Beyond Ho'oponopono Alone -- and into the Intelligent Energy (Mana) Within Us All

From the formless, into form

I am expanding the subject area of this blog beyond Ho'oponopono alone, although Ho'oponopono remains a beautiful part of my life.

For all the peace Ho'oponopono brings in this world, it is still a formed practice.

By their very nature, all formed practices can become niduses of argument. People react, judge, examine and shred with fine-toothed combs, quibbling over each point. They debate what various aspects "mean," especially in the case of religions. They draw lines between themselves and others -- with self (of course) being "right," and others being "wrong."

Ho'oponopono has certainly been an inflammatory subject like that. For my support of teachers like Morrnah Simeona and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, I have been criticized by native Hawaiians who feel these teachings and practices disrespect or even attempt to steal their culture. Or they describe it as a watered-down, fake approximation of the "real" Ho'oponopono practiced through the ages.

I hear and respect those feelings, even though they miss my true intent.

I have also been remonstrated by some in other countries who argue that THEY have Morrnah's final wishes and full techniques -- and are the only rightful heirs and teachers of Self-I-Dentity-Through-Ho'oponopono. (Rather than others who are also teaching widely under Morrnah's name.)

Morrnah received and developed her form of Ho'oponopono through personal meditations, and began sharing these with others. She said these teachings "updated Ho'oponopono for modern times," especially in cultures where people were geographically far-flung. She wanted them to have processes through which they could come to inner peace, even when not everyone involved in a misunderstanding could travel physically to a Ho'oponopono gathering for collective resolution. Her practices incorporated elements of ancient Hawaiian spirituality along with more recent Christian ones. Some feel this was an attempt to make Ho'oponopono more "relatable" to non-Hawaiians, at the cost of authenticity to ancient practices. Morrnah saw universal applications and implications through Self-I-Dentity-Through-Ho'oponopono -- not just for Hawaiians alone.

One of the practical applications of this insight of Morrnah's? At every in-person Ho'oponopono training I've attended, all nationalities and backgrounds are welcomed. Dr. Hew Len often asked for volunteers to read the opening and closing prayers in their native languages. You would hear Hawaiian of course -- but also Spanish, French, Portuguese, and many others as well. Sounds can open hearts.

For me, larger questions arise about spiritual practices like Ho'oponopono (along with other meditative and/or religious ones as well).

• Why are people seeking them out in the first place? 
• What inner longings do they attempt to answer? 
• Are there underlying aims and desires which are similar across cultures?
• What moves people to grow and evolve at all?
• Are there fundamental energies (or Principles) which guide our lives, regardless of cultural or religious background?
• If so, what is the nature of these energies, and how do we understand them (if we can at all)?
• And more
  

As a human, physician, psychiatrist, and homeopath for many years, I have always been a seeker of understanding. Not just an intellectual understanding, but one of the heart. One that grounds and connects me lovingly with life itself, which expresses in infinite ways.

Therefore this blog opens into the energy of Life, before and behind the form in which it shows up. New insights become possible in that way. The experience of inner peace becomes more consistent. I am fascinated to see how we humans create formed ideas from formless energy -- which we do every moment, through Thought. These are the areas we'll be tuning into, in the time to come.

Thank you for reading and considering.

Peace begins with me,
Pam

“If we can accept that we are the sum total of all past thoughts, emotions, words, deeds and actions and that our present lives and choices are colored or shaded by this memory bank of the past, then we begin to see how a process of correcting or setting aright can change our lives, our families and our society.”

-- Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona