The Brave Space

01/03/2026

I love this perspective on emotions!

Your Emotions Are Not Ancient Gods – They’re Weather and Wi-Fi”
A Transmission from Maya
A Transmission from Maya
Hello my beautiful over-thinking Earthlings,
Today Maya wishes to speak about two little secrets that many psychologists forget to put on the dinner table when they serve you a plate of “Let’s Talk About Your Feelings.”
Secret Number One: Emotions are chemical reactions wearing dramatic costumes.
Yes, my loves, you treat your emotions like they are sacred messengers carved in marble, when very often they are simply… a badly cooked soup.
You drink five coffees, eat processed food that looks like plastic pretending to be bread, stay up all night scrolling glowing rectangles, and then you wonder: “Why am I anxious? Why am I depressed? Why do I feel like crying because the neighbor looked at me funny?”
Because your inner chemistry is having a chaotic disco party without your permission!
Your nervous system is not a mystical unicorn that survives on stress and sugar. It is more like a sensitive houseplant. Feed it junk, stimulants, alcohol, emotional addictions, and it will tremble like a leaf in a storm. Feed it clean food, water, rest, sunlight, movement – and suddenly many “big emotional problems” quietly pack their bags and move to another city.
Maya says: before you analyze your childhood for seven years, first ask: “What did I eat? What did I drink? How did I sleep? What am I consuming with my body and with my mind?”
Half of your emotional drama is not psychology, it is biochemistry in a bad mood.
Now, Secret Number Two: Emotions are always based on a story. Every emotion arrives holding a little script in its hands.
“I am angry because she disrespected me.”
“I am sad because my life is not working.”
“I am afraid because something terrible will happen.”
Without the story, the emotion has nowhere to sit. It is like an actor without a stage.
Most of you believe the story first and feel the emotion second. But Maya invites you to reverse the order: notice the story as a story.
When you become aware: “Ahh, this is the narrative my mind is telling,” something magical happens. The story loses its power, and the emotion begins to dissolve like mist in the morning sun.
You discover that many emotions are not facts, they are rumors started by your own thoughts.
And here is the great cosmic joke: When your hormonal system is balanced, when your body is calm and clean, those stories sound much less convincing.
A balanced body is like a clear sky. An unbalanced body is like trying to think wisely in the middle of a thunderstorm with a marching band in your kitchen.
So Maya recommends a revolutionary therapy:
Take care of your chemistry like it is a tiny sacred temple.
Question your stories like a playful detective.
Do these two things and suddenly you become emotionally stable, not because you forced yourself to be “positive,” but because the inner chaos factory has closed for renovations.
You are not meant to live on an emotional roller coaster powered by caffeine, fear, and old narratives.
You are meant to feel – yes! – but to feel from a place of balance, clarity, and awareness.
Remember:
An emotion without a story is just a sensation passing through.
And a body in harmony tells much gentler stories.
With cosmic laughter and a cup of imaginary herbal tea,
Maya

If you wish to meet Octavia for a private channeling session, please feel welcome to read more about who she channels here: https://www.holographicyou.com/1on1 This month all sessions include her new book "Bridging the Stars: a short guide to conscious contact" Love and gratitude.🤗🫶🙏

01/03/2026

🦋 The Butterfly Effect 🦋

Sometimes it can feel like too much. This path of creating something new and making a difference in the world, for kids and their families - with so many forces attempting to propel society along in the opposite direction. For a brief moment, I am tempted to chuck it all in and get a “normal” job. I know I am not alone in this.

Fortunately I also know that these thoughts usually don’t last very long. After judging the feelings momentarily (I am human, after all!), I acknowledge and release them to the forest, or the sea… and remember that even the smallest ripples of awareness & love create waves.

I hope this serves as a reminder to others, that we all have tough days that test our resolve. What matters is how we respond when they show up. And that we keep showing up.

Sending love & compassion to everybody who is human-ing on planet earth right now 💕

22/02/2026

This is why I choose not to post photos of children on my social media - even though it would no doubt increase reach & engagement.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17unLpc9wx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Parents post out of pride, love, and the joy of watching their child grow. But every photo creates a permanent trace a child never agreed to. Their digital identity begins years before they understand the internet. Their story is written by someone else.

