The Ho‘Oponopono Way of Life: A Model for Awakening and Embracing the Human Soul’s True Identity

By Donna Marie Vida B. A.

Are you ready to unlock the wisdom and treasures that exist in your inner spiritual realm and that are awaiting a connection with you now? You can manifest the life you long for, expand your awareness and definition of self, and realize your full potential and ability to create a more peaceful world.
The Hooponopono Way of Life guides you through exercises and process that put you in charge of your own inner journey. Clear and informative, it helps you understand the core being of who you are, awakens your inner truth and understanding that you are pure creative light energy, and teaches simple ways to transform and heal your body, mind, and spirit. This how-to manual for upgrading your consciousness presents the daily spiritual practice of hooponopono, a sacred process founded on universal principles that serves as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds. The process guides us in making the pono (right) choices that create more balance and harmony in our life and the world.
Featuring relatable stories and lessons, this self-improvement guide reveals the power in your thoughts, feelings, and life experiences and awakens your inner reservoir of true wealth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Mar 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781982279127

Donna Marie Vida B. A.

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Donna Marie Vida, BA. has had a successful career in education, mental health, and human services spanning more than thirty-years. Her work embodies the attributes of visionary, community builder, programmer, director, teacher, counselor, horticultural therapist, facilitator, coach, strategist, and peacemaker. She has helped many people bring balance and harmony into their lives by teaching the daily spiritual practice of hooponopono, a transformative process that helped her to heal from lupus and cancer.

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Copyright © 2022 Donna Marie Vida, B.A.

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any

technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the

advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer

information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-

being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your

constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7911-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7913-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-7912-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022900930

Balboa Press rev. date: 03/15/2022

Endorsements for Donna Vida

The Maui Farm appreciates and recognizes Donna Vida for her critical role in helping to shape The Maui Farm’s programs during her years as its Program Director. Her ho’oponopono approach provided a unique foundation to strengthen many families by teaching and modeling healthy behaviors, attitudes and skills that successfully empowered them to become self-sufficient. Mahalo Donna for sharing your compassion and knowledge with the families and staff of The Maui Farm!

The Maui Farm, Inc. Board of Directors

Kandice Johns, Executive Director

As a practicing mediator and trainer for many decades, I always thought of ho’oponopono as an especially artful and uniquely Native Hawaiian way of disentangling conflicts in extended families. It has been adapted to other intimate settings and revived by a resurgent movement of new practitioners. Donna’s book uncovers the much deeper dimensions of this practice.

Peter S. Adler, PhD

The ACCORD 3.0 Network

Donna is a masterful storyteller. Writing from experience she shares a generous, clear and wonderful map to wellness and wholeness, to living in harmony. Just as the Toltec traditions of Don Miguel Ruiz in The Four Agreements shared a method to transform self-limiting beliefs, so to the Hawaiian traditions in Donna Vida’s book offer a clear and essential guide to cultivate health and balance in these challenging times.

Kabab Anand, DA.c

This is a great book for anyone wanting freedom from a life of bondage and suffering. I was a young abused woman with four children at the time yearning for freedom and stumbled upon the ho‘oponopono way of life that helped me to reclaim my life by changing my identity and feelings about myself that moved me and family forward in life. Ku‘e Imua Onipa‘a E‘A. Blessings and Aloha!

Ka‘iokulani Martin

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1   Self-Introduction

Growing Up

Meeting My Kumu (teacher)

My New Mantra

How We Create Illness in Our Body

My Daily Wellness Plan

My Visit with the State’s Medical Specialist on Lupus

A Model of the Ho‘oponopono Way of Life

Chapter 2   Huna: Pyschospiritual Philosophy

What Is the Secret?

Three Aspects of Self

Thoughts and Feelings Are Vibrational in Nature

Meeting Three Aspects of Self

The Rainbow Journey

Discovering My Sacred Inner Space

Creating My Sacred Place

More Light Teachings

Waking Up After Surgery

Showing Up in the World

Chapter 3   An Introduction to the Ho‘oponopono Way of life

Self-identity: Who Am I?

An Elder’s Story

Making Right with Oneself

The Physical and Spiritual Realms Are Simultaneously Happening

Forgiveness of Self and Others

Five-Step Mindfulness Practice

Communicating with Others in Spirit First

A Woman’s Story of Freedom

Ho‘oponopono Process for Families and Groups

A Teenager’s Story

Quick Review: What, Where, Why, How, When

Chapter 4   The Power in Prayer

I AM THE I

What is pule (prayer)?

Why do we pray?

When do we pray?

How do we pray?

A Story about Hidden Rage

Ho‘oponopono Prayer with Three Aspects of Self

Ho‘oponopono Prayer of Release

A Woman’s Success Story

A Toolkit for the Ho‘oponopono Way of Life

Creating Sacred Space

Daily Schedule of Mindful Activities

A Healing and Rejuvenating Shower

Bless You Mantra

A Bedtime Mantra

Nature Time

Self-Identity Check

Transformational Exercises and Processes

Ho‘oponopono Process with the Self

Five Step Mindful Process

Ho‘oponopono with Others

Clearing Unwanted Energies, Distractions, and Blockages

My Mental Workshop

My Wellness Plan

Glossary

Dedication

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I dedicate this book to my father, Leslie Vida Sr., and my mother, Anne Spenser Vida, and family. I am forever grateful for the love, support, and guidance you shared with me throughout my life. This book is also dedicated to my Kumu, Jeri Wahinehookai, and my close friends for supporting me through this empowering journey. Aloha.

