Healing Weekend at the Marae

Prior to arriving in New Zealand this September I set my intention on visiting a Marae and learning a little bit more about Maori / Pacific Island cultures.  Within the first month my mother-in-law delivered a small newspaper clipping that was inviting ‘One And All’ to a Healing Weekend at a local, Upper Hutt Marae. 

Thank you synchronicity!

Is This A Place For Me

I pulled up on Saturday morning to the correct address feeling slightly uneasy and awkward.  The type of feelings one might get when they step into a church or temple of a religion they are unfamiliar with. 

A Marae is a gathering place for meetings and ceremonies of the Maori people in New Zealand.  I did not realize it was not just one building but an entire complex of buildings and rooms.  People were chatting, walking, running, lounging, laughing on the grounds.  Everyone seemed to know someone.  I felt as a bit of an outsider, but stood my ground in hopes of getting a bit more out of this experience.  

 The main hall where all the healings took place.

The magick happened when I asked for direction.  Immediately, I felt the care from all side pour into me.  I was passed down from person to person, introduced and reintroduced.  I was shown where to go, how things work, where the workshops were and how to get to the bathrooms.  I was ushered to the main beautiful building where all the healings were taking place and explained how to choose the proper table by Feeling The Pull.  It only took me a few minutes to feel completely at home.

Blast of Energy

That morning, prior to setting off, I did a little meditation to open myself to all the experiences and people that will cross my path.  This meditation worked a bit too well.  As I took off my shoes and opened the large, wooden door to the Healing Hall, I immediately felt the blow from all the energy in the room.  It was so intense I stood there frozen for a moment and then needed to sit down. 

  This photo was taken on the last day at closing time 

with quite a few people still hanging out.

Inside this hall there were at least 100 people.  There was little room to move.  Massage tables lined the walls with people who were receiving healings.  The middle of the hall was all chairs for those waiting.  Others were standing to watch or chat.  You need to squeeze by in order to get anywhere. 

My Western trained mind saw chaos.  How does anyone know what is going on and who is where and who is next?  At this point, my mind decided to take a break and all I could do was feel.  I felt the strong bond in the room.  People around me were high on life.  There was a lot of love, peace and goodwill floating in the air.  I wanted to stay in here for as long as possible and experience the strange peace and relief I was feeling. 

Do Cry

When I could not handle the intense energy any more I went back to my car to relax, ground and shield myself. 

I rejoined the festivities feeling confident and comfortable. 

This quick visit to see a Marae turned into two full days of healings, readings and workshops.  I learned a lot about fear, relationships, and healing oneself.  I felt fantastic in my body. 

In a workshop titled ‘Constellations’, I watched a large, powerful man participate in a skit playing a role of a broken, alcoholic father.  At one point the skit became so real for him he began to cry.  As tears trickled down his face the entire room could felt his pain.  About 40 people let go and cried together sharing the experience, feeling the devastation and pain of this situation.  We all felt how connected we were at the moment and how group support was such an import of a person’s healing process.

Healings

Many Maori and Pacific Island people provide what they call ‘healings’ for a ‘koha’. 

A Healing is whatever body or energy work a person knows how to do.  It can be a massage or a reiki session.  Often they combine the two or create their own special style using their own tools and skills.  

More then one practitioner can work on a person at the same time.

 

The didgeridoo vibrations can be felt in the entire hall during this man's healing session.  A didgeridoo instrument is native to Australia.

A Koha is a donation.  Everyone is welcome to receive a Healing while paying as little as a $1 if that is all you can afford. 

This practice is a beautiful way to give back Love those in the community.  Body and energy work are such helpful tools in everyone’s Spiritual and Physical Journeys that every person should have affordable access to these types of services.

Using My Internal GPS in Taupo, New Zealand

Prior to starting his work contract in October, Matt and I decided to take a quick getaway to the DeBretts hot springs in Taupo.  For this little retreat we decided not to plan, but just go and see what happens.

The sun has long set once we arrived into Taupo.  As we started driving into the city centre we quickly realized that this resort town had many accommodations on offer.  We immediately had a lot of questions: 

Where should we stay? 

Would every place have a mini fridge for our food? 

Which hotels were in our budget?  

Which hotels were comfy and clean with a great satisfaction rating? 

All good questions, but no quick answers. 

We have been in the car for a few hours now and were not excited about jumping out 25 times at every hotel to interview the reception staff and compare. 

What a perfect opportunity to use our Intuitive GPS!!

After safely parking the car, we both closed our eyes and played the game.  Matt felt extra exhausted that evening and could not focus well so he decided that we will go with whatever I would come up with. 

Oooh the pressure! 

