Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len: Who He Was, the Hospital Story, and His Death

Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len was a Hawaiian psychologist who taught Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono and co-wrote Zero Limits with Joe Vitale. Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH) is the modern, individual form of the practice developed by Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona. He became known worldwide through the story of his work at Hawaii State Hospital and through Zero Limits (Wiley, 2007). He is reported to have retired from teaching in 2015 and to have died in January 2022.

That is the short version. Much of what circulates about him online is retold secondhand, so this page separates what is reasonably well documented from what comes only from stories.

The short answer

• Who he was: a Hawaiian psychologist who studied with Morrnah Simeona and spent decades teaching her Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono process.
• Why he's famous: the story that he helped transform a ward for mentally ill offenders at Hawaii State Hospital without conventional therapy sessions, by practicing Ho'oponopono on himself while reviewing patient files.
• His main idea: you are 100% responsible for what shows up in your experience, and the way to change it is to "clean" the memories in you that are replaying, not to fix other people.
• What to keep in mind: the hospital story comes mostly from Hew Len's own account and from people who repeated it. It has not been independently documented.

Early life and education

According to the memorial notice published by IZI LLC, the organization that carries the Self I-Dentity through Ho'oponopono teaching, Hew Len was born in April 1939 and grew up on the Leeward Coast of Oʻahu, Hawaii, where he graduated from Kamehameha Schools. He earned a degree in psychology at the University of Colorado, an MS in special education at the University of Utah and a doctorate at the University of Iowa, and went on to work as a practicing psychologist.

His teacher: Morrnah Simeona

Hew Len's path into Ho'oponopono runs through Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, a Hawaiian healer who adapted the traditional family reconciliation process into a practice an individual could do alone. In the preface to Zero Limits, Hew Len describes training with Morrnah beginning in November 1982 and spending about a decade in her presence.

The process Morrnah taught became known as Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono. It differs from the older Hawaiian practice, which typically brought a family together with a respected elder to talk through conflict and restore relationships. SITH moves the whole process inward: you work on yourself, with Divinity, rather than with the people involved. For a side-by-side comparison, see traditional Ho'oponopono vs Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono, and for the method itself, Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH) explained.

The Hawaii State Hospital story

The story that made Hew Len famous goes like this: during the 1980s he worked as a staff psychologist on a ward at Hawaii State Hospital that housed mentally ill people who had committed crimes. Instead of conventional therapy sessions, he reportedly reviewed patient files and practiced Ho'oponopono on whatever came up in him as he read them. Over a few years, the account says, the ward became calmer, patients improved and were released, and the ward eventually closed.

It is a powerful story, and it is the main reason many people first hear of Ho'oponopono. It is also a story whose details come largely from Hew Len and from writers who retold it. We go through what can and cannot be verified, and what the story still teaches, in the Dr. Hew Len Hawaii State Hospital story.

Zero Limits and worldwide attention

Hew Len taught SITH classes for many years before most of the world heard of him. That changed after Joe Vitale went looking for the therapist behind the hospital story, met him, and later co-wrote Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More with him. The book brought SITH and the four phrases to a mainstream self-help audience. If you want an overview of the book, see our Zero Limits summary.

What he taught, in plain terms

Hew Len's teaching is often summarized in a few core ideas, here in our own words rather than his:

• Total responsibility. Whatever appears in your life, including other people's problems, is something you are being shown in yourself. Taking responsibility is not the same as taking blame.
• Memories as "data." He often used computer language, describing problems as old memories or programs replaying. That framing made the practice feel less like religion and more like a method.
• Cleaning, not fixing. You don't try to change the other person or dictate the outcome. You ask Divinity to clean whatever in you is connected to the problem, and you let go of the result.
• Simple tools. The best known is repeating the four phrases: "I'm sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you." He also taught other cleaning tools, such as blue solar water and the "eraser"; see Ho'oponopono cleaning tools explained.

His later years

According to reports circulated after his death, Hew Len stopped teaching in 2015 and died on January 15, 2022. We could not locate a formal published obituary, so treat these dates as reported rather than confirmed. For what the SITH memorial notice says about his final years and his death, see Dr. Hew Len's later life and death.

How to judge the claims about him

Hew Len is a figure people tend either to revere or to dismiss. A fair approach sits in the middle:

• His lineage from Morrnah Simeona and his role in Zero Limits are well established.
• The hospital story is unverified. That does not prove it false, but it is not evidence that Ho'oponopono can heal other people.
• Research on Ho'oponopono itself is small and early. For the skeptic's view, read does Ho'oponopono work? An honest answer.

The most useful way to evaluate his teaching is not to settle the story but to try the practice for yourself, on one specific issue, for a couple of weeks, and see what changes in you.

Frequently asked questions

Was Dr. Hew Len a real psychologist? He is consistently described as a psychologist with a Ph.D. who worked at Hawaii State Hospital. The details of his clinical work there come mainly from his own account.

Who taught Dr. Hew Len Ho'oponopono? Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, the Hawaiian healer who created Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono. He describes training with her from 1982.

Is Dr. Hew Len still alive? No. He died on January 15, 2022, at the age of 82, according to the memorial notice from the organization that teaches Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono.

What was Dr. Hew Len's cause of death? No specific cause has been made public. One version of the memorial notice says he passed peacefully of natural causes; another version doesn't mention a cause. We haven't found any reliable source that says more. For the full details and sources, see Dr. Hew Len's later life and death.

Did Dr. Hew Len really cure a ward of patients? That is the claim in the popular story, but it has not been independently documented. Read the full story and what's verifiable.

What book did Dr. Hew Len write? He co-authored Zero Limits (Wiley, 2007) with Joe Vitale.

Is there a Dr. Hew Len Ho'oponopono PDF? His teaching is collected mainly in Zero Limits. If you want a short, free introduction to the practice he taught, our free Ho'oponopono Cleaning Guide (PDF) covers the four phrases and a simple daily routine, based on the teachings in that book.

What books did Dr. Hew Len write? His best-known book is Zero Limits (2007), written with Joe Vitale, which brought his story and the four phrases to a worldwide audience (see our Zero Limits summary). He also co-authored the Blue Ice series with Kamaile Rafaelovich, books drawn from their conversations about Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono, including Blue Ice: The Relationship with the Self and Blue Ice: Memories and Relationships. Titles, volume numbers and translations vary by country, so check the publisher or the official SITH organization for current editions.

Start practicing

You don't need to settle every question about Hew Len to try what he taught. Our free Ho'oponopono guide is a simple place to start.