I have written about ho’oponopono before. As it’s something I explore right now, it keeps coming up.
Whenever something comes up that bothers me, or feels a bit off, it’s something I can bring to ho’oponopono.
A neighbor is noisy. I feel stressed. I have beliefs about that person (he/she is noisy/inconsiderate/disrespectful/mindless, I cannot find peace, I am trapped, I won’t get enough sleep). There is a sense of a me it’s happening to (a person called P.), an I relating to it all (observing, acting, choosing), and identification as a me and I. I can bring each of these to ho’o, and whatever else comes up in the situation.
I have a cold. My body is tired, there is a headache, nausea. There are beliefs about it (my body is sick/tired, I am responsible for it, I am a disappointment to God/myself/others, I can’t do what I want). There are effects of these beliefs (feeling weak and tired, resistance, resentment, hopelessness, shame). And again, there is a sense of a me it’s happening to, an I relating to it, and identification with certain stories. I can bring each of these, one at a time, to ho’o.
I am sorry. Please forgive me. I love you.
As with any practice, it’s an inquiry and exploration. What happens when I shift into this? What happens when I stay with it for a while? What happens when I include whatever I at first may exclude? (E.g. my beliefs, identifications, images.)
It doesn’t really matter, and yet it can be an interesting question: Why would I say I am sorry. Please forgive me? I find three ways how whatever bothers me is created by or reflects me.
(a) Whether it’s something in the inner or outer world, it’s all happening within what I am. It’s all happening within and as awareness. It’s all awareness itself. It’s all me.
(b) It’s all reflecting, filtered through and created by my stories about it. Even what may seem the most basic about these stories – a world, noise, people, a me, an I, beliefs, identifications – are stories, labels and interpretations. I cannot find these outside of my own images and stories. These stories, labels and interpretations are not inherent in the world.
(c) And whatever these stories are pointing to are right here. I tell myself a neighbor is noisy. Can I find where I am noisy right now, in relation to that neighbor. (Yes, when I believe my story about a noisy neighbor my mind gets quite noisy.) Can I find examples of where I have been noisy elsewhere in my life?
So whatever bothers me happens within awareness, what I am. The way it appears to me is created, at a most basic level, from my stories about it. And it all reflects characteristics and dynamics in me, here and now in relationship to what appears to trigger it, and in many other situations in my life.
And why would I say I love you?
For me, it’s a reminder that love is already here. Whatever is here happens within and as love.
Hi,
Thank you for your posts here 🙂
In my experience with ho’o I include the statement ‘thank you’. For me this often feels very powerful, and can lead to shifts towards peace and love that I feel in my physical body.
Ho’o offers me a tool to express gratitude for all that arises (that I project) in a way that feels very held (in conjunction with the other 3 statements). I come to trust that all experience is there to help me, things are rarely as serious as I may first perceive them to be, and life is (I am – as the projector) constantly offering me opportunities to free myself. Life may then become extremely kind, and pretty funny:)
Go well
With Love 🙂
Thank you 🙂