Beaming Green

In this the final episode of three with Stephen Armytage, he discusses what it means to live a rich and purposeful life. Stephen explains that his goal in sharing this course, and his overall mission, is to leave the world in a better shape than he found it. He reveals the secret to achieving this is coming from a place of abundance and connection.Stephen believes that living a rich and purposeful life means being the best husband, father, son, and community member possible, together with acknowledging the enrichment that this creates.Stephen discusses the common misconception that people who have a good start in life don't struggle and are happy. He says that everyone starts somewhere, and we all have different starting places. He understands that some people don't believe they have the power, permission, or deserve to live this way. Stephen emphasises that improving yourself is possible, regardless of your starting point.To learn more about how to live an abundant and fulfilling life retreat, beginning May 31st, 2023, head to LARPL to register or sign up to the mailing list to hear about future events. You may also want to check out Gymea Eco Retreat, the stunning spot in Northern NSW where Stephen is holding the retreat. I'll be attending and hope to see you there for what promises to be a powerful and transformative five-day experience.

In episode two of Beaming Green, we learn about the next chapter in Stephen Armytage's journey towards Living a Rich and Purposeful Life (LARPL). Stephen shares what brought on his self-described 'spectacular midlife crisis', which was a growing discomfort about the direction in which the world was heading, particularly around how humans were treating the earth.While working in high-level government consulting, Stephen talks about his need to explore further, or dig deeper into himself to feel his own authenticity. This led him to embark on his own version of the hero's journey to become a sustainable man, father, husband, and community member, which involved spending six months traveling around Australia with his wife and two kids, living in a small camper trailer. On this trip he connected more deeply with his family and learned how to live an abundant, enriched life with minimal impact on the environment.This prompted his decision to move to Northern NSW and some of the challenges and choices he and his family needed to make to be more sustainably authentic.Stephen reveals how from that space he and his family manifested the perfect place to live and work at Gymea Eco Retreat where they were able to further develop and explore their connectivity with the land, themselves and their wonderful community.We also delve a little deeper into his passion for LARPL and what to expect at his upcoming retreat starting on the 31st of May 2023.

Are you ready to to live a rich and purposeful life?In this episode of the podcast, I sit down with Stephen Armytage to discuss his upcoming program, Living a Rich and Purposeful Life. Stephen has spent the last 15 years developing a universal approach to helping people live a fulfilling and thriving life. During the conversation, Stephen shares his personal journey of hitting rock bottom and how it led him to reinvent his life.  He also discusses how COVID-19 has presented an opportunity for deep reflection and how his program can help people move into a new phase of their lives.  Living a Rich and Purposeful Life is a four-night retreat, aimed at those who feel disconnected and are asking questions like "Is this all life's about?"The program is designed to assist people in living a rich and purposeful life, which for Stephen, is a thriving life.  We also delve into the importance of taking purposeful steps towards the kind of life you want to live, and how his program can help people do just that.The episode concludes with Stephen sharing a snippet of how his program came about and how he has evolved over the years.  We delve deep in a three part interview that will provide you with an insight into how he got to where he is now.If you're feeling a little off-color or disconnected, then this episode is a must-listen. It's a great opportunity to learn about how you can start living a more purposeful and fulfilling life.  For more information about the upcoming retreat visit. https://larpl.com.au/ 

Educating our children and making them aware of how to live their lives sustainably is no mean feat.  In this episode, I speak with Katie Norman about her business called the Sustainable Schools Network (SSN).Katie is the chief steward for the organisation that has been in operation for almost two years. The SSN philosophy on Education for Sustainability (EfS) is to engage in an ongoing reciprocal dialogue that explores playful possibilities in our collective educational spaces.  As much as this is an inward, and at times, personal journey for us all, it is very much about creating a shared path and a shared vision that engages curiosity, critical thinking and creative expression.  Although they started this organisation with a focus on sustainability, the more they lived the experience of sustainability, the more they realised that sustainability is about learning.In this interview, we discuss how:the Sustainable Schools Network came aboutsustainability requires a whole-of-school approach that involves everyone from the kids to the teachers, school staff and parentsthe journal that they produce quarterly to educate students on a wide array of subjects around sustainability is becoming a great success and a useful toolthis program is available to all schools throughout Australiachildren can influence change, not just for themselves, but for the people around them, including their parentsschools that engage with this program and educate children about sustainability has a ripple effect, with  9,100 schools throughout Australia using it, shaping our future leaders change starts with us as individuals sustainability wasn't included in curriculum for student teachers as part of their core subjects.I really enjoyed this interview with Katie and am sure that you will too.LinksSustainable Schools NetworkFacebookLinkedin

