Art as a Healing Tool: Paintings & the Ho’oponopono Prayer
We are deeply interconnected with the world around us. That fact has been known to Buddhist monks, followers of the Tao, naturalists, and others for millennia. Hold your hand in front of your face. Now, imagine all the carbon, hydrogen, and iron atoms embodied in your flesh and coursing through your blood.
Are those your atoms? Did you make them? Do you own them or control them?
It seems that way, but they came from the world around you and the wider universe before that. You’re just borrowing them for a moment.
They’ll return to the world when you’re gone, too, and eventually take another form. Maybe they’ll become part of a new sandstone formation or transform into the trunk of a tree or the petal of a flower.
We are deeply interconnected with every single thing in the universe, but that interconnection isn’t limited to the endless dance of atoms and molecules between forms. Our thinking and emotions have an effect on the world around us.
The Observer Effect
The observer effect is a critical concept underpinning physics and quantum mechanics. It states that the simple act of observing alters the behavior of the particles being observed. Simply observing a molecule within time and space changes how that particle behaves without the need for physical manipulation or even physical touch!
Venkatesh Vaidyanathan explains it well. “The observer effect is the phenomenon in which the act of observation alters the behavior of the particles being observed. This effect is due to the wave-like nature of matter, which means that particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously. When an observer measures a particular property of a particle, they are effectively collapsing the wave-function of that particle, causing it to assume a definite state.”
So, with our very thoughts and actions, we create change in the world around us. This is an important idea and has powerful implications for holistic healing. But before we venture further down that path, we need to discuss water.
Water as a Medium for Healing
Water is everywhere, and it’s the key to life as we know it.
When you’re born, your body is 90% water. By the time you pass on, it’s down to around 70% water. The human brain is made up of 75% water. About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. Plants can be up to 95% water.
Of course, water is so much more than a source of hydration. Most religions have venerated water, from Celtic druids to Christianity, Islam to Shinto. From sacred springs to mystical rivers, water is seen to have healing, transformative powers. That idea is not “woo-woo” but is grounded in science. Water is a transporter of energy and is being used in the treatment of illnesses, particularly within homeopathy, but also within emerging fields like hydrotherapy.
Water is more than most of us think. In addition to transporting energy, it can copy information and store it, transmitting it to others later.
Think about the minerals suspended within water. They can tell us where in the world the water might have originated. Sea water contains a physical map of the creatures that live within it. Ice cores from the polar regions contain traces of pollen from tens or even hundreds of thousands of years ago.
In homeopathy, this capability underpins the concept of using “like to treat like.” For instance, to treat lead poisoning, a very high dilution of lead in water (1 part in 1 trillion) can be used. However, at this level, there is no lead detectable within the water, so it’s the characteristics of the material echoed or mirrored within the water doing the healing, not the material itself.
Scientists have even documented the changes to water when positive and negative thoughts are directed at it. In the book, The Hidden Messages in Water, Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto documents the changes in ice crystal formation when exposed to positive and negative thoughts. The results are astounding – positive thoughts lead to stunningly beautiful, colorful ice crystals, while negative thoughts and pollutants create dull colors and malformed crystals.
It's this power to store and transmit energy that underlies the idea behind Reiki paintings and the use of the Ho’oponopono prayer.
Creating Healing: Painting with the Ho’oponopono Prayer
“As within, so without, as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul.” –– Hermes Trismegistus
We can see the ideas expressed in Trismegistus’ thoughts mirrored in the world around us. Its deep wisdom is obvious when you look closely. We create the world with our thoughts, meaning that how you are is how you see and experience the world.
This is a well-established concept in Buddhism and Taoism. What we put out into the universe is what we get back, not because the universe wants us to “taste our own medicine” but because of karma –– cause and effect. In Sanskrit, “karma” simply means “action”.
Building on that idea, if you can change how you see and experience the world, you’ll transform the world around you. Shifting from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, for instance, will change how you see everything from food to the amount of free time you have (and how you can best use that time). Changing how you see others affects how you think about and treat them.