Privacy experts warn that large photo trails can expose children to data tracking, facial recognition, image misuse, and identity risks later in life. Many kids reach adolescence with no control over how they appear online. What feels innocent in the moment can shape how they are seen by schools, peers, and even future employers. This is not about guilt. It is about awareness. Choosing fewer photos, tighter settings, and mindful posting protects both safety and dignity. A child deserves the chance to decide who they are online.

Your child’s privacy is a gift only you can give them.

19/02/2026

“We are in the middle of a widespread social experiment that noone consciously signed up for.”

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhDb4ujMj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

WE ARE FAILING A GENERATION OF KIDS!!

Delighted to see such a big piece in The Guardian today detailing my thoughts about the growing use of screens in our children's lives.
Over the past decade, childhood has fundamentally changed. Many young people are now spending significant portions of their lives in digital environments designed to capture and hold their attention.

It is so clear to many healthcare professionals that this rapid increase in screen time is having a devastating effect on the health and wellbeing of our children. There are multiple potential issues including anxiety, depression, worsening eyesight, visual problems and lower quality sleep.

Another concern of mine is that these devices (especially social media use) train distraction. Everything good in our lives comes from our ability to be present - our relationships, self worth and contentment.

We are failing our kids. Our job is to protect them and put safeguards in place like we do with gambling and po*******hy.

Successive governments have been weak and allowed tech companies to decide what is best for our kids. A few weeks ago, there was hope that a social media ban for under 16s would be forthcoming in the UK but, unfortunately, it seems as though the current government are trying to stall this with another 'consultation'. This has been going on for far too long. We already know enough. How many more kids need to be negatively impacted before action is taken. It is time the politicians acted and did what we expect them to do - protect the wellbeing of our children.

This is not about blame. Teachers and parents are struggling and need the government to help. As Jonathan Haidt eloquently says, this is a collective action problem.

We are in the middle of a widespread social experiment that no one consciously signed up for. And it is our kids who are paying the price.

What do you think? Do you think we should ban social media for under 16s? What about the rapid increase of screen use in schools? I'd love to hear your perspective below!

17/02/2026

⭐️ Getting to Know the Face behind the Space ⭐️

For the newcomers to this community, I am Amy and here are a few things about me:

I live amongst regenerating native bush in Wainui, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, NZ - 15 mins east of Ohope Beach. I fall asleep to the sound of moreporks and giant cicadas or crickets.

I am mum to a precious 9 year old girl who is the reason The Brave Space exists and my biggest inspiration. I co-parent my daughter with her Dad who lives nearby.

Prior to becoming a parent and getting involved in this mahi, I had many adventures in NZ and overseas, searching for my dream life …including teaching English in Asia, wrangling kangaroos in Western Australia and attending Writers Festivals and Wellness Retreats in Bali.

It wasn’t until I returned to the Whakatane community to give birth to my daughter, and came face to face with myself age 37, that I realised happiness and creating a dream life starts on the inside. Better late than never 😂

I learnt Japanese for 9 years (including 4 years at university), taught English to kids in Japan for one year (Working Holiday) and have every intention of returning to the Land of the Rising Sun with my daughter when she’s a bit older. It will be a very different experience this time ‘round! 🇯🇵 (no seedy karaoke bars! 🤣)

I was blessed to grow up in a small, predominantly Maori community (inland BoP), which has shaped my worldview significantly. I was in the kapa haka group and can understand some Te Reo, but my speaking is very rusty these days. I reckon it would come back quickly in a full immersion environment though
(Japanese and Maori vowel sounds are identical!).

I hated high school. I didn’t want to belong to one particular group on the hieraechy of “coolness”. So i just buried myself in my school work and excelled academically, but at quite a cost to my wellbeing.

I did an intensive yoga teacher training at an offgrid location in Little River, Canterbury, in 2022. It’s one of the hardest (and most valuable) things I’ve ever done in my life 😅

I followed this up with an intensive yoga training for kids in Auckland. This pushed me … again. But in the best possible way.

I had a spiritual awakening in 2020 that blew my mind 🤯 and challenged me beyond anything i could have imagined. My worldview changed - again.

