We see Hearts everywhere! even in the cut pumpkin skin. Nicholas did not deliberately cut it like this!!

There is so much talk these day about “abundance” and Les and I believe we are truely abundant with Love, Joy, Family, Friends & being able to LIVE our spirituality and not just talk about it or do it only on Sundays or whatever!  Having said that, we could be just as happy not running Heartland and working in a shop or selling books or whatever because it doesn’t matter what we do, only HOW we do it. I am lucky I get to share my love of art & music with others but I am not attached to having to do it.

Walking at "Point Pure" national park & picked up a heart!

We have June staying here again and we always have a great time together. She’s a special part of our Heartland family (she is my adopted mother & Nicholas’s adopted Nanny!) and we now have a new member too, a wwoofa who is here helping us.  Sadly, our three calves are going back to their original owner. We wanted to buy them from him as legally they are still his (which means that anytime he could come & pick them back up). So before they get too entrenched here, (or before we all get too attached to them, which we are anyway!) they are leaving us. I have already shed my tears, but I know we have given them a good start for the rest of their lives, we just hope they are going somewhere nice where they will receive lots of love, like they have here.

The cows come home each night to have their bottles. Here is Nicholas feeding them. We will miss them.

So if ever you hear of any animals that need a good, loving home, please keep us in mind. We need to find animals who like to eat lots of grass. Apparently horses eat 2 & 1/2 times the amount of cows.  If you feel inspired & want to help us develop Heartland as a sanctuary for animals, and you’d like to to donate some money (or time) ,  please email us. Thankyou.

Les and I celebrated our joint birthday last week during a program. Nicholas surprised us with a yummy pavlova. as it was also our wedding anniversary, Viv had placed the numbers 8&4 on the cake in honour of our 12 years married. She couldn't find the right number of candles!! Neither of us is 84!

 

I shall leave you with the words of Helen Keller “We could never learn to be brave or patient, if there were only joy in the world”.

Blessings, Trudi

Blessings to Mother Earth and all who share its wonder and beauty.

Taking our guests to Point Pure lookout.

Easter Saturday sunset at Point Pure.

A sacred time of inner unfolding. A sacred weekend spent learning to surrender to our Divine self, letting go of all that is not sacred or Divine and embracing that which we truly are.
At least, that’s what we consider Easter to be. Until I went into town on Saturday to pick up more fresh vegies (we are juicing over Easter) and found that for many, many people, Easter Saturday was a sacred shopping day. I was actually shocked to see so many flocking to the church-of-material-things. Instead of the Centre of deeper understandings it was the centre of Easter-sales! Instead of inner peace, inner reflection and fasting it was fast-food and chaos and mirror gazing.

We have been truly blessed this Easter, sharing this special time with 16 abundant & loving beings. 14 of our guests had been here before (repeat offenders!) and 2 new guests who quickly became a part of our Heart-family.

I have to admit though, that at times I feel overwhelmed at our workload – and sometimes I catch myself dreaming of another life, a quiet life of self indulgence and relaxation…. and when I got in the car yesterday to go to the shops, I had asked God for a sign! Please God show me a sign! Am I meant to be here or not? Should I go live a quiet life somewhere… be the “small-me” and not have to be so responsible!! ??
And so I jumped in the car, put the ignition on and drove away. I put the radio on and it was on the local Christian channel. The song playing? I had never heard it before and will probably never hear it again. It was loudly proclaiming “Never, never, ever, ever, NEVER GIVE UP!” over and over and over!!! Thanks God I GOT IT!!!!! Even though it might not be what the little-me wanted to hear, the message was loud and clear and was really EXACTLY what I needed to hear to get me our of my pity-party! Ha ha
So, I wish you all abundant blessings this Easter and I pray that each and every one of you have experienced the awakenings that we have shared here this weekend.
Love & Bliss,
Trudi

"Me? Indulge? Never!" Will says, somewhat unconvincingly!!!

