Ho’Oponopono
Meditation for Healing
Today I’d like to share with you a beautiful Hawaiian prayer/meditation called Ho’Oponopono. It’s a very simple healing practice involving the repetition of 4 intentions. This simple meditation is based on a more complex idea that all of humanity is connected, so that when we meditate with a focus on our own -or someone else’s- pain, we create healing through the expression of repentance, forgiveness, love, and gratitude.
The Hawaiian psychologist Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len has done some remarkable work with this traditional practice, with an updated version he calls Self I-Dentity Through Ho’oponopono (SITH). Dr. Len purportedly has helped people to heal from a distance through this practice after studying their charts, even without meeting with them directly.
A few ways to use Ho’Oponopono
You may try this meditation first with a personal issue for which you can take responsibility, such as a habit related to your health or relationships.
After you’ve become comfortable with that practice, you may then focus on healing in a conflict or issue you have with another person.
Over time, you may extend your practice to focus on healing in an issue someone else has that doesn’t involve you directly. This could include personal issues or those of peace and conflict in your community or the world more broadly.
To begin, hold a particular source of pain or suffering in mind and repeat the following four thoughts as often as you feel moved. Remember, this traditional Hawaiian prayer focuses on the connection between all humanity and God or nature as you know it, so it is not so important whom you direct these thoughts to, but more that you sincerely feel them and express them, either in your own mind or out loud. I’ve included an audio to guide you:
The order in which you say these 4 intentions is flexible:
1) “I’M SORRY” - Name the problem and hold some sense of responsibility for it. You are expressing a deep sense of repentance either for yourself or on another’s behalf.
2) “PLEASE FORGIVE ME” - this is a feeling of deep remorse for the problem, for which you’ve taken on a share of responsibility.
3) “THANK YOU” - this is a deep expression of gratitude, directed wherever you feel moved, either to another person, God, or your own body. Feel it deeply, as an experience of feeling forgiven, and a celebration for life’s many blessings.
4) “I LOVE YOU” - love is one of the most powerful feelings we can share and express, to ourselves, others, God, our world.
Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this traditional practice of Ho’Oponopono, and find that it leaves you with a sense of healing and a positive connection to others.
