Mālō lelei and welcome to this meditation on Vā,
A powerful concept that is found in 42 languages across Oceania.
Across much of the Moana,
The word Vā,
Or Vā,
Is the word for both relationship and space.
This is a meditation on healing and restoring relationships.
Let us close our eyes and imagine the space between,
The inter-relational space,
The space that is felt but not seen,
What quantum physics refers to as the field.
Interacting particles so small they are beyond the human eye,
A space of interaction,
A space of reaction,
A place where every point mass attracts every other point mass in a deeply relational universe.
Let us imagine the Vā,
Where we are deeply seen,
Lovingly held with compassion and care,
Freedom from bad feelings held by others,
Freedom from holding unwanted feelings towards others,
A Vā filled with kindness and warmth and empathy.
We call it aloha,
Aroha,
Aloha,
Aroha,
Owha,
Love in 43 languages,
Aroha atu,
Aroha mai,
To give and receive,
Aroha atu,
Aroha mai,
That reciprocal life-giving flow,
Aroha atu,
Aroha mai,
Compassion comes and compassion goes.
Our ancestors say gauhi vā,
Tend to the vā,
Teau le vā,
Make the vā beautiful,
Both between and within,
Within and without,
For the one and the all,
Balanced and beautiful,
Deep compassion,
The alchemy of altruism,
Aroha atu,
Aroha mai.
And now,
With eyes closed,
Feel into a relationship that is difficult for you,
Imagine that person,
Visualize them in front of you,
And feel into the vā,
Whatever you feel,
Allow it,
Sit with it,
Witness it,
Don't abandon the feelings,
And don't abandon yourself at this time,
Tend to the tender breaking inside of you,
And acknowledge what was done,
Or was not done,
That caused you suffering,
Acknowledge the harm and hurt in your vā,
In the interconnectivity between you,
Feel the tether that binds you together,
The cord of blame or shame that ties you to each other,
Stopping either of you from being free,
Feel the tension of action and reaction,
Of thoughts flying across time and space,
And a binding that holds you both in a tight and terse place,
A fight or flight place,
And where this unwanted binding has ended up an entanglement,
Feel fully the complicated net that ensnares you,
And maybe many others,
Because entanglements can affect those who are blameless,
Can be intergenerational,
Feel the ways this entanglement contains you,
Constrains you,
Restrains you,
Keeps you contracted,
Conflicted,
Enmeshed,
And entangled,
Knots that find you,
Disappointment that binds you.
The Samoan ancestors say,
O le upinga i fili i le pō,
A i tala tala i le ao.
The net becomes entangled during the night,
But is unravelled during the day.
So let us invite the light,
Welcome the light to stream down,
And make visible what needs to be visible,
And clear what needs to be clear.
Queen Liliuokalani of Hawai'i said,
Aloha is to hear what is not said,
To see what cannot be seen,
And to know the unknowable.
Let us reach into hearing what has not been said,
Seeing what cannot be seen,
And knowing the unknowable.
Let us call on grace,
So that we know what to do,
What will bring justice,
What will atone,
What will return things to balance.
The ancestors from Hawai'i also say,
Ulu a e kewelina a ke aloha.
Loving is the practice of an awake mind.
The ancestors from Rarotonga say,
Anau tā te aroha i aroha.
Love breeds love.
Compassion feeds compassion.
Grace begets grace.
Aloha,
Aloha,
Aroha,
Ofa.
That which moves energy,
Shifts shame,
Lifts blame,
Dislodges the difficult,
Dissolves the binding,
And replaces fear with love,
Anger with empathy,
Hostility with kindness.
The wisdom of the ancestors is this,
Is this,
I unbind you from the fault,
And thus may I be unbound from it.
For even just a moment,
Let us imagine the feeling of being free,
Of releasing.
For even just a moment,
Feel what was tight and tied,
Entangled and enmeshed,
Loosen itself and free,
Release,
Let go,
Forgive,
And set yourself free.
Feel the spaciousness,
Warmth,
And light.
Let us know at the heart of our freedom,
Is forgiveness.
It allows us to achieve as much freedom as possible,
From the bad feelings harboured by self or others.
A return to the free flow of no longer bound,
No longer restricted,
No longer constricted,
Open,
Blossoming,
Blooming,
Breathing,
Loving,
Free.
