The Vibration of the Soul 

In our journey across Taitokerau, I often talk about the "frequency" of our communities. This isn’t just modern "New Age" talk, it is a deeply spiritual and indigenous reality. Our mauri, the life force that binds us, operates on different levels. When we talk about frequency, we are really talking about the state of our wairua. In the teachings of Dr. David Hawkins, we see a scale where emotions like shame, guilt, and fear are measured at the lowest levels. These are "heavy" states. They contract our energy and keep us small. In Te Ao Māori, this is akin to being stuck in Te Pō, the darkness of limited potential, where our ancestors struggled to find the light.

Courage is the Gateway 

The true turning point in our spiritual evolution is courage. In our reo, we call this being māia. This is the threshold where we stop being victims of our environment, or the "Babylonian" system that surrounds us, and start taking agency. Courage is the frequency where we decide that the status quo is no longer enough for our whānau. It is the moment we choose to prioritise the health of our land and people over the extractive profit of the old world.

A Manual for Standing Firm

Kia ora e te whānau. We have reached the final post in our series looking at Research Report #268. We have talked about our language, our leadership, and our shared economy. Today, we look at the spiritual "backbone" that allowed our ancestors to stand firm against colonial pressure. In the ancient Ethiopian Bible, there are three unique books called the Books of Meqabyan. These books aren't found in Western Bibles, but for us as Ngāpuhi, they serve as a powerful manual for indigenous resistance.

The Meqabyan Legacy

The Books of Meqabyan tell the stories of righteous people who refused to bow down to greedy kings or false idols. They chose to follow the laws of the Creator rather than the unfair rules of men. This resonates deeply with our own history in Taitokerau. When we look at the lives of the Ethiopian martyrs, we see a reflection of our own leaders who refused to be "trodden down" by foreign systems. Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu) gave us the strength to know that even if our physical world is under pressure, our wairua (spirit) remains free.

True Meaning of Wealth

Kia ora e te whānau. As we continue through Research Report #268, we move from the way we speak and learn to the way we manage our resources. Many of us have been taught that "economics" is just a fancy word for making money and growing the GDP. But for our Ngāpuhi ancestors and the ancient people of Ethiopia, prosperity was never about how much one person could pile up for themselves. It was about the health and wholeness of the entire community.

Economy of Affection

Mānuka Hēnare described our traditional system as an "Economy of Mana" or an "Economy of Affection." In this system, our choices were guided by our relationships with each other and the land, not just by profit. Wealth was measured by how much you could give away and how well you could feed the people. This is the exact same principle found in the ancient Ethiopian scriptures, where the goal of the Kingdom is "Shalom", a peace that comes when everything is complete, whole, and shared fairly.

The House of Learning

Kia ora e te whānau. Today we are looking at how our ancestors passed on knowledge. In Research Report #268, we find a deep resonance between our Whare Wānanga o Te Tai Tokerau and the ancient monastic schools of Ethiopia, known as the Abinet Temhert Bet. Both systems were designed to do much more than just teach facts; they were built to feed the wairua (spirit) and ensure that the sacred thread connecting us to the Divine was never broken.

Validating Our Ancient Schools

As I’ve said before, we aren't looking to Ethiopia to find a new way of life. We are Ngāpuhi, and our traditions are rooted right here in the North. But when we see how the Ethiopian people preserved their ancient schools for over 1,500 years, it validates the importance of our own wānanga. It shows us that protecting our sacred knowledge from colonial "BS" isn't just about culture, it is about maintaining our spiritual health. Both traditions teach that true wisdom begins with a deep respect for Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu).

Beyond Simple Contracts

Kia ora e te whānau. As we continue looking at Research Report #268, we find ourselves at the very heart of the relationship between Ngāpuhi and the British Crown. To understand what happened at Waitangi, we have to look past the modern "BS" that treats agreements like simple business deals. For our ancestors, and for the ancient people of Ethiopia, an agreement wasn't just a piece of paper, it was a sacred bond involving the Creator.

The Meaning of Kidan

In the Ethiopian tradition, the word for this bond is Kidan. It describes a sacred tie of love and kindness between the Creator and His children. This "covenant thinking" is the bedrock of their society. It isn't a temporary contract that you can walk away from when it gets hard; it is an unconditional relationship, much like a marriage. It is a promise to share a future together, guided by a higher law.

The Source of Power

Kia ora e te whānau. As we move deeper into Research Report #268, we come to a topic that is often misunderstood in modern politics: sovereignty. For many today, sovereignty is about who has the most guns or who sits in a big building in Wellington. But for our Ngāpuhi ancestors and the ancient people of Ethiopia, true sovereignty, or Rangatiratanga, was never something human beings created on their own. It was a gift and a responsibility handed down from the Creator.

