Ho'oponopono, Morrnah Simeona, and Our Lady of Freedom

"Ho'oponopono is a profound gift which allows one to develop a working relationship with the Divinity within and learn to ask that in each moment, our errors in thought, word, deed or action be cleansed. The process is essentially about freedom, complete freedom from the past."

~Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, Kahuna Lapa'au

I grew up knowing July 4th for its fireworks, parades, and red, white, and blue. Before learning United States history, I understood it mostly as my father's birthday -- which somehow the entire nation was celebrating too. He's often said he's honored that there's such fanfare on "his" day.

He and I would go to one of the fireworks stands in our town to buy collections of sparklers, whirlers, roman candles, and firecrackers, which we'd later light in the backyard. I'm sure the neighbors appreciated this. :-) The sulphur smoke smell still lingers in my memory, along with visions of exploding colored lights. I especially loved holding the sparklers, despite the hot fiery prickles on my arm.

But besides being certain people's birthdays, July 4th more widely commemorates the United States' adopting the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. We have the Statue of Liberty holding her beacon high, like the photo above.

There are freedoms even more enduring than these political ones, such as the kind Morrnah Simeona (quoted above) spoke of with Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono. Starting right where she was, she showed ALL of us how we can truly be free. She was very clear in defining the alternatives we can choose in any moment, along with their possible outcomes.

If we can appeal to Divinity within to forgive and transmute our erroneous memories, we can free ourselves of past assumptions, conditioning, and more. Imagine! Rather than being tied down by chains of past guilt, shame, anger, and other kinds of suffering, we can let these go and breathe freely.

Or, we can engage in them ad infinitum -- bogging ourselves down more and more in each moment. The choice is ours.

Designated a Living Treasure of Hawaii in 1983, Morrnah also felt very drawn to Thomas Crawford's statue of "Our Lady of Freedom" atop the dome of the United States Capitol. Over 145 years old, the bronze statue is a stately woman wearing an eagle-feathered headdress and flowing robes. She holds both a sword and wreath, symbols of strength and victory. Morrnah apparently connected with her while sitting on the Capitol lawn in the 1960's.

No wonder she did! "Our Lady of Freedom" represents the United States' memory bank, which was already packed and tangled even at that time. Morrnah dedicated her life to showing how ALL of us can be truly free -- through an ongoing process of cleansing our memory banks. She traveled the world with her teachings, and was often accompanied by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len.

In 1989, Morrnah helped author a bill to the Hawaiian House Committee in Intergovernmental Relations and International Affairs to recognize the statue as a symbol of world peace and freedom. Her organization, the Foundation of I (now known as IZI LLC), donated funds to restore the original plaster model of the statue, which had been disassembled into sections and stored at the Smithsonian for 25 years.

Our Lady of Freedom has now been refurbished and re-set both in bronze on the Capitol dome, and as her plaster cast in the Capitol Visitor Center (re-opened in December 2008). About her, the poet Rita Dove wrote:

" . . . don't think you can ever forget her

don't even try

she's not going to budge

no choice but to grant her space

crown her with sky

for she is one of the many

and she is each of us."

At every Ho'oponopono training seminar, a photograph of "Our Lady of Freedom" is present. As we clean, whatever comes off of us may come off of her too. Though the statue is here in the United States, Morrnah's vision of freedom and peace encompassed the entire world.

So Happy Independence Day to everyone -- not just in the United States. May all know true freedom, and the peace that passes understanding.

Peace begins with me,

Pam

Ho'oponopono and Questions: A Perfect Time for "Thank You"

The ancient Hawaiian process of Ho'oponopono evokes all kinds of reactions -- wonderment, confusion, defiance, impatience, and peace are only a few. Having attended many training seminars, I've always appreciated the questions people ask. These are in me also.

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len often invites questions, and yet it can feel intimidating to ask them. I myself have asked many, and I'm sure I've exceeded his exasperation limit from time to time. :-) Even after those times, he's sincerely thanked me and others.

