Calling out for spiritual assistance isn't a new notion by any means, and has likely been undertaken by most if not every adult at some point or other in their life. Typically we ask for spiritual intervention in times of extreme difficulty, and while some might refer to this as a form of battlefield conversion it really is an honest human response to needing help and isn't anything shameful. Shameful or not, most people probably don't expect spiritual calls for assistance to actually get an answer.

Forms do exist however that take for granted that spiritual interventions can and do take place. Many organized religions believe in the notion of interaction between the spiritual realm and the physical realm where humans reside. It varies according to a particular religion and specific circumstances, but this interaction may be made up of worshipping, punitive measures, intervention, or some combination of the three. There are also approaches to spiritual interaction that are not religious in nature and are instead based in metaphysical beliefs.

Ho'oponopono is a belief system that presumes that interaction between the physical and spiritual realm can and does take place. Ho'oponopono isn't simply based on a presumption that spiritual and physical planes may be able to interact, ho'oponopono takes it as faith that spiritual intervention will be granted when it is requested. The idea of intervention from the spiritual realm whenever one requests it quite naturally doesn't resonate with everybody. Ho'oponopono has its skeptics and there are a number of them, but the practitioners of ho'oponopono, as one might imagine, aren't dissuaded from their beliefs because of skeptics.

There are actually two ho'oponopono forms: the traditional form of ho'oponopono as well as Self-Identity ho'oponopono. Self-Identity ho'oponopono is an offshoot of traditional ho'oponopono but reduced in scope to make individual application of the ho'oponopono form possible. Traditional ho'oponopono typically dealt with an entire group of people, all of whom had to be accounted for and given consideration. Self-Identity ho'oponopono allows for a single person to use the form. Where traditional ho'oponopono focused on interaction between people with differing perspectives, Self-Identity ho'oponopono takes place only between one person and what's referred to as the higher source power, or God.

Either form of ho'oponopono can be considered a problem solving technique, but Self-Identity ho'oponopono really does go beyond simple problem solving and takes into account spiritual connections and spiritual intervention. Self-Identity ho'oponopono is not a religious form, but it does place emphasis on some classic religious perspectives, in particular an interaction with a higher source power.