The King of Kings

In the Ethiopian tradition, the leader was known as the Negusa Nagast, which means "King of Kings." This title wasn't meant to brag about earthly power. Instead, it was a constant reminder that any earthly leader is subservient to the Divine. In Ethiopia, the state was seen as a servant of God, limited by the laws of heaven. This matches the way our own rangatira viewed their role. Leadership was not a career choice; it was a sacred vocation to maintain the balance between the people and the spiritual realm.

A Sacred Connection

Kia ora e te whānau. As we carry on with our journey through Research Report #268, we are looking at something very close to my heart, the power of the words we speak. We are exploring the beautiful connection between the ancient Ethiopian tongue and our own Te Reo Māori. This isn't about becoming like another culture; it’s about identifying a universal truth that our ancestors understood long ago.

Standing in Our Own Truth

I want to be very clear from the start: we aren't trying to copy the Ethiopian people or their customs. We are Ngāpuhi, and we stand firm on our own soil, guided by our own ancestors and tikanga. We look to Ethiopia because they are a unique "spiritual witness." Because they were never colonised, their ancient Bible and their language remained pure. Their story doesn't give us a new path; it simply proves that the path we are already on is a sacred one. It validates that our Reo is a direct gift from the Creator.

A Divine Resonance

Kia ora e te whānau. It is a humble privilege to open this new series, where we explore a connection that sits deep within the wairua of our people. We are beginning our journey through Research Report #268, which examines the alignment between the Kingdom of God principles found in the ancient Ethiopian Bible and the sacred tikanga and wānanga of Ngāpuhi. This is about more than just comparing two cultures, it is about identifying a shared, universal frequency of sovereignty that has existed since the beginning of time.

The Vision of Mānuka

A primary source for this series is the incredible work of the late Mānuka Hēnare, specifically his text He Whenua Rangatira. Mānuka taught us that our ancestors in the early nineteenth century were not merely reacting to colonial pressure, they were operating from a sophisticated worldview where spiritual power, or mana, was the foundation of all governance. He showed us that for Ngāpuhi, the land was a living sanctuary and our leadership was a sacred stewardship. This research builds on his legacy by looking at how Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu) and his teachings on the Kingdom align with our northern aspirations.

The Pressure of Change

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at one of Ihu’s most practical stories about survival and change. He warned us that you cannot pour a fresh, powerful message into old, brittle containers without everything falling apart. It is time to check if our own minds, habits, and community structures are flexible enough to hold the bright future we want to build here in Taitokerau.

During His time on earth, Ihu (Yeshua’s name in the Paipera Tapu) was constantly challenged by religious leaders who tried to force His message of freedom back into rigid, dusty old rulebooks. To show them why this wouldn't work, He used a simple picture from everyday farm life about materials and gas pressure. Let us look at what the scriptures say about this literal science.

"Neither do people put new wine into old wineskins: else the skins burst, and the wine runneth out, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." - Matthew 9:17 (Ethiopian Orthodox Bible)

Ge'ez text: ወኢይወድዩኒ ወይነ ሐዲሰ ውስተ ዝቅ ብሉይ፤ ወእመ አኮሰ ይበተክ ዝቅ ወውእቱኒ ወይን ይውኃዝ ወዝቅኒ ይማስን፤ ዘእንበለስ ወይነ ሐዲሰ ውስተ ዝቅ ሐዲስ ይወድዩ ወክሌሆሙ ይትዓቀቡ።

Te Reo Maori, Paipera Tapu, 1868 translation: E kore hoki e rorohia te puwhero hou ki nga kahu tawhito: kei pakaru nga kahu, a ka maringi te puwhero, ka piri hoki nga kahu: engari e rorohia ana te puwhero hou ki nga kahu hou, a ka mau tahi raua.

The Leak of Division

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at a powerful lesson from Ihu (Yeshua’s name in the Paipera Tapu) about how energy and authority actually work. He showed us that the greatest danger to our families, our projects, or our wider vision does not come from outside opposition. It comes from inside conflict. When a group or a heart splits into competing pieces, it creates massive friction, wasting precious energy that should be used to build a better life. It is time to audit our own lives to see if our internal signals are working together or tearing us apart.

When Ihu was accused of using dark power to fix broken lives, He answered with a piece of logic that is just as much about real-world physics as it is about faith. He showed that any system, whether a nation, a local enterprise, or a whānau, will always fall apart if its core energies are fighting each other. This is the truth of everyday friction. If we do not address the hidden cracks in our own foundations, the entire whare will eventually drop.

