What is Ho’oponopono (SITH)?

Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian spiritual system of healing through forgiveness.  Generally, there is a Shaman (Kahuna), High Priest/Priestess (Kahuna), or Elder (Kahuna) who performs a ceremony of forgiveness and reconciliation with the person who is ill and a family member(s) and, or friend(s) who are involved in some type of conflict with the one who is ill to restore peace and healing in all of their lives.  The Kahuna servers as the spiritual counselor, an arbitrator,  one that offers an opportunity of harmonic restoration for any conflict that may be causing unrest or challenges in the community. Ho’oponopono is used to resolve conflict on any level.

Who Could Be Referred To As Kahuna?

I am sure that we have all heard the term Kahuna at some point in our lives.  If you are not intimately aware of it, maybe you have heard it in the form of praise or comically as, “The Big Kahuna.”  Kahuna is a Hawaiian term and it actually equates to the English term, “master.”  It would be likened to saying, “Dr./Ph.d.”  Kahuna is someone who is very knowledgeable in a particular field. You have Kahunas of fishing, farming, surfing, counseling, etc. As it has been shared many times over, Kahu means keeper and na means to care for or to resolve. From what I have come to know of Hawaiian history their ways and spiritual beliefs date back as far as the oldest religions and cultures. What I have come to understand is that it means much more than what has become the acceptable definition. The Hawaiian people, were and are, very protective of what they consider sacred knowledge. Many of those who have studied the Hawaiian language/culture are enlightened by the fact that the Hawaiian language is very layered and has many understandings within the surface meanings. For instance, what I just explained regarding the “text book” meaning of the term Kahuna, is really a vague and shallow translation when compared to the deeply expansive truth that the term actually offers. You have probably noticed by now that the term Kahuna carries the word huna. Huna means hidden or secret. Huna is a Hawaiian teaching of the sacred codes of life. Therefore, a better definition, in my humble opinion, for the term Kahuna would be keepers of the way, the facilitators of harmony and right order. They are the arbitrators and mediators of chaos, bringing resolve and health back to what was once chaotic and dis-eased (imbalanced), master teachers for alignment with the divine blueprint. The are the wayshowers.

What is SITH?

The acronym SITH  stands for Self Identity Through Ho’oponopono. It is a modified version of the ancient Hawaiian spiritual cleansing/healing system, Ho’oponopono.  This modified system (SITH) was founded by Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona,  a native Hawaiian Kahuna Lapa’au (specialist in healing).   With SITH you do not need a Kahuna (mediator). You also do not require the person(s) connected to the situation that is troubling you. You are the only requirement, nothing and no one external is needed.

Is SITH Effective? Does It Work? Is This Real?

SITH has been said to be so effective that Simeona was invited to the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other institutions of healing throughout the world.  I have not made an effort to contact any of those organizations to  confirm whether these statements are true or not, but I can offer this on it’s effectiveness:

Within the SITH system (Ho’oponopono) there are four phrases or mantras. Those phrases are “I’m sorry; Please Forgive Me; Thank You; and I Love You.”  It does not matter what order they are said in.  Recitation of these phrases allows you to clean on any disharmony you may be experiencing, regardless of whether you are aware of its cause or not.  However, if you are aware of an issue and would like to consciously clean on it, you would simply say the four phrase mantra with your intention in place or you could say the actual prayer that Kahuna Morrnah said to heal thousands and it is simply this: “Divine creator, father, mother, son as one… If I, my family, relatives, and, or ancestors have offended you, your family, relatives, and, or ancestors in thoughts, words, deeds, and/or actions from the beginning of our creation to the present, we ask for your forgiveness… Let this cleanse, purify, release, cut all the negative memories, blocks, energies, and vibrations, and transmute these unwanted energies into pure light… And it is done.” (Page 205 of  the book Zero Limits)

Kahuna Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona is no longer with us in the physical (PBUH).  However, her assistant, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len is still here and he co-authors a book on SITH called, “Zero Limits.”  Dr. Hew Len is said to have shut down the entire mental health ward of the Hawaii State Hospital with these methods. I have made several attempts over the last three years to confirm these claims with local Hawaiian newspapers and with the hospitals themselves, but have been unsuccessful in receiving any type of feedback either way. Many have worked with Dr. Len and attended his seminars and have reported experiencing astounding results. I have been using Ho’oponopono for about 4 years and it is truly remarkable.  If you are familiar with Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc., SITH will open the doors for deeper understanding as to what those scriptures are teaching you. It also illuminates the beauty of Divinity within our theological doctrines.

