Labyrinth Quest

In September a Labyrinth Quest weekend is to be facilitated by Suni, Jessie and Misha. ‘To Quest: To seek meaning and answers. Labyrinth: A way to the Centre.’

The Devotional Heart

In November, Prem and Nyanaviro are combining their talents for a scrummy weekend entitled “The Devotional Heart: A weekend of silent meditation and dances of universal peace.’ The dances will mostly come from the Sufi tradition, concentrating on the spirituality of the heart and periods of guided meditation will assist in holding this focus. This course is suitable for those with no previous meditation or dance experience.

Te Moata Guardianship Company

The Te Moata Guardianship Company was set up in December 2010 and is the result of an amazing community effort to secure Te Moata’s future.

The Te Moata Guardianship Company is the legal entity that owns Te Moata.  The Te Moata Charitable Trust is the main shareholder in the Guardianship Company, currently holding 42.5% of shares.

For more detailed information about the Charitable Trust or Company structure and shareholders please see:

http://temoata.org/Te_Moata/Te_Moata_Company.html

Things it would be good to have donated:

1. •Posts for fences
   

2. •900mm high chain mesh for fencing gardens
   

3. •150 or 200mm wide H4 timber for fence framing and path steps
   

4. •Contributions towards replacing strip lights with more efficient LED

In this newsletter:

1. •Biodiversity funding application successful!
   

2. •Work has begun on a new track through Manui basin
   

3. •Still time to register for Nyanaviro’s June 12th to 18th retreat

Sensing the Mystery: Love, Death and the Spiritual Life

Nyanaviro’s upcoming winter Insight Meditation retreat is being held from June 12th to 18th.  With the woodshed overflowing with firewood, retreatants will be kept toasty warm. Of the retreat,  Nyanaviro (Stephen Archer) says:

“I have held a winter retreat at Te Moata for the last 10 years, and these courses are always open to both experienced and first time meditators - so if you haven’t done a retreat before but are considering it, I will be giving plenty of guidance and instruction to get you  started! Although the thought of a week of silence can be daunting, most folk find it wonderfully relaxing and natural to be held by the Te Moata environment and the silent presence it offers. This June we will be entering into meditation to listen deeply to what is alive in us, and follow the mysterious currents that lead to the centre of our being. We will explore some of the traditional Buddhist meditations on loving kindness and the impermanence of the body. These are designed to balance the tendencies of resistance and grasping, in order to promote a natural stability of heart and mind.  It’s a great privilege to feel the commitment of fellow meditators on these retreats and love our shared sense of discovery and connection. I hope to meet up with some of you soon!”

For registration details please see http://temoata.org/Te_Moata/Workshops.html

Also if you would like to be part of the service team on this retreat, there is still room for another on the team, so if you are interested, read Maxine’s article below and contact Dave and Jessie.

Funding Application Successful!!

Te Moata was one of only three conservation projects within the Waikato/Coromandel District to receive funding from the most recent round of the Biodiversity Condition Fund. The BCF is one of the Department of Conservations main funding outlets.  Annie Chapman received fantastic help from Kerri Lukis of the QEII team down in Wellington in preparing the application.

The BCF has granted Te Moata $8945 to expand our mustelid control. Well done and thanks for your hard work, Annie!

Mustelids (ferrets, stoats and weasels) are one of the main predators of ground-nesting birds. In our region the birds at threat are kiwi and fernbirds. This money provides the funds for:

Clearing a new track from the far hills hut, around the western rim of the Manui basin to meet up with the loop track that goes between the two closer kauri groves. The Manui basin is the area we look down onto from on top of the ridge track, looking west.

50 new mustelid traps (for this track and from the existing trap-line out to far hills hut)

Some of the monthly servicing of these trap-lines over the next two years

Wayne Todd, who did the ecological survey of Te Moata in 2008 and his partner Kathi Parr have the contract for the track clearing and will clear the track when the weather is conducive(!), by the end of June.

Work on an additional track through the Manui basin, unrelated to the BCF funding, was begun yesterday by Dave and his fantastic team of Woofers.

Can you help out?

We are keen to promote Te Moata through articles in various magazines. Thanks to Elisabeth Crago who has just written a wonderful article on Te Moata that will appear in the Aug/ Sept issue of Rainbow news. We would love to hear from you if you would be interested in writing an article on Te Moata, from any angle that appeals to you eg an eco angle, a meditation viewpoint, or an inspirational story.

Ever thought of Serving? – by Maxine Hiller

Recently I had the experience of serving on Sharda and Jeremy's retreat.  Previously I had only sat the retreat so I was a little apprehensive about what the serving experience would be like!  In the beginning it was all a bit hectic - you know that time at the beginning of a retreat where people are arriving, finding beds, chatting, laughing and I did wonder what I had let myself in for! Aah, but then there was silence and we all settled into our places. 

We were a large service team - some of us wanted to be silent most of the time while others of us were happy to talk quietly in our 'off-duty' times.  We were all respectful of the others and it all kind of flowed.  I really LOVED the experience. 

There is something wonderful about working alongside others in a common cause.  There was such a sense of camaraderie in the team and every morning at 10am we would pull down the kitchen shutter, sit round a beautiful wooden table and drink steaming cups of tea and share about the day that had been and the day that was yet to come.  I always felt privileged to sit at this table. 

They say that to give is the same as to receive and that is exactly how I felt - being on the service team was a great gift.  I had many opportunities to notice how my ego was vying for position on the team - it kept wondering if it was doing enough, good enough, noticed enough - consequently I had many opportunities to reflect on the previous night's Dharma talk.  I also had plenty of free time to participant in the retreat or to wander the hills of Te Moata thanks to Jessie's thoughtful rosters. 

Now weeks later I sit here writing this and remember with much joy and thankfulness my time of service.  I would say to anyone who has the opportunity to be on a service team at Te Moata "don't miss it!" -  as Rumi would say the experience is 'an unsayable jewel'.   

The service team for Nyanaviro’s upcoming June retreat is in good shape, though if you would like to experience this aspect of Te Moata there is still room for another on the team, so if you are interested contact Dave and Jessie.

Spring and Summer Schedule

This is in the final stages of preparation and we will email this to you by the end of June.