Ho'Oponopono Certification Guidebook

Hooponopono
Practitioner Certication
By Dr. Joe Vitale

&
Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon
Table of Contents
Unlocking the Power of Hooponopono ............................................... 3
Traditional Hooponopono Practice ....................................................... 5
Who was Morrnah Simeona ...................................................................... 9
Modern Hooponopono One-Step Further ....................................... 12
The World's Most Unusual Therapist ................................................. 13
Video instruction ......................................................................................... 22
Zero Limits Answers .................................................................................. 23
What's the Right Way to Clean? ............................................................ 36
Examination Instructions ........................................................................ 42
Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification
2
Unlocking the Power of Hooponopono
The purpose of this certification program is to give you a broad
and in-depth perspective on the practice of hooponopono.
The primary focus of the certification program is to introduce
and explain the evolution and origins of modern
hooponopono.
As we progress, you will master the different practices,
including the mantra, prayers, cleaning tools and meditations.
The ultimate goal is to have you become proficient in the most
effective ways to utilize hooponopono so that you will be able
include this practice in your everyday life.
3
Hooponopono is an excellent compliment for all forms of self-
improvement, including meditation, yoga and life coaching, just
to name a few.
4
Traditional Hooponopono Practice
"Hooponopono" is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary as
"mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships
were set right through prayer, discussion, confession,
repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness." Literally,
hoo is a particle used to make an actualizing verb from the
following noun, as would "to" before a noun in English. Here, it
creates a verb from the noun pono, which is defined as:
...goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or
proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare,
benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper,
righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful,
in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought,
must, necessary.
5
Ponopono is defined as "to put to rights; to put in order or
shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify,
tidy up, make orderly or neat".
Preeminent Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that it
was a practice in Ancient Hawaii, and this is supported by oral
histories from contemporary Hawaiian elders.
Pukui described it as a practice of extended family members
meeting to "make right" broken family relations. Some families
met daily or weekly, to prevent problems from erupting.
Others met when a person became ill, believing that illness was
caused by the stress of anger, guilt, recriminations and lack of
forgiveness.
Hooponopono corrects, restores and maintains good
relationships among family members, and with their gods or
6
God, by getting to the source of trouble. Usually the most
senior member of the family conducts it. He or she gathers the
family together. If the family is unable to work through a
problem, they turn to a respected outsider.
The process begins with prayer. A statement of the problem is
made, and the transgression discussed. Family members are
expected to work problems through and cooperate, not "hold
fast to the fault.
One or more periods of silence may be taken for reflection on
the entanglement of emotions and injuries. Everyone's feelings
are acknowledged. Then confession, repentance and
forgiveness take place. Everyone releases (kala) each other,
letting go. They cut off the past (oki), and together they close
the event with a ceremonial feast, called pani, which often
7
included eating limu kala or kala seaweed, symbolic of the
release.
8
Who was Morrnah Simeona
Morrnah Simeona, born May 19, 1913 and died February 11,
1992, is recognized as the first kahuna lapaau (healer) to
create an updated modern version of the ancient
hooponopono practice. She shared this modern version of
hooponopono throughout the United States, Asia and Europe.
Morrnah was a practitioner of lomilomi massage, and for 10
years she owned and operated health spas at the Kahala Hilton
and Royal Hawaiian hotels. At these spas, she would combine
her healing form of hooponopono and massage to a vast array
of clients, many of which were celebrities, including Lyndon B.
Johnson, Jackie Kennedy and Arnold Palmer.
9
In the mid-70s, through Divine inspiration, she began to
modify the traditional Hawaiian forgiveness and reconciliation
process of hooponopono to the realities of the modern day.
Praying to the Divine Creator and connecting problems with
Reincarnation and Karma resulted in a unique new problem
solving process: that was self-help rather than the traditional
Hawaiian group process. Her system uses hooponopono
techniques to create a working partnership among the three
parts of the mind (or self), which she calls by Hawaiian names,
as well as by the terms subconscious, conscious and
superconscious.
She went on to present her new modern form of
Hooponopono in many trainings and lectures, including: a
presentation to the United Nations, nearly a dozen states in the
U.S., and in more than 14 countries, among them Germany, the
10
Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Russia and Japan. She
presented to schools of higher learning, such as the University
of Hawaii and Johns Hopkins University, and to medical
facilities, religious institutions and business.
To help spread her hooponopono process, she founded
Pacifica Seminars and The Foundation of I, Inc.
11
Modern Hooponopono One-Step Further
Dr Ihaleakala Hew Len, a student who worked closely with
Morrnah, is probably most known as the therapist in Hawaii
who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients --
without ever seeing any of them.
In 2005, the following article written by Dr. Joe Vitale created
quite a buzz on the Internet. This brought great attention to Dr.
Hew Len and the Hooponopono community.
Dr. Len is credited with expanding on Morrnahs new modern
version of Hooponopono, the following article will explain Dr.
Joe Vitales first experience with Hooponopono and Dr
Ihaleakala Hew Len.
12
The World's Most Unusual Therapist
Two years ago (2003), I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who
cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients--without
ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an
inmate's chart and then look within himself to see how he
created that person's illness. As he improved himself, the
patient improved.
When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend.
How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How
could even the best self-improvement master cure the
criminally insane?
It didn't make any sense. It wasn't logical, so I dismissed the
story.
13
However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist
had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho 'oponopono.
I had never heard of it, yet I couldn't let it leave my mind. If the
story was at all true, I had to know more.
I had always understood "total responsibility" to mean that I
am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it's out of
my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility
that way. We're responsible for what we do, not what anyone
else does. The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally
ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about
total responsibility.
His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an
hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the
complete story of his work as a therapist. He explained that he
worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward
14
where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous.
Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a
lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with
their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by
patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.
Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have
an office and to review their files. While he looked at those
files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself,
patients began to heal.
"After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were
being allowed to walk freely," he told me. "Others who had to
be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And
those who had no chance of ever being released were being
freed."
15
I was in awe.
"Not only that," he went on, "but the staff began to enjoy
coming to work. Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We
ended up with more staff than we needed because patients
were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work.
Today, that ward is closed."
This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: "What
were you doing within yourself that caused those people to
change?"
"I was simply healing the part of me that created them," he
said.
I didn't understand.
16
Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means
that everything in your life - simply because it is in your life--is
your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your
creation.
Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I
say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in
my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you
take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you
see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your
responsibility because it is in your life.
This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy--
anything you experience and don't like--is up for you to heal.
They don't exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections
from inside you. The problem isn't with them, it's with you, and
to change them, you have to change you.
17

