08/03/2026
Yesterday was a day of joy and an exciting new chapter for me, but it was, at the same time, old and familiar - happily preparing to host a community event for friends and neighbours here in this off grid pocket of Central Portugal. Elementos Eco project is now budding into life. I am focusing on holding a vision that fosters a heart centred nature space for humanity to co-exist with all our Earth relations.
I ask myself why am I taking on such a mammoth task? There is an immense amount of work that at times can start to feel overwhelming. But my WHY is rooted so deep in my soul that it could be madness if it wasn’t so aligned with life events unfolding perfectly for this moment. The vigorous training from my previous off grid experience that allows no room for dreamy and idealistic notions, informs me the land’s consistent demand for care and conscious relationship. The deep inner alchemy and transformations that allow me to inner-stand my shadow aspects that navigate my relationships with clearer boundaries, that will help the relationships that are the roots of the project.
I am driven by the fundamental need that is crying out right now to remember to co exist in relation to our natural environment; de-digitilised, de-scheduled, plugged into Mother Nature herself. We are overwhelmed and undernourished of the soul food of love and connection in sync with the natural rhythm of the Gaia and the core elements that we share with her - Taoist wisdom ascribes to this.
It’s certainly not about making a bespoke, high end retreat centre that perpetuates the outdated business model of making someone rich at the top, whilst exploiting or at least disregarding the ‘staff’. It’s time for complete alignment for me, nothing else will fit. There’s a lot of incongruence in the name of the new age green washing industry. Using the same business model from a worn out and corrupt system to create a ‘new paradigm’ is just not going to function in these rapidly transformational and chaotic times. How do we redefine how we co-exist and co-create as an ecosystem? Maybe we become an interconnected mycelium network, woven into the web of life that enables us to remember the magical and sovereign energy beings we are - heart aligned to each other. Learning that to be in service is gratifying and amplifies our positive frequency.
One advantage to moving into my eldership is being part of many cycles of the ‘alternative’ living movement. I was born into a hippy family, absorbing as a tiny being the ambience and freedom of that era in the late 60’s. When I was 4 years old, we journeyed overland with the intention of reaching India. I remember Pink Floyd was our soundtrack traversing in our Landrover so many cultures and flavours of humanity. Living naked wild and sun kissed on pristine beaches in Cyprus. A revolutionary time full of promise and freedom that soaked into my bones a knowing that magic and adventure are who I am.
Then in the 80’s and 90’s there was a deliberate squashing of the dreams and actual beliefs that a Utopian existence living together was an actual reality. I saw and felt how it created a void in the coming generations, the rich experiences were commodified into commercial ventures, the youth became the consumer not the living and breathing creative part of the whole. Whole generations have had no experience or awareness that there could be anything more than the glossy commodified ‘hippy’ culture, that dressed itself up to look like something they saw in old photos and films.
But because I lived in those times, 60’s hippy kid to the free party rave culture and the nomadic existence of a new age traveller, I inner-stand that we created and collaborated to make our amazing times from the ground up, it really was anarchy in motion – just people who knew how to work together for a common goal.
Now we are in the next cycle, a huge surge of people drawn to going back to the land to build off grid eco projects, exploring what it means to be in community, and to leave behind corrupt and outdated systems. I recognise it as another exploration to detangle the complexity of human sociology with the deep and troubling trauma expressions that are being played out on global scale as well as in our personal relationships with self and others.
Holding the lineage of underground subculture, I feel privileged to know that humanity has the capacity to create and collaborate to be the magic as sovereign beings without the intervention of controlling agendas that would like us to feel we can’t function without their machinery to propagate enslaved subservience. Unfortunately our youngest generations only experience their idea of magic through the screens of games and TV. This is perplexing and at the heart of the vision for Elementos
When we come together in co-creation aligned with our Hearts in a common vision – maybe untold wonder can emerge.
‘You may say I’m a dreamer’ or maybe derided as an old hippy, but the spark in our human hearts that can still believe in a beautiful existence connected and respectful to all our relations allowing us to respond to our environment like supercharged mycelium network that can create the beauty so many of us want to see on this Earth.
I am passionate to hold a space here in Elementos that nourishes and honours the childlike wonder in our younger ones as well as our not so younger ones.
This 11 hectare sanctuary has so much beauty to be nurtured in, immersed in the peace and tranquility that enables you to experience your true nature.
I you feel inspired and have read this far, Elementos is asking for your love and attention to bring it fully into the next phase of being the container that will serve the future generations.
Please send me a DM with your intention and any skills you feel you can offer. You are also welcome and sincerely thanked for sharing.
