The Ho’oponopono Power of Forgiveness and Letting Go
By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful
Hawaiian legend states that every child born is similar to a bowl of Light. That Light starts out as everything good, loving, peaceful, playful and creative. Unfortunately, as most of us grow, we start filling our bowls with stones of judgment, worry, fear, regret, anger and even hate. If we continue down that path, then eventually our bowl of Light is filled with stones and we become nothing more than stone ourselves. Happily, with intention and the practice of Ho’oponopono, our Light can be restored to our original nature. Sound nice? What if it were true? And what if it offers us a solution to many of the problems facing the world and most individuals today?
I first learned about Ho’oponopono a number of years ago from a person who had studied the system from a Kahuna, or spiritual teacher, in Hawaii. Pronounced, “Ho-O-Pono-pono, it is an ancient practice from Hawaii focused on reconciliation and forgiveness. The origins appear to have been as a community custom that focused on maintaining harmony and peace within the group—and implementing restitution when necessary. Some call it a spiritual, mental and even physical cleansing of wrong thought or action. Through the years it has evolved beyond the community into an individual method of restoring inner peace, equilibrium, and self-healing. While there are a number of modern teachers with varying interpretations, most of them focus on the power of forgiveness and letting go.
How is ho’oponopono different from just learning to forgive?
Most of us who have been on the self-awareness and personal growth path are familiar with the many benefits of forgiveness. We’ve likely all heard the statement, “not forgiving is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die from it.” But what makes ho’oponopono unique is that it places the need to forgive and let go from within the person holding the feeling. In other words, any pain, judgment, fear, regret or anger regarding anything, is within me. So, in order to get rid of those destructive emotions and feelings, I must cleanse it from me completely. And here’s the catcher—I must realize that that anything that is going on in me, OR that happens to me, is a reflection of my consciousness where it was created.
Oh wait a bloody minute!!! I can almost hear the denial screaming through the internet as I write. “You mean it’s my fault that person attacked me?” Or, “you’re trying to tell me that I’m responsible for my cancer?” Or, “How can I be blamed for our recently elected president???” Okay, so before you kill the messenger, just remember that I am sharing the practice of ho’oponopono with you as a potential way to ease the problems in your life. I didn’t make this up. Google it if you don’t believe me. But before you completely stop reading, hear me out.
What Do Advocates Of Ho’oponopono Teach?
One of the most renowned teachers of ho’oponopono these days is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. Dr. Hew Len first studied with a Hawaiian Kahuna and healer named Morrnah Simeona. Although a descendant of Hawaiian Royalty and taught the ancient ways, Simeona was influenced by Christian teachings combined with an interest in holistic practices from India, China and the spiritual teacher Edgar Cayce. Bridging her Hawaiian and Christian understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation, Simeona began exploring how karma and cause-and-effect tied each person to past trauma, negative thoughts and experiences, and even triggered reincarnation. She taught that the right prayers, very similar to those taught by Science of Mind and other New Thought religions, were the best way to clear and cleanse those negative energies or “stones” that are blocking the Light within us and within the world.
Upon Simeona’s passing, Dr. Ihaleakala S. Hew Len continued on with the teaching and made adaptations along the way. From Dr. Hew Len’s perspective, ho’oponopono is best understood as a return to our blank state of Light. He calls that state, “Zero” and believes that once there, we exist with zero limits. However, a big key is the awareness that if all Life is interconnected and we are One with it, then we must accept 100% responsibility for everything that happens to us and in our world. Hew Len veered away from Simeona’s focus on using prayer as the best tool to reach ho’oponopono, and instead began to use a mantra that anyone could use, anytime, anywhere. That mantra is: “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” (Or any variation of that order).
Another well-known international teacher of ho’oponopono is a woman named Mabel Katz. A Jewish woman by birth, originally from Argentina, Katz moved to Los Angeles and worked as an accountant and businesswoman before studying with Dr. Hew Len. Eventually she began speaking about her interpretation of ho’oponopono and wrote a book she named, The Easiest Way. Using practices that focus on forgiveness and gratitude, her goal is also to return us all to a state of “Zero Frequency. “ She teaches that from that “clarity of Zero”, outstanding solutions become apparent and excellent choices can be made. But she is very clear that accepting full responsibility for what is happening to you has nothing to do with guilt and everything to do with cleaning.
