Life can be challenging, hectic and stressful. Religious, spiritual and meditative practices are becoming more and more common to make life less stressful, but sometimes this isn’t enough. In fact, we could take a few pointers on spiritual growth from the indigenous people of Hawaii and the system of Huna.
Ho’oponopono is the ancient process of forgiveness. It literally means to make right. As you may have guessed from the title, there are transformational benefits to our spirituality when introducing the practice of Ho'oponopono to our lives. We cannot manifest or engage in the process of manifestation if we are burdened by unwanted feelings and emotions.
We may wander through life with certain burdens on our shoulders. It could be having unresolved issues with a person we were once close to, or the avoidance of processing certain emotions related to a loss. You can be reliving certain memories over and over again and feeling the intense emotions that are attached to them.
Ho’oponopono teaches us the importance of regular self love and healing. With the shamanic practice of ‘Huna’, it can essentially evolve our spiritual selves.
The concept of Ho’oponopono is to heal through practicing forgiveness and reconciliation. From this, we can form new connections because the practice sets us in a good, spiritual position to feel positive about ourselves and other people too.
According to Huna, we forge aka connections that stick and connect with everyone we meet. Ironically, ‘aka' is defined as the “sticky stuff”. These connections are more obvious with people we feel more close to. For example, you might have correctly predicted your partner’s reaction to a particular video, or finished each other's sentences.
To understand how Huna can develop our spiritual healing and self love, we must briefly go into the three selves and the four bodies.
We’ll begin with understanding the three selves:
The higher conscious mind (Aumakua) - what could be known as the ancestral spirit. It knows the absolute truth.
The conscious mind (Uhane) - is responsible for the words that we speak and the thoughts that are present in our heads. We can consciously retrieve memories from our unconscious.
The unconscious mind (Unihipili) - our primitive instincts lay here and it is also where memories are stored. Trauma and the emotions attached to it can be felt from unihipili.
Life force energy (mana) is how the three minds communicate with each other. However, there is no direct communication with the conscious and the higher conscious mind.
The mana flows through the aka cords, which act like a tube of transportation. As mentioned before, the aka stick to whatever they come into contact with.
The three minds must be aligned with each other in harmony for any spiritual growth or self improvement to happen.
So we know that Huna implies that we have three selves. These selves belong to their own “body” (and there are four bodies):
The higher conscious mind belongs to the spiritual body - wants to know ‘God’ and is the highest spiritual nature
The conscious mind belongs to the mental body - its function is abstract thought, reasoning and decisions
The unconscious belongs to the emotional - provides us with the ability to know our thoughts and understand our emotions
There is a fourth body called the ‘physical’ - this focuses on our instincts and passion
Throughout our lives, the great Kahuna said that advancing between these minds and bodies is a part of our evolution. We must balance, develop and mature these bodies and their functions to be able to spiritually evolve. For example, someone who is emotionally developed will be in touch with their emotions and understand their feelings more but not entirely be intellectual.
So how exactly can we lead a better life with Ho'oponopono? Cutting aka connections. In order to become ‘pono’ (making right), we must be able to sever these connections. Cutting aka connections sounds brutal and intimidating however, the practice is done in a positive and loving light.
Firstly, think about someone who you may feel negative feelings towards. Then, using the three minds, we must picture a source of infinite love and forgiveness overflowing our bodies and out our hearts to pour and heal this person in mind. The person needs to accept the healing for this to work. A discussion of forgiveness in both directions between the two of you is important for the next step. After forgiveness, we can let go of this person and cut the aka cord between you.
This can be applied to the people who we have had close and intimate relationships with and also with people we have physically lost. Assimilate the person inside you and allow this infinite source of love fill you up.
If we don’t do this in a positive light, such as feeding more hatred to this individual or persistent grieving long after a death. We are simply giving them more energy which draws them closer to you, and we’ll never be able to evolve. This is why Severing the aka connection is essential for our spiritual growth.
Ho’oponopono must be done regularly. We cannot have self love if we do not take care of ourselves. “Another person’s pig will not enter if your fence is kept in good repair.” A very Hawaiian explanation from Kahuna’s which demonstrates the importance of regular maintenance on ourselves.
Practicing Ho’oponopono can be entirely transformational. If you are struggling with issues around grief, letting go of a deep relationship, or not being able to forgive someone. I highly suggest introducing this type of spiritual healing in your life.
So, if there is ever a time when you need to overcome a loss or simply want to shed more positivity into your life, try practicing the ancient ways of Ho’oponopono!
About Matthew Tweedie
Matthew Tweedie M CHt MNLP is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner, registered with the Australian Hypnotherapy Association and ICHP Clinical Provider.
Human behaviour has always been a fascination of Matthew’s. Imagining the endless potential that the mind can achieve is a big part of his drive for human improvement.
Matthew’s discovery Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnosis left him in complete awe as it provided him with a life changing tool to change the lives of others and help them reach their full potential.
Although he is a results driven practitioner, Matthew is always compassionate and empathetic towards the people he works with. The positive attitude that ignited his journey still drives him to ensure that his clients are able to positively improve their thinking patterns and behaviour.
If you would like to enjoy the benefits of a guided version of this process, click here to gain access to the mediation and the transformation.