How Dr. Hew Len healed a ward of mentally ill criminals with Ho'oponopono
79Ho’oponopono, the Hawaiian system that heals oneself ... and the world, too
More than thirty years ago, in Hawaii, at the Hawaii State Hospital, there was a special ward, a clinic for the mentally ill criminals. People who had committed extremely serious crimes were assignated there either because they had a very deep mental disorder or because they needed to be checked to see if they were sane enough to stand trial. They had committed murder, rape, kidnapping or other such crimes. According to a nurse that worked there in those years, the place was so bleak that not even the paint could stick to the walls, everything was decaying, terrifying, repulsive. No day would pass without a patient-inmate attacking another inmate or a member of the staff.
The people working there were so frightened that they would walk close to the walls if they saw an inmate coming their way in a corridor, even though they were all shackled, all the time –but more than once this wouldn’t stop an agression. The inmates would never be brought outside to get fresh air because of their relentlessly threatening attitude. The scarcity of staff was a chronic occurrence. Nurses, wardens, employees would prefer to be on sick-leave most of the time in order not to confront such a depressive and dangerous environment.
Dr. Hew Len, the Teacher of Ho'oponopono
Enters Dr. Hew Len
One day, a newly appointed clinical psychologist, a Dr. Stanley Hew Len, arrived at the ward. The nurses rolled their eyes, bracing themselves for one more guy that was going to bug them with new theories and proposals to fix the horrid situation, who would walk away as soon as things became unpleasant, around a month later, usually. However, this new doctor wouldn’t do anything like that. Actually he didn’t seem to be doing anything in particular, except just coming in and being always cheerful and smiling, in a very natural, relaxed way. He wasn’t even particularly early in arriving every morning. From time to time he would ask for the files of the inmates.
He never tried to see them personally, though. Apparently he just sat in an office, looked at their files, and to members of the staff who showed an interest he would tell them about a weird thing called Ho’oponopono. Little by little things started to change in the hospital. One day somebody would try again to paint those walls and they actually stayed painted, making the environement more palatable. The gardens started being taken care of, some tennis courts were repaired and some prisonners that up until then would never be allowed to go outside started playing tennis with the staff. Other prisonners would be allowed not to be shackled any more, or would receive less heavy pharmacological drugs. More and more obtained permission to go outside unshackled, without causing trouble to the hospital’s employees.
In the end, the athmosphere changed so much that the staff was not on sick leave any more. Actually, more people than needed wished now to work there. Prisonners started gradually to be released. Dr. Hew Len worked there close to four years. In the end, there remained only a couple of inmates that were relocated somewhere else and the clinic for the mentally insane criminals had to close.
Another self-help book?
I have to confess that I don’t remember reading in my whole life one single self-help book. Titles like how to get wealthy in two simple steps or the sure road to love and riches or marketing with the stars or secure your health with this ancient secret of the mayas never passed from my eyes to my consciousness, I simply never payed attention to them.
So when my neighbor Norma, an 81 year young lady filled with strength, enthousiasm and New York witt, told me: “rosario, you have to read this new book by Joe Vitale”, I stared at her with probably a blank expression, and I asked “who is Joe Vitale?” The extent of my ignorance was too wide for her to try to diminish it, so she replied, “never mind, you have to read this book”. “It’s about a doctor who emptied a ward for mentally insane criminals in a couple of years, just saying a few words to himself.”
I asked, “could you repeat what you just said?” And she did. The book displayed all the signs of the self-help book: ZERO LIMITS, The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More, but it was too late, I had heard about the doctor and I had developed an instant frenzy, a desperate need to learn what he had done with the crazy criminals, so I grabbed the book and rushed home and started reading, and I didn’t stop until the last word.
What did Dr. Hew Len do to the patients, how did he treat them that the results were so spectacular? He didn’t do anything. Not a thing to them nor with them, except looking at their files. He only tried to heal himself, applying an old, traditional community problem-solving system from Hawaii, called Ho’oponopono, adapted to individuals by his Teacher, the late Hawaiian sage Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona. And what was he doing to himself? In his own words: “I was simply healing the part of me that created them”.
