There’s a story about a Kahuna in Hawaii who was able to heal virtually all of the patients at a state hospital for the criminally insane.
He never touched them, spoke to them, or even saw them except in photos.
When he was hired as a licensed therapist, the hospital had a very high turnover rate and most of the patients were either shackled or sedated. Visitors were rare.
After three months of staying in his office, things began to change. Patients were no longer violent and restraints were removed. Staff stopped quitting and visitors began to show up. Within four years all of the patients were released as normal.
When asked what he was doing in his office, he told them, “Self-Identity Ho’oponopono”, a technique he had learned from his Kahuna teacher, a woman named Morrnah Simeona, whom he studied under for 25 years.
Dr. ‘Ihaleakala Hew Len’s story inspired Joe Vitale (of “The Secret” fame) to track down and study under him for a year which led to his book, Zero Limits.
Ancient Wisdom Can Heal Modern Problems
As a Kahuna myself, I learned about the spiritual technique known as Ho’oponopono several years after that story went viral. My five years of training into the perspective, principles, and practice of ‘Ho’ala Huna’ included the basics of Ho’oponopono which translates as, “to bring into balance that which is out-of-balance.” It has also been defined as, “to make right”.
“Pono”, Balance, is central to an understanding of Harmony, which is the natural state of the Universe. When everything is Pono, in balance, it is considered the “Zero Point”. Much like to be in Acceptance is to be in Tao—in Ho‘oponopono language, it’s to be at Zero.
“Because subconscious content is beyond reach, we only are aware of the emotional charge.”
Jim Nourse, Opening the Aloha Mind: Healing Self, Healing the World with Ho’oponopono
Conflict Resolution Ritual and Self-Identity Meditation
The version of Ho’oponopono that I learned is a process for conflict resolution. It takes the form of a ritual, addressing issues around a sacred Huna altar in which all parties are Willing to be Humble and Open to a different perspective. A ‘talking stick’ is used to go back and forth under the direction of the presiding Kahuna who applies Huna Principles to the issues at hand, as well as corrects the ‘languaging’ of each persons responses so that the other person can ‘hear’ them.
It is wonderfully powerful at restoring Balance between all parties involved. I’ve seen miracles happen!
The form of Ho’o’ponopono that was practiced by Dr. Hew Len is a version he learned from Simeona, which has since been developed into a course called “Self I-Dentity Through Ho’oponopono®”.
It is a “self-healing” method of restoring balance, rectifying issues and solving problems that, as in the example above with Dr. Hew Len and the state hospital, can deeply affect everyone within the awareness of the person who is doing the process.
“Self-identity” means that one takes full and complete responsibility for the entire situation as if it were all of one’s own error in creation. (Like Dr. Hew Len did for the patients at the hospital that he didn’t even know.)
Indeed, that is how the process works. He saw all those patients as the result of imbalances within his own energy field and did the process to “clean” or “clear” those imbalances from himself.
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Getting to Zero
Joe Vitale, who has partnered with Dr. Hew Len, describes it this way in his book, The Art and Science of Results, The 9 Most Powerful Ways To Clear Blocks To Your Ultimate Success:
“Basically, ho’oponopono assumes that there is no outer in the world. It is all an inside job. Everything you see in the outer—where do you see it? You see it in your mind. Where is your mind? Inside you.
“So if you look out and see a problem, or you see somebody that’s bothering you, that’s actually like watching a film. Where is the film being projected from? Inside the projector. Where’s the projector? Inside of you.
“When you’re looking at things from the ho’oponopono perspective, you remember that everything you’re seeing on the outside is a reflection of what’s inside you. So if you want to change, you have to do it inside you. Trying to change the outer is like standing in front of a mirror to shave but shaving the mirror.
“So one of the first premises is that the world is a mirror.”
Self-Identifying with the ‘cause’ means that if you are aware of a belligerent neighbor or person across town who was arrested for stealing or a homeless person on the other side of the world, you are now aware of imbalances within your own energy field (or your Connection to the Greater Reality).
