Dr. Hew Len's Inner Child (Unihipili): What He Taught and How to Practice It

What Dr. Hew Len meant by the "inner child," what's documented and what isn't, and a simple way to practice it with the four phrases.

If you have searched for Dr. Hew Len's "inner child meditation," you have probably found a dozen different versions: long YouTube visualizations, PDFs passed from site to site, scripts with different words in each one. They all point back to one idea from Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono (SITH): the part of you called the Unihipili, the inner child.

This guide explains what that idea is, why Dr. Hew Len put it at the center of his teaching, what's documented and what isn't, and how to practice it simply and respectfully.

The short answer

• Unihipili is the Hawaiian word used in Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono for the subconscious mind, often called the inner child.
• In this teaching, the Unihipili is where memories are stored, including the painful ones that replay as problems in daily life.
• Dr. Hew Len described the relationship with your inner child as the most important relationship in the practice. The official teaching material frames it as loving your inner child, and loving yourself.
• The practical side is cleaning: using tools such as the four phrases (I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.) so that memories held by the Unihipili can be released.
• Many "Dr. Hew Len inner child meditation" scripts online are unofficial compilations. The organization that carries his teaching is the authoritative source for its own materials.

What the Unihipili is

Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono, the modern form of Ho'oponopono developed by Morrnah Simeona and taught for decades by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, describes the self as having three parts:

• Unihipili: the subconscious, or inner child.
• Uhane: the conscious mind, the part of you reading this sentence.
• Aumakua: the superconscious, the part connected to the Divine.

The official teaching describes these three as an inner family: the Aumakua as father, the Uhane as mother, and the Unihipili as the child. The practice works when the three are in partnership, and that partnership starts with how the conscious mind treats the child.

If you'd like the full framework in plain language, our explainer on Self-Identity Ho'oponopono (SITH) covers all three selves. This page focuses on the inner child itself.

Why Dr. Hew Len put the inner child at the center

In this teaching, problems are not caused by other people or circumstances. They are memories replaying. The Unihipili holds those memories and brings them up, and when it does, you experience them as anger, fear, worry, conflict or illness.

So the work is not to fight the feeling, or to fix the other person. It is to take care of the part of you that is carrying the memory. In the official material drawn from his interviews, the instruction is simple: love your inner child. Loving the Unihipili is described as what allows the memories to be erased, and what makes room for inspiration in their place.

That is why the inner child is not one technique among many in SITH. It is the relationship that every cleaning tool runs through. When you say the four phrases, the Unihipili is the one you are, in effect, speaking with and on behalf of.

What's documented, and what isn't

A lot of material circulates under Dr. Hew Len's name, so it's worth being clear.

Well documented:

• The three-part self (Unihipili, Uhane, Aumakua) and the "inner family" framing, from the official SITH organizations' own published material.
• Dr. Hew Len's emphasis on the relationship with the inner child and on loving yourself, from interviews published by those organizations.
• The four phrases as the best-known cleaning tool, which the official material says work on memories at the subconscious level.

Not reliably documented:

• Most of the specific "Dr. Hew Len inner child meditation" scripts on YouTube, Scribd and blogs. These are compilations and retellings, and their wording differs from one to the next. We could not trace a single verified script to him, so we don't present any as his words.
• The full SITH process. It is taught in the organization's classes, and its materials are copyrighted. We don't reproduce it here.

If you want his teaching in its original form, go to the classes and published readings of the organization that carries Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono.

A simple inner child practice (our suggestion, not an official script)

What follows is the Joe Vitale Academy's own plain-language way to begin, built on the documented ideas above. It is not a SITH process and not a quote from Dr. Hew Len.

1. Notice what's coming up. A flash of irritation, a familiar worry, a tight chest before a conversation. In this teaching, that reaction is a memory the inner child is showing you.

2. Turn your attention inward, not outward. Instead of arguing with the situation or the person, place your attention on yourself. Some people put a hand on their chest or stomach. Others simply say, silently, "I see this."

3. Speak to the inner child kindly. Use the four phrases, directed inward: I'm sorry (for whatever in me is carrying this), Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you. Say them the way you would speak to a child who is upset. Gently, without demanding that the feeling go away.

4. Let go of the result. The point is the relationship, not a guaranteed outcome. You are not trying to force the memory out. You are offering it to be cleaned.

5. Return to it often, briefly. A relationship is built by attention over time. A few phrases several times a day tends to be more sustainable than one long session a week.

If a guided version helps you, many people begin with the four phrases alone. See the four phrases of Ho'oponopono for how to use them day to day.

Common questions

Is this the same as inner child work in therapy?

No. "Inner child" is also a term used in psychology and psychotherapy, where it refers to working with emotional patterns formed in childhood, usually with a trained therapist. The Unihipili in Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono is a spiritual concept within a specific teaching. The two can sit side by side, but one is not a substitute for the other. If you are dealing with trauma, depression or anxiety that affects your daily life, please work with a qualified professional. Ho'oponopono can be a gentle personal practice alongside that care, not instead of it.

Do I have to picture a child?

No. Some people find it helpful to imagine a younger version of themselves. Others don't picture anything and simply direct the phrases inward. The documented teaching emphasizes the relationship and the love, not a particular image.

How is this connected to childhood memories?

In this teaching, the memories held by the Unihipili are not only your own childhood experiences. They are described more broadly than that. But many people first meet this practice through patterns that began in childhood. Our guide to Ho'oponopono for childhood patterns looks at that use specifically.

Where did Dr. Hew Len learn this?

From Morrnah Simeona, the Hawaiian healer who developed Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono. He trained with her from 1982 and taught her process for decades. You can read more in our biography of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len.

Where to go from here

The inner child teaching is the heart of Self-Identity Through Ho'oponopono, but you don't need a class to begin being kinder to the part of you that carries old memories. Start with the four phrases, a few times a day, directed inward.

Our free guide walks you through a simple daily Ho'oponopono routine you can begin today.