In this week’s episode I am excited to welcome guest presenter Andia Cally. Together, we interview Hermione Elliot, who shares her wisdom and wealth of experience and knowledge on a subject that eventually impacts us all—death. Based in the UK, Hermione is an End of Life Doula and the Director of Living Well, Dying Well, an organisation that pioneered (and continues to offer) the only certified end of life training in the UK, since 2009.It was a rich and very rewarding conversation. Hermione’s compassion, experience and insight around the importance of preparing for, and creating, a positive end-of-life experience was humbling.We touched on many topics, including that:the role of a End of Life Doula is to create a calm, comforting, safe and loving space to help the dying person and their family let godeath itself is brief and much of their work is around supporting the preparation for death and what comes afterfor the dying it is often important to tie up loose ends and let go of attachments to things and peopleevery death is unique and often reflects how a person has livedend of life can be harder for the ones being left behind than the one dyingwe can rehearse for death by regularly ‘stopping to listen to the whispering of [our] soul’ rather than waiting for deathbed regretsdeath is a human, rather than a medical event, which is why hospitals and institutions don’t do death wellthe end of life is treated differently in various culturesdeath and permanent brain injury can affect people at any age, so it’s worth creating an advanced health care directive a.s.a.pCovid-19 has made people more aware of the importance of having loved ones with you as you dieevery person that does their training is doing a public service as they normalise and expand the conversation around deathincluding children in the conversations and experiences of death will help them to face the inevitable in the futurehealing rituals, like washing the body of a loved one, or bringing them home for a few days can be very healing.Death is a challenging topic for many of us, including me. I hope that like me, you find this interview enriching and feel reassured that it is possible to die well.Bio of Hermione ElliotAfter a career in nursing, midwifery, palliative care, training, health coaching and mentorship, Hermione brought all her interests and experience together to develop the End of Life Doula Training in 2009.  She established Living Well, Dying Well as a not-for-profit organisation to further this work.  She is passionate about engaging with people from all walks of life, encouraging them to become more informed and confident about being with death and dying – recognising it not as something to be feared, but as a natural and normal part of life.Links to training and informationHome | Living Well Dying Well – End of Life Doula Training (lwdwtraining.uk)Home End of Life Doula UK – Death Doula in the community (eol-doula.uk)

To mark Plastic Free July, we go a little deeper and look at waste and recycling in New South Wales, Australia and beyond.  I speak with Justin Bonsey who works in the waste industry. Justin is the Strategic Lead of Resource Recovery at the Southern Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), overseeing regional projects on infrastructure planning, waste data, regulatory reform and circular economy markets and has a long history working in various waste and recovery sectors.Justin isn't one to stand still and is passionate about finding waste solutions, having co-founded Responsible Runners and Responsible Cafes.In this interview, Justin speaks about how:helping a friend in Northern Thailand sparked his interest in how to live more sustainablyhis experience of seeing a lot of waste while running on Bondi Beach gave him the idea for Responsible Runners, encouraging runners and walkers to pick up any litter they see on Sydney's beacheshe campaigned with Boomerang Alliance to introduce the container refund scheme in NSWthe impact of banning exported plastic waste and tyre waste to South East Asia meant local authorities had to find another, more sustainable solutionin NSW glass is being recycled and used for building roadsconsumers not knowing what is and isn't recyclable can contaminate a whole truckload of wastethe Responsible Cafes movement grew from 800—5000 cafes in a couple of months after the ABC's War on Waste aired.I really enjoyed the discussion with Justin and was grateful that he gave some of his time and shared his considerable expertise on a Sunday, proving how committed he is to reducing our waste consumption.Bio of Justin BonseyJustin Bonsey is Strategic Lead, Resource Recovery at the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), overseeing regional projects on infrastructure planning, waste data, regulatory reform, and circular economy markets. Formerly a Boomerang Alliance campaigner for container deposits and bans on single-use plastics, he co-founded sustainability initiatives Responsible Cafes and Responsible Runners to address litter and marine debris, and help businesses improve their sustainability practices.Links:Responsible Runners FacebookResponsible Cafe's Justin Bonsey Interview Transcript

