2018 – Build Our Youth KOA [Kaitiaki O Aotearoa]

To Parents of Our Youth

Same Climate Change message I repeated in 2017. Now already quarter way into 2018. Except getting a lot more serious. Just finished walking through Aotearoa end last year. Started 23 Sep 2017. Finished 31 Dec 2017. Roughly 2000km in 100 days. Signs around water, rivers and land conditions getting worse.

WalkofWai5

 

Year 2018 will bring more global uncertainty and climate shocks such as earthquakes happening more frequently here in New Zealand and overseas. Stress is affecting our kids more as they cope with increasing technology and social change. Technology is great until power-cuts happen and batteries go flat. Then we have to be self-sufficient and emotionally resilient. We can expect more turbulence in these forthcoming years to 2020 and beyond.

I believe in 3 month seasonal plans and updates as the frequency of climate change is happening a lot quicker.  We need to be more adaptable and creative in our readiness for life. Houses will get flooded. Power lines cut. Cyclones. Coastal chaos.

Here is a curriculum course that I be will running this year 2018 each school holidays.

KOA CURRICULUM FOR SHORT SURVIVAL READINESS FOR KIDS

A practical course for students aged 10 years and above teaching emergency thinking and survivor skills for suburban environments, wooded areas and rivers/beaches.

 

Objective 1. Assemble a mini survival kit.

Each student designs and assembles own mini-survival kit. Essentially a large pencil-case containing simple emergency items derived from $2Dollar shop. Items include plasters, bandage, small torch, handyman-tool, tape and emergency card. This kit stays at the bottom of the student’s school bag in case of emergency away from home.

 

Objective 2. Tying ropes and knots.

Students will be taught 3 types of knots.

–          A knot to tie a shelter down.

–          A knot to rescue a struggling person in need.

–          A knot to lash pieces of wood together.

–          Tying different ropes & improvised materials together in an emergency.

 

Objective 3. Erect an improvised shelter.

Students will be taught to construct an improvised shelter using knots and local materials found in car boots, garages and households. Bush shelter may be taught depending on proximity to native bush.

 

Objective 4. Cook a meal over small stove.

Students will cook a packet of noodles using either gas stove or small hexamine stove. Students will be shown fire-safety and cooking improvisation using local materials.

 

Objective 5. Sleeping outside OVERNIGHT.

Student will sleep outside overnight by erecting their own shelters, make sleeping space and make own food and drink. Students may be woken in middle of night and re-erect shelter as part of testing. Other little challenges may be added to test student resilience and humour.

 

Objective 6. SURVIVE 24 HOURS.

Students will undertake a 24hour guided survival exercise. Scenarios include: alone in open ground, alone in a building or alone in the bush. Students will incorporate all previous survival objectives plus create a personal mindpower-pack for the exercise. This mindpower-pack contains memories, words and feelings that give the student inner strength, courage and hope in an emergency.

Final Thoughts

My hope is that every 5 year old child who starts school from 2017 onwards has a survival kit in their small bag. They be taught calm breathing and simple mind drills as part of their school curriculum. Start simple but lovingly. Add more as they grow. Along with literacy, numeracy and other academic subjects. Their  world will be different to this one right now.

I have started a registered NZ charity C00528 called MANA TREE FUND to fund this type of survival resources and training for children. It has very little money but full of Mana right now. Nem mind, the Mana Tree will grow. Bigger then any Hedge Fund. Lol.

If you feel called to help, share & collaborate then just email me.

 

WOA Path – Kindness of Kids

I recently walked through whole of New Zealand for our waters. The kindness of the kids on my way through always left a heartfelt impression…

Here is one from young Ryan Smelders from Waihola. I stopped at Waihola about 40km south of Dunedin. It was late evening. Ryan and his friend were kicking ball at the local Waihola school. I filled my water bottles using the school drinking fountains. I put on the gas stove, made a hot cuppa and pulled out chocolate thin biscuits. I told the boys to come over and have a brew and biscuit. We talked and laughed over a good cuppa. They left and I got ready to hammock up near the school tree belt for the night.

Ryan later ran back to see me. He was puffing and had no shoes on.
“Did you leave your shoes behind?
“Nah, I want to give you this. Can I make you breakfast in the morning if you want?
I said ” Nah its alright. I be gone early in the morning. Thanks for the kind thought. ”.

