E ai ki Te Ao Māori, ko tā te mauri kaupapa, he tikanga hei arataki, tohutohu hoki i te hunga tangata me pēhea tana noho ki tōna nei ao. I whakatōkia e Te Ao Māori i te whakaaro, te mōhiotanga, ngā āhuatanga, te reo Māori, i tētahi hiringa motuhake, hāngai ki te kaupapa, e whaia ake e te tangata. Kei tēna kaupapa, kei tēna kaupapa, tōna ake mauri. Ko te wāhanga ki ngā takepū, he arataki tika, pai hoki, i ngā whakaaro, ngā mahi a te tangata i roto i ngā kaupapa. Nō reira kei tēnei tuhinga kōrero ko ētahi whakaaro e hāngai ana ki tēnei kaupapa hei whakaarotanga mā te hunga pānui. 

Mauri holds a central place in informing Māori, how and why our lives take the forms they do. It imbues Māori thinking, knowledge, culture and language with a unique cultural heartbeat and rhythm. Angles to that heartbeat and rhythm are positioned by Māori applied principles (takepū), valued, interpreted and applied in our activities. Mauri, contextualised to human wellbeing, is explored here, ideas put forward, interrogated and opened up for dialogue.