This month we celebrate Plastic Free July, an important initiative that Rebecca Prince-Ruiz (the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation) started in Australia with the help of a small local government team in 2011. In this episode, I speak with Nikki Beckinsale about her business Plastic Free Alternatives, which promotes the idea that if we all take small sustainable steps, collectively, we can make a big positive impact. Plastic Free Alternatives offers a range of products that 'do not harm the planet or our bodies'.During the interview Nikki and I chat about her personal journey towards plastic reduction and how:the film A Plastic Ocean, along with the amount of waste her family of five was generating, inspired her to make personal changes around their waste management and eventually led to offering more sustainable alternatives to the public through Plastic Free Alternatives, a business she started with her Mumher and her Mum trialled every product they sell on their site so customers can be assured they workwe can start with changing one behaviour in Plastic Free July, such as having a plastic-free kids partymicro plastics are appearing in our soils and our foods she regularly shares recipes on her blog for DIY cleaning products that are really effective in cleaning toilets, washing clothes and cleaning surfacesreturning to some of the things our grandparents used, like soap savers, can better support the planetpart of the problem is seeing ourselves as separate from natureit can sometimes take a while to transition to some sustainable products, like shampoo bars, but that it's worth persisting when you think about the amount of plastic saved.SPECIAL OFFER FOR JULYWe are running a competition for Plastic Free July - go to Beaming Green for the details In honour of Plastic Free July here are some little known facts about plastic:Since the 1950s, around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide.In some parts of the world, using plastic is already illegal.73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute.Worldwide, about 2 million plastic bags are used every minute.90% of plastic polluting our oceans is carried by just 10 rivers.Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and. animals every year.The average person eats 70,000 microplastics annuallyThe average time that a plastic bag is used for is … 12 minutes.Over the past 50 years, world plastic production has doubled.I really enjoyed this very important discussion with Nikki and believe we all can do something to make a difference in our purchasing decisions and behaviours to help reduce our consumption of plastic.  Remembering that there is no AWAY when it comes to plastic.

In this episode I speak with Matthew Harris about his first book, The Way of the Courageous Vulnerable – How to Find Meaning and Purpose From the 7 Stages of the Hero’s Journey in your daily life. The book centres on the hero's journey, the underlying template in stories from all around the world, as a way for people to understand and achieve their purpose in life."The book brings a hopeful message, enabling one to more easily bear and even value the hard times.  It is an approach that teaches patience, humility and the 'long view'. Matthew explains the steps in detail and shows how they have applied in his own life, which has involved a journey often marked by depression, illness and poverty. This enables the reader to see how the stages can apply in their own lives. The book includes exercises and questions at the end of each chapter to help you apply the'journey' to your own life." (Review by H Smart) The hero's journey is a subject I'm really passionate about and I enjoyed hearing Matthew's take on:the creative process of writing this book from a place of vulnerability, initially expressed in a collection of his personal Facebook postshow he transformed obstacles, like depression, into opportunities and inspiration for the hero's journey and the bookthe unsung everyday heroes, like his Mum, who have inspired himthe importance of eldership acknowledgement culturally in Australia and the role elders can play in holding space for young peoplethe feminine version of the hero's journey, as something more internal and how both genders experience the masculine and feminine expressions of the hero's journeyMatthew's future plans for workshops, seminars and retreats on this topic.I really enjoyed my discussion with Matthew, and I hope you enjoy this interview and reading his new book.The book is available: www.courageousjourney.com.au  or via Amazon for E -bookGo to Beaming Green to see more info about the author. 

