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July 2002 Ancient Ways, Lasting Lessons by Darci Rue Mayo

Having just returned from a trip to Aotearoa (New Zealand) I am writing this to honor the Maori people and their earth-based faith. The Maori believe in a whole-person approach to spirituality. They are in tune with nature and the forces of nature. They honor the creatures and the plants that contribute to their lives. The Maori have a wonderful tradition of oral myths and legends which exist as a strongly unifying influence within their midst. There is always a tendency for so-called progress to diminish the ancient ways, but the Maori have taken steps to preserve there beliefs and their sacred ways.

There are several Historical and Cultural Institutes in New Zealand. The institutes are built on tribal lands that are still occupied by descendants of the chiefs that originally settled the land in 500 - 1000 A.D. These centers teach the legends of the Maori people, practice their sacred ceremonies and teach young Maoris the ancient methods of carving, weaving and greenstone shaping.The Maori people are very self-sufficient and strong. They are a people of honor. When a visiting tribe would come to a village for peaceful purposes they would bring a gift and present it to the host in the marae (land in front of the meeting house, all speeches are held here) and if the host accepted the gift they would conduct their business. If they came in war they would approach aggressively and the host would perform the haka (war dance) and much blood would be shed. The interesting thing is they never pretended to come in peace and then ambushed the host village, there was no honor in trickery. I am not promoting war and bloodshed, but I am suggesting that honesty and clarity of intention are powerful tools.

The Maori carried this honor into their sacred ceremonies and meetings. They carved magnificent talking sticks out of Kauri, Manuka and Rimi woods. These talking sticks were not just meant to be passed around to give each person a turn to speak. The talking sticks were charged with the energy of everyone who had ever touched them. The members of the hui (gathering) would tune into the energy of the others in the group and by doing so they would know instinctively who to pass the talking stick to next. As the speaker received the talking stick everyone in the group would focus their energy on the speaker to give them clarity of thought and confidence to share their important message.

Honor. Again, the message of honor was so important. There is no honor in interrupting. There is no honor in putting someone else down to try to make your point sound better. Honor is synergistic. The more you give––the more you get!

As we get caught up in our busy lives and the flood of technology, we forget about honor. It is so easy to send someone an e-mail or post something to an e-mail list that we would never say to someone’s face. It is so easy to remove the human element when we sit in front of our faceless computers. Words have power whether they are spoken or written and it is important to be impeccable with your words. Conflict and discussion are a part of life, but don’t allow trickery to enter into your interactions. Confront from a place of love and choose face-to-face communication for any sensitive matters. Bring your gift or your war dance directly to the feet of your host––don’t e-ambush them somewhere in cyberspace. It is possible to live with the strength of ancient honor in a totally modern world. Kia ora! (To life!)

DARCI RUE MAYO is a certified Medical Intuitive and DNA Practitioner available for consultations, for more information, call: 909-861-3214.