Nicola Robinson Evans (3:09)

Oh, I Am so excited and honored to witness her journey. She is a divine little human, like all little humans, but she came into the world at home with her mom and dad and she's. She's not even been to a hospital. You know, she's had this very organic experience of life. She is in the forest all the time. She is already tending to her Lula pony. She has a horse in her life. And she's really been allowed this, this natural flow of life through her wonderful mum and dad, Fleur and Pabs, because they themselves are so attuned to nature, to the natural world, that they've opened this beautiful space for Zari to really experience life from her unique perspective. Rather than creating belief systems and boundaries that are rigid, obviously there's a boundary of safety, but for her, the world really is her, her oyster at the moment. And, yeah, I'm just so excited to see these children that are coming in with this pure experience of life, what they expand into and how they spread their wings.

Warwick Schiller (4:46)

Yeah, it's going to be exciting. You know, one of the, the big topics of the podcast is, you know, I run into people like yourself who's, whose perspective might not line up with the mainstream and try to unravel how did you know? Growing up in the world we grew up in, how do we end up with that, with that perspective? But Azaria, is that her name? Azaria.

Nicola Robinson Evans (5:12)

Azaria, yes.

Warwick Schiller (5:13)

Azaria, yeah. You know, if I had her on the podcast in 30 years time, it would be, hey, I've always viewed the world this way. I didn't know there was another way to view the world. You know, we've had to kind of unravel our conditioning a little bit. Well, I'm speaking for myself. Not sure your story. We're gonna get into that. So normally what we do on the podcast is I ask people what they currently do, which is usually not, you know, the mainstream sort of thing, and then I kind of unravel how they got to that point. But with you, I want to do something different. What I'd like to do is I'm going to read the bio you sent me, and if you can allow me, I'm going to read the whole thing without stopping because there are so many things you say in this bio. I'm going to go. Tell me about that. Tell me about that. Tell me about that. Tell me about that. So I'm going to start from the beginning. Is that okay?

Nicola Robinson Evans (6:07)

Be free, brother.

Warwick Schiller (6:09)

Okay. Nicola Evans is a space holder and weaver of gentle pathways back to Coherence Born in. I'm going to say New Zealand. You're going to say the. Because I keep. I always get the word wrong.

Nicola Robinson Evans (6:23)

Aotearoa.

Warwick Schiller (6:25)

Aotearoa. Very good.

Nicola Robinson Evans (6:26)

Very nice.

Warwick Schiller (6:29)

Now residing at Evolved Sanctuary, a retreat center in the ancient Wollongong Caldera of the Bunjalung nation. Is that correct?

Nicola Robinson Evans (6:38)

Beautiful.

Warwick Schiller (6:39)

She lives in deep relationship with land, breath and more than the. And the more than human world. Nikola is a. What is that word? Starts with ch. It's got a J in it.

Nicola Robinson Evans (6:52)

Charging.

Warwick Schiller (6:54)

Oh, pretty pronounced. Pronounced. Okay. Nikola is a charging in the global T hat lineage. A guide of breath and sound and a steward of equine and elemental wisdom through regenerative farming, temple tending, and harmonic practices such as biomancy. Is that how you pronounce that?

Nicola Robinson Evans (7:12)

Yes.

Warwick Schiller (7:13)

Biofilm tuning and the way of tea. She offers a living field where people can remember the intelligence of their own bodies and the language of deep listening. At the heart of everything Nicholas shares is a devotion to connection between humans and horses, breath and body, land and spirit, stillness and movement. That's a lot. Okay, let's go back to. In case someone heard the word space holder and went, she's a what? How would you define that part of your bio?

Nicola Robinson Evans (7:52)

It's really simple, actually. It's part of my flow. At Evolved Sanctuary, the retreat where my husband and I host guests most weekends, I. I create the spaces. I. I create the tea space, the sound space, the yoga space. And in those spaces that's woven with presence, with an attention to detail in a way that I'm creating a space of harmony where people can feel safe, where they can exhale and feel into their bodies, feel into what's with them in the moment. And. Yeah, so it's just a very simple practice of presence, really, and creating a environment that is really in tune with nature and her song and her harmony and her trust and her acceptance. And. Yeah, I feel that when you are able to tune in to creating a space for other beings to essentially remember who they are, you are. Yeah, it's like an instrument. You're creating a space that's in tune. And. Yeah, the spaces I create are very simple. You know, it's not decked out with this, that and the other. It's really open and. And easeful and peaceful. So that, for me, is what a space creator is and a space holder.

Warwick Schiller (10:01)

And so the. The retreats you have at your sanctuary, you said you have those most weekends?

Nicola Robinson Evans (10:07)

Yeah, yeah, we. We do. We. We host.

Warwick Schiller (10:12)

So you do. Sorry, I was going to say you do this along with your husband, Pete?

Nicola Robinson Evans (10:18)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (10:18)

Okay. And how long have you been doing that?

Nicola Robinson Evans (10:20)

For the last five years.

Warwick Schiller (10:26)

And are they a two day retreat?

Nicola Robinson Evans (10:28)

Three. Three day retreat? Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (10:31)

Do people stay on site or they come and go?

Nicola Robinson Evans (10:33)

Yes, they stay on the land. We became stewards of the property in 2019, and we had this incredible team that worked with us to morph it into this really beautiful sanctuary that was simple, yet cozy. And everyone has their own beautiful cabin. And we have a yoga space, a tea house. We. We put in a Pilates space as well for those people who would like to work out and move their bodies in that way. And there's a float tank, a beautiful big sauna, ice bath, and there's a creek running through the property, so we have our beautiful spring water mountain pools, which is really the ultimate ice bath. And yeah, people come and stay for three days of relaxation and nourishment.

Warwick Schiller (11:41)

That's amazing. What temperature do you have your ice baths at?

Nicola Robinson Evans (11:44)

Oh, we shifted around depending on the season. I personally am into a nine. My husband quite likes a three. So sometimes we meet in the middle at six. And yeah, it really is in tune with the season. And in summer we'll have it a little bit colder and in winter not quite as cold.

Warwick Schiller (12:12)

Right. So for you people who don't do Celsius, nine is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and four is, you know, it's getting down there in the high 30s, probably 39, 40, something like that. So we used to have our ice bath at about 42, sometimes 39. But then my wife is. I'm 58. My wife's 50. She found out that postmenopausal women don't need it that cold. And it's actually not as. It's not actually good for you when it's that cold. So ours is actually a bit. A bit warmer now.

Nicola Robinson Evans (12:53)

I love that. Yeah, I feel that's a really important thing for women especially to tune into, like what actually is nourishing for their bodies. And you know, for me, with an ice bath, I'm not timing myself in there. I'm hopping in and I'm listening to my body and my body tells me when it's time to get out, you know, and it's. It's not actually a long time for me that I'm submerging myself in cold water. And believe me, I could sit in there and stay in there for ages because that was my old way of being. I grew up with three older brothers and so. So little Nick was really in tune with wanting to fit in with her brothers. So I created this being who could do everything and anything and yeah, so I have to be very conscious of when I'm pushing myself beyond a threshold, you know. And I think ice baths aren't for everybody. You know, it's really something that you have to tune into with your body. If. If your nervous system is. Just does not have the capacity to hold the cold, then you can actually re. Traumatize yourself. So I feel. Yeah, I love that Robin is in tune with that. That's. That's such a beautiful gift.

Warwick Schiller (14:24)

Yeah, she coaches a lot of people through white spots. You know, it's funny, you were saying, kind of listen to your body. You know, we used to always do them for two minutes and we'd time. I might have a. I have like a Native American flute music track that's about 2 minutes and 30 seconds long. So I play the first 30 seconds while I'm getting into my breath and then I step in and when the music finishes, I get out. But a few. And so I've. And I've never really wanted to stay in there any longer. For the most part, you know, it's like, okay, I help out. But a couple of years, probably three years ago now, this is really interesting. I went to Oregon, which in Oregon, psilocybin mushrooms are decriminalized. And so I went up there to do a journey to my first and only psilocybin journey. And it was a like a God dose sort of a thing. And the next morning I flew back to San Francisco and my wife was. We'd had a, like a, you know, rickety set up of an ice bath at the time. And she was going to buy a commercial one. And so she was going to all these different studios looking at the different models, you know, this one, this one, whatever. And so she picked me up in San Francisco and we drove across to Oakland and we went to this studio there. And I think theirs was at 39, it was called. So it's about 3 degrees, 4 degrees maybe, something like that. Anyway, you know, Rob and I were quite experienced with the ice baths, but the lady doesn't know. So she kind of coaches you through it and can do this whatever. And so I get in and at two minutes time she. And in two minutes she says, would you like to get out now? And I actually. No, I'm good. Three minutes. Would you like to get out now? No, actually I'm good four minutes. Would you like to get out now? No, actually I'm Good five minutes. Would you like to get out? Yeah, I think I could get out. I've never experienced that in an ice bath before. And that's probably. I've done one at 32, like, zero, but only one. But this was much colder than I normally do. And normally I'm ready to get out at two minutes. And I was just relaxed. Now, there's something about that journey the day before had something to do with that. You know, it was really interesting. Don't get too personal. But, you know, I think men get older, your bladder gets smaller. I don't know. But I've never been. I've never peed for a long time. I've been a frequent short pee. The day after my journey in Oregon, I was peeing and I was peeing and I was peeing, and I'm like, where's all this pee coming from? And I was peeing and I was peeing, and I was peeing, and I realized that, oh, there's been something clamped, like, there's been something holding tight that has not allowed my bladder to ever, ever fully fill up my entire life. And so, yeah, I was like, wow, that was something let go there. So anyway, there's some ice bath stuff. What about. Tell me about your. Your float tank. Is it. Is it one of the egg ones that makes it completely black and.

