Lessons Of A Jedi Master And A Maori Seer
We all know that the power of our beliefs shape our lives. They
shape what we do and ultimately achieve. Your beliefs are not
obvious. Yet they influence what you like and dislike. They make
you laugh or cry. They can create heaven and hell on earth. They
determine ultimately what you think is possible or impossible.
Here are two stories that show the power of belief. The first
one is from the movie Star Wars. The second one is from the
Maori people of New Zealand.
Young Skywalker is on the planet Dagoba with the great Jedi
Master Yoda. He is undergoing his Jedi training. Skywalker
crashes his spaceship in mud, which starts to sink. Both he and
Yoda are safely outside the ship. Skywalker: We'll never get it
out now! Yoda: So certain are you? Always with you, it cannot be
done. Skywalker: Master Yoda, moving stones is one thing. This
is totally different! Yoda (slamming his staff into the ground):
No! No different! Only different in your mind! You must unlearn
what you have learned. Skywalker: OK. I'll try. Yoda (again
slamming his staff into the ground): No! Try not! Do, or do not.
There is no try. So Skywalker 'tries'. The ship comes up a bit,
but then sinks back down. Skywalker: I can't! It's too big! Yoda
says: Size matters not. Look at me! Judge me by my size do you?
Eventually Yoda uses "the Force" to raise the ship and puts it
back on dry land. Skywalker: I, I don't believe it. Yoda: That
is why you fail.
The next story is adapted from a true event that occurred in the
Rotorua region, New Zealand in the early 1800s. It concerns a
Maori tohunga (seer) and an missionary. The Christian missionary
is urging the old Maori tohunga to abandon his old gods and
adopt a new god.
Tohunga: You want me to believe in a new god. Abandon my old
gods? Missionary: Yes, all your sins will be forgiven. You will
be saved and heaven will be yours. Tohunga. If this new god is
all-powerful then show me the power of this new god?
The missionary opens his Bible and begins to read a passage