Talk Story with Harry ‘Uhane Jim: A Story of Ho‘oponopono
Ho‘oponopono is an ancient tradition of creating balance and harmony within ourselves—the self that is now, the self of our past, the evolving self of our present and the self of our future. It is our identity. It embodies our present self, and the infinite self at the same time. It’s the “whole” of each one of us. I understand it this way: for the body, mind, and spirit, it’s the highlighted moments of our life, like standing on a surfboard pa‘a (with strength), even with the fluidity of the ocean, and in communion with the energy that is the force of the wave. It’s pono. Right.
Ho‘oponopono is not a religion; it’s a spiritual practice. While forgiveness and reconciliation are skills from ho‘oponopono, the vast and timeless expression is to remain with the agreement of humanity, which we committed to at the beginning of time.
Our origin speaks of a lineage of us Hawaiians, and all others, who were invited to the creation of this new universe of male and female: spark and space, Kū and Hina. We stood before the creators of this new universe and proclaimed inclusion, “I am IN.” We had all come from other universes, and were pulled to be in this new universe, where discovery rules. We became a fabric of light, each one of us, holding a thread of intention, to be the flow on the path, weaving the story of love, prevailing above all pilikia (trauma/drama). We all took responsibility for our unique inherited capacity to transmute negative energy into positive energy. We committed to learning forever how to co-create manifesting love from nothingness and space.
I was fortunate to receive ho‘oponopono from my Grandpa Harry Uhane Ekau Jim of the Kaimikaua ‘ohana of Maui and Moloka‘i; and Tutu Moki Mano‘e, ‘ohana of Kalaheo, Kaua‘i. They were my babysitters. I was cast to be their entertainment during time off from school during summer and holiday times, because in the early 60’s, Dad and Mom both worked much of the time. My grandfather’s favorite times were to prod and challenge me by sharing skills men knew, like setting bird traps, pig traps, and helping clean lo‘i (taro patches) in Hanapēpē. We would also gather medicine plants at the old heiau (sacred spaces), while he and my Tutu Moki burned stories into my brain that went way beyond my childhood, about belonging.
Neither man commonly used the word ho‘oponopono. It’s become a catch-all concept for representing the missing cultural behavior of the colonizers; the ability to build relationship skills to create safe change. Some Hawaiians knew this form of ho‘oponopono as closing a circle while staying in your own orbit, or huki: to pull out from, or lift away something to result in nothing; nothing, in the sense of a place of no magnetism pulling in any direction.
Both men held Kū-Hina as their whispered lineage. The universe is made of the two: the spark of male, and the space of female. All living or vibrating, everything is in this truth.
Uncle Mano‘e told a story about Hawaiian’s first mother and father, not the Adam and Eve tale of being chased out of Eden for unworthiness. His story is located on the island of Kaua‘i, at the very top of Mount Kahilihii, a huge peak with a flat field about 79 yards wide, sitting on the southwestern edge of the Līhu‘e Depression. It is believed that here is where the first man and woman lived in a heaven on earth. They both decided to leave Eden to find out what and where was unknown. Kū and Hina were clear that no animal, plant, bird, or insect, nothing would follow them out of heaven. The journey took them everywhere, seeding aloha.
Divine breath connects us and brings us love in our relationships with all. Aunty Margret Machado said, “Aloha means the breath of God is in our presence”.
Finding our common source of harmony will result in us knowing our identity, and we can safely change, creating a purposeful time during our orbit on this planet, with enduring aloha.
May we all share Ho‘oponopono: love prevails over all trauma. Thank you for sharing your aloha with us! ❖
Contact writer Harry Uhane Jim
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