RiverTracks is a new Northern Rivers venture, inspired by the very successful BackTrack program that Bernie Shakeshaft created in Armidale, New South Wales to keep young boys 'alive, out of jail and get them back on track'.Like BackTrack, RiverTracks will take an innovative approach to working with young people, 13-16 years giving them the skills and support so they can reach their full potential and have a positive impact in the communities they live in.Despite limited government funding (5%), BackTrack is recognised across Australia and has an 87 per cent success rate of participants gaining full-time employment, training or education. The Tweed Valley community members who have established RiverTracks want to emulate the same community sponsored model to support their new program for young men.RiverTracks will begin its local offering with a program that will run 1-2 days per week targeting disengaged young men in the Murwillumbah area. the program will connect them to a safe, supportive and inclusive community of mentors and peers who offer opportunities, including animal therapy, practical education and work skills development. The program will partner with training providers and focus on collaborative relationship building with participants to co-create the program.In this interview I speak with a member of the RiverTracks team Roland Fraval, who talks about how:the idea for the local project came about after local youth worker and co-founder, Ahri Tallon found out about the BackTrack program from a young fellow in living in residential care who said it was the best thing he'd ever donethe program is an early intervention program targeting young people that have disengaged from school and who are at risk of entering the juvenile justice systemone in four young people are dealing with a mental health issue and one in five are disengaged from school in some way and 28,000 are homeless or sleeping roughsuccessful the BackTrack venture has been, reducing severe psychological distress by half in young participants, reducing suicide ideation by 40%, resulting in a 70% drop in school suspensions and increasing school attendances by 66% and lowering drug usebeneficial animal training and therapy has been in the BackTrack program with dogs and how the local arm will use equine therapy to create similar outcomesthey want to ground the project within the local community and have already attracted support and interest from many local community members and some high-profile local businesses, including the Scouts, the Rural Fire Service, the Surf Lifesaving club, as well as the Murwillumbah bike shopthe program aims to be a social enterprise that creates real-world opportunities for young people to do things that interest them and make money in the processthe program will start with young men 13-16 and expand out to other age groups and girls once it gets more establishedyou can contribute to their fundraiser or through donating your time to skills like grant writing, cooking, mentoring etc.Visit RiverTracks website for more information.To contribute financially or in kind to their fundraiser to get RiverTracks started click link hereBe inspired by the success of the BackTrack project through this inspiring documentary about the program https://backtrackboys.com. 

I heard Karen Lee Downes in an online interview a few months ago where she shared some of the work that her organisation — the Flourish Initiative, together with and Femme Q, were doing around bridging the gap between the masculine and feminine energies in the workplace.  This subject appealed to me because I believe there needs to be more of a balance between the masculine and feminine in many spheres, especially around our current paradigm of plundering and pillaging people and the planet to make a profit.In this episode, I speak with Karen about the work her and her partners are doing to bridge the gender gap and how we can create a better world for future generations and the planet.During the interview we speak about her experience:working in Bangladesh and India in the Hunger Project for womenbeing a student of Anthroposophy (works of Rudolf Steiner)starting out in Australia and how her and her sister set up a multimillion dollar essential oil business (In Essence) with distribution in five countriesworking in the UK with some of the biggest male-dominated mining organisations to create conscious-leadership programstaking 1,600 leaders from a leading airline to uncover a collective experience of "burn out"with her father that inspired her to do the work she does.We covered a great deal more during the interview. If you have the inclination and are able to travel, I highly recommend the Femme Q course. If you can't travel, you can do it online as well.Bio - Karen Downes - Social entrepreneur, Spiritual Activist, Business Consultant and Facilitator (Australia / UK / Costa Rica)Currently projects Costa Rica |  Lead for Deep Collaboration | FemmeQOver her 35-year career Karen has built successful companies, supported civil society organisations to transform entrenched cultural norms, worked with global business leaders, designing and delivering culture change and development programmes around the world.  Karen began her career as an alternative healthcare practitioner and  a student of Anthroposophy.  Over the course of time she has translated spiritual practices, principles of healing and systemic change into everyday life and business.  Back in the 80s & 90s she built a multi-million dollar business in alternative health care, from kitchen table-top to a exporting training programmes and product to 5 countries.  At the same time working on the ground in India and Bangladesh to transform the subjugation and marginalisation of women, seen as the key to end the chronic persistence of hunger. In 2002 she moved to London, developing and leading transformational programmes and retreats. She is the founder of The Flourish Initiative a consulting and advisory service to business, co-founder of FemmeQ: Feminine Intelligence, is a member of Gender Equality in Catalyst2030 and Lead for Deep Collaboration in Bounce Beyond. Her commitment is to catalyse the necessary shift from the current system of domination to partnership and to embed the feminine principle that has been missing, into all aspects of leadership, to create a flourishing future for all.Websites:https://www.theflourishinitiative.comhttps://femmeq.orghttps://www.costaricaregenerativa.org  

