Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell and Stars of Aroha (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki)

Sometimes when life gets crazy and it feels like our wheels are falling off, we don't need someone telling us the answers. We need a gentle passageway into ourselves to help us understand what is happening. That is where we will find peace – inside our own minds and hearts.

In her working life, Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell is a senior research fellow who leads Māori palliative care research projects at the University of Auckland. Recently, she joined forces with fellow researchers and clinicians experienced in paediatric palliative care to improve health services for babies, children, and young people. Previously, she was an accredited counsellor, and her PhD explored the unique identities of Māori women.

Tess created this taonga, Stars of Aroha, out of love. Her partner Nette developed breast cancer. Just before Nette had a mastectomy she told Tess she wanted to help others heal their minds because she knew the most important thing for her at that time was to feel peaceful. Tess listened.

Stars of Aroha is a meditation resource that contains a book and a set of guided meditations, each one rooted in a specific landscape of Aotearoa. The bush. The coast. The mountains. Each landscape carries its own mauri (energetic life force), and that mauri becomes a korowai (cloak) of safety as you move through the meditation.

Each card presents a tohu, a symbol from the natural world, which carries its own healing energy. Together, they work on every level of the mind: perceptions, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and desires. It is not a quick fix. It is an invitation to look within, gently, and begin to release what no longer serves you at any moment.

If something has been sitting beneath the surface, Stars of Aroha might be the tool that helps you finally see it and release it. 

Here's something most of us don't realise; we often don't know what's troubling us. Not because we're not self-aware, but because we're remarkably good at burying and hiding things. We can submerge thoughts and feelings so deeply that we lose conscious access to them. This is why so many counsellors and psychologists have found Stars of Aroha to be such a powerful tool in their practice.

When we are carrying something heavy, we don't always know how to put it down. We don’t always know how to rest our minds from the burden of carrying the weight of our problems. And sometimes we may not know what is eating away at us. We may know something doesn’t feel right, but it is hard to pinpoint what troubles us. So, after shuffling the deck select a Stars of Aroha card. Let the specific tohu (symbol), meditation and accompanying landscape speak to you. Let it reveal what you need to know. 

Stars of Aroha doesn't demand that someone knows what's wrong. Instead, it creates a gentle, safe space for something to be revealed. A tohu (symbol or sign) from the natural world. A landscape that grounds them. A guided meditation that gently speaks to their perceptions, emotions, and wairua, meeting them exactly where they are.

And when something does begin to surface? The meditation offers a pathway to sit with it, explore it with compassion, and begin healing the mamae through guided visualisation.

Stars of Aroha has been thoughtfully developed with guidance from tohunga (spiritual experts), kaumātua (elders) and clinical psychologists, bringing together mātauranga Māori (Indigenous knowledge) and contemporary therapeutic understanding in a way that honours both. Today, it is being used by individuals seeking their own oranga (wellbeing) as well as health professionals across Aotearoa to support clients in meaningful and culturally grounded ways.

Psychologists, counsellors, social workers, and wellbeing practitioners will find that Stars of Aroha is a gentle resource to complement their professional practice. Tess is available to get people started and she also offers training and Stars of Aroha readings. Tess sits with clients face-to-face or online to gently explore where they are spiritually and what is present for them right now. Her approach is warm, unhurried, and deeply grounded in both clinical wisdom and wairua.

Today, Tess and Nette live in the Bay of Plenty.

If Stars of Aroha has resonated with you and you would like to explore this beautiful wellbeing resource further, you can purchase Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell’s meditation cards and resources here: https://www.starsofaroha.co.nz/

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