energy affected the energies of everyone living in the town and triggered aggressive behavior patterns.
The deeper wounds were in the land, building and displaced spirits and once these were released, then the energies left the townsfolk as well as the buildings, land and ancestors that were on the disputed land. Even the neighbor’s dog stopped his incessant barking.
The theory behind the various Hawaiian traditions of Ho’oponopono
We carry inside us as segments of the Unconscious Mind, connecting us with all the significant people in our lives. These segments resemble Carl Jung’s archetypes. The process of Ho’oponopono is to align with and clear up residual energies resonating through our genealogy as well as to clear up our relationships with other people in our current lives. Taking this one step further, we can clear up the same issues on behalf of clients and even groups of individuals.
In this system, there is no need to work out, solve, manage or cope with problems. Since the Divine created everything, you can just go directly to Divine and ask that it be corrected and cleansed.
I have found that Ho’oponopono works well with family feuds and rifts. Problems occur when one or two members do not follow the clan. The struggle that follows as the clan leaders attempt to restore the clan equilibrium and behavior patterns can sometimes create long-standing feuds or even break ups between individuals in the clan. As mentioned before there is no logical reason for certain behaviors other than “that’s the way we have always done it in our family.” As a result, certain generational themes are passed down the family line, like anger or greed or any number of different responses stimulated through traditions, taboos and emotions. Ho’oponopono enables us to clear up these deep-seated behavior patterns and conflicts throughout the whole family structure.
Children naturally have a better chance with Ho’oponopono since they forgive more readily. For instance, if a seven year-old kicks a schoolmate intentionally in anger, and the child who has been kicked forgives the other, they do not hold grudges and can continue to play as friends. Releasing old memories of pain, anger or guilt or any negative emotions that do not serve us is the essence of Ho’oponopono.