What are key elements in all interpretations of Ho’oponopono forgiveness?
If you take the time to read the many stories and ideas about ho’oponopono, you can’t help but recognize that a key element is an awareness of how we all carry our past around with us. If not the past, we are focused and worried about the future. Ho’oponopono teaches that we must clean that attachment repeatedly to all the past memories we have floating around in our consciousness. Just saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you” or the more complete mantra of Dr. Hew Len of “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you,” over and over is often a good way to break the chain to the past. Remember, you are not condoning bad behavior, only cleaning and clearing your conscious and unconscious connection to it.
Another element is refusing to be a victim. This focus reminds me of the teaching of Carolyn Myss who repeatedly teaches that most illness is because of victim-mentality that we carry around with us. Myss teaches in her book Why People Don’t Heal that most illness happens because people can’t let go of those “stones” we are carrying around. She teaches that if we only have so much life energy and we are using 60-70% of it focused on the things in the past that we can’t control or the 10-20% of things we worry about in the future, it is no wonder we are sick—and no wonder that our bodies and souls don’t have the life energy to heal us—let alone bring us peace and happiness.
The final component is the awareness that we create our own reality. Like Law of Attraction (LOA) ho’oponopono teaches that we live in a whole and unified Universe where what happens to the least of us, happens to us all. Just as a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the planet, so too are we affected directly and indirectly by the actions of others—with all of it occurring first within the invisible realm that exists beyond the material world. That interwoven connection suggests that it’s possible that healing our mental, emotional and spiritual self also helps to heal others and the world around us.
So how does ho’oponopono help me today?
I get that some of these concepts may be hard to accept. Those of us, especially those of us raised in western cultures are highly addicted to thinking of the material world as primary (and in many cases exclusionary.) We also tend to think of ourselves as separate and distinct individuals. But for anyone on the spiritual path who has been looking for answers to a more peaceful and harmonious life, ho’oponopono might be the jumping off point you’ve been looking to find. Even if a person does nothing more than begin to recite the mantra, “I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you,” over and over again, especially when confronted with fear, confusion or anger, it just might make a difference. How far you go from there is entirely up to you.
As with all things here on SMART Living 365 I do my best not to pretend I have the answers for anyone other than myself. But let’s face it; there are many tools from many different traditions that have helped people find the peace and happiness they are seeking. Staying open-minded, exploring our options, learning from others when we can, and moving forward are all part of a SMART life. And isn’t it good to think of yourself and every loved one you know, as a shining bowl of Light?
22 Comments
Comments
Corinne Rodrigues says
April 5, 2017 at 9:00 PM
I do believe this even if I didn’t call it hooponopono until now, Kathy. Just yesterday I was reading about Anne Lamott’s new book, Hallelujah Anyway, in which she says : “Mercy is radical kindness.” According to her mercy is the permission you give others—and yourself—to let go of the judgment and pain.
Kathy Gottberg says
April 9, 2017 at 4:27 PM
Hi Corinne! What an interesting way to think of mercy. I think most of us just think of it as giving, giving and taking care of others….but how often are we merciful to ourselves? And yes, one of the best kindnesses we can offer anyone (ourselves included) is to let go of that judgment and pain. Not always easy but VERY important! Thank you for adding that to the conversation. ~Kathy
Beverly Diehl says
April 3, 2017 at 4:49 PM
What an interesting way of looking at things.I think sometimes we let go of our stones and baggage in steps. This mantra seems like it would be a good one to practice.
Kathy Gottberg says
April 4, 2017 at 2:07 PM
Hi Beverly. You are so right. From where I stand, the only way you can ever get rid of the stones that have taken years to collect is to do them one by one. And I’ll bet some are bigger stones than others so perhaps we start with the small ones and move forward from that? Dr. Hew Len is big into “cleaning” and constantly speaks about how that cleaning needs to happen over and over again. When it does, he says miracles happen. ~Kathy
Roxanne Jones says
April 3, 2017 at 2:14 PM
What a fascinating article and exploration of this practice, Kathy. I’d never heard of it before! It makes so much sense–the idea of taking responsibility, not only for ourselves, but for what happens in our world. I can’t help but think of the contrast between the two political parties in our country, and how the Democrats seem so much more attuned to the concept that we’re all interconnected. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned!