Foreword

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Aloha ‘Ohana,

Ho‘oponopono is a way of open acceptance that brings peace, harmony, and unity within one’s being. Hawai‘ians practice ho‘oponopono as a way of maintaining well-being, relationships, and balance, in communion with life.

Every culture has a pathway that touches the frequency of grace, compassion, and love, maintaining harmony within and without. The light that shines, supports individuals as they navigate the spiritual nature of their mental, physical, and emotional body. Ho‘oponopono brings into view a sense of becoming what has always been true, that we as life are spiritual beings of perfection.

When we remove our obstacles of self-judgment and self-harm, we renew our spirit by which the internal call of self-love brings an immunity of grace, and we are at peace with ourselves.

For eons, generations of humanity have looked to the stars, the natural world, and the wisdom of the ancients for remembrance of honoring the dignity of all life. As restorers on the pathway of internal resilience, ho‘oponopono offers each one a place to reconnect to oneself as authentic aloha.

Ho‘oponopono brings peace and rejuvenation to the heart that has been traumatized by neglect, rejection, and injury. When an individual chooses to be supported by embracing the gift of ho‘oponopono, the trinity of ‘aumākua, ‘uhane, and ‘unihipili unify to support authentic well-being.

This book is an offering of aloha from Donna Vida, a sister, a friend, a guide, a mentor, a way-shower. A voice of truth sharing her life experiences. Experiences that have accessed a pathway of heart restoration, healing the ventricles of self-doubt and harm.

Her story of healing through ho‘oponopono is a template for any individual, family, institution, government, or community organization that is experiencing great upheaval, change, confusion, vulnerability, disconnection, and fear. A template that offers wisdom tools of support, nourishment, and sacred practices that brings peace to oneself.

What I have come to know in my na‘au—my heart—is that the foundation of ho‘oponopono is aloha. To be in harmony, balance, gratitude, compassion, humility, strength, fortitude, and integrity as one takes each breath. Each breath in aloha fertilizes the foundation that maintains internal balance of relationship with self, community, and all life.

In aloha, Hawai‘i is the universal breath of the living waters imbued with a divine essence embracing all that is. When the heart is grounded in the nourishment of ‘āina aloha—the land loves—a knowing is present and the foundational wisdom of the heart-universe opens to reveal truth, perfection, authenticity, life, now! A vision of what is known and unknown. An invitation that opens to the majesty of the universe supporting each of us.

May aloha bring you peace in the sharing of The Ho‘oponopono Way of Life: A Model for Awakening and Embracing the Human Soul’s True Identity.

All blessings upon each of you!

In aloha,

Lei‘ohu Ryder

Hawai‘ian Spiritual Leader, Visionary, Healer, and Singer/Songwriter

Maui, Hawaii

[e-mail]

January 12, 2021

Preface

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My commitment to write The Ho‘oponopono Way of Life: A Model for Awakening and Embracing the Human Soul’s True Identity happened in May 2020, shortly after the world pandemic exploded. The decision was a key to unlocking and revealing the next step in my own journey.

I chose to partially retire in 2013 to care for my aging father and to farm, which was very healing for me. It was a time for self-reflection. A time to empty out and clear space for the new to come in.

I had been working at The Maui Farm, Inc. since its inception in 1993. Designing, managing, and operating this nonprofit, farm-based, family-model residential program for individuals and families for twenty-some years had consumed my life in many ways. It is a unique model that offers an environment with a framework in place for living the ho‘oponopono way of life. I loved my work there with the ‘āina (land) that included the people, plants, and farm animals. The decision to leave was a huge leap for me. Most of my life I have been a disciple of the voice within, and it was saying, Move, on Donna. It is time to relax, release, rejuvenate, and regenerate your soul. Once again, my choice to listen to my inner voice expanded and transformed my life in ways I did not even imagine at the time.

After my dad passed away, I started my own coaching business, doing what I deem creative spiritual intuitive counseling with individuals, families, and organizations. A creative spiritual intuitive counselor understands and teaches how spiritual laws work in everyday life. She has insight and vision, wears many hats, uses a broad skill set, has many abilities, is a strategist and community builder, is adept at describing and calling forward the best in people, situations, and scenarios that appear daunting.

When the pandemic hit, I started to receive more calls for help. I could feel the magnitude of change happening inside and outside me for everyone and everything as communities, businesses, and schools were shocked and brought to a halt. There was a stillness at the time that brought up the universal questions, Who am I and what is my purpose? throughout the world.

Everyone was expected to isolate at home, and I was burning with the desire to be of greater service. Then one day in my meditation, a book appeared, and I heard, Write a book about the ho‘oponopono way of life. I had never written a book, but the passion burning inside me for the topic would fuel me into making it happen. After all, I had been living and teaching this way of life on a small Pacific island called Maui for close to thirty years and this way of life healed me from both lupus and cancer. I feel it in my bones, as some would say.