The Guardianship

Maya and Andy Spence have a lifetime commitment to Te Moata.

“When I came back home to New Zealand after a long stint in the UK I was looking for a new spiritual home. I came to Te Moata on silent retreats and permaculture courses. I loved “coming home” in the mediation space, and also on long walks over the land. It was good to find like minded others, rigorous facilitation of retreats, and feel grounded by opportunities to help care for the gardens and the land. The permaculture principles of “Earth Care, People Care, Fair Shares” resonate with me. Now as a Shareholder, I am grateful to be part of an on-going lineage, sharing the holding, for the good ofall. I love the Te Moata tag line, “A sanctuary for people, a sanctuary for nature.” This is how I see Te Moata, and it is a privilege to support the unfolding of this intention for now and for the future.”

“My connection to Te Moata is primarily through my mother, Wolfie, being a trustee. I was happy to help out at a time when funds were needed. I live and work in Hong Kong and one of my main enjoyments here is to walk the nature trails at weekends. On my visit to Te Moata I appreciated the way that the Centre is linked to the surrounding bushlands and the calm and quiet nature of this place.”

“Since 2001, Noel and I have led 12 tours from Australia, mostly to the North Island as we searched for a special retreat. Then came the e-mail which resulted in us meeting Marnie, Suni and Wolfie, and being introduced to Te Moata. For both of us, Te Moata felt like home, so nurturing and natural, much like the ladies we met. We visited a nearby bay which matched what I had seen in meditation. The fact that the Waitaha whom I had also seen in meditation had brought the pounamu to Te Moata convinced us that, for whatever reason, we had reached our destination. I have learned to trust the messages given to me, and am grateful that Noel supports me on this amazing journey.”

“We chose to become shareholders for a whole lot of reasons, but mostly because we see Te Moata as such a unique place for personal exploration and discovery, and we wanted to see that legacy continue. Our own involvement with the centre has been through meditation retreats, but there are many other events that happen through the year. All of them, in their own way, provide paths for self-exploration that are not otherwise available to us in our daily lives. Robin and I don’t necessarily subscribe to it all, but we admire and support the fact that such freedom of exploration goes on, and that there is a place, at Te Moata, where it can be nurtured”.

“My involvement as a private shareholder in the company comes from a deep commitment to the continued vision of Te Moata being a safe, heart centred place for renewal and transformation. Over many years, I have felt humbled to witness the magic that can happen when people connect with the land and the different sacred spaces including the Rimu, Lavender, Green Tara circles as well the Labyrinth and Puja Point”.

“I have become a Shareholder of Te Moata because I am deeply committed to safeguarding this sacred land for future generations. Te Moata has been an essential part of my life for many years and I am privileged to continue this enriching relationship”

“Te Moata holds a really special place in my heart. I always leave Te Moata refreshed, full of appreciation and clear about my priorities in life. I am so relieved that there were so many of us who cared so much about Te Moata continuing. I have the sense of being involved in something so much bigger than myself. I feel I will be able to look back upon my lifetime and be really satisfied in at least having had a part to play in this. I love taking my children to Te Moata. They have been regular retreatants since before birth! Te Moata offers so much love and kindness that spills over into the lives of our family. I am hugely grateful to my husband, Simon, for his creativity and continual thinking outside the square; it is thanks to him that I have been able to support Te Moata in this way”

“Te Moata is a haven for nature. We need more places where we offer a space for nature to be, and for us as part of nature – to rest and rejuvenate. Places to share our basic goodness. Places to give people time to look and to see that we live with miracle upon miracle. At the moment I am co-creating Earthskin Charitable Trust, which I want to link to Te Moata through using it as a venue. Earthskin is part of a bigger picture, offering residential scholarships to creative artists, and education for building vital communities: Permaculture; Terra-aquaculture; Bioremediation of the land; new design thinking to rebalance, and provide a better future for the earth and our children. We need more models of community, operating as nature does in abundance. At Te Moata, nature has provided everything we need. No depreciation … just appreciation. If I did only one thing in my life, this – Te Moata – is a gorgeous thing to do!”