What if love and forgiveness really IS the answer? I know thats alot easier to say than to do, but its at least conceivable. However, what if we are also 100% responsible for the entire universe we have created which includes everything and everybody we ever heard of? I can already easily admit to having a boatload of personal shortcomings. I think I am the King of Resentment and Permanently Held Grudges. I often live in the Land of Blame and Shame. On the other hand, I try to practice having a balanced perspective and giving other people a chance, even if I dont agree with them. Still, I  find it hard to believe I created and am in ANY way responsible for Karl Rove and Charles Manson. I would rather take credit for having invented Raquel Welch and Megan Fox.

Recently I read more about a healing approach called Ho’oponopono. Actually, in the past I was somewhat familiar with Ho’oponopono as a community based healing ceremony used by the native Hawaiian culture. It was, as I remembered it, all about everyone taking responsibility for some “wrong” that was committed and together sharing the ownership of the solution. All that made sense to me intuitively, the idea being instead of polarizing and blaming one person for a problem (which just generates more anger and denial) jointly accepting responsibility with a spirit of love which then promotes forgiveness and healing. No problem. However, there are some practitioners of Hawaiian healing that take this idea even further to suggest one needs to ALWAYS start healing with themselves , no matter if the problem is Iran’s nuclear ambitions, somebody’s kid getting run over by a drunk driver, or my favorite private reserve of ruminations about my family, former friends and past relationship partners who have mistreated me and/or “done me wrong” (insert appropriate country western tune here). Forget Iran, I cant even fathom how I caused my first girlfriend at age 17 to run off with my best friend on our joint family beach vacation. Well, actually, to be totally honest I can SOMEWHAT imagine how that happened because I wasn’t exactly the most loving or sympathetic boyfriend on Planet Earth, or I guess Planet Cliff, if this Hawaiian dude is to be believed.

Dammit, I hate seeing my part in things!! It sucks the Victim/Country Song/anger and blame energy right out of me!! Anyway, maybe you get the idea now.

The sticky part of this Quantum exercise is going to be the self forgiveness stuff. I know some people will perhaps not believe me since I have postured myself, ye good olde CaptCliff, as this sarcastic know-it-all (can you spell Narcissistic Personality Disorder?) who is absolutely flummoxed by the worlds stupidity and the endless ways humanity has found to screw up  (see the Challenger Accident, Vietnam, Richard Nixon, et. al….ad infinitum). I talk about how much I hate Joran Vandersloot and what a dumb loony chick like Dr. Mary Hamer is for wanting to be his “spiritual guide”. I get off on making fun of others for their cardinal sins but I honestly also feel alot of shame, blame and embarrassment about my shortcomings and personal failures. I guess I pitch alot of rocks at glass houses (both mine and others) and then tell people not to do that…..lol? According to my “Cliff Notes” for this Hawaiian healing method ( quickly reading Wikipedia and speed watching You Tube videos on the subject) the central meditation of Ho’oponopono ( just how impossible is that to say let alone type correctly??) is : 1) I’m sorry 2) Please forgive me 3) I love you 4) Thank You.

   I know…it seems way too easy….at least to say. Again, I tried it on myself this morning and I got to about the second word “sorry” and began to have a sudden and inexplicable urge to eat a massive, possibly fatal dose of strawberry pop-tarts and fried chicken. See, there I go again, using my self deprecating humor to deflect from the greater truth, which is that it is hard to forgive myself. Ok, I said it…and know I will need to work on it..over time. The universe, my universe, and even Karl Rove depends on it. Of course a trip to Hawaii and a big plate of teriyaki beef with two scoops rice and gravy while sitting on the beach in the sun and drinking a Mai Tai sounds like an excellent way to symbolically “incorporate” the full healing experience. Forget the Strawberry Pop Tarts, even tho I guess I did technically invent them too in this, my big beautiful universe……….