The Ho’oponopono Prayer is a Hawaiian practice of petitioning the Divine to “clean” erroneous memories in our subconscious mind that create unwanted situations in our lives. These memories are not cognitive memories, but rather more like programs, thoughts, and imprints that are habitual or stuck in our subconscious.
According to Dr. Hew Len who is a proponent of this practice, each one of our life situations is a manifestation of either Memory or Inspiration, as mentioned by Joe Vitale in the book “Zero Limits”. The only way to create a life from Divine Inspiration is to clean the memories that exist in our subconscious mind which block the Inspiration. That is, if our subconscious memories were not blocking the Divine, Inspiration is the natural source of our life situations.
So what do we do about it? Clean, clean, clean!
We do not need to know the exact memory that we are cleaning to clean it. We can simply hold the intention in our mind to clean any memory that has led to a particular life situation, person, feeling or actual memory that is bothering us.
The Ho’oponopono Prayer
Here are the 4 phrases that consist the prayer:
- I’m sorry
- Please forgive me
- Thank you
- I love you
These 4 phrases help us “repent, forgive and feel grateful” for what has manifested in our lives, which petitions to the Divine to clean it from our lives by cleaning the erroneous memory from our subconscious.
My top 5 Ho’oponopono practices
1. Ho’oponopono as prayer
The simplest way to use Ho’oponopono is by itself, as a prayer.
How To:
- Set some time aside for this prayer practice in a place that feels comfortable and calm.
- Start by setting an intention for cleaning. For example, “I would like to clean the memory creating this toxic relationship pattern”
- Hold the intention in your mind and begin to repeat the 4 phrases out loud or in your mind while feeling any feelings that arise as you do this.
- Continue until you feel settled or for a specific duration.
- You can also keep a picture of the person involved in the situation you want to clean and repeat the prayer.
2. Ho’oponopono and Mindfulness
You can anchor into the Ho’oponopono phrases as a mindfulness mantra to clean any memory that is active in this moment.
How To:
- Repeat the phrases in your mind like a mantra on loop as long as you want.
- Notice, as the Observer, the thoughts, feelings and sensations that arise as you repeat this mantra.
3. Ho’oponopono and EFT Tapping
I find EFT Tapping to be somatically regulating in addition to unlayering issues beautifully. Combine Tapping with the Ho’oponopono prayer to clean memories more deeply.
How To:
- You may simply say the prayer while tapping on each EFT point.
- The following example shows how I like to use Ho’oponopono with tapping.
Tapping on the SOH point— “I’m sorry Mom for any memory of mine that manifested this conflict between us.”
TOH point— “Please forgive me for allowing this memory to exist in my subconscious for so long.”
EB point — “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clean this memory.”
SOE point — “I love you so much.”
- Continue tapping on the rest of the points with the same 4 phrases and get everything off your chest as you do.
- You may state these phrases about the situation to the Divine directly (“I’m sorry Divine…”) as you tap.
4. Ho’oponopono and Journaling
This is my second favorite Ho’oponopono practice! I am a journaling maniac and I integrate journaling into MOST practices, including mindfulness, parts work and tapping.
How To:
- Journal and get everything off your chest using the Ho’oponopono prayer just like you would with tapping as described above.
For example,
“Dear Divine, I’m sorry for the anger and frustration in me that manifested in this situation.
“Please forgive me for carrying this erroneous memory and allowing it to dis-ease me.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to clean it so that my future may be lighter.
I love you. I love you. I love you.”
- Repeat until you feel lighter or for a specific duration.
5. Ho’oponopono and Singing (my favorite!)
Dr. Hew Len says that memories are incessant, so cleaning must be incessant too. He suggests incessantly repeating the Ho’oponopono prayer in our mind, or at least a short version of it (“Thank you” or “I love you”).
How To:
- “Thank You” by Carrie Grossman is a song based on Ho’oponopono that I often find myself singing as soon as I feel a difficult emotion.
- Sing this song (or a song of your own with these phrases) in your mind or out loud with the intention to clean, or in a difficult situation. I have sung it in my mind while I was engaged in conflict multiple times.
- Listen to this song with the intention to clean any and all memories active at the moment.
What’s your favorite?
I hope you have found these practices helpful and will use them to “Clean, clean, clean”. Practice this 3-in-1 repentance, forgiveness and gratitude practice to experience more lightness in your life.
Which one of these 5 practices do you like the most?