He hands me a handwritten note.

Dear bro,
I never learnt your name, but mine is Ryan Smelders. I loved hearing your stories and it inspires me to become the person I want to be. Excuse my handwriting. I don’t have a whole lot to give you but you couldn’t have given me more. I wish you best luck for your life.

Signed, Ryan Smelders

20180221_183826-1

Training My Son – Lessons From 7 Years Ago

This was written 7 years ago when my son Te Aio was 10 years old. He will be 18 years soon. Still relevant for today

Training for Mountains and Life
[Written March 2011]

This short report is about some of the life skills training and resources that I used to teach my 10 year old son Te Aio. He will not stay young for much longer and will soon grow up. Like all parents, I hope that he will grow into a fine, responsible adult and share what he has learnt with others.

I share this with you so that you may share it with your children.

This short report covers. 1. Training experiences. 2. Survival kit for school bag. 3. Breathing patterns.

I believe Te Aio should have experiences, memories and affirmations that he can use to give himself confidence, hope and courage and difficult situations in later life. To help build a strong mind inside his little body. Before he grows up too soon and becomes to set in the ways of modern technology and play-station generation. Going out into nature where the mountains, rivers, forests and opens spaces become the teachers. Be among the elemental elders.

aioprayer

I have taken him into the ancestral mountains of the East Coast as shown above. So he can absorb the power of being in the mountains. To learn basic camping, tracking and finding food and water. Observing the animals to find water. Practicing taiaha martial art movements on the mountain. Teaching him prayer. He might not continue with these things as he grows older. At least he has had an experience of the mountains while still a boy.

I train father to son in a range of skills. I trained him in mainly in Maori martial arts to develop his character, Maori culture and self-defence. He practices with me his father. we start slow. Go through the drills. Keep it simple. Then increase speed and intensity. He knows where to strike his father such that he can disable me quickly and efficiently whether I am striking unarmed or with edged weapon. Yet he’s still a 10 year old boy and so we must keep it fun and not too serious. Reminding him to be responsible. To help others when in need. His name is Te Aio which means peaceful so these practices are in the pursuit of peace. Also he must learn to heal what he has hurt. He participated in a self-defence demonstration to a visiting Italian group and earned $250 which pleased him very much [Note: I gave him half the $500 fee I charged the tour guide]

Te Aio Survival Kit for his School Bag.

1a-smallkit

Te Aio says.

“This is my survival kit that goes in my school bag. My dad made it for me. He got a pencil case from $2 Shop and put stuff in it. A torch, some plaster, a pen and paper to write a note. Some black tape like if you cut yourself and you have no plasters, you can put clean cloth or kawakawa leaf over the cut and tape it. A tool with gadgets. Phone numbers of mum and dad. Our home address. A muesli bar…”

3-smallkit

Dad says.

“Every parent should make a survival kit for their kids. Put it in the bottom of their school pack. It does not cost much. There are other things that could be added to Te Aio kit. A small aluminium survival sheet. A whistle. A laminated card with these instructions. CPR and other emergency drills. Still working on this. You need to check its contents regularly.. The muesli bar can get eaten. Emergency money can get spent on after-school snacks. Having a survival kit is all part of his character building and martial arts training. He has to learn real life skills. Not just stances and blocks.”

Breathing Patterns.

aio-haa-tahi-breathing-tohu

Te Aio says.

“My dad drew these patterns to help my nerves and calm my breathing  when I get wheezy. Also to help me concentrate. They come from the old Maori taiaha which uses a lot of spirals and circle movements. This is from the koru fern frond spiral. It is also same shape as the snail shell.

 

Dad says.

“Trace over the single spiral picture using a finger starting from the outer point while breathing in towards the centre. Hold at the centre for short time then breathe out by tracing the spiral outwards to where you started. It is the basis for the name taiaha –  the spiralling Breath of Life. Be like a snail. Slow down your breathing each time. Do 3 breaths. Inhale for 3 Count. Hold. Exhale for 3 Count.  Repeat 3 times. Breathe in good energy. Breathe out bad feelings. You can draw a spiral in the air. In the clouds. In water. In sand. On the earth. Get a stick or just use your mind to create the spiral. Parents should practice as well. Make it fun. Make the kids curious. Create your own spirals. Add two spirals together. Watch a snail cross a path. Be patient. Slow down the mind and breath….

