Mana for the Doctor's Soul

Listening to Ho'oponopono teleseminars with Mabel Katz and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len , we often hear about the need to "put ourselves first". What does this really mean? Cartoonist Mark Parisi (see his " Off the Mark " comic above) shows us one possible interpretation -- and it looks like those stampeding have taken the book title to heart. We often find humor in exaggerating troublesome concepts. With this, Parisi hits the nail on the head! People can derive widely different ideas from hearing the same phrase. For some, being told to "put ourselves first" might justify narcissistically exploiting others as if they exist only to satisfy our needs. Or, it could suggest ignoring the legitimate needs of others when they inconvenience us. I don't know that such interpretations express the true spirit of Ho'oponopono , since we can't hurt others without also hurting ourselves. In fact, some of Dr. Hew Len's most memorable telesem

It is Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. From this night forward on our calendar, days lengthen and contain more light. What a gift, that out of darkness comes light! And how profoundly Ho'oponopono is changing me. Through learning from Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, Mabel Katz, Kamaile, and others, many of my previously rigid attitudes have started to slip away. From darkness, into light. I noticed this in the optometrist's office the other day, when I went for my annual eye exam. The doctor, a solid, no-nonsense woman, went about her business in checking me over. "Oh," she remarked, "I can see there was a time you wore your contacts too long." Blood vessels were growing on my cornea -- a sign of irritation. "Those will never go away," she said. "If they grow across your pupil, you won't be able to see." "Blood vessels are tricky," she continued. People who smoke, for instance, damage retinal blood vessels the same wa

Jimmy Piver's new blog, " Here to Be Clear ," is a gift to all of us. In it, he shares his life while applying his understanding of Ho'oponopono, Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, and more. Recently he posted about dealing with his own emotions during his wife's suffering and trip to the Emergency Room. Ho'oponopono holds that whatever we experience on the "outside" is also in us -- a huge difference from our usual perceptions, which say that problems are "out there", not within. It's very hard to remain present with someone's pain. Jimmy did help his wife get the medical care she needed. But he also used Ho'oponopono cleaning tools such as mentally saying "I love you", "Peace of I", "Thank you," and "Ice Blue" (said to be especially helpful for painful situations). They were able to return home a few hours later, and his wife was resting well the next morning. Did Ho'oponopono "do&qu

Recent family events have led me to review my 12-Step work in Al-Anon . It's a coming back to center on important principles that have helped me before. Some of the similarities between this and Ho'oponopono are striking. For instance, the first 3 "Steps" in Al-Anon say: 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. We make moral inventory of ourselves, taking responsibility for our wrongs; we humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings. Through prayer and meditation we seek to improve our conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. For some, Step One is extremely hard; so is the thought that any power but us will really be there for us. Learning to trust

There are days when nothing seems to go right -- and when maybe, like the "sat on" bird above, we might question even getting out of bed. Cultivating gratitude during these times can be a real challenge, and yet Ho'oponopono encourages saying "thank you" even in the midst of problems. Needing some help with exactly this, I was fortunate to come across a wonderful poem written by one of my colleagues, Martina Nicholson MD. It spoke to me so deeply I wanted to share it here. With her permission, here it is: CULTIVATING GRATITUDE by Martina Nicholson, MD "You don't have to like it." On my knees, I thank You for the hardest things, This floor, This sink full of dirty dishes, This house of unmade beds. I am sorry for the grumpy way I woke up this morning, Absent praise. I thank You for the tiniest goodnesses, The cyclamen on the porch With flames like Pentecost, The swirl of dust motes In the morning light. I thank You for the sunlight, And the cold wi

Earlier this year, we heard from Dr. Lucinda Sykes of Meditation for Health about a scuba diver cutting a manta ray loose from fishing lines that had somehow ensnared it. This amazing story had reminded me of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len's comments about a "Gordian knot" of memories and data that entangles us -- and how Ho'oponopono cleaning can help us free ourselves. Today another colleague, Dr. Cheryl Feng from the California Center for Homeopathic Education , sent me a similar story -- this one about divers rescuing a humpback whale off the Farrallon Islands (near San Francisco) . The 45-to 50-foot whale was on her usual migratory route between the Northern California coast and Baja California when she got entangled in some nylon ropes that link crab pots. A crab fisherman spotted her, and called for help. Soon an entire team of divers from the Marine Mammal Center arrived to survey the situation . . . realizing that their only chance of freeing her was to dive into t

One question people frequently ask at Ho'oponopono live seminars and teleconference calls is whether or not it "works". By this, they generally mean "If I do this process, will I get what I want?" Tracey in Canada has even created a blog about this, called "Ho'oponopono Works" . There, she shares aspects of her life and Ho'oponopono's effects on herself and her family. Mabel Katz , Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len , and Kamaile (who also trained with Morrnah and has been practicing Ho'oponopono for ~38 years) often say that you don't know what you're cleaning when you're doing it. To a scientist then, it's hard to say whether it "works" or not. In the midst of tragedy, I've received an answer. For many months, I prepared to give a talk on Homeopathy and Psychiatry at a conference in another city. This required over 100 hours of research, distilling, and organizing so that the audience would receive good information

Dear Readers, It seems I wasn't clear in transmitting the purpose(s) of this blog the other day. I have offended at least one person, and I apologize for this. From Kalea (Sunny) I received this comment that illustrated my unclarity: "I have an issue with what you've written and would like you to clarify this on your blog so your readers won't be misled!!! You wrote: This blog focuses on Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono as taught by Morrnah Simeona, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, Mabel Katz, and the Foundation of I. Though it especially reaches out to people in healing professions as they work with patients or clients, its information may interest others too. Pam, please clarify "what" specifically reaches out to people in healing professions...and may interest "others" too. Are you talking about your blog or ho'oponopono. Because if it's ho'oponopono that you are writing about, you are completely wrong. I am 100 percent Hawaiian and my f

