This week we had another wonderful group of amazing people! Here are some of them up in Artland – all except 2 had never painted since childhood & look at the fantastic paintings they did! Wow. Just think of all the other amazing things we could do if we only believed in the possibilities!!!!!

Here are 2 soul collages – both of these were done by men. They are beautiful expressions of what they found within themselves.

And here is the first class our guests have ever taken with using hebel block & carving out something to take home. There were some beaut pieces but I couldn’t put everything on here this week!

And here are our amazing kids & fantastic helpers!!!   Nicholas now works here 2 days a week, and grace helps after school. 

It was Viv’s birthday on friday so we had a cake in her honour. I bought these special candles that reignite after they have been blown out & could tease Viv about her boyfriends!!! ha ha                         

Here are the paintingf from last week. Amazing arn’t they? Only 2 guests had ever painted before. I bet you can’t tell which ones!! They all have something unique about them don’t you think?

And here is everyones favourite boy!!!! Never far from the food zone – he is also known as the “protector of the food!” as he’s always got his eyes on it!

We just received another beautiful email from a guest from about 2 weeks ago – she says…

“You are in my thoughts constantly as my clients want to know where i have been and how it was.

It is with much fondness and a smile on my face that I give them all a wonderful description of the week at heartland.  I am amazed at the response (but then maybe not) it has opened a more amazing energy throughout the salon.

 Thankyou for the wonderful loving energy you have provided at heartland as i have come home feeling so centered.

The whole program was fantastic and the art workshops were so relaxing and creative, thanks Trudi. (What a view)

Thanks Les for the tools, talks, drumming, singing and inspiration you gave everyday in so many ways.

 With love in my heart and a smile on my face.

Angela  xx 

We receive tons of these emails from guests who continue to expand their hearts out to others!!! How wonderful to think that if we all share our hearts…… in a few years time… maybe the whole world will share loving hearts with one another. What a beautiful dream that could at any time, become a reality!!!!! Lets all give it a go hey???

Blessings to all, and prayers to all those suffering at the moment.

Trudi

Here is the backyard blitz team with Will supervising as usual!! This blitz is working on Artland. Janet up the ladder with Craig helping!

 below ; my dad used to say, “you can make something simple but you can always make it look nice” so even the trusty fruit salad can look yummy & artistic!

So, this week we have been doing the backyard blitz on Artland, the start of a few changes up there. Janet donated lots of her plants so we had an instant garden!

Below – Soharj and his “babies” are growing up!!! Yummmmmmm…… Yes he’s been planting lots of varieties of goodies for us to eat in the Heartland kitchen. Great stuff!

Below – isn’t mother nature awesome!!!! We love hibiscus here because not only are they beautiful, but they don’t need a lot of attention or water. The plants just keep producing the most beautiful displays of uniqueness. Love em!

Here’s Les holding one of the “girls” and Nicholas too – he brought one chooky up to the art studio last week & sat it on the table, where it simply sat & chatted to us (yes yes I did speak back to it) and it drank water & was more than happy to just sit there for the rest of the day! They give all of us lots of pleasure they are so funny.

Me working on a new picture – and below, the finished painting called “reaching for the light”. Yes it is for sale!!

The finished wall outside Artland (what Les calls his tractor shed!) NOT TRUE!!

Our wonderful ashram residents – sadly we said goodbye to natalie as she’s moved down south for now…. she knows she is always welcome home again here at Heartland! Love you guys!!! They help us in so many ways. It helps keep Heartland going having people we can rely on to help us. There is just way too much work for Les & I!!!

Til next time, keep shining your light & sharing your hearts!  Ciao, trudi

1.          Here’s our favourite “girl” called “fluffy” (Natalie calls her Fluffhead) no prizes for why she’s called that! She’s the cutest & the best mannered chook we have! She seems to be the lowest ranking hen though. the other chooks are all bossy…….

 Here are our chickens sussing out if my shoes would be a good feed!!!     Its a bit scary going in there empty handed.

  Bhajans with Sohaj leading us.

 Les & some guests outside around the fire last week.

Me playing the crystal bowls and here’s Viv cooking up a storm..

                     Here’s Viv cooking our new recipe “sultana, mushroom & eggplant”" its now our favourite!!

Here’s the heartland dining room……

While walking along Rainbow Beach I came across this heart-shape in the rock! Isn’t nature awesome????

Here’s the 1st group of guests for july – more arriving this coming Monday. We had a GREAT week – hope you did too!!!!  Notice Will in the front – as always, not far from a pat or a cuddle!

Here is Les with Kim who is taking a drive to the airport for us.

Lisa made this beautiful heart shape for her first hebel sculpture. Isn’t it great??? See what we can do if we give things a try?

Ahhhhh just another yummy lunch here at Heartland …………….

And some guests go…. to make way for the new guests arriving! This week, Les was talking about how things all come & go… a time for change…. a time to farewell some… and welcome others….

