Our family just watched Disney’s film Moana, and loved every moment. Forrest, our toddler was cheering the whole time, in between guzzling popcorn, which made me so happy. This movie is full of spiritual truths, which I wanted to share with you. Please note, I’d suggest watching the film first, as there are spoilers in here:
8 Spiritual Lessons from Moana
Music videos that I love from this movie (to get you into the vibe)
You’re Welcome
How Far I’ll Go
I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)
1) A ship is safest in harbour, but that’s not what ships were built for. Moana sails across a dangerous reef and the open ocean to find what she’s looking for (a place to resettle her village and the demi-god Maui). We find our courage when we do what kills fear, and that means taking risks, even when the odds are against us. All great discoveries were made by people on the edge of insanity slash genius. If you want to lead the crowd, you need to leave the crowd…at least while you are gathering your strength and finding your edge. Trust me, life is better and more peaceful on the other side of conformity – find people who reward your wildness, rather than your child(ish)ness.
2) Our parents don’t always know what’s best, only what’s worked until now. Moana’s parents want her to become chief and keep their traditions by staying on the island of her birth. However, when their crops falter, Moana knows she has to do something drastically different. We choose our families before birth, as a starting point for our lifepath (find your lifepath). For example, a Soul with an abandonment wound will select a family who isolates them at some stage, to remind them they have come here for healing. Many healers need to leave their their families, either physically or energetically (especially by their lifepath turning point age, e.g. mine was 29 as I am a 29/11 lifepath), in order to fulfil their public mission. This is something you’ve agreed with them before you were born – we teach a lot by how we manage separation and endings. Medical intuitive Lise Bourbeau touches on this in her video on cancer (this is an external resource/ website).
3) Spiritual teachers come in all shapes and sizes. Stay open to pint-, and giant-sized helpers! Moana’s greatest allies are her grandmother (the village wise woman who people think is crazy – she’s basically a psychic healer), a hilarious chicken called Heihei (who has a knack of saving the day), the ocean (a wonderful metaphor for Source) and the demigod Maui. This collection of human, animal and spiritual helpers provides her with the perfect mix of wisdom. I meet many people who think the answers to life can be found at a conference or through a guru (see my post on avoiding light-washers). This is rarely the case.
We live in a super-intelligent Universe, which places everything and everyone we need in our faces. Look in the mirror – that person you see, is a superhero. No one knows your body better than the one who’s lived in the treehouse since it was built, so to speak. The best doctors understand this, and respect their patients accordingly. While it’s true, we sometimes need to travel to find our tribe, just remember that your true teachers and Soulmates will find you no matter where you are…especially if you follow the 11:11 prompts (!)
4) When the coconuts turn black, it’s time to get on track. Moana’s people start panicking when their coconuts become inedible and their fishing nets come up empty. This is a poignant reminder that the Earth has limits – we can’t keep taking and expect her to recover overnight. We treat our bodies how we treat the planet, and we need to move beyond lip service to World Service now. 11:11 is about the eleventh hour, and people who see these signs often get involved in charitable projects to raise consciousness. I guess my blog is an example of this (I was also a fundraiser for years).
It would be nice if we acted before things went South, but I think it’s part of human design that we don’t believe things, until we see them. So, if you’re constantly tired after work, dating someone or being on social media etc., see this post about letting people down to raise yourself up. Someone in time/ energy/ money debt isn’t just cheating on themselves, they’re teaching others to break the rules. A company’s culture reflects its CEO’s mindset. Be kind with your choices, because in seven generations someone is going to breathe the air you leave them.
Oh, and I love how the ocean in Moana keeps kicking Maui’s butt and putting Moana on the sailing ship where she belongs. The Universe is persistent like that!
5) When you use your magic (will)power in service of others, it returns in spades. In Moana, the demigod Maui has a magic fishhook, which allows him to shapeshift into any creature. When his fishhook is damaged, he goes into fear and runs away from the fight, because he’s scared he’ll lose his magical powers. After Moana calls him out, he realises that what makes him inspiring, is not his hook but his deeds, and he sacrifices his fishhook to save Moana’s life. He finds a cause bigger than himself and is rewarded with a brand new fishhook at the end of the movie.
