Peace Through Ho'oponopono

Joe Vitale & Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len

This weeekend will mark the 3rd anniversary of my official introduction to SITH: Self I-dentity Through Ho'oponopono. My course with Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len was one of the major turning points in my own life and one for which I am eternally grateful. [Read an interview with Dr. Hew Len and learn more about ho'oponopono.]

Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian practice which means, "to make right," or "to rectify an error." According to the ancient Hawaiians, error arises from thoughts that are tainted by painful memories from the past. Ho'oponopono offers a way to release the energy of these painful thoughts, or errors, which cause imbalance and disease.

One of the prayers that is practised after each event or day, is the Peace of I.

The Peace Of "I"

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Peace be with you, All My Peace,
The Peace that is " I ", the Peace that is "I am".
The Peace for always, now and forever and evermore.
My Peace " I " give to you, My Peace " I " leave with you,
Not the world's Peace, but, only My Peace,
The Peace of " I ".

When I first heard that prayer, shivers went down my body as I realized that I wasn't responsible for the world's peace (an impossible task from an individual's point of view), but I could be responsible for my own peace.

It was then that I began making peace the focus of my life.

A friend of mine has recently started blogging about the subject at Peace Ripples as she feels as strongly as I do that it's vitally important in this world for each of us to do our own part in creating peace for ourselves.

There are many ways to make peace a priority. One of the main ways is through forgiveness. Another is through gratitude.

I remember a Dr. Phil show about a woman who had many blessings in her life, but who was always discontent. He pointed out everything that she had to be grateful for, which was a lot, and told her to make a list of 100 things she was grafetul for EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH!

I was totally taken aback and wondered how in the world she would accomplish something so difficult, but after thinking about it a while, I decided to challenge myself to do the same exercise. It was not easy - I can tell you. But I managed it. Some things were repeated each day, but very few.

There is so much "bad" news each and every day, and peace looks like the only thing missing when we read the papers or watch TV, but that exercise really opened my eyes to all the things we can be grateful for.

Search for peace in your own life and it will filter into the lives of others. That's the only place where we can start making world peace.

Finally, here's the YouTube video I promised about the Inner Critic EFT Routine!

You can review the words to be repeated in my previous post if you wish. If you're new to EFT, you may not be familiar with the tapping positions so here's a quick overview:

KC: Karate Chop - used for the set-up statement (fleshy part of hand below the small finger). Tap with fingertips of opposite hand.

Tap lightly on the following points with the tips of the index and middle fingers or all your fingers if you wish.

EB: Eyebrow (end of inner eyebrow)
SE: Side of Eye (close to the eye)
UE: Under Eye (immediately below eye)
UN: Under the nose (between upper lip and nose)
CH: Chin (the chin crease)
CB: Collar Bone (about 1" below collar bone & 1"-2" on either side of the throat - use one or both hands)
UA: Under Arm (about 3" below armpit - the bra line for women)
TH: Top of Head (anywhere on the crown of the head)

Some people add the wrist (the crease where the hand meets the arm) before TH.

Personally, I find it best to close my eyes before beginning the routing and think about my Inner Critic and what it says (or whatever subject I'm working on). If there is any emotion connected to it such as sadness or anger, I allow that feeling to come up and I think about it as I'm repeating the set-up statement and the tapping statements.

Often, while doing EFT, thoughts will surface about something that may, or may not, feel as if it's connected to the routine I'm doing. Whatever they are, I make a note of them after completing the round(s) and investigate afterwards. Sometimes it is totally relevant, but you can't see the connection immediately. Whatever it is, you may need to do EFT on that too so don't dismiss it!

Good luck with your Inner Critic!

Empowerment 4 U!

In order to be fully empowered individuals, we must take 100% responsibility for every aspect of our life.

That means evaluating each area: Economic, Personal, Physical and Spiritual empowerment.

To experience Economic Empowerment, we must look at our financial status. If we aren't abundant in this area, we need to figure out what we need to do to change it. Perhaps we should think about changing our vocation if we're not happy where we work, or start a part-time business to bring in extra cash.

To experience Personal Empowerment, we must look at our relationships to see where we may need to make changes. Perhaps we don't have clearly defined boundaries. Perhaps we're unhappy or depressed. Whatever is causing us distress must be investigated and remedied.

To experience Physical Empowerment, we look at our health. Are we fatigued? Is there some ailment that we've been ignoring? Are we suffering from a life-threatening illness? No matter what the experience, we must take responsibility and figure out what we can do to alleviate it. That may mean a visit to the doctor or taking back your own power and exploring the possible mental/emotional causes of your complaint.

To experience Spiritual Empowerment, perhaps we need to establish a habit of meditating each day for 10 - 20 minutes. Maybe we feel that we have lost our connection with Spirit, orwe need to begin feeling gratitude for all the blessings we already have. Repeat the following at every opportunity:

"Thank you God for all the blessings that I have, and all the blessings that I am receiving."

Whatever our life experience, if something isn't what we truly desire or the way we want it to be, then it's our responsiblity to investigate, research, change... whatever needs to be done to alleviate the "symptoms" in our day-to-day life.