Actually, he used to sit in his office and look at the patients' files. While perusing them, he would feel something, a pain, an empathy. Then he started the healing on himself, taking full responsibility for what was going on with a given patient. That's how those people got better, because their doctor had the strange view that it was himself who needed the healing, not them.
Ho’oponopono
Simply put, Ho’oponopono is based on the knowledge that anything that happens to you or that you perceive, the entire world where you live is your own creation and thus, it is entirely your responsibility. A hundred percent, no exceptions.
Your boss is a tyrant? It’s your responsibility. Your children are not good students? It’s your responsibility. There are wars and you feel bad because you are a good person, a pacifist? The war is your responsibility. You see that children around the world are hungry and malnourished if not starving? Their wont is your responsibility. No exceptions. Literally, the world is your world, it is your creation. As Dr. Hew Len points out: didn’t you notice that whenever you experience a problem you are there?
It’s your responsibility doesn’t mean it’s your fault, it means that you are responsible for healing yourself in order to heal whatever or whoever it is that appears to you as a problem.
It might sound crazy, or just plain metaphorical, that the world is your creation. But if you look carefully, you will realize that whatever you call the world and perceive as the world is your world, it is the projection of your own mind. If you go to a party you can see how in the same place, with the same light, the same people, the same food, drink, music and athmosphere, some will enjoy themselves while others will be bored, some will be overenthousiastic and some depressed, some will be talkative and others will be silent. The “out there” for every one of them seems the same, but if one were to connect their brains to machines immediately it would show how different areas of the brain would come alive, how different perceptions there are from one person to the next. So even if they apparently share it, the “out there” is not the same for them, let alone their inner world, their emotions.
How do you heal yourself with Ho’oponopono? Three steps: by recognizing that whatever comes to you is your creation, the outcome of bad memories buried in you mind; by regretting whatever errors of body, speech and mind caused those bad memories, and by requesting Divine Intelligence within yourself to release those memories, to set you free. Then, of course, you say thank You.
There are seminars where they teach you many tricks to help this process, but according to Joe Vitale, Dr. Hew Len himself uses the simplest of the formulas from Ho’oponopono. Whenever a matter arises –and they arise incessantly– adressing the Divine within you, you only have to say: I love You, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank You.
That we can obtain big things from Ho’oponopono has already been shown: the healing of an entire ward of insane criminals seems far more difficult a task than any of our personal troubles. There are, no doubt, piles of testimonies from practitioners. Dr. Hew Len says, however: this is not fast food. The cleaning of memories requires a lot of concentration and persistence and is an unending job. But the result is what he calls Zero Limits, a state where one is free from the past, and suffused with Divine Intelligence and love.
Rosario Montenegro
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Dr. Joe Vitale, author of Zero Limits
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Comments
Hi fiery! I'm so glad you liked it but wait! I don't think this is supernatural like what you usually call miracles. This man is teaching something that any person can use. This is something that you and I can do too. Of course, Dr. Len has many years of practice, but I don't think he had so many years doing it when he was in the Hawaii Hospital.
This is something that you can use for every day things. It's more like a view of the world that you apply to your life. But I don't know if you are interested. If you are, I can write some more about it.
Always a pleasure to see you. rosario
that book changed my life and I just found out that joe vitale has release a new seminar called Zero Limits Maui. Feel free to check out my hub.
Of course, I'm interested. If you can, do write some more about it.
Fiery, I will do it. Just give me some time. Thank you for visiting. r
Que interesante Rosario!
Te mando un besote
Hola Sofía, qué bueno que te gustó. Mil gracias por leerlo.
Hi Sofía, I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for reading it.
hello rosario,
thank you for this story; I know this story now for about two weeks, read all about it on the internet and this hooponoponothing is like coming home.
But (sometime) rational silly me says: how can I explain to my friends that these people in this ward actually were healed? Is it documentated and where can I find this?
Can you help me with this?
Hi Alexa, thank you for your visit and your kind request.
