I have always been profoundly interested in what pushes someone to wake up and begin the search for deeper meaning and truth in their lives. More times than not, it’s a moment of great challenge or sorrow that drives us to look for that deeper meaning. Other times, it’s simply a soft nudge, or perhaps a nagging discontent that leads our quest for answers.
And sometimes, if we’re lucky, someone will hold up a mirror to our face that allows us to see that who we are is not who we want to be.
This is exactly what happened to me.
It was many years ago, but I still remember the day like it was yesterday. My son was yelling and screaming at me. And make no mistake about it, this wasn’t just a fight between mother and son. This was deeper than that. It wasn’t just his biting words or disrespectful tone that shook me. It was his anger, a deep-seeded anger that was pouring out from the deepest part of his being.
And the worst part was — I was staring at myself. I knew instantly that my son was my mirror. I was the angry person — irritable, short-tempered, blaming everyone and everything else. And always looking for happiness in the wrong places. At that moment, I knew that who I was staring at was not someone I wanted to be. I knew I had to change. There was more out of life that was waiting for me.
And as the saying goes, when the student is ready, the master will appear.
It wasn’t long after my blow-up with my son that I came across Ho’oponopono, an ancient Hawaiian art of problem-solving. Ho’oponopono means to “make it right” or “to correct an error.” This was exactly what I needed to do with my life. Make it right.
I soon discovered that everything in our life is a memory, a program playing in our memory bank (our subconscious mind), that shows up in our life to give us the opportunity to let go and set ourselves free. In fact, life consists of replayed memories that play 24 hours a day. They keep choosing for us unless we choose to stop them.
Ho’oponopono made me realize that the memories that were playing inside me were attracting everything in my life. This idea of self-responsibility was liberating for me and changed my life immediately. I quickly came to realize that Ho’oponopono works like the delete key on the keyboard of our computer. We choose to let go instead of trying to be right, allowing another part of us that knows better (inspiration) to show up in our lives and guide us so that we can be at the right time, at the right place, with the right people.
I’d like to think this is what led me to Dr. Ihaleakalá Hew Len. He was the one who taught me this ancient art, which I learned was not a religion, but a philosophy of life. I ended up spending over ten years of my life with him, deepening my knowledge and commitment to Ho’oponopono.
The wonderful thing about Ho’oponopono is that it will help you let go of what is not you, so you will be able to find out who you really are, and fall in love with yourself. After all, only when you love and accept yourself, will you be able to love and accept others.
Our job is to simply relax and let go, that way we allow Divinity to erase whatever memories are playing. God is the only one who knows what we are ready to let go.
And the beautiful thing about finding yourself is that you will also find your passion, which will lead you to find your purpose and all the abundance that comes with it.
More importantly, it will bring you happiness — the place from which I live today.
Many years have passed since that day with my son, and now I’m a completely different person. We both are.
Today, I have made Ho’oponopono my mission, helping to share my knowledge with the rest of the world, which is why I spend my days traveling around the globe, blessed to have the opportunity to wake up those who are boldly seeking more out of their lives.
In the span of my life, I’ve received a Knighthood, met with Pope Francis in Rome, spoken at the Congress in Bogota, spent some time with the victims of the recent floods in Lima, and just recently, shared a memorable seminar with 1500 teens in Puebla, Mexico.
Everywhere I go, I take Ho’oponopono with me because I know it is the easiest way to find purpose, happiness, abundance, and peace.
Yes, I’ve certainly come a long way.
And all it took was a good look in the mirror.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com