Remember….Calm Breath1 + Calm Breath2 + Calm Breath3  = CALM MIND

Note To Self dated 29 December 2016.
I wrote this back in March 2011 when son was still 10 years old. He is now 16 years old and all this training has given him a quiet confidence in his school life and outdoor expeditions.

Note To Self dated 16 February 2018.
Te Aio is now 17 years old. Nearly 18 years soon. Finished High School end of 2017. Passed all his Grades. He also achieved his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. The first in our family. He will go to an Award Ceremony at Governor-General’s Residence later this year. He also starred as Enjolas, the Leader of the French Revolution in Les Miserables. He enjoys performance and acting. Hmmm. Hopefully he is available to help me on some this KOA training as he has gone through much of the outdoor training.

Enjolas

Not Your Body, Not Your Brain, What Am I Falling Rain?

You are not your body. You are not your brain. You cannot take them with you. You leave them behind, your farewell gift. They belong to the Earth. On loan. The Earth will take back what is hers. Expired. That is a good thing.

We think we are confined to our body. We think the body stops at the tips of our fingers, the borders of our skin. Yet we have always gone beyond borders. Birthing. Crawling. Baby steps. Walking. Open the front-gate. Another gate. Soon more gates. As we grow up. More fences. Some invisible. Offence. Defence. Soon we stay inside the fence.

Many of us are stuck inside a physical world defined by the body. Reinforced by the mind.  Entertained by consumer emotion. After awhile not much variety, but lots of security. The house, car, marriage, children, job, the dog.. these become extensions of the physical body. Emotional body.  Some people love their car. Show us photos of their car. Polish and admire their car. Dent the car and they cry.  I mean the owner, not the car. The car still exists.

Your life falls apart yet you still exist. Each breath an existence. Breathe the umbilical cord that keeps us connected into the Great Womb of Life. Don’t believe me? Hold your breath for couple minutes. Then notice how your bills, your house, your car all fade away as you become desperate for air. I ask you, what is the strongest force? Love, Light, Whanau, Death? Gaaah..I don’t give a shit right now…I just want air.  Nooooo, I wanna die. You sure? Next breath becomes your car ride back into the body. When we die, we leave on that last out-breath. That outgoing ride. Never to return to this body. Closed. Job done.  Body Parts knock off. Lights out. Gone home.

Proclamation of GRANDMOTHER EARTH To HUMAN RACE

To ALL HUMANS Who Exist Upon GRANDMOTHER EARTH, Greetings….

Let it be known across the entire Universe, that The GREAT IAM, including all derivatives of LITTLE ME-MYSELF-I, hereby proclaim very loudly to All Eyes, Ears and Mouths of THE HUMAN RACE to witness and behold these orders on behalf of GRANDMOTHER EARTH….

I. No more human drilling, fracking and devastation of GRANDMOTHER EARTH

II. No more debt slavery and artificial control of fellow humans and earth creatures by Human Predators and Corporation Parasites.

III. No more profiteering and exploitation of GRANDMOTHER EARTH by Human Predators, Financial Profiteers and Corporation Parasites.

IV. Heal what you Humans have harmed.

V. Clean up all your Human shit.

VI. Restore the harmony you Humans have broken, and

VII. From Now On, Humans live honorably and lightly upon OUR GRANDMOTHER EARTH

Given here on these Lands of First Pacific Nation of Aotearoa (New Zealand) under Guardian Seal of AIOKOA on this Matariki New Year 25th Day of June 2017.

AiokoaSealRedApproved by OUR GRANDMOTHER EARTH

Signed on Her Behalf: Capt, AIOKOA GUARD

 

 

 

This Planet of Plenty – Breathe..

People living in a man-made cage of scarcity. On a planet of plenty. Fenced inside a title of ownership. A plot of land. You must have own a house. A car. A career. Yet these are all temporary. Things that lose their meaning. Remember your new car. How long before it became an old car. Remember your new toy? Until it became an old toy.

Many people complain of lack. Man-made lack. Yet there is abundant air for your man-made lack.

Live in the NOW.

Not YESTERYEAR nor NEXT YEAR.

Tonight you die to this outworld. You sleep the bliss of sleep. Maybe a million people will not wake up tomorrow.