I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live.
Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with
Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in
ho'oponopono means loving yourself. If you want to improve
your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone-
-even a mentally ill criminal--you do it by healing you.
I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was
he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients' files?
"I just kept saying, 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' over and over
again," he explained.
That's it?
That's it.
18

Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve
yourself, and as you improve yourself, your improve your
world. Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one
day, someone sent me an email that upset me. In the past I
would have handled it by working on my emotional hot
buttons or by trying to reason with the person who sent the
nasty message. This time, I decided to try Dr. Len's method. I
kept silently saying, "I'm sorry" and "I love you," I didn't say it
to anyone in particular. I was simply evoking the spirit of love
to heal within me what was creating the outer circumstance.
Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He
apologized for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn't
take any outward action to get that apology. I didn't even write
him back. Yet, by saying "I love you," I somehow healed within
me what was creating him.
19

I later attended a ho 'oponopono workshop run by Dr. Len.
He's now 70 years old, considered a grandfatherly shaman, and
is somewhat reclusive. He praised my book, The Attractor
Factor. He told me that as I improve myself, my book's
vibration will raise, and everyone will feel it when they read it.
In short, as I improve, my readers will improve.
"What about the books that are already sold and out there?" I
asked.
"They aren't out there," he explained, once again blowing my
mind with his mystic wisdom. "They are still in you."
In short, there is no out there.
20
It would take a whole book to explain this advanced technique
with the depth it deserves. Suffice it to say that whenever you
want to improve anything in your life, there's only one place to
look: inside you.
"When you look, do it with love."
21
Video instruction
You are now ready to start the video instruction portion of
this course.
As you watch these eight instructional videos from the never
before seen Zero Limits #1 hosted by Dr. Joe Vitale and Dr.
Ihaleakala Hew Len, we strongly recommend that you take
notes which can be used on your final exam.
After you have finished the video series read the following
special report Zero Limits Answers by Dr. Joe Vitale.
22
Zero Limits Answers
This morning, four hummingbirds sat around the outside
feeder and drank in peace. This is amazing. Normally
hummingbirds fight with each other. They don't cooperate.
They aren't at peace. They aren't loving.
So why are they all drinking together this morning?
Yesterday was the ending of the third live seminar on Zero
Limits with myself and Dr. Hew Len. It was one of the most
loving and yet intense events of my life. Hundreds of people
came from all over the world to experience it.
Dr. Hew Len revealed new cleaning methods, talked about
deeper aspects of his way to the Divine, and more. I spoke of
my own changes, revealed new stories, etc.
23