Kathy Gottberg says
April 4, 2017 at 2:04 PM
Hi Roxanne! I do believe there is a lot to be gained by this process….and there are tons of people who speak very highly of it. But obviously it isn’t always easy. And the Ho’oponopono teaching believes that even the “contrast between the two political parties” is our responsibility and THAT is very difficult to accept. But if our goal is compassion and healing, then such radical forgiveness is necessary. I’m not saying I’m anywhere close but at least I understand why! ~Kathy
Carol A Cassara says
April 3, 2017 at 8:24 AM
I love the mantra. It’s beautiful. And so are you for sharing this lovely piece with us. I know that learning forgiveness is my reason for being here and that’s another reason this resonates with me.
Kathy Gottberg says
April 3, 2017 at 9:26 AM
Hi Carol. Thank you! And I found it fascinating that Morrnah Simeona actually studied Edgar Cayce when she was practicing as a healer. I know you are also a big fan so it’s probably obvious how important such a practice is for most of us. ~Kathy
Jamie says
March 31, 2017 at 4:46 PM
Kathy,
Thank you very much for sharing this. The % of time holding onto the past and worrying about the future was especially meaningful to me. I am going to check into Ho’oponopono further
Jamie
Carol Wuenschell says
March 31, 2017 at 12:53 PM
I’m going to try that mantra. How could it hurt?
Gosina Gose says
March 31, 2017 at 11:17 AM
Hi Kathy!
Your article is just awesome. I LOVE this ancient Hawaiian healing method ‘ho’oponopono’. It is very powerful and kind of mind blowing. I came across ho’oponopono in December 2016 and since then I’m a huge fan of it and practice it daily, and often at night when I wake up. I suffered from insomnia for a very long time. I am okay now but still wake up at night. Ho’oponopono is a blessing in my life and it always works. You can use the four magical and powerful phrases silently or loud in any situation. I’ve read a bunch of books about ho’oponopono so far and “The Easiest Way” will be my next. Thanks for your tip. Have you ever listened to this beautiful ho’ponopono song by Aman Ryusuke Seto? If not, please do it… it’s so beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLSkopnxj0
Did you know that Morrnah Simeona lived very close to me? Wow, I can’t believe it. She died in 1992 in Kirchheim, close to Munich.
I love you. Please forgive me. I am sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Kathy!!
Kathy Gottberg says
March 31, 2017 at 2:55 PM
Hi Gosina! Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience of ho’oponopono with all of us. While I haven’t been studying it now for very long, I too will attest that it is a great way to shut off the monkey mind at night and allow for good sleep. There is so MUCH there to benefit from that I have to believe in these times it could be helpful for us all. And how interesting to think you were practically neighbors with Morrnah Simeona. It IS a small world isn’t it? Thanks again for your input. ~Kathy
Laura Zera says
March 31, 2017 at 10:57 AM
How about if I want to make “ho’oponopono” my mantra? I love that word!!
The idea of taking 100% responsibility is so intriguing to me. If all the angry, frustrated people in the world did this, what would they become? What would our world become? And from my observations, when people don’t “own their sh*t,” as I like to say, they end up dumping it on everyone else around them. They create collateral damage from not addressing their own problems/feelings/wounds. But angry, frustrated people will call those who consider/practice ho’oponopono “snowflakes” and we won’t get anywhere, I fear. And, we can only be responsible for ourselves. Onward.