The answer is we can! We just choose at that moment not to have any self control or discipline, or just the same we can choose to be in awareness too!  I think living a spiritual life isn’t just about meditation or believing in a higher power, but that we each become more awake and by doing so, we are aware of what we put in our bodies and don’t overdo anything.
You CAN have too much of a good thing. We can even have too much water! Learning discipline (not in a regimented way, but in a gentle loving way) we can each learn to have self responsibility, self control and a big dollop of self love!
If we love ourselves then we care about our physicality, we care about our mental thoughts, we care about our daily practices – and once we get a handle on our own self-care, then we can start caring about everyone and everything else on the planet. Its very simple, but its not always easy.
Anyway, at Heartland this week we have a busy week with guests here.  Natalie is here helping us (its great to have her back!!), Viv is cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Nicholas is once again being our Number 1 helper, Les is giving an inspirational talk  and once I turn this computer off I am setting up for the step-by-step art class this afternoon. I have been  learning some new paintings to share!  Will the dog is very quiet now he’s in his retirement phase, our calves are growing well, chooks are off the lay, the garden is growing some yummy delights and we are counting our daily blessings!

In love & Light, Trudi

"What strange looking donkeys you are!" says Aggie.

I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time. We heard about a program called “Save a cow” which is a local adoption system for young male calves who were born in dairy farms and lack the appropriate appendages for any long term security status on the farm and since we have 80 acres, our need of them is as high as the grass around us.
A few days ago three “free” calves came into our care. So far it reminds me of the “free kitten” sign at the local markets – and one that I have walked past many times smugly saying “Yeah, right, FREE!” But not having experienced “free” cows before, we were totally ignorant about anything and everything and ignorance may well be bliss but our lack of awareness was as obvious as teets on a bull.

"Here Cowie cowie cowie"

After a few trips into town and some $400 later (& thats still rising!) we were armed with powdered milk, calf muesli (who would have thought!) chaff & oats, nursing bottles, straw for bedding, sprays, organic yoghurt (nothing but the best) tick and worm crème and of course, bins to put everything in. We unloaded the heap, cooled off the credit card and began our new journey into the unknown world of cow care.
Our helpful but somewhat bemused local feed-barn shop keeper, seemed to revel in our ignorance and smile at our blatant unknowingness. He seemed to know intuitively what my plan of action would be and shattered it in one foul swoop when he said “don’t think that you can go into the pen with a bottle of milk and say “here cowie, cowie, cowie” and they will simply come up & suck!” Oh dear, I think (silently) that we are in trouble!
“Oh?” I said, having a significant “blonde moment” and trying not to let on. I didn’t need to look stupid because I’m pretty sure he thought I was.
I guess all was revealed when he asked “what kind do you have?” and I answered “the four legged variety”. I don’t think that’s exactly what he meant.
He took a deep breath. I did likewise.
“When you go to feed them, you’ll have to grab ‘em, straddle them, put your fingers in their mouths (they have big teeth even at 3 weeks old – something else we have learnt!), shove the teet in and squeeze it a few times so they get the taste of the milk, then you’ll be right”.
Mmmm that sounded easy, but life is never quite as easy as you think is it?
And so began our journey into calf raising. Our first feed at 5pm. Step 1. Measure powdered milk. Step 2. Mix vigorously in water. Step 3. Heat up. Step 4. Take temperature (not too hot, not too cold, just right!) Step 5. Take temperature again just to make sure. Step 6. Add organic yoghurt, mix and pour into feeding bottles. Next step? Oh that’s right. The cows.
With three of us and three of them the odds were probably not in our favour but as ignorance is bliss (still) we had big smiles and welcoming calls to our new brood. I didn’t say “here cowie, cowie, cowie” (the man had taken that away from me), but I mooed like their mother (I thought) and was hopeful of a connection between us. They had after all, landed in cow paradise, they just didn’t know it yet!
We managed to corner one and in its fright it let go of its bowels onto my legs (memo to self; wear long pants next time), he then trod on my foot (another memo to self; wear gum boots not thongs), and Les proceeded to straddle him while we jostled and pulled and grabbed and tried to hang on to him, rather like the cattle rustlers in a bad western movie. Mind you the little fella was only 3 weeks old – and we – in cow years – must be… well ancient. After many, many attempts and a few choice words from yours truly, I ended up on top of him and he took off with me hanging on. The bucking bronco tried to escape my clutches but I held fast while Les and Nicholas calmed him down (and I calmed myself down) and I thought all this to put food in their bellies – and this was only the first calf! Phew….. We had just landed in a crash course of calf crushing. “Ride em cowboy” I thought to myself, already exhausted.
“We have to do this twice a day?” Nicholas asked. Yep.
We sort-of managed to get half of the milk in each of them, both cows and humans exhausted by the mighty effort, and while the milk settled them, we went to have a drink to settle us down for the night too.
Sometime during that first night, I said to Les “I thought they said the calves were too young to moo?” But the strange sound reverberating in our bedroom sure sounded like moo-ing. The noise started up almost continuously from about 5am onwards until we all went back for the next exciting instalment of feed time. Let’s hope they and we, get the hang of it soon!
PS Nicholas’s favourite joke is “what do cows like to watch?” Moooovies.
And my favourite… “what do cows like to listen to?” Moooosic! Oh well, you just gotta keep a sense of humour hey?

