HUBBY'S HO'OPONOPONO

“I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”

This ancient Hawaiian prayer is both simple and profound. It is a formula for transformation that has traveled across time and cultures to heal relationships, communities, and the self. Ho‘oponopono means “to set right.” Through the steady practice of these four phrases, with respect for their deeper meanings, we take responsibility, release blame, invite forgiveness, and return to love.

The words are hand-painted over and over again in a pulsing orange pigment, radiating vibrational warmth and insistence. The repetition is both ritual and aesthetic. Its intention is to plant the prayer into the subconscious until it becomes part of the viewer’s own inner dialogue. The vertical format, echoing Hubby’s own dimensions, makes the canvas feel less like an object and more like a presence—an ally in your space.

Placed in a home, studio, or sanctuary, Ho‘oponopono becomes a mirror and a medicine. It’s an environmental reminder that reconciliation is always possible, and that love is the last word.

Part of the series "Inside Job"

2020–2023 The series Inside Job was completed over the pandemic when we all were separated and had the opportunity to look inside our homes and our heads. Hubby sought out some mind release (from the Sanskrit, mantra translates into man, meaning mind, and tra, meaning release). “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.” is a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, which aims to keep one in the present moment. “Every Day in every way I’m getting better and better” is the famous phrase from French psychologist, Émile Coué, who changed the face of psychotherapy with the Coué Method of Autosuggestion. Coué stated: “Whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself.” Another painting reads: “May we be happy, may we be well, may we be safe, may we be peaceful and at ease,” which is the traditional Buddhist Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta Prayer). 

"These paintings are on canvases that are my exact width and height, further underscoring Mahatma Gandhi’s message, that when you want to change the world, start with yourself."

-Bettina

Original artwork by Bettina Hubby

Flashe Acrylic on Linen

64" x 17"

2020