I'm so glad that you feel that ho'oponopono is like coming home. I have to thank you for telling me this because I write these hubs mostly to help people find some really valuable tools for their lives.
About your question: actually in the book "Zero Limits" there is a whole account of these facts about the Hawaii Hospital not only from Dr. Hew Len himself, but also a very impressive one by a nurse that used to work there in those years. To me, the fact that with ho'oponopono even the physical surroundings started changing is as astonishing as the healing of the inmates.
No matter what, the best proof you are going to have is through your own practice. Read carefully this hub because just with what you have there you can start doing it. "I Love You, I'm Sorry, Please forgive me, Thank You!" If you do it consciously you'll be surprised with the results.
Good luck with the practice.
Thank you Rosario for your wise words and your answer to my question. In the few weeks I know Ho'oponopono now and take 100% responsibility for what comes into my life, I notice Divinity is helping me all the way through(at least I think is helping, what the bleep do I know?).
I ordered this book, Zero Limits, and I think it's on a ship somewhere to the Netherlands, because I didn't receive it yet. So, trying to find more and more about Ho'oponopono on the internet, I found this free manual by Mornnah Simeona and Rev. James Vinson Wingo. I'm not sure that I want to bother you with this, but it confused me. The manual states, that recent research has showed that the technique, as described in Zero Limits, when Dr. Len constantly uses the four phrases, is not effective and even would influence the unconsious in a negative way. The manual offers an advanced technique, to learn from dvd's to buy.
I hardly believe this can be true and I think it's a selling technique. But maybe I'm wrong. Again: what the bleep do I know?
Listen, I love you for the contact we have, and I'm sorry that apparantly I'm unaware of knowing what feels right. Please forgive me that I bring this up in your life now and in these hubs. And I thank you for being here now.
I can't wait till the ship has reached Holland.
Hi Alexa. I'm happy you bought the book.
About the reverend, I don't know who he is. The old lady shaman passed away years ago.
I've found in the internet (and they even appear sometimes close to my hub) a bunch of people who claim that they know better what Simeona was doing and that they hold her true heritage. Maybe. But I'm not interested in them nor even in her for that matter. I'm interested in the guy who emptied a war of insane criminals with his method.
Actually what the old lady used to do was some type of group activity where people in discord would sit down, tell each one their complaints, and then having her as a witness they would reconcile and recite some prayers in common: a type of traditional Hawaiian family therapy.
Dr. Hew Len was Simeona's disciple and he doesn't explain how they both came up with this entirely different method to be practiced by the individuals.
No matter what, these are two very distinct things, the traditional community solving technique, and what Dr. Hew Len teaches, a practice for the individual alone.
Actually what Dr. Hew Len teaches is a type of silent mental revolution, an entire putting upside down of our belief system. Where we look for culprits everywhere, from the relationship with our parents or our spouses to the malice of our boss or colleagues, from society's injustices to astrological inauspiciousness, this teacher suggests that we take responsibility for the whole universe. A change of vision so profound has nothing in common with any advanced technique to obtain things.
Only you can decide which one suits you.
Good luck with the reading!
Thank you Rosario for your clear explanation. I know I already decided, because like you I was completely put upside down on my own thinking and vieuws by what this man did and I immediatly felt this was the right thing for me. Like I said: I felt like coming home, even all the furniture was upside down and nothing was in it's usual place.
I'm looking forward to this book. Thanks again!
Alexa, you are most welcome! I wish you could've taken a picture of that upside down furniture. :>)
For everyone that's interested but that can't afford the book, I believe Joe Vitale makes it available for free on his website, if not you can download the audiobook from torrents.
He really doesn't mind if you procure it that way. Am i wrong Rosario?
I don't know, thank you for the tip, I'll try to check it when I have time.
hi rosariomontenegro ,
thanks for sharing this wonderful story, i heard about this from a friend. I wonder whether the story of healing the mental ward is true. I wonder u know many patients were involved in above healing, and do u personally have any experience to share pertaining to hooponopono.
thank you so much.
darcy
Hi Darcy, thank you for your comment.