Ed note ; after 3 weeks we are pleased to announced we are all getting the hang of it. Calves are doing well & we are too!

Without the rain we'd never see the beautiful rainbows!

Dear Les and Trudi
Thank you so much for the warmth and love that permeates from yourselves to everyone who visits Heartland.

I have now been home 2 weeks and continue to see life with clarity and serenity. Meditation is now a new way of life and I am feeling the benefits. You introduced me to food I have never before eaten. All meals at Heartland were simply scrumptious.

I also enjoyed discovering more to my creative side in Artland. I had fun painting and my family were quite impressed with my art work. My Hebel rock piece depicting the sign for Happiness sits proudly on the bookcase for all to enjoy. Thank you Trudi for your encouragement during these sessions.

I have recommended Heartland to friends and 1 has advised that she is booked to attend in late May. I am sure her visit will be as amazing as mine.

Love and heartfelt thanks to all at Heartland.

Blessings and Namaste
Helen R

Another beautiful email sent to us within the last week. Both Les and I feel very privileged to get to spend time with so many wonderful & loving people. Truly, it’s what makes everything worthwhile. At times when we feel a bit tired, we might think …. “Gosh, now we have to mow the paddocks or clean all the windows or pump up the water or do this or do that” … and then we receive an email like the one above & none of the work matters anymore! That we have been able to touch someone’s heart and have helped them in some small way – makes our lives all the richer.
And also, not to forget all the people who support us in doing our work – from people who donate money or donate their time & effort (or even donate their 4 wheel drive for the farm, thanks Jane & Steve!! ), without such support we might not be doing what we do. We are so grateful to you all. Thanks Lex for the mammoth job you did creating our new carpark too. You made it all look so easy and what took you a day would have taken us a week!! Its fantastic.

Nicholas feeding a calf.                                                                    

What’s happening here at Heartland at the moment??? Well, we have 3 calves in our Heartland family now. We have just had a crash course in cow care!!! I have been writing a story our new experience which I will put on this blog later when I have finished. But for those of you who would like to bottle feed a calf, you’d better visit us soon before our calves get too big for their bottles!
 Now,  this calf was meant to come to heartland!!!

Blessings & Love, Trudi
Ps We are not flooded in here, we are lucky Heartland is on a hill. Everything is good here – and thankyou to those who have rung & emailed to see how we are. No, we haven’t needed to build an ark! Thank Goodness. We have enough to do !!