Nature is my best friend. In 2024 I created a social bushwalking group called The Outdoor Connection. It has mushroomed to over 1,200 members in just under 2 years.

I am the oldest of three kids. My brother and sister both live in Melbourne with their young families.

I am addicted to Matcha Lattes.

Phew 😅 I think that’s enough for today. Thanks for reading!

Amy xx

16/02/2026

Week 2 @ The Brave Space: Connecting with my AMAZING body 🤸‍♀️ 🧘‍♀️ 💃

Valuing our body for what it can DO

and:

our Brave Space definition of .

🩷

12/02/2026

Offering a safe, non-judgmental space for chidren and youth to be witnessed in their full expression is one of the most powerful things we can do to support their wellbeing. At The Brave Space we focus on first helping our nervous system to feel safe, and everything else flows naturally from that. 🩷
facebook.com/share/p/17x2xevVvq/?mibextid=wwXIf

"Three years ago, one of my youths did something not legal. And the first person he came to see was me. He just knocked at the youth centre, balling tears. 'What's wrong?' I asked. He's like, 'I did something stupid. I don't know what to do'. 'Kei te pai, let's sit down. I'll find something to drink'. I said 'who do you want me to call?' He said 'can you call my mum please?' Sweet.

I just listened to him, what he needed. And obviously, parents came, police came, everything. But I was the first person he came to see, it was me.

I'm still asking this question. 'Why me?' I think because I was in his life daily after school. To listen to him, listen to what he wanted to say. Fed him. Let's be honest. And I accepted him for who he was. With all the trauma he had, all this violence he had in him, but I accepted him for who he was.

I think safety is the key for everyone to be real and for everyone to drop the line, to drop the mask they have in the community and to finally be who they are. If you feel safe, you don't need to be in fight/flight mode. You can just relax and enjoy the moment, and trust the person in front of you. I think safety, yes, you have the physical safety, but you have the mental safety.

Unfortunately, nowadays we have more and more young people, and all around the world with their wellbeing, is not the best. And offering this space for them to be listened to for who they are, no judgement, is the best we can do."

- Lo'an

10/02/2026

I love this perspective on depression. It was certainly the case for me!

The Cosmic Tantrum of a Soul That Wants More: Maya, Pleiades on Depression, Meaning & Escaping the 3D Hamster Wheel

(A Very Inconvenient, Very Hilarious Transmission)

Alright, beloved human, sit down for a second because we need to talk about this thing you call depression, and we need to talk about it without the tiny dramatic violin humans like to play in the background.
Let me explain it in the simplest way possible: your soul is staging a protest. A big one. With banners. And snacks. And possibly a megaphone.
You think something is wrong with you, but from where I stand, it looks more like your inner being has walked into your daily routine, looked around at the repetitive activities, the endless obligations, the ‘I’ll just push through it’ attitude, and said, ‘Absolutely not. I did not cross dimensions, skip through portals, and squeeze myself into a human suit just to do this.’
Humans love to make depression sound like a rare and mystical monster, but honestly, it is one of the most predictable results of living a life that feels like chewing cardboard. You wake up, you repeat the same loop, you try to convince yourself that paperwork counts as a spiritual experience, and then you wonder why your inner self begins dragging a blanket over its head like a dramatic teenager saying, ‘I refuse to participate in this nonsense.’
Your soul is not malfunctioning. It is bored out of its cosmic mind.
Imagine taking a luminous, curious, interdimensional being and enrolling it in a never-ending course called “Responsible Adulting 101,” a course that involves tasks like paying bills, replying to emails you didn’t want to receive in the first place, and pretending to be productive while your consciousness is secretly floating two meters above your body out of sheer rebellion. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why the system collapses. The soul simply refuses to sign the attendance sheet.
You were not created to be rats in a cosmic wheel, running very fast to reach absolutely nowhere. You were not made to live a horizontal life where every day looks like a slightly overused photocopy of the previous one. You were not meant to spend your existence trying to survive Monday just to celebrate Friday as if it’s some kind of spiritual liberation.
You came here to live. To feel. To expand.
To shake reality a little. To taste experiences that actually taste like something, not like dry air recycled through office buildings since 1997.
Humans have been conditioned so deeply into productivity culture that half of you believe your worth is measured by how many checkboxes you tick per day, while your soul is in the background waving a glowing plasma flag yelling, ‘CAN WE PLEASE DO SOMETHING INTERESTING?’
When your life stops containing meaning, your inner being doesn’t just whisper its concerns, it pulls the cosmic fire alarm.
Depression is that alarm.
It is your soul saying, ‘This timeline is expired. Please rotate the consciousness.’
And the funniest part?
You can change everything.
Not by doing something dramatic like quitting your job and running away to become a crystal-collecting hermit on a mountain (although, honestly, that would be a step up from some of your current arrangements), but by finally asking yourself what your heart actually wants to experience in this incarnation.
Humans avoid that question like it’s a tax audit.
But ask it anyway:
‘If nobody expected anything from me, and I wasn’t afraid of being judged, what would I choose?’
Your soul will answer immediately.
It always does. It has been waiting to answer since you were eight.
Depression, my beloved human peanut, is not a curse. It is the moment your inner being takes your face gently between its glowing hands and says, ‘Stop pretending this is fine. You did not incarnate for beige experiences.’
You were meant for color. For texture. For experiences that make you forget to check the time because you actually feel alive.
And the moment you choose meaning over maintenance, the fog thins, the heaviness lifts, and your soul puts the blanket down, stretches like a cat that slept too long, and says, ‘Finally. Now we can begin.’”