That means you have the power to “clear” whatever caused the imbalance that resulted in the thing happening and therefore, solve, heal and restore balance back to Zero Point.
The Self-Identity Ho’oponopono Process
In the many layers of dimensions that make up who we are and the Greater Reality we exist in, everything that has happened leaves traces of energy, imprints of an imbalance. Dr. Hew Len calls it ‘data’ or ‘memories’. You could also put erroneous beliefs into that category.
Self I-dentity Ho’oponopono addresses those residual data/memories that are lodged there, and clears it, not just for oneself, but for everyone forever. Back to Zero.
There are three important elements of the process: Repentance, Forgiveness and Transmutation. This is the “energy treatment” that does the clearing. There is a simple 4 sentence phrase that invokes the process:
I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.
“I love you” affirms the principle and energy of Love. Love is the ‘glue’ that binds us as a part of the Greater Whole where we are all Connected. When you can say, “I love you” to the person with whom you are having a conflict, you remove the separation between you and them, even just saying it in your mind.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me” invokes Humility. To affect any kind of change, we must be Humble by releasing attachment to having anything be ‘our way’. The goal is Balance, Healing and Harmony within the Divine scheme of things that may or may not look like our conscious mind thinks it should. And so we ‘let go.’
When we say, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” we’re essentially saying, “I release attachment to whatever it is that has separated us because I love you, I want our relationship to be in Balance. I want there to be Harmony between us as that is our Natural State.”
Once we have done that, in a prayerful, meditative state for the person/situation/problem we have directed it towards, we can relax and know we have affected a shift to bring Balance to all involved.
“Thank you” is the final touch of Gratitude and Certainty that we have affected the entire situation at an energetic, spiritual level within the Greater Reality.
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“Our failure to deal with the subconscious and our tendency to blame others adds up to an inability to take responsibility for our lives. The feeling of powerlessness – and eventually hopelessness—that this engenders is an emotional cancer.”
Ihaleakala Hew Len, Ph.D
I have used this process many, many times. Especially when I’m on the ‘outs’ with someone, especially when there is emotional pain. Joe Vitale says that he has created a habit of simply repeating the phrase all the time as a sort of ‘background prayer’. “Just say it forever”, he says.
And I have seen wonderful results: with the sometimes contentious relationship I have with my sister, a friend of mine took her son to court for a serious charge and had an outcome better than they could have hoped for, people who were sick and rather than succumbing, they recovered. On and on…
Besides the benefit of results, it’s simply a tool to use, something you can do when you don’t know what else to do. It gives you a way to channel your pain into a positive form of release, and therefore makes you feel better about the situation.
Here’s a thought, what if we taught this process to:
- children to deal with bullying?
- world leaders to deal with other countries?
- inmates to deal with other inmates?
- family members to deal with family matters?
- teachers or parents to deal with their kids?
- police officers to deal with their job?
- The possible applications are endless…
Abundant Resources
This article only provides a brief introduction to this very ancient, yet modern spiritual technique. Joe Vitale’s book, Zero Limits goes into more depth and includes his experiences with Dr. Hew Len.
Another book I read is Ho’oponopono, Your Path To True Forgiveness, by Dr. Matt James is also good, but my favorite is Opening the Aloha Mind, Healing The Self, Healing The World With Ho’oponopono by Jim Nourse, Ph.D.
There is plenty on YouTube regarding Ho’o’ponopono, as well as Dr. Hew Len, Joe Vitale and many others espousing its magical formula.
Here is a short video of Dr. Hew Len and Joe Vitale
A Short Version
There are differences of opinion as to the order of “I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, and Thank you.” Some say, “I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you.”
It doesn’t matter.
And some say too, that you can just say, “I love you, Thank you.”
Just saying, “Thank you” would be enough; or “I love you”, would be enough.
Here’s the kicker: You have to be Spiritually Conscious and Aware to say anything like that at all in the first place. And that’s kind of the point too.
Rinse and repeat the energies of Repentance, Forgiveness and Transmutation to a place of Zero problems, for yourself and for everyone!
That’s Love. That’s…
Aloha!