Ho'oponopono - Clean up your Vibe, Clean up the World

It's a great looking and sounding word and it's a concept that can change your life powerfully.

I don’t recall where I first heard about Hoponopono, but I’m guessing it was indirectly through Jack Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len’s book Zero Limit. This book contains the incredible story of Dr Ihalekala's experience as a resident psychiatrist in a notoriously difficult mental hospital. It had a reputation for having some of the worse patients and they were unable to hold onto staff for very long because of the conditions. He took the job, but took the unusual step not to actually meet personally with any of the patients. Instead he studied their files and as he identified their particular disorders, he spoke out loud, to the Universe or God, I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you. Over the next six months, patients began to get better and move out and eventually the hospital was closed down due to lack of necessity.

What was this magic that he used on the hospital, how did it work and what are the implications for our own lives? It's been a long while since I read about it, but how I’ve come to understand the philosophy, is that it really ties in with the law of attraction, and the idea that we create our own personal world on every level. He was saying 'I’m sorry, please forgive me', because he understood the truth, that nothing, absolutely NOTHING, can be present in your experience, if the essence of that thing is not in oneself.

By apologizing you are being humble in the recognition that you have moved away from your own inner truth and that has manifesting itself in something ‘negative’ showing up in your life. For the Doctor, he was acknowledging that their mental illnesses were also part of him, that’s why they had been brought into his life. And if he cleared up his own vibration, everything around him would clear up to match. This has profound implications, because showing up in your life, can mean, an accident you happen to witness as you’re driving, or something in the news. It’s no coincidence that it is in your realm of awareness and on some big or small level you helped in its creation.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should have a guilt trip about being responsible for people starving somewhere in the world, because you saw it on TV. But actually, in the ultimate truth of the interconnectedness of all things, yes, you have participated in it. Maybe if you take some psychotropic drugs, you might get a vision of the precise means of your connection, but it so easy to blame corporate greed, or the violent ways of other nations, without seeing how our own greed, lack of compassion and anger feed into the collective consciousness. And seeing that painful image on TV, is like the universe, saying, yep, you too manifested this into your experience. If only on a small level.

This doesn’t mean don’t act in the physical world to help, if a situation obviously calls you to do that, and you have it in your means and heart to do it – do it! But whatever you do on a practical level, is always going to be limited. Whereas the work you can do on the invisible realm, once you realize the truth of it, can be unlimited. It can become like a hobby to become a world vibrational cleaner-upper. And you don’t need to look far for things to work on. Anything that shows up in your experience that doesn't feel good, that is the manifestation of some misalignment, do the hopoonono work on it.

I had an experience not long after reading about Ho'oponopono. I was sitting in a café in Istanbul, and a man lit up a cigarette on the neighbouring table, which meant side smoke was coming right to me. My first reaction was irritation at his addiction and rudeness becoming my problem. But then I remembered that I was responsible for manifesting everything and said to myself. I love you, sorry, please forgive me, thank you. I have my addictions, I am often inconsiderate, I’m not better than this man I judge, I am this man I judge. Well, before long, and without me making obvious noises of discontent, he took himself and his cigarette to another table. Now, yes, it could well have being just a coincidence. But I choose to take it, as a little piece of magic. If nothing else, it certainly stopped me feeling angry and got me focused on feelings of love, humility and gratitude. And that’s gotta be good.

I understand the aspect of saying 'I love you', to be a pathway, bringing me into alignment and love within myself, with the Divine and with all creation. It also takes the guilt out of the next part. I am a divine being of love, who has moved out of alignment and therefore created some ‘bad stuff’ but hey I’m still a being of love at the end of the day. Although apparently it doesn’t matter too much the order you say the statement in, I like to start with this one.

The next two, I’m sorry, please forgive me, is a humbling acknowledgement of my part in the creation of pain and sorrow in the world, which is now manifesting in my life. And the thank you, is an affirmation of confidence in the healing which is taking place. Its not a plea, a ‘would you mind’, it’s a ‘thanks’ I know it’s taken care of.

I don't always remember to use Hopononono, and often I only remember it, when I’m faced with a situation where I feel helpless, worried and feel there is nothing I can do or say to fix the situation. I may not even know what is best I just know this isn’t good. So. it's a little bit like a prayer for me. A ‘God I know I’ve made a mess somewhere here, I’m sorry, thanks for cleaning it up – I love you!

However, in writing this article, i have refreshed my awareness of the practice and hope to use it more often, and the certainly the concepts behind the practice are ones which I strive to be conscious of every day.

In peace and love