How to let go (with an ancient Hawaiian Mantra)

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Any guesses to what this word is? 

(If you read or know Greek, I am super impressed...as this came from the power of Google) 

This is aphesis, which is Greek for forgiveness. 

But here it means something a little different than what you traditionally may think about the word. 

Here it literally means: to let go. 

To set free. 

To liberate.

You may be thinking -- um, this all sounds good in theory, but. Let's be serious.

Why is it SO freaking hard to let go of something or someone that hurt us? 

Often we keep that hurt buried for years and years and every time we think of that person or situation, the only thing we can think of is the hurt they caused us. 

It's like an old wound, and the memory of that person scratches it a bit and that pain comes up again, and sometimes you think -- UGH will this never go away?!! 

I get it, I truly do. I've been there!

Here's the good news. 

It can, and will, go away. 

And you're left with something new and so much better. 

Over the last few years, I learned a beautiful, ancient tactic that may help.

It stems from this idea -- that forgiveness is POWER. 

And that power is fueled by LOVE.

Think about it. 

When you choose to forgive someone, to release the weight of that pain on your heart -- YOU become free. 

That person no longer has any power over you. 

You set them free. 

But you need to set yourself free, first. 

So, how do you do that?

First -- you have release the pain. 

This is just one idea, but I've found it really works. 

Write a letter to this person about all the wrong they've caused you. All the pain you feel towards them and the past situations. Get it alllll out on paper. All of it. No one will read this but you. 

And then burn that paper. Hold it over a fire-proof bowl (or your sink, or go outside over a firepit -- be safe please!) and burn it all.

Honor the emotion you feel, but allow this energy to wash over you and gently release with the smoke. Watch the paper crumble and with it, any negativity or resentment you felt. 

Let it all go with love. 

Second -- put your hand on your heart, breathe deeply and...send love to yourself. 

Yes. Send love. To you. From you. 

I promise, I'm not crazy!

The power of self-love can literally move mountains.

Or cure insanity. For real!

There is a legendary story of a man named Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len (let's call him Dr. Len because I cannot pronounce that), who cured every patient in the criminally insane ward of a Hawaii`i State Hospital — without ever seeing a single patient. 

Now this may seem a little “insane", but upon having a closer look, the story speaks for itself.

 

Dr. Len set up an office within the hospital to review his patients’ files. 

While he looked at these files, he would work on himself, and over four years, the patients all healed. 

In addition, the staff who had been calling in sick or had previously quit, eventually loved coming to work and started coming back. 

He used the legendary Hawaiian healing and cleansing method Ho’oponopono to do all of this. 

It is based on healing through loving oneself.  

Dr. Len repeated the words “I love you” and “I am sorry” over and over again while reviewing each file individually. 

After a few months, the patients who were shackled were allowed to walk freely, patients were taken off medications, and even the hopeless cases were eventually released back into society.

(Right?! If it can work for them...!! :))

But honestly -- I can truly attest to the self-healing power of the Ho’oponopono mantra. 

And its so simple and lovely!

Ho’oponopono roughly translates to “cause things to move back in balance” or to “make things right.” 

In native Hawaiian language, “pono” means balance, in the sense of “life.” When things are in balance, nothing is off, so to speak.

So, how does this powerful mantra work? 

Having other people acknowledge our feelings is a universal need. 

But... have you acknowledged your own feelings first?

In ho’oponopono, you must first acknowledge that any wrongdoing exists, which is a way of acknowledging these feelings yourself.

You need to forgive YOU first. 

So, how do you forgive yourself?

You set the intention to release the "old you"-- the version that's holding on to resentment and pain. 

Forgive yourself for what you did not know before, that you know now. 

You apologize to yourself for the pain you held against another in your heart. For that pain that you held against another is affecting you! 

Once you release this, you will find that it is completely possible to find it in your heart to forgive someone else.

Then, you send gratitude (to God/the Universe/Spirit) for this power to forgive, and for allowing you to let go of anything that doesn't serve you.

In the final step, you acknowledge love – both for yourself, and others.

That's it! 

Here's the thing about forgiveness -- a lot of the time, people think that forgiveness means forgetting -- total absolution, and that the wrongdoing never happened. 

But it DID happen, and attempting to forget it doesn't actually solve anything, because you're not honoring your hurt feelings -- and they will come back if they aren't addressed. 

By you, my friend.  

So... you must address the feelings, and then let them go with love in order to truly forgive. 

That's why this mantra is so powerful and effective.

Are you ready to try something amazing? :)

I'm proud of you for trying! If you can, try it right now. 

To practice ho’oponopono, just take a few deep breaths with your eyes closed. 

I like to put my hand on my heart and feel grounded and centered for a bit. 

Then, slowly repeat these phrases to yourself about 7 or 8 times. 

“I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you…

 I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you“

— and so on.

(Sometimes I like to envision a little square box in my mind, and each of the four walls are filled when I say each statement, in my mind, or out loud. When the box is filled, it glows for a second, and vanishes. My Virgo mind thrives on order, so feel free to do whatever feels right for you!)

During this mantra, you send love to you. 

You send love to the past feelings you had, and let them go.

You send love to the person that may have hurt you.

You send love to the past situation and release it. 

You send love to the beautiful new future you're walking into.

This feels GOOD, my friends!

Trust me. You will feel the immense peace that this mantra provides in just a few moments, and by sending love to yourself, you're working to restore balance and forgiveness from within. 

You're tapping into the incredible love that's available for you, all the time. 

You're letting go, and becoming FREE. 

That's the true meaning of forgiveness. 

Try it for yourself, and let me know how you like it!

And don't forget to take a deep breath...

and send love to that beautiful heart of yours.

You got this.