Mana for the Doctor's Soul

It's been a rainy weekend in Colorado Springs, and Drs. Ihaleakala Hew Len and Kikikipa Kretzer have just finished a Health Ho'oponopono seminar. This offers the Basic Ho'oponopono material, with additional focus on cleaning with health conditions such as hypertension, cancer, arthritis, and many others. I was grateful to help staff the seminar. What a gift to meet so many pure-hearted people from so many places, all wanting to learn how to practice Ho'oponopono in their own way! This is one of the special delights of Ho'oponopono: it offers us methods of connecting with Divinity for ourselves, without need for go-betweens. To assist us, certain meditations, processes, and attitudes are shared. Ho'oponopono also offers "cleaning tools" that are a particular curiosity for many, but their wide variety can seem mysterious and confusing. Our intellects want to know "what" each tool is used for, so we can "do it right". In my case, it w...

Self Identity Through Ho'oponopono is known as a process of "repentance, forgiveness, and transmutation" so that our errors in throught, word, and deed can be cleansed and made right. But the part about "repentance" stops some of us cold. Even the phrase "I'm sorry" can rankle. Why? For some of us, the word "repentance" churns up evangelical connotations: sin, guilt, fire, and eternal damnation, from earlier religious training. We may have struggled against such seemingly condemning viewpoints all our lives. And understandably, we don't want any of that stuff. It leaves us feeling hopelessly bad about ourselves. Any implication of wrongdoing triggers our shame. That's why saying "I'm sorry" can stir up our resistance. Is Ho'oponopono about hopelessness and focusing on how bad we are? Hardly. Most religions aren't either, although the people practicing them may get stuck there. I ran across a helpful referenc...

"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 especia...