By Anna Von Reitz
We all need healing and we all need to forgive --- some more than others.
Whether it is to forgive ourselves for wrongs we have committed and can't make right or whether it is to forgive others for things that they can't make right, either, the Hawaiian Tradition of Ho'oponopono can help.
First, you acknowledge that the hurt exists. Trying to shove it under the rug never works: I'm sorry.
Second, express your regret: Please forgive me (us).
Third, give thanks for being forgiven and restarted in life: Thank you!
Fourth, affirm the love that makes forgiveness possible: I love you!
Ho'oponopono can connect you with those who are long-dead, parents and loved ones you can no longer talk to directly, but they can still be addressed if you feel that you failed them in some way -- simply hold them in your memory as you move through the steps.
You can address Ho'oponopono to people that you never actually knew, but who you wronged in some way. Many veterans have deep regrets and questions about those they killed or injured in the line of duty and have no way to find reconciliation.
Ho'oponopono can help them to find balance and move on.
We are finally growing in the realization that when we hurt others, we also hurt ourselves. Ho'oponopono brings this realization home and puts it in a way that is both simple and profound.
Regularly practicing Ho'oponopono will not change the past. It won't make possible restitution for those debts we cannot pay, but on a psychological, emotional, and spiritual level it can put us back in balance and release the pain -- enabling us to go forward and do better now and in the future.
The true purpose of forgiveness, whether we need to forgive ourselves or to forgive others, is to set ourselves free from the past, so that we can concentrate on being present now and make better choices going forward.
Ho'oponopono can also be used for larger scale purposes; though it is most often used for individual issues or family issues, it can also lend its magic to situations where a large group of people have been injured in the past.
Many groups that have suffered prejudice based on religion, skin color, or other factors are haunted by the past and some people are constantly dredging up past wrongs -- a practice that keeps them stuck in the past and unable to move forward.
Ho'oponopono can help lay such cultural histories to rest, so that they do not continue to breed violence and more destruction in the present day.
Always, everywhere, there is need for forgiveness and healing.
For our own sake and for the sake of those we have wronged and for those who have wronged us, we all have to find a way past the pain and find the healing.
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This Hawaiian idea, maybe a doctrine of their pagan tradition is a very poor substitute for the Sacrament of Penance, instituted by Jesus Christ Himself while he walked this earth.
ReplyDeleteThe Sacrament of Penance
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm
From the Summa Theologia of St. Thomas
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4084.htm
Whether confession is necessary for salvation?
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/5006.htm
How does a Catholic receive the Sacrament of Penance (Confession)
https://www.calefactory.org/sac-penance.htm