Taha wairua - a maori spiritual lense of wellbeing

Te Whare Tapa Whā - A Maori Model of Health and Wellbeing

Māori health expert, Mason Durie, developed the Te Whare Tapa Whā model of health encapsulating a Māori view on health that has five dimensions: Taha Whenua (earth/environment), Taha Wairua (spiritual health), Taha Hinengaro (mental health), Taha Tinana (physical health) and Taha Whanau (social health). Different parts of a wharenui (meeting house) represent each of these dimensions. Without these different parts, the wharenui would collapse, exemplifying the interdependence between, and powerful influence each dimension has on the other. 
 
In Māori culture, taha wairua (spirituality) is acknowledged to be an essential requirement for health but is often misunderstood in Western culture.  Although it is universally experienced by humans as a subjective ‘felt sense' encounter, it defies translation into words leaving it infrequently spoken about. Taha Wairua includes experiencing times of spiritual connection which could encompass the 'felt sense' of awe, wonder, interconnectedness, faith, hope, insight, meaning and purpose. This could be, for some, felt via the experience of karakia (prayer) or equally, for others, the awe experienced watching the sun go down. Taha wairua also pertains to unseen energies and spiritual awareness. It is believed that without knowledge of the things that uplift the human spirit in a 'felt sense' way, an individual can be considered more prone to ill health and lack wellbeing. 

Taha wairua also includes things that bring meaning and purpose to one's life, encompassing a quest for wholeness and knowing who you are, a search for hope and harmony, belief in a higher being or beings,  one's connection to ancestors, a sense that there is more to life than the practical and material aspects of it, and activities that give value and meaning to people’s lives. In Māori culture specifically, it can include things like whakapapa (genealogy), atua (ancestors), karakia (prayer), sacred whenua (places) like Marae, sacred taonga (objects) like pounamu, spiritual concepts like mana (power, essence, presence) and mauri (life force energy), and tikanga (customs). 

The undervaluing of Taha Wairua and our 'felt sense' experiences - how we got here?

The Enlightenment period, swiftly followed by the Age of Reason, was a stretch of history from the 16th to 18th centuries in Europe of cultural and intellectual revolution. At this time, European society underwent a staggering transformation, in part as a reaction to both the superstition and control fostered by the medieval church. This period initiated a profound advancement in the liberation of the intellect, doing society a great favour in overturning the absolute power of state and church. This included its scapegoating of witches across America and Europe in the 15 and 16oos for the many religious, economic, climate, war and conflict misfortunes during this time.

As the West's love affair with logic, intellect and science continued to grow and gain momentum during this period, what was now regarded as unreliable and subjective, including our innate intuitive skills and spiritual beliefs and practices, began to be devalued initiating a process of gradually writing off the domain of faith, moral instruction, and spiritual direction held dear to humans for millennia. People who were intuitively, spiritually and mystically inclined, found both inside and outside of the religious structures of the previous centuries, retreated to positions of lesser social authority and status. Mystics, for example, who were influenced by both their passion for mind and reason as well as God and Soul; and Shamans and Healers, who often worked with plant medicine and different spiritual energies, were much less welcomed as legitimate contributors of value to society at large.

For millennia, up until the Enlightenment and Age of Reason, spiritual belief systems and concepts have acted as a bridge for humans into a direct connection to God/the Divine/the Sacred and were regarded as essential in navigating life’s inevitable uncertainties and challenges. One example of this is the practice of prayer, found across most, if not all, religious and spiritual traditions. Prayer induces a state of FAITH in asking a higher intelligence to show us how to best show up in the world and to illumine the right path and course of action for us in challenging times, as well as assist us in our personal growth and moral development. It is the ultimate act of asking empowering questions, in a 'felt sense' field of grace and trust, where we expect to receive the guidance and strength we are seeking. There is no greater placebo effect than this (in rational scientific terms) when faced with the unavoidable challenges of the irrational, unpredictable and uncertain aspects of the natural universe of which we are a part. 

In Gratitude to Taha Wairua: a bridge to reclaiming our Spiritual Senses and Multi-Sensory Temperaments

In a culture in which there is currently a spiritual void for many, and in the face of dealing with challenging situations that require us to go beyond the rational mind in our approach, taha wairua is a doorway to restoring balance between our rational, logic mind, and the cosmic human heart. As we enter an age where more and more people are seeking a spiritual pilgrimage into the depths of what it means to be a whole person living a meaningful life, taha wairua offers a legitimate pathway back to a spiritual foundation which ultimately supports us to overcome our adversities, understand our own unique callings and life path, and develop our character in in alignment with our own personal truth and moral compass. As a therapist, I have come to understand that solely bandaging the practical issues arising in one’s life in a rational step-by-step way, to be inadequate for a human soul starving for spiritual replenishment in a mainstream culture devoid of such conversations, let alone practices. Thanks to te ao Māori's reintroduction of taha wairua to our wider culture, there is increasing support, openness and receptivity to these much-needed conversations than in the centuries prior.