Aloha Ho’oponopono

Aloha is often thought of as a greeting, much like ‘hello’ by Westerners. It’s far more than that. The most helpful way to think about this is to go back to one of my earlier posts. In that post, I explained how in certain circumstances simply repeating the word ‘Love’ is sufficient to defuse an emotion.

The word love has many connotations in our society. It may be the feeling we have upon meeting an exciting new partner. This, however, is often a combination of spiritual love and worldly passion.

It’s love because we have feelings for the other person in a way that suggests that they are flawless (which, indeed they are ultimately). The problem with this is that we only have a short window for us to feel this way before we find that we must have faith in their ultimate perfection, yet accept and also love their karmic-data (the mental baggage that comes with them).

Passion is just one way to express this loving, yet shamans know that whenever a couple has a child their inerrant energy is depleted. This tends to have a greater impact upon mothers, but fathers are affected as well.

Love may also refer to Holiness. Such spiritual love is what we experience emanating from the other person. From our experience, it’s what makes them perfect. In reality, however, when we fall victim to this incredible feeling, we are mistaking map for territory.

True love (rather than money) is what keeps the world spinning around. It also is responsible for the stars, your thoughts, your toe-nails, your heart-beat, and yes even the karmic-data that makes up your baggage (and which you’ve chosen to carry for aeons).

This is why we say that God is Love. They are one and the same. To understand them, you must experience them. As words they’re meaningless squiggles on your computer screen. They’re neutral and could easily be substituted for any other word of the same length and number of lines. When you experience love, you empower yourself with the undefinable infinite.

Native Hawaiians consider the word Aloha to be the word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy. Although it is commonly used as a simple greeting it has a deep cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians. They consider it the force that holds existence together. In this sense, it’s almost a scientific word rather than one you will find printed upon a post-card.

The Hawaiian word has evolved from the Proto-Polynesian greeting ‘qarofa‘, which also meant love, pity, or compassion

So do I continue to say the word ‘Love’ when attempting to clean away an unhealthy emotion? Yes, sometimes I do. Yet Aloha seems a preferable alternative because I now have a better sense of its meaning and significance.

As for ho’oponopono, ho means to have, to hold, to make, or to give. It’s a verb, an active doing word. Pono translates as right, and when used in the plural ‘ponopono’ it is doubly right, or right without compromise, right as God sees it. God’s right.

‘Aloha ho’oponopono’ therefore means to restore the integrity of an action, or object, through compassionate wisdom or love.