Ho’oponopono has been in Hawaii for thousands of years, passed down by the secret keepers or Kahuna of the islands. “Hoʻoponopono” is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.” It involves a group getting together, and a facilitator, where each person brings the problems they are having into the group environment, and acknowledging them. Each person offers to resolve the conflict, and the facilitator helps with this process. Often family members would get together once or twice a week, and resolve issues, and they would finish the process by eating a special food to acknowledge the resolution. Ho’oponopono means to make things and cause them to be right, and whole again.
Modern Ho’oponopono
The modern version of Ho’oponopono was brought to the world by Kahuna Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, a lomi lomi masseuse, and she was named a national treasure in Hawaii in 1983. She created the modern version of Ho’oponopono (SITH) and practised this as a master practitioner. She taught Dr Hew Len, who in turn taught Dr Joe Vitale (from the movie The Secret) the SITH technique.
Ho’oponopono now is used as a cleaning and clearing tool and therapeutic method for removing the blockages that one has for receiving what it is that they desire, and for gaining peace of mind. It is important to note that a facilitator does not actually work on the person, but the cleaning and clearing is done on the self of the facilitator, and the client is guided through the process in order to clean on themselves. SITH teaches that all problems are a projection of the self, and all problems can be resolved internally. It is not your fault that problems arise, but it is your responsibility to heal yourself.
Dr Joe Vitale has been asked at one of his seminars why people do not receive the answers they desire to their prayers, and he responded:
“People don’t get what they say so much as what they feel. Most
Dr Joe Vitale, Zero Limits
people who pray don’t believe they will be heard or they will be
helped. Most people pray from a place of desperation, which means
they will attract more of what they are feeling: more desperation.”
Ho’oponopono starts to end the cycle of desperation that is felt within a person. As an issue comes up within themselves, they can receive assistance from a Ho’oponopono practitioner to advise on how to clean, or to clean within themselves, and to gain the peace of mind and trust in the Great Something – the I – the Divine that things will subside. Often stress is a result of unmet expectations and the rushing through of what we want to manifest, and this causes frustration and anxiety. Ancient Hawaiian philosophy – Huna – deals with these issues.
Huna Philosophy
Huna, like Ho’oponopono has been passed down through the shamans and Kahuna (secret keepers) of Hawaii for thousands of years. Lomi lomi massage is based on the principles of Huna, and is also a healing methodology, although the practitioner is more directly involved through contact with the client. Lomi lomi massage works on correcting the energies within the body of the client. Lomi body work often encourages a client to acknowledge the feelings that they have, and to release them as the consultation proceeds. Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, the founder of SITH (modern ho’oponopono) used both Lomi Lomi and Ho’oponopono during her consultations, enabling a direct and hands on approach to the client for problems that arise.
Huna philosophy entails the following principles.
- The world is what you think. How you perceive your situation and your environment are how you experience it through your thoughts and feelings. You can change your perception of things through using Ho’oponopono and receiving Lomi body treatments.
- There are no limits. In his book zero limits, Dr Joe Vitale keeps reinforcing the idea that cleaning used in Ho’oponopono is about the idea of getting back to zero, removing blockages in the conscious and unconscious mind that prevent abundance, wealth and success, and good experiences in life, including health and relationships.
- Energy flows in the direction of attention. Rhonda Byrne in her movie The Secret kept talking about gratitude for everything that you have. Be grateful and you will receive more. Hawaiian Huna philosophy is one of the basic foundations for modern Law of Attraction teaching. What you focus on will become more. If you focus on gratitude for what you have, more will be added to you. If you focus on negative situations, they will amplify.
- Now is the moment of power. This means that living in each moment is the most powerful things you can do. You need to be mindful of where you are, so that you can come from inspiration rather than memory. Memories surface and they can be cleaned on in order to remove the data that comes from them in the form of stress, anxiety, symptoms like post traumatic stress disorder and angst. When you free yourself using the power of Ho’oponopono, you free yourself to live in the moment.
- To love is to be happy. To show love is not always an intimate love, it is compassion, gratitude and appreciation. This extends to the self in Ho’oponopono through the chant: I am sorry, I love you, please forgive me, thank you. You are learning to love and appreciate yourself by cleaning and clearing on issues that arise, and handing this over to the Divine – the I, or the Great Something in order to have it transmuted into a positive situation as it will come into being at the right time.
- All love comes from within. Ho’oponopono helps you connect to the love that is within yourself. The universe will channel this love to you in even greater ways when you learn to adopt the principles of living by Huna.
- Effectiveness is the guide to truth. This means that your truth has to be convenient, effective and relevant to you, and there are not any absolutes. Everything is always emergent, and subject to being unfolded in a mystery.
Lomi Lomi Massage
Lomi lomi comes from the Hawaiian word meaning “hands of love”. It was brought to Hawaii thousands of years ago by ancient Polynesian practitioners. It was made famous by tourism to Hawaii. The methods of the massage include moving the hands, elbows and forearms by the practitioner over the client, in a sweeping and dancing motion, while being compassionate to the client.
The purpose of life is to be restored back to Love, moment to moment. To fulfill this purpose, the individual
Dr Ihaleakala Hew Len
must acknowledge that he is 100 percent responsible for creating his life the way it is. He must come to see that it is his thoughts that create his life the way it is moment to moment.The problems are not people, places, and situations but rather the thoughts of them. He must come to appreciate that there is no such thing as “out there.”
The lomi lomi practitioner will work on correcting the flows of energy in the body that do not serve that individual, in a loving manner through the use of huna philosophy and understanding, encouraging the person to release those emotions that come up, and through transmuting the energy by handing it to the Divine. This is done through a massage, and Ho’oponopono can be used in conjunction with the lomi body work.
Lomi is suitable for all people except those who are seriously ill and seeking it as a sole medical treatment, it is recommended for those who desire to apply corrections within themselves, and have it available to them as a soothing and calming style of massage. It is an integrative psycho-therapeutic method where deep muscular tensions are released through a direct series of physical manipulations (Lomi Body Work, 2012, Jeffrey A. Schaler and Renée Royak-Schaler).
It can be individually tailored for a person, according to their requirements. People who wish to gain more mastery over their lives both mentally and physically benefit from Lomi body work. People who wish to experience more comfort in their bodies and an awareness of posture, as well as athletes and other people would gain significant wellbeing for themselves also.
For a Lomi Lomi massage treatment, contact Micah Mellalieu today.