“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you”

Hoʻoponopono (ho-o-pono-pono) is an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness traditionally practiced by healing priests (kahuna pule) among family members of a person who is physically ill.

Although the word hoʻoponopono was not always used, early Hawaiian historians documented a belief that illness was caused by breaking kapu, or spiritual law, and that the illness could not be cured until the sufferer atoned for this transgression. Forgiveness was sought from the gods or from the person with whom there was a dispute.

In the movie The Secret, Joe Vitale talked of a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients without ever seeing any of them by using ho’oponopono. His name was Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len and he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years.

The ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous. Psychologists regularly quit, and the day staff often called in sick or simply quit.  Many would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients.

Though Dr. Len never saw patients he agreed to have an office at the hospital and to review their files. While reviewing those files, he would work on himself using ho’oponopono, and as he did, patients began to heal.

“After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,” he reported. “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.”

It is said that then the staff began to enjoy coming to work. Absenteeism and turnover disappeared.  It took two years to heal the residents enough to be released to normalcy. So it works. Today, that ward is closed down.

What was he doing that caused those people to change?

Dr. Len explained that taking total responsibility for your life means to be responsible for everything – whether you see it, hear it, or experience it – everything is your responsibility. According to the practice, you are responsible for not only what you say and do but what everyone else says or does. It is part of you. Even if you are not aware of it. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation. As it is only experienced inside you.

So, if it’s inside you, you have to change you.

This means that any terrorist activity, the president, the economy, the pandemic, personal affronts, or anything you experience and don’t like – is up to you to heal. Like Dr. Len, who, while looking at those patients’ files kept repeating, “I’m sorry” and “I love you”, over and over again, we can do the same thing.

Ho ‘oponopono means loving yourself completely.

“Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world,” Dr. Hu Len said.

Ho’Oponopono’s success depends upon the energy and attitude you put into it. If you’re using the short version as taught by Dr. Hu Lin,  say it with a lot of love and compassion for yourself and others.

The phrases don’t have to be in any particular order. They are:

•I’m sorry

•Please forgive me

•Thank you

•I love you

Whenever you are having difficult thoughts that are non-productive and stressing you out, it is time to practice Ho’oponopono. You can do it on your own for 10 to 30 minutes. You can even start a conversation by using each step as part of it. For a meditation, you can start by visualizing uncomfortable situations and tune into the emotions you feel. Then, vocalize the prayer (listed below) or say it silently to yourself. As you repeat the phrases, you can be open to healing, and reconnect to your power.

Step 1: Say, “I’m sorry.”

The first step is to realize that you are responsible for everything in your mind, even if it seems to be “outside” of you. This statement opens the door to atonement. At-one-ment. Once you accept that, it’s very natural to feel sorry. When you read about all the heartache and destruction in the world and take responsibility for becoming aware of that reality in your consciousness, you might naturally become sorry. This realization can be difficult to accept, and one’s ego will definitely resist this level of responsibility, but once you start to practice this method and see results it is nothing short of miraculous.

It is even more powerful to say it more clearly, “I realize that I am responsible for this (issue) and I feel remorse that my consciousness has allowed this.”

The moment you take responsibility for any negative manifestation you experience or witness, you also create an opportunity for healing. The apology is an acknowledgement that you are sorry for whatever it is that you (or ancestors before you) have done to cause the adverse circumstance to take place. There is no need to grovel, just a simple “I am sorry” will do.

Step 2: “Please forgive me.”

Don’t worry about who you’re asking. Say it over and over. Mean it. Remember your remorse from Step 1 as you ask to be forgiven. You might consider the word forgive in another way as in, “thank you For Giving me this opportunity.”

Step 3: ” Thank you.”

Whatever your petition or concern, the moment you take responsibility for its occurrence and seek a way out — you are guaranteed a response from the universe. Almost invariably the response won’t be what you expect (or in some cases won’t be what you want), but it will be what you need to start the process of healing or reconstruction.

Your “thank you” is the acknowledgement that your petition has been heard and acted upon–that is all. Again it doesn’t really matter who or what you’re thanking. Thank your body for all it does for you. Thank yourself for being the best you can be. Thank God. Thank the Universe. Thank whatever it was that just forgave you. Just keep saying “Thank you.”

Step 4: “I love you.”

You wield the love force, the great healing power. This can also be step 1. Say it to your body, say it to God, say it to the universe. Say “I love you” to the air you breathe, to the house that shelters you. Say it to your challenges. Say it over and over. Just say it and mean it. There is nothing as powerful as Love.

That’s it. The whole practice in a nutshell. Simple and amazingly effective.