"And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." - Mark 3:24-25 (Ethiopian Orthodox Bible)

Ge'ez text: ወእመሰ መንግሥት ተፈልጠት በበይናቲሃ ኢትክላ እምነቶሙ ይእቲ መንግሥት። ወእመሰ ቤት ተፈልጠት በበይናቲሃ ኢትክላ እምነቶሙ ይእቲ ቤት።

Te Reo Maori, Paipera Tapu, 1868 translation: A ki te motumotu tetahi rangatiratanga ki a ia ano, e kore taua rangatiratanga e mau. A ki te motumotu tetahi whare ki a ia ano, e kore taua whare e mau.

Identifying the Distractions

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are wrapping up our series on why the message of Ihu (Yeshua’s name in the Paipera Tapu) matters so deeply right here in Taitokerau. To do that, we need to talk straight about the big distractions that block us from reaching our true potential. Ihu was a master at cutting through the political BS and religious noise of His day. We need to use that same clear signal to strip back the heavy colonial layers that are currently hurting our Hauora, which is our holistic wellbeing.

In the North, our spiritual foundation tells us that recognising deceptions is the first step to finding freedom and fairness. These deceptions have been mixed into our daily lives through generations of colonisation, making things look confusing. Ihu taught us a beautiful truth that cuts right through this static.

The Truth Sets Free

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32 (Ethiopian Orthodox Bible)

Ge'ez text: ወታእምሩ ጽድቀ ወጽድቅ ያጋእዘክሙ።

Te Reo Maori, Paipera Tapu, 1868 translation: A ka matau koutou ki te pono, ma te pono hoki koutou ka rangatira ai.

When Ihu spoke these words, He was not talking about a dry checklist of rules. He was talking about a deep, living freedom that restores our mind, body, and spirit altogether. To experience this, we have to call out the specific lies that try to keep us small and dependent on external systems.

A Common Lie

Kia ora, whānau. Let us talk about who we are and how we stand before God. For a very long time, people in Taitokerau have been told a destructive lie. They were made to feel that they had to choose between their beautiful Māori culture and their Christian faith. Many thought they had to leave their culture and their whakapapa at the church door just to be accepted.

But Ihu (Yeshua’s name in the Paipera Tapu) never asked us to drop our heritage. He is the one who created our unique family lines, our language, and our deep ties to this land. When we understand this, we realise that our identity is not a barrier to faith, it is the very soil where our faith is meant to grow.

Standing Strong Together

Being fully Māori and fully Christian is a beautiful reality. It means we completely reject the old missionary ideas that suggested our ancestors had to be changed into copies of Europeans before they could follow God. We do not need to adopt Western ways of thinking to be good Christians.

More Than Survival

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are talking about what true healing looks like for us here in Taitokerau. Too often, modern systems try to treat our health like a collection of separate, disconnected boxes. We might try to fix a physical illness but ignore mental distress, or we talk about spiritual growth while our families struggle to buy groceries. Ihu (Yeshua’s name in the Paipera Tapu) did not come to start a rigid new religion or give us a list of dry rules. He came to bring us Te Oranga Ake, which means total, holistic flourishing for the whole person and the entire whānau.

When we look at the challenges we face in the North, from low incomes to family struggles, we can see that standard approaches are keeping us in survival mode. Ihu offers a complete turnaround. His message challenges any structure or system that prioritises taking resources from our land without caring for the actual health and wellbeing of our people.

The Whare Model

We can see this beautiful healing in action through the grassroots mahi of groups like Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri. They use the traditional Māori whare, or house, as a practical model to understand family dynamics and face deep issues like family violence. By helping whānau reconnect with their wairuatanga and their whakapapa, they build a reliable path to heal from the historical traumas of colonisation.

The Great Deception: The Myth of Scarcity

Kia ora, whānau. Today we need to stand up and confront the biggest lie holding us back here in Taitokerau. It is the fear-driven idea that there is simply not enough to go around. We see this political BS everywhere, from bad economic policies to media stories that keep everyone anxious. This mindset tells us we must compete, grab what we can, and look out only for ourselves. But this is a massive spiritual deception.

A Generous Design

When we look at how the world was created, we see that our Creator designed it to be full of life and care. The idea of constant shortage comes from colonial capitalism, which loves to split people into winners and losers. In the North, we see the real-world harm of this thinking. Our young people miss out on work, and our regional numbers stay low because wealth is sucked out instead of shared. Yeshua came to break this cycle by teaching us to see the world through a lens of absolute abundance.