Some of the description I do about the ward comes from the testimony of a direct witness, the nurse that gave a detailed account to Joe Vitale. She was working there in those years so there you go.
Experience to share? I don't know how to describe this adventure. Just reading about it puts the mind at ease, gives that profound peace that comes when truth resonates in your heart.
You have to try it yourself, not like a formula with the four sentences but just sitting down for a while and thinking about it, how the world we live in is our creation, and how we might start taking responsibility for it. Then start talking to the Divine that is not out there but inside yourself ... afterwards you might want to share the experience yourself.
Best wishes!
Thank you Rosario,
for this answer to Darcy. You have a way of explaining things that calms my mind. Maybe you want to share something with me that was in your last answer, that I can't comprehend. I know it's not something for the intellect to understand, but maybe you'll find the words.
You wrote: Then start talking to the Divine that is not out there but inside yourself.
How do you do this? Is this different from taking to yourself? When I read about Ho'oponopono on the net, there's talking to the inner child, talking to the inner Divinaty. How do you talk to each of them? Or is this al the same? Part of me is my inner chuld, part of me Divinity, part of me myself. I am all of that. Can I just talk to myself? What's the difference for you?
Or is this the intellect that wants answers and there are none?
Thank you, Alexa
Alexa, I just found your message but it's almost one in the morning. I'll come back to you probably tomorrow. Thank you for your questions.
Alexa, did you read the book? If you could read just Dr. Hew Len's writings it would be easier. To fish in the internet, well ... it might become confusing.
Since you ask for advice, I would say, forget about the inner child and other parts of yourself. Think of whomever or whatever is for you the sacredest of all. If you believe in God, of course it has to be God. If you are a buddhist like me, for me it is my Teacher, who is one and the same nature as all the Buddhas. For an atheist I don't know, whatever they feel as sacred, like "the universe" or "universal energy", whatever.
That divine being is going to be the focus of your attention when you say "I love you" and so forth. And you are going to close your eyes and address him in the depths of your mind. Your mind is limitless, so it can encompass the Divine, and the Divine is inseparable from you.
Start with this. Just focus on the Divine, or Divine Intelligence within, and recite the four sentences.
More later.
Hello Rosario,
yes I've read the book, even three times now. The first time I was like hungry to swallow all these new visions, the second time I felt like Dr. Len's words went straight to my heart but the way Dr. Vitale was telling this didn't feel good to me, and the third time I saw the big selling-promotion of Dr. Vitale himself, one big advertisement to sell himself. I once visited his website - one of his many - and since then I keep receiving emails of free ways to become a millionaire, have a bigger house or a huge car. The man wrote this after writing his book about Dr. Len and Ho'oponopono. I don't get it....
Your story about Dr. Len is beautiful, Rosario, so is this Vitale-story about the ward, but the rest of the book ....???
So I had to go back to the internet, to find more about this Dr.Len. And believe me, there are a few sites that give perfect information about Dr. Len and about Self I-Dentity through Ho'oponopono. There's even a new forum started. And these sites don't aim to get rich and wealthy and they suit me well, because somehow I don't think if there's a Divinity, that this Divinity's worry is how to give us a huge car, how this enormous house is going to be delivered to us or, if you have smaller wishes, how Divinity is giving us a free parking place.
So, yes I've read the book and I'm sorry to say I'm a little bit dissapointed by it. I love Dr. Len's words somewhere else on the internet and in videos on YouTube, but I honestly doubt if Mr. Vitale put down Dr.Len's words correctly on paper.
I heard Dr.Len state, in one of those 9 videos, that he hadn't read the book himself yet, and I know Mr.Vitale writes somewhere, that the next seminar he's organising with Dr.Len is unfortunatly the last one.
I can imagine why ...
Somewhere in this blog Rosario, you state you gonna write more about Ho'oponopono and I hope you will and I'm looking forward to your wise words.
I'll be visiting this place again!
Alexa
Hi Alexa, thanks for visiting again. I understand how these spiritual things go to our hearts and for a while we feel so uplifted, so in agreement with them that we feel that our lives have shifted. You described this so well some time ago ... even the furniture in your home seemed to be upside down. Buddhist teachers call this type of reaction "goose bump wisdom" and warn you that even though it's a great jumpstart for the mind, if you don't immediately follow up with serious practice and learning it will fade and disappear.