Yes Charlene finally finished her cat sculpture!!! Isn't it fantastic?!! She has truely found that space inside which is creative. Well done Charlene. It was a joy to be present while you lovingly created your piece.

We can learn to change our perspectives, change our moods and change our thinking. I used to be a pretty negative person (I can still be occasionally!) but many years ago I would go “crook” about everything and anything! I could instantly react negatively, without any thought. Just an instant reaction….. but it used to take a lot of energy to be so reactive. I was like a piece of grass by the river, being pushed & pulled by the breeze, never able to stand strong like the trees above!

Now, I am a much more calmer person and much better to be able to think clearly before acting (or reacting).  My mum used to say “count to 10” and she was right. By the time you count to 10 you  feel different! But after the years of being here and learning to meditate, (I found it hard at first to quieten my thoughts and my brain would say “this is such a waste of time!”)  learning the power of mantras, learning about the ego world, learning about the ego personalities – from all of these many varied experiences I have learnt at Heartland it has helped create who I am today and I am a much happier and healthier person.

We are off to visit the dolphins tomorrow at Tin Can Bay.

What we teach here is not rocket science (although I am sure that’s an interesting subject!), but its simple, tried & tested ways that we have found have helped us to become whole and centred and better able to live our lives through love. Our retreat is for people searching to find this source of inner peace within themselves. While you can come here and stay & simply enjoy the pool, the books and the surrounds, we find most people want to come here to find themselves. There are lots of wonderful pampering retreats that you can luxuriate at, but Heartland is more for the person looking for answers – to find their own answers using meditation, mantras, music, art & self-empowering talks that will inspire & uplift.  

I bought a tshirt the other day from the opp shop & it says “Love is my religion”. Yep, that’s it in a nutshell. Blessings to you all, Trudi

We have such an abundance of good food in Australia. We are truely blessed.

Les with some of our guests, Elian & Lee.

I am interrupting my series of channelled messages to address the matter of 2012…

“End days” has been a popular scare topic since time immemorial: the early Christians were certain the ‘end’ would happen within their lifetime and many latter-day New Agers have been of similar belief. The close of the Mayan Calendar has driven some into an ecstatic frenzy.

One famous New Ager recently wrote: In addition to the 5,125-year cycle of the Mayan Calendar, at the present time we are experiencing the cycle of Earth’s transition from the 2,166-year Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius. We are also experiencing the culmination of the 26,000-year cycle known as the Precession of the Equinox, the 438,000-year cycle of Kali Yuga, the 1.8 million-year cycle of Satya Yuga, the 4.4 million-year cycle of Mahayuga, and the 4.4 billion-year cycle of Kalpa……

At a time when many people can’t even set the record timer correctly on their TV system this lady has been judiciously recording time so accurately that she can confidently assure us that all these cycles are culminating together right now. It’s nothing short of amazing.

To count down 4.4billion years back from 2012 is amazing in itself. I’m amazed!

Of course the Mayan Calendar ends: doesn’t the calendar you have on the wall? If a Martian arrived and saw my calendar would he immediately jump to the conclusion (especially as I am clairvoyant!) that I expect the world to finish 31st December when my calendar ends????

No. It’s just the year that ends.

Everything is in cycles. Cycles roll, they don’t end. That’s why they call them cycles. And if we use just the minutest common sense for just a fraction of a millisecond we will surely agree it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly when any cycle ‘started’, even 26,000 years ago….

So what’s it all about Alfie?

Society is changing.

And the natural world is reflecting that change.

The individuals which make up our society, on the outside, are reflecting wildly erratic and far greater instability than in the past: we see this in politics, economics, religion and everyday social behaviour.

The world is simply reflecting that instability.

That’s because All is One: insanity and madness in one part affects all other parts (just like in our society).

