Ho’oponopono Part 2 Of 4

Creating reality through interpretation and projection

Note: As this subject needs a deeper explanation the article is broken down into four parts.
The first deals with the nature of interconnectedness and the technique of Ho’oponopono
The second explains how we create reality through interpretation and projection
The third deals with how our mutually created realities are formed.
The fourth analyzes the details of our inner content and how we contribute to the world situation.

We create our subjective reality by the way in which we interpret behaviors, situations and events. Unfortunately most often we are not perceiving what is there, but actually perceiving what we have been programmed to believe is there. Our belief system works as a filter that subjectively and selectively interprets whatever is perceived in ways that corroborate what we already believe and ignores what we do not.

For example, if we believe that others will reject us and do not love us, we will interpret their suggestions or other actions as a form of rejection and lack of love for us even when that is simply not reality. We have all been surprised to discover that people have misinterpreted our actions, believing that we had motives and feelings that we never had.

We do the same. We project onto persons and situations motives and dangers that simply are not there. When we do so, we experience fear, pain, bitterness, creating unnecessary unhappiness for ourselves and others.

Conflicting Belief Systems and Memories

We could subdivide our beliefs into the following categories.

1. Emotionally Charged Impressions - These are not so much beliefs as "emotionally charged impressions" that are imprinted on the mind during traumatic experiences. The mind then identifies this particular stimulus with an emotionally charged feeling, and when we think of it, we feel fear and other emotions. This kind of “belief” has a strong “emotional charge” but is not based on observations and facts, but rather on one or two intense experiences, which are not representative of reality.

2. Mistaken Childhood Conclusions - These are mistaken beliefs about reality in which we perceive ourselves as weak, wrong, unlovable and to blame for just about everything that happens around us such as our parents’ anger, absence, unhappiness, indifference, divorce, illness, and even their death. We falsely interpret that we are unworthy or unable and that others will always behave towards us in ways that we experienced in childhood.

These first two categories are usually repressed in the subconscious mind (in the «shadow», or inner child) because of the pain and confusion they produce. We suppress them so that we can focus and function in our daily lives.

Although these "beliefs" are repressed so that we do not feel the unpleasant negative emotional energy charge associated with them, they are activated whenever we come into contact with or think of a specific stimulus. They generate fear, emotional withdrawal and often aggressive behavior. They also create psychosomatic illnesses. They control our reactions to events, situations and persons. Most importantly, they attract the realities we encounter.

Because of their repression and subsequent isolation from our conscious mind, these first two belief systems do not evolve as we do. They remain in their original state regardless of our evolving logic, reasoning, new experiences and spiritual faith. Unless we engage in inner psychological or spiritual work, they receive no new data.

3. Our Evolving Conscious Belief System - This is our conscious belief system which, as it processes new data, reevaluates its perceptions of reality seeking to make the adjustments necessary to understand the truths behind the phenomena we observe.

This conscious belief system is evolving in a small number of people. Many have stopped processing new data and thus have remained with the same conscious belief system for many years and will leave their bodies with it.

This belief system understands that we are safe, secure, good, worthy and capable. It also realizes that we are not in danger from people, heights, cars, insects, dogs, cats, elevators, airplanes etc. The facts available to it cause it to realize that its fears are unfounded. It also realizes that our self-worth has nothing to do with what others say, think or do.

4 Our Spiritual Intuitive Faith - These beliefs are usually based on intuition or faith rather than proof. We feel that what we believe is true. In addition to being affected by others’ spiritual beliefs, we also experience our own inner awakenings or revelations in which we just "know" that something is true.

According to Ho’oponpono this divine inspiration can occur only when the mind is purified of the previous three types of mental content, all of which are limited by memory.

We often have simultaneous beliefs, which are working at different levels creating conflicting emotions and reactions to events and situations. We can simultaneously feel love, peace, hurt and anger because our various beliefs are creating different internal realities.

Thus one basic way in which we create our reality is the way in which we interpret whatever is happening in our lives. No two persons create the same reality with the same external stimuli.

Creating reality through attraction and mirroring

The second factor contributing to our personal reality is how we actually attract or create the events that occur in our lives - what actually happens to us. There are three popular beliefs about this.

1. There are no laws. All happens and exists by chance. Creation is an accident with no reason or purpose.

2. There is a Divine being that creates and controls all that happens in our lives.

3. We ourselves are the creators of what happens to us, by our previous and present actions and choices.

Let us look at each possible answer in more detail.

