Ho’oponopono.

“You say that you are sometimes experiencing
the great silence and immensity of being,
and you would like to always be in that experience.
But the truth is
you are the great silence
and immensity of being
in whose vastness the sense of someone
dreaming about discovering and remaining
in the immensity of being
is appearing.” — Mooji, White Fire.

The most ancient Buddha’s still only dream of coming up with a mantra as potent as the Hawaiian’s...

Ho’oponopono is a Hawaiian spiritual practice of reconciliation and forgiveness that will crack you open if you let it.

It means ‘to put right’. It was developing to restore relationships and connections amongst individuals, communities, cultures. A beautiful practice, one that could only emerge from a territory as beautiful as the Hawaiian islands themselves.

Thank you.
I love you.
I’m sorry.
Forgive me.

Whenever I’m deep in the mud, there are two ways I use this that always get me somewhere:

1. Play With the Order.

Repeat it like a mantra. If it doesn’t hit deep, switch up the order and you’ll find one that lands. Say it to yourself, to another person, to all people, to an event, God, a lost pet, whatever it is.

• Thank you. I love you. I’m sorry. Forgive me.
• Forgive me. I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you.
• I love you. I’m sorry. Thank you. Forgive me.
• I’m sorry. Forgive me. Thank you. I love you.

You get the idea. One of them will be the order that lands for your current circumstance. Repeat it as needed, spoken like a mantra.

2. Spill It All.

The second variation is to take each line as a starting prompt. Pour your heart out into each stem. Sharing, writing, speaking anything and everything that is there to be said. 

• Thank you… for the laughs, for your wisdom, for the time we shared together, that time you drove over to my house…
• I love you… you are amazing, you care so much, I love that silly thing you do, and I love that you’ve always been there for me…
• I’m sorry… I’m sorry for the pain I caused you, for the way I failed you, for the way this happened, for my weakness, my humanness, my foolishness, that time I lied because I was uncomfortable…
• Forgive me… for the wrongs, the misunderstandings, the hurt…

Bonus points if you write this out as a letter. It's a cathartic experience whether you ever give it to the person or not. Particularly effective to do this practice for yourself.

Emotional catharsis and reconcilitation doesn't need to be fancy. Sometimes, 4 simple lines will do the trick.

Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry. Forgive me.
EB. 🙏🏻