Kathy Gottberg says
March 31, 2017 at 2:52 PM
Hi Laura! Hahaha! It’s actually easier to say “I’m sorry, I forgive you, thank you, and I love you” over and over than to say ho’oponopono over and over! (At least to me!!!) Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a world where everyone took such 100% responsibility? BUT….as ho’oponopono teaches, it will never be until we “see” it first within ourselves…ALL healing starts there. The biggest challenge for us is for us to claim that shadow within ourselves and to begin to heal it. Obviously I’m not there yet but I am working on it. As you say, “Onward!” ~Kathy
Mike Marko says
March 31, 2017 at 7:20 AM
This is one powerful article I’ve read so far. Not only providing ideas but also offers clarity and closures for the mind. I had fun reading. Worth my time! Thanks a lot for this!
Kathy Gottberg says
March 31, 2017 at 2:48 PM
Hi Mike! I’m glad you found this helpful. The concept of Ho’oponopono has been around a long time and helped thousands (if not millions) of people. Keep studying if you think it has as much value as I do. ~Kathy
Still the Lucky Few says
March 31, 2017 at 7:15 AM
Kathy, it’s the toughest principle of life—accepting responsibility for what happens to us. Creating our lives, being part of the Universe, forgiving, refusing to be a victim…These principles of Ho’oponopono are the fundamental truths to live by. I loved this article! Thanks for writing this.
Kathy Gottberg says
March 31, 2017 at 2:46 PM
Hi Diane! Oh yes, even those of us who think we accept full responsibility still struggle to accept it all. I think we all tend to confuse accepting responsibility with accepting or condoning bad or even evil behavior. As you know, it’s far from that…and one of the most challenging things we can ever do. Thanks for letting me know that you resonated with this. ~Kathy
Barbara Younger says
March 31, 2017 at 6:41 AM
This is fascinating. Thank you so much! Timely for me, too. Very!
Kathy Gottberg says
March 31, 2017 at 2:44 PM
Hi Barbara! I think it is timely for all of us really, right? I think lots of us are carrying around baggage about the past (not to mention worry about the future) that we would benefit by letting go of any way we can. This seems to work for lots of people so why not give it a try? ~Kathy
Barbara Younger says
April 1, 2017 at 4:23 AM
And I watched my mom hold onto negative things forever. It’s been a big lesson, I hope I’ve finally gotten for how I want to live the rest of my own life.
Kathy Gottberg says
April 3, 2017 at 9:23 AM
Hi Barbara….yes, sometimes we learn by following others behavior…sometimes by doing the exact opposite. Good for you for realizing what negativity does to us in the long run. ~Kathy
I first learned about Ho’oponopono a number of years ago from a person who had studied the system from a Kahuna, or spiritual teacher, in Hawaii. Pronounced, “Ho-O-Pono-pono, it is an ancient practice from Hawaii focused on reconciliation and forgiveness. The origins appear to have been as a community custom that focused on maintaining harmony and peace within the group—and implementing restitution when necessary. Some call it a spiritual, mental and even physical cleansing of wrong thought or action. Through the years it has evolved beyond the community into an individual method of restoring inner peace, equilibrium, and self-healing. While there are a number of modern teachers with varying interpretations, most of them focus on the power of forgiveness and letting go.
How is ho’oponopono different from just learning to forgive?
Most of us who have been on the self-awareness and personal growth path are familiar with the many benefits of forgiveness. We’ve likely all heard the statement, “not forgiving is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die from it.” But what makes ho’oponopono unique is that it places the need to forgive and let go from within the person holding the feeling. In other words, any pain, judgment, fear, regret or anger regarding anything, is within me. So, in order to get rid of those destructive emotions and feelings, I must cleanse it from me completely. And here’s the catcher—I must realize that that anything that is going on in me, OR that happens to me, is a reflection of my consciousness where it was created.
Oh wait a bloody minute!!! I can almost hear the denial screaming through the internet as I write. “You mean it’s my fault that person attacked me?” Or, “you’re trying to tell me that I’m responsible for my cancer?” Or, “How can I be blamed for our recently elected president???” Okay, so before you kill the messenger, just remember that I am sharing the practice of ho’oponopono with you as a potential way to ease the problems in your life. I didn’t make this up. Google it if you don’t believe me. But before you completely stop reading, hear me out.
What Do Advocates Of Ho’oponopono Teach?