Where Can I Get More Information on SITH?

If what you have read thus far is intriguing, then you may want to grab a copy of the books Zero Limits.  Zero Limits serves as an introduction to SITH.  WARNING: Some of you will love the book and some may be challenged to get past Joe Vitale’s shameless plugs of his other books and marketing innuendos.  However,  once you release your attachments to the packaging, you will find something very intriguing within those pages.

There was an official website up a few years ago at the following address www.hooponopono.org, but that is no longer valid.  I am not certain what happened to it.  It was hosted by an organization called, The Foundation of I, Inc. Freedom of the Cosmos.  It does seem that Mabel Katz is still in contact with Dr. Hew Len and her website is http://www.hooponoponoway.com/  There is also another website that is considered a resource for Ho’oponopono and that is http://www.ho-oponopono.org/

This article will give you a nice snapshot of SITH (Ho’oponopono) and how it truly works. For those of you who would like to go deeper, there are other parts of the article that will serve as a review of the mechanics or application that is not mentioned or elaborated on in the book.

Main Themes or Points that the book, Zero Limits Shares?

Dr. Vitale shared this in Zero Limits (Dr. Len on 100% responsibility): “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… That means the terrorists, the president, the economy — anything you experience and don’t like —is up to you to heal.  They don’t exist in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside of you.” Page 22

“You are 100 percent responsible for all you experience. What happens in your life is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. The concept of personal responsibility goes beyond what you say, do , and think. It includes what others say, do and think that shows up in your life. If you take complete responsibility for all that appears in your life, then when someone surfaces with a problem, then it is your problem too. This ties in to principle three, which states you can heal whatever comes your way. In short, you can’t blame anyone or anything for your current reality. All you can do is take responsibility for it, which means accept it, own it, and love it. The more you heal what comes up, the more you get in tune with the source.” Page 200

The most critical piece of Ho’oponopono (SITH) that was shared above is “fault” versus “responsibility.”  There is a huge difference between the two terms.  For many of us,  hearing that something as horrible as rape, torture, murder, etc., is our responsibility, immediately puts us on the defense.  We do not want to hear anything else because we are not going to be blamed for something that we feel we cannot control.  As a gentle reminder, I would like to share that the dynamic of our creations are played out at many levels and most of the time we are not intentionally creating things that are unpleasant from our conscious mind; although, some of us are.  Once we become more aware and are able to recognize what is in discord, we can begin to take responsibility in our waking lives to address and heal those programs/memories that are playing in our subconscious and, or conscious minds.  When anything comes into our awareness, we are being invited to discern our role/part in responding to what has been presented.  Most times, the only thing we need do is pray or clean, as with SITH, and then commit to actively walking in a way that represents our awareness and desire of such changes.

What Are Others Saying About SITH?

The four phrase mantra feels totally blissful to some.  I have heard skeptics say it sounds like a “space-cadet-type peace trip,” minus the drugs of the sixties.  Others are so intrigued that they think of it as the end all solution to everything.

Here’s My Take On It

I see SITH (Ho’oponopono) as a continuum of beginnings, an innovator of opportunity, stirring the deepest unrest within our beingness, so that we can consciously look at what needs to be transmuted, released, and/or embraced and begin to do that.  It is a scanner probing the subconscious and unconscious realms, identifying free radicals (if you will) on an energetic level  and any other type of dis-ease or toxins that are disturbing the physical, mental and emotional body and bringing it to the surface for detoxification. It is an invitation to see things more clearly, but again, seeing is a choice.

Regardless of your perspectives on this process, if you are practicing the mantras, you will eventually arrive at a point where you will begin to question all of your beliefs, even your embrace of Ho’oponopono.  If you have a formal theological foundation, you may find yourself questioning how SITH & those beliefs complement one another, if at all. This is great. Try not to be alarmed.  What that reaction is saying to you is that you are cleaning on everything, without discrimination.  I find that the people that who have been discouraged by Ho’oponopono have one common recurring theme; they expect the prayers and phrases to produce magical results from the simple utterance of them. Let me be very clear here and maybe I can save you some heartache and frustration, the concept of cleaning and, or erasing does not mean that the problems and disharmonies that you are experiencing are going to magically disappear. It means that you are going to have an opportunity to clear your desk (mental/emotional clutter).  You are going to be challenged to look deeper, to forgive (yourself & others), to change your thinking and be more compassionate. The magic, if there is to be any, comes from your commitment to co-create something beautiful in your life. If you are under the impression that this is a quick fix or some type of microwave solution that does not require you to learn the art of cooking, you may become disturbed and off center, even angry.  Believe me, the practice of Ho’oponopono (SITH)  is not going to bypass the need to experience certain things or convert all your unwanted experiences into likable ones by your own personal, waking definitions. It will not create a utopia of peace, where you will never need to make another choice, except to say those four phrases. You must do the work!  There will be a transmutation, you will notice a shift and that shift may require more cleaning.  You’ve heard the saying, “It’s always darkest before the dawn?” Well, the same thing applies here. You may experience more disharmony before things level out, depending on how much needs to be cleansed.  People need to be mentally and emotionally prepared, realizing that things are going to come up.  The phrases are to help you recognize and deal with what is causing the unrest (generally, beneath the surface), enabling the observer to surrender all judgments of those experiences to the Divine…  moving past what your Ego believes is correct… and allow Divinity to guide you. I must reiterate again, you must choose to surrender those things. If you don’t, they will still be there.