Be centred like a mountain. Amidst your turmoil. Allow the circulating breath of life. Clear and shine in a new view. NOW.

Every experience in this life is for your spiritual growth. Accept it. You created it. Designed it. Experience it. So ENJOY it. Or NOT. Your choice. Be free.

2017- Year of Our Children

 

Dear Parents of Young Children,
The impact of climate change, earthquakes and global events of 2016 lead me to share a training report on survival skills for children written in March 2011. It is more relevant now as we begin 2017.

 

Training for Mountains and Life
[Written March 2011]

This short report is about some of the life skills training and resources that I used to teach my 10 year old son Te Aio. He will not stay young for much longer and will soon grow up. Like all parents, I hope that he will grow into a fine, responsible adult and share what he has learnt with others.

I share this with you so that you may share it with your children.

This short report covers. 1. Training experiences. 2. Survival kit for school bag. 3. Breathing patterns.

I believe Te Aio should have experiences, memories and affirmations that he can use to give himself confidence, hope and courage and difficult situations in later life. To help build a strong mind inside his little body. Before he grows up too soon and becomes to set in the ways of modern technology and play-station generation. Going out into nature where the mountains, rivers, forests and opens spaces become the teachers. Be among the elemental elders.

aioprayer

I have taken him into the ancestral mountains of the East Coast as shown above. So he can absorb the power of being in the mountains. To learn basic camping, tracking and finding food and water. Observing the animals to find water. Practicing taiaha martial art movements on the mountain. Teaching him prayer. He might not continue with these things as he grows older. At least he has had an experience of the mountains while still a boy.

I train father to son in a range of skills. I trained him in mainly in Maori martial arts to develop his character, Maori culture and self-defence. He practices with me his father. we start slow. Go through the drills. Keep it simple. Then increase speed and intensity. He knows where to strike his father such that he can disable me quickly and efficiently whether I am striking unarmed or with edged weapon. Yet he’s still a 10 year old boy and so we must keep it fun and not too serious. Reminding him to be responsible. To help others when in need. His name is Te Aio which means peaceful so these practices are in the pursuit of peace. Also he must learn to heal what he has hurt. He participated in a self-defence demonstration to a visiting Italian group and earned $250 which pleased him very much.

Te Aio Survival Kit for his School Bag.

1a-smallkit

Te Aio says.

“This is my survival kit that goes in my school bag. My dad made it for me. He got a pencil case from $2 Shop and put stuff in it. A torch, some plaster, a pen and paper to write a note. Some black tape like if you cut yourself and you have no plasters, you can put clean cloth or kawakawa leaf over the cut and tape it. A tool with gadgets. Phone numbers of mum and dad. Our home address. A muesli bar…”

3-smallkit

Dad says.

“Every parent should make a survival kit for their kids. Put it in the bottom of their school pack. It does not cost much. There are other things that could be added to Te Aio kit. A small aluminium survival sheet. A whistle. A laminated card with these instructions. CPR and other emergency drills. Still working on this. You need to check its contents regularly.. The muesli bar can get eaten. Emergency money can get spent on after-school snacks. Having a survival kit is all part of his character building and martial arts training. He has to learn real life skills. Not just stances and blocks.”

Breathing Patterns.

aio-haa-tahi-breathing-tohu

Te Aio says.

“My dad drew these patterns to help my nerves and calm my breathing  when I get wheezy. Also to help me concentrate. They come from the old Maori taiaha which uses a lot of spirals and circle movements. This is from the koru fern frond spiral. It is also same shape as the snail shell.

 

Dad says.

“Trace over the single spiral picture using a finger starting from the outer point while breathing in towards the centre. Hold at the centre for short time then breathe out by tracing the spiral outwards to where you started. It is the basis for the name taiaha –  the spiralling Breath of Life. Be like a snail. Slow down your breathing each time. Do 3 breaths. Inhale for 3 Count. Hold for 3 Count. Exhale for 3 Count. Hold for 3 Count. Repeat 3 times. Breathe in good energy. Breathe out bad feelings. You can draw a spiral in the air. In the clouds. In water. In sand. On the earth. Get a stick or just use your mind to create the spiral. Parents should practice as well. Make it fun. Make the kids curious. Create your own spirals. Add two spirals together. Watch a snail cross a path. Be patient. Slow down the mind and breath….”

