HO'OPONOPONO

             Catherine Ponder says, "When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free."  Rabbi Shipiro says that forgiveness is not complete until we also embrace forgetting.

          I want to talk a little about ho'oponopono this morning so we have a better understanding of this process. One of the most remarkable gifts from the Hawaiian people, and all the people in the South Pacific who practice forgiveness, is the concept of Ho'oponopono.  Ho'oponopono in essence means to make things right with your ancestors, or to make right and create peace and harmony with the people you have relationships with now; those with whom you are entangled, or connected, and most especially with yourself.  It focuses on reconciliation and forgiveness, which are powerful tools. It is bringing your self back to perfect order, back to harmony and balance.

          The early Hawaiians believed that illness was caused by breaking kapu or spiritual laws and the illness couldn't be cured until the sufferer atoned for his or her transgression.  The transgression was either made against the gods (against spiritual law) or against another person with whom there was a dispute.  When a person errs or misses the mark, guilt arises and if you experience enough guilt, you do indeed become sick. Anger and secretiveness give power to the illness.  Confession releases the power, forgiveness brings back harmony and forgetting brings back balance. 

          Not only does Ho'oponopono have to do with making right in this lifetime, but also in other lifetimes and with our own genealogy because we often hold onto old beliefs that have been passed down from one generation to the next. We do not want to hold onto negative consciousness such as poverty, bigotry or addiction that comes from our family lineage. That is why the forgiveness of the ancestors is such an important part of the Ho'oponopono ceremony.

          The family or clan was all important to the ancient Hawaiians.  It was the center of all life and if a person was banished from the family, he or she would actually die.  In ancient times, if someone in the family was ill, the local kahuna or priest was called.  The priest would gather all the family members together for a family conference to find out what was going on in the family that caused the upset.  There followed prayer, more discussion, confession, repentance, mutual restitution and forgiveness.  Then and only then would the kahuna begin to treat the illness with reinforcing rituals and herbal treatments.  Then the family conference would end with a ceremonial feast symbolizing the restoration of harmony and that the past had been forgotten.

          The Hawaiians also believed parents made their children ill by quarreling or misconduct which was reflected in their children as illness. The kahuna or priest would first ask the parents of a sick child, "What did you do?"  Social disorder was believed to be brought about by not taking care of the land or through other disasters.  I believe we see that happening in our own time. 

          In 1976, Morrnah Simeona, a modern kahuna, adapted the Ho'oponopono process for our times. She turned it to a general problem solving process outside the family and a psycho-spiritual self help process that a person could do on his or her own.  She mixed in some ideas about releasing karma as part of the process.  Our service is based upon her work. Dr. Stanley Hew Len took over after Morrnah passed on.  He explains the forgiveness process with the following phrase: "I'm sorry.  Please forgive me.  I love you. Thank you." These are universal ideas and if you recall are similar to Dr. Emoto's work with water to bring it back into harmony.  Whenever you are having a problem about anything, stop a minute and say, "I'm sorry.  Please forgive me.  I love you.  Thank you."

          Ho'oponopono is always about healing relationships, our inner relationships and our outer ones, to make them right again. In the late 20^th century Hawaiian courts began to order juvenile and adult offenders to work with an elder who would conduct Ho'oponopono with their families as a form of alternative dispute resolution.  The elders, who are selected by the families from an approved list, conduct the ho'oponopono without any court interference.  There have been remarkable recoveries and healing. 

          So taking all of these teachings to heart, let us begin our ho'oponopono ceremony with this prayer :

          Beloved Aumakua, we come before you in this ho'oponopono gathering and ask the Aumakuas, the Higher Selves, of each and every person here to gather with us as the Poe Aumakua, the Great Gathering of the Higher Selves, as we open our hearts to change by forgiving those who have hurt us and by forgiving ourselves for hurting others.  We ask that you be with us now and that if any person cannot receive our sincere atonement, bring them into the Light and let your Love balance and bring peace to their souls.  In your Holy Names we pray.  And so it is.