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

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.

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.

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…”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Approved by OUR GRANDMOTHER EARTH

Signed on Her Behalf: Capt, AIOKOA GUARD

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.

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. There 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.”

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%.

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.

Here is a radio interview I did recently examining the Middle East Crisis from a Spiritual Forces point of view. A key message was reminding military officers and soldiers to act from their own Individual Oaths of Allegiance to Higher Principles and Conscience rather than Presidential Orders & Sovereign Oaths of Allegiance. Military Special Forces must become Spiritual Forces who balance the Scales of War and Peace. Be The Bearers of Life and Death. Acting from a higher sense of duty and planetary point of view. Put the Sol back into the word Sol-dier. We need wise old Souls in key Military Commands to prevent future World Wars. Benevolent intelligence hacks to override remote killing technologies. The Middle East Conflict in my opinion symbolizes the end of the Bible Story. Not the end of Earth. We will need some global breakdowns and breakthroughs as we rewrite a New Story for Earth and Humanity.

The Middle East is a complex archaeology of historical, religious and geographical layers thousands of years old. I cannot do this subject justice and there are better qualified people to speak and comment. Yet through a spiritual lense, I see that this as a global turning point where we can consciously create Heaven or Hell on Earth. It starts within each person. Heaven is not being biblical but seeing little heavens & miracles appearing all over the world as we shift to global heart awakening. Little Gardens of Eden or equivalent sanctuaries of inspired humanity. Hell is to keep on our current path towards WW3 destruction and destroy most of humanity and surface life. Either way, Earth will continue.

Click here to hear the interview:

What is personality, ego, identity or whatever name we give it? On my walk this morning I was talking to myself. My personality is like another “person” that is the co-creation of my every interaction between my inner self and this outside world since I was born. My personality exists in me. It cannot exist separately for I made you. Yet it is the translator, the gatekeeper and manager of my relationship with the outside world.

Do you know me? Or my personality? Who is talking here..

Right now my personality is translating my mental thoughts into physical symbols called English. It is managing my muscle movements to type on a laptop. It is monitoring my emotions and reactions at what I am writing? What will you think of it? Maybe you like it. Nah you think it is full of shit. Does shit think?

It does not matter. Literally it is non-matter. But the decisions of our personality does affect the matter within our body. We feel sensations, vibrations, emotions that our personality decides which are important or not. It uses its own rules to decide. Rules built upon zillions of definitions and impressions gained mainly from outside world interactions since I was born. The decision that I write this in English comes loaded with a whole dictionary of definitions, beliefs, assumptions, histories, emotions that my personality uses to create its rules around what is “English”.

When I was a kid my personality was a pure expression of my inner self. No rules just freedom of expression. I shit my pants. Ran naked. Touched myself. Cried. Broke precious things. Then as I started to grow physically, the outworld started breaking me in. I learnt its rules. No. Stop. Shhh. Ouch. Rules. Behaviours. Laws. Regulations. More rules. Opinions. Judgments. Jobs. Roles. Money. And on and on.

These shaped my Personality. The person you experience.

These create my Personal Reality. The life I experience.

Today, most of my  Personal Reality has been shaped by the outer world. Yet my inner self still whispers to me. My inner truth still guides me. As best as it can. In moments of silence or crisis our inner truth can be experienced. We have a feeling of connection with our own core essence. The soul. The heart.  The innocence. Then the rules of the personality return and the outworld takes precedence over our behaviours once again.

My personality I exhibit, this personal reality I experience is a complex creation of interwoven beliefs, behaviours, definitions, illusions built up over the years ever since I was born.

A bit like this spider web. It was catching the light this morning. My personality is like this spider web. It catches both physical and spiritual matter entering my consciousness yet it is just one web among many. The leaf, the tree, the grass are all webs of life as well. In many ways, adults become stuck inside our own webs of beliefs, values and other threads that hold our personality, our personal reality together. We forget we are the streaming sunlight the sol energy entering into the earth sphere through the human web.

So what?

Your personal reality is just a projection you are living your life through. Change it. Change the channel. Change your core vibrations & your root definitions. Return to the courageous state of my two year old inner self yet merge it  with the learned wisdom from my 50 years or more of this outworld life. From the memories of other human lifetimes I have lived. This allows a new reality to emerge. Inside-out revelation.

Start unpicking your personality? Where are the biggest blocks in your life? What part of your personality is not your truth? What part of your life sucks? What part flows? What behaviours, work patterns, daily routines & rules of society do not resonate with you? Who is that autonomous person that you think is you.

Clean the limiting threads of your personality? Unstitch it until the dark parts fall off. What you will find is that the inner you is already complete in itself. Already radiant and glorious unto itself. You have forgotten to connect to your inner self. Start vibrating this radiant idea, this fresh thought, this new revelation into your physical being. You can now experience a new personal reality that is your perfect creation, the perfect balance between your inner self and the outer world.

Start your new story..new name…new characters…new reality…what stops you eh?

“The first battle is overcoming our own fears, limiting beliefs and negative behaviours. Its not just physical self-defence anymore but emotional, dietary, cyber-bullying, human rights & environmental defence. We need to equip our young ones with the internal strength & skills to cope with a rapidly-changing world.”

What is Peace? Is it the absence of War? Or is it just a point of relativity. The calm spot within the turbulent storm spiral. Or The first opening of a shoot. Too much stillness can stagnate. Too much movement can dissipate.  If I am the Sky, then cloudy or fine weather is just a face I am wearing today. If I am the Earth, then earthquakes and volcanoes are just expressions of my being. Tell that to the humans who celebrate or complain about the weather and natural disasters. Maybe compassion in the face of cruelty. Kindness instead meaness.

One must be the staff, the pole, the axis around which spins the winds of fate. You must use your staff, your centre, your heart as your point of relativity. A place where you consider your relationship to all things.

Why are we not fully living our paths if we know that we are all meant to be enthused, excited, universal flow, higher expressions of life? Why are we not creating from the heart and soul rather than purely living from a mind-money consciousness which keeps people locked inside mental walls of social misery. Why have we become smaller, docile versions of our human selves?

A small bird sits in the pouring rain without feeling sorry it has no raincoat or no money. It does not beg, does not seek therapy nor become homeless. It will just fly away and sing its birdsong in rain & shine? It will build its nest with its own labour & building materials. No bankers or builders needed. It will educate its young using its tiny bird-brain. We must ask bigger questions of ourselves. Do not let this human outworld or falling rain or social pain define us. Live from an inner world of fearless self-definition. Live from an inner palace of heart & fire. Create & radiate your thoughts, words & deeds from this place & state. Have the courage of a little bird in the rain..