07/11/2025
Recently I revisited some notes I had written on forgiveness. And the practice of Ho‘oponopono resurfaced. It means “to make right twice” and “to restore harmony.” It’s about setting things right within oneself, between people, and in the natural and spiritual world.
Before it became widely known as a personal healing method, Ho‘oponopono was a communal ritual led by a kahuna lapa‘au (healer) or elder in Hawaiian families.It was a way of life to Hawaiian people. It involved:
🩷Gathering the family to address conflict or illness.
🩷Prayer to invite divine presence.
🩷Discussion — each person expressing hurt, guilt, and responsibility.
🩷Confession, forgiveness, and release (kala).
🩷Closing prayer and symbolic act of letting go, restoring peace (pono).
🩷sharing a meal.
The premise was that illness or whatever misfortune came from broken relationships and unresolved anger. Healing comes from restoring harmony.
This reflection also reminded me of the importance of neutral spaces. Communal spaces. Spaces that allow for healing to take place. And the role of the Kamatha in Sri Lankan paddy cultivating communities came to the forefront of my mind. The Kamatha, refers to the traditional circular threshing-floor,the place where harvested paddy is brought, stacked and then threshed. A communal space where cultural and religious rituals are performed and sacred markings are made to consecrate the space and place. It is then used as a gathering place, a communal labour site, a space for social and community activity. And most importantly it becomes a unifying space where an interdependent community shares tasks and roles across households. Where dialogue, celebration and reconciliation are intertwined.
Places where we can sit quietly and say;
I’m sorry
please forgive me
thank you
I love you 🩷
🙏
