The Nourisher - Editor’s Blog

At the beginning of this month I started writing in a journal, morning and night. Scribing my hopes and dreams on the page, I began my daily entry with the words “Thankyou God and Goddess..” then a vision would spill from my pen. What ever was happening or not quite happening for me I’d thank divinity for delivering to me in the most exact terms I could muster. This has been a very intriguing exercise.

Like many, I’ve been told about affirmations and the law of attraction, but I’ve never used them willfully and diligently like I have this month. Let me share with you my experience.

Raw Milk Dreaming

Some time ago I began sharing with close friends and confidantes my passion for Raw Milk, daring to dream about it’s legalisation and even certification in Australia. Over the last two years I’ve been dreaming up a local raw milk herd share. I even found a farmer willing to work with a group of subscribers and the local farmer’s market agreed to allow it to be distributed through them. My motivation has waxed and waned over the past year and I confess, I did a lot more dreaming than doing.

No mind. My very dear friend, an extremely successful entrepreneur and extraordinarily generous and wise man, once told me his secret to manifestation. He said, “Never, ever, ever think about The How, Jo. Always keep your focus on your vision and The How will come to you. Then do The How.”

I took this to heart. As I sipped each tall, cool glass of raw milk, I dreamed of all the kids in my Shire drinking raw milk with their breakfast. For two years I did this. Then I heard about the film The Real Dirt on Farmer John. It inspired me because it was about Community Supported Agriculture that works. After all, that’s what herd shares are, CSAs. I began to dream about showing this film locally to draw attention to the issue of CSA and tell Byroners about the Raw Milk Herd Share. I didn’t do much but thought about it occasionally and went about my business with Nourished Mag.

Last month ABC published an article about Bath Milk with a statement from the Dept of Primary Industries warning people not to drink raw milk. Health Department and ‘under cover’ dairy board inspectors were threatening retailers with $44,000 fines if they told people you could drink raw milk. A major wholesaler pulled the Bath milk. Comments flew in to Nourished Magazine from Sydneysiders, fretting about losing the milk from their local health food shelves. They were livid. So was I. It was time to do something and The How was right here.

I set a time at the community centre to screen the film and started canvassing friends and strangers across the shire for support, telling them about the film, about Community Supported Agriculture and my dream to start a Raw Milk Herd Share.

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo

The response I got for my ‘out there’ idea was incredible. The amount of times I’ve heard the words, “Yeah, we’ve got to do that. I’m there,” over the last two weeks, you would not believe.

Amazing things are happening

A local organics wholesaler/retailer, John Doleman at Santos, whose business imports a large proportion of their goods and would actually stand to lose business to this type of agriculture (as his business stands right now) has helped me immeasurably. He is so passionate about changing the world for the better, he’s willing to help market the event. He’s even willing to attend the panel on the night (after the movie) to discuss how we, as a community, could change the way we shop for food.

The Farmer’s market people are giving their produce for cost so we can give those who attend a taste of delicious local food. They’re also giving flyers to their customers.

Red Dragon Inn Ginger Beer is giving a bottle of locally grown, lacto fermented ginger beer to each attendee for below cost. Richard Patton, Red Ginger Inn’s intrepid leader, will attend the panel to talk about cottage industry and food miles.

The local community school and Steiner Schools are supporting by distributing flyers to every family. Farmer John will be happy as he drew so much inspiration for his farm from Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic farming books.

Robert Pekin from Food Connect, a CSA operating in Brisbane, one of the most experienced CSA farmers in Australia, will also attend the panel.

Friends and colleagues have fervently agreed to be involved, marketing, catering and running errands ad nauseum.

Craig, our incredibly talented friend and colleague has done all the graphic design for the event for nothing. Craig did the design for Nourished Mag so you can imagine the quality of the flyers and ads he’s put together.

Wes, dear husband, fellow creator of Nourished Magazine, and web developer extraordinaire has, in record time, implemented the store front on Nourished Magazine so people could buy the tickets.