Two Spirals…

aio-haa-tahi-breathing-tohu

Remember….Calm Breath1 + Calm Breath2 + Calm Breath3  = CALM MIND

 

Note To Self dated 29 December 2016.

I wrote this back in March 2011 when son was still 10 years old. He is now 16 years old and all this training has given him a quiet confidence in his school life and outdoor expeditions.

Year 2017 will bring more global uncertainty and climate shocks such as earthquakes happening more frequently here in New Zealand and overseas. Stress is affecting our kids more as they cope with increasing technology and social change. Technology is great until power-cuts happen and batteries go flat. Then we have to be self-sufficient and emotionally resilient. We can expect more turbulence in these forthcoming years to 2020. I believe 6 months -1 year planning cycles as the frequency of change is happening so much quicker. We need to be more adaptable and creative in our readiness for life.

Here is a curriculum course for parents to use and adapt..

CURRICULUM FOR A SHORT SURVIVAL COURSE FOR KIDS

A practical course for students aged 10 years and above teaching emergency thinking and survivor skills for suburban environments, wooded areas and rivers/beaches.

 

Objective 1. Assemble a mini survival kit.

Each student designs and assembles own mini-survival kit. Essentially a large pencil-case containing simple emergency items derived from $2Dollar shop. Items include plasters, bandage, small torch, handyman-tool, tape and emergency card. This kit stays at the bottom of the student’s school bag in case of emergency away from home.

 

Objective 2. Tying ropes and knots.

Students will be taught 3 types of knots.

         A knot to tie a shelter down.

         A knot to rescue a struggling person in need.

         A knot to lash pieces of wood together.

         Tying different ropes & improvised materials together in an emergency.

 

Objective 3. Erect an improvised shelter.

Students will be taught to construct an improvised shelter using knots and local materials found in car boots, garages and households. Bush shelter may be taught depending on proximity to native bush.

 

Objective 4. Cook a meal over small stove.

Students will cook a packet of noodles using a small hexamine stove. Students will be shown fire-safety and cooking improvisation using local materials.

 

Objective 5. Sleeping outside.

Student will sleep outside overnight by erecting their own shelters, sleeping spaces and cook own food. Students may be woken in middle of night and re-erect shelter as part of testing. Other little challenges will be added to test student resilience.

 

Objective 6. SURVIVE 24 HOURS.

Students will undertake a 24hour guided survival exercise. Scenarios include: alone in open ground, alone in a building or alone in the bush. Students will incorporate all previous survival objectives plus create a personal mindpower-pack for the exercise. This mindpower-pack contains memories, words and feelings that give the student inner strength, courage and hope in an emergency.

Final Thoughts

My hope is that every 5 year old child who starts school from 2017 onwards has a survival kit in their small bag. They be taught calm breathing and simple mind drills as part of their school curriculum. Start simple but lovingly. Add more as they grow. Along with literacy, numeracy and other academic subjects. Their  world will be different to this one right now.

I have started a registered NZ charity C00528 called MANA TREE FUND to fund this type of survival resources and training for children. It has very little money but full of Mana right now. Nem mind, the Mana Tree will grow. Bigger then any Hedge Fund. Lol.

If you feel called to help, share & collaborate then just email me.

 

 

Cultivate The Great Tree Within

In order for peace and justice to emerge on the surface of humanity, we need to cultivate beneath surfaces. Go deep into the heartland of thy being. Beneath the depths of our soul. The roots of Creation. To discover the Great IAM within. Cultivate the Great Tree of Light within.

We all need to do the inner work, purify our own internal dogma, grievances, heal ghosts and wounded ancestries. Begins with my self. Governance begins inside me. Self Belief. Self Creation. Self Defence. Self Discipline. Disciple of Self. Who am I? The Quest of Self begins. Then I can be fully present to take my rightful place for I know who I am. My new name I declare. Old settler name or new sovereign name? Nah I must take full responsibility for the words of my own mouth, the acts from my own hand? I restore the honour I have broken, i heal the harm I have done. Honour and harmony. I expect others to pick up their own shit, keep their word, honour themselves. This process of reclamation of sovereignty. Its not about external systems, titles and new emperors having sovereignty again as per old forms. Nah the new sovereignty will not be a simple duplication of the old structure.

