Uliai Williams is a curious woman full of wisdom, forever on a journey guided by trust and devotion. Her story is one of discovering home in all places, cultivating a deep relationship with Indigenous cultures and the interconnectedness of all beings.
“I was always pulled beyond known boundaries to the road less travelled,”
Uliai began, her voice gentle yet imbued with courage and power.
Her upbringing – she was born into privilege – painted an idyllic picture: a farmer’s daughter with a holiday home by the lake. Her mother loved art and literature, which inspired Uliai. Yet, despite this, she felt somewhat confined. “I still felt like I was in some kind of bubble. It didn’t represent who I really was. Something was pulling me to a greater place.”
That “something” revealed itself in her university years. A student of religious studies, Uliai’s interest in Eastern philosophies ignited a longing. “You can’t study this topic in a book. You have to live it, breathe it. So, I dropped out and headed to Asia. The moment I stood on Asian soil, I felt at home.”
Her first steps in Asia felt like a rejection of Western materialism and an embrace of altruistic values. Her world travels led her to an unconventional teacher called Osho. “He had a radical reputation, but I loved how he bridged old pathways with modern needs. His dynamic meditations allowed suppressed energy to move so Westerners could truly experience stillness.”
Uliai’s experiences weren’t confined to ashrams or temples. “I remember sneaking out of a meditation retreat to attend a party,” she laughs. “Osho’s philosophy resonated: ‘Be a Buddha on the inside, but a Zorba on the outside.’ It’s really about embracing the full spectrum of life.”
Coming home across the world
Uliai describes her quest as a longing to “come home” in as many places as possible. “I have this feeling of coming home all over the world. To come home, to really land. To have that sense of place – something to do with origins – that we belong, not just to the human realm but the plant realm. I feel we are part of something whole and once lived in the ‘Garden of Eden’. Somewhere, we have to find that inside ourselves.”
Indigenous cultures, she notes, are more closely connected to that way of life. “It’s a lifestyle of simplicity, grounded with a connection to the land, like they’re part of it. Indigenous cultures seem to understand that they already have everything they need. They give back for what they receive – the grain, the water, the fire. They’re so connected to these elements because their lives depend on them, and they know that, so there’s a cycle of reciprocity.”
For Uliai, the path unfolds through surrender and trust. “When there’s a love of mystery, synchronicity aligns effortlessly … It’s like being carried by a river, where everything reveals itself on the banks, and you just leap off when the place feels right.”
On her last journey in Bali, a scooter accident landed her in a rice paddy with a broken wrist. “That injury forced me to slow down. I was being too active… I found myself cared for by a Balinese family who showed me such unconditional love. I would give anything to that family that cared for me.”
The spirit of Asia
Caption: Uliai’s spends a lot of time in Rural Bali helping the locals. Above are a selection of her artistic eye from her phone.
When asked about her favourite place, her eyes light up. “Mmm, Chiang Mai,” she says. “It’s a city alive with crumbling ancient stone monuments and many temples, saffron-robed monks walking past 7-Elevens, and there are street food carts everywhere. There’s village life in its heart. I feel euphoric there … like I love everyone and everything.
“I’m drawn to Asia because many serve something beyond the personal. It’s easy to access what I call the unified field – a frequency beyond tunnel vision and self-centred pursuits. It’s tangible there with their devotion, their offerings, all the beauty.”
Ultimately, Uliai’s journeys lead her to places where simplicity reigns, where humans live in reciprocity with the Earth. “Places that have a market where the food is grown by the people there, where they have that connection to family, where things are made out of natural materials like stone, and things are still crafted through hands-on touch. It’s a sense of transmission that you feel like you are back in time, where higher values and ancient craft are still alive, and that feels nourishing.
“I long to weave myself into cultures where old threads are still intact.”
A mixed media artist, Uliai explains that all her travels leave her full to the brim with creativity, so she sometimes has to quickly get home to her studio on Waiheke Island to bring her imagination into form. “I collect little things, misplaced and overlooked, and weave them into new stories through my art, which I believe all of life actually is, by the way, but that’s a bigger story.”
In every tale, Uliai Williams teaches us that adventure isn’t merely about feats but about a deeper inquiry: How do we live in harmony with the Earth, how do we cultivate trust in the not yet known, and what does it truly mean to feel at home – wherever we are?
