Australia is more than lovely beaches, magnificent scenery, friendly people, and tons of good fun.  It, the land itself, has an essence that reached my soul almost immediately. It was a coming home of the Spirit, a ‘knowledge' of its very essence that captured my heart. I found a sense of myself there, and it calls to me wherever I am. Here is a friend's reflection of this essence of the land rightly known as The Great Southland of the Sacred Spirit.

The essential quality of the Australian landscape has much to show us in the determination of the character formed by the Australian person. It is harsh, yet beautiful, wild yet ordered, free yet approachable. There is a nurturing quality about this land, it has an open heartedness that is reflected in the easy, laid back nature of it’s people, and yet there is a practicality and sensibleness which gives it stability.

Within this stability many diverse energies are able to be sustained and integrated with the final result of a beauty not yet known in this world. The essence of this land is essentially that which needs to be embraced by the people who live within it. For then, it is a mutual effort and the country is working in harmony with it’s people and the people working in harmony with their country and the visitors getting a double dose of the transformative energy which is Australia.

Therefore, let the harsh transform into beauty. The wild transform into order. The freedom transform into caring. The nurturing quality of this land is the wellspring from which we can nurture the world. Terra Australis del Espiritu Sanctus; this is Australia’s true and full name, which translates to “Great Southland of The Sacred Spirit.”