Alexa, I don't know anything about your own spiritual path, but in a general way I would say that these teachings about Ho'oponopono are perfect for anybody regardless of religion or not religion, because Dr. Hew Len expresses them in a way that is flexible enough to suit the minds of most people. But everyone has to do its own path. For me, being a Buddhist, I found in Ho'oponopono a curious way of expressing something that I knew before through my own religious lineage, and I was surprised by the refreshing way Dr. Len inspired me with still more faith. I admire the way he puts universal truths in a way that most anybody can adapt to their own mindset. But of course if somebody didn't have anything at all as spiritual path before, I just don't know how sustainable this vision is, because precisely for being so in agreement with truth it's a very difficult vision to accept and/or maintain.
So I understand that you feel the need for having more reading to do, other opinions to check. Still, as I said before, the only thing that really counts is to sit down and practice in the heart, in your mind.
Now, about Joe Vitale. Just go to the end of any of his messages and unsubscribe yourself from his mailing list.
Why are you concentrating on him? He was just an instrument to make the Ho’Oponopono known to the world. And he is a good guy: the way he prays the reader, in the book, to do Ho’Oponopono for a desperate lady that he does not know how to help is quite touching and shows a kind heart. I don’t share his universe of sport cars and marketing techniques but why should he be like me? I bless him that he had the genious for discovering Dr. Hew Len and make him known to the world. No matter what, if you are applying Ho’Oponopono then you know that you yourself created that Joe Vitale of your mind, the one you are describing in your message.
Some time ago I already told you the following and forgive me if I repeat it:
Actually what Dr. Hew Len teaches is a type of silent mental revolution, an entire putting upside down of our belief system. Where we look for culprits everywhere, from the relationship with our parents or our spouses to the malice of our boss or colleagues, from society's injustices to astrological inauspiciousness, this teacher suggests that we take responsibility for the whole universe. A change of vision so profound has nothing in common with any advanced technique to obtain things.
Alexa, thank you so much for writing, it helps my mind to answer. I wish you the best, and you are always welcome.
Thank you very very much Rosario,
you showed me perfectly I was only describing the Joe Vitale in my mind. I wonder why I did this: probably because I saw the glass half empty again at that time. I shouldn't concentrate on him, you're right. I guess I needed you to explain to me again and again this what Dr. Len is showing, is a type of silent mental revolution, and has nothing to do, indeed, with obtaining things. I think I know what your answer will be: this, alexa is also in your own mind.
Thank you for welcoming me on this place. I'll be looking forward to your clear explaining of Ho'oponopono in the future.
Alexa
Alexa, you are the one helping me too. When you appear in my mind no doubt you are part of myself and I have to contemplate deeper to understand what you are telling me. Again, you are always welcome here or anywhere in the web of our minds and in the world web ... With all my heart I wish you a great practice!
Thank you Rosario.
(What a beautiful way to put: 'you are always welcome anywhere in the web of our minds'. This goes straight to my heart!)
After hearing a speaker (just speak briefly) about this technique/state of mind and the prison that a Dr. Len "set free", I began researching Ho'oponopono.
I have for years been allowing my "inner child" to rule my thoughts. I have allowed myself to be a victim and to think negatively, when I thought I was creating from inspiration. True inspiration is beautiful and hard to achieve.
I want to thank both of you....Alexa and Rosario. You both are the struggles within myself. It was only when I read through the conversations that you two had, I realized where I needed to begin. Thank you and bless you both!
Well, your kind comment justifies these small hubs that are just like bottles tossed to the ocean. Thank you for reading the message in the bottle.
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fierycj says:
7 months ago
That's interesting stuff. It really gets me going. As an aspiring director who tends to delve into the paranormal, I find stories about supernatural healing very intriguing. Great hub! I'm surprised there are no comments on it.
It's very original and truly classic. I can hardly spell or pronounce the method, though. lol.