Nagging thoughts? Try this Hawaiian mantra to achieve inner peace

 

Repeating the mantra – I'm sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you – while taking responsibility for a specific situation can help restore inner peace. — AFP

FROM an argument with your partner, to a conflict at work, to a niggling thought that just won't go away, there are many situations that can lead to negative emotions, or even real mental blocks. 

In this case, why not try the Ho'oponopono method? This age-old Hawaiian tradition involves taking full responsibility for your actions and letting go of limiting beliefs to reconnect with yourself and others. Here's how it works.

What started out as an ancestral tradition aimed at resolving conflicts within a community, or even a family, the Ho'oponopono method has gradually evolved into a whole life philosophy, and even a personal development practice. 

But the basic objective remains the same: to eliminate certain limiting beliefs (or memories) with the help of a mantra, in order to regain inner peace and resolve situations considered stressful or conflicts with others. In a way, this life philosophy is based on introspection and empowerment, with the key coming from your inner self and not from others.

What does it promise?

According to the website Hawaiian Dictionaries, the term "ho'opono" can mean "righteous, respectable, correct, upright," or "to behave correctly." But, more precisely, it's a tradition aimed at overcoming certain conflicts (professional), relationship problems (like an imminent breakup) and other difficult situations (like a death) all through the art of introspection.

"Ho'oponopono is the practice of sincere apology and true forgiveness. It is used today by many families, and in the past few decades, it has found its way around the globe," reads an article on the subject by Psychology Today.

When is it useful?

As mentioned above, the Ho'oponopono method is now considered a life philosophy, so there are no limits or restrictions, whether for adults or children. Any unpleasant situation, whether it affects your mind or your emotions, can justify the use of this personal development practice. "When heartfelt, ho’oponopono rectifies and helps heal the person asking forgiveness or all the people involved in the process," explains the American magazine.

How does it work?

While this method is based on a four-part mantra, to be repeated tirelessly to yourself (and in silence), it's not just a matter of saying these words to make yourself feel better and resolve your conflicts – whether internal or relational. 

This practice requires a certain amount of introspection, and is based on an awareness of your own personal responsibility for this or that action or situation .

Once this principle has been grasped, it's time to move on to the famous mantra. This involves repeating the following, over and over in your head – I'm sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you – whenever you encounter a situation likely to affect you. As we've seen, the idea is to eliminate certain beliefs that can trap you in, or even foster, difficult situations. – AFP Relaxnews

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You use the mantra, "I'm sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you," to acknowledge and take responsibility for any negative thoughts, actions, or emotions that may have contributed to conflict or disharmony. The mantra helps release these negative elements and transform them into positive, healing energy

Heal your life, get over haunting memories, overcome deep-seated guilt, and let go of generational baggage and negativity through Ho'oponopono Prayer. This beautiful prayer is a traditional Hawaiian practice as a tool for reconciliation and forgiveness across lifetimes. As you repeat or hear this mantra meditation, try to feel it from your heart. Forgive and be forgiven. May your life come to balance through the magic of Ho'oponopono. #Prayer #Meditation #MindBodySoul

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How you perceive stressful situations could help minimise their health impact

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How you perceive stressful situations could help minimise their health impact

Seeing a stressful situation as a challenge, rather than a threat, can help you avoid suffering both physically and mentally. — AFP

Reframing stressful situations could help minimise health and well-being problems

 FROM mounting workloads to relationship problems, moving house or looming exams, stressful situations come and go, but they all have one thing in common: they can play havoc with your health.

But it all depends on how you view them, a new British study reveals. In fact, seeing stressful situations as challenges, rather than threats, could prove beneficial to physical and mental health.

The figures speak for themselves: the global population is struggling. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly a billion people worldwide were living with at least one mental disorder in 2019, and the situation has since worsened considerably.

The global health authority estimates that the worldwide prevalence of anxiety and depression rose by 25% in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic alone. 

It's an edifying finding, and one that serves as a wake-up call to the importance of taking action to try and curb the phenomenon.

While action is needed on a global and national scale, each of us also has the opportunity to take action, at our own personal level, to better cope with situations that could affect our health and well-being.

So suggest the findings of a new study by researchers at the United Kingdom's University of Bath, who found that the way we approach stressful situations can have an impact on our physical and mental health (or not, as the case may be).

Perception of stress

The study authors started from the simple observation that a person can perceive a stressful situation in two ways. 

They can either feel overwhelmed, and therefore see it as a threat, or they can feel capable of dealing with it, or even managing it, and therefore see it as a challenge.

This can be particularly true in the world of sport, where mindset can influence an athlete's performance.

In fact, the researchers turned to athletes to carry out their research, which is based on "valid and reliable" measures of challenge and/or threat assessment, mental health, well-being, and physical health problems from 395 athletes who responded to an online survey.

Published in the journal Stress and Health, the results suggest that participants who saw stressful situations as threats were at greater risk of physical and mental health problems, compared to those who saw them as challenges.

"We found a convincing link between mental and physical ill-health, and the way a person typically views stressful situations," said study co-author Dr Lee Moore from the Department for Health at the University of Bath, quoted in a news release.

"The more you’re able to appraise a stressful situation as a challenge, the more likely you are to report good health and well-being."

He continues: "Researchers have speculated for the past 15 years that people who repeatedly believe they don’t have the resources to cope in stressful situations are putting their health at risk, but we believe this is the first time the theory has been properly tested, leading to us finding a link between stress appraisals and health."

Although the study was carried out on athletes, its authors believe that the findings are equally valid for the rest of the population. 