That's right. Once the answer is provided, the question-asker often says "Thank you." But then after that, Dr. Hew Len often says, "Oh no, thank YOU."

Why would anyone say "thank you" for exasperating questions?

Questions arise in us because we're unclear, and revealing this might feel embarrassing. Yet, they're also opportunities to clean -- in fact this is the only reason they come up.

If no one in the room had this issue or memory "in" them, the question would simply evaporate. The issue can even be within the person teaching the seminar. Thus when someone asks about it (possibly not recognizing its timeliness for others too) cleaning can happen right there.

Maybe the more something exasperates us, the more it's a "live" issue or memory in us -- and it's asking for release. So THANK YOU, dear question askers, for giving my memories words. I can let them go, now, because you've reminded me.

Can you imagine being given any greater gift than that?

There's a game called "Ice Breakers" on the internet. In this game, multi-colored squares of "ice" are arranged in a moving puzzle. The object is to match same-colored blocks 3-4 at a time, by shifting them around as you can. When you make these matches, ZAP! The blocks are carried off, and then more come. There are obstacles and many, many rounds. You win a round when you "zap" enough matched blocks.

Of course, I've never gotten all the way through the game (yet).

We're all full of such multicolored memories that block Inspiration from coming through. When someone asks a question, it can match something in us . . . and we can choose to clean. Then, ZAP! Divinity can transmute it. Of course more blocks come -- it's life's ongoing process.

In Ho'oponopono, our purpose in life is to clean clogged-up memories, breaking the ice in our hearts and recognizing who we really are (Self-Identity). Fueled by Divine Inspiration, there are endless ways to do this. Learning about many more cleaning tools -- and how to get our own personal ones as well -- is part of Ho'oponopono training seminars. I am grateful.

Peace Begins with Me,
Pam

Anticipatory Ho'oponopono: Clean and Ask First

This past weekend marked a first for me, but more importantly for Ho'oponopono.

Not only was this my first time to help staff a training seminar, but it was also the first time that "Health Ho'oponopono: Basic I and Your Health" has ever been offered.

Over 2 days Kikikipa Kretzer, PhD presented basic principles and processes of Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono as developed by Kahuna Lapa'au Morrnah Simeona -- and also focused on using these processes with health concerns.

Dr. Kretzer shared cleaning tools and ways of responding to health issues, when these are the opportunities that arise. Memories can manifest or express in our lives in all kinds of ways, including health conditions like hypertension, heart disease, depression, cancer, etc. Ho'oponopono sees these as opportunities to "clean" as much as any other.

We had a small, intimate group of people who traveled to Colorado Springs from all over. One woman drove 18 hours straight to get there, arriving breathlessly just before Dr. Kretzer began on Saturday morning.

Did you ever wonder what goes on BEFORE a Ho'oponopono seminar? It's much more involved than you might imagine, even though all seminars require planning and organization.

For instance, did you realize that as soon as you register for a Ho'oponopono training, you, your family, relatives, and ancestors plus the land you live on are cleaned on from then until the seminar itself? Your presence in the seminar -- either in person or absentee -- is viewed as an opportunity for Ho'oponopono presenters and staff to clean. You would not show up unless this were so.

And did you know that even the room is prepared and spiritually cleansed before anyone ever comes in? Of course the hotel or other facility staff does its usual work as for any other gathering, but much more goes into the spiritual preparation of a "Ho'oponopono" room than I ever realized before. Dr. Hew Len often says, "This room is sacred." Preparations this weekend showed me more clearly how this is so.

With each step in preparing the room, specific guidelines are followed; these in turn are inspired by Divinity. In fact, no step is taken in the process without cleaning and asking Divinity first. In a way, it's like anticipatory Ho'oponopono.

Many people think Ho'oponopono is only to be used when "problems" (actually memories manifesting) show up. But Ho'oponopono cleaning can also be a preparatory, potentially preemptive process that we can use before any event.

It doesn't even have to be an entire seminar we're preparing for -- it can be as simple as going to work or answering the phone.

