After reading Zero Limits, by Dr.Joe Vitale & Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, I found myself stuck on Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len’s story. As a Hawaiian psychologist, he successfully used Ho’oponopono, the ancient Hawaiian practice of forgiveness, to heal an entire hospital of mentally ill criminals without ever actually seeing them in person.
He did this by putting his own spin on the practice of Ho’oponopono, which is traditionally a group or family ritual of healing that is lead by an elder who helps bring resolution to that group, or sometimes to a specific individual. Yet, instead of focusing on the suffering of the patients themselves, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len chose to focus on healing himself: “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you,” he would say to himself, over and over again. By taking care of the inside world, he was able to effectively take care of the outside world and his practices lead to the miraculous transformation of an entire hospital of staff and patients.
While it may sound a bit out there, the ideas presented in Zero Limits, which provides a deeper explanation of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len and Dr. Joe Vitale’s version of Ho’oponopono, resonates with me to the very core. Throughout life’s ups and downs, I’ve come to a point where I will no longer create nor accept excuses from myself. I am responsible for my own reality, just as you are responsible for yours. Together, as we change our internal worlds, we have the power to change the world around us.
According to Dr. Len, taking total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life, simply because it is in your life, is your responsibility. Whether it’s a traffic jam, a homeless man collecting money on the side of the road or your best friend’s failing marriage – we are responsible through association. By correcting the errors in our minds that produce these wrongs, Dr. Len teaches us that we can transform the world that we live in.
Dr. Vitale explains this idea of total responsibility very well: “If you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life.” What an incredible concept. Once I found out that the authors of Zero Limits would host workshops in San Jose and Woodland Hills over the next few months, I knew I had to attend both. I was anxious to get information from the workshops first-hand, as the sooner I became familiar with the practices, the faster I could apply them to my daily life.
It seemed the universe agreed with my intention, so much so that it came to my rescue when I feared I wouldn’t be able to afford the two workshops. Despite my financial constraints, I felt a sudden rush of confidence that the Universe would provide me with the means to attend. So, I signed up for both workshops. A few days later, I received a callback for a Dentyne commercial that I had previously auditioned for. As I walked into the room with four other actors there to audition for the same role, I started to cleanse myself as I learned through Zero Limits: “I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” I directed these quiet thoughts to the room, the producers and myself. When I finished my audition, I did so feeling cleansed and ready to leave the rest to Divinity.
A few days later, I received a call from my agent Maria while I was in Wells Fargo. I had to excuse myself from the cashier because Maria’s ecstatic voice was echoing throughout the bank as she delivered the news that I had landed the part. I did the shooting on Wednesday and Thursday, booked the workshop and airplane ticket Thursday night and flew to the first workshop on Saturday, May 23, 2009. No human could have planned the chain of events more perfectly.
The compensation I received from Dentyne commercial covered more than the expenses of the whole trip. It aired on different channels like crazy for several months. The more it aired, the more income I received. That single commercial generated more income for me than anything else ever did in my entire acting career.
Dentyne commercial
