Peace in Every Moment

Many people write resolutions this time of year, and we know what often happens.

Our lists are long and convoluted, often encompassing pounds of grief, anguish, guilt, and previous years' incompletions. We intend to wipe our slates clean and start over, as if all insecurities could vanish overnight.

Right.

Please forgive my questioning such long-held tradition. But I feel battered by so many recent emails promising to 'motivate' and propel me 'to the next level' -- as if where I am is not good enough. Maybe you have received these too? The ones offering to "coach" you, remake you, and overhaul your very being?

To me, there's more right than 'wrong' with most of us. I've felt this for many years, and am not alone.

Earlier this year, I met Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, a Hawaiian psychologist teaching "Self-Identity ho'oponopono" (hoh-oh-poh-noh-POH-noh), an ancient process of forgiveness and stress reduction. It's about valuing who we really are . . . rather than focusing so on outer achievements, accolades, and intellectuality.

Ho'oponopono also involves accepting 100% responsibility for whatever appears in our lives. According to Dr. Hew Len, people and situations show up because of accumulated memories from the past -- which we can ask Divinity within us to cleanse. It's our choice to do this, or to continue engaging in whatever chaos might be presenting itself at the time.

The practice is called "cleaning", and can be like a mantra of sorts.

Spending time with Dr. Hew Len and his colleagues (http://www.hooponopono.org/) can be quite uncanny. On the one hand, it undoes ideas that WE are 'in charge' of our outcomes, while it simultaneously models care for our innate selves. And although ho'oponopono is not a religion, it reconnects people with aspects of themselves that are eternal -- yet may have long been ignored.

Ho'oponopono views our basic selves as perfect; 'data' from old (often multigenerationally held) memories skews our present experience. It is this 'data' that needs cleaning and releasing, not us.

Practicing ho'oponopono generates profound peacefulness. Similar states are described by Mindfulness Meditation masters such as Thich Nhat Hahn and Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn; shamanic and Native American healers; even Christianity refers to the "peace which passeth all understanding".

It is wondrous that so many traditions reach a similar confluence point.

The basic idea with ho'oponopono is that each moment offers a choice to either release chaos, or continue struggling. No annual resolution lists are required, since one is practicing a constant process all year long. Each 'problem' offers a new opportunity, just like the New Year does . . . only on a smaller and possibly more manageable scale.

For me this seems simpler; also, we each can do it on our own. In fact, that's the point: dealing with what is inside us, rather than criticizing or complaining about others.

To learn the basics of ho'oponopono, Dr. Hew Len and others offer weekend seminars. http://www.hooponopono.org/ tells more. I have been grateful to meet many others working with themselves in this way; it's helping me along my own journey. Who knows -- lives might transmute 'to the next level' all on their own. :-)

Happy 2008, and beyond.

Christmas in Hopiland

I've been fortunate to spend my Christmas in Arizona, although some might not see it that way.

After all, how can it ever seem like winter here? Well, it was surely 10 degrees or less on the Hopi Reservation the other night. My bones felt it as the wind blew. Also, some snow was on the ground despite the sunny day. It's what happens at 6000+ feet in elevation.

People of all generations gathered to enjoy bounty from so many others -- playing games, singing carols, sharing their food as well as the warmth of their homes. Most heat their homes with wood or coal when they have it, not electricity or gas.

One elderly matriarch described special preparations this time of year, such as the men making prayer feathers to bless all the households. Trouble is, this year the main ceremonial leader had been hospitalized at the last minute, disrupting plans. Others had to assume his position, and she worried that eventually they might lose the old ways if younger people did not learn correctly.

These rituals aren't on videos; they're orally transmitted.

I thought about how many had been taken from their homes as children, sent off to boarding schools and forbidden to speak their native language or practice their religion. Then, several years ago, some special relics were stolen from the Hopi kiva in which they were kept. This woman explained how this had demoralized them, and certain villages had stopped doing their ceremonies.

I was glad that in Shongopavi, the old ways still survive. Otherwise she might not be telling me about this.

There was also a small Christmas tree in the home, and the children knew about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. One little boy wanted my antlers, which I'd donned for celebration. Of course I was happy to give them to him. He danced around the house on all fours, imitating Santa's favorite critters.

I also hoped he would someday be among those preparing prayer feathers for his tribe. Many voices sing of peace at Christmas, and some of the most heartful are Hopi. May they sing in their own way, always.

Winter Solstice -- on our way to Healing

Tonight, December 21st, is Winter Solstice --- which many know as the longest night of the year. I think of past years in my life, where many nights DID seem like "the longest," but not in a happy way.

This year is different.

The night is cold and dark here in Sedona, where I am preparing for an early morning trip to the Hopi reservation for a special Christmas project inspired by the Crossing Worlds Foundation. http://www.crossingworlds.org/ Somehow I have become part of this group headed by Sandra Cosentino, which collects and delivers supplies, food, and Christmas gifts to Hopi people living on the reservation.

These people have been kind to me by offering their hospitality and healing ways during a vision quest last year. They have also allowed me to experience some of their ceremonies and dances, which they have been doing for thousands of years. With help from the Katsinas, they do this to keep the world in balance. What they do benefits everyone, including non-Hopi.

So, I offer my thanks by helping with Crossing Worlds, and am excited to think of the journey that will come. Boxes of oranges, apples, yams, carrots, eggs, cheese . . . and great toys for the kids who will sing carols with us. My SUV is filled to the gills, but my heart is even fuller. :-)