And we both took questions from the audience. Everyone left
feeling either at peace, or knowing how to get there.
Apparently that love spilled over to the hummingbirds. It's a
wonderful metaphor and message: when you are at peace, the
world becomes peaceful. Ever since the 2007 publication of the
best-selling book Zero Limits, written by myself and Dr. Hew
Len, people have had some key questions. I decided I would
write this Special Report to answer the most common ones.
May these questions help lead you to peace-- jut like the
hummingbirds.
Love,
Joe
24
1 I noticed that the order of the phrases are never the same.
Ive heard that the order matters and then I hear that it doesnt.
Im afraid that I will do this wrong and that my mis-
understanding of the process will adversely affect the outcome.
It doesn't matter what order you say the phrases in. The idea is
to say them. Follow your inspiration and say them within
yourself in the order that feels best. Let your feelings be
your guide. In the last Zero Limits event, Dr. Hew Len
shortened the four phrases to just two: I love you and Thank
you. Getting hung up on the phrases and anything about them
is yet another thing to clean or clear on. The phrases are a
simple tool to use as a cleaning device to help you work your
way to Zero. That's all. Being afraid of doing them wrong is
something to clean. My I Love You audio that I recorded is
even missing one of the phrases, however, its still a cleaning
tool and works regardless:
25
http://www.milagroresearchinstitute.com/iloveyou.htm
2 When Im cleaning, who do I say it to? Me? The other person
Im cleaning on? Im confused.
You never say it to the other person. What you are doing is
cleaning the part of you that is perceiving the outer as a
problem. It's never about anyone else or anything else. The
outer is the trigger that caused you to want to change
something. Again, you don't want to change the outer. You
want to change the inner. You use the clearing phrases to do
that. You are addressing the Divine no one else.
3 When I have a problem, and I do the cleaning, do I focus on
the problem or the person while Im cleaning? If my child has the
problem and I want to clean for them, am I invading their
personal space if they dont give me permission to clean on them
26
first?
This is similar to the above question. Again, you don't focus on
the other person. You focus on you. The problem isn't out
there, it's in you. You focus on the problem as you experience
it. You always experience it within yourself. As Dr. Hew Len has
often asked, Have you ever noticed that when you have a
problem, you are always there? The point is that the problem
is in YOU. That's where you put your focus and direct the
cleaning. You are asking the Divine to remove the energy that
you are feeling within yourself as you look out there and see
the problem.
4 Do I have to clean forever and ever for as long as I live? That
seems tiring and an awful lot of work. Is there another way?
There is so much data in the world programming, beliefs,
27
negativity that our challenge is life long. Yes, you have to
keep cleaning. But how hard is it, really, to say I love you and
Thank you inside yourself? Also, at the last Zero Limits 3
event, Dr. Hew Len taught us all a short-cut. Since your inner
child holds all of the data in your unconscious mind, you can
teach your inner child how to clean so that when your
conscious mind forgets to clean or needs to take a break from
it, your inner child is cleaning 24/7, regardless.
5 If all I need are the 4 phrases, then whats up with all these
hooponopono products that people sell and profit from? If you
ask me, capitalizing on spirituality is a turn off and makes me
question the validity of hooponopono. Can you please answer
this for me?
Thinking people are capitalizing on spirituality suggests that
money is bad. Money is not bad. Money is in fact neutral.
28
Money is even spiritual. I created an entire audio course about
this issue (The Secret to Attracting Money). If everything is of
the Divine, why would money be an exception? The products
are there to help you. If you don't want them, don't buy them.
But why sit in judgment when others are creating products to
help you feel better, get clearer, and be happier? They are
doing you a service. Judging it as bad or un-spiritual sounds
like a limiting belief that needs cleared. It sounds selfrighteous.
I'll clean on it.
6. How do we teach others to clean?
You don't. No one else needs to know anything about cleaning.
Only you do. Dr. Hew Len has spent the last 25 years cleaning
