ABSTRACT
The themes of spirituality, love, respect for elders, and connection to our ancestors is pervasive throughout the dialogue presented in this text. Kalena Silva reminded the group that; “Our spiritual life is part of our everyday life. It is not just a ritual we do once in awhile.” “In Aotearoa,” Kate added, “everything begins with karakia (prayer).” Sam Suina shared that the spiritual part of all of us “serves as a means of connection to our ancestors and safeguards the way we treat one another and everything around us. We are blessed with the simplicity of our life and we fi nd happiness with what we come across in life.” Hence, the gift of life is constantly revealed in reverence and in prayer and in the knowledge that life is spiritual. This essence of spirituality is diffi cult to describe in written text, because it belongs to the world of oral language and dreaming. Gail Kiernan, our sister from Australia shared that, “Dreaming is not like the ordinary day dreaming or dreaming at night. To the Australian Aborigine, dreaming is reality itself! We dream the land, the mountain, the breezes because we believe it holds what is sacred given to us from the creator.”