The more you clean, the more things will surface, some will be joyful, some won’t.  Ho’oponopono is an opportunity to clean and an opportunity to heal.  As you heal, so will your view of the world. This is no different than cleaning your house or car. You will run across dirt and debris, but you can also find things of value that were misplaced.  As you move things around and pick things up, you may discover there was more there to clean than you realized and it may take longer than you’d like before you can visibly see progress, but progress is in the making.  There is a phase within this cleaning process where you will find that disharmony has increased and you are really challenged to stay focused; I have affectionately named this process, “the stirring.”  The stirring is similar to the physical pain that we feel within our bodies when there is an injury. It is similar to icing or applying heat to a sprain or massaging a soar muscle. At times, increased discomfort is a part of the healing process. For those of you who detox or cleanse with foods and herbs, you are familiar with the phase called “die off.” The stirring can be equated to that in SITH.

When our bodies experience pain it serves as an indicator that trauma incurred, in or to a certain area. Pain is a pointer, a locator to help you focus more specifically on the issue and its origin.  It (pain) is there to help you decide what needs to be done.  Due to societal conditioning, oftentimes, we just want to dull the pain (Band-Aid therapy),  addressing only the symptoms, not the cause.  When we handle our pains in a manner that subdues them, there is a great chance that it will resurface because has not healed. You have simply deadened the feeling or your attention to it. The same thing is true with psychic pain (mental/emotional). When you experience anger, grief, disappointment, hatred, etc., these discomforts/psychic pains are signals that something within you requires your attention/healing/cleansing.

SITH (Self I-Dentity Ho’oponopono) helps to expose any dis-ease, showing us what is lying dormant within us and silently causing damage. This stirring identifies the psychological and emotional traumas caused by the memories or programs in our subconscious minds that affect our zero state. Rising to the top are the cancerous beliefs that we hold, but unaware of, which slowly deteriorates our experience of the peace of I. These traumas cause a perceptual disharmony on one or more levels. Therefore, it is important to clean on any issue as it arises and continue to face them with an uncensored honesty, even when they prove most difficult to us. Once the pain/discomfort is present it is saying, “hey, here is another area of your thinking that is unclean, it needs attention.” Thus, you have another opportunity to address those things and heal them for good : ) As Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len says, “Ho’oponopono is not easy. It takes commitment. This is NOT a MacDonald’s approach to life. It is not a fast-food drive up window where you instantly get what you order. God is NOT an order taker. It takes focus on cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.” Excerpt from Zero Limits, page 49. The zero state is when you are said to be one with the God Mind/Heart.

Ho’oponopono creates an opportunity for harmony within you (the individual) and the greater collective (you expanded). It will challenge everything you THINK you know. It is going to challenge your ability to let go and  move away from the ego. Joe calls this cleaning and erasing process, “Constant Belief Clearing.” I have been working on this for about 20 years or so, long before I heard of Ho’oponopono, but I simply called it defragmentation.  Being that I am into computers, I tend to learn quite a bit of my life lessons through the metaphors of computer mechanics.  Of course, when I say that I have been working on this for years, I wasn’t addressing my challenges from a place of the four phrases, but rather sharing that I was always focused on trying to look at my challenges from a place of love and attempting to identify what was no longer serving my highest vision of self and clear it from my belief basket.  Now that I have become more aware of what is happening around me on a larger scale, I realize that the defrag concept that I used long ago is incomplete.