The monarch butterfly must leave its old earth bound caterpillar body….

A new language of life emerges. The AURA is The Crown. IAM AHAU. IAM AU. AU is Chemical Symbol for Gold.

AURA = Your Golden Light…..Many Colours within.  Hmmm. Look in the mirror. Really look in the mirror? That’s just an appearance. Close your eyes. Now start to see. Expand your perceptions. Extend yourself beyond the borders of your body. Beyond the beliefs of your brain. Just a nut. It has to crack sometime.

A New Tree of Light emerges. Illuminated States of Mind.

New Lands of Life emerge from fossil concrete…

01-aiokoastar

NZ Housing Crisis and Maori Feng Shui

New Zealand is undergoing incredible change for a small country of 4.65 million people. Immigration is annually 70,000 people. In nearly 25 years since 1991, our country has seen incredible demographic changes. Technology has advanced towards virtual realities. Smart phones are commonplace.


We also have a National debt of $493 Billion (half a trillion) consisting mainly household debt at  $232.9 Billion. One of the highest debt ratios per capita in the world according to NZ Herald Insights June 2016. 
A flash point in New Zealand is the Auckland Housing Market. The impact of this rising bubble has seen house prices increase in last 5 years by over 100% where the median house price in Auckland is now $1million dollars. Within 4 years, this bubble will have burst. Like a boiling kettle. There is a phase change as heated water becomes steam. Expect houses to have deflated in value by 50%. Probabilities of reaching boiling point increase daily. Wildcard events loom. What could burst the Auckland Housing Bubble? Hit boiling point. auckland_house_prices-crashThere are many possible wildcards both globally and regionally.

  • US elections in November 2016. Trump or Hillary?
  • USA/Nato declares war on Russia and Syria
  • South China Sea Conflict flares up between US Allies and China
  • Queen Elizabeth II dies. Brexit II.
  • US Fed Reserve raises interest rates.
  • Global Financial Crisis triggered as Deutsche Bank fined $14Billion.
  • New Zealand 2017 elections cause backlash against foreign homebuyers and Maori special treatment policies.


NZ Herald July 2016
NZ-born Chinese teen’s letter to Kiwis –
‘I no longer feel welcome’

 

Lost Chinese-Kiwi Generation
China is one of the oldest civilisations in the world giving us names such as Confucius, Tao Te Ching, Feng Shui and much more. I recently asked three Chinese students down Lower Queen Street  Auckland if they knew about I-Ching or Feng Shui. They smiled politely and shook their heads. Later at a bus-stop, I asked a young Chinese mother with a pram who replied,

“No, I Ching is old China from my parents. I born in New Zealand. I am a Kiwi.”

“Have you visited a Marae? No.

“Do you know what Wairua is? No.

“Do you know about Haka”? Yes All Blacks”.

I smiled. A New Zealand born Chinese women who calls herself a Kiwi yet neither knows her Chinese roots nor the Maori origins of her New Zealand identity. Fragile yet sincere in her beliefs. Her baby smiles at me.

 

Chinese Realtor Example

I walked into the Harford Real Estate Agency in downtown CBD Auckland. A Chinese Realtor standing at reception. He asked if I was interested in buying a house? I picked up a brochure and looked at some houses. He had cotton wool in his right ear – a sore ear perhaps. I picked out an older house with traditional facade and verandah. Probably built during World War 2. 1940s.


“What do you know about this house?

“Huh?”

“A house has a story. It was a home to someone. Like you and me, it has memories. Who lived there, who died there? The families of the past?”

He looked confused. I don’t blame him. I carried on,

”A  house is energy. Made from the elemental elders. Wood. Earth. Mineral, Fire. Water. Wind. Each family leaves a memory. Children grew up in that old house.  Acknowledge it. Give thanks to the old house. Then it will welcome the new family. New Chi, or Mauri as we Maori call it.”

His face was blank…still looking uncomfortable.

I explained,

 “Good chi creates good energy. Add extra 10% to the selling price of the house. $100,000 dollars. Maybe $200,000 when auctioneer tell a good story and sell good chi to interested buyers..”

His face lit up. Suddenly he interested.

