A 41-year-old dream just came true…

In 1983, frustrated by my degree in Dietetics I got on my bike and went to the beach near my university.

I had dreams about being a dietitian but everything I was being taught did not sit right with me.  I was being taught a mechanistic dietary dogma that believed breakfast cereals were a healthy start to the day, margarine was better than butter, ultra-processed foods were fine if the carbohydrate, protein and fat percentages were right and low fat manipulated foods were better than anything full fat.

I had been bought up in a household where everything was cooked from scratch. 

I had been bought up in a household that believed that living a vitalistic way to health was the ultimate tenet of life.  

I had been to the University of Colorado and learnt about anthropology and cultural anthropology. 

Everything I was learning at Deakin University was in opposition to my initial university education and how I viewed health and food.

Despondent I sat in the sand and drew circles with a stick until my mind stopped feeling hopeless and I began to hatch a plan.

Even though I didn’t know how I was going to do it.  The plan came to mind.

I didn’t have a date for completion, but I knew it was what I wanted to do.

I decided I would have a farm and have a retreat for people to come to learn to get well.

I called it Tevol Health Farm.

Tevol was my maiden name spelt backward (Lovett)

On the weekend of 18^th-20^th October 2024 my dream came to fruition on my farm. The Changing Habits Farm.

The Changing Habits Regenerate Retreat

The food was local, regeneratively grown, prepared to perfection and in season.

The speakers including, myself on nutrition and manifesting, Monique my daughter-in-law on fermenting, Georgie a friend on sourdough gluten free bread, TJ my son-in-law conducted a class in breath work and an ice bath challenge, Erin taught Yoga, Bee my beautiful friend conducted a tour of her three incredible gardens on the farm and Ruth another very close friend integrated and removed emotional blockages by teaching the basics of EFT.  There were many learnings, breakthroughs, tears, laughs, breaths taken away and so much more.  Not only from those attending but from me as well.

In the background was my son Brogan, Husband Howard and Father of Monique, Shane.  You could call it a family affair.  Monique’s mother Kelly looked after Koa our grandson and two incredible angel volunteers, Elisia and Steph were on hand every minute to help make the retreat run smoothly.  And in the middle of it all Quirky Jo (Jo Whitton) arrived with her adult children for a hug and a feel of the land.

Twenty people attended the inaugural regenerative retreat on The Changing Habits Farm, twenty amazing people who made my long-held dream come true.  I want to thank each and every one of them for being there and making it so very special for me and my family.

Today I’m euphoric, I did it, I held onto that dream, and it happened.

I’m also grateful for the date of delivery of the retreat.  It happened no sooner than it could have.  It was perfect divine timing in my life. 

Sometimes we have a goal, a manifestation and we plan to do it but it doesn’t always come when we may want it or in the way we want it.

I thought I would need to build accommodation, but my daughter-in-law Monique suggested we use glamping tents.  I realised that was exactly what was needed.  If I was going to hold a health retreat that included all the specifics of health including circadian health then a place to sleep where the elements, temperature, grounding, infra-red rays and so much more were available was a necessity. You cannot get this in a house or building but a tent is a perfect place. 

Solar lights lit the 150 metres from the luxury shed (where we hold our events)  to their luxury glamping accommodation.  They could walk barefoot all the way on a bed of clean grass that had not been sprayed once since I purchased the property nearly a decade ago.  This enabled them to ground to the earth transferring precious electrons to feed their mitochondria for boundless energy. 

When the sun rose so did everyone in the tents, changing their night melatonin production to waking them for an energetic day by the light of sunrise, walking back up the hill for 7.00am yoga being bathed in more electrons, more sun and resetting their body clocks, hormones, digestive system, and brain waves to feel euphoric.

The entire 48 hours was spent in the outdoors, beginning to change their biochemistry.  Lessons were taught as to how to take it home and integrate it into their life.  For some it was a refresher and a reminder for others it was all new material that they were eager to continue when they went home.  Ruth’s EFT technique if practised will help them along the way.

We are already planning our next retreat for June 13^th -15^th 2025.  Expressions of interest are now being taken.  There will be room for 20 people to enjoy The Changing Habits Farm and reignite their health through the natural laws of nature, local organic food, and life changing education and integration into your world.

I began this article with Never Give Up on Your Dreams

My dream for this retreat began a long time ago, but everything needed to be in place for it to be achieved.  In order for me to buy the farm my company Changing Habits had to go from a 1998 self published best selling book – Changing Habits, Changing Lives to an award winning business in organic food, whole food supplements, programs and the very successful Fat Loss Protocol.  Which then produced The Packing Company (helping entrepreneurs bring a whole food product to the market) and The Nutrition Academy (an internationally certified nutrition education company).  Then time for the farm to be cleaned of all chemicals for the past decade to be the perfect place to hold the retreat and for people to heal. 

What’s Special About the Changing Habits Farm?

The farm sits on a water shed; our aim is to make sure any water leaving our farm on its way to the Mary River is pristine without any chemicals.  Our animals that live on the land have work to do.  Our cattle are cell grazed to make sure that the land is not over grazed, which means an increase in organic matter covering all soil and a water holding capacity that outstrips conventional farming practices.  Our 65 chickens are pest scavengers, poo spreaders and waste food incinerators.  They also deliver us the healthiest and purest form of protein in the form of an egg.  98% of the protein in an egg is utilised by the body, with meat it is 60% and plant proteins a dismal 25%.

We have planted hundreds of fruit trees, bananas, all citrus including finger limes and cumquat, stone fruit, berries, acerola cherry, apple, Davidson plum, guava, avocado, mango, coffee, and anything we can grow in our climate.  Under the fruit trees, we grow garlic, ginger, sweet potato, greens, tomatoes, herbs, onions, brassica, root vegetables and so much more.  Tree peanuts, macadamias and bunya’s are our nut collection they are scattered throughout the property.

We’ve also planted a plethora of natives, especially the gum tree, it is only in the last year that we are now finding Koalas in our trees, making their way safely from other destinations.  We’ve seen deer, kangaroo, wallaby, hares, bandicoot all wanting a bit of what is on our land and lucky to have plenty so we can share.  From the sky to the land we have birds that live symbiotically with our cattle to get rid of pests, black cockatoos, rosellas, pheasants, bush turkeys, ducks and so much more. In our water way, creek system, riparian area we have frogs, giant tree ferns, native tropical plants, blue cray, ponds, waterfalls, babbling brooks, springs and places to cold plunge.

In our soils, and most importantly, we have more worms than we’ll ever be able to count on every square inch of our land, our root systems are deep not shallow and the ecology of our soil is filled with incredible diversity.  It is what we can’t see underneath the ground that we have worked so hard to get back that enables us to have healthy plants and animals and a farm for people to heal.  With healthy plants and animals we don’t need to use chemicals for them to fight off pests, they are able to do it themselves.

Energy workers have marvelled at the strength of what lies beneath our land and reverberates into the air. The volcanic rocks vibrate at frequencies that is palpable and the giant 100 year old Morton bay fig sits proud on the land hugging those who camp around it.

Thus my goal of holding retreats has taken time to find the perfect location, to heal the land in order to heal the people that come to retreat.

TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FOR THE 2025 RETREAT, PLEASE EMAIL changinghabitsfarm@gmail.com.

My daughter-in-law Monique and I look forward to seeing you at our next retreat on The Changing Habits Farm.

Cyndi O’Meara