Please forgive me if you aren’t into computers, like I am, but I must amuse myself for just a moment.  Hopefully, you will find something analogous here as well.  Think of your subconscious mind (Unihipili or Ku in Huna) as being similar to the internet. There is an immeasurable amount of data that you have access to. In a general sense, most of us (especially those reading this blog, hence you’re on the internet) understand that we need a good general connection (access to internet), at minimum, to gain access and experience an uninterrupted connection. When you view programs, webpages, etc., you pick up cookies… some are good, some are harmful, and some simply take up space, slowing down the productivity and speed of your computer over time. You also leave footprints that can track what you’ve done while connected. Harmful agents (malware/spyware) that hackers embed into certain sites to impede your internet experience can infect your PC.  In order to keep your PC running optimally and continue experiencing a smooth uninterrupted connection, you must have good cleaning tools on your PC. Your browser’s “clear cache” option and your operating system’s “disk cleanup” are general programs to help remove this excess. Also, antivirus and/or antispyware software are tools that proactively and retroactively work to address harmful attacks on your computer.  This is similar to cleaning/clearing with Ho’oponopono as a daily maintenance process. We should not wait until we have a problem to clean. There is plenty going on all the time that we can clean on.   Our everyday interactions with the world make us vulnerable to other biofields and their karmic miasmic imprints (energetic cookies), leaving impressions on our personal grids/fields (Aura). As aforementioned, we need to clean simply because we interacted with potentially harmful material. We must constantly clear our web browsing history (temporary internet files, cookies, history, etc.).  We must also clear our PC files (disk cleanup) that address debris like the recycle bin, cache, temp internet files, etc. (karmic miasmic imprints) that collect in our PC (bio-fields).  Overuse (wearing ourselves thin), lack of preventative maintenance (proper diet, good mental focus [self assessment, forgiveness, self-love], exercise, proper water intake, etc.) and the use of disagreeable software (concepts, attitudes, and actions that do not serve our highest potential), can and does, cause distortions within our aka body/biofield (auric field), which eventually manifests into our physical lives. Note: As above, so below… on earth (physical body) as it is in heaven (aka body).  When this occurs, the functionality of our essential programs (inspiration, mental clarity, emotional stability, manifestation abilities, wealth, health, etc.) do not run optimally. Therefore, like the hard disk of a computer we are subjected to misallocated files and clusters on our disks (manifestation templates/body) caused by surges, a lack of cleaning and harmful agents and may require a disk check (to correct errors) and defrag (to reallocate files) to effectuate optimal functionality.

Are you still hungry?  Didn’t know this could be broken down any further? Keep Reading…

Ho’oponopono is going to challenge your definitions of love and how you apply those to yourself, first and foremost, which brings me to the “I’m sorry phrase.” I want to talk specifically about “I’m Sorry,” for just a moment because there has been some resistance with this piece of the mantra.  Joe mentioned a woman (in Zero Limits) who participated in one of Dr. Hew Len’s Ho’oponopono seminars that was uncomfortable with saying, “I’m sorry.” She stated, “Whatever you say after ‘I AM,’ you become.”  Of course, this is another limitation that we have placed on our thinking.  I do not say that to be disrespectful and I totally understand her perspective… honestly. It does have its place in truth. However, nothing in this life is static except change itself. For every perspective of philosophy, theology, etc., that we hold as truth there is an infinite number of other vantage points that are true as well.  This is the purpose for cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. An important question to ask ourselves when we are challenged by any of our perspectives is whether our perspective is limiting or serving our growth process. Only the Divine knows what serves you/me/us at the highest place. We are simply trying to get out of our own way

Our experiential reality is perceived through a subjective filter. This is the nature of our learning. This filter customizes your experience.  It is designed for you and you only.  No two people are alike, not even identical twins.  You are a unique and exquisite expression of beingness.  Still, we must keep in mind that one cannot see past what cannot be understood or conceived.  To clean and surrender is to welcome the “objective” experience, expanding your perception of the “subjective.” Therefore, we must surrender the need to collapse on absolutes because it is a pitfall for failure and disappointment. Truth is multidimensional; hence, the application/expression of that truth changes as we need it to, to expand our growth potential.  With that said, if you are one of those people who is still uncomfortable, clean on it, and in the meantime or permanently, if you choose, you can replace “I’m Sorry” with “I apologize.” Another option is to say, I love you or thank you after “I’m sorry” then you can become love or gratitude

