Ho'oponopono is a communication practice that comes from the islands of Hawaii.
It's meant to restore balance and harmony between individuals and groups.
Ho'o,
There's a guttural stop between the first O and the second,
Is a verb.
It's an action.
And it means to be.
So I'm going to offer a few examples of how you can use ho'o and then connect it to the words pono pono.
Ulu is the name we give sweet potato.
It also means to grow,
To sprout,
Or to propagate.
Ho'o ulu means to cause,
To increase,
To inspire,
To motivate,
To grow.
Maluhiya is another word that means peace,
Protection,
Or serenity.
Ho'o maluhiya is to cause or to offer or give peace,
Protection,
And serenity.
Mau or ho'o mau means to be steady,
Enduring,
And unceasing.
How might we be able to become more of these things?
To be giving,
Peaceful,
And offer protection.
To be enduring and unceasing in our love for each other and for humanity.
And this is where pono comes in,
Meaning virtuous,
Upright,
Respectable,
Morally correct.
The additional pono,
The second pono,
Is meant to intensify the first.
And that is ho'o pono pono,
To bring to full fruition,
To fully restore,
And to set right by acting virtuously and with respect and love.
Ho'o pono pono is a spiritually based process that is meant to guide us in healing relationships.
Traditionally this is a family practice of gathering physical,
Emotional,
And spiritual strength to bring the collective back into balance.
And it is by focusing on the collective well-being of others,
Like family or extended family,
That we aid in our own individual physical and spiritual healing.
This is important to know that traditional Hawaiian practices of ho'o pono pono were held within family,
Immediate and extended.
And this was intended to heal and break the bonds of past blocks,
Barriers,
Or pain that stayed within a family.
And it was meant to release this in order to bring balance,
Good,
And harmony to future generations to absolve them of that past hurt or pain held in that family.
The notion of family here in the contemporary modern space can be extended into groups or couples facing challenges or a common problem.
In this six-part discussion,
This is meant to clarify the purpose of ho'o pono pono and include some approaches to healing and restoring balance in our personal relationships.
This is all framed from a collective point of view rather than solely individual.
This practice is meant for us to build the capacity for offering and receiving forgiveness and thus restore peace and spiritual strength of the collective.
This is not meant to punish,
Blame,
Or take away from another.
Each of the following parts of this brief talk addresses specific phases of this process followed by questions for silent and written reflection.
While a trained haku or facilitator who knows and understands ho'o pono pono is highly suggested,
This here is simply a way to frame the beginning of a discussion that might be challenging or addressing a challenging problem among partners,
Groups,
Or even individuals.
Thank you for joining me and I look forward to seeing you in Part 1,
Group Commitments.
