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I have a quick, easy, yet powerful healing modality for you! Well, it’s not mine, Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian healing technique that suggests we are the microcosm of the macrocosm. Anything inside us exists outside of us (think about conditioning and all the ways you’ve been conditioned into feeling the shame, guilt or lack of self-love). Similarly, everything outside of us exists inside of us- that is to say, we can change the world by changing ourselves.

There’s a Rumi quote that reads, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Therapist, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len used Ho’oponopono to embody this very concept and you know what? It worked?

What’s Ho’oponopono and how did it work for Dr. Len?

Ho’oponopono is simply the practice of chanting just four sentences over and over again: “I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.”

Dr. Len is documented as having cured an entire ward of criminally insane patients, without ever meeting any of them or spending a moment in the same room. He looked at their files and saw himself in them. He took responsibility for the suffering of his clients and repeated, “I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” He recognized that while they were outside of him, his understanding of these people was inside of him. He reached inside to heal himself and what resulted was the patients being healed (and released) from imprisonment.

Here’s how and why it works: Repentance, Forgiveness, Gratitude and Love are the powerful forces at work here.

What I say to clients all the time when they’re in a shame spiral is, “We can’t heal what we’re in denial about.” Repentance suggests you’re actually accepting the situation at hand. You may be feeling a certain way about it, but you’re not in denial about it and that’s more important than you realize. Congratulations on being here! By simply accepting this habit, thought, person, situation, or circumstance for what it is, you’re already neutralizing it’s charge and activating your power. You rock!

Forgiveness is one of my favorite medicines- it’s up there with laughter. Here’s the thing about forgiveness, all the clichés are true, it will set you free! Free from the suffering, the ruminating, the injustices, all the things that don’t make sense. Forgiving leaves the past in the past so you may become powerfully present. Whether you’re forgiving yourself for that sugar binge or you’re forgiving your ex for all the deceit. Forgiving is for YOU. You’ll feel lighter and your energy won’t be all caught up in the past or in things you can’t control any more. There’s better use for your energy than all that, wouldn’t you agree?

I say all the time Gratitude is how we walk in Love. Gratitude is abundance consciousness. Practicing gratitude offers us more to give thanks to. It elevates our perspective so we’re counting our blessings and not our mistakes or their mistakes. Again, your time is more precious and valuable than holding on to the past. With Ho’oponopono it doesn’t matter who you’re chanting to. It just matters that you practice it. You could be saying “Thank you,” to yourself, to the universe, to your partner, your kids, and either way it will create the same chemical cascade of euphoric events within your microcosm.

And love. Who can argue with love? Love is a force. It is a vibration. It taps us into something larger than life. Love hard. Love deep. Love freely. Love yourself. Love others. Love yourself so you know how to love others and how to receive love from others.

Put it all together and you’ve got Ho’oponopono; “I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” Say it loud and proud. Sing it to yourself. Offer it up to others. Chant it often. It will help you take accountability for it all in a way that empowers you. If the suffering is within me, then I can have control over it. I can forgive it. I can alchemize it. I can learn from it. I can change it.

I have practiced this with everything from break-ups to binges. It works! I now practice it daily more as a preventative measure. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!