Ho'oponopono: Hawaiian Method to Release your Emotions
Ho'oponopono is the name of a method of healing through forgiveness, acceptance and unconditional love.
An ancient spiritual practice originating in Hawaii, ho'oponopono has been used in the Pacific for centuries for its many benefits and its ability to liberate us, both emotionally and relationally.
Over time, this method and the associated meditation have been accepted by the whole world (especially scientists and health specialists), so impressive are its effects.
Between acceptance of oneself and others, liberation from old burdens, stability and positivity in the face of life, you too can benefit from ho'oponopono!
Contents :
Discover this meditation in video format
The effects of the ho'oponopono method
The different stages of ho'oponopono
Other guided meditations in our series
Discover this meditation in video format
What is the principle?
Ho'oponopono could be precisely what you have been looking for for so long to live happily, in particular through an appeasement of your relationships, whether they are with others, with the universe or simply with yourself.
Basically, ho'oponopono is made up of four distinct parts :
- Admitting responsibility, “I’m sorry”
- Asking for forgiveness for your mistakes, “Please forgive me”
- Express gratitude, “Thank you”
- Sending love, “I love you”
Repentance, forgiveness, gratitude and love... That's quite a program!
When we think about it carefully, these four steps correspond to a logical sequence, a particular path capable of guiding us towards liberation.
Through this path, ho'oponopono seeks to create a transformation within the being, by taking responsibility for what is bad happening to us... even when we have nothing to do with it at first glance.
You may be wondering, “Okay, but how can this all work?” Why should I take this type of responsibility? How can simple words heal me? »
In fact, the ho'oponopono method is based on the simple idea that we all create our own reality, that everything around us (and that we experience) is deeply dictated by our inner being.
In other words, everything that happens to us, in every moment of our life, happens in our mind, as if we were just simple spiritual beings connected by our soul, and the material world was just an illusion serving to give us support for connection between humans.
It is amusing to note how close this way of doing things is to certain alternative medicines. The method of universal attraction for example (the use of positive thinking to create material or bodily change) is based on the same principle. As a general rule, it can only be positive to combat our limiting thoughts.
This vision of the world is in any case the one that the Hawaiians know, as well as a whole bunch of other peoples around the world... but that is not the subject of the day.
The effects of the ho'oponopono method
The ho'oponopono method has many virtues, and listing them all would take hours.
You should know that we are talking here about an ancestral technique based on a very spiritual worldview, yes, but which has nevertheless proven itself among happiness specialists.
Psychologists, therapists or simple wise people: many have been confronted with ho'oponopono and found it to be exceptionally effective.
In short, here are the virtues most often associated with this method.
Emotional stability
Knowing how to free ourselves from the chains most deeply buried within us is one of the conditions for emotional stability and real freedom.
With the ho'oponopono method, you will take a big step in this direction. Forgiving yourself is necessary to avoid an excessive ego. Our fears often stem from poor knowledge of ourselves and the world. Emotional stability will, for example, work on these two aspects.
By unlocking certain things hidden in the depths of our mind, whether unsaid, secrets or even taboos, this meditation knows how to leave room for greater balance, for a new calm.
Knowing how to resist negativity
This benefit of ho'oponopono follows directly from the previous one: by being more stable, more anchored in ourselves, we will be more resistant to everyday attacks.
Toxic or malicious people will have difficulty reaching you if you practice ho'oponopono regularly. Yes, finding peace sometimes only depends on who we hang out with.
When we think about it, this ability of the method, by making us happier, can also make us more stable and thus initiate a real virtuous circle process (stability making us more resilient, which makes us more stable and so on). ).
A move to action through accountability
Some people have difficulty taking action and see their life pass before them without having any real control over it. This can lead to the creation of regrets, a certain unhappiness and a whole bunch of other things that we could do without!
Here again, ho'oponopono provides a solution: by reminding us that everything we experience depends on us, it also reminds us that we have the power (and therefore the duty) to change what surrounds us.
A true phenomenon of transmutation of negative thoughts, this method allows us to act more positively on a daily basis and, who knows, to find happiness more easily.