One of the most renowned teachers of ho’oponopono these days is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. Dr. Hew Len first studied with a Hawaiian Kahuna and healer named Morrnah Simeona. Although a descendant of Hawaiian Royalty and taught the ancient ways, Simeona was influenced by Christian teachings combined with an interest in holistic practices from India, China and the spiritual teacher Edgar Cayce. Bridging her Hawaiian and Christian understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation, Simeona began exploring how karma and cause-and-effect tied each person to past trauma, negative thoughts and experiences, and even triggered reincarnation. She taught that the right prayers, very similar to those taught by Science of Mind and other New Thought religions, were the best way to clear and cleanse those negative energies or “stones” that are blocking the Light within us and within the world.
Upon Simeona’s passing, Dr. Ihaleakala S. Hew Len continued on with the teaching and made adaptations along the way. From Dr. Hew Len’s perspective, ho’oponopono is best understood as a return to our blank state of Light. He calls that state, “Zero” and believes that once there, we exist with zero limits. However, a big key is the awareness that if all Life is interconnected and we are One with it, then we must accept 100% responsibility for everything that happens to us and in our world. Hew Len veered away from Simeona’s focus on using prayer as the best tool to reach ho’oponopono, and instead began to use a mantra that anyone could use, anytime, anywhere. That mantra is: “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” (Or any variation of that order).
Another well-known international teacher of ho’oponopono is a woman named Mabel Katz. A Jewish woman by birth, originally from Argentina, Katz moved to Los Angeles and worked as an accountant and businesswoman before studying with Dr. Hew Len. Eventually she began speaking about her interpretation of ho’oponopono and wrote a book she named, The Easiest Way. Using practices that focus on forgiveness and gratitude, her goal is also to return us all to a state of “Zero Frequency. “ She teaches that from that “clarity of Zero”, outstanding solutions become apparent and excellent choices can be made. But she is very clear that accepting full responsibility for what is happening to you has nothing to do with guilt and everything to do with cleaning.
What are key elements in all interpretations of Ho’oponopono forgiveness?
If you take the time to read the many stories and ideas about ho’oponopono, you can’t help but recognize that a key element is an awareness of how we all carry our past around with us. If not the past, we are focused and worried about the future. Ho’oponopono teaches that we must clean that attachment repeatedly to all the past memories we have floating around in our consciousness. Just saying, “thank you, thank you, thank you” or the more complete mantra of Dr. Hew Len of “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you,” over and over is often a good way to break the chain to the past. Remember, you are not condoning bad behavior, only cleaning and clearing your conscious and unconscious connection to it.
Another element is refusing to be a victim. This focus reminds me of the teaching of Carolyn Myss who repeatedly teaches that most illness is because of victim-mentality that we carry around with us. Myss teaches in her book Why People Don’t Heal that most illness happens because people can’t let go of those “stones” we are carrying around. She teaches that if we only have so much life energy and we are using 60-70% of it focused on the things in the past that we can’t control or the 10-20% of things we worry about in the future, it is no wonder we are sick—and no wonder that our bodies and souls don’t have the life energy to heal us—let alone bring us peace and happiness.
The final component is the awareness that we create our own reality. Like Law of Attraction (LOA) ho’oponopono teaches that we live in a whole and unified Universe where what happens to the least of us, happens to us all. Just as a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the planet, so too are we affected directly and indirectly by the actions of others—with all of it occurring first within the invisible realm that exists beyond the material world. That interwoven connection suggests that it’s possible that healing our mental, emotional and spiritual self also helps to heal others and the world around us.
So how does ho’oponopono help me today?
I get that some of these concepts may be hard to accept. Those of us, especially those of us raised in western cultures are highly addicted to thinking of the material world as primary (and in many cases exclusionary.) We also tend to think of ourselves as separate and distinct individuals. But for anyone on the spiritual path who has been looking for answers to a more peaceful and harmonious life, ho’oponopono might be the jumping off point you’ve been looking to find. Even if a person does nothing more than begin to recite the mantra, “I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you,” over and over again, especially when confronted with fear, confusion or anger, it just might make a difference. How far you go from there is entirely up to you.
