Denying Your Feelings

Daily OM: Dealing with powerful emotions can be challenging, especially when we are going through chaotic, sad, or cruel experiences in our lives. Often, it can seem like we have only two options for dealing with our feelings so they don't become too overwhelming. We may let our feelings out in an immediate and visceral way, or we may bottle them up by suppressing our emotions inside our bodies. Most people make the second choice, repressing their feelings in an attempt to deny them.

The truth is that there are many positive ways to deal with emotions, and experiencing your negative feelings doesn't have to constitute a negative experience. Denying your feelings is not only unhealthy for the mind and the body, but it may also rob you of valuable information you could be learning about yourself and your life. Suppressing your emotions can even impede your short-term memory. Acknowledging your feelings can help you better understand them and help you recover naturally from change, stress, and grief.

If you find that facing your feelings head on is proving too difficult during times of emotional distress, you may want to explore alternative ways of expressing them. Otherwise, the emotions you deny could morph into unconscious anger or self-hatred. Expressing your thoughts to friends or family can be helpful...read more>>>...

New Zealand Maori Elder Warns Of Coming Earth Changes

"Every country has its original people, for America it is the Native Americans, for Australia it is the Aboriginals, for New Zealand it is the Maori. What do these people all have in common? They are spiritually gifted, closely knit people who generally keep to themselves, share their tribal prophesies with very few outsiders and generally lead simpler lives closely tied to the Earth.

This story started on Tuesday the 4th of August 1998, when I was visited by a lady who was a Elder of one of the Maori Tribes. Even though she's probably only about 45, she's a descendent from the Royal Bloodline of the Maori Queen. She has what is called, great "Mana", and although there isn't an English translation for the word, it means that the person has to have great wisdom, earned INCREDIBLE respect, and has abilities like inner visions and intuition.

During her second visit she told me that Lake Taupo would "blow" (her words); and, she added, she could take me to nearby places where there were valleys that would be filled with 100's and 100's of bodies just floating there after Taupo blows. Then, she went on with her other explanations of how the whole of New Zealand would be effected with all the twisting and turning it would have to endure (not a pretty thought!). Of course, I asked her when all this would happen and - just like the Hopis - she said "soon, very soon" but she did go a little further than that. "

Extract taken from 'NEW ZEALAND MAORI ELDER WARNS OF COMING EARTH CHANGES ' by by Karen Lyster

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New Zealand Maori win haka fight

The New Zealand government has agreed to acknowledge Maori ownership of the haka war dance used by the national rugby team, the All Blacks.

The agreement comes after protracted negotiations between the government and several Maori tribes seeking compensation for historic grievances. Millions of dollars are being paid in a comprehensive settlement.

The move follows concerns the Ka Mate haka, known to rugby fans world-wide, was being commercially exploited. In 2006, an advertisement for Fiat cars featured Italian women doing a version of the haka. The challenge has also featured in a cinema film about rugby called Forever Strong.

The government has now agreed that the Ka Mate haka belongs to a Maori tribe, the Ngati Toa. Its chief, Te Rauparaha, was recognised as the originator of the haka, written to celebrate his escape from death in a battle in the 1820s. (Courtesy: BBC News)

Legend of the “Patu-paiarehe.”

A New Zealand poet once lamented the dearth of fairy lore in these islands, and in his ignorance made complaint:

Why have we in these isles no fairy dell, No haunted wood, nor wild enchanted mere?

He declared that this lack of faerie glamour must be filled by the imaginative writer—“The poet's art—as yet without avail—must weave the story.” It was unfortunate that a writer with so sympathetic a muse had never heard of the Maori's rich store of fairy legend and wonder-tale, of endless folk-talk about the supernatural, the sprites of the woods, the elusive Patu-paiarehe, the mysterious wild men of the mountains, the strange spirits that haunt great pools at river-sources, and streams and lakes. For all this in endless variety we have in New Zealand. There is not another country, not even Ireland or the fairy-ridden Isle of Man, so full of folk-memories and primitive beliefs of this kind. The only reason that the pakeha does not know of it is that very, very few have gone to the trouble to delve into this class of myth and tradition and preserve while there is yet time the curious and poetic tales which crystallize for us the old Maori belief in unseen presences and the fairy folk that haunted many a lofty mountain and many a shadowy wood.