Changing how you think and feel changes the fabric of the universe. It can also affect others, delivering powerful healing and light in dark times.
The key here is the Ho’oponopono prayer.
What Is the Ho’oponopono Prayer?
The Ho’oponopono prayer is a Hawaiian prayer for peace, love, and forgiveness. It centers on four underlying concepts –– repentance, forgiveness, gratitude, and love –– spoken aloud over and over. The English translation of the prayer is:
I love you.
I’m sorry.
Please Forgive me.
Thank you.
The Ho’oponopono prayer is the gateway to healing and forgiveness. It’s not just for us, though. It helps heal those around us and the very fabric of the universe, too. There is immense power in this prayer, but many of us find that repeating it brings up our natural resistance.
Working through that resistance allows us to realize that we can be forgiven, that we are worthy, and to see the world around us and others through a lens of love and gratitude.
It’s not just local healing that’s possible, though. Combining the Ho’oponopono prayer with painting allows us to tap into the energy transportation capabilities of water (an ingredient in acrylic paint) and deliver non-local healing through a physical medium (the painting).
“As a complementary therapy, ho’oponopono focuses on forgiveness and creating balance—physically, mentally, and spiritually—through the conscious, subconscious, and superconscious mind.” -National Institutes of Health
Local vs. Non-Local Healing
Most of us are familiar with local healing. You take medicine, and it heals your body. A Reiki practitioner puts their hands on your body, and they’re able to manipulate not just your tissues but your body’s energy flow locally.
Non-local healing is based on the idea underpinning the quantum physics idea that subatomic particles can influence each other no matter where they might be in the universe. It’s the same concept that allows ice crystals to form differently when exposed to positive and negative thoughts.
How It Works
When reciting the Ho’oponopono prayer, the practitioner generates immense feelings of love, gratitude, and forgiveness. We can then use the energy-capturing capabilities of water to store that message of hope, healing, and light and transmit it to those viewing the painting.
Repeating the four phrases of the prayer creates the same energy vibration as monks meditating. When that energy is combined with painting, something amazing is created. It’s all about intentionality – the artist repeats the words of the prayer, reflects on the tangle of emotions and injuries in the world, and focuses on repentance, forgiveness, love, and ultimate healing while creating art that carries that energy out into the world.
Because water is a central ingredient of acrylic paint (ranging between 41-55% water), it maintains water’s ability to record, store, and transmit energy, just as it does within modern medicine. However, because the water is in the form of paint, that energy can be suspended in time, allowing it to continuously evoke healing in viewers for as long as the artwork exists.
In Conclusion
The Ho’oponopono prayer is an ancient blessing, bidding us to forgive ourselves and one another, to love others, and to bring light and healing to the world. Combined with the power of water to store and transmit energy and intentions and the beauty of art, it can have dramatic effects on us, the people around us, and the universe itself.
Creating and viewing art while repeating the prayer to oneself offers deep rejuvenation, connection with forgotten parts of ourselves, and the ability to heal our hurts as we forgive ourselves and others. These powerful pieces of art can transmit that healing, light, and love to others wherever they’re seen and appreciated.
This is why I’ve included the Ho’oponopono prayer into a new collection called Paintings That Manifest, which explores possibilities, turning visions into tangible reality through the canvas. With each stroke and blend of color, I’ve harnessed the magic of manifestation to craft a series that resonates with our dreams.
Original paintings will be released under specific themes, such as courage and bravery, with the intention for them to serve as tools for the recipient. They are designed to empower your visualization in manifesting your desires and can be used repeatedly as a practice. As you work towards your goals, find inner peace and acceptance with your current situation, and remain open to what can be.
Stay tuned as I’ll be adding pieces to other themes such as Peace, Balance, Joy, etc.
For more info: carolinevu.com
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4149912/
https://healingbrave.com/blogs/all/hooponopono-prayer-for-forgiveness