As with all things here on SMART Living 365 I do my best not to pretend I have the answers for anyone other than myself. But let’s face it; there are many tools from many different traditions that have helped people find the peace and happiness they are seeking. Staying open-minded, exploring our options, learning from others when we can, and moving forward are all part of a SMART life. And isn’t it good to think of yourself and every loved one you know, as a shining bowl of Light?
22 Comments
Comments
Corinne Rodrigues saysApril 5, 2017 at 9:00 PM
I do believe this even if I didn’t call it hooponopono until now, Kathy. Just yesterday I was reading about Anne Lamott’s new book, Hallelujah Anyway, in which she says : “Mercy is radical kindness.” According to her mercy is the permission you give others—and yourself—to let go of the judgment and pain.
Kathy Gottberg saysApril 9, 2017 at 4:27 PM
Hi Corinne! What an interesting way to think of mercy. I think most of us just think of it as giving, giving and taking care of others….but how often are we merciful to ourselves? And yes, one of the best kindnesses we can offer anyone (ourselves included) is to let go of that judgment and pain. Not always easy but VERY important! Thank you for adding that to the conversation. ~Kathy
Beverly Diehl saysApril 3, 2017 at 4:49 PM
What an interesting way of looking at things.I think sometimes we let go of our stones and baggage in steps. This mantra seems like it would be a good one to practice.
Kathy Gottberg saysApril 4, 2017 at 2:07 PM
Hi Beverly. You are so right. From where I stand, the only way you can ever get rid of the stones that have taken years to collect is to do them one by one. And I’ll bet some are bigger stones than others so perhaps we start with the small ones and move forward from that? Dr. Hew Len is big into “cleaning” and constantly speaks about how that cleaning needs to happen over and over again. When it does, he says miracles happen. ~Kathy
Roxanne Jones saysApril 3, 2017 at 2:14 PM
What a fascinating article and exploration of this practice, Kathy. I’d never heard of it before! It makes so much sense–the idea of taking responsibility, not only for ourselves, but for what happens in our world. I can’t help but think of the contrast between the two political parties in our country, and how the Democrats seem so much more attuned to the concept that we’re all interconnected. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned!
Kathy Gottberg saysApril 4, 2017 at 2:04 PM
Hi Roxanne! I do believe there is a lot to be gained by this process….and there are tons of people who speak very highly of it. But obviously it isn’t always easy. And the Ho’oponopono teaching believes that even the “contrast between the two political parties” is our responsibility and THAT is very difficult to accept. But if our goal is compassion and healing, then such radical forgiveness is necessary. I’m not saying I’m anywhere close but at least I understand why! ~Kathy
Carol A Cassara saysApril 3, 2017 at 8:24 AM
I love the mantra. It’s beautiful. And so are you for sharing this lovely piece with us. I know that learning forgiveness is my reason for being here and that’s another reason this resonates with me.
Kathy Gottberg saysApril 3, 2017 at 9:26 AM
Hi Carol. Thank you! And I found it fascinating that Morrnah Simeona actually studied Edgar Cayce when she was practicing as a healer. I know you are also a big fan so it’s probably obvious how important such a practice is for most of us. ~Kathy
Jamie saysMarch 31, 2017 at 4:46 PM
Kathy,
Thank you very much for sharing this. The % of time holding onto the past and worrying about the future was especially meaningful to me. I am going to check into Ho’oponopono further
Jamie
Carol Wuenschell saysMarch 31, 2017 at 12:53 PM
I’m going to try that mantra. How could it hurt?
Gosina Gose saysMarch 31, 2017 at 11:17 AM
Hi Kathy!
Your article is just awesome. I LOVE this ancient Hawaiian healing method ‘ho’oponopono’. It is very powerful and kind of mind blowing. I came across ho’oponopono in December 2016 and since then I’m a huge fan of it and practice it daily, and often at night when I wake up. I suffered from insomnia for a very long time. I am okay now but still wake up at night. Ho’oponopono is a blessing in my life and it always works. You can use the four magical and powerful phrases silently or loud in any situation. I’ve read a bunch of books about ho’oponopono so far and “The Easiest Way” will be my next. Thanks for your tip. Have you ever listened to this beautiful ho’ponopono song by Aman Ryusuke Seto? If not, please do it… it’s so beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLSkopnxj0
Did you know that Morrnah Simeona lived very close to me? Wow, I can’t believe it. She died in 1992 in Kirchheim, close to Munich.