Nicola Robinson Evans (17:26)

Yeah, it's.

Warwick Schiller (17:27)

The lid closes, or is it in.

Nicola Robinson Evans (17:28)

A room, the lid closes. Okay, it ain't the Rolls Royce, but the lid can close and you can go into that sensory deprivation. The main reason we actually really wanted the float is because we really wanted to create a space where our guests could absorb minerals, because, as I'm sure you're aware, they're foundational. And if people are coming in depleted of minerals, like, for me, one of the first things I want to do is replenish that through the water that we offer and also getting them in the float. And of course, it's a beautiful way for the body to drop into relaxation as well. And. And just salt. Oh, my goodness. It's. For me, salt is a very magical substance, and as you know, without it, we're. We're not here.

Warwick Schiller (18:31)

You guys don't have a salt room, do you?

Nicola Robinson Evans (18:33)

Oh, no, I. I love.

Warwick Schiller (18:36)

My wife's been like, I want to build. I would love to build a salt room.

Nicola Robinson Evans (18:39)

So with you there, Robin.

Warwick Schiller (18:42)

Yeah, Just south of here in Santa Barbara is they have a salt cave there where they imported all this salt from a mine in Iran, I think. But you go in this cave and the whole. The whole cave is made out of salt. The floor is crushed salt. So you walk on salt? Yeah. It's a magical spot. That's very cool.

Nicola Robinson Evans (19:06)

Incredible.

Warwick Schiller (19:08)

Okay, so we're gonna. I'm asking you questions about this bio of yours, so the next thing that I might. Yeah, I'll get to this next bit. The charging in the global Tea Hut lineage. Tell me about that. That sounds exciting.

Nicola Robinson Evans (19:24)

Well, I'll start from the beginning, please. My journey with tea really began with my beautiful Nana Alice, who really raised me. My. My parents were very much in the grind. They. They were working a lot. And I came into the world with three older brothers. And my Nana really was my primary caregiver. And t for her was very much a friend, very much a part of her life. That was soothing. And so it really became that for me as a little girl as well. And I had a little tea set, and I just had this communion with. With tea, the tree Camellia sinensis from a very young age. And as I grew up, you know, I started drinking hot chocolates, and then in my early 30s, I was drinking coffee, and I sort of let go of my. My journey with tea. And when I was in my mid-30s, I'm in my 50th year now, I witnessed this beautiful woman, Balin, or her serving name is Tiamu, offering these ceremonies with tea. And I just remember being in complete awe. Like, what is that? And she is an initiate of the global Tea Heart lineage. So I. I actually wrote her a letter and said, if you are ever on Redland, if you're in Australia, my home is your home. Like, please be free. Come and stay. And I then sort of went down the portal of tea and joined Global Tea Hut as a member. And I just began sitting with tea myself every morning. The first thing I would do when I got up was watch the sunrise and sit with tea. And I wouldn't turn on my phone. I wouldn't speak any words. I. I would just sit with tea. And at this time, my husband Pete was working a lot, so I had a lot of space to. To be with myself in those days. And when he was with me, he would sit with tea, too. So it then became this beautiful journey that he and I shared and.

Warwick Schiller (22:07)

And.

Nicola Robinson Evans (22:09)

Led us into this remembrance of stillness and of presence. And eventually, Bailin Tiamwu visited Australia, and she stayed with me for almost three weeks. So I was able to sit with her as what we would call a chatong, like a tea assistant. And I would be her water beare is you tend the water, you, you collect the water, pour it into the kettle, and you bring it to the specific boil for, for whichever tea you're drinking. And it just, it just swept me into this stream of wisdom that felt so familiar for me. And I just carried on the practice. I devoted myself to tea, and once Balin left, tea really in essence became my teacher. So I just continued to sit with her every single day, just showing up, sitting upright and pouring myself many, many bowls of beautiful warm tea. And in this practice, it's a dance of the elementals. And you can't have one without the other. And you, you have your space set up so you're sitting in lotus as you serve. So my water is on my left and the fire and, and everything is really aligned with, with flow and with function. And as time progressed, I started serving my sisters and, you know, opening to share the medicine of tea with others. And my sisters would have these beautiful heart opening experiences facilitated by tea, not by me. I am the server. And in that space, we empty ourselves completely so that we're not putting any of our stuff in tea. So essentially, in that practice, the more that I get out of the way, the more I can serve you this beautiful pristine bowl of heart medicine, of tea of Camellia sinensis. And yeah, as time progressed, we ended up weaving the retreat. And then it came to be that I was serving tea to people on a regular basis. And it's become just part of my life, my everyday life. Because in a tea ceremony, everything is sacred. Every movement, every breath, every sip. And that eventually steeps you into that way of being throughout your entire journey. So whatever I am doing with my hands, I am completely and utterly with that moment in that nowness. So when I'm touching anything like this bowl of tea, how I caress it and move my fingers around the bowl is in this space of presence. So, yeah, it's t is a mirror of the moment. You know, it's like a doorway of the inner landscape. And yeah, she just really guides us back to stillness, back to awareness and the simple art of just being.

Warwick Schiller (26:11)

Does this Global Tea Hut lineage, does this come from Japanese tea ceremonies?

Nicola Robinson Evans (26:16)

It's Tibetan, actually, yeah.

Warwick Schiller (26:19)

Really?

Nicola Robinson Evans (26:19)

Yeah. My teacher is based in Taiwan, Wuda. He is the, the creator of, of Global Tea Hut. And he, he's actually Native American, but as a young lad, he watched Karate Kid and that just. Yeah, it sang to him too, like that. That journey just swept him over to the eastern part of the world and he devoted himself to tea and to qigong. And to these, these practices of, of awareness and being, being really deeply in tune and connected to nature and through that, deeply connected to your own body.

Warwick Schiller (27:12)

Yeah, it's very much ceremony. My sister in law really got into ceremonial cacao. So every morning she basically kind of does the same, a similar sort of thing with, with ceremonial cacao. And she goes outside, greets the sun and you know, it's almost like in Native American stuff, you know, you acknowledge the four directions and yeah, it's, it's super cool. And so you guys do that in the, in the retreats?

Nicola Robinson Evans (27:36)

Yes, tea is, I serve tea on the day of the sun on Sunday because it's really this beautiful way to, to complete the, the journey of togetherness that we've all shared. And a lot of our guests are really at the beginning of their journey. Like I feel like our offerings are like the first stop on the bus of remembering who you are. And our, our pure intent is really to nourish, really to create a space that is so safe and so, so nurturing. And in truth, we're really just adding a few cherries on the top because the land does it all. We are on a mother mountain. I'm looking at her right now. I call the mountain Walumbini Mamalai. And she is known by many names. And so this land is a birth portal. It's a green womb. And there's no phone service, there's no WI fi. The forest that surrounds us is Gondwana. It's ancient. And the song of the land is pristine. So everyone who comes can't not feel that. You know, it's everywhere. You are embraced by, by, by the green goddess, if you like. And yeah, I can feel it while.

Warwick Schiller (29:26)

You'Re talking about it. It's hitting me in the chest right here actually.

Nicola Robinson Evans (29:28)

Well, bless you.

Warwick Schiller (29:33)

Oh wow. That was powerful. Something else it mentions in your bio is about regenerative farming. So do you guys regeneratively farm there or somewhere else?

Nicola Robinson Evans (29:46)

So the retreat is the farm next to the big farm that we live on. So we're on 200 acres and the retreat is just a little 20 acre farm. So yeah, we, I mean we're regenerative farming the whole space. So the first thing we did when we arrived on the land was tend to it. We got to work and removed a lot of the. What's it called? Lantana. And yeah, we turned into introduced invasive species. Yes, yes, yes. And it was the most incredible journey because the lantana had become so overgrown that you couldn't actually get to the creek. You could hear the creek, but you couldn't. You couldn't get to it. So as we shape shifted into goats and cleared away all of this lantana, we were greeted by all of these beautiful mountain pools that were just waiting for, you know, to be discovered again. And I mean, for me, there's almost nothing more powerful than immersing yourself in what I would call womb water because it's. It is pristine. It is encoded with the song of the earth's womb. It is. It's coming from an uninterrupted aquifer. And yeah, for me, relaxing in that water is like coming home. So, yeah, that, that tending to the land really progressed into planting native trees, planting fruit trees. And also on the land, on the big farm, there was about. Around a thousand felled, beautiful old trees, tallow wood, eucalypts. It's. Yeah, it was heartbreaking. It was this graveyard of trees that had just been left on the land because they were felled illegally by the previous stewards. So they. They're not allowed to leave the land because they. They got caught out, essentially. And so Pete and I saved up our pennies and we had to get a mill moved onto the land to. To mill it all and save what we could save so that we could then use the wood. And we built a beautiful big stable for our kids, and we built an incredible outdoor kitchen. And then we still have some wood that's stored that. Yeah, I have dreams of creating another tea house and that whichever is birthed through that dreaming. And yeah, with regen farming, you know, we're tending to the grass, we're moving the horses through paddock rotation. So when I move them out of a paddock, I mow all of their beautiful fermented grass poo into the land, and then, you know, that regenerates the grass for them. And I give that paddock lots of time to rest. And. Yeah, so we're not running cattle or chickens or doing that.