Fairies, giants, fabulous monsters, marvel-working magicians, strange apparitions of forest and alp, have ever been found in countries of such a mountainous, broken and generously-wooded character as New Zealand, and it would be strange indeed if so imaginative a race as the Maori-Polynesian had not peopled the land with all manner of curious extra-human beings.

Poetic above all the other myths of the strange and supernatural are the many stories which tell of that mystic race the Patu-paiarehe. This name Patu-paiarehe is the term applied by the Maori to the mysterious forest-dwelling people who for want of a more exact term may be described as the fairies of New Zealand. They are spoken of as an iwi-atua, a race of supernatural beings, and they are accredited with some of the marvellous powers attributed to the world of faerie in many other parts of the globe. Some folk-tales of the Maori describe them as little people, but the native fancy does not usually picture them the tiny elves common to the old-world fairydom. Most of the legends I have gathered give them the ordinary stature of mortals, while at the same time investing them with some of the characteristics of the enchanted tribes of other lands.

The Patu-paiarehe were for the most part of much lighter complexion than the Maori; their hair was of the dull golden or reddish hue “uru-kehu,” such as is sometimes seen among the Maoris of to-day. They inhabited the remote parts of the wooded ranges, preferring the highest peaks such as Hihikiwi, on Mount Pirongia, and the summit of Te Aroha. They ventured out only by night and on days of heavy clouds and fog. They lived on forest foods, but sometimes they resorted to the shores of sea and lake for fish.

They had a great aversion to the steam rising from the Maori cooking-ovens, and to the sight and smell of kokowai, the red ochre (hæmatite earth mixed with shark oil) with which the Maori bedaubed his dwelling and himself. They were greatly skilled in all manner of enchantments and magic, and they often employed these arts of gramarie to bewilder and terrify the iwi Maori. Nevertheless we find them at times living on good terms with their Maori neighbours, and indeed (see the Story of Tarapikau in “The Wars of the Fairies”) guarding the interests of their friends of the outer world and resenting any interference by Patu-paiarehe from another district.

The Patu-paiarehe, in a number of these fairy tales, constituted themselves the guardians of sacred places and visited their displeasure on those who neglected the rites for the propitiation of the forest deities.

This class of folk-tales no doubt originated in the actual existence of numerous tribes of aborigines who dwelt for safety in the more inaccessible parts of these islands. Many of them were reddish-haired, with fairer complexions than those of the Maori; the remnants of an immeasurably ancient fair-haired people who have left a strain of uru-kehu in most Maori tribes.... Read More ...

"The Scottish Haka"

Maori Magic II

Maori Divination
Because of the ever-changing natural environment, divination among the Maoris involved interpreting fluctuations in these natural sources. For example, a leaf might be cast into the wind and the way it flew and fell would be interpreted by the tohunga as a favour or otherwise from the deity invoked.

Kites, in the shape of men or animals, were flown and the directions they moved in were used to foretell the likely success of a venture, especially in war.

Interpretation relied on the intuitions and inspirations of the tohunga and so Maori divination is especially suitable as a focus for modern personal decision-making, because there are no fixed meanings but rather triggers for our own inner voice to tell us the best way forward.

Rituals were carried out by the tohunga for matters of tribal importance, although ordinary Maoris and even children would use the simpler divinatory rites to discover whether they were favoured by the gods. Although many of the tribal rites involved the success of war parties, they might also divine whether a time was auspicious for fishing or hunting.

There were several variations of the niu ritual. In war divination, the deity Tu-Matauenga would be invoked for his blessing, as well as the appropriate tribal gods and ancestors. War was considered a positive way of expressing loyalty to ancestors and avenging any recent ghosts of those lost in war or killed by the forces of an opposing chief’s malevolent magic men (tohunga makatu).

