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Song of the Stone by Barry Brailsford is an odyssey into universal truth where old traditions stand tall to support the new. A true story of five remarkable, life changing, journeys. more

TWO TALKS

An Evening with Barry Brailsford

Oasis Centre, 1289 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt, NZ

Exploring Where the Old Tides Meet - Wednesday 9th June 7.30pm $10 (Poster pdf file)

Awakening the Fires of Remembrance - Thursday 10th June 7.30 pm $10 (Poster pdf file)

In the first talk, Exploring Where the Old Tides Meet Barry launches a waka on stormy waters, asking — ‘Did the first people arrive here just 800 years ago or is there a much older story?’

He says some elders speak of earlier waka and there are archaeologists and scientists who now agree.

Once again modern science supports an earlier arrival. He explains, ‘It’s the DNA of kiore, the Pacific rat that is part of the answer. They can’t swim and they are not native to New Zealand so how did they get here? Did they stowaway on waka over 2,000 years ago?’

Then Barry speaks of our scientists who dig deep into old lakebeds to recover pollens laid down countless years ago.

‘Today the springtime pollens that drift on the wind cause some of us to sneeze with hay fever. Many centuries ago they carried clues of a changing landscape as new settlers made gardens. Out of the mud rises an old history.’

The second, Awakening the Fires of Remembrance is a very different talk. It comes as response to a request of by health practitioners. They want to tap into ancient Maori lore that would help them in their work. However this talk is for everyone not just the professionals. Barry shares wisdom gifted by the elders that allows us to bring ancient healing wisdom into our lives.

This is not about Maori plant remedies, which are the becoming well known through the work of others, but about ancient Maori lore. He says, ‘Much has been forgotten. It’s time to tap into resources that exist in each of us. Healing wisdoms that we can bring back into our lives. Things forgotten but not lost.

‘We live in an age of hope, an age when incredible modern technologies and ancient wisdoms can sit beautifully side by side.’

Free StonePrint NEWS letter (pdf file)

Join in Discussions with Barry on Facebook

Kia ora, the warmest of greeting friends.

In New Zealand we use the Maori greeting of ‘Kia ora!’ as a substitute for Hello. Yet, it is more than Hello, which centuries ago simply meant to call out to get someone’s attention. However, perhaps centuries before that it was Hallow!, which meant ‘to regard as holy’. I’d like to think that Olde English word was the ancestor of today’s ‘Hello’ because it’s very close to the Maori ‘Kia ora’ which means ‘to you I offer the gift of light’ or seen another way ‘a blessing upon your life’.

Some 20 odd years ago a Maori receptionist, in one of our government departments, was reprimanded for greeting all callers with ‘Kia ora! Hello!’ She responded by refusing to drop the Kia ora, a stand that made many of the public think about the issue. Out of the reprimand grew a tidal wave of ‘Kia ora’s’ that simply swept aside the blindness of those who stood on a tall pinnacle of intolerance. Out of that ‘little’ stand great changes grew.

So I greet you warmly for the first time on Face Book and thank you for becoming a companion for this journey. It’s a truly exciting time to be alive. We face all kinds of challenges that open gateways for truth and hope to step through. Corporate greed has led some astray, the hunger for power and arrogant use of resources has brought us to this place. So governments and corporations and nations and each and every one of us has been called in some way to take stock of what we stand for.

Simple questions arise. Often ‘Who am I? What is my dream? What fulfils my journey? What do truly matters in my life?’

I think the answers that touch our truth are also very simple. Deep down you know them. It’s about our story. It¹s about our dream. It’s about allowing the essence of you, your spirit, your soul, your truth, to become truly alive.

I once defined wisdom as ‘greater awareness’. How you see that is up to you. For me it now means knowing yesterday is part of today and tomorrow, that I need to bring together my head and my heart and compassion lies at the core of everything; resolution of conflict, healing, relationships, friendship and above all else family.

Sometimes we are slow to see the best path. I once read a snippet that went something like this

I once walked down the road and fell into a hole I hadn¹t seen.
I was very confused. It took a long, long time to climb out.
I walked down the road and fell into the same hole.
I just hadn¹t seen it. I was very confused but eventually climbed out.
I walked down the road and saw the hole and still fell into it.
I couldn¹t believe it. I quickly climbed out.
I walked down the road and saw the hole and walked around it.
I took another road.

Anyway those are my thoughts on this bright sunny morning in the mountains.
What are yours? It’s wonderful to have this vehicle that allows us to reach around the planet and say ‘Kia ora and Hello!’

Kia Kaha! Your strength is in your truth!

Arohanui, heaps of love

Barry

Links of Interest

StonePrint NEWS May 2010

Writung agin – translates as ‘writing again’ once I oil the wheels of my computer and pump up the hard drive. I’m a bit rusty on the keyboard and have a heap of scientific articles to read to bring me back to speed. It’s been nearly two years since I put aside work on ‘Origins’ the working title for the book that tracks Polynesian origins back 14,000 years and traces their amazing voyages through the Pacific.