More self-confidence
At first, the idea of responsibility and the kind of obligation that comes with it may be scary, but you will soon see how it can change your life.
The ho'oponopono will thus create a new you, a liberated and proactive you in life. Our negative thoughts sometimes invade us and suffocate our inner child. Letting our nature truly express itself is the first step towards solving many problems.
By abandoning the feeling of helplessness resulting from this famous idea according to which certain sufferings are only caused by external phenomena, we leave the victim posture, and thus increase our self-confidence.
A healing of trauma and the soul
All the properties of the ho'oponopono method that we have just cited actually arise from it.
Yes, ho'oponopono is above all a way of healing the traumas and wounds we have.
In everyday life, we can experience betrayal, hurt, manipulation, and a whole host of other abuses.
It hurts us and leaves us with more or less painful scars that we have to live with. We carry them with us everywhere we go and they slow us down, weigh us down.
Through this process of “ repentance, forgiveness, gratitude and love ”, ho'oponopono is particularly effective in getting rid of them or, at least, helping us to heal them more quickly.
A release from suffering
Our emotional wounds cause us suffering, that's clear. Self-identity suffers, as does our vibrational rate.
The ho'oponopono frees us from it, so be it. But concretely, what type of suffering are we talking about?
Well in fact, psychological studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this method in the treatment of certain disorders, notably those linked to anxiety or past traumas.
Some specialists have also used ho'oponopono inside prison, with surprising results on recidivism rates and inmate violence. Repeated positive affirmations really seem to calm even the most violent minds.
More broadly, many bodily disorders have a psychosomatic origin. In other words, it is a mental cause which creates suffering, which is very physical.
Here again, the ho'oponopono method can be effective.
Prepare for meditation
You will have understood: ho'oponopono is a kind of process of emotional purification.
The environment in which to practice this meditation must therefore be healthy and as least polluted as possible. Therefore, choose a well-ventilated room or, why not, an outdoor space.
Position is not very important, as long as your back is straight. You can also wear whatever outfit you want as long as it's comfortable.
The ho'oponopono method is much more mental than physical. While for some guided meditations, setting and position are of central importance, that is not the case here.
However, you will have to ask yourself deep, personal questions that affect you. All this can awaken certain wounds, certain suffering.
So prepare yourself for this level before starting guided meditation.
Also, don't be afraid to let the answers arise as they come to you.
Don't force yourself to put your emotions into words, just ask yourself the questions and let your mind free itself.
You know, sometimes the questions are just as enlightening as the answers…
The different stages of ho'oponopono
These different stages are actually supposed to follow each other harmoniously, rather than being cut into separate parts.
After all, this guided meditation forms a whole constructed as a single work, a single tool capable of functioning in its uniqueness.
In video and audio, no distinction is made.
The following breakdown therefore has the sole purpose of helping you, a posteriori, to understand the modes of action implemented within the framework of this meditation.
Step #1: Prepare physically
Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
Straighten your spine, align your head and tilt your chin slightly downward.
Feel this alignment of your body.
Take long, slow breaths. Take the time to calm your breathing.
We will now count to 4 as we inhale, hold our breath for another count of four, then exhale to a count of eight. We will repeat this process 5 times.
1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
(x5)
You are now very relaxed, and we can move on to the first step of ho'oponopono: forgiveness.
Step #2: I'm sorry
So think about a situation that caused you suffering. It may be recent or older. The important thing is not this choice, but rather the inner process that can start from it.
So focus on this situation. Maybe someone hurt you, maybe you hurt yourself.
Whatever happens, express your repentance with this simple phrase: “ I’m sorry. ”
You can say it out loud, or just think it.
Having our feelings recognized by others is a need we all know: by saying you are sorry, you acknowledge that you may have done an act that causes suffering. Suffering to the world, to you or to others.
In fact, saying this simple sentence is a way of recognizing that we can all be hurt, and that we all have feelings... You too have them, obviously.
This realization can be painful. We all resist taking responsibility for things over which we feel we have no control. And that's completely normal.
