“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.” ~ Orson Welles There have been some signs this week that my world is beginning to extend beyond the farm, my pyjamas and bed, as I edge ahead in my battle against Lyme disease. We had to get a new radiator installed […]
Blog Hijack!
“All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” ~ Charles M. Schulz This is Bert. Me and my brother Harry have taken over this blog. Writing is dumb. Especially on a very lovely morning of rain and […]
Inviting Help into Your Life
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.” ~ Charles de Lint Divine Guidance. Signs. Help. Answers to prayers. Last-minute […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Mind Awareness
“You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.” ~ Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes This is the second in a series of seven weekly guided meditations I am recording for you. The focus of this week’s meditation is the mind. This guided meditation will help you to be aware of the positive gifts of your mind, and teaches […]
I’ll Keep This Short And Sweet
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” ~ Barack Obama Not much time for blog writing today. A dear […]
Something Very Beautiful
“Sometimes people are beautiful.Not in looks.Not in what they say.Just in what they are.” ~ Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger When you begin to see with your heart, beauty is everywhere. There is something very beautiful in a Nana rocking a child to sleep in her arms, unselfconsciously singing in the corner of a crowded shopping mall… […]
5 Helpful Questions for Your Monday
“At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.” ~ Leo Babauta Here are five questions to guide you this week. Ponder them, and put the answers into action in your life. Much love, Nicole xx 1. What do I most need to get […]
Some thoughts on Dementia, Alzheimers and the End Stage of our Journey
“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe Recently, my friend Catherine contacted me to ask about her grandmother Phyllis, also known as Little Nana. Her Grandad has already passed over, and Little Nana is in a nursing home. […]
A Gentle Morning at the Farm
“Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden Autumn is a magical time at our farm. Gentle showers soak the ground during the night, and in the morning thick mist wraps itself around the mountains. As the sun burns […]
Warm Spiced Turmeric Milk Recipe
“Each spice has a special day to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter-colored into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.” ~ Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices Turmeric Milk is a traditional Ayurvedic drink, often called by the wonderful […]
Guided Meditation for Orienting Body Awareness
“Whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive, untouched…” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Here is the first in a series of seven weekly guided meditations I am recording for you. We are spiritual beings in physical bodies. This guided meditation will help you to be aware of both your energetic or […]
Will You Join Me For Some Guided Meditations?
“Meditation is listening to the Divine within.” ~ Edgar Cayce Meditation is one of the foundation stones upon which I have built my life. It is a twice daily routine for me, and I have practiced now for nearly thirty years. Meditation is not based on a religion, and many atheists I know practice […]
Quick Tomato, Bacon and Lentil Soup Recipe
“Lentils are friendly—the Miss Congeniality of the bean world.” ~ Laurie Colwin Soup is one of those all-time comfort foods for a very good reason. Problem is, so many soup recipes take hours to cook. That’s why I love this one. It’s fast to make, economical, and entirely delicious. It takes less than ten minutes to […]
Me and That Owl
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” ~ Oprah Winfrey “The unexamined life is not worth living.” ~ Socrates Last Monday, in my Doctor’s rooms, I received the best kind of news. Although I am still unwell, I have definitely turned the corner in my struggle against Lyme disease. I am no longer dying. I am healing. My life is once again unfurling […]
Listening to the Universe…
“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, Swiftly Tilting Planet I came home to our little farm tonight. As we drove down the dirt road that leads to our front gate a great weight fell from my shoulders, and I realised that I […]
Heartbreakingly Wonderful News
“How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.” ~ Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult […]
#Lymetime – The Big Day Looms…
“I still think that everyone’s life, no matter how unremarkable, has a singular tragic encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. That moment is the catalyst – the first step in the equation. But knowing the first step will get you nowhere – it’s what comes after that determines the result.” ~ Robyn Schneider, The Beginning […]
The Owl and the Banshee
“Fairies in Ireland are sometimes as big as we are, sometimes bigger, and sometimes, as I have been told, about three feet high.” ~ W.B. Yeats As I have been writing my Kimberley memoir, tumbling words onto the page at all hours of the day and night, I find myself I need to talk again about […]
Ten Ways to find ‘Me’ Time
“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.” ~ Sarah Dessen, Just Listen No matter how committed we are the love and care of others, no matter how much is on our […]
Making a Cosy Nest
“The bird, a nest; the spider, a web; man, friendship.” ~ William Blake There’s a cold change in the air. Autumn is well and truly here at the farm. That means stoking the fire each night, and digging out our jumpers and extra blankets for the beds. A few weeks ago I sat on the veranda, discussing the Bluesfest program with […]
Chocolate Beetroot Cake Recipe – Gluten Free
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ~ Charles M. Schulz Although at first this might sound like a strange flavour combination, I can assure you that this cake tastes sublime. The beetroot adds an earthy sweetness to the chocolate cake, giving a moist but surprisingly light cake with good […]
Why You Need to Stop Talking And Start Doing!
“They blossomed, they did not talk about blossoming.” ~ Dejan Stojanovic, The Sun Watches the Sun I’m guilty of it. I’m sure you’ve been guilty of it too. We have an idea. For a book. For a business. For a holiday. For a themed party. For something that excites us so much that we just have to […]
A Simple Exercise for becoming More Authentic
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ~ May Sarton Ask yourself a question, just one question – and sit in your heartspace to listen for the answer. How can I be more authentic this week? To put this another way… What small steps can you […]
Clearing Sales – and their special charm
“A bargain is something you can’t use at a price you can’t resist.” ~ Franklin P. Jones I had quite the romantic outing yesterday. It started with the Lismore Farmers Markets and their Saturday auction in the showgrounds, where we enjoyed an excellent coffee and perused the wares. We came away with a bargain lawn mower, […]
Ghosts, Bones, Love and Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi Many years ago a woman came to me for a psychic consultation. She was probably about the age I am now, and she had travelled a great distance to see me in person. She wasn’t my usual kind of client. […]
Up all night, talking to Ghosts
“Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that’s what.” ~ Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses I’m late blogging today, but I have an excuse. I was up all night, talking to ghosts. Well, one ghost actually. This morning I was shaken, fragile and exhausted. And then his mother rang me… I’ll tell you all about it […]