himself. He openly says the only reason he is alive is to clean. It
doesn't matter if anyone else does it. It matters that YOU do it.
One of the things I hear at events is people hearing problems
29
and then advising others, You should clean on that. Wrong.
Whenever you hear a problem, it's YOURS to clean on. Just
start doing the cleaning right then and there. In fact, you
should never tell anyone to clean on it. Whatever you hear or
experience is yours to clean on.
7. I've been to a Zero Limits event and I still don't get it. What's
this all about?
Basically, this is about returning to Divinity. In my audio
program, The Awakening Course, I say there are four stages to
awakening. Most people never leave the first one (victimhood).
Thanks to movies like The Secret and The Compass, many
people are getting to level two (empowerment). Thanks to the
book Zero Limits, some are aware of level three (surrender).
But there's also a fourth level. That's where you awaken to
Divinity. That's where the Divine consciously breathes through
30
you. Zero Limits is a way to clear out all the data (or head
stuff) that stands between you and the Divine (Zero). So,
what's this all about? It's about getting clear of the static in
your mind so the Divine lives through you with awareness and
love. To get there, we have a lot of work to do. So,
keep cleaning. :)
8. Did this method ever work for you, personally? Did it heal
you or anyone close to you? Do you EVER get to zero??
The only goal of cleaning is to help you erase the garbage that's
between you and the Divine. As you clean, you may get a
healing or some other result. But that's not the goal. The
intention is to get to Zero, which is the place where the Divine
lives through you. When Dr. Hew Len worked with the patients
in that mental hospital for the criminally insane, he didn't work
to heal them, he worked to heal himself. Obviously, it worked.
31
I've been doing the cleaning for almost four years now. I do it
non-stop. Why? So I can keep cleaning the interference
between me and the Divine. One day, if the Divine so wants it, I
will be at Zero. Till then, I keep cleaning. I wouldn't keep doing
it if it didn't work. To offer some evidence that this method
works, here's an email I received one day:
I read your book Zero Limits in December, 2008. I work as a
life coach and parenting instructor at the Womens prison in
Baton Rouge. I hold three classes each week with 20 women in
each class. I started doing the hooponopono immediately after
starting the book. I could see instant results with the women in
the group. I shared the information with them and bought five
books for them to take turns reading. They have shared so
many success stories with me about how the deputies in
charge of them are changing. One day last week, there was
some sort of disturbance going on in the prison. I could
hear the commotion outside of my classroom. The warden
32
stepped in my classroom and had this stunned look on his face.
He couldnt believe the calmness and quietness of the room
with all of the ruckus going on outside. He told me, I dont
know what you are doing, just keep doing it. He has shared
with me on several occasions that all of the women are
behaving better and are actually getting to have privileges they
have never been able to have before. I am also having positive
changes with my teenage daughters and husband. Thank you
so much for bringing this information to light. Cindy Ray-Huber
Regional Director, RCB of Baton Rouge
www.lifecoach123.com
9. What's the difference between Zero Limits seminars and
ho'oponopono basic and advanced courses? Do I have to attend
any of these first before taking the next class? If this information
is to be made private, how come you are allowed to reveal some
33
of the secrets in Zero Limits or release recordings of your Zero
Limits events?
The main difference between a Zero Limits event and a
Ho'oponopono basic event is this: with Zero Limits, you get me
as the co-instructor. You have to take the basic ho'oponopono
course and practice the methods you learn for at least two
years before you can take an advanced ho'oponopono course. I
was permitted to release some of the information because Dr.
Hew Len gave me that permission. He is, after all, the co-author
of Zero Limits and the main instructor of ho'oponopono. If he
says I can write a book, or release audios or DVDs, then of
course I can.
10. "I am sorry!"? Does this mean apology or sadness? What do I
have to be sorry for when everything in the Universe is perfect? I
don't like having to say it.
34

