Liking and Disliking Are Both Memories

Irene

Sometimes I am very attracted to certain places, or colors, or designs. Some people really like simple, monotone colors, and some people like really colorful colors. Is there anything we can clean about it?

Jean

Actually, you just have to clean the thoughts that you have about the colors or the place. Because all of it is still memories. It still comes from past memories of what you experienced in a particular place.

Sometimes you walk into a place and you say, "I just love it." Other times you walk into a place and you go, "I don't feel good here." So whether it's good or bad, it's still a memory. It's only a label that we have maybe created, accepted.

So you have to clean it. Because the whole intent here in Ho'oponopono is to return to Zero, where everything is okay.

The Best Time Is When Nothing Is Happening

Irene

We often get into cleaning when we feel uncomfortable. But I remember, a long time ago, when I came to Hawaii and I said, "I love Hawaii," you said that I can clean about it.

Jean

Yes, because it's still your feeling that you're experiencing. You feel it, you see it, you hear it. It's all part of you. So whatever you experience within yourself from moment to moment, you can apply a cleaning tool and clean it.

When you have a bad feeling, we always think, "Oh, I've got to do something about it." But the best time to clean is when nothing is happening.

Even before you come to Hawaii, you want to do preparation, you want to clean. Each time we clean, who knows what pathways open up for all of us.

The best time to clean is when nothing is happening.

Irene

Sometimes people ask us, "I'm struggling with the place where I live right now. I want to move to a certain place, but I don't know how to get there." What's the first step?

Jean

You still go back and you clean all of your emotions. At that moment, if you go, "I don't like this place, I want to move, what should I do?", you simply apply the cleaning tools to those thoughts. That's your beginning point.

Most times, people are trying to figure it out. We try to think about it, or try to analyze it. But we're just accustomed to that, perhaps because we've been educated that way, that we have to think about it, we have to analyze it.

"I feel rotten." "I feel happy." That's it. Whatever that thought is at that moment, you clean that. Otherwise, you're going to miss the boat. It's like a ball going down the river. If we don't take that thought and clean it, then it's past.

Seek Happiness, and You Become a Prisoner of Your Mind

Irene

Hearing this, I realize how much I attach to being happy. I try to find the perfect place, or a family where I can feel happy, and once I get stuck there, I get into forever seeking happiness.

Jean

I think it's probably normal that we all want to be happy and free of pain and problems. But the whole point here in Ho'oponopono is that you clean, you let go and let Divinity.

If you hold on to being happy, or having things perfect, you could be a prisoner of your mind. Because from your past experiences, you think, "These were the situations that made me happy."

But when we clean, Divinity may look at the situation and say, "I don't think that's perfect for you." Because only Divinity can see, from the beginning of creation, all the memories we have accumulated.

"That's my perfect house." "This is the kind of person I want to marry." If we live in that world, we're limiting ourselves. We really have created a prison, because we only see from the standpoint of memories.

Irene

For you, what is freedom?

Jean

It's to clean myself moment to moment. That's it.

It doesn't mean I don't get mad, I don't get angry. Things still happen. But I always step back and take that moment and say, "Okay, what am I going to do?" And the only way I know is to clean.

When You Feel Lost, Turn to Unihipili

Irene

It often seems to me that it's easy for you to find the perfect place and timing. But today, when we were trying to find a spot for this interview, I felt like I got lost. It maybe seems not a big deal, but in our daily life, we often get lost.

Jean

Well, that happens easily. When you deal with family, or your workers, it's easy to get caught up in the argument, or trying to defend ourselves.

But the essence of Ho'oponopono is really to return ourselves to Zero. As long as you're experiencing something that is uneasy to yourself, that's it. You've just got to take the moment and do something.

It's hard, I know. Most people go, "Well, I can't be cleaning all the time." And this is where it matters that you have a really good working relationship with your Unihipili — the subconscious, your Inner Child.

If your Unihipili is taken care of and it's loved, it's going to become your best friend. And even if you're not conscious of it, Unihipili may save your life.