Jannine Barron created her first eco product in 1998. Over the next 23 years she launched more than 33 zero-waste products. In 2000, she coined the phrase, “change the world, one purchase at a time” to express her brand activism, a phrase that many industries have since adopted. Now, two and a half decades later, and based in the UK, Jannine is on a mission to change business for generations to come, through mentoring a new generation of product makers and climate-conscious business owners.In this episode Jannine shares her experience:as an activist at Macquarie Universitycreating her first eco business with one product in her garagestarting and selling four businesses over 20 plus yearsin helping aspiring ecopreneurshelping women through the "B experience"around the importance of having a business mentor or coach if you want to succeed.I can highly recommend Jannine as a mentor, after all she helped me get Beaming Green started and has helped countless other businesses.  She has a genuine interest in making a difference and provides a lot of enthusiasm and guidance in a constructive way.Visit her website https://www.theproductmentor.com.au/

In this episode I speak with Morag Gamble who is a global Permaculture and Eco Village Ambassador.  She has lived in the Crystal Waters Eco Village for more than two decades. She runs permaculture courses online, serving a wide audience that spans six continents. Morag covers a wide array of topics and is such an knowledgable and engaging speaker this one-hour interview will fly by.Morag speaks with me about:Permaculture's roots and evolutionthe Permaculture Education Institute's online courses that promote permaculture on 6 continentsPerma Youth, created by her daughter Maya, which has hubs around the worldhow her daughter's program is helping refugees set up permaculture in the campsher experience of living in an award-winning Crystal Waters Eco Villagehow the village supports its 220 residentshow they manage and share the work loadhow music legends the Grateful Dead came to support the village's music studioBio of MoragMorag Gamble is a global permaculture and ecovillage ambassador, designer, teacher, writer, YouTube, blogger, podcaster, homeschooler and founder of the Permaculture Education Institute. For over 2 decades share has lived in a UN World Habitat Award winning ecovillage acknowledged for 'demonstrating low impact and sustainable ways of living’. Morag offers a practical permaculture course, The Incredible Edible Garden, and through her online Permaculture Educators Program (a combined Permaculture Design Certificate and Permaculture Teacher Certificate), Morag teaches people on 6 continents how to design regenerative human habitats and mentors them to become leading educators in the transformation of the places and neighbourhoods in which they dwell.Morag creates a practical youtube channel that has been watched over 4.5 million times and free monthly permaculture masterclasses that have over 3000 people booked in each time. She has an extensive blog, Our Permaculture Life, with over 400 articles with permaculture tips, and a popular podcast, Sense-Making in a Changing World, where she talks with leading ecological thinkers and doers.Morag's practical application of systems thinking and ecological design principles extends from home and community spaces to refugee settlements in East Africa. She is a cofounder of Northey Street City Farm and the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network and many community food projects. She ownerbuilt her own ecohome surrounded by an award-winning natural and edible landscapes. Through the Ethos Foundation, her permaculture charity, she offers support to women and youth in the global south to access free permaculture education and create regenerative farms and communities. Alongside her daughter, and other teens, she recently launched a Permayouth network which has received a global Youth in Permaculture Prize. She also runs camps for teens and mentors global youth with her Ethos Fellowship Program - a youth systems thinking learning community - collaborating with leading thinkers like Fritjof Capra and Nora Bateson. Morag lives and breathes permaculture. Morag Gamble https://moraggamble.comCourses: Permaculture Education Institute https://permacultureeducationinstitute.orgBlog: Our Permaculture Life https://ourpermaculture.life.comYoutube: https://youtube.com/c/moraggambleourpermaculturelifePodcast: https://sense-making.buzzsprout.comEthos Foundation https://ethosfoundation.org.auPermayouth https://permayouth.org 