You need to say I'm sorry and Please forgive me for being
unconscious. It has nothing to do with regret, guilt, shame or
blame, but everything to do with realizing you've been asleep.
When you bump into someone in the store, you say I'm sorry.
Why? Because you made a mistake. You were unconscious and
did something while you were unaware. When you address the
Divine and say those phrases, you are letting the Divine know
you were unconscious. Forgiveness is one of the most powerful
transformative tools you have. If you aren't willing to ask for
forgiveness for being unconscious, you are probably blocking
the Divine's flow in your life in other areas, too. Having said all
that, I once asked Dr. Hew Len what to tell people who
complained about saying I am sorry. He said, Tell them they
don't have to say it.
35
What's the Right Way to Clean?
Whenever I spend time with Dr. Hew Len, I'm reminded of the
fundamentals behind Zero Limits and ho'oponopono:
! There's nothing to do but clean.
! The more you clean, the more you can receive inspiration
from the Divine.
! There's either Memory or Inspiration, and usually its
Memory (data).
! The only thing to clean is what you feel inside.
! The only goal is freedom; to be at Zero.
Knowing the fundamentals is one thing, living them is quite
another. This is why we need books, audios, DVDs, tools,
seminars, coaches, and whatever else we can use to remind us
that all the work takes place within.
36