So try to find the part of your situation that is internal to you, the part that is so personal to you that only you really know… and say “I’m sorry”.
Stay upright, and continue to breathe calmly.
Ask yourself: “How much responsibility do I have in this situation?” ". This question refers to you and you alone, not to anyone else.
It is not a question of blaming yourself, but simply of becoming aware of the things in you (thoughts, actions or attitudes) which can explain, even in part, this situation.
Step #3: Please forgive me
Being able to find our share of responsibility and repent is a huge step on the path to healing. This is painful for all of us, and you can be proud to have made it through.
Now accept this repentance and ask for forgiveness. Just say it: “ Forgive me. ”
Repeat it over and over again. Forgive me.
It can be counterintuitive to ask for forgiveness when you are the person who suffered, when you were wronged. This is an integral part of ho'oponopono, and puts you even more intensely on the path to healing.
Be sincere in this request for forgiveness, remember the responsibility you felt moments ago, and say it again. Forgive me.
You ask this forgiveness from others and from the whole world… but also from yourself.
Whatever emotions and memories may arise within you, say so. Forgive me.
Step #4: Thank you
It is now time to move on to the third step: that of thanks, of gratitude.
To do this, simply say “ Thank you. ”
Again, say them any way you want, but say it, over and over again.
Thank you…this word is one of the most powerful.
It does good to the one who hears it, but also to the one who says it.
So say it again. THANKS.
Thank yourself for doing this difficult, but necessary work for you. You have done yourself a lot of good, and thank yourself for that.
After holding on to negative emotions, letting guilt weigh on you, letting it affect you and make you sad, you can finally free yourself from it.
Say thank you, over and over again.
Thank your body for everything it does for you.
Thank the universe, thank God.
Thank yourself for being forgiven.
Step #5: I love you
The act of thanking erases everything negative about guilt. You feel responsible for your happiness, but no longer blame yourself for your mistakes because you have been able to do a great job on yourself, work that deserves a thank you.
You are responsible, but no longer guilty. There is a hollow left empty now that nothing negative is attached to this responsibility.
We will fill this hollow with unconditional love.
Imagine this space in your head, like an empty cube.
In the form of luminous energy, great love appears there. He moves there… back and forth, up and down. It takes up more and more space, and makes the cube shine, as if great joy was radiating from it.
This cube is inside you, in your emotions. So let this unconditional love heal you.
Love is the most powerful energy, the one that connects us all together and gives us a strength capable of overcoming everything, of healing everything.
It is only through authentic love that we can fulfill ourselves and give meaning to things, through authentic love that we can create happiness around us.
However, this energy is sometimes blocked by knots in our mind, unresolved situations or problems.
It doesn't matter whether you are really responsible for it or not, through the ho'oponopono meditation that we have just practiced, you have just destroyed one of these knots, and thus brought you closer to true happiness.
Other guided meditations in our series
Among the many objects that we offer to our community, we have notably collected some meditation tools.
Here is the collection in question, made up of objects from cultures from the four corners of the world but sharing the same goal: to help the practice of meditation or, quite simply, relaxation and relaxation.
In short, you will find singing bowls, various musical instruments, flags and decorations, reiki pendulums or even various ingredients and crystals.
Here is also a collection of free books that may help you in your life. Between healthy eating, self-hypnosis, prayers and self-confidence, many themes are covered in our library which, once again, has been entirely open to you.
If you would like to discover our other meditations, here is the section of our blog which brings them all together.
Here too, we wanted to deal with the most varied themes possible (within the limits of our knowledge, of course).
If, however, you do not find what you are looking for there, do not hesitate to tell us by leaving a comment in the section at the end of one of the meditations: we will read it and try to take it into account in our future work. !
The ho'oponopono: a mantra, a prayer?
Ho'oponopo is therefore a healing method based on accepting responsibility for misfortune, then forgiving it.
In itself, we can absolutely apply it to our errors but, as you will have understood, also to those of others in order to free ourselves from the weight they place on our life.
So, every time a painful memory comes to mind, you will now have a powerful tool at your disposal, a tool capable of freeing us forever from the weight of this image.