Irene

To take care of Unihipili, it's also about self-blame. If I took notes of what I say to myself every day, I'm a very, very mean person. And Unihipili is listening to all of it.

Jean

Oh, yeah. I think every day we abuse ourselves. We don't take rest. We push ourselves: "We've got to get this work done." That's abuse too.

But I think the beauty of it is that at the end of the day, you can decide to talk to Unihipili. Even if you felt like you've been very harsh on yourself, you can clean all of those regrets. There's nothing that cleaning cannot address.

With Ho'oponopono, you've got second, third, fourth, fifth, infinite chances to make it right. And you make it right not through what you think or what you feel; it's through the Divine powers. And how beautiful is that?

There Is No "Try"

Jean

Once in our exercise class, they had a sign with Yoda from Star Wars. It said, "There is no try."

Sometimes you think, "I'm going to try and exercise to be better." But there is no try. You either do or you don't. And I said, "Oh, look, that's just like Ho'oponopono." You either apply the cleaning tool or you don't.

Irene

Ihaleakala Hew Len used to often say, "Just do it." So each single moment is an opportunity to do Ho'oponopono.

Jean

That's right. Because Ho'oponopono is about doing.

The How Has Always Been 1.0

Jean

People always ask, "Here's my problem. How do I do it?" And to me, the how never changes. Programs get upgrades, 1.1, 1.2, but Ho'oponopono has always been 1.0, since the beginning to the present.

We forget that we were created by Divinity. Only Divinity knows our true talents, and when this inspiration or blessing should come.

If you think, "I cleaned, so I should get something," that's still looking not through Divinity's eyes but through your own eyes. You really are still a prisoner of your mind.

So it's all about humility. And sometimes it requires patience. If you're about to lose your job or you don't have money, you get desperate. And those are the moments when you just sit down and start cleaning.

Become a Good Detective

Jean

We have to become good detectives ourselves. If you meet somebody and you say, "Oh, this person is really kind of stubborn," you have to catch yourself and clean that thought. You just nip it in the bud.

In other words, your experience changes: how you and your Unihipili flow through the day. And that's why cleaning is 24-7.

But to get to that point, you have to really have a good working relationship between Uhane — the conscious mind — and Unihipili. The mother's function is really to initiate that process, and to make sure that the child is okay.

And if you feel like, "I should be cleaning more," then you clean that thought.

Irene

That sounds really free.

Jean

Because it all goes back to your mind.

Even When You Flip Over, Get Back into the Canoe

Jean

You think, "Wow, this is a wonderful day," and then all of a sudden you trip. Then you simply clean that and get back on.

KR talks about the bike. You hit a bump in the road and you fall off, and you have to get back on. But the analogy that I thought was really good was the canoes.

People here paddle for races. And what they do in the canoes is they practice what they call Huli drills. Huli means to flip over. In case you get hit by waves, you have to be prepared, so they practice where the canoe flips.

Each of the persons has a responsibility for how they get back into the canoe, and they have to continue paddling on. That's what Ho'oponopono is all about. It's a Huli drill.

Irene

We often avoid the Huli. But life is about how to get back to the boat.

Jean

Yeah. In the canoe regatta, they're miles and miles offshore, and they've got to get back to shore. So they practice it, and they know what to do to get back in.

So, same thing with cleaning. You flip over. How are you going to get back up? Clean. The choices are many. You can sit and think about it. You can grumble. You can call a friend. You can Google an answer. But it doesn't get you to Divinity.

When you return to Zero, to Divinity, Divinity can guide you in the path that is perfect and right for you.

And the other part about the canoe is that they were practicing before the storm hits. Ho'oponopono is the same: you can clean when nothing is happening. You can do it before, during, and after.

And it's all within you. You don't have to carry around your computer, or additional programming or equipment. The tools are simply within you, within your mind.

Irene

Wherever we go, we can just apply it. Anytime. No condition needed.

Jean

Yeah, it's compact. We don't have to plug into the electrical system.

Irene

Don't worry about running out of battery.

Jean

You don't need the wireless. The wireless is between you and Divinity.

The wireless is between you and Divinity.

Irene

Beautiful.