I learned a practice from a tradition called Ho 'oponopono
that you might be interested in. It's very simple, very
powerful, and easy to remember. You can go deep with it
rather quickly, bringing lightness and healing quite soon
to your heart and mind. One of the central exercises - you
could call it a personal discipline - one of the primary
gifts of Ho'oponopono, is a very effective forgiveness
exercise.
This simple exercise from Ho'oponopono (or "making right")
has five basic parts. First, bring to mind something
that's bothering you. It can be anything at all, a worry, a
physical pain, a sad memory, a friend, someone you're not
at peace with, anyone, anything at all.
Begin by saying to this worry, or to this person, "I love
you." You can say this out loud at first, but you can also
do the entire exercise silently, whispering inwardly, as if
the person is present to your inner voice, or even visually
present to the imagination if you like. Stay with this
until you feel the phrase settle in a bit, "I love you."
Then, to whatever comes up next, say, "I'm sorry." It
doesn't have to be specific, just say, "I'm sorry."
Then ask with an honest heart, "please forgive me." These
are very powerful words, "please forgive me..."
To complete the prayerful exercise, simply say, "thank you."
Express gratitude for the opportunity to heal, for this
opportunity to be released from the sadness, from the hurt,
the woundedness that life so often serves up, even in
completely innocent circumstances. It's also helpful to
understand that your gratitude extends to being thankful
for being allowed to release another, to make their healing
more likely, more sure. Gratitude for the privilege to help
another is an experience of our connectedness in creation.
This can be personalized, simply by using the person's
name, or maybe addressing for instance, a heartache or
headache that's bothering you. You can say, for instance:
"I love you, Jason," or "I love you, dear headache." "I
love you, my friend." This simple phrase takes on new
meaning when used for healing this way.
A beloved's name can be used throughout: "I love you,
Donna... I'm sorry, Donna... Please forgive me, Donna.
Thank you..." You can repeat the phrases, for as long as
you feel it's helping. We all carry more hidden and
seemingly insignificant complaints than we can remember or
address in the hustle and bustle of our lives.
I sometimes whisper these phrases as I'm going to sleep at
night. After I've repeated them with the people who come to
mind, I might notice the little aches and pains in my body.
Saying "I love you" to my knees, to my muscles, to my
heart, then expressing gratitude, this is a kind of self
healing and brings greater sensitivity to not only our own
bodies, but the physical experiences of others as well.
I like to consider the phrasings creatively on occasion,
especially since I'm sometimes unsure I'm being properly
respectful of another tradition, or if I'm not feeling
especially confident at the time.
For example, I might say to a teacher of Ho'oponopono - in
my imagination: "I love you teacher... I'm sorry I haven't
studied more... please forgive me for just jumping in and
trying this... I hope you don't hold this against me.
Please help me. I'm sorry. Thank you." I've felt an inner
freedom in my own embellishments this way, and a restful
permission to let go of all my grievances and misgivings.
It doesn't have to be a formal process, or formulaic, to
have effects, in my experience. This four phrase practice
is only one variation on an ancient Hawaiian healing
practice, a personal expression of one of the prayers for
healing taught in this tradition.
A close friend told me about this and I did some searching
on the web, once I learned how to spell it. It's been
taught for centuries on the islands of Hawaii, part of the
Huna religion, making relations right within the native
communities. One of its present living teachers, Dr.
Ihaleakala Hew Len has become known for his extraordinary
healing work with patients at a hospital for the criminally
insane, where patients previously written off as hopeless
experienced some unexplainably complete recoveries.
Ho'oponopono requires a sincere heart, and a willingness to
take 100% responsibility for all our judgments, all our
perceptions, all our experiences. Once you begin
experiencing the peace and graceful release this practice
brings, it easily becomes a touchstone in your spiritual
practice. You begin understanding that each of us is
responsible for all that we perceive, all that we imagine.
We are even responsible for those who seem never to
understand.
Another thing, once you start practicing this, you're
likely to meet others who have tried it. Within weeks of
learning a couple basic Ho'oponopono exercises, I met four
more people who have attended workshops or have been
practicing some variation themselves. There's something
about the simplicity and focused clarity this brings that
resonates naturally with others.
I mentioned doing this when going to sleep. It works great
for letting go of the day, for inviting restful thoughts
and pleasant dreams. It also has a calming effect when
driving, especially on the way to meetings where there may
be people you aren't yet comfortable with. On the drive,
simply imagine being there, meeting those you expect to be
there, while also offering the blessing silently to those
who you don't yet know. It helps clear expectations and
anxieties, and its much more likely you'll be in a space
that's welcoming and friendly when you arrive. Who can't
use a little more of that?
So I offer you this practice, imagining we are already good
friends. I'm clearly not an expert, yet I suspect the
teachers appreciate people knowing even the least little
bit about Ho'oponopono. The kind energy and love, the
forgiveness and gratitude considered this way offer a
sampling of the experience that when given an honest try
will very likely inspire more exploration.
This world can use as much healing as we can find.
----------------------------------------------------
Jess Freer has studied many alternative healing and
meditation approaches over the last twenty five years. He's
presently immersed in graduate studies focused on Spiritual
Psychology.
http://mypieceofthe-e-pie.com
No comments:
Post a Comment