Warwick Schiller (33:36)

Oh, okay. I didn't know if. You didn't know if you're doing the cow's chook thing. You're doing the horse nick on the mower thing.

Nicola Robinson Evans (33:43)

Yeah. Which actually, at the moment it's more Pete, because my body is now saying, no more mowing. After many, many years of mowing, it's time for me to relinquish that chore. As much as I love it, it's. It's come to an end. And yeah, gosh, I would love to do it with the cows and the chickens. I really would. But at this point in time, balancing our time is really crucial. So with retreat facilitation, you know, it's really actually all the behind the scenes stuff. And that's what a temple tender is. It's really another way of saying cleaning lady. Because I'm looking after eight cabins, a retreat house, all the spaces, my own home, the land. And my beautiful husband is very helpful too. So, yeah, we really have to be conscious of how stretched we allow ourselves to be as far as how we're showing up as regen farmers and we're doing our absolute best.

Warwick Schiller (34:57)

That's good. So your beautiful husband you just mentioned, what's he doing these days? Because I live in America, so I don't, I don't, I don't keep up with who's doing what over there.

Nicola Robinson Evans (35:06)

Well, I'll tell you what he's doing most days is getting up before the sun, driving to the beach and catching 50, 60, 70 unbroken waves. Because he has devoted himself to foiling. He was a surfer and then because he loves learning new things. So he thought, right, it's time. I'm going to learn how to foil. Because he was witnessing these other dudes out the back just catching so many.

Warwick Schiller (35:40)

Everything.

Nicola Robinson Evans (35:41)

Yes. And so he went through the journey of, of learning an entirely new sport. And even though it's like surfing, it is actually very different in so many ways. And now, yeah, for the first few hours of the day, that's what he's doing. He's just long waves, smiling, living his best life, and then he comes home and tends to the land. If it's a Thursday, he goes to the markets to get his food for the retreats. Because he's the chef on retreat. Friday is usually doing food prep. He's really interested in creating new systems for sovereignty. So he's deeply immersed in learning and remembering new ways of being that are not hierarchical but are synergistic. Because he's really a connector being. And I actually like to call him a pattern disruptor because he will have these ideas that he will share quite often before the collective is perhaps ready to receive it. So. But he's not afraid to go there. You know, he's very much like you, like, you know, and deepest bow to you, brother, for, for your mahi, for your passion. I feel you and I honor you. So, yeah, Pete is. Yeah, he's deeply immersed in that world of, of creating new solutions, moving forward for humanity.

Warwick Schiller (37:30)

Mm, that's amazing. For. So the Australians listening to this would know who Pete is, but anybody else listening to this. Might not know Pete, I guess he was a celebrity chef. And, you know, I think that's, that's kind of the journey, isn't it? That, that and tell me if I'm wrong here, but it's, it's almost like the universe wanted these, these ideas to come out and so they gave him a platform to start with. And then from the platform then he can. It's kind of like for me with, like with the horses, you know, I was a regular horse trainer for quite a long time and had a lot of stuff on social media. And at the time I was looking at things in a bit of a hierarchical way, but people kind of resonated. Oh yeah, this guy knows what he's talking about. So when I started going off in a different direction and looking more from a connected point of view and a collaborative point of view than a hierarchical point of view, I think people had enough faith in the fact that he's kind of a solid dude, where they started to go, well, I'll have a look at that too and tell me if I'm wrong. But is that kind of how you feel like Pete's journey has gone? Like people thought, yeah, he's the famous chef guy, whatever. And you know, as he starts to head off in a, in a direction that's not where the herd is going, you know that he has some influence for people to at least prick their ears and think, maybe I could, if he thinks it's cool, maybe I could have a look. Is that, do you feel like that's how it's going?

Nicola Robinson Evans (39:09)

Yeah, absolutely. He is. His resonance is very deeply rooted in expressing divine will and inviting people into feeling safe to be who they are. And as a child, he was actually very introverted, very, very shy. He grew up without a present father. And in his life through school, he experienced what it felt like to be very alone. And then he found surfing and skateboarding and it invited him into this world of trust because surfing, being in the ocean, you really do have to surrender into trust and acceptance. And so the ocean taught him this way of being that was so steeped in presence that he really began to evolve into someone that trusted his choices. You know, when you're dropping into a ten foot wave, which he will do, he's a big wave surfer, he's surfed 10 foot cloud break, which is a very gnarly wave. And in that surrender, you are letting go of all judgment and fully surrendering into trust. Because really, in many ways everything in your body is saying, no excuse My language. But when you're in that other way of being that is actually feeling a full soulful yes, you surrender into that. And for Pete, as his life progressed through all of these ebbs and flows and lessons, he really began to sit in this space of knowing that if he didn't speak his truth, not to dominate, not to say this is the only way, but to share from a resonance of authenticity. Yeah, he, he crossed thresholds of being and shape, shifted his reality into where he is now, which he's fully in love with life. He's 53 and just living his best life. And that's not to say that he doesn't still ride the waves of grief and sorrow or disappointment, but he now can ride those waves with that trust, with that acceptance and love and invite it in. And yeah, for me, being his partner in life, his lover, it's just been an invitation for me to step into that world as well. Of, of not fearing judgment, of really tuning into how yes, everybody's completely entitled to have their own opinion and I'm so open to hearing it. However, this is my perception, this is how I perceive the nature of this reality. This is how I perceive the system that we're all evolving out of, which from my view and Pete's view is like this top down system, we're all remembering our ancestors way of being, which is the way all of the natural world is flowing is from the bottom up. So yeah, thank you for, for honoring him in that way because I, I for one am head over heels in love with my husband and every single day I fall in love with him more and more and more. And to witness this being, fully spread his wings and be who he is, a gift. It's a blessing.

Warwick Schiller (44:09)

I bet it's been amazing watching him unfurl all that stuff.

Nicola Robinson Evans (44:17)

Absolutely. I, I actually feel like I did training for it in my twenties in my motherland. I experienced what it was like to have a high profile and I experienced what it was like to have extreme judgment projected upon me by people I had never met. And it was an initiation of sorts. So when we came together in my early 30s, his mid-30s, because he, he already had a very high profile at that time. I, I just wasn't touched by any of it at that point in time. Like I had stopped looking at Mainstream Media At 30 years old, I fully chose to shift out of the nature of reality that I was experiencing, that I was co creating into this new world of really deep connection with nature and much more time outside with my bare Feet on the land. And Pete at that point in time was actually, he was like the poster boy in Australia. He was very well loved.

Warwick Schiller (45:46)

What year would that have been?

Nicola Robinson Evans (45:48)

2010. 2011. Yeah, 2011. So right before 2012, like, which was very much a threshold year, a huge shift happened in 2012. So. Yeah, and for us, it really began quite simply. The first things that he was speaking about were really simple, like maybe check what's in your sunscreen before you put it all over your body and marinate in it. He was, he was called crazy for that. And the media twisted it to say, Pete Evans saying don't wear sunscreen, da, da, da, da da, when all he ever said was, you know, a good idea to just check those ingredients because there's a lot of big words in there that you're. You're perhaps putting on yourself, rubbing on your babies, your children, and then going and marinating in the sun. And of course, now we all know so many sunscreens have been recoiled, reclaimed because they aren't safe. And then he started speaking about water. You know, perhaps this, this water system that is. Is currently the norm, isn't perhaps the best option for drinking at the moment, because all of the things that are in it and then. Yeah, it just went from there.

Warwick Schiller (47:23)

All the things that are being put in it.

Nicola Robinson Evans (47:25)

Yeah, exactly.

Warwick Schiller (47:26)

Right, Yeah. I grew up on, you know, I grew up on rainwater at the house, so, you know.

Nicola Robinson Evans (47:30)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was like a. He had training to go into sharing his perception of other things that were forced upon and projected upon humanity. And, and it wasn't that he was saying that. This is my opinion and I'm so rigid that I can't hear yours. You know, he was really open and he was just speaking his truth. And for him in those moments, it was like being living next door to someone who was perhaps being beaten up and you could hear the violence next door and you don't do anything about it. So, yeah, it was just his natural, authentic self to speak his truth, even though it went against the mainstream narrative in a big way.

