Ho’oponopono and ancient Chinese wisdom
Recently, I picked up a book “Awakening Course” by Joe Vitale. It is an inspiring book about the secret of happiness. In one of the chapters, the author mentions a Hawaiian doctor who was able to cure all mentally ill inmates in a psychiatric hospital without even seeing them. This doctor used the method of “ho’oponopono” – a Hawaiian term meaning “forgive and forget” – to cure all of his patients; It was a practice originally acquired from missionaries long ago. Intrigued by the innovative healing method, I read another book “Zero Limits” by Joe Vitale and co-authored with the Hawaiian physician; This book is about “ho’oponopono” and how it works in real life.
I find there is a lot of similarity between “ho’oponopono” and the Tao wisdom of ancient China, and I would like to share some of my thoughts with you. First of all, I will briefly explain what “ho’oponopono” is all about. It is a natural healing from the inside out of oneself first to initiate the healing of others around you. To put it into perspective, you are constantly exposed to toxic thoughts because of what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. These mental toxins become the raw materials with which you create the realities of your life. Once created, they are stored in the back of your subconscious mind as memories, which control and direct your conscious mind in your everyday life choices and decisions. This is also how the human ego is formed from memories, and how problems are created in an attempt to sustain and protect the ego.
According to Dr. Hew Len, the Hawaiian physician who modified the “ho’oponopono” healing method borrowed from the early missionaries, we are all 100 percent responsible for our own problems. Therefore, to heal others, we must first heal ourselves. In order to heal ourselves, we must not worry about our past memories and we must clear our minds. Once our minds are clean, we can help or heal others, but they must also be responsible for their own problems. In other words, Dr. Hew Len first heals himself of toxic memories of him and then leaves everything to the Creator to heal others if he so desires; he believes that only a clean mind can request divine help in the healing process of others. Bottom line: heal yourself from all toxic thoughts and memories. According to Dr. Hew Len, whenever such a thought or memory arises, immediately say to yourself, “I’m sorry… Please forgive me… Thank you.” You have apologized for having such a toxic thought or memory, and you have asked for forgiveness, and you believe that your Creator has already cleansed your toxic mind, and you leave the “cure” to Him.
The wisdom of the Tao is the ancient Chinese wisdom of Lao Tzu, the sage of China, who was the author of the immortal classic “Tao Te Ching” (The Book of the Way). which has become one of the most translated works of world literature, ranking with the Bible as the top 10 most translated books in history.
Lao Tzu focused on living in the now. Living in the “now” means that you try to erase all the toxic memories of the past, which are obstacles to any connection with the Creator. Lao Tzu also stressed the importance of “having no expectations” and “trusting the Creator” because he sincerely believed that the Creator is responsible for the natural order of things, such as the four seasons, and life ultimately inevitably followed by death. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. With pride, man cannot have any spiritual connection and communication with the Creator. The essence of the Tao, which is the essence of Lao Tzu’s philosophy, is letting go of the ego, which is the human pride in the image man has created of himself. Letting go of the ego is the way to cleanse the human mind of its toxins, thereby clearing the toxins from the body. Without this holistic self-cleansing, there is no cure for oneself and therefore no cure for others.
Dr. Hew Len used precisely this concept of mental detoxification to miraculously cure all the hospital inmates. He first cleansed himself and then asked the Creator to heal his patients.
Stephen Lau