Becoming right minded is often challenging for the Western mind. It has similar features to being addicted to something without being clear that the addiction is causing a problem. In recovery terms it’s called denial. One has to be open to recognizing the damage the behavior is causing, admit to being addicted, and have a willingness to change. Successful rehabilitation programs include spirituality. Having a relationship with a higher power makes recovery more likely.
A major difference between addicted to, say alcohol, and becoming trapped in left hemisphere dominance is that we can’t survive without the left hemisphere, while we certainly can survive without alcohol. The goal is to create balance and harmony between the two hemispheres, with the right hemisphere being dominant. I have discovered that an ancient Hawaiian healing method called Ho’oponopono, when used properly, can create this shift.
The original Ho’oponopono was modified and taught to the world beginning in 1976 by one of the last remaining Hawaiian Kahuna practitioners, Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona. Morrnah owned and operated health spas at the Kahala Hilton hotel and the Royal Hawaiian hotel at Waikiki Beach for ten years. Her clients included some of the most famous and successful Americans at the time, including Jackie Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Morrnah observed that Western culture emphasized the intellect far too much and impeded the development of true spirituality. Western culture divides and keeps people separate from each other. It emphasizes destruction rather than allowing the divine to enter and flow towards right action. Western civilization needed healing.
Ho’oponopono means to make right or to rectify an error. This modified form can be used successfully by anyone individually, and includes one’s soul and the divine. Ho’oponopono is a simple mantra or prayer to the divine/higher power/God. It involves four simple phrases which can be repeated in any order. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.” The central concept is that even though you may not have caused the problem, you are 100% responsible for how you experience it, and it’s your job to clean it. If it shows up in your consciousness, then you share the same data set and are contributing to the problem. You apologize to your higher power, ask for forgiveness, express love for all involved, and evince gratitude.
By saying these four phrases over and over, a person is said to connect her/his own inner light with the light of Source. Over time, negative patterns in the subconscious dissolve, and by forgiving the parts within that hold those patterns, the person’s outer world regains balance and harmony. The goal is to free you from your past (energy stored in the left hemisphere). The quest for personal sovereignty is the central sacred task of each person. A psychologically free individual is comfortable in his/her own skin, self assured yet flexible, at ease with change, and able to participate in the affairs of family and community in a way that benefits all. It is a shift to right hemisphere dominance.
If you are interested in learning more, I recommend the book “Opening the Aloha Mind: Healing Self, Healing the World with Ho’oponopono” by Jim Nourse, PhD (2013)