Warwick Schiller (48:35)

Yeah, we probably can talk about that a little bit more too. What I was going to ask you next, we're still in your bio here, by the way. We've got through the regenerative farming, the temple tending, which is a good word for house cleaning, and harmonic practices such as biomancy, biofield tuning and the way of tea. Tell me about the two Bs, the biomancy and the biofield tuning, because I think I've got a bit of a story to talk about that today. Cool.

Nicola Robinson Evans (49:05)

Yeah. Biomancy is. Well, I studied at Biomancy University, and it's a visionary education that really weaves ancient gnosis, modern science, holistic biology and ecology with alchemy and the wisdom that resides in our bodies. And it's really a path of remembrance and. Yeah. Of our true nature and. And the sacred nature of all that surrounds us. And, yeah, you learn, actually basics of anatomy and regeneration. And it's all facilitated by my dear friend, brother, teacher, Dr. Azra, Bertrand. And Azra is this truly embodied being. And, yeah, his offerings are steeped in primordial truths and bioenergenic, bioenergetic awakening and regeneration. And, yeah, it's really like marrying the physical with the metaphysical or science with spirituality. It's wonderful because you can really learn from both perspectives and they actually go hand in hand.

Warwick Schiller (50:43)

Well, I was going to say, don't you feel these days those things aren't too far apart? I mean, there was a time where those things existed in different hemispheres sort of thing. But, you know, especially, it's almost like the science, the spirituality and indigenous wisdom is all kind of coming together to like, you know, we need to remember what we forgot because we're not inventing anything new. And, you know, people a long time ago knew a lot of stuff that we don't know now that we should.

Nicola Robinson Evans (51:16)

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It's. You really are immersed in ancient wisdom in biomancy. It's really a deep remembrance of that. We really tune into our lineage, our ancestors, and in a way where elders are so deeply respected. And I feel like that's my part of what humanity is remembering at this time is that we really need to tend to our elders in this way that is rooted in respect and reverence. And I know it really begins from childhood and moves through. And that's why I'm excited about these young children that I know are going to help shift the nature of this reality because they've come through, through an experience where they don't have to have the really big, big painful lessons. And they will respect their bodies throughout life. They will make choices that allow them to be a healthy, wise elder. And for me, like, I think about this through the lens of the forest. So for me, when I sit out on the mountain, I tune into the mother trees, the council of elders that are the stabilizing force of the forest. They're the nodes of coherence. And they are that because they're so connected. And the mother trees are fading their kin through the mycelium that is connected to their roots, these tiny microscopic threads that they can send water nourishment signals. And no matter how far their kin goes, they can still reach them. And they will nourish other trees as well. Anybody who's struggling in the forest, the mother trees are, yeah, these beautiful beings, the matriarchs that are keeping everything flourishing and flow. And it's been shown that when mother trees in a forest are felled, the forest does just not thrive the same way. It does not prosper. And that is such a reflection for humanity and where we're at now with our elders who are living through these modern diseases that our ancient ancestors just were not experiencing, you know, Alzheimer's and dementia and these merciless deaths that really rob them of so much of that memory of wisdom, of coherence, of a new nervous system that's had all of these experiences that has, has woven this great weave of fluidity. So, yeah, for me, I am devoted to being a healthy old lady. All of my choices. Now, I know in the world it's called, called biohacking, but for me, I call it bioenhancing because I'm not interested in hacking anything. However, from that feminine perspective of enhancing or romancing, I'm choosing now how to live in a way that essentially will allow me to die a healthier woman in my sleep, you know. So, yeah, I don't know where I was going on that one, but.

Warwick Schiller (55:25)

Well, I asked, I asked about the biomancy and you were talking about all that. You know, it's interesting you just mentioned biohacking. And last night, for some reason, because I was going to chat with you, my wife started to research you guys. She goes, come, come look at this. And she was on Pete's Wikipedia page and she was showing me all about the controversy with the biocharger back during COVID Well, we just bought a biocharger like three days ago. We just got it set up this morning actually. And the reason my wife had heard about a biocharger because she was at Dave Asprey's biohacking conference last year in Dallas.

Nicola Robinson Evans (56:08)

Wow.

Warwick Schiller (56:08)

And sat around one. Anyway, so she's been looking for a second hand one ever since. Anyway, she found one recently and we, we got it, but we hadn't got it set up. We got it last week, we hadn't got it set up, but we set it up this morning. And I don't know anything about it, I don't know what it's supposed to Do. I don't know anything. But Robyn says it's cool. Okay. So we sit around it, and we're sitting there, and I've done. And that when you were talking before, and I said, oh, that's hitting me in the chest right here. I got that from the thing. But the other thing I got was I said to Robin, I can feel it in my hernia surgery scar. I popped a hernia a couple of years ago and had surgery on it probably a year ago now. And I haven't thought about it since, but I could feel it. And Robin said, yeah, I can feel it in my sinuses. Like, mine must have a sinus infection or something. But, you know, she didn't tell me that this is going to make you feel a certain way or feel anything. We're just gonna sit around this thing and see what happens. And it was interesting. I felt it in that. In that thing. So do you want to tell us a little bit about what happened there? Was that a big. Was it. The biggest to do in the media was.

Nicola Robinson Evans (57:19)

Was a big journey. Yes. And I will say so. I don't read anything that's written about Pete or. Or myself ever. Whether it's good or bad. It's. I just don't. I'm not. I'm not interested in it for some reason. So I never looked at you.

Warwick Schiller (57:38)

Did you ever?

Nicola Robinson Evans (57:39)

Oh, in my. In my 20s, I would read about myself. It was not nice.

Warwick Schiller (57:43)

Yes.

Nicola Robinson Evans (57:44)

So.

Warwick Schiller (57:45)

But that's. The question is I feel like. I feel like. What did you. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Nicola Robinson Evans (57:52)

I. I just wanted to be with horses. I just wanted to be outside on the land. Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (57:58)

The reason I asked that question is because as a kid, you don't think you're going to end up being a model and being famous and everybody knows who you are. You know, if you play the guitar, you're probably thinking, I want to be AC DC or the Grateful Dead or whatever. You know what I mean? So you get this. You probably have an inkling that one day you will be well known. But when you just. I don't know. And I don't know how you got into the modeling, but, you know, suddenly you're famous in your home country. There is not. They don't teach you how to deal with that. I mean, being. Being accidentally. I think even being on purpose famous, but especially accidentally famous or well known or whatever. There needs to be a mental health class on that because it can be a. Not a good place to be. And so I feel like what you did was, yeah, you got to go through the thing where you read the press and whatever, and then you got to learn. That's none of my business. Yes, but I think we all learn it the hard way, don't we?

Nicola Robinson Evans (58:59)

I did. Yeah, I did. And I went through that journey throughout my 20s. And in your 20s, you're really learning how to be an adult. And obviously you're also playing out all of the patterns that were absorbed during your childhood and even in utero in the womb. And, you know, you're really actually reflecting what you learned from your parents and your caregivers. And, you know, I. In my 20s, I. I was just weaving a whirlwind in so many ways, but at the same time, I was still Nick, I was still with horses. I was. I was not who I was portrayed to be in the media. However, I personally didn't know who I was either, and I was very much trying to be somebody else. So, yeah, it was a journey and a half, but I co created it. I am not a victim of that path, that's for sure. And I'm very, very grateful for it because it's allowed me to stand beside Pete throughout this journey with my heart wide open, fully connected to love. And so when the biocharger thing happened, like, in essence, that's all my fault. We have a biocharger because I'm like, Robin, I. I am interested in all of these offerings that can co create the remembrance of our natural intelligence. And that, for me, is what the biocharger is doing. It's weaving with the natural intelligence of the body. It is quantum biology. It's quantum physics. It's when two oscillating systems come into resonance, the more coherent system is going to entrain the dissonant system. That is how life works. And the biocharger is weaving on many different modalities. And so I'll tell you what I did. When we first got the biocharger, I was like, well, I want some visible proof of what it's doing. So. So I did all the worming and parasite protocols.

Warwick Schiller (61:30)

Yeah, Robyn's really big into the. She's got a naturopath, Heidi Hook, who's been on the podcast, and Robin does the full moon challenge every month.

Nicola Robinson Evans (61:38)

Yeah. Oh, I love you, Robin. Yeah, So I did that and I got visible proof and.

Warwick Schiller (61:47)

Oh, yeah, there's visible proof. They're in there.