A time to let go of the past… and welcome the future. Les says that one of the religions (I can’t remember which one!) say that when we look “forward” we are really looking “back”, because  our past is always in front of us. Its like our past determines how we see our future. Sometimes, it dosn’t pay to have a good memory – not when we remember all the past hurts & pains….. these are what we need to let go of… and make way for the “new”. Look at the future with fresh eyes… not the tired, scared, painful eyes of our past pain. So maybe we can learn this lesson…… 

and here (below) is Will (again!) who is also “The Protector of the Food”. And he’s probably saying his prayers hoping that there will be SOME leftovers for him!

WE LOVE YOU WILL!!!!!!!

Guests last week at Artland. Who said they couldn’t be creative????? 

Its wonderful to find things every day to feel gratitude for. We are so lucky in our country to have such wonderful weather, rain, abundant food, comfortable homes….. our basic needs are met so we can develop our understandings – and seek for happiness.

Les and I on the weekend at my sisters 50th birthday! 

Our current “woofa” from Korea – Narae sculpting her first piece of hebel block!!! Fantastic!

Every day now we have morning mantras with Sohaj playing his wonderful guitar – and singing us into bliss & joy! We give thanks every day for our many blessings. We now have 13 chookies and they bring us delight and joy too!!! They are not all laying yet – but when they do we will have abundant eggs.

Yesterday we went past a shop that sold a dozen eggs for $1.99. Do you know how they can sell such cheap eggs? They trick the birds into laying twice a day by putting down the shutters so the birds think its night (when its still daytime) & then they put lights on during the night so the birds think its day again. They get the birds to lay more than they would naturally. So the eggs might be cheap – but the life expectancy of those chooks is very limited. Anyway, I am so happy that our hens have lots of space & wonderful food. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Here is Tony creating his first painting at Artland last week!! Isn’t it great??

We have Debbras group in this week – and next week Les and I are away for a few days with our kids. Its our turn to have a rest!!!! July is fully booked out and we have our 12 day program on again – so we will rest up first!! Les talks about simply “waking up”. Because when we awaken, everything else simply flows as is meant. And then each & every day…. its simply remembering to stay awake!!! Blessings to all, Trudi

Nick digging up the vegie garden for us! Thanks Nick!!!!!

Pictured right is Nicholas & Nick – busy building the chook pen.

We are now blessed with having 3 Ashram residents living here – Sohaj who is taking care of our vegie garden development and Natalie & Janet who help in housekeeping (and who are all wonderful Heartland helpers!). We feel truly blessed.
This week after taking care of our 13 guests and all of us – our Heartland family last week got up to 22 of us… my mother said “oh if I won the lottery you wouldn’t have to work so hard” and I hesitated because I realised that I don’t see it as “hard work”….. I see myself (as does Les) as being in a wonderful position of simply living our spirituality. We love what we do! We love being here!! We couldn’t imagine doing anything else.    2 of our 3 chookies

Yes we work hard at times, but we enjoy what we do! Yes sometimes we go home tired but it doesn’t mean we haven’t had a great time in the process!! We live each day with as much awareness that is possible… in that moment…. and to live in “joy” and to enjoy everything we do. To be “in-joy” is surely to en-joy!!!                                                                          

Here’s Steve redesigning his dog kennel for the Heartland chooks!

We have 3 chooks now (my little red hen sadly passed away) and last weekend we had wonderful helpers (Thanks to Steve, David & Nick) who all came up to build our new chook pen!!! Now, its truly chook paradise!! Steve brought with him his dog kennel which fitted perfectly inside our chicken “tractor”, so now they can sleep snuggled up warm at night in their kennel. They love it. Later this week we pick up 10 more chooks and Sohaj and I are eagerly waiting to see the outcome of the pecking order as the little fluffy bantam has so far ruled the roost! Stay tuned for further updates!

Here are all the helpers from the chook house building team! Great going guys!!!

Oh, we also have a new group here and another lovely korean girl helping us. Life at Heartland is as forfilling as ever. My Blessing for today is that you all find what you love to do, and live it. 

Here is David & Nicholas hard at work helping with the chook pen.

Here are the guys working hard – and of course there is Will in the foreground supervising!!! (I think he deserves another biscuit!)

Its been a very busy time at Heartland lately. We had our 12 day transformation retreat which was fully booked out and we enjoyed 12 days with a group of wonderful soul-brothers & sisters!!! Les and I often say how lucky we are in this work because we get to spend time with truly beautiful people.

We watched people grow through simple excersizes at Artland, from being afraid of art & not wanting to touch anything remotely “creative” to opening themselves up to their inner creator & expressing whatever wanted to be expressed without judgement or negativity. Our last art experience was filled with laughter & joy from all who participated. It was such a joy to witness these wonderful changes.

