Ho'oponopono -- a Pathway to Hope


Sometimes we get lazy, putting off things that need regular maintenance.  Maybe it's cleaning the house, doing the dishes, balancing the checkbook, or changing the oil in the car.  

We could even put off our Ho'oponopono cleaning.  :-)  (Who, me??)

Sometimes instead of  saying "thank you", or "I love you" as we move through our day, we let our "usual" inner meditations take over.  You know the ones:  "I'm tired/bored"; "I don't have enough money"; "how dare s/he do that to me!"; "I'm a failure", and the like.  We can get very good at those, repeating them unconsciously thousands of times a day.  Mantras like these can become our constant unconscious background music  . . . and probably do, unless we're awake.

Dr. Hew Len says its impossible to stay awake all the time, because our thoughts form before we're even aware of them.  We can't predict our next thought.  Try it!  You can't.

But we CAN listen, and if we have established a good relationship with our inner child by caring for it, can trust what we hear. 

We can also relate to the "things" in our environments, such as  computers, houses, heat pumps, and cars.  Sometimes we can hear messages that need attending to -- even if others say we're crazy for listening like that.


And when seeming "troubles" come up, we can see these as opportunities to clean rather than get upset.

I have an older car with 120,000+ miles on it.  I have taken good care of it, and usually maintain it on schedule.  Several years ago it came to me that this car that had been supporting me had a name: "Esmeralda".  So Esmeralda she has been ever since.  She's carried me faithfully to work and even across the country many times.  In a way, Esmeralda talks to me -- sometimes warning me about things.

For the last 3 weeks I've been hearing:  "Take me to the Toyota place."  It's been like a gentle inner nudge I can brush away.  So due to other activities (like work, and sometimes laziness), I had not taken her there.  


This morning was different.  I woke up early and heard a much louder:  "Take me to Toyota NOW!"   Okay, okay.  Let me get a shower first. 

I drove to the Toyota place, and a nice gentleman directed me into the garage.  As soon as I rolled my window down, I smelled something odd -- like burning.  Could this be from MY car?  Surely it had to be someone else's.  I couldn't place the aroma -- it almost smelled like an electrical fire.

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.  "No," I replied, "but my car needs a Yellow Service  (oil change, regular checking out, rotate tires, etc)."  "That's okay," he said.  "We can fit you in."

"Do you smell anything from my car?" I asked him.  He sniffed and shook his head no.   With a vaguely uneasy feeling, I took my book and walked into the waiting area -- saying "thank you" many, many times.

Sometime later, the same man returned.   "Your valve cover gaskets are leaking -- there's oil all over the engine.  That may have been what you smelled!"  Of course, this had to be fixed. The total bill was ~$700, most of which was labor. 

In the past, I might have gone to victim mode -- "Why me?" "Does the Universe hate me?"  The afternoon would have been miserable, angry, and despairing.  

This time, the feeling was entirely different.  It was just an older car -- Esmeralda -- with needs.   I said "thank you," grateful that I had FINALLY listened to her this morning.  What worse damage could have happened with a longer delay?   I paid the bill and drove home.

I took a nap this afternoon, dreaming of Esmeralda.  There she told me clearly, "My name is Esperanza now."  Since "Esperanza" is the Spanish word for "hope", the message sank deeply into my heart.  She (and I?) are no longer like the dramatic, cast-off character from "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" -- wounded, weary, and victimized.  We have hope now. 


Ho'oponopono does that, for me.  It's a pathway into a much healthier, less dark and negative, way of living life.   And now IZI, LLC has published its 2011 schedule of trainings.  I'm looking forward to joining in.  Are you?

Peace begins with me,
Pam


PS:  The photo is of Gold Star "Esperanza", with a Queen Monarch Butterfly nuzzling into its beautiful blooms.

Comments

Unknown said…
Love it!
Warmly,
Dayu
Pam Pappas MD said…
Thank you, Dayu. We all have our experiences to share.

Peace,
Pam
Paolo said…
always love your posts, Pam. They are a great service to anyone practicing this great art and a crash-course in ho'oponopono in themselves. Thanks you!
Pam Pappas MD said…
Mahalo for your kind words, Paolo.

Ho'oponopono is simple to learn, but remembering to practice it in each moment is not easy. It's good when we can share our process.

Peace of I,
Pam

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