water has memory, and we're over 70% water so...

— there’s a lot of stuff waiting to be remembered. I give you another layer to ‘whakapapa in action.’

For the past two moon cycles we’ve been following the sequence of engagement with elements and atua (oldest ancestors, gods, celestial beings) and what that means for our own health and wellness. i.e. how we can survive for weeks without food, days without water, minutes without air and we can’t survive without light, in all its forms but we’re getting to that…

When you consider the atua associated with each of those elements and sources of nourishment, then factor in the seniority as well, you get an idea of the dynamics at play and how a deeper understanding of this whakapapa (genealogy, process, sequence)

can help us make more attuned decisions to improve our state of being.

Initially, I was going to write about how the chemical formula for water is h2 + o = two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, and use this as an example to show how when talking about any element but let’s use water because it’s the #theme lol we’re not just referring to Parawhenuamea (atua of freshwater), Maru (freshwater), Tangaroa (atua of the sea), Hinemoana (oceans) or the atua associated to those domains. There’s an expression of each of the atua everywhere and to compartmentalise them as such would be incorrect and limiting.

I should’ve mentioned this earlier but we’re here now, it’s out in the open. Great. Might pick it up over the next couple of cycles, anyawy, let us continue… I wanted to share the following piece, which is inspired by a line from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, the author of Women Who Run With The Wolves,

”Many people have lost their ancestors but that doesn’t mean the ancestors are not there. just because you have forgotten, been detached or disengaged from your ancestors, your heritage, your culture, your language

— doesn’t mean they have forgotten you.

never.

they are you and you them.

they remember you. and deep down, deep deep down, you know them.

they call to you. and even though you have not heard it before in this lifetime, you know the song, oh you know the song!? your cells sing and dance each time they are called.

little by little, more of me remembers.

I know, and you know.. it was my birthday last week, but Imma drag it out as long as I can haha and even though I reflect often, when birthdays come around - it’s one of the reference points I use to check in and see what’s been happening so I can adjust if need be. One of the major shifts I’ve noticed in the last 3-4 years has been a reframing of how I see myself.

Rather than be romanced by the idea that what I need lies somewhere out there,

there’s been a realisation that I’m slowly remembering parts of myself that have always been there but ignored, looked over, covered up or suppressed for one reason or another. You know.. how as a kid you learn to contort and shape yourself into ways that are pleasing for others, you shrink yourself and blunt your edges to fit in and belong into a group..

Those parts of us don’t disappear, they just get covered up over time. but always waiting to be remembered. But like I shared in last week’s post, ”water penetrates any crevice or path that will facilitate its downward flow,” the wai will find a way into any space on its path.

The outward, external experiences we live as we carve our paths out serve their purpose. They help spark something in us, they affect shifts within us literally and conceptually; allowing water, attention, energy and focus to flow

and give life back to something that’s been deprived for too long.

Insights reveal themselves when you get to that specific part of the journey. if you were to receive it earlier, you wouldn’t have the capacity to understand, carry, or know what to do with the māramatanga. So even though I put this track on repeat sometimes in my own mind or with friends, “ohhh I wish I knew this sooner!” which would have been handy, I probably wasn’t in a state to receive it at that time anyway.

So again, we must trust the process… haha that’s become easier with time too. It’s still hard now and then, but the water will find its way to where it needs to go surely enough. And it’ll be able to do that, if we open up the channels to allow the flow.

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.