Nicola Robinson Evans (61:51)

Yeah. And for me, it just made sense. I studied the science of it. Like, for me, I love Dave Esprit. He is A wonderful teacher, and he's led me down so many paths of understanding more about myself and my biology. And at the same time, my greatest teacher healer devotion is Mama Nature. Like, I really feel how going into the forest, especially this forest, where there is no. No wi fi, no phone service, it is just the pure harmony of nature. That's like a biocharger. However, to be able to have these modern devices that can be in cities, that can help people to re. Attune and. And that's really what Biofield Tuning is as well. In. In Biofield Tuning, we're. We're using sound therapy that was essentially founded by Eileen McKusick. She's my teacher, an incredible woman. I highly recommend you get her on the podcast. She'll. Eileen Cusack, Eileen McKusick from Biofield Tuning. Yes, yes, yes. You'll love, love, love her offerings. And really. So Biofield Tuning, as I said, it's a sound therapy. And it. It uses tuning forks. I have some beside me. Sorry for those who are listening, you can't see, but I'm just holding up a 174Hz tuning fork, which we refer to as our workhorse. And yeah, it's really using forks to detect and correct distortions in the body's energetic field, or biofield, which is the structured field of electromagnetic energy and memory that surrounds and permeates the body. And distortions in this field can be caused by trauma experiences in life. You know, they don't actually have to be that big to create a memory of disharmony and also emotional suppression as well. So these then can manifest as ill health, as imbalance. And so when we're using a tuning fork, we're activating the fork, and we're scanning the field like a needle on a record. And the fork is like a mirror. Like, it offers us a reflection of the sound or the frequency, the vibration that we're encountering. And if we're moving through harmonious energy, it's like moving through melted butter. And the sound of the fork is pristine. And then when you encounter dissonance or noise in the field, the fork will reflect that through sound. Just like if you think of the minor third, like that is depicting quite a sad sound. And the fork will reflect these. These different sounds. Sometimes it will be a real pingy screech. And it will also feel different, too. So if you encounter fear, there'll be this pulse. Because when we experience fear, there's often a pulse in the body. And if we experience, like, pure terror, we will tremble and so you can feel that in the fork and I love that because you don't actually have to be deeply sensitive to use tuning forks. Like, it is very obvious when you're moving through harmony and when you're moving through dissonance. And yeah, it's, it's been a very beautiful journey for me to start to weave more in connection with the unseen. And it's really opened up my clear audience as well. So what I've really begun to notice as well that I can hear nervous systems through the voice, through people's tone, and in all honesty, I can actually even hear just this slight fear in my voice as I am speaking to you, because this is a big deal for me. As I spoke to you at the beginning of the podcast, when Susie May first said, guess what? Warwick wants you to be on the podcast, I was like, I had fear and excitement come up at the same time because, you know, I'm a long time listener, first time caller. And so even in myself at the moment, I'm tuning into my breath and allowing myself to slow down and to share from a space of trust rather than rush. And yeah, you can feel that when you're using tuning forks. This sense of harmony and this sense of distortion. And for me, the folks were something that really helped me commune with Lumiere, who is the beautiful mare that is in my care. And oh, bless her heart, she, you know that old saying, when the student is ready, the teacher comes.

Warwick Schiller (68:10)

This teacher will appear.

Nicola Robinson Evans (68:11)

Yes, oh yes, the teacher will appear. And appear she did. And I had never met a horse like her. I had no idea how to weave with a horse that was expressing what she was expressing. And so she took me down this beautiful journey of really tending to myself more, tending to my own nervous system and tuning forks were one of the ways that her and I communed with each other as well. And it actually began for me with sound, with her through humming. That that was all she had the capacity to receive in the beginning with sound was I would just sit with her actually when she was eating her dinner and I would just breathe and hum. And that really developed this connection of safety for her and I because when she arrived, she had a very loud no to the point where it said to me that her no had never been on it. So she just made it bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.

Warwick Schiller (69:33)

And yeah, I mean, usually those kind of horses is, have been, you know, they've been treated poorly so often that they just think that's what's going to happen. So no matter what the question is, you know, I always, if I'm in Australia doing a clinic, I'll say, you know, you ever been to the show with your kids and been on every ride all day long, they've eaten all the fairy floss and whatever and it's four o' clock in the afternoon and you walk along and the kid tugs you on the sleeve and goes, hey mom, can I. And you go, no, whatever it is, no, I'm done. And it sounds like she was done with humans. Like, whatever the question is, it's going to be a no.

Nicola Robinson Evans (70:18)

Yeah, yeah it was. And I sort of drifted apart from the human who bred her. She was a filly when she came to us and just through my communion with her breeder and just listening to how her breeder spoke about herself gave me an indication of this real deep self loathing and you know, I didn't know her weaning story. I do know she didn't grow up in a herd. I do know she was stabled at night. She had major scarcity issues with food. Like I couldn't initially, I couldn't go near her after I'd given her her food, I had to get out of the way. So I, I gradually sat closer and closer and closer and closer with her while she was eating. Now I can sit right next to her, no fence between us, I can stroke her and together her and I will go into this beautiful meditation together where she's receiving her nourishment with pure peace. And yeah, it's been the most incredible journey with her. She has unfurled me like no other being and yeah, I'm just so, so grateful that I had the capacity to listen to her and to what she was expressing. And yeah, now she's this 17 hand milk and honey gorgeous gal who is, is regulated. She feels safe in her body and I get to witness her galloping across the mountain like the horses. Paddocks are like 25 acres each and witnessing them as a herd in their natural environment is a gift like no other.

Warwick Schiller (72:33)

And isn't it amazing? We've got, we've got 14 horses. Horses, but seven of them are in a herd up in probably the biggest area we've got here. And it's all wooded, it's all oak trees with Spanish moss hanging off. It's beautiful. But I just love being up there amongst the trees when the horses are all just grazing. It's like, it's, it's, it's magical.

Nicola Robinson Evans (72:58)

It truly is. It's.

Warwick Schiller (73:01)

I wanted to talk something about what you said about that mayor a minute ago, because what you were talking about was all very nice and spiritual, you know, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Nicola Robinson Evans (73:13)

Totally.

Warwick Schiller (73:14)

But. But, you know, I still rely heavily on technique. And what I was going to point out was one of the techniques is start as if a horse is worried about something is start as. Start as far away as possible and find out where their actual comfort zone boundaries. It doesn't matter what the distance is. You have to find that.

Nicola Robinson Evans (73:43)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (73:44)

And that was a technique. That's a. That's a. You know, have you. You don't watch. Probably watch much tv, but there was a TV show called Breaking Bad. You've heard of Breaking Bad?

Nicola Robinson Evans (73:56)

I've watched that three times.

Warwick Schiller (73:57)

Okay. Okay. Think about Breaking Breaking Bad. So Walter White.

Nicola Robinson Evans (74:02)

Yes.

Warwick Schiller (74:03)

Start of it. When he meets Jesse.

Nicola Robinson Evans (74:04)

Yes.

Warwick Schiller (74:05)

And he decides he's gonna make some. Was it meth?

Nicola Robinson Evans (74:08)

Is that methamphetamines?

Warwick Schiller (74:10)

Methamphetamine. Okay. And. And Jesse says to Walter White, well, you can't make meth, Dwight. Meth's. And art making. Meth's an art form. And so Walter White, who was a scientist and a science teacher, he makes this myth and shows it that Jesse. And Jesse's like, oh, my God, this is. This is like glass. This is the best meth I've ever seen. He goes, Mr. White, you're an artist. And Mr. White looks at him, he goes, that's not art. That's basic science. And for me, it's basic science. What you did. I know you did a lot of other amazing things too, but you started out with basic science. What you didn't try to do was go in and sit next to her while she was eating and meditate and get all. You know what I mean? The woo doesn't work in that way. You also have to interact. You know, you have to follow the rules, so to speak. I mean, that's, you know, that's the same of as any anxiety or PTSD or whatever you've got, you know, you've got to find a starting point. Where are you not concerned? And then let's surf the edges of. How do we. How do we titrate that and make your comfort zone a little bit bigger and event. Now you can, of course, you can sit with it. But I just wanted to point out that even though you're as woo. As woo, you still were grounded in reading the situation. You know what I mean? You weren't just, oh, I'm going to go over there and meditate and breathe White light. I had a lady, actually, I think it might have been for horse expert something a while ago, who, you know, she said her horse bucks when she rides or something or other. And she said, but when I ride it, I. I try to bathe this in white light. It's like the white light ain't gonna help you there if you don't have some. Some basics there. So I just kind of wanted to point out that even though you were very, very attuned and. Well, think about that. Think about the word attunement. Attune to where the comfort zone is, like, attuned to Where's a good starting point to start here.

Nicola Robinson Evans (76:25)

Absolutely.

Warwick Schiller (76:28)

It was interesting. You're talking about the tuning fork, and you were. You were saying how it detects where there's disturbances. I was in. I think it was Utah a few years ago, staying with this couple. And the wife makes Native American drums, and she does drum healing. And we're sitting around the living room one day, and she said, you want to do a drum healing on you? I'm like, I'm down, whatever. So she had me stand in the middle of the room, and she said to her husband, you get a drum, too? And so they start walking around me while beating on these drums. They're handheld drums, you know.

Nicola Robinson Evans (77:04)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (77:04)

And they walked around me from quite a while. And when we got finished with that, he looks at me and he says, do you have something wrong with your right shoulder? And at the time, I couldn't lift my arm up above my shoulder. And I said, yeah, it's all jacked up. And he said, yeah, I felt that. And I said, oh, so you do this drumming thing all the time too, do you? And he goes, I've never done it before. And I said, well, how could you tell? He said, because when I was beating the drum, the sound of the drum changed every time I went past your shoulder. Or maybe. Maybe he said the speed of his sped up. It made him speed up or slow down. But he said there was a little glitch. And I'm not sure it was the sound of the drummer or the speed of him, but something made him speed up or slow down. The sound was different. And he never does it. He doesn't do that. His wife does that. So I thought that was really interesting when you're talking about the tuning forks.