However, the good news is that on the inside, many individuals which make up our society are finally seeking greater unity with the Divine Presence: and many are reflecting that on the outside through their support of programs that protect nature and care for others less able to care for themselves. In moving closer to the One-ness of All Life we move closer to an acceptance of the Divine Power within each of us.

So, folks, the ball is in our hands.

We can enjoy the fear (rather like watching NCIS, I guess, on TV) or move into maturity.

We can remain part of the escalating madness (the problem) – or step into new roles as part of the One-ness (the answer).

Either way, I am happy to take ANY bet that the world continues.

It’s up to US (not the US) what kind of world it’s going to be.

The Mayan calendar simply tells us it’s time to turn over a new leaf.

Start a new calendar.

Change direction.

Move on.

Drop old nonsenses, outdated values, unhelpful superstitions, unhealthy creeds, greeds, guilts, hurts, pains, fears.

And instead embrace Love, co-operate with life and celebrate our joyous place in the endless playground of God!

Blessings and Love,

Les

I am taking my AUTHENTIC LIVING workshops on the road again, probably later this year. If you are willing to act as local agent in your town or city, please let me know. Grateful thanks in advance.

e les@lesdyer.com t 07 54 816 777

w www.lifechangingmessages.org w www.heartlandretreat.com.au

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Passionfruit from our vine, yoghurt freshly made, fresh fruit salad, flowers from our garden... anyone for breaky?

That is the intention that we are applying to our lives during 2012. Exploring the inner path of Freedom – not allowing distractions to take us from the clarity of what we are doing here on planet Earth, and of course, at Heartland. Last year was a difficult one for many people, and the year proved challenging for us too. Just because we work helping humanity doesn’t mean we don’t deal with problems and issues just like everyone else! Perhaps to get out of these earthly problems, one would have to go live in a cave by themselves….. but even there would be problems arising! I love the little story about the 2 monks who went to live in a cave – and then they started fighting over whose meditation cushion belonged to who! 

I was listening to a cd recently and the person said “life on planet earth is just one problem after another, which keeps the ego busy from recognising its soul-purpose, which is to simply focus on ones enlightenment, whereby one sees the reality of the maddness of existance”. Well, this can be a crazy world can’t it? The truth for those of us who are walking the same path, is to be aware of this craziness and not be a part of it! Ahhhh, therein lies a challenge. ha ha

Teaching guests how to play the crystal and tibetan bowls. Check out Dr Emoto’s research on sound affecting water (therefore as we are mostly water ,sound affects us!)

We began this year with our first retreat last week, and our next retreat  is on next week. Right now it is pouring with rain – last week it was hot! The weather is simply doing what it does best…. changing!

First time sculpture made from hebel!! Beautiful.

We can learn from that can’t we? Don’t have fixed ideas about anything, don’t be inflexible, don’t be rigid…. allow what is to be to simply flow…. as is meant. Does the river say, “Hey wait a minute, I wanna go the other way!” No it does not. Does the spider say “I don’t feel like spinning a web today” and then go hungry? No, it simply IS and DOES what spiders do! Without question. Without arguments. And without any conscious thought whatsoever.

Artwork created last week from one guest!

Our gift that we have is free will and yet for most people, they use it to get further away from the truth of consciousness. And yet our destiny is surely to simply wake up and – wait for it – STAY AWAKE!!!

So, this year will be a great one for us all! Firstly, Les is busy writing more books, I am creating more art and with Nicholas’s help, we are beautifying Heartland by planting more flowers and creating more beauty in the garden for our guests (and us!) to enjoy.  Ahhhh the simplicity of simply admiring the first hibiscus! To witness its beauty. It is divine!!

More beautiful artwork from last week!

 May this year of 2012 be one of Ease & Grace for you too. I hope that you are able to connect to yourself, more deeply, more sincerely and live always – by the truth that is in your heart.

Blessings & Gratitude, Trudi

The ginger flower.... in all of its magnificence!!!