Ho'oponopono and "The Tummy Is in Charge"

On Friday I had lunch with some really amazing people, JulieAnne Searles of local preschool music fame and Mark Johnson of Playing For Change. Peace through music! Woo! We talked about human cultures we admire and positive things that are happening in war-torn areas.

Things that really stuck with me:

• Mark mentioned a cognate of the Hawaiian ho'oponopono concept from some other part of the world. I forget where. The idea is, when a person behaves in an irritating or dangerous way, the knee-jerk reaction would be "What's wrong with that guy?" In this philosophy, one instead asks "What is wrong with that part of us?"
• The tummy is in charge. Mark had a couple of house guests staying with him from the Congo, and this was a phrase they liked to repeat. Apparently, if you imagine that every single thought and action you take and every musical note you play is coming from your tummy, rather than your head, you will get really ripped abs. And live a very happy life.
• Mozambique. I didn't know this, but Mozambique went from horrible civil war to complete peace in just a few years after the president ordered the military to meditate twice daily on how the country could be healed. As in, transcendental meditation. The resultant peace has spread throughout the region.

Top three results of the Google search mozambique peace military meditation:

1. Soldier of Africa: Meditation is path to peace, Mozambique leader says
2. Mozambique's Prevention Wing of the Military
3. How Peace Was Brought To War-Torn Mozambique