In one version of the ritual, a tohunga placed a mat on the ground and after fasting and prayer, took fern stalks in his hand, one for each of the chiefs who were going to war. Each ‘home tribe’ stick was given the name of a particular chief and tied with a piece of flax. The same number of fern stalks without flax ties were chosen to denote chiefs of the opposing tribe. The set of ‘enemy warrior’ sticks was fastened upright through the mat.

The tohunga took up the ‘home warrior’ sticks and threw each one in turn at a stick without a tie. If the named stick dropped to the left of the chosen upright stick, the named chief would fall. If it dropped to the right, the named chief would survive enemy attack. This was done for all the chiefs on the war party, using different ‘enemy warrior chiefs’. The results would determine whether the time was auspicious to proceed with the raid.

Maori Magic I

Maori magic is rooted in the nature of island existence, surrounded by mighty oceans, skies with clear stars and beautiful sunsets.

Because of their long isolation and rich mythology, Maoris developed a strong artistic, social and economic tradition of their own, while keeping links with the cosmology of the East Polynesian world. Because New Zealand is surrounded by huge tracts of ocean and the Maoris depended so much on ‘the fruits of the ocean’ one of principal deities is Tangaroa the God of the Oceans, fish, sea fairies, mermen and maidens. He breathed only twice a day giving rise to the tides and sometimes appears as a huge fish.

The Maori gods are those of the natural world and reflect the constant fluctuations of climate and rich ecology. There are three realms to existence according to the Maori ...

The first Realm was Te Kore, the nothingness, from which came the wai ora, the waters of life. Te Kore was the life force in undeveloped form. In this realm, the primal parents, Rangi the Sky Father and Papa the Earth Mother, were locked in perpetual embrace. With the birth of their first child, Tangaroa, it is said that Papa’s body became so filled with the waters of life that they burst forth to make the oceans.

Te Po, the Night, now came into being. However, Rangi and Papi were so close to each other, that their six children were unable to move or see the light. Tane-Mahuta, God of the Forests, trees, birds and insects, became a tree and forced the sky upwards. He clothed his father with Kohu the god of Mist, Ika-Roa, the Milky Way and the shining stars. Tane-Mahuta then clad his mother with forests, ferns and plants. The sorrow of the parted Rani and Papa can still be seen the in morning mists ascending from the earth and rain descending from the sky. Tawhiri-matea, God of the Winds and Elements, was so angry at the sorrow of his parents, that the war broke out among the gods that still causes storms and tempests. As a result of the separation, the universe had two spheres: Te Rangi was the sphere of sky, heaven and day, Te Po the sphere of night, dark and the underworld.

The third realm in which humankind lives is Te Ao Marama, the world of Light, which lies between Earth and Sky. The waters of life flow into this world and are part of everything, even the rocks of the Earth, the plants and the insects.

One story of the origins of man and his mortality is that Tane asked his mother Papa to give him a mate. She offered him pine trees, exotic plants, flax and pools of water. But Tane wanted a woman. Papa told him to make a female body from the Earth and to lie on the Earth embracing it. So Tane formed a female being, Hine-ahu-one. Their daughter was given the name Hine-a-taura. Tane took her also as his wife but when Hine-a-taura discovered her origins, she fled into the darkness below where she became known as Hine-nui-te-po, Great Woman of the Night. A dying man was said to creep to sleep in the womb of the Sleeping Mother Death.

When man dies, he can enter the realm of the gods, either by the entrance under Cape Reinga in the far north to Rarohenga, the Underworld, or, if he is a high chief, he is taken by spirit canoe to the heavens where his eyes become stars.

When Maui-Tinihanga, Maui of the Many Devices, a demi-god hero, realised his own death was drawing near, he pursued Hine-nui-te-po. He knew if he could crawl through her body and come out the other end without waking her he could overcome not only his own death but undo the curse of mortality for his descendants. However, just as he was inside a fantail bird called out and woke the Goddess of Death and Decay. So men must die.

