Ho'oponopono: more perspecives on "making things right!"

HO`OPONOPONO

Making Things RIGHT!

LEARN HOW TO...

• • Make things RIGHT in your Health • • Make things RIGHT in your Career • • Make things RIGHT in your Family • • Make things RIGHT in your Personal Growth • • Make things RIGHT in your Relationships • • Make things RIGHT in your Finances • • Make things RIGHT in your Spiritual Life • • Make things RIGHT in your Life • • Make things RIGHT in your Community • • Take Your Life Back • • Fix Your Fears • • Get Answers to Your Personal Questions • •

"Ho`oponopono: Making Things Right!"

... throughout ALL OF YOUR LIFE.

Right Thinking + Right ACTION = Right Future.

The first step in any healing technique, whether of physical illness, mental or emotional trauma, or financial or social difficulty, always kala (cleansing).

That can mean clearing out mental and emotional blocks, purging the body of built-up toxins from unassimilated chemicals and improper diet, or getting rid of such mental garbage as jealousy or anger or "thinking poor."

Any problem requires "setting things right" before it is possible to make positive progress in regaining a healthy mind, body, bank account, or social inter-relationship.

The Hawaiian word for this process is HO`OPONOPONO.

But the term refers to a specific, ancient method of problem-solving that was a prerequisite for any healing procedure.

This was done before the doctor arrived ... and it was done by all the people concerned with the problem.

The traditional procedure involved the `OHANA — the entire family unit.

That meant every member of the family—from the youngest child to the eldest great-grandparent, the aunts and uncles, and cousins-from the nearest relative to the thirty-second cousin twice removed! When the doctor arrived—the Kahuna La`au Lapa`au—the first question traditionally was: "Have you done the HO`OPONOPONO?"

I must emphasize the fact that HO`OPONOPONO was a family-related problem-solving technique. The Hawaiians have always been and still are keenly family-oriented and all members of families had a closeness that is not easy to understand in our "modern" era of isolated family members. All members of the family knew each other intimately. The time of HO`OPONO- PONO was not a "family reunion" situation, in which members of the family have not seen each other since the last gathering a year or more before. The kahuna was also the family-doctor variety that knew each member of the family and so understood their problems.

In order to understand the problem-solving technique in its traditional Hawaiian setting, you may need to read some descriptions and examples, which cannot be included here because of limitation of space. The best source is Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source), Vol. I, by Mary Kawena Pukui, E. W. Haertig, and Catherine A. Lee. This book, with its companion volume, are excellent sources of information on every aspect of ancient Hawaiian life and thought. There is a good description of HO`OPONOPONO in Vol. I.

Another source for information on the tradition of on HO`OPONOPONO is Kahuna La`au Lapa`au: The Practice of Hawaiian Herbal Medicine , by June Gutmanis. Chapter Three (The Diagnosis) has a good description of HO`OPONOPONO. The serious nature of this ritual may be illustrated by the following quotation (p. 19):

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The "setting right" with both god and man aided in the restoring of mana and cleared the way for whatever medical treatment the kahuna might prescribe.

Whether as part of a medical treatment or as a ritual to restore social order, the call to ho'oponopono might be made by an individual who had acted improperly or had been wronged by another, by the elder of the troubled family, or by a kahuna. Those involved on both sides of the problem had to be present for the ho'oponopono. If any were not present the effort of the ritual would be nothing more than that of the council ('aha) meeting and would not have the psychic and setting right power of a true ho'oponopono. Everyone, both young and old, had to be in agreement as to the seeking of a solution, to accepting it, and to acting accordingly after the ho'oponopono was over. Failure to keep promises made during the ritual was one of the most serious offenses against the gods and the person who broke such a promise would soon suffer retaliation from the gods.
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An important facet of the technique is the Hawaiian belief that forgiveness MUST be given, if asked for. Forgiveness in Hawaiian is kala and means clearing the path (aka cord) between the two persons involve. It also involves RELEASING, so that the difficulty is completely eradicated, not merely repressed.

The discussion in Nana I Ke Kumu concludes with this summary:
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Hawaii's family therapy is the sum total of many parts: prayer, discussion, arbitration, contrition, restitution, forgiveness and releasing, and the thorough looking into layers of action and feeling called mahiki. It is this sum total of its many beneficial parts that makes ho'oponopono a useful, effective method to remedy and even prevent family discord.… Ho'oponopono may well be one of the soundest methods to restore and maintain good family relationships that any society has ever devised."
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Of what use is HO`OPONOPONO to us today?

Is it a practical method that can be used by modern-day Hawaiians, or even non-Hawaiians? It is significant, I think, that the authors of Nana I Ke Kumu observed that "when Christianity came in, more than a century ago, ho`oponopono went out."

The reason is clear: it was thought that invocations to "pagan gods" such as akua and aumakua were "sinful" and therefore the practice was banned as soon as the missionaries managed to get themselves into power.

Morrnah N. Simeona, a modern-day kahuna in the old tradition, in the 1980's developed the technique of HO`OPONOPONO into a form that can be used today. It retains many of the ancient Hawaiian traditional elements.

The idea of `OHANA (family) has been expanded to mean a group of closely related or associated persons —all the persons involved in a problem. This version of the technique was taught at the first Huna World Convention in Hawaii (1980) sponsored by the Huna Fellowship, of which Morrnah was the coordinator. Morrnah conducted many of these sessions with groups who wanted to work out disagreements or have other problems that have come to a stalemate. All persons involved in the problem must participate, and once the session has started, no one is allowed to leave the group for any reason. Often the procedure takes many hours; sometimes several days.

Keep studying!

--Vince

© 2007 Rev. James Vinson Wingo, DD
http://kahunaenergetics.com/