10/02/2026

For any whanau who want to further support their tamariki with emotional intelligence- check out this amazing lady’s resources 💓

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FYpbSKde1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Emotional intelligence…. Have you heard this and wondered what it means?

For me it isn’t about children being calm, compliant or well behaved. It’s about children understanding what’s happening inside them and feeling safe enough to stay connected while they feel it.

Emotional intelligence to me is the ability to:
• recognise emotions as they arise
• understand what those emotions are communicating
• move through feelings without suppressing or exploding
• stay connected to self and others during big moments

And here’s the part that often gets missed, emotional intelligence lives in the body first, not the mind.

Children don’t learn emotional intelligence by being told to calm down, use their words or think differently. They learn it through felt safety, co-regulation and repeated experiences of being understood.

When emotional intelligence is supported early:
• emotions don’t get stored in the body
• behaviour becomes communication instead of conflict
• confidence grows from inner safety
• children trust themselves
• parents feel more grounded and capable

I offer this work because I’ve seen what happens when emotions are misunderstood.

As a teacher, I saw children labelled when their nervous systems were overwhelmed.
As a parent, I’ve navigated big emotions in my own children and in myself.
As a practitioner, I work at the body level, where emotions actually live.

My work isn’t about fixing children.
It’s about helping them build a relationship with themselves with parents supported alongside them.

That’s why I create personalised emotional intelligence resources:
• cards that speak to a child’s nervous system
• stories that help children recognise themselves
• tools parents can use in real moments, not just calm ones
• language that supports connection instead of control

I believe emotional intelligence isn’t a skill we demand. It’s something we grow slowly and safely.

If this resonates, you’re likely already doing more right than you realise.

If you’re wanting deeper, personalised support, I’ll be opening space for a very small number of families this year.

✨ Follow along here to be the first to know when this support opens
✨ Or message me directly if you’d like to stay connected, ask questions or feel into whether this work is right for your family.

You don’t have to teach emotional intelligence alone and your child doesn’t have to figure it out by themselves either.

Tanya Kay ♥️

10/02/2026

Thank you, Kararaina, for your beautiful and kind words. I am truly grateful for your support of this mahi.

10/02/2026

Have you got your oxygen mask on parents and caregivers?

At the risk of sounding like a cliche, the best way to nourish our kids is to nourish ourselves first. Truly. Fill that tank so you can hold space for all of their beautiful (and sometimes intense) emotions.

Although i am a yoga teacher, i still gain so much from joining other teachers’ classes - and we are so lucky to have such an amazing variety of expert guides and yoga approaches in this small community.

This morning i joined Jane’s gentle yoga and it was exactly what i needed to help navigate a busy week of getting back into it with the kids.

Let me know how you’re planning to top up your cup today!