There are many tools to help us heal ourselves and our relationships with others. Sometimes, we may not know which tool is best suited for a particular situation. But we always have help on the other side to guide us in the right direction, even if we don’t realize it at the time.
About five years ago, I had a disagreement with a friend. I don’t even remember the details of the dispute, but I recall we didn’t interact for several months. The distance between us ached at my heart because I missed our connection. But I was afraid that if I called my friend, she would not pick up the phone, maybe she would yell, or become upset. I got the idea to send a card but I didn’t know exactly what to say. As I sat at my desk with my blue pen against the inside of the card, the words quickly flowed like a babbling brook. Without getting into too much detail, there were four specific things I wrote down.
I told my friend that I loved her because she was a beautiful soul of light and a big part of my life. I apologized for anything that I did to offend her or upset her in any way. I asked for her forgiveness because I wanted to have her as a friend in my life. I thanked her for being part of my life and for the experiences we shared together, which helped us learn and grow.
She called me when she received the card in the mail and we spoke for an hour over the phone catching up on lost time. We both forgave each other and realized we let too much time pass between us. Today we are close friends and see each other on a regular basis.
This past weekend, my friend, Grace, was telling me about a healing mediation she was using called Ho’oponopono. She explained the history of the Hawaiian healing method. Ho’oponopono heals and cleanses all energies with current and past situations and people. It’s about taking full responsibility for your actions, emotions and experiences. You are only cleaning your energy and your reactions to anything and everything you come in contact with especially those things with an emotional charge. The healing process begins by stating the mantra:
I love You
I’m Sorry
Please Forgive Me
Thank You
Ironically, I remembered using these same words when I had the conflict with my friend a few years earlier. At the time that I wrote the letter, I had no knowledge of the Ho’oponopono method and I’m quite sure that someone from the other side aided me with that information. It certainly helped heal the conflict at that time. Now that I know more about the method, I’m going to include it in my daily prayer and mediation. Saying I love you and I am sorry are very powerful statements and can really lead to forgiveness in conflict with others. God gives us a variety of tools to connect and heal all we need to do is engage the methods available to us.
Love and light,
Anysia