I got a question via email that I thought I'd answer publicly. It was about whether I thought it was a good idea to buy Ho'oponopono videos (and/or secure any other resources).
In my opinion, it is not necessary to buy anything.
It is useful (yet not necessary either) to have Byron Katie's book, Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change Your Life (based on The Work process) and also Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life (I believe this contains roughly the same content of Heal Your Body A-Z: The Mental Causes of Physical Illness and How to Overcome Them--what you want is the chart of dis-eases and associated symbolism, that's all that I use from the book.)
Yet you can find the nuggets of these books online as well.
There is definitely a fundamental context or paradigm shift that reading and applying The Work provides; however, there are so many online videos and audios of Byron Katie walking through The Work process in real-time on all sorts of subjects, that that is entirely optional. As well, books such as Loving What Is, You Can Heal Your Life, as well as Zero Limits are in libraries and I've checked them out from libraries.
Personally, I do own a copy of Loving What Is (it was a discussion group selection in 2005) and was gifted You Can Heal Your Life--although both books (as are most of my books) have been in storage for two years. I don't own any specific Ho'oponopono books.
So, in the end, it's your call on what you decide you want or need in your library.
Ho'oponopono is actually simple, and I have been doing it since 2003 beginning with only knowledge of the legend (at that time there was no confirmation that such a psychologist named Dr. Len had actually existed and healed said criminally insane ward--at that time, it was an urban legend for all I knew yet it really resonated to me as containing a truth nonetheless), and combined with my applied knowledge of A Course in Miracles (which also corroborated with Dr. Len did as feasible) that was enough to get going.
I ought to mention that since 2001 I had aslo been working on seeing my "blind spots" (that was my word for "projection" as I was unaware of the terminology until 2002 when I read No Boundary, by Ken Wilber (fantastic book, especially if you're new to nonduality--and how Wilber starts to shatter illusions about space and time in such a short book is truly marvelous; I believe it's Wilber's best and most succinct work) and he used the word "projection") by noticing what I found irritating in "other" people as my cheap form of psychotherapy (cheap meaning absolutely free, and interestingly enough the most precisely relevant workshop I could ever attend--my own life). I thought it was psychological, yet, applying this idea of finding the mirror in myself of what I disliked "out there," proved to pave the path for a pretty wild and wide spiritual journey later on (I had no clue that this would be end result at the time).
Also, 2003 was way before I knew of nonduality or nondualistic philosophy. Although, nonduality makes it much easier to grok that there is "No one out there," as Dr. Len repeats over and over and over again.
Ho'oponopono doesn't necessitate any such knowledge as it only depends on sincerity and willingness to question our reactions and look at our own projections and thus, application. Then once we have acknowledged our reaction and the mirror, we just say the four statements, "I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you." (With the emphasis on the Thank You and I Love You.) That's it. When I started I didn't even know why I was saying those four statements. I mostly focused on really feeling clear on the projection, and on my reaction. It only occurred to me much more recently that clearing up automatic reactions would lead to a much more responsive, creative fluidity that isn't reactive.
Dr. Len doesn't get into the symbolism at all that I delve into, he uses his intuition and sticks with his immediate reactions to discern what is up for him internally. The symbolism (it can be complex if you're not intuitively adept with symbols--and that comes easier over time especially if you enjoy solving puzzles it can be enjoyable to 'solve' symbolism, but if it doesn't float your boat, don't need to bother with it, keep it simple) and using it to 'treat' dis-eases is my own twist (and it works too).
Other helpful questions or inquiries (hate to make more belief systems up... they're just starting point questions to see for yourself):
- Is there really two people here? What does Oneness mean, what does it imply? Or, the statement, it's All One?
- Based on A Course in Miracles, the idea is that everyone that comes into your sphere during your lifetime is there to open you up to encompass more of your self (i.e. One) . It is easy (way easy) to judge others, but to really see that "I am That, too," is pretty much the core of Ho'oponopono and begins to dissolve the notion of separateness.
- If I heal myself (i.e. usually see past the illusion of something broken or wrong) then I heal all as we are not simply interconnected--there is but One.
I think you'll find there are enough free examples on this ho'oponopono blog, and used in conjunction with Byron Katie's The Work process (the Loving What Is companion book may be worth buying--again, your instinct), it is plenty.
Application rather than accumulating resources will itself yield more and more insight on how to apply it further in a way that feels natural for you.
The Work process is also based on reclaiming our judgments "out there" and seeing them as ways the mind constructs separation based on past, and mind reiterates the past over and over rather than being aware in present Reality. Byron Katie (she is incredible, btw--exudes unconditional love and joy and freedom like water pouring from a fountain) stops short of saying that releasing our projections helps or affects others.... and in truth, even Dr. Len says the focus has to be on our self, not fixing the outer.... yet it remains that it DOES affect everything since we are everything.
ONLINE RESOURCES FOR THE WORK. Here Byron Katie includes the four questions worksheet which is valuable when you are starting. These queries will become automatic, and you won't need any worksheets with practice. You can find videos online on the official site and also many more on YouTube (search on Byron Katie as the word "the work" is too generic on YouTube).
ONLINE RESOURCES FOR HEAL YOUR LIFE HERE. I don't really use the affirmations at all, peronally. I am simply interested in understanding the MESSAGE, or the SYMBOLISM for its insight. I also find that Chinese medical resources contain accurate information about the symbolism of certain organs and their associated emotional/energy blocks.
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