One of my favorite practices for transforming fear is called Ho’oponopono, an ancient teaching from the Hawaiian shamans used to resolve conflicts within the tribe, especially recurring ones. It has been modified over the years, and its modern teachers, led by Dr. Hew Len, now focus on the individual doing the work of liberating their inner conflicts and, in so doing, liberating that energy in the collective because we are all connected. We are all energy, vibration. What we liberate in ourselves, we liberate in the world.
The premise of the teaching is that:
I am Divine. That is my true nature. In my Soul's journey, I have accumulated fears and traumas which cover up - like a veil - the true nature of what I am. Ho'oponopono is a means of liberating the veils that prevent the Light and Love that I am from manifesting fully in the world;
I am the projector, or source, of the experiences in my life, placing out in my physical world (often subconsciously) deeply-rooted beliefs, programs and memories, which often show up in the form of difficult people and situations, so that I may finally see them and heal/transform them;
I am, therefore, 100% responsible for the situations in my life;
These people and situations trigger emotions within me which take me off-balance and force me to react, often without thinking;
To be at peace and One with my Creator - to remove the veil that is covering that Oneness - my work is to liberate those deeply-ingrained memories and programs;
So, to heal my outside world, I must first heal my inside world.
In working with this teaching for many years now, I have added my personal lens to make it fit my philosophy of life. I have come to understand that the difficult experiences of my life that repeat themselves are not there to torture me, but to give me yet another opportunity to heal them. They are my own soul’s crying out for liberation from its self-inflicted pain. They come from the highest place of love to serve me in my journey of liberation from fears or limits of any kind. Without the difficult people and situations, I wouldn't be able to see my harmful thoughts, beliefs and emotions. They would remain forever inside me, veils that obscure the Divine Light that I am and that prevent me from being at peace.
This is all inner work. This is inner liberation. And Love is the greatest liberator.
That is why the first words in Ho’oponopono are:
I love you.
I say those words to myself first. I am giving this love to me. The obsessive, fear-filled self-talk can go on endlessly, but the moment I say “Mony, I love you, exactly as you are with all your fears and perceived failings,” I open a space for a new energy to circulate within me.
I repeat the words “I love you” over and again, until I begin to feel a calm wash over me.
“I’m not sure where this fear comes from, at what moment I chose from fear rather than from love, whether it originated in this lifetime or another; but that doesn’t matter. It’s here. It’s a part of me that I see, that I accept, that I love.
Mony, I love you as you are.
I’m sorry for whatever I have done or thought to create this fear within me. I am sorry for any erroneous or mistaken belief, thought, feeling or emotion within me that has manifested in this difficult experience I’m now dealing with.
Please forgive me.
I didn’t know how else to respond. I didn’t know how else to feel or to think. I didn’t know any better. I did the best that I knew how at that moment. But it’s all right. I’m learning. I’m growing. I’m bound to make mistakes. When I know better, I’ll do better.
Mony, I love you.”
This self-forgiveness is a key tenet of the teaching. Again, I’m speaking to myself. I’m not asking God or any power outside of me for forgiveness because, in my belief system, God is Love and does not need that I ask for forgiveness. I am loved as I am. But from a sense of not knowing any better, I direct myself - with a humble heart - towards God Love and I do apologize for my errors in thinking. I know I am already and always forgiven, but I personally like to do this part.
In the beginning, I found it difficult and uncomfortable to speak to myself in this way. It didn’t feel good or natural to give myself so much love and forgiveness. How telling!
With time and practice, however, I began to feel compassion for myself and to see myself as a child who needs understanding, patience and a great deal of love as they journey in their life. In fact, I now envision myself as the loving adult speaking to the wounded child, and speak to this child as I repeat the words. I have, over time, begun to soften my stance towards myself, to be less demanding and harsh in my judgments of myself.
Thank you.
This is the final element of the teaching.
“Thank you, fear, for revealing yourself to me.
Thank you, person or situation, for taking on that role so that I may see my fear and buried memories.
Thank you, deeply-ingrained memories! I can now see you!
