Please Forgive Me. I Love You.

Have you ever wanted to help someone so badly but had no idea what you could do?

I know you have. It’s a healer thing. We want to help everyone.

And then there are the times when what you want is to help someone STOP TRIGGERING THE HECK OUT OF YOU.

So yeah, there are plenty of situations when we want to help someone move forward, whether it’s just for their benefit or for ours as well. But how?

As the answer to that question, my guides have reminded me of something I learned about almost ten years ago: a healing modality of Hawaiian origin called Hoʻoponopono. (Don’t ask me to pronounce it; I had to Google it just to get the correct spelling.)

The idea of Hoʻoponopono is that we heal others by healing ourselves. It leverages the spiritual Law of Reflection that says that everything in our outer world that gets our attention reflects something in our inner selves. It’s the concept of the hologram: The whole universe is contained within each of us. By healing something within ourselves, we heal the outer projection of it as well.

I have never formally studied Hoʻoponopono. I’ve never sat in a classroom for it or read a book on it. What I know about it was conveyed to me mostly in brief conversations with other lightworkers who use it. But the concept is so simple perhaps it doesn’t need to be studied, just practiced. Which I haven’t done in all of the years since I first learned about it, but my attention is being brought back to it now.

At the heart of Hoʻoponopono is a simple practice: As the “practitioner,” when you see an opportunity for healing – someone in need of healing – you turn your attention inward and speak four simple sentences:

I am sorry. 
Please forgive me.
I love you. 
Thank you.

I’m fascinated by the simple elegance of what these four statements accomplish energetically:

“I am sorry.” These three words are an act of claiming the healer’s ownership of the perceived limitation through the divine hologram of the universe that exists within her. Even if it outwardly appears to belong to another, remember that everything that’s in your outer world simultaneously exists in your inner world. “I am sorry” is your opportunity to claim your power to create change for another by healing yourself.

“Please forgive me.” This request instantly releases all attachments surrounding this situation and raises the vibration of the energy involved.

“I love you. Thank you.”  Along with Joy, Love and Gratitude are the highest-vibrating, most healing emotions that a human can access. Saying “I love you” and “thank you” fills in the spaces that were emptied by the previous act of forgiveness, and supports a connection of good will between the healer and healee. This includes dissolving any lingering resentments around the situation that created this opportunity for healing. “Thank you” also seals the healing and closes the connection.

I started practicing Hoʻoponopono a week ago and have been amazed at its effects, which first and foremost confirmed the idea of the hologram. I’ve used it the most in situations where I felt powerless to help someone with their emotional struggle – especially in situations where my typical reaction, I must confess, would be to think, “They need to just get over it.” Instead I used the Hoʻoponopono prayer, and could feel energetic releases in my belly.

That’s one of the gifts of Hoʻoponopono: It turns powerlessness into power. As with any mode of moving energy, it gives us the ability to help in any situation, without designating anyone as a victim who needs to be rescued.

Certainly the stories would be more amazing if I could say that the other people involved exhibited miraculous shifts; however, the truth is that the situations didn’t lend themselves to those observations. For instance, I didn’t follow the unknown woman around Wegmans after witnessing her argument and offering the Hoʻoponopono prayer. But I trust what I know about the Law of Reflection, and I choose to believe that if I continue this practice it will be another way that I can bring peace to the world.

Your turn

Will you help me bring peace to the world? How about we start with your own life?

Try the Hoʻoponopono prayer at some point today when you feel like someone’s stuck in a situation. It may be yourself, a significant other, friend, or co-worker. It might be a total stranger in front of you in the checkout line. Set your intention to try it and an opportunity will come to your attention, I promise.

Notice how it feels to claim that situation as your own. Your ego might try to talk you out of it – “Those problems aren’t yours” – but give Hoʻoponopono a chance to prove your ego wrong and let you claim the power of owning what you see.

When you do, I hope you’ll come back here and share about the healing miracles (of any size!) that this creates for you and others.

And so it is.