Lives in Portland, Oregon.
IZI LLC Master Coordinator & Master Instructor

Ihaleakala speaks only in very simple, short statements, but because he speaks inspiration through cleaning at all times, I have realized many times that the perfect word at the perfect time reaches the person, place, or any identity that hears it. Even in the simplest of moments, a cleaned word can have a huge impact on one’s life.

When I took my first Ho’oponopono class, I was still in the midst of raising seven teenage children. The woman I met in that class was the organizer of a class in Europe two weeks later and invited me to join her and Ihaleakala on the tour.

At the time, just leaving my children and husband behind for a weekend class was too much for me, so going abroad seemed impossible. But at the time, before I could even think about it, I talked to my husband about it. My husband said, “Go ahead, we’ll be fine,” which was something I had never imagined from my days of managing to raise seven children.

So began the journey with Ihaleakala and a dozen or so people I had just gotten to know. We all flew from California to England. Upon arrival, the organizer had a large van ready for us. She told us that we would be traveling together in the van.
I am a worrier by nature and cannot take action without preparation, no matter how small. When the woman, who had never traveled with a stranger before and had no experience driving a van, asked me to sit next to her because she could not read a map, I panicked for a moment.

At that time, I noticed that the other members of the group were also becoming more and more emotional over small things, perhaps because they were also tired from the trip. I looked at Ihaleakala and saw him standing quietly next to the van we had rented. Seeing him reminded me of cleaning, so I ran to the bathroom and did cleaning. Then, for some reason, the idea popped into my head that I should drive it myself. It was not so much a thought as a feeling that I saw in the flow of what was happening.
I went back to the others and first told Ihaleakala that I would drive, and he silently got into the van. Everyone suddenly became quiet and climbed into the van as if they had been assigned seats. From then on, everything went smoothly. I felt safe driving the big van, the woman next to me was reading the map, and the guide was perfectly timed at every moment.

I felt the greatness and power of having just one person in that van, the one being in charge of everything, all the time. In Ho’oponopono, which I had just learned, Ihaleakala repeatedly asked the question. 

“Where is the problem?”
“Who am I?”

When we take responsibility and clean ourselves of whatever is happening in front of us, all of which is a replay of our own memories, then all kinds of things can happen to restore peace to the place.

I have since been given the opportunity of organizing the SITH Ho’oponopono worldwide, but at every moment with Ihaleakala, I continue to feel that I am within that great cleaning process.
Ihaleakala said something like this: “It doesn’t matter who receives the inspiration as a result of your cleaning. I want someone else to receive the inspiration and reclaim their true path, their true self, and it doesn’t have to be me. It could be you, it could be a mailman you have never met, it could be anyone. But when problems arise, the only person responsible for cleaning is yourself.”
It may sound daunting to hear that you are responsible. But after spending time with Ihaleakala and practicing it myself, I have found that the result is always and at all times, peace.

Ihaleakala was a deeply beloved teacher because he embodied moment by moment the perfect relationship with all beings by taking 100% responsibility for the problem.

Mary Koehler