Mana for the Doctor's Soul

One of Ho'oponopono's main teachings is that when we clean, the right and perfect thing comes for us and everyone else.    Yet when the seemingly "wrong" thing lands on our doorstep, this can be hard to accept.  Our human minds insist on logic -- linear cause and effect.  We forget that healing might be a journey or a process.  If Ho'oponopono "works", we think our lives should always be easy. I'm coming to realize that "easy" does not mean without challenge.  Instead, "easy" relates more to our own attitude and perceptions than it does to outer circumstances. In the last 6 weeks or so, I've been dealing with a painful situation concerning my office.  I won't disclose all the details.  Just know things were distressing enough to make me want to move. What's surprising is that I didn't completely melt down and give up.  I continued Ho'oponopono cleaning throughout this time, even with all the anger, fear...

I have a story to tell.  It's been brewing for several weeks.   Many of you have written me with questions about whether Ho'oponopono really "works", and how we can tell.  I've heard similar questions on conference calls and live seminars also.   Usually Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len breaks out laughing when we ask such questions, because it's impossible to know at any one moment whether we're being run by "data", or by Inspiration.  The best we can do is "just clean", and know that if we do that, all falls into place as it should.  Mabel Katz often says that we usually only "know" when looking back. Despite this, it's human nature to get a little impatient sometimes.  Anyway . . . the story.  Please bear with me.  I share the many steps so you can walk along with me.   I've been dealing with a large government institution that manages some of my savings from many years' work as medical school faculty.  I h...

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.   ~Plato Sometimes life can feel very difficult, even when practicing Ho'oponopono. Sometimes it seems like problems line up one after another, like legions of ants swarming in for a meal. Sometimes there are no words for such situations. I have been going through something like this for the last while. Morrnah Simeona, the Kahuna Lapa'au who modernized the ancient Hawaiian practice of Ho'oponopono as Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono , said that talking about such things doesn't help anyhow. Being a psychiatrist trained in various kinds of "talk" therapy, I have struggled with this idea.  But in many ways I believe she was right.  For instance, many of us are very stuck in human stories of hurt, blame, resentment, anger, and shame.  No matter what the venue, our "talk" remains endlessly mired in these themes, and we have no insight into our own contributions to painful event...

Ho'oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian method of problem solving, stress release, and making things right. It can help us no matter how resentful, angry, hurt, frightened, or righteously indignant we might be feeling. Historically, doing Ho'oponopono required all people involved in a conflict to be present -- along with a moderator (usually an elder) who would also offer prayers at appropriate times. The process was a ceremony aimed at resolving differences and restoring harmony. Morrnah Simeona was a Kahuna Lapa'au (Hawaiian healer employing prayer, herbs, love [aloha] and touch to restore health to ailing people) who updated this ancient process for modern times. This became Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH), as now taught by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len and others all over the world. Morrnah's SITH process allows each of us to work with Divinity within, rather than physically bringing together everyone with whom we might be having trouble. Ho'oponopono see...

"Behold, I make all things new. " ~Revelations 21:5 I don't usually quote the Bible in my blog, mostly because I'm not a biblical scholar. But when I saw the above view from my backyard the other evening, the verse suddenly popped into mind. That is, after the initial "WOW!" that surged through my soul. I had been struggling for many months with some family issues, cleaning with them through Ho'oponopono . Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len had even given me a particular tool for this, which I had been using. In between storms of anger, resentment, and worry, of course. :-) Had I been cleaning perfectly, there would have been no inner or outer struggle. Nor would I have been so flooded with the kinds of pain mentioned above. But I am human. This is both a limitation and gift, since it brings all kinds of opportunities to make things right. Ho'oponopono is all about "making things right," in fact. Ho'oponopono is a very practical method for allowi...

We've had some vicious storms here in Arizona the last few days -- high winds, damaged homes, flooding, road closures, large event tents sailing away and landing on freeways, and some drownings. Not to mention all the snow in Flagstaff and Sedona. It's nowhere near the suffering in Haiti, but enough to get people's attention. In the midst of it all, a little bird taught me some Ho'oponopono . During the swirling rain and winds the other night, I went outside to wrestle with my dancing patio furniture. It needed a safer place, closer to the house. While out there, I happened to look up at the patio light . . . . where perched in all its fine fluffery and gawky-long tail was my friend, the Roadrunner. S/he (I don't know which) visits often, but usually flies away when I come out. This time s/he looked as if sitting on a nest -- which are usually made of sticks and such in a tree or shrub. Sometimes they even include worn-out rattlesnake skins. If s/he had made ...

