Hello William, Thank you for this beautiful, little podcast. So powerful! Ho'oponopono is completely new to me, so was keen to try it. Like Alice, at first I found it quite baffling, and kept thinking to myself, "who am I talking to, and why". Then I noted that you had advised not to overthink it, in fact, don't think at all, just do it. So I did. Just at odd times, during the day and gradually scenes from my life came to me, and I found myself saying, "I wish I hadn't said that, or done that. Or I wish I had said this or had done that. I found myself releasing stuff from way back and began to feel lighter. In fact it made me think about the whole process of forgiveness, and how it affects the psyche. Guess what, a story came to mind, which I think is worth telling.
32 years ago, when our daughter had her 18th birthday, we bought her a rather nice, up market bicycle. She loved it and was very proud of it. Some months later, she went off to university, and after her first term there, she decided that she wanted to take the bike back with her to uni. so that she could get around more easily. I did suggest that it might not be a good idea, as it was a nice bike that 'stood out ' and might be a temptation for someone to steal it. But she insisted on taking it back with her. I know what you are thinking, cynical people 🥰and you're quite right, within a couple of months the bike had been stolen, at night, from her college bike store. My daughter was heartbroken and so angry. She informed the police and spent many hours roaming the city streets, looking for her bike and hating the thief. All to no avail, the bike had well and truly gone. So, she spent two or three weeks in a state of anger and hatred. Eventually she phoned me up and said "mum, I can't stand this feeling any more, but it won't go away". So I said, "look Jenny, there's something you could try". "Go and find a quiet space and sit down and close your eyes. Now, imagine that you are looking at your bike, safe in the bike rack and you see someone going towards it and start to break the lock in order to steal it. Go up to that person and say "please don't steal my bike, it's a crime and you would cause a lot of misery. If you want the bike so much, then I will give it to you. That way you won't suffer guilt or have it on your conscious or your karma. Then hand over the bike and wish the recipient well". My daughter didn't think much of that idea, but said she would think about it. A week or so later, she phoned again and said"mum, I did as you suggested, and funnily enough I do feel better. I don't think about it so much and I feel calmer". So that was all good. But the storey doesn't quite end there.
I had a dear friend, Sister Sue (now passed over), who devoted much of her life helping deprived teenagers and their families. She formed a group of people around her, who donated 'stuff' to her to pass on to those in need. Her home was like a charity shop. 🤗 Well, a week or so , after the Jenny episode, Sister Sue rang me up. "Oh Pat", she said " do you know anyone who needs a bike? I have two bikes here, one is quite tatty, the other quite good, but both in working order. The rest is history. Jenny chose the tatty one, and it served her very well for her three years at uni. Before I told this storey I asked Jenny if she minded my writing this example of forgiveness and she said it was ok. She had almost forgotten about it but she did remember having Sue's bike and that it was fab.! Thank you for everything William, you certainly bring out the best in all of us. It's like you pick out all the pieces and show us how to join them all together in the puzzle of life. 🙏♥️