The world is made up of data and its that very data that
needs cleaned. The thing is, we perceive all that data inside
ourselves, so that's where the cleaning has to take place.
In other words, there's nothing out there. It's all inside you.
That's where you experience problems and that's where the
cleaning needs done.
But what is the right way to clean?
If cleaning is the number one most important thing to do and is
the core of the entire Zero Limits process, how do you do it
accurately?
37
Here's how I do it:
1. I notice something wrong. This can be triggered by a
thought, another person, an event, or anything else.
This is the stimulus. Before Zero Limits, noticing a
problem was always considered out there. After Zero
Limits, you realize the problem is inside. Whatever the
case, the first step is to notice you don't feel good.
You're angry, upset, worried, scared, or any other of a
wide range of emotions and feelings that could be
labeled as unhappy.
2. I start to clean on the feeling. I don't clean on the other
person, or the thought, or the situation, or anything
out there. Again, the problem is inside. I'm the one
aware of a problem. I'm the one who has to clean it. For
me, saying I love you, I'm sorry, Please forgive me
and Thank you is the way to clean. I say the phrases
in any order. I say them non-stop in my mind while
38
feeling the problem as I perceive it. And I say it to the
Divine.
3. I sometimes use other cleaning methods. For example,
the last time I saw Dr. Hew Len, he gave me one of his
Ceeport business cards. He says it is a cleaning tool. He
said, In your mind imagine slicing the problem up
with the edge of the card.
4. I let go until prompted to take inspired action. Dr. Hew
Len once told me that he cleans on a decision three
times. If the answer is the same after those cleanings,
he takes action on it. This means if I get an impulse to
do something to resolve the perceived problem, I might
clean on it three times before I actually take any action.
This is a way to insure the action is coming from
inspiration and not memory.
5. Repeat.
Everyone wants a short-cut to cleaning and reaching Zero. I do,
39
too. But its that very impatience that needs cleaned. Wanting
something right now is Memory playing out, urging us to get
instant gratification. It's data. The Divine has no time and no
urgency. Wanting things to unfold faster than they unfold is a
wonderful opportunity to clean.
I keep cleaning because it makes me feel lighter, happier and
healthier; it is a fast track way for me to remove the data in my
being so I can get closer to the Divine, and because it's easy,
effortless, and free.
Until the Divine gives me another way to clean, I'll keep on
cleaning.
Complete responsibility means accepting it all - even the people
who enter your life and their problems, because their problems
are your problems. They are in your life, and if you take full
40
responsibility for your life, then you have to take full
responsibility for what they are experiencing, too. from Zero
Limits by Joe Vitale and Dr. Hew Len
41
Examination Instructions
Please follow this link to set up your account or login into your
account to take the Basic Hooponopono Practitioner
Certification exam: http://mycertificates.org/
Enter your email address and use your private registration
code: BHP-0227
42

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Hooponopono

By Dr. Joe Vitale

Unlocking the Power of Hooponopono ............................................... 3

Traditional Hooponopono Practice ....................................................... 5

Who was Morrnah Simeona ...................................................................... 9

Modern Hooponopono One-Step Further ....................................... 12

The World's Most Unusual Therapist ................................................. 13

Video instruction ......................................................................................... 22

Zero Limits Answers .................................................................................. 23

What's the Right Way to Clean? ............................................................ 36

Examination Instructions ........................................................................ 42

Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification

The purpose of this certification program is to give you a broad

and in-depth perspective on the practice of hooponopono.

The primary focus of the certification program is to introduce

and explain the evolution and origins of modern

As we progress, you will master the different practices,

including the mantra, prayers, cleaning tools and meditations.

The ultimate goal is to have you become proficient in the most

effective ways to utilize hooponopono so that you will be able

include this practice in your everyday life.

Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification

improvement, including meditation, yoga and life coaching, just

Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification

"Hooponopono" is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary as

"mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships

were set right through prayer, discussion, confession,

repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness." Literally,

hoo is a particle used to make an actualizing verb from the

following noun, as would "to" before a noun in English. Here, it

creates a verb from the noun pono, which is defined as:

...goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or

proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare,

benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper,

righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful,

in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought,

Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification

shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify,

tidy up, make orderly or neat".

Preeminent Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that it

was a practice in Ancient Hawaii, and this is supported by oral

histories from contemporary Hawaiian elders.

Pukui described it as a practice of extended family members

meeting to "make right" broken family relations. Some families

met daily or weekly, to prevent problems from erupting.

caused by the stress of anger, guilt, recriminations and lack of

Hooponopono corrects, restores and maintains good

relationships among family members, and with their gods or

Basic Hooponopono Practitioner Certification

senior member of the family conducts it. He or she gathers the

family together. If the family is unable to work through a

problem, they turn to a respected outsider.

The process begins with prayer. A statement of the problem is

made, and the transgression discussed. Family members are

expected to work problems through and cooperate, not "hold

fast to the fault.

One or more periods of silence may be taken for reflection on

the entanglement of emotions and injuries. Everyone's feelings