1. It is difficult to belief that there is no cause, reason or laws governing creation when the sciences of physics, chemistry and biology present us with a magnificent image of order, intelligence, interdependency and innate wisdom. The existence of an intelligent consciousness behind the phenomena we observe is more than obvious.

2. Although it seems to be true on some levels that an unperceivable divine power is responsible for much of what happens, there seem to be other factors involved in the creation of our personal reality, including free will and our own personal efforts or lack of effort. Or perhaps we could explain it in another way. Divine will can create our lives to the degree that we do not interfere or resist.

The problem with the perception that all is created by a divine being and that we have no participation in the creation of our reality is that we have difficulty in perceiving a sense of justice or responsibility regarding what happens. Why are some born without sight or hearing or the use of their limbs or into families that abuse and emotionally damage them for life? Why do some die after a few years and others live long lives? Why do some lose their loved ones and others not. Why do some good people who make good efforts get unfortunate results?

3. The third answer, that we ourselves are the creators of our reality seems to explain a larger more encompassing portion of the reality we perceive. This explanation becomes even more understandable when we remove the illusion of separation between us as individual expressions of the divine and divinity itself. When we perceive ourselves as temporary expressions of divine consciousness or divine energy in the physical realm, it becomes clear that we are all individually and collectively creating our personal and social reality.

We are the divine itself encased in temporary bodies. We are creating and forming our reality. We do so in various ways.

a. The past. Our previous thoughts, actions, choices, feelings and words all a have causal impact on our present reality. This concept is accepted by all religions and spiritual philosophies. Not all may believe in reincarnation but all do believe in cause and effect, as we have already mentioned. Our choices to care for ourselves or not, to communicate sincerely and honestly or not, to help and love others or not, to free ourselves from fears or not, all have their effect on our present reality.

b. The present. Our present thoughts, beliefs, expectations, fears, guilt and other emotions and behaviors all create our present reality through the "laws of reflection and attraction". Others and life itself reflect back to us the content of our mind and behavior on all levels. If we reject ourselves, fear or expect rejection, or reject others, we attract rejection. If we think, speak or act antagonistically or egotistically, we attract the same. Basically we attract whatever we fear, love, desire and hate as well as what we expect and what we do.

Life wisely mirrors back to us our own thoughts, emotions, beliefs, roles and behaviors, offering us an opportunity to look inward and let go of those aspects of ourselves that are attracting what is unpleasant for us. In such a case, our lesson is to discover what is being reflected and transform it. Otherwise we will continue to attract our present reality. This fact is basic to Ho’oponopono. This is what we need to clean in order to heal what we are co-creating.

It is important to understand that the power and opportunity for positive change is in the present and no where else. We cannot change the past - but we can change our perception of the past - and thus its effect upon us, in the present. We do not know the future, but can form it by our choices in the now moment.

Some people accept negative realities believing that it is some "karma" that they have to suffer. There is no benefit from suffering or being punished if we do not learn something from the experience and if it does not initiate change. The concept that we must suffer for past mistakes has no value if that pain does not become an opportunity for growth.

3. Our soul choices. The third factor that determines the nature of the events occurring in our lives is our "soul choices". We as souls chose even before birth that we would like to or need to learn certain lessons as a part of our evolutionary process. If we have chosen to learn self-acceptance, we will naturally "make a contract" with those close to us to test our ability to feel our self-worth even in the face of disapproval or rejection. If we have decided to learn unconditional love or forgiveness, we will logically choose close contact with persons who will be difficult for us to love. In this way we have the opportunity to overcome our fears and love even those persons. If we would like to learn self-dependency, we will set up a life drama in which we will not easily find support from others. We also have the free will to resist learning any of those lessons.

When we are passing through difficult times, it may not because we have been "bad" in the past, but because we have chosen to learn specific lessons.

Through Ho’oponopono we are releasing those persons with whom we have made these «contracts» from the need to continue playing their roles that test us, because we have learned the lesson, which is to take responsibility for our reality and love them.

Thus, we and all others create our personal and collective reality through our:

a. Past beliefs, words, choices, actions and behaviors.

b. Present beliefs, words, expectations, choices, actions and behaviors.

c. Our soul decisions to learn certain lessons.

d. How our presently programmed belief systems interpret what is happening