Nicola Robinson Evans (77:58)

Yeah. And. And that's why I said, get Eileen on the podcast, because she can go into the science of it for you in so much eloquence and easily digestible Information, you know, it's like my teacher Azra says, the woo is true and.

Warwick Schiller (78:20)

It'S not woo woo, it's true, true.

Nicola Robinson Evans (78:22)

Exactly. And yeah, and even what you were saying before about comfort zones and boundaries, because I'm a breathwork facilitator. So for me, the breath that I guide people through is so slow and so gentle because I don't know someone's backstory, I don't know. And they might not even know. You know, extreme traumas that can happen, happen pre verbal, you know, and if I'm taking people into this breath of fire that's bringing everything up to the surface and their nervous system does not have the capacity to process that I can re traumatize them, you know, so I'm really aware of creating these safe, nurturing, nourishing spaces. And Lumi really invited me into that space as well. She guided me how to become softer, Softer, softer. And like in all honesty, I come from a lineage of, of horsemen and horsewomen, both sides of my family's racehorse trainers. You know, I was raised with the old ways of gotta teach him who's boss. You know, all of those dominance based ways that for me now just, you know, but it's, I can't believe that in some ways I, I ever listened to that, you know, but as a child you're listening to your elders and, and you're wanting to show up and please. And I very much feel that part of my journey has been to evolve out of that dominance based way of living into synergy and then into divine communion where we're weaving harmony. The great weave is through harmony. And yeah, I just, I love that this beautiful palomino mia was the one who guided me into that.

Warwick Schiller (80:40)

It's interesting, you said you're doing breath work with it. I had a, an email a while ago from a lady who was a world class, some sort of a brass instrument player. She wasn't a tuber player, she a clarinet player. I can't remember. Wasn't saxophone, I can't remember what it was. But anyway, like travels all over the world, you know, Boston, you know, the symphony, whatever. But then something happened and she couldn't play anymore. Like she just couldn't do it, it wouldn't work or whatever. And she kind of stepped away from that, but she was with her horse and one day she was sitting with her horse and just hanging with a horse and the horse kind of, I think the horse nudged her or something or other and then kind of turned side on and moved her flank Kind of close to this lady. And she sat there and she said, and I was just watching my horse breathe. And she said, I started to breathe with her the way she was breathing in the breathing pattern she was doing. And she said something broke loose inside me and now I'm a professional tuba player or clarion, whatever it was, sitting with the horse and breathing the way the horse breathed. Got whatever was. It was, you know, something stuck in her, got her back to where she is now, a back to being a professional blowing instrument person.

Nicola Robinson Evans (82:16)

So, yeah, amazing.

Warwick Schiller (82:18)

It's, it's amazing stuff. And it's last night when Robin was reading the Pete's Wikipedia page, the biochemistry charger. And, and I just read, I just, you know, the, the, the skeptical things people were saying. And I'm thinking, what's really fascinating is the person who, you know, the, the journalist or whoever who wrote that, wrote it on a computer with a wireless mouse. And there was energy that went from the mouse to the keyboard to move the cursor around, and at the end they pressed key, click, and they sent that article through the air where you can't see it, and it landed the newspaper and was published. Oh, and Pete Evans is an idiot because he believes in energetic things. It's like you just did it. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Like you're using it right there.

Nicola Robinson Evans (83:14)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (83:14)

You know, you, you. Before we had the Internet, what we had, we had radio. And you can't see the radio waves going through the room. We had the TV with the rabbit ears. You can't see. You can't see, you know, Fred Flintstone or Happy Days or whatever it was going through the room in front of you. But the TV can pick it up and convert that signal into a thing you can see. And it's so funny that we, you know, it's kind of like I grew up Catholic. Okay. I don't think we were. I don't think anybody that grew up Catholic when I grew up Catholic was actually practicing Catholic.

Nicola Robinson Evans (83:48)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (83:49)

Like, went to mass on Sundays, but that was the only time you ever thought about that you didn't live a faith or a belief in something. You know what I mean? And anything that wasn't Catholic was weird and woo, woo. But our local parish priest was also the water diviner.

Nicola Robinson Evans (84:04)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (84:04)

He would go out and like, if you want, if you want to put in a boar or, well, you'd call it America, you get the parish priest. No one thought that was weird.

Nicola Robinson Evans (84:12)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (84:13)

But if you started talking about other sorts of Energy things. It's either witchcraft or it's witch weird or, you know, it's such a, there's such like cognitive dissonance there about I'll accept some types of energy, but I won't accept the other.

Nicola Robinson Evans (84:26)

Yeah, totally, yeah, I feel you. Personally, I believe that we chose the Great Forgetting so that we could experience what we're experiencing now, which I call the great remembering. And that is part of the, the human journey of coming into form, of coming in to experience the polarity. Because without it, it's going to be a shit movie, you know. And so all of this experience of, of coming up to meet these rigid resistant systems that are not open to experiencing more of what actually is, is, is just part of the path of, of invitation into more embodiment. For me, like those systems that are in place in the world for me, I'm conscious of how I am weaving and projecting and feeding those systems. And then it comes back to that dominance piece. Like wherever I am being dominant in my life, I'm feeding those systems. And yeah, it's so for Pete and I, with having this experience of extreme finger pointing, judgment, shame and blame, it's really invited us to step deeper and deeper and deeper into our own truth. So it's really actually been a gift, a blessing. So I'm so grateful for it, I really am. And it also led us to where we are now because when Pete was at his most vocal, he lost every single job he had. And we had mortgages and we had to think really quickly on our feet. And Pete had always, always wanted to create a retreat space. He'd always wanted to inspire people to get back into the kitchen, cooking food, growing food. So for him, he got the opportunity to experience and create his dream. And for me, for the 10 years prior to the retreat, I was a tree planting hippie. You know, I was helping raise his two beautiful daughters and I was immersed in the herd, intending to land, planting trees and living this life where I really wasn't in deep communion with humans. And stepping into being a host on retreat allowed me to spread my wings and to really fall in love with humanity again. And we've hosted like it's coming up to 200 retreats, a couple of thousand people. And I have just blossomed anew from every single person that has come into our home. Like it has been the most exquisite journey because it's invited me to just keep opening my heart, opening my heart and really realizing that that's my purpose, just to be me, to just keep opening My heart to everything and everyone that comes into my field. Not trying to change anyone, not trying to fix anything. Just welcome. All is welcome. And that's how I weave with myself, with thoughts that come or feelings that come. I'm not pushing anything down. I'm like, okay, come on home. You know, the fire's warm, the tea is delicious. And yeah, I just am so in awe of how I have that perception now and how it has completely changed the nature of my reality and really allowed me to co create a life that is rooted in togetherness, connection. And yeah, I don't know where I was going with that either.

Warwick Schiller (89:02)

Well, that's the thing. You don't have to go anywhere. Stuff like that. You're not, you're not, you're sharing. You're not trying to impress anybody or make a point. You're sharing.

Nicola Robinson Evans (89:12)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (89:13)

How you view the world. It's interesting when you finally get the perspective of all those things that may not have been fun at the time or, you know, all your traumas, whatever. And when you get the perspective, you look back and you go, that's why I'm here. You get to. You know, I've actually had it happen to me on the podcast several times. Early in the podcast. Early on I had a number of therapisty types on the podcast and in me asking them questions, asked me questions. I actually got therapisted on the podcast. But probably one of the biggest aha. Moments I had was that the nervous system state that I was kind of stuck in for most of my life, it was there for a reason. And the reason it was there was to protect me. And you spend all this time being negative about that nervous system state because I'm stuck with it, whatever. And it was just like a light bulb thing, like it was there for a reason. It was your best friend, it was saving you at the time. It's no longer serving that purpose and we don't need it anymore. But it was just letting go of that story about that sucked or that I didn't. Whatever. Yeah, it's. It's really amazing though. I don't know. The weight that gets lifted off you when. When you can change your perspective. The thing is the same. Yeah, but your perspective about it's different.

Nicola Robinson Evans (90:47)

Yeah, absolutely. I feel you. Thank you for sharing that. I. Yeah, I fully feel you. The body is so intelligent and the adaptations that it creates to get us through life are in many ways miraculous. And when you view it from that lens, it really shifts you into gratitude as well. Hey, and the old attitude of gratitude. Like, there is so much truth in that way of being.

Warwick Schiller (91:24)

I've got a quote I read the other day that hit me between the eyes. Like, I haven't been hit between the eyes by a quote for a long time. And the quote was, your intuition will speak to you in statements, and your fear will speak to you in questions.

Nicola Robinson Evans (91:47)

I love that.