Someone sent me an interesting email today: I've been reading your blog peacefuldoc.com for a while now. While I enjoy your blog, I've noticed one thing - you rarely talk about your personal experiences with ho'oponopono. I was wondering, why is that? Is it because you have not experienced anything tangible? One thing I've noticed about ho'oponopono is this: 99% of people who practice it can talk about their intangible results (peace of mind, connection with God, etc) - all things that can be obtained through simple meditation or any religion. But very few can talk of tangible results, especially repeated tangible results that make a significant impact on life... from areas such as finance, health (cure diabetes? cancer?), family, friendships, etc. This leaves me feeling very skeptical about ho'oponopono. I was wondering, why is this? Anyway, I am not targeting you specifically, but I feel that you are a clear/concise writer that might be willing to explain thi...

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was 'Thank you,' that would be enough." ~ Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) I love these words of Meister Eckhart , the German philosopher, mystic, and theologian. He came from a culture far removed from Ho'oponopono , and yet what he says is completely in synch with it. "Thank you," after all, is a Ho'oponopono cleaning tool that invokes the whole process of repentance, forgiveness, and transmutation. A Dominican priest, Meister Eckhart was also known for very down-to-earth sermons suggesting (among other things) that God is actually "in" man (and woman). This may have been too avant garde for the Catholic church of that time, which accused him of heresy. Finally summoned before the Pope, he walked 500 miles to his hearing -- and died before learning his verdict. I'm grateful for many things this Thanksgiving, and one is surely the freedom to practice our spirituality however we're guided. I...

As Mabel Katz often remarks, there are a lot of "weird" things we do in Ho'oponopono . For instance, we say "thank you" when a problem shows up. Is that counter-intuitive or what? We also talk to things: cars, computers, kitchen appliances, houses, sculpting tools, chairs, and more. This sounds extremely odd until you learn that in Ho'oponopono, so- called inanimate objects have three-part identities (subconscious, conscious, and superconscious, all linked to Divinity) just like people do. In fact, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len says there's no such thing as an "inanimate" object. All things have spirit; they can respond to us and how we treat them. Since some of us routinely curse the machines we work with, this talking to things may not really be so alien after all. But what if these "things" can feel when we're disgusted with them, or worse? What if they can also respond when we show them gratitude? Can they learn to do Ho'oponop...

Someone wrote me recently asking whether Ho'oponopono could be helpful in depression . I've been cleaning with this for several weeks. While keeping the writer's confidentiality, I'm moved to share the [slightly abbreviated] note. Perhaps we can all clean with it while reading: "Dear Dr. Pappas, I see you are a psychiatrist who has also learned the art of ho'oponopono . . . I just wondered if you thought that ho'oponopono is able to help people recover from endogenous depression ? As you are the only person I have found who is both a psychiatrist and aware of this hawaiian technique, I just wondered if you practiced ho'oponopono on your clients, or do you mainly practice it on yourself ? If you do not practice it on clients, have you heard (on the ho'oponopono grapevine) so to speak if ho'oponopono is curing people of depression and other serious illnesses. It requires quite a lot of effort to practice this therapy every day and do the cleanin...

"It's important to know that the subconscious -- whether yours or mine or anybody's -- holds all the collective memories of all of creation. So whatever's going on in the cosmos is really going on in you. There is no such thing as outside of you. We have come into this lifetime with all the collective memories of all of creation." ~Ihaleakala Hew Len, PhD I was re-listening to a recorded call with Dr. Hew Len and Mabel Katz today; a caller asked about difficulties with certain others in her life. Dr. Hew Len responded as above. Though I've been working with this concept for many years now (even before meeting Dr. Hew Len), it's still hard for me sometimes. The implications are enormous. So I simply allowed the words to pour over me, reach inside me. And as they did, I felt a deep quiet. The way of Ho'oponopono is to recognize that we truly do share unconscious memories with all of creation, and that these manifest in our lives. People come to us as cu...

Ho'oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian method for restoring harmony, solving problems, and releasing stress. Traditionally, extended families used Ho'oponopono to "set things right" when conflict arose.* Moderated by a family elder or Kahuna Lapa'au (healer), this was like a large family conference where all could speak their hearts. But as Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len often mentions, its success required all family members to be present. Depending on the issues involved, the entire process could be lengthy. But the steps would be outlined for everyone beforehand: they include prayer, stating the problem, discussion, confession of wrongdoing, restitution when needed, forgiveness, and release. The Ho'oponopono began with a "pule" (prayer) asking God to help and bless the proceedings. The family and leader together would seek out the cause of the problem or conflict, which might be very complex. The leader focused the conversation, exploring these hurts so t...

"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, ove...