And the most exciting manifestation is Farmer John’s decision to postpone his flight to New Zealand and the continuation of his world tour to come to Byron for this evening. I’m told it will be the largest in Australia if we pull of the numbers that I’m visioning. Even better, I’ve offered our Yurt for John to stay in. If he accepts, he’ll be the first of many New Earth Super Heroes to sleep in it.

My Vision became Our Vision and thus it continues.

I see the night as being a group visioning. Imagining a life where most of our food is grown and created within 100 miles. And not just our families but our whole town, the shops, the cafes, the restaurants. And not just our whole town but all the 2 million odd visitors to this area each year, are fed from the fertile land that surround us. Virtually no food is imported. Local farmers are important members of our communities and we all know at least one. Our kids visit their crops, pull weeds, pat farm animals and touch their dirt. Imagine if 246 people can see this as a reality. How much easier will it be to work toward it if we all know where we’re going.

I digress.

New Beginnings

This week began for me, and no doubt for many, with elation and enormous hope. We had finally toppled the oppressive regime that was the Howard government in the national election. Not only that but Australian’s had increased their support for the Greens Party by 6%. A colossal message to the (marginally more) left wing government that now resides in Canberra.

With a few friends, I womaned a booth at the local polling station, handing out score cards for Get Up. This grassroots online community has made some huge inroads into REAL democracy this past year, gathering support and money in unprecedented proportions, to promote to people and governments a more progressive vision for Australia. 300,000 strong, we are set to create a huge and immediate influence in politics, no matter which party is in. Members of the community decide what we will lobby for. So far we’ve: alerted young Australian’s to the undemocratic and underhanded tactics of the conservative coalition to stop young people voting, demanded Australia withdraw from Iraq, demanded we ratify the Kyoto protocol and reduce greenhouse emission now.. The list goes on. On election day thousands of us handed out score cards at polling booths, showing each parties’ stance on these kinds of issues.

It was so rewarding to see immediately the results of our efforts. Hope filled our sails. Hope for a more free, more progressive, more ‘realistic’ world.

Of course, I almost immediately began thinking about my passion for Real Raw Milk and noted the new prime minister is a country boy who no doubt grew up on real food, including real milk.

This new hope spurred me further toward my dream.

Raw Milk for All Australians

As if this wasn’t enough message from the Goddess, “our dream is racing toward us, the How is here,” I got a phone call from Michelle Griffin of The Age in Melbourne. She wanted to interview me about raw milk.

Sunday’s paper, The Election Paper!! on page 5, featured an article (a very positive article) about raw milk. The top of the page begins with the question, “The Raw milk debate: should it be illegal to sell it straight from the cow?” There were three paragraphs quoting my and other consumer’s point of view and Rosemary Stanton, head of Nutrition Australia, backed me up saying, “I don’t see why people can’t have the choice.”

I was walking on air.

Hope :: Vision :: Kudos

I’ve learned that my very wise friend is right. All we need to do is dream and stay with the dream. I remember Neale Donald Walsch in his books, Conversation with God, complaining to God how he never got what he asked for. God quipped, if you stopped changing your mind you would get it.

I think I’m finally learning how to stay with a vision until it’s here. I’m learning that Hope has awesome power, Vision is necessary and fun and Kudos comes when you keep your vision.

Almost every person I talk to can feel my determination and passion and immediately joins the vision. Afterall, it is aligned with many, many people’s vision.

Each one of my very close friends has offered to support the night and the herd share.

Even people who don’t know me from a bar of soap go out of their way to help. I was telling a stall holder at the Farmer’s Market about the herd share on Thursday and one of her customers, who overheard our conversation, looked at me with fire in her eyes, handed me $5 and said, “I don’t even drink milk but I want to help. Here’s a donation.”

Kudos means fame, renown for an achievement. In my slang vernacular it also means respect. If you help me or show me you are ‘on to it’ you have Kudos in my bank. One gains Kudos because one help others or the vision one holds is worthy of respect.

Today, I am amazed at the Kudos Wes and I seem to have built up in our community. They are now prepared to support this feat we hope to achieve sharing their labour, their reputations and their money. This is the most humbling eventuation I have ever experienced. Thank you God and Goddess…

About the Author...

Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).