Ho'oponopono is about surrendering to the Divine. When you say "I love you. I'm sorry. Please Forgive me. Thank you" it is an appeal to the Divine to clean and clear whatever is in you that is causing a situation. It is about taking 100% responsibility for EVERYTHING in your experience. If you are having a difficulty with someone it is because of something in you that is causing/contributing to this. The same is true with lack of money and a great relationship etc.

For a lot of people this immediately feels like they are being blamed for everything in their experience. But it is not actually so. We all co-create our reality and when we clean with those four phrases we remove a memory that is replaying and causing this situation which is shared by all concerned. When the Divine clears it in you it then clears the memory in everyone's subconscious and what you attract changes. This will resolve conflict between all those concerned.

According to Dr Hew Len, the main proponent of Ho'oponopono, we operate from only memory or inspiration. Inspiration comes from the Divine once the memories are cleared. This also means that the Divine with inspire you to create, and have what is right for you. It's slightly different from what standard Law Of Attraction literature promotes in that you surrender to the Divine and once clear the Divine brings to you--or more accurately--inspires you to have what is meant for you.

I feel bad again, as I focus on the unwanted

This reminds me a bit of the difference between gratitude and appreciation.

Gratitude keeps you focused on the "bad things" you've overcome, while Appreciation keeps you positively focused.

Personally, I'm not the greatest fan of Ho'oponopono - I think there are more helpful methods around but that's not to say it doesn't have value.

Whether a method has value for you in shifting you out of an uncomfortable vibrational state is indicated by the relief it gives you.

So if you do feel relief in the moment from using parts of Ho'oponopono, use those parts of it. And the parts of it that don't give you relief, skip them.

There is never any need to embrace an entire philosophy or school of thought if parts of it don't suit you...we have our own internal emotional guidance systems that let us pick and choose quite effectively...and, obviously, choose the good feeling bits only :)

As Stingray says, you don't need to repeat the whole mantra if it doesn't feel comfortable to you. In fact, just saying "Thank you, I love you" does the job. Heck, you can stick with "I love you."

I do believe it can happen that old "stuff" can come up while doing the mantra. That is the purpose, to excavate memories and "tapes" in the subconscious and clean on them, to make way for inspiration.

I love Ho'oponopono, use it all the time, still face challenges. But overall I feel stronger and more able to handle it all. .

You may appreciate this blog. This post is one of my favorites there: http://www.peacefuldoc.com/2010/12/hooponopono-healing-balm-for-fearful.html?fbclid=IwAR2KVPWftvy2GY0y2MWuhmkCOkcEIXrAaEJtcQaBYPWHh7qEj4t_rAs9dlc

Peace begins with me.

I also felt drawn to this method and lately I have read also Zero limits book written by Joe Vitale, and this is my current understanding regarding this:

• Every time I feel negative emotions that means I have a belief that is not in accordance with my inner being (According to Bashar- Transforming core beliefs, I cannot have an emotion before having a definition about that thing)

• I want to acknowledge as many negative beliefs as possible (I don't want to hide them). The goal is to have my core beliefs in accordance to my inner being.

• Sometimes the bad vibrations (due to wrong definitions (wrong beliefs)) get activated and the Law of attraction will attract more evidence of that wrong definition

For me that means a confirmation like "You do have that wrong definition...", so I cannot blame anyone else anymore, I have to take responsibility for the problem. (I create everything in my experience)

• Using ho'oponopono, I acknowledge that since it happened to me, I have a part there to heal and ask source to heel it. (also I acknowledge that I need Source (my inner being) to heal it so I have to let it go)

But I think that it is important that we believe and feel that source answers and already healed it when we say Thank you. From my experience, ... repeating without the right feeling doesn't work.

Why wouldn't it be? Love & gratitude wipes out fear. There is no reason to worry about supposed focus on the unwanted. It may take some time though if one has never practiced anything like Ho'oponopono.

A few years ago, they polled a number of people, asking "What three words would you like to hear most."

The three words people wanted to hear most were ~

I love you. You are forgiven. Supper is ready :) Thank You.

I think the top three answers in the order given along with words of appreciation at the end, might be a mantra closer to the teachings of A H.