Warwick Schiller (91:49)

And it's like, huh? So when you get that, when you get that, you know what? You should do this. That's intuition. And when you get that, oh, do you think we should do this? Yeah, that one now is at the top of the list. The previous one that was at the top of my list was a Rick Rubin quote. You know, Rick Rubin is famous music producer, and he has a book called the Creative Act, I think it's called, and it's a little thing book. And each chapter is on a thing, and one of the chapters is on patience. And the quote that I got out of that one that I love for the longest time was, impatience is merely denying reality.

Nicola Robinson Evans (92:42)

Yeah. Totally. Fully.

Warwick Schiller (92:45)

You know, think about. Think about you with. What's your horse's name? Lumiere.

Nicola Robinson Evans (92:50)

Yes, Lumi.

Warwick Schiller (92:53)

Think about. You figured out where her comfort zone was, where your ring of disturbance bumped into her energy. Okay. And you spent the time with that bit there. And then you got closer, and you got closer. And now you guys hang out and breathe together, whatever. And a lot of people would be impatient that it took that long. But being impatient there would just be denying the reality of her where her. Her field of safety ends.

Nicola Robinson Evans (93:26)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (93:27)

You know. You know, it would be just denying that reality. But you didn't have to be patient. You know, I mean, I've. I've talked about that quote at clinics a lot because people. A lot of people say, oh, you're so patient with horses. And I kind of look at them funny because I don't feel like I'm patient. And then after listening to that quote, I realized, oh, I'm not patient. I'm just not impatient. I just don't deny reality. Wherever the horse is at is where the horse is at. Like, I don't feel like I'm patient because I'm. I don't need to be patient. I'm just. This is where we're at. So. Yeah, it's interesting perspective. Speaking of that, you chose some questions for me to ask you in here that might help us get some of your perspective. And I'm going to go from the bottom, not from the top, just because we're talking about it. What Is your relationship like, with fear?

Nicola Robinson Evans (94:20)

Oh, I love it when fear comes up, actually, because for me, fear is like an echo of a memory. And so, for example, as I said, I had fear come up when Susie said, warwick wants you to do a podcast. I was like, ooh. And tuning into it, I can feel how it was, these old feelings of being in school and having to give a speech and having to stand up and be seen. And it was amazing because it gave me this opportunity to sit with parts of myself, to sit with little Nick, who hadn't completed a breath, an experience that was still fractured off in my being, that hadn't been welcomed home. So for me, that's. That's. Yeah, fear is this question of, can you see me? Can you feel me? I'm here, I'm ready to be welcomed home. And I love that because from my perspective and my experience with biofuel tuning, when we're welcoming those parts of ourselves home that haven't experienced completion, we're charging our battery because we're electrical beings. And when parts of ourselves are fractured off, that's an energy that's not available to us. And when we're bringing that home, bringing dissonance back into harmony, we're topping up our battery. So. So for me, fear is so welcome. And I would also like to say that obviously, there's two kinds of fear. There's one really real fear. That is my body telling me, okay, girl, you gotta get out of there. But for me, that's a completely different fear. That is the beauty of my nervous system giving me warning. But I really. I don't live in that world. And, you know, the only things around me on this land are perhaps snakes. But I have such a beautiful relationship with them that even if there was a snake in my field, I don't think I would feel fear. I would feel its resonance.

Warwick Schiller (96:58)

And, yeah, you'd have that energy that Steve Irwin had about around animals like I do. Hey, how's it going?

Nicola Robinson Evans (97:09)

I do. I love them. I love big spiders. We. We've had a couple of snakes inside, and I've. I've gently picked them up. Like, I've watched how you handle a snake. There is a way, like you. You don't hold them tight. You let them move through your hands and. Oh, it was the funniest night. Warwick, I have to tell you, because we were in bed and I heard the clapsticks that blessed this land. When we became stewards, we had elders bless our path, our journey, and then they gift us the clap sticks. And I heard them, I was like, oh, what's that? And went out and there's this beautiful. It was a brown tree snake. It looked like a brown, but it was actually a beautiful brown tree snake. And I'm just in awe of them because I love snakes. My husband.

Warwick Schiller (98:03)

For listeners from North America, one is non poisonous, one is the second deadliest snake in the world. Just so you know, the brown is the deadly one, the brown tree snake is not.

Nicola Robinson Evans (98:13)

Yes, it's a beautiful being and the browns are beautiful as well. I just would not be so keen to pick one up. Not yet anyways. Anyways, I was in the neck, I was nude and just in this deep fascination that there's this beautiful snake inside. Pete disappeared and he came back fully clothed with his, his gumboots on, he's got his snake catching boots and I just. Bless his heart, you know, he's just, he was going to get the snake and, and take it out because he, he wasn't certain of what kind of snake it was. But I just knew because I've studied and, and because I wanted to learn all the beings that I was living with here and I just gently picked it up and put it outside and. But it was just the funniest moment, you know, him protecting himself the way he did. And yeah, I'm the one who gets the spiders out of the house. And for me, like a big huntsman is as cute as a kitten. Like, I'm in awe of them. They're such peaceful beings.

Warwick Schiller (99:29)

And so huntsman's view, people who have not been to Australia, they're a spider that's about the size of your outstretched hand and they like to hide behind the bathroom door or they like to be on the ceiling of your bedroom. And when we first moved back, we moved back to America for a couple of years, back to Australia for a couple years. And my American wife, I knew she'd seen her first huntsman when I heard her going to the bathroom. And then there's this. And then another night I heard she got into bed and I heard this.

Nicola Robinson Evans (100:00)

Ah.

Warwick Schiller (100:01)

And I knew there was a huntsman on the ceiling or a huntsman behind the door.

Nicola Robinson Evans (100:05)

Yeah, they, they are big. And yeah, I mean, I'm Kiwi. There's nothing on my motherland that can do anything to you. It's.

Warwick Schiller (100:16)

You can run through snakes, no spiders, nothing.

Nicola Robinson Evans (100:20)

You can run through the bush, but naked, you know, it's, yeah, completely different land. And so, yeah, I, and I, I did used to be fearful of those big spiders and that was an invitation for me. Like, what am I fearful of? Come on. It's. I'm so much bigger than that being. And it was just an unfurling of those ingrained beliefs that nature is scary, you know, and that we're separate. But now for me, any. Any other being I meet, I just don't feel myself to be separate from, you know, it's just another reflection of nature living a life, experiencing its own preferences. You know, I really view them in that way. I really view it as. As sovereign, being connected to all that's. Having the earthly journey.

Warwick Schiller (101:18)

Do you. Do you read much?

Nicola Robinson Evans (101:21)

I will say that probably my one addiction is reading.

Warwick Schiller (101:26)

I had an author on the podcast recently. I had her on the podcast last year. Her name's Amelia Thomas. She's British, lives in Canada. And I had her on the podcast initially just because she was fascinating, but recently had her on the podcast because she released a new book, and it's all about animals and how they communicate. It's called what Sheep Think about the Weather.

Nicola Robinson Evans (101:49)

I listen to the podcast, brother.

Warwick Schiller (101:51)

Oh, okay.

Nicola Robinson Evans (101:53)

I listen as soon as they come out.

Warwick Schiller (101:55)

Oh, okay. So I'm not telling you anything, but I'm listening to this book, and I'm. Every day I listen a bit more, and I'm like, oh, my God, this is the coolest book I've ever read. But what's really interesting is, like, she talks about books written in the 1940s that had this perspective. And when you. When you look at, you know, like, the Secret Life of Trees or what was. What was Merlin Sheldrake's book about? Mycelium.

Nicola Robinson Evans (102:26)

I know the one you mean.

Warwick Schiller (102:27)

You know what I'm talking about. And you think about, why don't they teach this stuff to kids in school? We'd have a different perspective on the world if you understood. Understood how collaborative nature actually is.

Nicola Robinson Evans (102:42)

Yeah, we will. It will return.

Warwick Schiller (102:47)

We're getting there.

Nicola Robinson Evans (102:48)

The earth skills will. Will 100% return. And, yeah, I feel that coming. I really do.

Warwick Schiller (102:57)

Have you ever read a book called the Horses? Know I have not by a lady named Lin Man. Oh, wow. So I'm gonna have her on the podcast, I think, next week. I think. I think this lady wrote this novel, and it's kind of set in a dystopian future. The world's changed a bit, so we haven't gone back to being hunter gatherers, but we're all basically using our intuition to the fullest extent, and we are called to do whatever we're called to do, not societally. Conditioned to do, but called to do. And there's people in the book who are quote, unquote, horse called and a horse will bond with them. And. But the stuff the horse says to her in the book is like deep, deep, deep guru type wisdom. And what I want to know is, okay, great book. How did you learn? Like, I felt like I was reading the deepest philosophy book I've ever read by reading this novel, what the horses were telling her. And so what I really want to know from her is you didn't just conjure that out, you know, you didn't, you didn't just come up with that. I mean, how, how did you get to where you were that. That wise? But anyway, yeah, that would be one for you to read. I'm sure you'll hear her. You'll find out when the podcast comes out here in a couple of weeks because she's going to tell me. Another of your questions was, what do you feel your true purpose is in the world?

