HO'OPONOPONO By Joe Vitale

"Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients--without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate's chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person's illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved.

"When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the story.

"However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho 'oponopono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood "total responsibility" to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it's out of my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility that way. We're responsible for what we do, not what anyone else does--but that's wrong.

"The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his work as a therapist. He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous.

Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.

"Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to heal.

"'After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,' he told me. 'Others who had to be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no chance of ever being released were being freed.' I was in awe.'Not only that,' he went on, 'but the staff began to enjoy coming to work. Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.'

"This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: 'What were you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?'

"'I was simply healing the part of me that created them,' he said. I didn't understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life- simply because it is in your life--is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.

"Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy or anything you experience and don't like--is up for you to heal. They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and to change them, you have to change you.

"I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live. Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in ho 'oponopono means loving yourself.

"If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal you do it by healing you.

"I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients' files?

"'I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over again,' he explained.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world."

I love this story. We have been talking so much here lately about our being 100% responsible for everything we see, so I thought this would be a good time to bring this back to my own attention, and also share it again with everybody. Our @Stingray had already posted it once before here, but it was a few years ago, and I felt like it deserved another posting.

Love, Grace

:)

I learned to give from my parents. One thing that can help is to teach children to help or give without losing themself in the process. To give with joy and love and not worry about the outcome or feeling like they are "owed" back. Teaching them that by nature they will reap abundance and wellbeing when they believe and stay in that vibration.

My parents taught me a lot. The things they could not teach me are the things they didn't know for themself-of course. I feel they did get it for themselves afte I was long gone from living at home. I bless them.

You can do volunteer work in other countries, or donate money or your old stuff to charities. There are many ways in which you can help other people who are struggling and less fortunate than you.

But unfortunately, I do not think anyone will have the ability to help the whole world, because it is also a mutual thing. If the other person is not willing to accept your help, no matter how powerful or skilful you are at being able to help others, it will still be futile.

by getting them to know them self. in understanding,truth and harmony. that is the first place to solve that division that is causing that duality in the world. since every thing comes from in us by our choice. and affect the outside world. you see the result in the world of that division. inequity,poverty,sickness,murder,theef,injustice,fight,hate,judging,blame.all coming from heart of stone,judging out of self rightenous,lack of understanding,truth and harmony. if you do not know your self how can you know other? and how can you live in understanding,harmony and truth? if you are rich help the poor,if not it just show how really poor you are.in that case you all ready have your reward and you are the poverty.love your neigboor as your self. if you want to make the world a better place take a look at your self and make that change. so let there be light,Be the light that you can be experience and enjoy.