Sometimes, drastic changes are required in order to feel our own empowerment.

It isn't always necessary, of course. Often a minor adjustment will provide the changes we seek. But, in my own life, major adjustments have been called for at various times. This can be as big as moving to another country, which I did by moving to Thailand, or moving across the country as I did from Ontario to Alberta (and back two years later), or simply moving house.

I've also changed my JOB on more than one occassion. After operating my own business for seven and a half years, I never did enjoy working for someone else. I tried it, but I was never happy and hated going to work every day. I knew I needed to be my own boss. But that's very scary and not something you can take lightly.
Having my own business was the only way I could have Economic Empowerment. Consequently, network marketing has been a godsend for me and many others like myself who want to change their financial circumstances without risking a fortune in the process. Who has a fortune to risk anyway!

Rarely does empowerment come easily, but if you're not happy with some aspect of your life, empower yourself and change it. My book, Joy Makers: My Tools for Self-Empowerment, has some very simple tools for helping to empower yourself.

For more information on empowerment, go to my weblog at Empowerment For You.

Using EFT to Counter the Inner Critic

As an advocate for self-empowerment, I'm always exploring ways to empower myself personally, physically, economically, and spiritually. I've tried many methods in my search. In the past twenty odd years, I've read hundreds of books, atttended numerous courses, webinars and teleconferences, and followed many mentors as I've discussed on my website.

However, as I've mentioned before, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the most powerful tools I've ever come across - for ALL areas of empowerment mentioned above.

A few days ago, I had a realization (not the first one) that I lacked self-love. You may remember that I tried to say "I love you" to my image in the bathroom mirror and later in the day came across an email from Margaret Lynch which included a routine to counter The Inner Critic. I also promised to share the EFT routine with you.

I was planning to record a video on it, but that will have to come later as I spent some time with two of my daughters yesterday. We went out for a meal, then saw Eat, Pray Love - a great movie and an even greater book by Elizabeth Gilbert. But I will at least share the written routine. If you're familiar with EFT, you can tap along yourself, but if you're not, then I'll provide a video of it in the near future when I have a bit more time.

Dr. Joe’s Rubino’s Insights – EFT Tapping Routine for The Inner Critic

Karate chop point:
Even though I have this huge inner critic that works on me day and night, I honor and accept myself. It’s okay, it’s just a part of me.
Even though I have this continual voice in my ear from my inner critic And sometimes it’s really nasty, it’s okay. Observing it is progress for me!

Even though I have a big inner critic that is often ruthless in beating me up, I honor that a deeper part of me is calling me to observe this critical voice because it’s time to let it go quietly into the past.
Tapping through the points in any way you like:

My inner critic tells me I am no good
My inner critic always says, “Could have been better”
My inner critic tells me I am a loser
Wow, it’s pretty ruthless
My inner critic criticizes me before anyone else has a chance to
My inner critic tells me it’s safer to be invisible
My inner critic talks me out of standing out and taking a risk
My inner critic stops my own voice, my own truth, from coming out
Wow, it has a lot of power! I guess I gave it that power.
My inner critic really guilts me!
My inner critic remembers the past and reviews my mistakes for me
My inner critic really DOES live in the past and just won’t let it go!
Wow, that is really, really helpful!
My inner critic keeps me down, alone, a slave, scared, worthless
Maybe it has taken over for my parents
Maybe it is trying to keep me safe
Or maybe it just pain, sadness and disappointment. Stuck!

It’s okay, I am observing it now
And feeling the loss
All these years of listening to this critic
A recording playing in my head
Just like it was the God’s honest truth
Assuming I deserved to hear it, feel it
But it was just a recorded loop, a thought pattern
It’s okay, as I observe it, I now see and feel it is not all of me
Just a virtual part of me that I have practiced.
As I see that, it is already weakening
Because the real me, my soul, is eternal and whole and perfect
My soul has NEVER been anything but perfect and loved and whole
so as I observe my inner critic
I am now open to the gifts of my soul
I need help with this one!

I am so grateful to step up in consciousness
And observe my inner critic
I am so grateful to the wiser, stronger, older part of me
That loves me so much
It has brought me this healing moment!

Good luck with your Inner Critic! You can always count on EFT to help in every situation, no matter what the problem may be. I'll record a video on how to do this routine in the near future.

Using EFT for Self-Empowerment

One of the most amazing self-empowerment tools I have ever encountered is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping as it's sometimes called). There are many reasons why I enjoy using EFT:

• It can be used by anybody - it isn't necessary to go to a practitioner for treatment.
• It's available whenever it's needed 24/7.
• There's no cost outlay - it's completely free to learn.
• It's very simple to use.
• It cannot be done the 'wrong' way.
• It's based on ancient Chinese knowledge utilizing acupressure points or meridians.
• There's no limit to its use. It can be used on mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual challenges.