Before picking up the phone, we can mentally say, "I love you" or use another Ho'oponopono tool as inspired. When considering options or being asked a question, we can pause, use a cleaning tool, and ask Divinity within for guidance. Then we can listen. Sometimes we'll get a clear impression, other times we might not.

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len often says that when the answer seems especially humorous, "goofy", or illogical, it's more likely to be Divinity's response. This is a very helpful reminder for thinkers like me. :-) Perhaps it's Divinity's way of saying, "You don't need to worry; I've got your back."

I'm grateful to Dr. Kretzer for giving me opportunity to work with her in this seminar; she's a wonderful teacher and delightful person as well. I might add that she knows exactly where all the best ice cream places are in Manitou Springs! That's where the weary go after all the work is done . . . enjoying breathtaking views at Garden of the Gods too.

Anyone who missed this last weekend's event has another chance July 25-26, 2009. Dr. Kretzer will be presenting the same material with Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, also in Colorado Springs, CO. Happily, I'll be there again. If you feel inspired to join us, we welcome you. To register, please click here.

Peace Begins with Me,
Pam

Ho'oponopono for Doctors, Nurses, Healers and Otherwise Misled Souls

One of the most challenging things about Ho'oponopono seems to be the temptation to try to "fix" or "heal" others with it.

After all, if it is such a powerful tool, why not use it? The world contains much suffering, and people want to offer relief.

Message boards abound with people offering to clean "for" each other, or proposing products and processes to try. All this assumes the other person is broken, and we have the right answer.

I remember Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len speaking about this very issue at a seminar one time. Someone was describing the problems of another, and asking how to use Ho'oponopono to help this individual. Dr. Hew Len zinged right to the point.

"People don't need YOU," he said. They need God. You want to get in the way of that?"

Right -- as if any of our "solutions" for others could be more correct and encompassing than Divinity's. Human arrogance shows up in so many disguises, one of which can be the urge to "fix" someone.

I wonder how many of us initially took Ho'oponopono trainings in order to learn how to practice it "on" others? We thought we'd use this as a new "tool" in our toolbox, and to know more right answers?

I'm laughing at myself, here. Also several years ago, I told a fellow health practitioner about Ho'oponopono. She asked a logical question: "What kind of healings come with that?" She really wanted to know, as her web site lists many types. Ho'oponopono could have been another bullet point.

But Ho'oponopono seems to uncouple, rather than intensify, the intellect's role in everyday life. Those of us who who like to think of ourselves as "smart" are shocked to find that our conscious intellects are not really calling the shots. Ho'oponopono shows us that all we think we "know" is simply erroneous data anyway.

So rather than offering us more ways to be clever, Ho'oponopono teaches that our best "shot" is to ask Divinity to transmute our own misinterpretations. These misinterpretations are the source of pain and suffering in the first place.

Of course this is easy to forget, since we're humans longing for appreciation. We seek this at every opportunity -- and "helping", "fixing", or "healing" others might seem to be a possibility.

So, what of being a doctor or other health practitioner? There's nothing wrong with caring for others, and practicing our science and art as best we can. But assuming that we always know best? I'm clear that we don't. Perhaps Ho'oponopono cleaning can help us get ourselves out of the way enough for the right things to come through.

In line with this, Health Ho'oponopono seminars are coming up in Colorado Springs, CO June 20-21, 2009 , and again on July 25-26, 2009. Dr. Kikikipa Kretzer in June, and she plus Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len in July, will combine the Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono Basic I and Health Concerns classes. Dr. Kretzer is Assistant Professor of Nursing at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and has published research* on Ho'oponopono and hypertension. A recap of some of this can be found in an earlier blog post also.

Information from IZI LLC describes what Drs. Kretzer and Hew Len will share:

"By the end of the training, students will:

• begin to know who they are and their purpose for existence
• learn how to care for and protect Self
• learn what a problem is and how to dissolve problems
• learn to look only to Self and the Divine Creator for problem dissolving
• begin to know and appreciate the Divine Creator
• learn how to prevent illness and improve health
• begin to experience LOVE and genuine health of Self beyond all understanding
• begin immediate application of problem dissolving tools for health concerns for Self and as health providers."

