By Ju and Kushla
During the waning months of 2020 a group of six young adults and three slightly-less-young adults set off on a journey into the wild together. Twenty-three days as a community of friends exploring together what it means to be a part of the living earth. Deepening our capacity to meet all of this life with kindness, interest, patience and love. Holding the question: how can we make space for the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible? In our bodies and minds, and together as a community.
Our journey began with four days in the wilderness of the Kahurangi National Park. Here we brought our questions, longings and prayers seeking a deeper sense of belonging to the natural world. Walking together, spending a whole day and night with empty bellies; under the sun and stars; both in solitude and in the company of all that is; and sharing our experiences as a group.
My prayer is to know my belonging
Deep within the Earth,
The heart of the stars,
The night sky,
The loving womb of it all,
To feel the aliveness and oneness of this sweet, beautiful thing,
To celebrate it with the outpourings of my heart,
Warm food on the table, nourished by the deep roots of gift - given and accepted,
May there always be plenty for everyone,
And may we all be pleasantly surprised
To find this current of peace and homecoming
Has been quietly flowing within us all along.
The adventure continues and we are headed for Wangapeka!...Three more young adults join us in the quest as well as a wonderful cook, Kora. We were received by Fred, the kind and gentle kaitiaki of Wangapeka at this time. For some of us it is the first time we have seen the majesty of the ridge and are lulled to sleep by the flowing river. Here we had the special opportunity to dive deeply into samatha-vipassana, the art of caring inquiry, enriched by this space that holds the mana of over 25 years as a refuge for curious and courageous people to practice and share the arts of living with compassion, wisdom, and awareness. We feel great gratitude for the synchronicity and gift that we received a last-minute invitation to spend this time at Wangapeka, and for all the beings who supported us and made it possible.
During our seven days with the ridge and the river we explored through Feldenkrais body-work led by Andy, meditation led by Jaime and Ju, as well as poetry, music, the work that reconnects, heart-sharing, laughter, and many amazing, nourishing meals provided for us by Kora.
I am a fruit ripening on the tree
Once more green and hard,
Now the softness of a smile makes me tasty and sweet
An inner knowing exudes a complex and reassuring fragrance
My outer layers showing in colour
As our time at Wangapeka came to a close, we set our intentions for the last phase of our journey: to support ourselves and each other to integrate all that we’ve learned in this special place; to have the resilience to bring our insights and practice into the different kind of wilderness that is day-to-day living.
For the last ten days of our adventure we practiced embodying these intentions while living in community at Treesong, a land above the hills of the Motueka Valley. We put our hands to building infrastructure and beautifying this newly emerging space dedicated to the learning and sharing of skills for the Great Turning. Practicing listening and responding to each other’s needs, speaking from the heart, engaging conversation around important, yet culturally repressed topics, and continuing to nourish the practice of meditation and loving-kindness.
After a magical moment of greeting the day with John Crick atop the Little Quartz Mountain (a.k.a White Rock), our time together flowed towards its end with a few days at the Tui Treefield. Held in this home of transformation and rites of passage, and supported by the generous hearts of Adge and others in the community, all together we circled the medicine wheel and sweat our gratitude, our grief, and our new understanding and vision for what we want to cultivate in ourselves. Planting an intention to continue growing into mature and heart-led citizens of our Earth community.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude, and there is a satisfying feeling that we are using our energy in the best of ways.
It is happening, the world is already more wonderful!!!
Lastly, an open invitation to anyone who feels sparked to come and be a part of the next adventure in November 2021…
For any inquiry, please, send us an e-mail at jaime8ju@gmail.com and visit the website www.immeasurable.co
Much love and Appreciation
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