I've written about EFT before, but for those who are new to it, let me explain a little about why it is my favourite self-empowerment tool. I first learned about EFT about three and a half years ago. Even then I recognized the value of it as a self-empowerment tool, but it wasn't until about one year ago that I fully understood the extent of its use and started using it seriously.

Some time ago, I was introduced to Nick and Jessica Ortner who founded Use It On Everything - a site dedicated to promoting the benefits of EFT. This site eventually changed to The Tapping Solution designed around a wonderful DVD made by Nick and his associates by the same name. The DVD is endorsed by many well-known individuals including Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, Bruce Lipton, Dr. Mercola and many others.

Since the DVD was introduced, The Tapping Insiders Club opened which gives members access to an array of tapping routines, interviews with EFT experts, etc. I am a member myself and there's a wealth of information for anyone interested in self-empowerment.

They say knowledge is power and knowledge of the self is self-empowerment!

You may remember my post about looking in the mirror and not being able to love myself. As a self-empowered individual, I wasn't content to simply accept that experience. It was necessary for me to do something about it. What did I do? I did EFT!

As it happens, I had an email in my Inbox from a wonderful EFT expert, Margaret Lynch who created The Secret of Intentional Wealth program based on EFT (an absolutely wonderful system I endorse without any hesitation). I was introduced to Margaret through the Tapping Insiders Club. I had seen the email, but being rather busy, I had not read it. After my experience in the bathroom, I was inspired to take a further look at the email and what I discovered was truly amazing.

Margaret's email was about self-esteem and a program by Dr. Joe Rubino. She also included an EFT routine to address the Inner Critic! That's exactly what I needed at that moment and I immediately went through the routine. Later I shared it with some friends I met later in the day and we all found it very helpful.

In my next post, I will explain more about the Inner Critic routine and will try to make a video for you where you can tap along. I'm dedicated to sharing anything that will empower the individual and I find EFT to be the perfect technique for self-empowerment.

Do You Love Yourself When You Look In The Mirror?

It all started this morning while I was waiting for my shower to reach the perfect temperature. There I was, standing infront of the mirror, trying to say 'I love you' to my image. It just wasn't happening!

Why is it so difficult to love our self? Why are we so self-critical?

The reasons are numerous. There are probably as many reasons why we don't love our self as there are people in this world. However, there are a few that are common to all of us. One of the major reasons can be blamed on the environment we grew up in.

The big people we were surrounded with had certain expectations of us. If we didn't meet those expectations then we were often punished. Our natural reaction to this punishment was to blame our self. Children blame themselves for everything. They automatically believe they aren't lovable because they know nothing about conditional or unconditional love at this young age. As children, we ARE love. It is our natural state of being. Unfortunately, it doesn't take us long to learn that we have to behave a certain way if we want to be loved.

We learn to speak to our parents (and other grown-ups) at the appropriate time; to eat our meals a certain way; to follow directions exactly; to never answer back (that was very important in my childhood); to meet various milestones dictated by child-rearing authorities; etc., etc., etc. The list is endless.

It may differ from family to family, but the message is the same, "Do as I want and expect you to and I will love you. Don't do things the right way and I will withdraw my love."

This may not have been spoken out loud, but our parent's anger (and subsequent punishment) when we didn't do something the right way was proof enough of the statement. Even a disapproving look was enough to stop me in my tracks! My sister and I were discussing this one day. We even utilized 'the look' on our own children because it was very effective. It definitely prevented situations from developing that may have been cause for harsher consequences. But did it help our children to love themselves? I think not.

To be fair, this was the only way our parents knew how to act. This is exactly the lesson they learned when they were children. It's not much of a consolation, but they, too, don't love themselves any more than we do.

So Many Reasons To Be Grateful

My daughter visited with Faraday, my grand-daughter, yesterday. What a joy she is! I've never seen a child who is more aware of her surroundings and wanting to see everything that's going on around her... and she's only just over 6 months old!

Not only is she very inquisitive, she can walk holding onto an adult's thumbs! I really shouldn't be surprised as her mother was an early walker and Faraday is built very much like her - very petite and fine-boned.

When I really think about my own surroundings compared to many places in the world, I cannot help but be grateful - not only for my beautiful grand-children (there are four now) who are all healthy - but for everything in my life.

I was reading the P'taah Message this morning and one of the questions was about genetically modified food and it's affect on us. P'taah very quickly pointed out that even though genetically engineered food is not a benefit to us, it is what it is and change has already begun as a result. What I understand from the Message is, if we can eat non-altered food, then that is probably best, but regardless, we need to be grateful for the nourishment our food provides.

Humankind has interefered with Nature and that, as we've discovered many times, is often disastrous. We do not need to fear the changes that may ensue from what we have done on this Earth as everything is ALWAYS perfect. This is a subject that interests me greatly and I've written about it in my article: Present Perfect , in fact, I have a book about it on the back burner just waiting for my attention!

Until I get to that writing, I will continue to count myself priviledged to live where I do. There are so many less fortunate and, besides, I look out onto this beautiful view. My patio is not very large, but behind it is a small woodlot which attracts all sorts of birds. And who wouldn't be grateful for that!