Thank you, Spirit/Higher Self (the wisest, most eternal part of me) for bringing this fear to my attention.
Thank you me (Mony) for demonstrating the willingness and courage to explore and transform your deepest fears; and to continue advancing on this amazing and sometimes scary adventure in the unknown that is life. You deserve my highest admiration and respect, Mony. I love you! Thank you!
I now direct all my attention to the Divine, called by many names, but that to me is Love. I say:
These people and situations trigger emotions within me which take me off-balance and force me to react, often without thinking;
To be at peace and One with my Creator - to remove the veil that is covering that Oneness - my work is to liberate those deeply-ingrained memories and programs;
So, to heal my outside world, I must first heal my inside world.
In working with this teaching for many years now, I have added my personal lens to make it fit my philosophy of life. I have come to understand that the difficult experiences of my life that repeat themselves are not there to torture me, but to give me yet another opportunity to heal them. They are my own soul’s crying out for liberation from its self-inflicted pain. They come from the highest place of love to serve me in my journey of liberation from fears or limits of any kind. Without the difficult people and situations, I wouldn't be able to see my harmful thoughts, beliefs and emotions. They would remain forever inside me, veils that obscure the Divine Light that I am and that prevent me from being at peace.
This is all inner work. This is inner liberation. And Love is the greatest liberator.
That is why the first words in Ho’oponopono are:
I love you.
I say those words to myself first. I am giving this love to me. The obsessive, fear-filled self-talk can go on endlessly, but the moment I say “Mony, I love you, exactly as you are with all your fears and perceived failings,” I open a space for a new energy to circulate within me.
I repeat the words “I love you” over and again, until I begin to feel a calm wash over me.
“I’m not sure where this fear comes from, at what moment I chose from fear rather than from love, whether it originated in this lifetime or another; but that doesn’t matter. It’s here. It’s a part of me that I see, that I accept, that I love.
Mony, I love you as you are.
I’m sorry for whatever I have done or thought to create this fear within me. I am sorry for any erroneous or mistaken belief, thought, feeling or emotion within me that has manifested in this difficult experience I’m now dealing with.
Please forgive me.
I didn’t know how else to respond. I didn’t know how else to feel or to think. I didn’t know any better. I did the best that I knew how at that moment. But it’s all right. I’m learning. I’m growing. I’m bound to make mistakes. When I know better, I’ll do better.
Mony, I love you.”
This self-forgiveness is a key tenet of the teaching. Again, I’m speaking to myself. I’m not asking God or any power outside of me for forgiveness because, in my belief system, God is Love and does not need that I ask for forgiveness. I am loved as I am. But from a sense of not knowing any better, I direct myself - with a humble heart - towards God Love and I do apologize for my errors in thinking. I know I am already and always forgiven, but I personally like to do this part.
In the beginning, I found it difficult and uncomfortable to speak to myself in this way. It didn’t feel good or natural to give myself so much love and forgiveness. How telling!
With time and practice, however, I began to feel compassion for myself and to see myself as a child who needs understanding, patience and a great deal of love as they journey in their life. In fact, I now envision myself as the loving adult speaking to the wounded child, and speak to this child as I repeat the words. I have, over time, begun to soften my stance towards myself, to be less demanding and harsh in my judgments of myself.
Thank you.
This is the final element of the teaching.
“Thank you, fear, for revealing yourself to me.
Thank you, person or situation, for taking on that role so that I may see my fear and buried memories.
Thank you, deeply-ingrained memories! I can now see you!
Thank you, Spirit/Higher Self (the wisest, most eternal part of me) for bringing this fear to my attention.
Thank you me (Mony) for demonstrating the willingness and courage to explore and transform your deepest fears; and to continue advancing on this amazing and sometimes scary adventure in the unknown that is life. You deserve my highest admiration and respect, Mony. I love you! Thank you!
I now direct all my attention to the Divine, called by many names, but that to me is Love. I say:
Thank you, my Creator, for the opportunity to heal this, to free myself of this weight in my heart, my body, my emotions, my thoughts. I offer it all to you.