I'll be at both. Repetition can be good for the soul, as long as it's about releasing -- rather than repeating -- memories. Hope to see some of you there!

Peace begins with me,
Pam

*Kretzer K et al. Self Identity Ho'oponopono as adjunctive therapy for hypertension management. Ethnicity and Disease Journal. 2007;17(4):624-628.

The Spirit of Molokai Meets Modern-day Healers

I've just returned from the beautiful island of Molokai and a workshop called "The Healer Within."

There, Dr. Lee Lipsenthal and Nita Gage MA of Finding Balance in a Medical Life offered a small group of physicians, other health practitioners, and their significant others ways to confront and release painful memories, practice forgiveness, and become more resilient and loving people.

Ho'oponopono by any other name would surely be as sweet.

The locale was no accident. One of the least developed Hawaiian islands, Molokai is also known as a historical training ground for many kahunas (specialists in Hawaiian healing and other wisdom). The place felt suffused with mana: spiritual energy and power.

Dr. Lipsenthal and Ms. Gage combined activities for both "logical" or left-brained, and more "intuitive" or right-brained, mind states. Can you imagine mixing powerpoint slides showing meditation's effects on the heart , for instance, with holotropic breathwork and shamanic journeying? The combination underscored the wholeness in us all . . . no drugs needed, either.

Professionals steeped in science often have difficulty allowing themselves to experience more noetic ways of learning and knowing. The intellectual mind may need reasons to believe something is possible, before delving into shadowy areas that numbers cannot contain or describe.

Yet the mind also operates in images and kinesthetic sensations that can be unconsciously triggered, and which drive us far more powerfully than our conscious observations. Past events can blur into the present, with little or no differentiation.

When safely experienced, acknowledged, and discerned, these connections can lead to learning and growth. Unless "here and now" is differentiated from "there and then", we leap into assumptions, projection onto others, and repetition compulsion. In short, we experience the suffering of everyday life -- lost in a soup of past-present-future confusion.

Through our very nature, healthcare practitioners attract suffering. Frequently, we are born into our roles by families in need of healing, and we continue these roles in our professional lives. All the more reason to learn to deal with our own pain, and to invite greater awareness than our meager consciousness can deliver.

Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono is a way to take responsibility for our suffering, and to invite Divinity within to release and transmute this. Most likely we will not know the extent of memories that are expressing at any given time, but Divinity does. Through my work with Lee, Nita, and the rest of my compadres, I feel a curious mixture of strength and flexibility, as well as willingness to simply "be". My moment-to-moment Ho'oponopono practice feels more fluid too.

As Morrnah Simeona, the kahuna lapa'au who updated Ho'oponopono for modern times, once said:

"We can appeal to Divinity who knows our personal blueprint, for healing of all thoughts and memories that are holding us back at this time. It is a matter of going beyond traditional means of accessing knowledge about ourselves."

"We are the sum total of our experiences, which is to say that we are burdened by our pasts. When we experience stress or fear in our lives, if we would look carefully, we would find that the cause is actually a memory. It is the emotions which are tied to these memories which affect us now. The subconscious associates an action or person in the present with something that happened in the past. When this occurs, emotions are activated and stress is produced."

"The main purpose of this [Ho'oponopono] process is to discover the Divinity within oneself. The Ho'oponopono is a profound gift which allows one to develop a working relationship with the Divinity within and learn to ask that in each moment, our errors in thought, word, deed or action be cleansed. The process is essentially about freedom, complete freedom from the past."

Morrnah felt it was especially important for those in the healing professions to work with themselves in this way:

"It is important to clear Karmic patterns with your clients before you start working with them, so that you don't activate old stuff between you. Perhaps you shouldn't be working with that person at all. Only the Divinity knows. If you work with a person and it isn't your business, you can take on the person's entire problem and everything associated with it. This can cause burnout. The Ho'oponopono gives the tools to prevent that from happening."