However, the meditation associated with ho'oponopo takes a good ten minutes to do... and we don't always have that time in front of us when a parasitic thought appears.
Luckily for you, there is a "simplified" version of ho'oponopo, a set of four simple phrases that summarize the entire mental pattern of meditation:
- I'm sorry.
- Forgive me.
- THANKS
- I love you.
When you feel the need, try to imagine the hurtful situation that is affecting you and simply repeat these four sentences. Perhaps unexpected miracles will take place. A divine action, an ancestral power or a new vibration that you will feel.
Some see this as the "ho'oponopo mantra", others as a kind of prayer. It is not a question here of paying homage to a divinity, but the spiritual (almost religious) aspect of the approach can be real.
Whether you attach a sacred meaning to it or not, however, is of little importance. The point is that reciting these phrases will trigger the mental processes we've been talking about, which will free you from your burden.
Note that there is also a “passive” way to benefit from the benefits of ho'oponopo, such as by recording yourself saying these four sentences and listening to it again from time to time during your day.
The power of intention is a complex thing and we do not yet understand everything, but is an extraordinarily powerful thing capable of transmuting the negative of our unconscious and the positive.
The history of ho'oponopono
The term "ho'oponopono" could be translated as something like " getting things back into balance. "
It is therefore a very Zen concept, which seeks a certain harmony.
In fact, in the traditional Hawaiian language, “ pono ” means “balance of life.” Hawaiians thus seek to live in harmony, in harmony with the world... and more particularly, with their family.
Indeed, ho'oponopono is basically a form of family therapy aimed at reconciling angry members of the same community. It is even possible that a psychotherapy practitioner has already spoken to you about it.
Acceptance and forgiveness thus aimed at faults as by other members of the family (at least, those who were perceived as such). The thanks and love were therefore also aimed at them, but also at the community as a whole.
After the ho'oponopono ritual, large feasts were organized so that the reunited families could interact again.
Traditionally, ho'oponopono is therefore very marked by another concept from Hawaii, ohana or “reconciliation of divided clans”. Truly, the Hawaiian people were able to unite around this idea that it is possible to cultivate forgiveness, inner peace and serenity.
In short, it was only several centuries after its creation that this method evolved to become something more personal.
Beginning in the 1980s, a Hawaiian woman known as Morrnah Simeona began traveling the world giving classes and lectures on the phenomenon of ho'oponopono.
By adding elements from her Catholic religion and her studies of Indian religions, she made it a universally recognized method for healing our mind and freeing our soul from its emotional constraints.
Here is a prayer that she shared with the world, and that she advised everyone to recite before practicing ho'oponopono:
“Divine Creator, father, mother, son as one man... If I, my family, my parents and my ancestors have offended you, your family, your parents and your ancestors, in thoughts, in words, in deeds and in actions, from the beginning of our creation until today, we ask your forgiveness... May this cleanse, purify, release, cut all negative memories, blockages, energies and vibrations, and transmute these unwanted energies in pure light. »
For further
We sincerely hope that the discovery of ho'oponopo will be beneficial to you. Perhaps a therapist had already spoken to you about it to help you let go or to free your subconscious. Or maybe you discovered this personal development technique today. (The term is overused, but ho'oponopo would really lead to the development of your person.)
In any case, if you want to discover other things just as spiritual, we have some collections from our site to recommend to you. We offer various lucky charms, all from very different cultures and coming with their share of history.
In short, here they are:
- Some come straight from Polynesia, because Hawaii is part of this region of the world which has many mysteries to help us discover.
- Others linked to meditative practices, because ho'oponopo is one form... but not the only one.
We can also advise you to read some sites/resources external to our site, which will help you dig deeper into certain ideas discussed:
- An article on the principle of aloha, because it is another philosophical concept straight from Hawaii.
- Another one from psychologies.com, which tells us about the need to love oneself in order to love others.
- More information on the power of visualization, as it is an integral part of the ho'oponopo method.
- A guide from the site ooreaka.com, to learn everything about the principle of autosuggestion (also used in our meditation).
