Ho' oponopono and the Power of Love

From a metaphysical-mystical-spiritual perspective I am you and you are me. We, together, are the tallest mountain and the tiniest grain of sand. We are the sun, planets, stars, galaxy and universe. We are everything we can see, everything our most sensitive scientific instruments can measure, and much, much more than that. Any perception of separation we may feel from each other, or anything else, is indeed an illusion. Why? Because everything in the universe is connected, and that connection is through the energy that comprises us and everything else in existence.

In order to understand all this we must first set aside the ego's notion that some things are impossible, and accept that anything is possible. This doesn't mean you have to blindly believe everything you're told; use your discernment. Skepticism, however, for the sake of itself is ego-based and consciousness-limiting. It's doubtful that you'll ever convince a skeptic of that, but it's not like you should care.

Human history is filled with examples of ideas that were thought at one time to be impossible, and are now commonplace. Did the Wright brothers believe the prevailing conventional wisdom of their time, and accept that human flight was impossible? Why should you accept what you're told, or what your ego (the single most limiting factor to human awareness) would have you believe?

There is no duality even though our egos convince us there is. We are not separate. We are all One, infinitely bound together through energy.

Metaphysicians and mystics know love to be the greatest, most powerful force in the universe. Love is the essence of God (Or Goddess, Mother-Father God, Source, Creator, All-That-Is, etc -- whatever name suits you for a concept well beyond man-consciousness). Through applying the power of love we can affect significant changes in ourselves and others.

How do we do that? The first step is to take complete responsibility for everything in our lives. Most people would deny it, but it is a Great Truth that we do, indeed, create the events of our lives from birth to death and beyond.

The reason we don't realize it is because in our four-dimensional world it takes time for the energy of our thoughts, words, and emotions to coalesce into matter. We don't see the connection between what we thought, expressed and felt months ago, and how it all manifests into our reality today.

The reason we deny it is we're more comfortable seeing ourselves as victims of circumstances beyond our control, rather than the actual creators of those circumstances. Many people just love playing the victim because it's an excuse to feel sorry for themselves. That's not meant to sound harsh. It simply is as it is, and quite true.

When we take responsibility we begin to see the connection. Once we see the connection, we can no longer deny our full and complete role in how our thoughts, emotions, and verbalization of it all creates the details of our lives. They are ours, aren't they? They are our creations. Why not take ownership of them? It's a powerful step.

You may have created the majority of what is in your life. I however, have created you in my life. Putting our energy connection aside, by virtue of the fact that you're reading this, you're a factor in my life, and I am a factor in yours. Do you see the connection?

The next step to profoundly changing things is to love ourselves and express that love, and through that bring our God-essence into our conscious Being. When we channel that essence we become capable of miracles.

The story below was described to me last summer. I'd forgotten about it until I "stumbled" (I use quotation marks because metaphysicians know we don't accidentally "stumble" on anything!) upon this excerpt from a book about it. I thought it worth sharing. It further illustrates how every thing and every one is connected. It also describes how profoundly we can change other people, even if we've never met them.

Excerpted from the book Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More

by Joe Vitale and Dr. Hew Len

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. 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--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: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or Anything Else) From the Inside Out. 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."

Joe Vitale

Back to the blog. Here's how I perceive the ho' oponopono technique worked in this story, from my consciousness in this moment, as I write this:

The statements are all self-directed. The "I'm sorry" statement is an apology, and also an acknowledgment of responsibility. "I love you" is of course an expression of love. In addition, two more phrases are used (Guess you need to read the book to get all the details), "Please forgive me", asking for forgiveness, and "Thank you", the all-important element of gratitude. The healing didn't happen overnight because the energy Dr Len was deliberately creating took time to manifest in matter, but the statements, repeated over and over, worked miracles upon the patients.

Ho' oponopono is from Huna, the Hawaiian shamanic tradition. It must be performed with pure intention, i.e. no personal feelings or agenda can be brought into it. I assume this is why Dr Len did not meet any of the patients. Through preserving that distance he was able to keep any personal impressions and feelings out of the process, and maintain his pure intention. By taking responsibility and accepting, even believing, it was possible, Dr Len was able to apply the power of love to himself, and with that heal an entire hospital ward of criminally insane patients.

Brilliant.

Ultimately, my analysis of this does not matter. There are undoubtedly factors at work in the process that I can't even begin to understand. So, I throw it out there as one person's perspective only. What really matters is the process works.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all put these concepts of responsibility and love into practice? We could change not only our immediate world, but the entire planet as well. Another tool for the Lightworker's tool box, and a very powerful one indeed.

I'm going to put this technique to work in my life. How about you? Are you willing to assume that level of responsibility? Can you apply it to yourself, and tell your friends about it, so maybe they can do it too? Why don't we get to work?

Peace to all.