Libraries are traditionally associated with borrowing books. These days, with an increasing awareness that once a product reaches its used-by date ‘there is no away’, many waste-conscious communities are creating tool libraries. This is a great way to pool resources, borrowing, rather than buying tools, camping goods, PAs, party equipment and man other household items. Tool libraries are a great way of sharing resources, saving money for individual households and saving the environment from more waste.In a world where we are consuming so much and exploiting the worlds resources, tool libraries offer a win-win solution. Here are a couple of statistics from the story of stuff  to make you think a little more about our consumption. The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago, for every one garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream to make the junk in that one garbage can you put out on the curb and lastly, if everybody in the world consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets.  So here are a couple of reason why a tool library may help reduce consumption.In this episode on Beaming Green I speak with Sasha Mainsbridge, who with the help of other volunteers, has created a tool library in the Northern Rivers town of Mullumbimby, called the “Library of Stuff”.In this episode Sasha and I discuss:what the “Library of Stuff” does and its philosophyhow long people can borrow items forwhat types of products people can borrowwhy volunteers are essential to make these initiatives workwhat a membership fee of $50 per annum gets youhow the Library of Stuff is structuredwhat you need to start your own tool library.Weblinks:Library of Stuff Mullum Cares Salvage CultureBioSasha Mainsbridge is a Behavioural Scientist and Operational Efficiency Specialist who left her corporate life in 2012 after 13 years in personal insurance to forge a new path focused on her passion for reducing consumption to mitigate the impacts of climate change. In 2014, after studying Conservation and Land Management, Sasha moved her family from Melbourne to Mullumbimby and started Mullum Cares Incorporated in 2015.  The Library of Stuff began informally in April 2017 then launched officially two years later.  Sasha is currently looking for subsidised real estate to scale the Library’s operations and start a second project, a Reverse Garbage for the Northern Rivers. 

The tiny house movement has been growing steadily for more than a decade. It offers an affordable alternative to buying a conventional house and an alternative way of living. Many home buyers are choosing to downsize and simplify their lives due to economic hardship, housing affordability and environmental stress. This conscientious collective are choosing to live off grid and leave a smaller footprint on our struggling planet.In this episode, I speak with Fred Schultz the founder of Fred’s Tiny House workshops about:what motivated him to build a tiny housewhat to consider when building a tiny housewhy design and weight planning are vital in creating a successful small spacewhat batteries to use for an off grid tiny housewhy buying or building on the right trailer is essential for a portable tiny homewhat are the pros and cons of building with new materials vs recycledwhat courses Fred offers and how they can help you create your ideal tiny house.Bio:Fred Schultz is a thought leader, innovator and advocate in Australia’s Tiny House movement. He designed, built and lived in his own off-grid (fossil-fuel free) tiny house with his family and now teaches builders (DIY and professionals alike) how to build safe, compliant and comfortable tiny houses for the different Australian climates. He designs and sells tiny house trailers that are super strong and allow for the strongest attachment between tiny house and trailer. Fred is always up for a chat about tiny houses and the philosophies that underpin them. You can find him in Castlemaine, pouring over the technical details of trailer-design or making in his back yard.To view more YouTube videos visit Beaming Green website and go to episode 21 or visit Fred's Tiny Houses website

Welcome to episode twenty. I'm excited to welcome back Victor Pires to learn more about Syntropic agriculture and his new training course — Syntropic Gardener, based in Uki, Northern NSW, Australia.Victor was born in Brazil where he trained extensively in this field, learning from some of the founders, including the Syntropic agriculture creator, Ernst Gotsch, a Swiss farmer who moved to Brazil in the early 1980s'.Fans of Beaming Green will remember Victor from our first episode. Seven months on it's great to catch up again and see what he's learned and achieved in the past 7 months.In this episode Victor discusses:how important it is to understand your land, particularly how the water flows, wind patterns and soil conditionswhat you can do to improve soil conditionswhat successional planting is, how to manage it and what the benefits arewhy having a plan for planting, harvesting and beyond is vitalwhy there is a growing interest Syntropic agriculture around the worldwhat content and format his new Syntropic Gardener, launching over Easter will take.I always learn so much from my conversations with Victor and I'm sure you will too. Remember to check out the links below for more about how to book into his upcoming course.Click on highlighted links to:Syntropic Gardener and find out more.Livingness journey Youtube videoFind out about the immersive courseCourse tickets - register now

