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Practising the art of spiritual freedom

May 4th, 2020Practising the art of spiritual freedom

Now the Central Highlands has its own Christ the Redeemer.

THE 38-metre tall figure of Christ the Redeemer towers over Rio de Janeiro. Now the Central Highlands has its own, much smaller, version, not in stone but in that great Australian basic, corrugated iron.

Standing on the horizon as a constant attraction to visitors at Lavandula in Shepherds Flat, the four-metre figure is the work of sculptor Peter Laszlo and his artist wife Rosie. Welsh and Belgian respectively, they show a passion for spirituality, demonstrated by living off-grid and renouncing distractions such as TV, while finding both politics and religion unnecessary.

At Lavandula, Peter, 61, has a small blacksmith’s shop where he makes metal sculpture. He shows photos of wonderfully elegant fire dogs and produces a 30mm thick iron bar wrought into the elegant shape of a knot.

He plans to specialise in marvellously wrought gates and garden furniture. “I try to make it look as though it’s moving,” he says showing an example of an elegant gate in France decorated with moving objects.

The reward he gets from his highly tactile art is when people smile at it. “That’s the best appreciation.”

Ebullient Rosie, 54, joins in what they call the joy of bartering by painting portraits to swap, something that can take from five minutes to three days. Or they may barter manure from their 25 goats for strawberries.

 They met in Rosie’s homeland where Peter was showing his art at an African restaurant called The Rainy Season, which she was decorating. Having studied at a private painting school, she worked as a decorator for five years.

Everything changed when she found a book by Frenchman Michel Potay who, when living in a small fishing town in 1974, said he received 40 night visits from Jesus. His book tells of how to be sin-free and without “the misguidance of religious and political dogmas”.

After living in New Zealand, the Laszlos moved from Melbourne to the Central Highlands, a place says Peter, of “special energy”.

“We aim to create a small community to regain our sovereignty. Our society is unbalanced and materialistic.”

A time such as now presents an opportunity for people to think about their death. “Our body dies, but the spirit lives on if you are good…” This, he says, comes from Potay’s book.

Their utopian outlook has led them to set up what they call the Good Path Foundation, where people will be invited to learn skills such as cheesemaking and gardening.

“It will be a haven for free spirituality and true sustainability.”

Their four-hectare block at Basalt is a place where their tree planting follows the practice of the region’s original Djub Wurrung people, keeping seven to 10 paces between trees to allow grass to grow.

“We have to focus on a bright future and change, not go back to the way we were,” Peter says. “If we are freer, then goodness comes out of us. Love and freedom go together.”

“We aim to create a small community to regain our sovereignty. Our society is unbalanced and materialistic.”

Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Contributed

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