As a psychic reader, who witnesses miracles often, I know my intuition has gone up, the more people I’ve helped and with motherhood (really, the sixth sense is our guardian instinct). We are born to share love, not hoard it, and those who figure this out have the sweetest relationships. They know they ‘come from love, move through love and return to love’. I say to my babies, ‘you are love’, rather than ‘I love you’ for this reason – I want to remind them that love is their nature.
6) The love of money is root may be the root of evil, but money itself is neutral. One of the villains in Moana is Tamatoa, a giant crab who gets his sense of superiority from his treasure collection, which he keeps on his back. At one stage, he jokes about having eaten his grandmother, which is all the more shocking given Moana’s beautiful connection with hers (her grandmother even comes back as a Manta ray spirit after death). Tamatoa is the ultimate narcissist, and his arrogance is his downfall, as he can’t compete with Moana and Maui’s creativity and unpredictability. He’s so busy talking about his money and hurting others, that he loses what’s important to him (the chance to own the heart of Te Fiti). Interesting that this talisman is a green stone, as the Heart Chakra is also portrayed as green in chakra philosophy (see my Chakra Numerology workshop in Brisbane on 25 July). No wonder Tamatoa wants it, as he’s totally lacking in this department. I’ve also written a post on chakra-based tips for cashflow.
7) Success comes from repeated failures. Or, as I say, you find your car keys in the last place you look! There’s a joke in Moana, where she keeps tripping over her declaration, “I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my boat, sail across the ocean and restore the heart of Te Fiti.” This part reminded me of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride (also a fantastic movie), and his continuous attempts to say, “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
It’s hard to say what we mean, because people are so rarely listening (as I write this, it’s 2:22 pm, the Angel Number for Sacral chakra and relationship healing!) Moana struggles to make herself heard throughout the movie, but eventually finds her voice and changes the fortunes of her entire civilisation. As I wrote in my Star Wars Numerology post, the master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried. A long time ago, I stopped expecting confidence to come before experience. Now, I set a low bar – I congratulate myself for showing up, and that helps me to overcome my loud inner critic/ genius, in order to keep expanding my happiness. This practice is even more important, if you have Master 11/ 22/ 33/ 44 numerology, as our failures are often our greatest teachings. Find your lifepath
8) The greatest beast we ever tame is our fear of God (and the Gods). Moana is able to restore the heart of Te Fiti because she is willing to greet the fiery and demonic Goddess with respect. Instead of fighting fire with fire, she sees through the drama and connect with the shared grief. Te Fiti has been unable to rest, because Maui stole her heart in order to give the power of creation to humans. This distorted the natural order of things, creating chaos and natural disasters. When you look at this story from afar, it’s obvious that the creators of Moana are making a commentary on the limits of human understanding. When we act from mind, we can only recreate the past, over and over again. We must drop into our hearts (the gateway to enlightenment, immortality and Soul knowledge) to manifest a world which nourishes everyone instead of a chosen few.
As I teach in my classes and readings, your decisions around God will determine how far you can open up your psychic abilities. If you think of God as a judgemental male authority figure, and you are female, good luck trying to let go of your insecurities. No amount of meditation can overturn a restrictive, mind-based judgement like that! On the other hand, if you think of God as a flower, an eagle, even a forest full of thriving trees, your spiritual potential becomes unlimited. I encourage you to examine your thoughts on this subject today. It’s amazing what happens, when you finally realise that you are Go(o)d enough to receive.
On a numerology note, both the main characters MOANA and MAUI have names which add to 17/8, the same as GOD and KARMA. So this movie is a wonderful example of the Divine Feminine and Masculine working together for breakthroughts. Numerology shows you the core potential of any word, name or date of birth. An 8 vibration reflects the 8th Chakra, or God connection, aura and ecosystem around someone. It’s about the principle, ‘what goes around, comes around’. This is so fitting for a film about environmental protection, self-expression and leadership in the face of group-paralysis. Well done Disney for a powerful film that’s full of
Recommended Links
You Can’t Not Belong – Four Ways to Forgive Your Family (Especially Your Parents)
Why I’m a Psychic Activist, aka Winning Starts With Choosing The Right Battle
