Michelago resident Gini Eagle is the author of Awaken, a book which tells of her transition from a conventional life to one that helped her find inner-peace and happiness. Photo: Sammi Hawker.
It’s the 1980s in rural NSW and Gini is living the ideal life of a country wife and mother of two. She and her then husband shared a love of horses, farming and their kids in a small community near Young, in the state’s South West Slopes.
It was Shangri-La for a time, but a sense of unease was creeping in. Feelings of dissatisfaction and discomfort were disrupting her existence.
It’s a story many of us are familiar with and one that takes us along various routes.
But Gini’s path was one less followed and her story has been captured in her recently released book, Awaken.
This is not a review, but the book is an incredible, unintentional story of one woman’s journey of self-discovery that any of us who wonder, muse and seek more should read.
She thanks her early years living on the sheep farm for introspection that led to her transformation into Gini Eagle: counsellor, energy healer, spiritual guide, and meditation and yoga teacher.
Now she can add author to that repertoire.
Gini, who now lives on Ingelara Farm, a biodynamic property near Michelago, says it was the middle of the night three years ago when she got the “tap on the shoulder” which became a compelling urge to write about her journey. That night, she outlined it in 22 chapters.
She is the first to tell you there was no plan for Awaken to be autobiographical, but the result is a 256-page tale of her life threaded with gossamer snippets of the learnings, techniques and stories of the people and teachers she has encountered along the way.
And it is 100 per cent Gini – free-spirited, modest, unpretentious and unimposing, stepping lightly but resolutely into the often mind-boggling avenue of self-help literature.
A book written inside, outside, in a bush hut, under trees and in the quiet of night, Gini says it was a long time coming simply because she had some blockages writing it.
Top of the list, she freely admits, was self-doubt.
But in the end, Gini resolved that perhaps what she offered might provide useful guidance to people facing challenges in their life.
“There are no shortcuts,” she says. “But I wish I knew at 21 what I know now, and it’s in that spirit that I share.”
It is her son, Tom, now aged 30, who embodies this spirit, who first took a more conventional route until age 23 when he started listening to his mum. His story alone is stirring.
“I wouldn’t have started this journey so young if it hadn’t been for mum,” says Tom. “She always gave good advice that I could see was based on her own experience and learning.
“I feel so lucky that this guiding force was inherent to my growing up and becoming an adult.”
Awaken is a book for COVID-19 times, when life is compelling people to stop and reflect. It doesn’t shove New Age incantations into your brain, rather it suggests and encourages us all to think outside daily ruts, also serving as a workbook for anyone wishing to empower themselves to experience a more fulfilled life.
It details the many encounters in Gini’s life that, to some, might be unbelievable but are nonetheless magically mind-blowing enough for anyone to pause and wonder what lies beyond.
That doesn’t mean jumping on a round-the-world flight; it is more about living day by day in a space that is less about self-absorption and more about self-reflection and connecting to what is around you in ways you may never have known possible.
Gini believes it is all too common for people to feel distracted, anxious, unfulfilled and experiencing “less than” thoughts that block your flow, with the outcome making you feel off-balance, disconnected, lost, confused and unwell.
“I want this story to be a guide which illuminates pathways for you to be inspired by and be able to follow and read when your energy is blocked – that is, when you’re feeling out of balance,” she says.
And she touches on a world she believes is also out of balance, drawing on her experiences of Indigenous cultures to encourage people to think – at the very least – about their guardianship of the planet.
“Let’s slow down, live more simply and learn to respect ourselves and all living things,” says Gini.
“My intention is that through the farm retreat and our experiences we share in this book, we may inspire other souls to reach for their highest choices to discover self-healing, more inner-peace and be in connection with their natural environment.”
Awaken is to be supplemented by affirmation cards and workshops which Gini plans to run around NSW and at her healing retreat at Ingelara Farm.
The book can be purchased on Gini’s website.
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