Thank you for transforming these dense energies within me back to their natural state, which is Light. Thank you for correcting my errors in thinking. I know that only You can see back to the place and moment when I chose erroneously. Only You can heal it all at the source. Only You can liberate me and all involved. Thank you!
Thank you for transforming these dense energies within me back to their natural state, which is Light. Thank you for correcting my errors in thinking. I know that only You can see back to the place and moment when I chose erroneously. Only You can heal it all at the source. Only You can liberate me and all involved. Thank you!
Thank you for the peace that now fills my heart and mind. Thank you for revealing this Light that I am - that You are - now that this veil of fear has been lifted from me.
Thank you for the opportunity to see this Light that I am - that we are - and to shine it fully.
Thank you for liberating all energetic ties with those who may have contributed to this fear from the beginning of creation to the end of all time. With great love and thanks, I allow them to continue their journey while I continue mine. I am free. We are free.
Thank you for liberating all energetic ties with those who may have contributed to this fear from the beginning of creation to the end of all time. With great love and thanks, I allow them to continue their journey while I continue mine. I am free. We are free.
I accept Your healing. I accept Your Mind. I accept Your Will.
I accept the Light and Love that I am.
I am finally free!
My inner world is now safe and in harmony.
In my inner world, all is healed, whole and holy.
I am healed, whole and holy.
My inner world is now safe and in harmony.
In my inner world, all is healed, whole and holy.
I am healed, whole and holy.
In that knowing, I walk world with confidence and openness.
With heart and mind open, I listen to and act on what is mine to do.
With heart and mind open, I listen to and act on what is mine to do.
In every sacred moment, I offer/extend this inner harmony and peace to the world.
I am one with You, always.
I am one with all of creation.
Thank you.”
By loving myself, by feeling worthy of that Love, by forgiving myself for choosing poorly (i.e. from fear rather than love), by accepting that I am forgiven, and giving thanks for the healing of what has kept me small and fear-filled, I am finally free to walk the world fear-less.
If remnants of the fear - or any other emotion - creep back in, then I repeat the key elements of this practice, not necessarily word for word or in the same order, but always striving for the feeling of liberation and inner peace, always striving for the feeling of Oneness and non-separation from my Creator. It makes me feel well-accompanied on this journey of inner liberation. I have trained myself to have the words "I love you" and "thank you" running like a loop in the back of my mind at all times, and have found it incredibly empowering, a means of keeping me close to Spirit.
It’s a practice that has consistently worked for me, and that I encourage you to try.
There is no formal website for this teaching, but you can Google Dr. Len Hew, the modern founder of this teaching. You can also look for Dr. Joe Vitale and his book "Zero Limits" or Mabel Katz for their teachings.
With blessings,
Mony
P.S. I am a Certified Ho'oponopono Practitioner, and it is one of the many tools in my spiritual toolkit that I draw upon when consulting with clients.
By loving myself, by feeling worthy of that Love, by forgiving myself for choosing poorly (i.e. from fear rather than love), by accepting that I am forgiven, and giving thanks for the healing of what has kept me small and fear-filled, I am finally free to walk the world fear-less.
If remnants of the fear - or any other emotion - creep back in, then I repeat the key elements of this practice, not necessarily word for word or in the same order, but always striving for the feeling of liberation and inner peace, always striving for the feeling of Oneness and non-separation from my Creator. It makes me feel well-accompanied on this journey of inner liberation. I have trained myself to have the words "I love you" and "thank you" running like a loop in the back of my mind at all times, and have found it incredibly empowering, a means of keeping me close to Spirit.
It’s a practice that has consistently worked for me, and that I encourage you to try.
There is no formal website for this teaching, but you can Google Dr. Len Hew, the modern founder of this teaching. You can also look for Dr. Joe Vitale and his book "Zero Limits" or Mabel Katz for their teachings.
With blessings,
Mony
P.S. I am a Certified Ho'oponopono Practitioner, and it is one of the many tools in my spiritual toolkit that I draw upon when consulting with clients.
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