The phrase, “I’m sorry,” serves as a key component in helping you to soften your perspectives on self criticism and dissolve your fears of becoming something less than your greatest vision. The apology is really for you (the ultimate observer), rather than anyone else. The ego has a problem with forgiveness because it needs to assign fault.. This is the only way that it (ego) can attempt to fix anything. This fixing is an illusion because the ego cannot fix, it can only draw your attention to or delude.  Many religions or spiritual doctrines stress that you must rid yourself of the ego. This is not something that I agree with. Although, I understand the goal and philosophy behind the concept.  Maybe my disagreement is merely a dance of semantics.  However, from where I sit, the ego has a purpose and that is why it is innate within our humanity.  However, the role that we have allowed it to play is what is truly questionable. The ego is meant to serve us, to act as the questioner, to draw our attention to the most silent negatives. The ego is not a problem solver because it is addicted to chaos… that is part of its nature and its function.  This addiction drives the ego with uncontrollable urges and needs and therefore, seeks to run the show in order to satisfy that ‘jones‘ in every way imaginable.  Now this may be uncomfortable to hear, but try releasing your attachments and stay with me.  If you are already with me, then great!  Do not allow this addiction, which many perceive as negative or evil, disturb you.  To view the ego as an enemy would be almost as destructive as viewing it as a friend.  Think about bacteria and mold. They have their place, right? Well, so does the ego and it does its job well, perhaps too well.  We must remember that the ego serves us, if you recognize it for what it is. It is when you expect the ego to take on the role of “master” and become the problem solver, rather than the “servant” that we get into trouble.  Again, the ego despises forgiveness and in truth there is nothing to forgive, but the ego seduces us into believing that there is by finding a reason for blame and judgment. Why? Because the farther removed you are from Divinity (Divine Flow) the more in line you are with the Ego (emptiness) and thus, playing the role of servant rather than master of your reality. When we are in this place of maligned thinking we are  connecting more plugs to the matrix of separation and your happiness is constantly being auctioned for this merry-go-round of lies.  Remember there is no “out there,” only “in” here.  If you respect the Christian bible, then this would be a good time to reflect on the passage where Ysho’a (Yeshua/Jesus/Isa) says (Luke 17:21), “nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within.” This parable is very profound in telling you that the answers to your questions, your desires and happiness come from within.  This why the concepts of  “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and “loving your enemies, do good to those who hate you” and “you reap what you sow,”  is so dynamic.  It’s not just a nicety, it’s not just the mechanics of karma, it is a transcendental blueprint of thinking and behaviors that create happiness.  In truth you are responding to the creation that is you.

Although there is truly nothing to forgive, to be incompassionate to any aspect of yourself, only harvests pain. There are only two real emotions, Love and Fear, and Fear is simply the absence of Love. To be unforgiving, attached, incompassionate, angry, etc., are all emotional states of fear when reduced to their simplest form. Whatever you feed, grows stronger.  We must not be so isolated in our thinking as to not connect the dots between the tangible and intangible (as above so below). Remember, neuroplasticity (in your brain) creates and, or magnifies the programs or memories that are subtly running in the background (your subconscious) and to nurse fear-based behavior/thinking will only increase negative imprints and foster the building blocks of such ideals to become more permanent in our expression.  Our ability to think is a manifestation of local and nonlocal data, converted and translated by the connection and firing of electrical pulses (light-sound waves). What is going on behind the scenes (subconscious/superconscious)  can counter your so-called waking beliefs (conscious thoughts). Therefore, we must intentionally cultivate the chemical synaptic process of positive mindsets. The four phrase mantra is a healing energy/tool that helps to prepare the subconscious mind for forgiveness and eradicate any self criticism/fear-based programs that may exist consciously and, or unconsciously.  Each of them, nurturing a different phase of movement in the healing process.  This process disengages those connections that continually feed disrupted/distorted communications, freeing those connectors for stronger, more stable lines (Love-based).  Consider Ho’oponopono as a thought-vitamin that keeps the mind/body/spirit strong by feeding the mind what is needed for optimal functioning.  Consider it preventative maintenance! Consider it daily maintenance! Consider it a healer for what is broken. Just consider it!

My mantra to all of you:

Divine Heart, Father, Mother, Son as One… I am sorry for any thought, word, deed and, or action that I, my family, relatives, and, or friends have done, at any point, from the beginning of creation through the eternal now… to cause any imbalance, distortion, stagnation, regression, disease, pain, and, or any other type of disharmony to any aspect of beingness.  Please forgive me. May this affirmation correct, harmonize, restore well-being, right order, centeredness and alignment with the Divine Heart. Thank you, I love you… It Is Done!!

We are of one wave, one light, one breath.  ~ In truth, we are simply one. I love you!

POI (Peace of I),
Nabiyah

PS: What are your thoughts on Ho’oponopono? What do you think about what I have shared? Let’s talk about it!! And please share this article, if you feel moved to. I welcome your feedback