I love you. Please forgive me. I am sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Kathy!!
Kathy Gottberg saysMarch 31, 2017 at 2:55 PM
Hi Gosina! Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience of ho’oponopono with all of us. While I haven’t been studying it now for very long, I too will attest that it is a great way to shut off the monkey mind at night and allow for good sleep. There is so MUCH there to benefit from that I have to believe in these times it could be helpful for us all. And how interesting to think you were practically neighbors with Morrnah Simeona. It IS a small world isn’t it? Thanks again for your input. ~Kathy
Laura Zera saysMarch 31, 2017 at 10:57 AM
How about if I want to make “ho’oponopono” my mantra? I love that word!!
The idea of taking 100% responsibility is so intriguing to me. If all the angry, frustrated people in the world did this, what would they become? What would our world become? And from my observations, when people don’t “own their sh*t,” as I like to say, they end up dumping it on everyone else around them. They create collateral damage from not addressing their own problems/feelings/wounds. But angry, frustrated people will call those who consider/practice ho’oponopono “snowflakes” and we won’t get anywhere, I fear. And, we can only be responsible for ourselves. Onward.
Kathy Gottberg saysMarch 31, 2017 at 2:52 PM
Hi Laura! Hahaha! It’s actually easier to say “I’m sorry, I forgive you, thank you, and I love you” over and over than to say ho’oponopono over and over! (At least to me!!!) Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a world where everyone took such 100% responsibility? BUT….as ho’oponopono teaches, it will never be until we “see” it first within ourselves…ALL healing starts there. The biggest challenge for us is for us to claim that shadow within ourselves and to begin to heal it. Obviously I’m not there yet but I am working on it. As you say, “Onward!” ~Kathy
Mike Marko saysMarch 31, 2017 at 7:20 AM
This is one powerful article I’ve read so far. Not only providing ideas but also offers clarity and closures for the mind. I had fun reading. Worth my time! Thanks a lot for this!
Kathy Gottberg saysMarch 31, 2017 at 2:48 PM
Hi Mike! I’m glad you found this helpful. The concept of Ho’oponopono has been around a long time and helped thousands (if not millions) of people. Keep studying if you think it has as much value as I do. ~Kathy
Still the Lucky Few saysMarch 31, 2017 at 7:15 AM
Kathy, it’s the toughest principle of life—accepting responsibility for what happens to us. Creating our lives, being part of the Universe, forgiving, refusing to be a victim…These principles of Ho’oponopono are the fundamental truths to live by. I loved this article! Thanks for writing this.
Kathy Gottberg saysMarch 31, 2017 at 2:46 PM
Hi Diane! Oh yes, even those of us who think we accept full responsibility still struggle to accept it all. I think we all tend to confuse accepting responsibility with accepting or condoning bad or even evil behavior. As you know, it’s far from that…and one of the most challenging things we can ever do. Thanks for letting me know that you resonated with this. ~Kathy
Barbara Younger saysMarch 31, 2017 at 6:41 AM
This is fascinating. Thank you so much! Timely for me, too. Very!
Kathy Gottberg saysMarch 31, 2017 at 2:44 PM
Hi Barbara! I think it is timely for all of us really, right? I think lots of us are carrying around baggage about the past (not to mention worry about the future) that we would benefit by letting go of any way we can. This seems to work for lots of people so why not give it a try? ~Kathy
Barbara Younger saysApril 1, 2017 at 4:23 AM
And I watched my mom hold onto negative things forever. It’s been a big lesson, I hope I’ve finally gotten for how I want to live the rest of my own life.
Kathy Gottberg saysApril 3, 2017 at 9:23 AM
Hi Barbara….yes, sometimes we learn by following others behavior…sometimes by doing the exact opposite. Good for you for realizing what negativity does to us in the long run. ~Kathy
