The first time I heard the words from Ho’oponopono, a Hawaiian healing prayer, I had shivers down my spine. The words moved through me, into my heart and beyond my soul. I felt like I had heard them many times before and that I would hear them many lives from now.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.”
Imagine if more people spent time saying these words; these simple, yet profound words. Imagine if more mothers said these words to their daughters, more fathers said them to their sons, more bosses said them to their employees, more people said them to strangers. What a beautiful world we would live in.
This prayer, the Ho’oponopono, is a practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. Not just forgiveness for the things you may have done wrong in this life, but for forgiveness for the things your ancestors may have done, the pain that may resonate through time, the things left unsaid. “Hoʻoponopono” is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.”
Over the past year I have turned to this forgiveness prayer when I felt the need to cleanse. Cleansing is the shedding of pain, the emergence of your true self through the mud. A few weeks ago, I turned on the Ho’oponopono prayer without even knowing I needed it. As I listened, I felt my chest become lighter. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I realized the pain I had been holding on to. Most of the time we don’t even recognize our internal pain.
We all hold onto the past.
But there comes a time to let go. There comes a time to forgive, even when the wound is still fresh, or even if the scars still show. In Hawaiian culture the Ho’oponopono begins with a prayer and then family members come together to discuss and work through problems. No one is found at fault and no fingers are pointed. Instead, everyone’s feelings are acknowledged, old, resentful energy is released. They cut off the past and then come together in a ceremonial gathering. They eat together and move forward.
If you ever have the chance to go to Hawaii or find a practitioner of the Ho’oponopono ritual, I highly recommend it.
Until then, lay or sit in meditation and listen to this beautiful version of the prayer. As you listen, think of all the people and situations you need to forgive and allow them to be shed from your body and spirit. Remember to also forgive yourself, as self forgiveness is an important part of cleansing.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.”
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About the Author
Suki Eleuterio is a blogger, spiritualist, yoga enthusiast and poet living in South Florida. She is the founder of Found My Light, and the creative mind behind Sookton’s Space. She is a contributor for MindBodyGreen, Sivana Spirit, and other websites. She enjoys writing and discussing spirituality, holistic health, and vegetarianism. Growing up in Kenya with parents from different religious and cultural backgrounds, Suki has spent time finding her own path. You can follow her musings on Twitter and Instagram.