Thanks to the spirit of Molokai, Morrnah, the Hui Ho'olana, Lee Lipsenthal, Nita Gage, and the rest of my colleagues, I feel much more clear and resilient than before I left. Step by step and person by person, maybe we can allow Divinity to clear the pain within and around us. And then, Divinity's inspiration can more consistently come through. It's worth it to me to keep practicing -- what about you?

Peace begins with me,
Pam

Ho'oponopono and the Lesson of Dead Tomatoes

I have some planting beds in my backyard, and can grow tomatoes and other delightful treats. The lettuce and basil this year have been wonderful so far too.

Only I went away recently for a homeopathy meeting. During my few days' absence, our Arizona summer arrived with a vengeance.

Seriously, you might leave one day with temperatures in the 80's, and return a couple of days later to 100+. It happens that suddenly here. The air shifts from inviting and warm at noon, to searing the skin from your face.

Imagine you are a tomato plant, trapped in your spot . . . and the drip irrigation fails. Your human isn't there to know it, and the sun beats down full force too. You are toast in short order.

So that is what greeted me when I returned. Dead, brown, sad tomato plants -- yet still bearing some tomatoes. It was eerie; it was as if with their dying gasp, the plants gave up their last red, shiny progeny. "Go forth, make seeds, let us be remembered," they might have been saying.

Or so I imagined. :-)

Perhaps the same can happen with us, without Ho'oponopono or some other regular spiritual practice. For me, Ho'oponopono is like water. Blue solar water, in fact. It helps me connect with Divinity within.

Without that, I am toast.

Consistent practice and meditation are needed, especially the part about working with my inner child (unihipili). In Ho'oponopono, this is the part that contains our memory banks, runs our bodies, and houses our emotions. It is the connecting link between the mother (Uhane) part of us and our higher self (Aumakua), which is always in direct contact with Divinity.

No connection, no juice.

Unfortunately, sometimes I have neglected my inner child, and maybe she looks like the human form of a wilted, dry tomato plant or worse. The connection between us can grow very thin, and this puts us out of rhythm.

I don't know why I don't listen sometimes, or sometimes think I can't spare the time to take care of us.

I do come from a long line of people who lack good self care. Learning to do otherwise is coming only gradually. It doesn't help that I also trained into another group that collectively has poor self-care: physicians. So I slip back into these old patterns sometimes. I hope my unihipili is patient with me when that happens.

"The real Secret," Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len has said, "is that the most important relationship is between the mother and the child. The mother can choose to help them not suffer; she can engage in the data or can teach the child to let go."

"If you don't get the help of the child, the cleaning will not work," Dr. Hew Len continues. "The child holds all the problems, all the memories. It could clean all the time, even when you're sleeping. Encourage the child, say 'I love you.' If the child felt loved by you, it would work with you."

I love when Dr. Hew Len talks about caring for this inner child, and teaching it to let go of data or memories. "The data runs us," he says. "If I wake up with a backache, I can talk to my inner child. 'We're experiencing this backache now -- can we please let go? Let's say 'I love you'", he explains.

From Dr. Hew Len's article, "Who's in Charge?":

When your Soul experiences memories replaying problems, say to them mentally or silently: “I love you dear memories. I am grateful for the opportunity to free all of you and me.” “I love you” can be repeated quietly again and again. Memories never go on vacation or retire
unless you retire them. “I love you” can be used even if you are not conscious of problems. For example, it can be applied before engaging in any activity such as making or answering a telephone call or before getting into your car to go somewhere.

Our inner child can help us with this. But it won't happen unless -- through gentle acknowledgement, care, and concern -- we connect with him or her first. Without this connection, our sense of aliveness dries up -- like my tomato plants without their water in searing summer heat. Thank you, dear memories, for showing up in my self-neglect so I can let go of you. I love you.

I'm planting new tomato plants, with water that will nourish and sustain them.