Indigenous Australians are the first-known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. The term includes both the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal People, who together make up about 2.5% of Australia's population.Scientists believe Indigenous Australians arrived in Australia between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago, but Aboriginal history says "we have been here since time began".Non-Indigenous Australians can learn a great deal from these ancient custodians. Their deep connection to country, with thousands of years lived experience on the land, provides unique expertise in managing Australia's land and water in a more sustainable way.In this episode I speak with Paul Burragun (Uncle Boomerang), who is a Birrinburra, Bundjalung, Wangerriburra & Yuggera Turrbal man. Paul has been developing and delivering cultural workshops in schools and early learning centres for the past 20 years in South East Queensland and North Eastern NSW.Paul shares his journey as an Aboriginal man, his ancestry and some of the traditions and customs that have shaped his life.We talk about how:sharing songlines keeps valuable information from the past alivestars connect to the songlinesmany languages and Aboriginal dialects there were and some of the interpretations between clansAboriginals were listed under the local Flora and Fauna Act until 1967Aboriginal people traditionally used bush tuckerin Paul's country there are six seasons, rather than foursharing Aboriginal customs and traditions with communities in his region is his passion.I really had a great time speaking with Paul and would recommend you listen to this podcast and share it with your friends and family to raise awareness of Aboriginal traditions and customs.If you would like to get information about the programs on offer visit https://www.burragun.com.au

Farmers' markets promote individual health, environmental health and healthy communities. These weekly markets support local farmers, stimulating local economies and building direct relationships between the growers and buyers. They offer a place where the consumer can ask questions about how their food is grown, creating consumer trust and encouraging sustainable farming practices that reduce exposure to toxic fertilisers and pesticides. Consumers are guaranteed fresh, locally grown, (often organic) seasonal produce that is low in food miles, has minimal packaging and is highly nutritious. The environment also benefits, with consumers bringing their own bags or baskets, cutting down on unnecessary single-use plastic bags.  It's also a great place to connect with friends and family, listen to music and let the kids play.Murwillumbah Farmers' Market springs into life every Wednesday morning from 7.00 – 11.00am, allowing consumers to purchase super fresh, seasonal local produce from small family farmers and artisanal local producers. Situated at the Murwillumbah Showgrounds, visitors can enjoy stunning views to Wollumbin (Mt Warning) and the surrounding Caldera.In this episode Sue Beckinsale, the Manager of the Murwillumbah Farmers Market chats about the market's humble beginnings 10 years ago and its transformation into a wonderful gathering place for surrounding villagers to catch up with family and friends over a cuppa and delicious food, while relaxing to beautiful music local music. April 2021 marks the market's 10-year anniversary and Sue reflects on how the market has expanded into a rich offering of local fruit, vegies, meat, dairy and much more, becoming a destination for locals and tourists to enjoy.In this episode Sue talks about:what makes the market such a special destinationwhy its important to shop locally and support our farmers and artisanshow markets are a special weekly community eventwhy our local market is thriving, attracting 1500 visitors each weekwhat is planned for the upcoming celebrations for the 10-year anniversarywhy they are hosting a stall welcoming our new residents to the 2484 on the 24th of March 2021how these markets support local environments by reducing the number of kilometres our food travels from the farm gate to plate.Wanting to find out more about the Murwillumbah Farmers Market?Their website is https://murwillumbahfarmersmarket.com.auSocial media click on the following links Facebook or Instagram 