Stripping Back The Layers

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at how the message of Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu) works in our lives here in Taitokerau. For a long time, the message of faith was used by big empires as a tool to control people and make everyone fit into a European mould. But when we look at the actual words spoken by Ihu, we see something completely different, a message of pure freedom and true health for our people.

The history of the North has its challenges. While colonial systems used religion to expand their power, our ancestors in Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa quickly welcomed the core message. They did this because they saw that the true words connected directly to their own spiritual reality. The early managers of the colonies brought rules to change our culture, but the original message was never about copying another culture, it was simply about life.

Life To The Full

Ihu made a beautiful promise about why he came to earth. He stated that he came so that people could have real life, and have it to the very highest degree. This full life is what we call Te Oranga Ake, which means the complete, healthy flourishing of the whole family and the land they live on.

The Master's Vision

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at a powerful insight from the teachings of Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu). He provides us with a clear job description for anyone who wants to build a healthy, thriving community. He speaks about the Trained Scribe.

Ihu explains that a person who is trained for the Kingdom is just like the master of a house. This master walks into his family storehouse and brings out deep treasures that are both new and old. In our local mahi here in Taitokerau, we see this person as a modern Navigator. It is about holding onto our historical roots while actively using modern tools to chart a course forward.

The Old Treasures

The “old treasures” are the permanent foundation blocks of our lives. These are not dusty, outdated rules, but the living source codes passed down through generations. First and foremost, we have the pure spiritual teachings of Ihu, which give us a timeless guide for peace, love, and genuine goodwill to mankind. Alongside this stands the ancient indigenous wisdom of our tūpuna.

A Gathered Community

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at the final story in the masterclass on the Kingdom given by Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu). This final one is a grounded, practical lesson from the moana, about how our lives, our daily mahi, and our long-term intentions are eventually sorted based on the life force, or Mauri, they carry.

Divine Selection

In the teachings of Matthew, Ihu shares the story of a large fishing net cast into the sea that gathers all kinds of fish. In our local mahi here in Taitokerau, we see this net as Te Whāriki, the beautifully woven mat of connections and whanaungatanga that forms the social and economic fabric of our entire region. This net catches everyone, including the Tāngata whenua and the guests who reside in our house.

The Hidden Treasure of the Land

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are talking about what you value most in your life. Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu) used two simple stories, one about a hidden treasure and another about a priceless pearl, to show us a profound truth. He wanted us to see that finding your real purpose and your deep connection to the land is worth far more than any of the empty things the world tells us to chase.

In the first story, Ihu talks about a man who happens to find a rich treasure hidden out in a field. In his pure joy, the man hides the treasure again, goes out, and sells absolutely everything he owns just so he can buy that entire field. When we look closely at this story, we see that the "field" is our physical land, our whenua. The true "treasure" waiting out there is the re-discovery of our traditional ancestral knowledge, or Mātauranga, and the deep connection to the universe that our ancestors always lived by. To "sell everything" simply means to stop measuring the value of our lives by broken bank accounts, and start measuring it by the Mauri, the pure life force, of our people and our land.

Small Beginnings, Big Changes

Kia ora, whānau. Today we are looking at how a massive shift in our community doesn't require a giant army or millions of dollars. Ihu used two very simple examples from everyday life, a tiny mustard seed and a little bit of yeast, to show us how a small spark of truth can completely transform an entire region from the inside out.

The Power to Change Everything

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Ihu describes how the smallest seed in the garden eventually grows into the largest plant. We can see this exact pattern in our own mahi when we look at the Mauri Model. The model uses a very simple scale from minus two to plus two to check if a choice brings life or destruction.

It seems tiny, but when our families, schools, and businesses use this basic rule for every decision, it creates a massive structure that protects our whole environment. In this story, the "birds of the air" that come to rest in the branches represent the new local projects and community businesses that will finally find a safe place to grow once we put this life-giving foundation in place.

Two Systems in One Field

Living in Te Tai Tokerau, we often see beauty and struggle sitting right next to each other. We might see a thriving marae garden right beside a patch of gorse, or a whānau doing great mahi alongside the "static" of community gossip. Ihu (Yeshua's name in the Paipera Tapu) taught us that this is exactly what the world is like. He told a story about a farmer who sowed good seed, only for an enemy to come at night and sow weeds among the wheat. He was showing us that two different ways of living are currently sharing the same space.

The Problem of Entangled Roots

When the farmer’s workers saw the weeds, they wanted to pull them out right away. But the farmer said no. He knew that the roots of the wheat and the weeds were tangled together. If they pulled the weeds, they would destroy the good crop too. This is a vital lesson for us in the North. Often, we waste our precious energy trying to fight every "weed" or negative person we see. But because our lives are connected, fighting them directly can actually drain our own life force, or mauri.