The Ho’oponopono Healing Method: A Practical Guide to Clearing and Transformation

The updated form of Ho’oponopono, known as “Self I-Dentity through Ho’oponopono” (SITH), is truly an amazing spiritual healing technique. Dr. Joe Vitale even wrote his famous book Zero Limits based on it and later produced several programs to teach this method to more people. Funny thing — recently, one of my relatives suggested something called a “hippo method” (he couldn’t pronounce it right!). What he actually meant was Ho’oponopono. It made me smile because not many of my friends or relatives really know what I do for a living or what my work is about.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 16, 2017 and was last updated in August 2025 to ensure accuracy and relevance.

I first wrote it around 7–8 years ago, and it’s truly amazing to see how more and more people are now discovering the Ho’oponopono method through YouTube and social media. Timeless tools like this are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

If you’re completely new to this process, it may sound strange at first — both because of its simplicity and because the stories associated with it can seem almost unbelievable.

Back in 2006, Joe Vitale came across an incredible story about a man named Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len (unfortunately he has left us in the year 2022 at the age of 82), who reportedly healed an entire ward of mentally ill patients using this ancient Hawaiian method — without ever seeing them in person!

Sounds crazy, right? Especially since this ward was full of patients considered so dangerous that staff turnover was high and morale was low. Yet this psychologist changed all of their behaviors with what seems like a simple technique. How could that be possible? Well, I honestly don’t know — but Joe Vitale decided to investigate further, and that’s how Ho’oponopono started becoming so popular worldwide. Continue reading