In this episode I speak with Ursula Wharton, the founder of Deep Listeners .Ursula shares her personal story about the loss of her son to suicide. As a result of her loss, she created a free community offering called Deep Listeners that aims "to up-skill and empower community members and organisations to be prepared and willing to listen compassionately to each other." In this episiode Ursula shares how:she coped with the tragic loss of her son Josh to suicide in September 2017she felt the shame of being a parent that lost a child to suicidea local program 'Pitch for Change' allowed her to launch Deep Listeners and realise Josh's final wish for "love, peace and help[ing] the world"she used her grief to create a positive impactimportant it is for a community or village to participate in raising children and to support a community with deep listeningcompassion and listening without judgement are integral in helping and healingloneliness, isolation or alienation can impact on someone's mental health and how important social connection isyou can access some of the upcoming free courses available through Deep Listeners (which I highly recommend for local listeners).I was alarmed at the daily number of suicides (see statistics below). However, as a result of  talking with Ursula I was left with a sense of hope. I feel we can all benefit from improving our listening skills, which may in turn help someone close to you and prevent them from self harming or harming others. This is why I decided to take part in Deep Listeners Safe Talk half-day training and signed up to do their two-day foundational course.  After an unsettling 2020, I believe deep listeners could provide compassionate support to communities all over the world.To contact Ursula about the programs she offers through Deep Listeners or to arrange to speak with a Deep Listener call 0487 638 124 (Northern Rivers only)If this story has raised any issues for you, or you are in immediate danger of harming yourself or others, please contact emergency services on 000 or contact one of these outreach services:Lifeline on 13 11 14Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36Headspace on 1800 650 890Suicide statisticsEight Australians die every day from suicide, which is more than double the road toll.75% of those who take their own life are male.Over 65,000 Australians make a suicide attempt each year.In 2018, 3,046 Australians took their own life.Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians between the ages of 15 and 44.The suicide rate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is twice that of their non-Indigenous counterparts.People in rural populations are 2 times more likely to die by suicide.LGBTI+ community members experience significantly higher rates of suicide than the rest of the population.up to 135 people are affected, for every life lost to suicide, including family members, work colleagues, friends, first responders at the time of death.Same-gender attracted Australians are estimated to experience up to 14 times higher rates of attempted suicide than their heterosexual peers.(Source Lifeline Australia)

I am really excited to be speaking with Frederick Marx, an internationally acclaimed Oscar and Emmy nominated director/writer and producer of many films over 40 illustrious years, (inc. the award-winning Hoop Dreams, 1994). Today, I speak with him about his new book Rites to a Good Life - Everyday Rituals of Healing and Transformation.Frederick shares his journey that started as a 9-year old boy having to deal with the loss of his father, who was 41, and the impact this had on his world view and his experience of post traumatic stress. When his Uncle declared "Freddie you are now the man of the house" he took it seriously but, as a nine year old, didn't have the capacity to fill those big shoes.  it wasn't until the he found the Mankind Project 20 odd years later that he found the initiation into manhood that he desperately wanted. In this episode with Frederick we explore:the importance of Elders and mentors in helping shape the lives of young men and womenhis devotion to living in his own truth, passion, and mature masculinity, which he says has helped him with the development of his filmshow Harold Ramis (Actor, director, writer, comedian) mentored Frederick for 10 years during his film career and how he treasured his sinceritythe role of archetypesour shadow selvesengaging in communitythe plight of returned soldiers and the films he has produced on the subjectthe importance of celebrating his partner Tracy before she died.At the end of this interview I was left with a feeling of gratitude, Frederick has selflessly made a life-long contribution to the betterment of himself and his fellow human beings, through his dedication to making meaningful films and writing this book, among other things.I encourage you to read this book, which for a limited time is available through Amazon for $1.00 US. I also recommend you have a look at his not-for-profit, Warrior Films (link below)Worthwhile linksBuy the book - Rites to a good lifeWarrior FilmsMankind Project AustraliaRites of Passage Institute   

This week I talk Turkey with my (vegan) partner Andia about how we can celebrate Christmas sustainably. In Australia alone, it's estimated that our festive waste is growing by 30% yearly because of all the thousands of tonnes of wrapping paper, food, decorations, empty bottles and unwanted presents. We spend about $11 billion a year on Christmas gifts annually down under, so it's important that we spend wisely and think sustainably to make sure we're part of the solution, rather than the problem.Our listeners also chime in with some excellent ideas about how to lighten our collective load this festive season with some great gift ideas. We also explore how we can be less wasteful in what we eat, buy and how we decorate .There are so many great ideas on how to get creative, connect with friends and family in sustainable ways that won't cost the earth, including:shopping and supporting localmaking your own gifts, tree and table decorationsfreezing or upcycling your leftoverscomposting, the gift that keeps givingfinding plastic-free wrapping alternativesenvironmental, in-kind and charitable gifts, like Kivagift swapstaking time out to remember the true gifts of Christmas, real connectionthinking carefully before giving a pet for Christmas.