Nicola Robinson Evans (104:30)

Yeah, like I said before, it's really just to be me, to be myself, to flow with that as well, and to allow myself the permission to shift and morph into different versions and different experiences. But, but really it's that, that heart piece just to continue opening my heart to life and everything that comes my way. And, and through that way of being, I feel that offers the presence for others to be that way too, to feel safe, to be who you are. And I think that's something really, or I feel that something really important for, for people to feel into, because in modern society, it's projected upon us. What's your purpose? You know, you got to know what your purpose is. And for some, that can be really confronting and they can feel like. And I know because I've been there before, I felt this before when I have been in those experiences where I'm not aligned and not connected. And I'm like, well, what am I offering? And I feel that when you just bring it back to just be you, it softens and it allows you to listen deeper into who you are. And it's in those spaces of listening, of deep listening, that everything's actually revealed. And that's been so true for me. The more I'm out there, grasping, seeking. Even though I'm an avid reader, like, I love that I'm such a fertile student, I also revere those spaces where I'm just sitting so still and just listening and just allowing my soul, my spirit, my natural way of being, to be revealed.

Warwick Schiller (106:47)

Well, you know, you are the first person that has chosen that question, that like a lot of people have chosen that question. Be the first person who chose that question who didn't talk about a doing thing usually. What's your purpose? Well, my purpose is to do. Even if they're really good purposes. But I. But I feel. But I don't feel those people actually were incorrect either.

Nicola Robinson Evans (107:12)

Totally.

Warwick Schiller (107:13)

I feel that's what they're doing because they allowed themselves to be their true selves and shed all that conditioning. And that's when what you should be, that's when the influence you're gonna have starts Influencing because you be who you're supposed to be. I love the way you put that there.

Nicola Robinson Evans (107:35)

Yeah, I feel you.

Warwick Schiller (107:37)

Yeah, that's beautiful. Next question. Where do you go? What do you do to relieve stress or recharge? And I'm guessing it's one of those ponds. But anyway, I'll let you tell the story.

Nicola Robinson Evans (107:50)

Yeah, absolutely. Always nature, Always nature. It's like being cradled in your mama, in your mama's arms, you know, I love bodies of water, natural bodies of water. I feel very attuned to water as this being that we can attune to. And you know, again, it's science. There's so many incredible offerings now of a reflection of who and what water is. This elemental being that is so non judgmental it will receive whatever is offered to it. And also in its purest form, it is absolute harmony. And we see that through the offerings of. There's a wonderful kiwi lady called Veda Austin and she photographs water and then freezes it. Oh, sorry, the other way around. Freezes water after giving it sound or an intention and then photographs the pattern in the water. And it's very, very obvious that the water is expressing these incredible reflections of that which she has projected upon it. However, I feel when water is photographed in say, a loving space and when I say love, I don't mean a frequency or an emotion. For me, love is like the foundational energy that connects all life, that is all life. It's harmony. And when you see harmony reflected in water, it is these beautiful fractals that are patterns of perfect sacred geometry. And so I really tune into that when I'm in these bodies of water, especially mountain spring water, and how my body is attuning to that. And yeah, I really feel that I can feel transformed from just submerging myself in a mountain pool or even the ocean. You know, I often suggest to people who are in a bit of a rut, go to the ocean, like walk where the water meets the land. Or swim, if you feel safe, dive under those waves. Let that water wash over you and become you and remember yourself as it. And yeah, so for me, always nature.

Warwick Schiller (111:02)

Have you ever read Amphibious Soul by Greg Foster, the guy that made made my octopus teacher?

Nicola Robinson Evans (111:08)

It's on my list because I know you've recommended it. It's definitely.

Warwick Schiller (111:12)

I'm just thinking you, right. Of all people will just love that. He's talking your language right there. From water to embodiment to the whole bit.

Nicola Robinson Evans (111:23)

Yeah, well, I'm a diver and I actually learned to dive in the Red Sea in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. And that for me was a hugely transformational time in my life. It was the beginning of my 30s that I learned to. To dive. And on one of my first open water dives, this huge white octopus followed me along this cliff face. I will never forget it and I will never forget the feeling that rippled through my body. And there was no fear. I was not fearful. I was in deep awe of this being. And, and yeah, for me, diving is obviously you're an entirely different world, but it's familiar because we're aquatic beings when we're in the womb, you know, that's where we first come into form. And I also believe when we actually first develop a lot of our patterns, they're formed in the womb. Our experience in the womb. And, and yeah, so water for me is just. She's the queen of my heart. I just. Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (112:45)

Amazing. Your other question. What have you changed in the past five years that has helped shape who you've become? I love your laugh. This is going to be good.

Nicola Robinson Evans (112:56)

Well, it's two simple things. I stopped telling my husband what to do. And when he asked me for my opinion, I would reply with whatever you think, my love.

Warwick Schiller (113:14)

So are those the two things or is that one thing and there's another thing?

Nicola Robinson Evans (113:18)

No, it was just really those two things. I stopped telling him what to do. I stopped micromanaging him. I let go of all of those old ways of being that was Nick controlling everything she could to feel safe, including her beautiful husband. My beautiful husband. And then also handing him back essentially his intuition by giving him the opportunity to tune into to what feels right for him. Unless maybe we're talking about the horses or, or tea or something that I'm in a devotional practice with. But yeah, it changed our marriage completely and allowed us to really deeply fall in love. And yeah, just to move into me being actually more feminine, more soft, more receptive, more yielding and for him to move into more of that real protector role. And. Yeah, just through me really handing him back his masculinity by not being his. His mom and. Yeah. Just not telling him what to do anymore, even if I really wanted to, you know, even if we're in the car and I know a shortcut and it would come. I'd want to say it, and I just. I'd zip my mouth and I'd actually say shut the frick up to myself. And. Yeah, it's been such a transformative journey for us.

Warwick Schiller (115:02)

Wow, that Instagram has my algorithm on that. Because I get a lot of stuff about. Not just that, but along the lines of that I could. I could talk for two hours probably on the stuff that comes up there about that. But, yeah, it's. That's a fascinating subject. Okay, last question that you chose. What's the most worthwhile thing you have put your time into?

Nicola Robinson Evans (115:31)

Yeah. Tending Nature. Gardening. Devotion to my romance with nature. I call it a romance. I don't call it a relationship. For me, it's a romance. And just showing up for her day in, day out, whether I'm watering the garden or planting something new or fertilizing her with dried horse poo, but just having a really deep connection with Mother Nature, with the Earth, and. And that has really also transformed my relationship with myself and how I also tend to my own body. And. Yeah, it's. It. I feel like it's one of the most transformative journeys anyone can go on. It is just to really allow nature to become a part of your life that is rooted in devotion and connection and trust, like, really inviting her back into your heart because she never, ever actually was not there. Mother Earth, right? The great remembering Mother Earth has been holding space for us all to remember who we are. And I feel like it's just such a nice offering to then return to tending to her, just as our elders did and just as many indigenous cultures still do. And through that tending you, you really rebirth your own regeneration as well. And, yeah, it's. It's a journey like no other.

Warwick Schiller (117:38)

You know, it's such a reciprocal thing. You're talking about the experiments with the water before. You know, like, science is showing stuff that, you know, our indigenous and indigenous ancestors knew. But I read some recently that there is something inside soil. When you get your hands in soil, it actually. Does it release dopamine or serotonin, but basically getting your hands dirty, one of the. One of the cures for depression.

Nicola Robinson Evans (118:08)

Yeah.

Warwick Schiller (118:09)

Like the soil does that to us.

Nicola Robinson Evans (118:12)

Yeah. Well, the soil is, I mean, it's so rich with the mycelium, they connect to beings. And tuning back into your journey with psilocybin, those tryptamines, it's that they are, they're connected beings. And when you're steeped in that remembrance of connection, there's this, this feeling of, of being alone in the world falls away. This feeling of being in the great weave, of being a contributing factor of the unfolding of life is. It's so inspiring. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love having my hands in the soil. Like I, I used to wear gloves and then I discovered that, you know, it was way more fun to get dirt onto my nails and to, to feel the soil in my hands.

Warwick Schiller (119:05)

Yeah, it's like walking barefooted.

Nicola Robinson Evans (119:08)

Exactly, exactly.

Warwick Schiller (119:10)

Awesome stuff. Well, our time's about up, but thank you so much for joining us. It's been great hearing your amazing perspective on the world.

Nicola Robinson Evans (119:20)

Thank you for receiving. It's been a deep honor and a pleasure. And yeah, I also wish to thank the listener listening. Blessings on your name, blessings for your journey and Robin and Tyler and your herd and all of your family and everything that you are sharing with the world is deeply loved and revered. And yeah, I honor you, brother. Deepest bow.

Warwick Schiller (120:02)

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you and you guys at home. Thanks so much for listening and we will catch you on the next episode of the Journey on podcast.

Warwick Schiller (120:15)

Thanks for being a part of the Journey on Podcast with Warwick Schiller. Warwick has over 850 full length training videos on his online video library@videos.warwickshiller.com Be sure to to follow Warwick on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram to see his latest training advice and insights.