I said, “Your ear not so sore. You heard the money.”

yinyang

Maori Marae Using Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Housing

Two years ago, I was Manager of Iwi Energy Projects, NZ Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority where I was responsible for integrating maori values, brokering iwi partnerships and facilitating Maori energy efficiency programmes across the country. One particular project involved Marae Energy Hubs incorporating marae infrastructure, renewable energy supply and energy efficient iwi houses. Here is a Marae in Eastern Bay of Plenty with a 5KW grid connected Solar PV system. Surrounding houses insulated and audited for energy efficiencies. Smart integration of renewable energy supply and energy efficiencies can save annual costs from 20%-40%.

 otuwharemarae-min

 

Building The New Infrastructure of New Zealand

Here are my thoughts regarding current Auckland housing market.

 

“Capitalism and Speculation is destroying the egalitarian NZ Society I grew up in. Investors have bought nearly half of all sold houses in Auckland. Old houses getting demolished for new apartments. Streets full of empty houses while the homeless sleep in cars with their children. Investors treating houses like poker chips waiting for sell signals while homeless beggars grow more prevalent. When the Crash happens and it will..house prices will crash 50% or more in value. New Zealand Private Household Debt is around $233 Billion according Reserve Bank of NZ. Our small economy will tank when the Crash happens. A Recession even Depression as reality bites. Welcome to New Zealand 2017.”

 

New Zealand is in a state of transition. Immigration, housing prices, disruptive technologies and global social changes are all converging. The impending Housing crash is but one symptom. This fundamental problem cannot be solved alone using financial engineering by The Reserve Bank of New Zealand nor legislative controls by NZ Parliament.

We need a shift in consciousness. It starts at the root. Energy. Matter. Mind. Man. It all starts with our beliefs. This is why I am creating innovative training such as Maori Feng Shui under Aio Koa Temple to build more sustainable, energy conscious teachings for future generations.

maoriyinyang3

Syrian Boy, Suicide And Hari Koa – Fearless Smile

In memory of this little Syrian boy who drowned a year ago. I also raise the growing suicide rates among NZ school children and US military veterans as well.syrian-boy-drowned-mediterranean-tragedy-artists-respond-aylan-kurdi-1

Refugee, homelessness, suicide and military PTSD are all related in some way. People are struggling to connect with finding a home,both spiritual and physical.

A lot of school children in NZ are attempting suicide on a daily basis. My cousin Nori Parata at Uawa Area High School Tolaga Bay deals with 3-4 suicides a week. A decade ago this was unheard of. Its shows that emotional resilience & aroha is needed to heal the young wounded hearts. Something is fundamentally wrong with society when our young see no point in living and have lost their connection to life. The only way out is to exit life. It is a form of homelessness. Just like people without a physical house. The soul exits the house of the body and leaves the planet. Suicide. She is not happy with her whare (house), whanau (family) or whenua (land). So she leaves all three behind. Physical homelessness and spiritual homelessness are both connected. Same with the large numbers of military veterans in US who commit suicide daily. Around 22 a day. Again they feel disconnected from life and society so they exit the body.

It starts with caring. Real caring that burns you and hurts you to tears. Bit like looking at this small Syrian boy who drowned on Greek shore 1 year ago today. Refugee at a young age. Little shoes on. Peaceful in death. Today is Father’s day in NZ yet this boy’s father is asking why my little boy? After one year, the Syrian war continues to get worse. More kids dying. This is our SOS signal to us adults. We start making a change. All Fathers, use Father Day to answer SOS call. Start with a Smile. It says a 100 words in any language. A Smile. A whole body smile. Eyes, face, mouth, aura smiling.Then the Kids will remember to Smile. Life will have hope. Practice Hari Koa, the martial art of fearless smiling. A fearless smile that cracks your face from cheek to cheek. If you are gummy, no teeth, or big scar, that is better. It shows fearlessness and happiness at being fully you in this present moment. Look in the mirror. Give a full facial smile. Combined with a double fisted haka move “Yes”. Practice crying and then smiling as you wipe the snot and tears away. Then the kids will see the real power that a smile has. There is life after a good cry. A smile is like a sun returning when the dark storm has ripped you apart. Be fearless and smile for life. Smile in memory of the innocent dead children. Different type of smile to the full gushing one yet just as powerful for it is bitter sweet. Be fearless with your smile. Thank it. It will appear more.