FEAR

Walking With Spirit: Handling Fear Through Holistic Healing

Kia ora whānau. I’m here as a healer, walking with one foot in the sacred tikanga of our ancestors and the other planted in today’s fast-paced, fear-laden world. Let’s sit around the digital fire, have a cuppa, and dive into how we can walk beside fear, not run from it, using the tools of holistic healing to help guide a way through. 

Part One: Understanding Fear As A Messenger

Fear’s a common visitor. From the wild storms on the West Coast to the sweltering heat in the bush, our tupuna (ancestors) faced their own battles. Today, it’s emails, bills, Zoom calls, awkward first impressions, and imposter syndrome. But fear, my friend, isn’t here to break you. It’s a tohu – a sign. A call to presence. Its technologies, mobile devices, screentime and distractions. All of it vying for our attention, our focus and our energy. The all of this increasing on multiple levels and messages being blasted out across the digital landscapes, its easy to see and feel how our small inner fears can be triggered, manipulated or pushed into a spiral.

Wairua Perspective On Fear

Fear is a tap on the shoulder from your wairua (spirit), telling you something needs alignment. In our rongoā (healing) traditions, we see fear as a blocked flow. Mauri – your life force – gets tangled when your thoughts (hinengaro), emotions (ngā kare- ā-roto), and energy body (tinana wairua) aren’t in sync.

So before we try to silence fear with busyness or numbing out, we karakia (pray), sit still, and listen. That’s the first step to healing. Acknowledge fear, greet it like an old mate who’s just a bit lost. 

Part Two: Aligning With Your Higher Self

What Is The Higher Self?

Your higher self isn’t some floating orb. Nah, bro. It’s the most healed, wise version of you – the you that knows your purpose, your rhythm with the taiao (natural world), your gifts. It's the you who walks tall, chest open, heart steady. It's the healed you, the one thats walked your paths, mistakes, lessons and more, the one that made it through and is energetically still around you. Supporting you on every decision, interaction and connecting with those around you. Sometimes we listen to our higher selves, but most of time, because we're so distracted, our support from our higher selves goes unheard.

Strategies To Align:

1. **Daily Karakia and Breathwork (Ha)

Each morning, before your emails slap you in the face, do a karakia. A prayer of intention. Then breathe deeply – into your puku (belly), not your chest. The breath, ha, is how you connect back to the atua (spiritual forces). Let your breath be your anchor.

Example: "Kia tau te mauri. Let the life force settle within me. Let today be led by aroha (love), not mataku (fear)."

2. **Grounding With Papatuānuku (Earth)

Take your bare feet and plant them on the whenua (land) – backyard, beach, bush. Feel her heartbeat. In Australia, that could be red sand or coastal scrub; in Aotearoa, mossy bush or black sand beaches. She’ll take your fear and give you back clarity.

3. Energy Clearing With Rākau (Plant Allies)

Burn a bit of kawakawa, gum leaf, or sage if that’s your style. Let the smoke wrap around you. It's like a spiritual shower. If you’ve been in meetings or crowds, that energy clings. Clear it, bro.

4. Journaling With Mana

Don’t just scribble. Write like you’re talking to your tupuna. Ask, “Why am I scared today?” and let the answers come. Your spirit knows. Get it out on paper and give it form.

Part Three: Using Holistic Healing To Face Everyday Fears

1. Working From Home: Fear Of Isolation Or Inadequacy

• Tip: Set up an altar near your desk. Doesn’t have to be flash. Maybe a rock from the beach, a feather, a candle. That’s your spirit anchor.

• Healing Move: Start your day with a karakia and energy check-in. Stretch. Touch the ground.

• Mana Strategy: Break up the day with breathwork, a walk, or a karanga (call) to your wairua guides.

2. Office Life: Fear Of Judgment Or Performance

• Tip: Take 3-minute silent moments in the stairwell or bathroom. Use ha (breath) to return to self.

• Healing Move: Use obsidian or greenstone in your pocket to absorb heavy vibes.

• Mana Strategy: Create energetic boundaries through visualization: cloak yourself in a korowai of light before entering workspaces.

3. Meeting New People: Fear Of Rejection Or Awkwardness

• Tip: Before a hui (meeting), say a silent karakia: "Kia rere te aroha, kia tau te rangimarie."

• Healing Move: Smile with your whole being. Your energy speaks before your words do.

• Mana Strategy: Remind yourself, "I carry the mana of my tupuna. I belong everywhere I stand."

4. Public Speaking Or Leading: Fear Of Visibility

• Tip: Stand barefoot before your talk, even if it’s just in the loos. Connect to the land.

• Healing Move: Tap your chest, speak your full name aloud. Anchor yourself in lineage.

• Mana Strategy: Imagine your ancestors behind you, hands on your shoulders. You’re not alone.

5. Taking Risks: Fear Of Failure

• Tip: Visualize the best outcome before the worst. Our brains are trained for doom; retrain with light.

• Healing Move: Use EFT tapping, acupuncture, or mirimiri (massage) to release tension.

• Mana Strategy: Say aloud: "I don’t need to be fearless. I just need to be brave for one more breath."

Part Four: Long-Term Practices To Build Resilience

Regular Mirimiri (Bodywork)

Get on the table, bro. Whether it's traditional mirimiri, lomilomi, or a local healer, have your body tended to. Trauma lives in the tissue. It needs to be released gently.

Wai (Water) Healing

Saltwater cleanses more than skin. Bathe in the moana, the river, or under a waterfall. Let your fears be carried downstream.

Creative Flow As Healing

Carve, write, sing, dance, garden – your wairua needs expression. Suppressed gifts create unrest. Let your higher self speak through art.

Whanaungatanga (Community)

Don’t isolate, even when fear tells you to. Find your people. Sit in circle. Share your heart. Healing is a communal act.

Final Thoughts: Walking With Fear Like A Brother

Fear isn’t the enemy, e hoa. He’s the tohunga with the moko, showing up in disguise. If we walk with him, listen to his lessons, and bring our full being to the table, we transmute fear into fuel.

Let your life be your rongoā. Let each moment of courage realign you with the great weaving of wairua. And remember, you were born of earth, fire, wind, and sea. Nothing shallow can drown you.

Hold strong, walk slow, breathe deep.

Arohanui.