They point out that the negative consequences induced by the way stressful situations are approached can range from a simple cold or flu, or even a weakened immune system, to mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression. 

It is hoped that this research will ultimately lead to the improved identification and management of people at risk of health problems due to increased stress.

"Most people will fluctuate in the way they appraise a situation, depending on the details of the specific situation, however, some people are far more likely to appraise all stressful situations as a threat, and this study shows that this tendency is associated with poorer health and well-being," concludes Moore. – AFP Relaxnews

Pullout quote: "The more you’re able to appraise a stressful situation as a challenge, the more likely you are to report good health and well-being." - Dr Lee Moore

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 Nagging thoughts? Try this Hawaiian mantra to achieve inner peace

 

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Overlooking principles

 

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US’ crackdown on TikTok tramples upon First Amendment rights

The US’ crackdown on TikTok tramples upon its First Amendment rights.

Witch hunt against TikTok shows hysteria of US politicians

As a US bill that could potentially ban the use of TikTok in the US sailed unanimously through ...

Washington politicians once again openly try to rob TikTok: Global Times editorial

The groundless “presumption of guilt” without any evidence is still applied, and the utter violation of the principles ...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew (center) testifies at a US Congressional hearing on March 23, 2023. The hearing, which was supposed to discuss data security and protection of children, was described by many netizens as a barbaric witch-hunt and pure bullying. Photo: VCG

US bill forcing ownership change of TikTok another hysterical move in crackdown against Chinese companies

Act is political gamesmanship, to dent bilateral ties

As a US bill that could potentially ban the use of TikTok in the US sailed unanimously through a House committee, Chinese experts said that the act is political gamesmanship by politicians playing the China-bashing card and yet another hysterical move in its crackdown against Chinese companies.

With bilateral ties showing signs of stabilization amid enhanced engagements between the two sides, Chinese analysts warned that the cyber witch hunt against TikTok - used by roughly 170 million Americans - and sheer extortion of a successful company will have negative effects and cause bilateral ties to retract.

The bill, which threatens to ban TikTok from app stores operated by Apple and Google unless the popular short video platform divests itself from ByteDance, its parent company, within about six months, passed unanimously out of the US House energy and commerce committee on Thursday with a vote of 50 to 0.

The bill is set for a floor vote next week.

US media outlet CNN described the bill as the "most aggressive legislation" targeting TikTok to come out of a congressional committee since company CEO Shou Zi Chew testified to lawmakers last year that the app poses no threat to Americans in a grueling hearing.

Chinese observers said the passing of the TikTok bill demonstrated a persistent campaign by some US politicians to hunt down the social media platform, which has enjoyed worldwide success, and is set to dent stabilizing ties between the two countries. Cooperation is the only sensible way forward in the field of science and technology, they noted.

"Some people in the US want to relate TikTok with China, threatening to impose further bans on the company. In the US presidential election year, some lawmakers aim to be tough on China regarding the sensitive and significant issue of TikTok, in order to demonstrate their commitment to so-called national security threats," Song Guoyou, deputy director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, told the Global Times.

Although the bill has only been passed within a committee of lawmakers and needs to go further through the legal pipeline, it nonetheless reflects a bipartisan consensus among some politicians in the US on this issue, Song said, noting that whether the bill can gain more support through legislative procedures needs to be watched closely.

"The bill demonstrated the obstinate political prejudice held by some US politicians against the influential platform," Li Yong, a senior research fellow from the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday.

Last year, a federal judge temporarily blocked a statewide ban on TikTok in Montana, citing First Amendment rights.

Unable to provide any evidence, these politicians resorted to baseless fearmongering, Li said, refuting the claims that the app could present an espionage threat, as claimed by US politicians.

Driven by their sinophobic paranoia, some US politicians are pushing for a series of absurd bills, measures and bans on Chinese products or China-related goods. 

In addition to the witch hunt against TikTok, which can be dated back to the Trump era, cargo cranes, automobiles and even garlic were among the targets US politicians raised red flags against in recent months.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a recent interview with US media outlet MSNBC that "cars these days are like an iPhone on wheels… Imagine a world with 3 million Chinese vehicles on the roads of America, and Beijing can turn them off at the same time."

In a rebuttal to these false narratives, Hua Chunying, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, asked, "Were you suggesting that iPhones, Tesla and even Boeing... have been sending secret data back to the US and could be shut down at any time by Washington?"

Expressing their disagreement with the bill, TikTok users in the US are flooding the congress will telephone calls, with some staffers saying there are as many as 20 calls per minute, according to a report by The Guardian on Friday.

US social organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have slammed the bill as "unconstitutional." The Computer and Communications Industry Association, a major trade group representing tech powerhouses including Apple and Google, was also against it.

The move came amid enhanced engagements between Chinese and US officials and business organizations pointing to stabilizing ties, which help alleviate growing concerns among businesses and governments around the world.

The US and China have reportedly agreed to extend a science and technology agreement for another six months.

Chinese analysts said the two countries stand to benefit from cooperation on science and technology, and the ruthless crackdown on Chinese companies can only serve to undermine trust and damage stabilizing bilateral ties.

The renewal of the US-China Science, Tech Pact will be a test of how willing the Biden administration truly is to consider mutual interests, listen to the scientific community's voice and jointly maintain the stability of China-US relations, Song said.

A TikTok spokesperson told the Global Times on Wednesday that "this bill is an outright ban of TikTok, no matter how much the authors try to disguise it. This legislation will trample on the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and deprive 5 million small businesses of a platform they rely on to grow and create jobs."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that China believes ties with the US are not a zero-sum game and is opposed to defining ties by competition.

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