Maui is the hero credited with bringing fire to the Maoris by obtaining it from its guardian Mahuika, the ogress clan mother. He also created the land of the Maoris, fishing up Te Ika a Maui, the fish of Maui, which became the North Island of New Zealand. His canoe remains on a mountain Hikurangi on which the first Light fell when Sky and Earth were separated. The city of Wellington stands on Whanga-Nui-a-Tara, the great Bay of the Sea Goddess Tara that was formed from one of the eyes of the great fish.

Maui’s greatest achievement was when he caught the sun. He decided that the days were too short for work and the nights too long. With his brothers he went to catch the sun, Tama Nui-Te-Ra to make it travel more slowly across the sky. Maui used the strong hair of his sister, Hina-Ika, lady of the fish, to make a net to pull the sun into the world. Then he released it, letting it flew across the sky. In the West, the land of Avaiki, Maui used the net to lower the sun gently into the seas. This progress can be seen every day.

The Maoris claim their ancestry from Rangi and Papa through the lineage of the deities and hero ancestors. Those who claimed descent in a line of first-born males from an original ancestor were accorded the highest rank in Maori society. For example, a chiefly family in the Cook islands, traces 65 generations back to Atea, another name for Rangi and Papa.

The high-born Maoris inherited mana (power or prestige) from these original god ancestors. Mana links the world of man with the world of spirit and was the gods’ favour, a spiritual energy that assured the warrior safety in battle and the farmer rich crops. A woman has mana when she bears a chief many healthy sons to carry on the line and the tohunga or priest has mana when his incantations and karakia (charms) bring success to the tribe, whether ensuring safety in childbirth, rain or causing the animals and birds to be plentiful for hunting.

Mana was regulated with a system of tapu or taku. Tapu, which means sacred and therefore implied separateness from ordinary ways of living, took the place of law as well as of religion. So seriously was this taken that a tohunga or priest who had carried out a magical ceremony was so tapu he might eat only food served on the end of a stalk to avoid any physical contact with others.

Communication between the ancestors and their descendants was central to Maori existence. The ancestors guarded their descendants by intervening or even appearing personally. When any two groups met, the ancestors of both parties would be present as well as the newly-departed dead and had to be welcomed. Ancestors may offer warnings, often by causing the strange movements of ancestral treasures, such as images of the gods and symbols of the chieftainship that had been handed down through the generations and which contained the mana or power of the ancestors. The eldest born of a tribal chief, as a direct descendant of the gods, was seen as having a special relationship with the ancestors and gods and could interpret such omens and signs.

The Maori year had 13 months, fixed by one or more risings of stars. Hakari or feasts were said to have originated in offerings made to the gods at times of tribal as well as seasonal significance, such as a birth-naming ceremony, a marriage or the ritual interring of bones. They were also often dedicated to the Sun using large poles with pennants representing the rays and a fire at the centre.

The New Year Festival in June was held at the rising of constellation of the Pleiades on the east coast and at the rising of Rigel in the north. The rising and disappearance of the constellation of the Pleiades marked significant phases of the seasonal cycle. The New Year coming of the Pleiades was celebrated by festivals that marked the time of sowing. Cleaning ceremonies were also carried out, as in many other cultures, at the time of the New Year. The Hahunga or harvest festival, in the 10th month (March), acknowledged the gathering and storing of the crops.

The gods of nature and local deities, whether tribal or family gods, allowed the harvest to ripen and made land and sea fruitful, in return for correct observation of the natural rites of worship and by man’s own diligent efforts in bringing the natural processes to fruition. For example Rongo ma-Tane, god of agriculture, fruits and cultivated plants, is worshipped and his abundance considered sacred, for all foods that are grown are regarded as his children. The kumara (sweet potato), a staple Maori food, was considered so magical that if one was buried in the path of an approaching enemy, he would be driven away.

These Gods communicated pleasure or displeasure through celestial or natural phenomena. Lightning, thunder, winds and rain are all personified as children of the Sky Father and Earth Mother. Gods could also send their aria or semblance as lizards, dogs, birds, insects (particularly the green mantis), trees, rocks, rainbows, comets and stars. For this reason, the natural world formed the basis for divination and the study of omens.