Peace begins with me,
Pam

Ho'oponopono: Simplicity Accepts Us All

"I wish I could make it more complicated for you,

but I really cannot." ~Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len

I've often heard Dr. Hew Len say this to people, both in person and on teleseminar calls. A combination of laughter followed by silence usually results.

Many of us just can't fathom how saying "I love you" or mentally thinking a so-called cleaning tool such as "ice blue" can do anything in the outer world of effects.

Perhaps that is precisely the point -- it is beyond our human abilities to fathom.

Indeed, one of the things many like about Ho'oponopono is its simplicity. It excludes no one, requires no particular dogma, and can be practiced in all situations. Health issues, family discord, financial challenges, and career or life purpose dilemmas are only a few possible applications.

Soon after meeting Dr. Hew Len, I asked him about additional training beyond "Basic" Ho'oponopono. How he had developed his own understanding of it, over so many years? He worked with Morrnah Simeona from the early 1980's until her death in 1992, accompanying her during consultations and teaching. "She never said much," he commented. "There were some basics, but that's about it."

I can imagine that simply being around Morrnah might have provided countless lessons, even if not offered like a "class". "Whenever there was a problem, Morrnah would always say, 'Look at yourself,' Dr. Hew Len told me.

We are so well-trained to look for external causes of our problems, I personally know that incorporating this idea takes awhile!

In previous years there have been "advanced" Ho'oponopono classes, but these have not been offered for the last several years. Mabel Katz told me that Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono has evolved; much of what used to be presented in the "advanced" classes is now shared in the "basic" one.

This probably confuses people who are used to multiple "levels" in spiritual and healing paths -- Reiki, Universal White Time Healing, and Healing Touch all provide examples.

But when you consider more deeply, the focus of these others is greatly on what you do "to" others (your clients, for instance). This may come through certain kinds of touch, meditations, use of mental symbols, or other aspects taught in classes. Clients come to the practitioner for some kind of "healing", and the practitioner offers his/her expertise.

Ho'oponopono is not like this at all. Instead it focuses on working with our own problematic memories rather than on doing something to, or "healing," others. It helps us find answers within ourselves. There may be positive ripples for those around us when we work in this way, though.

Through a combination of talks, experiential activities, and question-and-answer periods, the Basic Ho'oponopono training seminar answers several important questions:

• Who am I?
• What is a problem?
• Where is the problem?
• How can the problem be solved?
• What is the purpose of existence?

As Dr. Hew Len is fond of asking, "Have you noticed that when there is a problem, you are always there?" Ho'oponopono posits that we are 100% responsible for all that appears in our lives. The only way to deal with this is to acknowledge it, and ask Divinity for help.

Morrnah once said:

"The main purpose of Ho'oponopono is to discover the Divinity within oneself. The Ho'oponopono is a profound gift which allows one to develop a working relationship with the Divinity within, and learn to ask that in each moment, our errors in thought, word, deed, or action be cleansed. The process is essentially about freedom, complete freedom from the past."

Ho'oponopono is not a system which involves finding yet another guru to follow or worship, or endless "levels" of instruction to complete. It is, however, a process which requires practice, patience, and resolve as we learn to incorporate new attitudes towards ourselves and others.

When our basic response to anything or anyone is "I love you" rather than the abundance of other possibilities, it does change our outlook!

To me this attitude is mirrored also in the words of the Dalai Lama: "There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."

New "live" Ho'oponopono seminars are being offered all over the country and world -- you can find your closest option by clicking here. Alternatively, Mabel Katz offers her related "Zero Frequency" teleseminars and also Ho'oponopono question and answer sessions.

Ho'oponopono is an inner practice, but connecting with others who are also developing in this way sure helps me keep up with it. I wish I had known Morrnah, but when she was living I probably would not have been prepared to listen. So I am grateful to know Dr. Hew Len, Mabel Katz, Kamaile, and so many others practicing Ho'oponopono. All in its own good time, no doubt.

Peace begins with me,
Pam