This blog focuses on Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono as taught by Morrnah Simeona , Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len , Mabel Katz , and the Foundation of I . Though it especially reaches out to people in healing professions as they work with patients or clients, its information may interest others too. Dr. Hew Len often reminds us that the essence of Self-Identity through Ho'oponopono is knowing who we really are. Without this knowledge, we're sunk. So it was especially interesting to receive an email from someone asking (among other questions and assertions), "Who are you anyway?" Many of us have been asked similar questions, perhaps by parents or others disturbed by our behavior. The tone suggests we are impertinent and uppity somehow. This "Who do you think you are?" [to be doing/thinking/saying whatever we're doing, thinking or saying] is meant to shame or silence us. Such questions also present wonderful opportunities to remember who we really are: sp

I've just returned from a remarkable weekend in Woodland Hills, CA: attending one of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len's ho'oponopono seminars as a "review" student. Though the photo above is NOT Dr. Hew Len , it does depict the joyful (and somewhat impish) spirit he shows. Why would I attend a review session? Certain information remains the same, but each group and weekend experience is different. I always find new or deeper insights in what's shared. Even more importantly, I commit to the cleaning process itself -- again and again and again. It's a constant re-tuning for use in every moment. All seemed normal enough this weekend, until I awoke early Saturday morning in my hotel room to the smell of . . . wood smoke! No such smell was present when I went to bed. Where could this be coming from? I looked out the window: no flames or barbecue going on. I felt the door: no heat. All seemed eerily silent; no fire alarms were going off. And unlike earlier in the evening

Families can be challenging and loving all at the same time. We may practice ho'oponopono for many months or years with no seeming "results". Perplexing behavior patterns may appear as enduring as granite. And then change can blow through in an instant. For example, my family has dealt with alcoholism for many years -- just not openly or effectively. Long-suppressed forces erupted on Election Day, leading to hospitalization for one family member and hopefully recovery for all. It started with someone driving erratically, scaring people enough to call police . . . leading to eventual commitment for evaluation and treatment. It was as if something in this person demanded to be heard, manifesting enough craziness for people to finally "do something". Alcoholism often induces learned helplessness in family members; it had in mine until we were up against a wall. The scenario was wrenching, and yet I am grateful. I had nearly lost hope. We are working through the

For the last several days I've been in Vancouver, BC learning from Jan Scholten MD , a homeopathic physician from Utrecht, in the Netherlands. Over 100 other homeopaths from all over Canada and the USA gathered to hear about his current work with mineral and plant remedies. He's especially interested these days in people who have autoimmune diseases. Dr. Scholten has given a great deal to the world, including now working with HIV patients in Africa. He and his colleagues with the AIDS Remedy Fund piloted a study in Kenya with patients using a homeopathic remedy called " Iquilai ," said to restore balance of mineral nutrients needed for effective immune function. AIDS is a disease that many consider hopeless, especially in Africa. Perhaps it doesn't have to be . . . and as Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len might say, we don't really know what is going on anyway. Prominent symptoms AIDS patients experience include opportunistic respiratory infections, loss of appetite, w

The movie The Secret (2006) popularized the Law of Attraction. According to it, our thoughts create our reality by magnetizing events and circumstances that correspond to their "vibration". Some say that through using this Law, we can manifest our dreams at will. From The Secret's official web site : "The Secret explains with simplicity the law that is governing all lives, and offers the knowledge of how to create -- intentionally and effortlessly -- a joyful life. This is the secret to everything -- the secret to unlimited happiness, love, health and prosperity." Millions of people including Oprah Winfrey have embraced this movie's teachings; new "Law of Attraction" books, coaches, and training programs seem to appear every day. These programs teach people to formulate and affirm intentions for what they want in their lives. Some have found, however, that this Law may not always "work" as consciously planned -- especially if unconscio

As a psychiatrist, I've worked in many general hospitals and inpatient psychiatric units -- including specialized ones for forensically mentally ill people. Patients arrive on such units in all kinds of distress: severe depression, psychosis, suicide attempts, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and sometimes criminal offenses. Many also have additional problems like diabetes, hypertension, delirium, or intractible medication side effects. Bureaucracy and paperwork can be monstrous in themselves, even before you reach the patients. Physician, therapist, and nursing staff burnout thrive in such environments. So I've been in awe of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len's experiences working at Hawaii State Hospital in the 1980's. Detailed accounts of these are in the book Zero Limits , which he and Dr. Joe Vitale co-authored. But the nutshell version is that while he was there -- doing only his Ho'oponopono cleaning, no conventional therapy -- all but 2 patients on a dangerou

This morning the Arizona Republic captured a disturbing story about a 14-year-old Iowa girl abandoned in a Nebraska hospital . It's a mirror of many others, including a father who recently surrendered 9 of his 10 children (ages 1 to 17) at Creighton University Hospital. His wife had died, and he could no longer cope with the burden of raising them. The oldest child was not abandoned. Officials have attributed such events to the misuse of " Safe Haven " laws, intended to prevent infanticide and babies being left to die in trash dumpsters or elsewhere. All 50 states but District of Columbia have adopted these laws, which can unfortunately have unintended consequences in these hard economic times. I n the Creighton University Hospital case, other family members were upset about not being asked for help before surrendering the children. For whatever reason, the father felt he had nowhere else to turn but the hospital. I can imagine what the teens and children might feel a