I followed my own advice.  Relaxing and clearing my mind, I set my intention for a wonderful room that will be the perfect relaxation hideout for our 3 days here.  Before I could even completely relax an image of a cobra strongly popped into my mind.  I pushed it aside, thinking, “What nonsense, I am relaxing here.”  However, the image stayed with me, I could not clear it.  Despite the fact that seeing a cobra at night, in New Zealand, while looking for a hotel room made absolutely no sense to me I went with it.  Immediately, a safari full of animals started to appear in my mind’s eye; zebras, lions, a monkey.  What in the world is going on?  How is this supposed to be any help to us at the moment? 

WARNING! 

This is the time where the Intuitive GPS Game can get derailed!  As answers are sent to us, we sometimes do not know how to interpret them properly.  We might not take them seriously, perhaps get frustrated, call it all off in a cloud of confusion.  In these cases, it is a good idea to act as a detective, ask questions for clarification. 

“What do these animals mean?”, I silently asked.  I cleared my mind and listen for the answer.  A new set of animals appear.  This time there was a bear, a bald eagle, and a wolf.   To me these animals represent America.  “Is the answer ‘America’ ?” I ask.  I start to get excited.  That felt right!!!

I picture myself in a blank universe standing on an empty path.  The path represents the highway we are parked on that lead into Taupo.  I asked if we should be looking ahead of us or turn around and drive back.  I felt a very strong pull forward.

Without further delay I pop my eyes open and announce that the answer is ‘America!  Drive on!’  I assume that we are either looking for an American flag or one of the animals that I have seen in my mind.  Perhaps we will see an American flag with a statue of a lion?  Excited, I had a hard time staying open and started to imagine things which resulted in set expectations.  Uh oh.

We drove the main strip slowly, squinting into the dark to see which flags are flying at each hotel.  Not one American flag!  There was a giant Tui bird statue by one of the accommodations, but that did not seem to fit.  What a disappointment!  My answers felt so right!

Tired and confused we decided to check into the first place that was open.  Most of the places seemed dark and uninviting in the night.  However, I remembered seeing a large, wooden building.  It looked like a giant log cabin in a ski town.  This hotel was completely lit up from every side making it look warm and inviting.  I suggested we try there.  Once we backtracked and pulled into the parking lot I realized that this place was a Quality Inn.  We flew from Canada, across the ocean just to stay in an American chain.  Disappointing.  Oh well, cannot be too picky at this time of the night.  

Inside, we were greeted by a chirpy gentleman at reception.  He chatted with us and showed off the rooms.  The hotel had an African safari theme!  The couches and seats were covered in fake zebra hides, there were monkeys on the pillows and elephants stickers on the phones!  

An American chain hotel with an animal theme.  Yup, we are in the right place!!

Our stay was fantastic and everything we wanted!!

MORAL OF THE STORY

When playing the Intuitive GPS Game it is important to stay open to all possibilities. 

Often the answer does not come in the way that you expect.

Ask questions if confused. 

Do not assume.

Experiment and follow you gut feelings.

If you feel it is right, it probably IS!

The Intuitive GPS Game

Here is a fun game to play that strengthens your intuition and leads you in the right direction (with practice).

Have you ever looked for a building you have seen before, but once at the correct street you become uncertain of where exactly it is after all?  Or, have you been hungry in a new city, but clueless of where to go for a meal?  Perhaps you have gotten lost trying to locate an address in an unfamiliar part of town?  The next time you wish for a GPS or a Google search give this little trick a try.

The Intuitive GPS Game Instructions

  1. Pause.  You need to stop in a safe place and relax for a moment.

  2. Clear your mind and your heart.  This way you can be a clear sender and receiver of messages.

  3. Close your eyes.  This helps with focus.

  4. Set an intention.  Where do you want to get to?  What do you want to find?

  5. Imagine yourself the center of the universe, but visualize this universe blank and empty.  

  6. As you stand in this blank universe, notice if you are pulled any which way.  Follow the pull.

The pull may lead you into the right physical direction or to an image or thought.

  

  7. Pay attention to any feelings, thoughts, images that may come up.

  8. Once you have a hunch on where to go follow your guidance to see where it leads! 

Trust the answers, remember it is just a game.

Everybody’s intuition speaks to them in a bit of a different way.  For example, since I am naturally a very visual person I often visualize in my mind’s eye the pathway I should take.  Clues that may be helpful to my situation often appear to me in pictures when I close my eyes.  You may work a bit differently, perhaps you will hear a name, or read a word or have the answer just appear in you mind.   Do not judge, everything counts.

When you play this game, try not to set expectations, just let things happen and follow those hunches. 

Have fun!