Aotearoa Retreat Centre
Guiding Beacons

In July 2021 the Project Steering Group met in Golden Bay, and posed ourselves the question "how would we navigate through the challenges of the project? When faced with difficult and perhaps conflicting decisions, what could we look to for assistance?" We put ourselves in the shoes of navigators of old, looking to the stars to guide them at night...what would our stars, bright lights or beacons be? The following is what we came up with, and remains a work in progress as the project develops:

We live from the Heart:

1. We are grounded in the heart, approach things in an inspiring and aspirational way, and embed 5 Xin in everything we do.
2. We are joyful and approach what we do with our contagious passion and as play! 
3. We are wisdom based, distilling our wisdom from teachings, each other, and life experience.

 
We see life as a Totality:

1. We ask and are led by the answer to “is it beneficial for all?”
2. We recognise and value the paradoxical nature of life and seek to embrace a “both” as opposed to an “either/or” view. 
3. We are present and remember that ‘whatever is happening now is perfect.’

 
We see Humans and Nature are one:

1. We have a deep sense of gonging for where we are. We are in harmony with nature with a deep and genuine relationship in the past-present-future of this place.
2. We are guided by the concepts of being simple, pragmatic, beautiful, sustainable, healthy, natural and meaningful.

 
We embrace Inclusiveness & Openness:

1. We honour and have a natural relationship with the Te Ao Maori worldview and seek to deepen this when possible.
2. We are intergenerational in approach for both now and the future.
3. We are open & freely share what we learn with all - locally, nationally and globally.