We listened & learned from Les’s inspirational talks, and then had an overnight experience which was the beginning of some incredible insights into ourselves. How lucky are we in Australia where we can put our personal growth high on our list of priorities because we live in a wonderful country where our basic needs are met.

We had a competition where I had won a prize & I couldn’t use it – so we offered it to the highest bidder & by doing so we raised $800 for the Fred Hollows Foundation. Can you believe it only costs $25 to give someone their sight back?

Anyway, we have new people living in the Heartland Ashram now, wonderful spiritual seekers & helpers who have come together to celebrate our diversity & to live in harmony with one another. Maybe one day, the whole world will live like this? It all starts with us doesn’t it? Bless you all & may you continue to express your hearts to one another in peace, respect & joy. Trudi

This is the resident guest "welcomer & walker" Will.

Nicholas, me, Grace & Les

This photo (above) is of some of our guests enjoying some creative time at Artland.

We have just had an art therapy group here (finished my 2 year course with Cornelia Elbrech)  which was a wonderful weekend. So many people are a bit scared about art, but art therapy isn’t at all about doing a pretty painting to show everyone, its about the freedom to express who you are through the modality of art. Its totally different.
It gives us permission to express – sometimes expressing painful memories  from the past – simply through using clay or paint or other art supplies. Yesterday we created a happy memory out of clay & paint & pens…its called an “anchor” that we can all use in times of stress. An anchor can remind us of the times we have experienced joy & happiness. Its certainly more uplifting than focussing on pain & saddness. “What we think of grows (we create) ” someone once said.
So lets focus on some joy & happiness around those we come in contact with.
Blessings & joy!

My name is Diana Prowse and I live in Sydney. I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to bid on the prize of a Gold Pass (4 days, valued at $1,685) to the “Happiness and its Causes’ conference and workshops, it was put on by the Vajrayana Institute.

Trudi Dyer won the competition sponsored by the Australian Natural Health Magazine. Trudi was unable to attend, so she put in a bidding system for her ticket, I was delighted to be the highest bidder and I was able to donate $800.00 toward the Fred Hollows Foundation, which was another bonus as this will give vision to 30 people. How can I ever thank you enough for this wonderful opportunity to attend such an amazing conference and workshops.

The speakers were of such a high calibre, many from the USA and spoke with such a generosity of information. If I was to have to draw one sentence out of what the main message I received from this 4 days, it would be:

“That the feeling of true happiness comes from our interconnection with loved ones, partner, spouse, children, parents, siblings, and friends, this deep feeling of love and connection gave the greatest feeling of a deep happiness. So it was not money, career but the feeling energy of love and connection.”

One of the speakers Professor Barbara Fredrickson, pioneering positive emotions researcher, University of North Carolina, USA. Author: “Positivity”. She gave a workshop on “Positivity: The Science of Flourishing” and was able to give lab-tested insights and tools necessary to create, a healthier, more vibrant, and flourishing life through a process she calls the upward spiral. She has proven that meditation improves the quality of life through controlled studies.

I took some notes at the workshop and I am sharing them with you. It is our quality of focus:

By having gratitude for our life, home, family, career, the planet etc, by taking the ordinary and turning it into a great moment. If someone gives gratitude to you, it is savouring the compliment, not pushing it away, but to honour the gift.

Kindness: Devote a day to Kindness, by paying attention to our kindnesses, we can become happier. Reflect on how often we have been kind.

Savouring: To savour the experience in our life, this triples the emotional yield, savouring the hug, the view, the music, savour the past… Capitalize your good experiences, share good news, when you share that moment, you get to celebrate it again. When focusing on the future, savour it with openness.

Nostalgia: associated with wellbeing. Taking positive moments helps with wellbeing. Create the space to celebrate the moment. Reflect back on happy moments.

Love: Create the feelings of when you have felt really loved. Feel and celebrate the love you have for another person, your pet, your home, your garden, your life, to all that allows that feeling of love to arise in your being.

Be in the present moment and take time to honour and love yourself and others, with gratitude, kindness, hope, awe, peace, joy, love, feeling safe and secure, you can learn to affirm your uniqueness, and when you have the urge to be with companions, to cherish them or bask in their reflected glory.

Barbara recommended a beautiful meditation on “The gift of Loving Kindness”.

My wish is that we all can connect to that level of loving kindness each day of our lives so that we may make a more peaceful, joyous, loving planet for all mankind.

Thank you so much for your beautiful gift to me. There were 1,500 participants at the conference, if each person could share with ten people “that true happiness comes through our feelings of love to our loved ones”, then 150,000 souls will be lighted.

In love and light

Diana

Here are a few pics for the day – what a beautiful flower greeted me in the garden today!!!

And what do you think of the view from our kitchen window at Heartland? I can watch the birds outside while preparing this delicious baked vegetable tart!!!

Homemade pastry & all.

So glad its almost lunchtime!! This has a beaut shortcrust pastry with roasted vegies & rosemary, baked in a ricotta filled tart…. Yummmmmmm