Ho’oponopono

This Week's Quotation:

The purpose of life is to be restored back to Love, moment to moment. To fulfill this purpose, we must acknowledge that we are 100 percent responsible for creating our life the way it is. The problems are not people, places, and situations but rather our thoughts about them. We must come to appreciate that there is no such thing as "out there." If you want to change anything, you do it inside, not outside. The whole idea is total responsibility.

~ Ihaleakala Hew Len

Ho’oponopono

Terri McCartney

The ho'oponopono is a traditional Hawaiian practice used for purification and restoration. From my perspective, it restores Love where it doesn't seem to be.

Four forces are at work in the ho'oponopono: repentance, forgiveness, gratitude, and Love. The prayer used is: I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. They provide a powerful mantra for purification and restoration. And even miracles. The results of using this process are often astounding.

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len was a Hawaiian therapist that cured an entire ward of criminally insane patients using the ho'oponopono without ever meeting any of them. He learned the process from Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, a native Hawaiian Kahuna. 

Dr. Len referred to the process as a cleaning. When we remember that there is nothing "out there"—that everything happens in our mind—we understand how we are responsible for everything that captures our attention. And if it's not resonant with the vibration of Love, we clean it.

For example, if something in the news upsets us, we accept responsibility for it. We recognize it is now in our field to forgive, to be thanked for coming to our attention, and to be restored to Love.

Try it with circumstances in your life—challenging emotions like guilt or shame are always ripe for cleaning. While we want to feel genuine remorse as we do the process, we want to do so without judgment. After all, we all mess up. We all wish we had done better in certain situations.

Then, with all your heart, state the four phrases of the ho'oponopono. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.

Give it a try. Repeat until you experience the marvel—your perceptions of circumstances changed, your compassion deeper, and your heart more fully opened. Best of all, you generate more of the qualities of Love that our world needs now.

About Open Windows

We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.

We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.