Wendy Matthews reaches higher ground with a little help from her friends.

Five years ago, a friend of Wendy Matthews gave her a spell kit for her birthday. It included acorns, gum nuts, herbs, a candle to burn and a list of incantations. " was just waiting for the right occasion to use it," Wendy says.

The right occasion was her 40th birthday. She and her 10month old dog Bear went up to her four-hectare property on the NSW North Coast where she set up a majestic tepee full of bright Native American rugs and knick-knacks. There she wrote a list of things she was pleased with and wanted to achieve, wrapped it around the gum nuts and acorns, and burned it under a tree while chanting.

"It was the end of a beginning or the beginning of an end," the singer says. "You don't ask for material things like a Porsche or going to Paris. They weren't internal things. Once you get that right and you come from a good place, the material things follow."

The property is where Canadian-born Matthews flees when she seeks sanctuary. A is neighbour, Russell Crowe who presented her with an ARIA award years ago. The actor and singer showed her around the area when she was looking for land, then bought some mates to help when she set up the tepee.

When she was writing "No Vacancy", she remembers actor Sidney Portier (To Sir With Love, Sneaker) coming to her in a dream and reciting, "He's a man, he's not a God, he's a man, don't ask me to keep a secret, I might not say." She asked Crowe to use his deep biblical voice to repeat the words on the track.

Wendy's life has been through some radical changes in the past few years.  One is her well documented discovery that there was a Canadian Indian link to her family that had been hushed up.  She always sensed there was a connection - "as a kid, I'd get upset when the cowboys killed the Indians in western movies."  A few years ago, Wendy and her mum made a pilgrimage to visit the Abanaki tribe.

The song "Right Now" reflects how she's learned to follow her instinct and do something without thinking about the outcome good or bad.  "It sounds so simple on paper, but that's been a problem for me, " she says.  "As you become an adult, you have to make these things for yourself.  I've been alone since I was 16.  I'm glad I never let fear stop me from doing what I want to do, although the fear was definitely there.  I'm not so self-conscious; I don't fear so much about being judged.  I feel very strongly about expressing myself."

The quiet power she feels as a human being reflects the current album.  "Beautiful View", the gorgeous song about love - "it can be love for a person, a dog, your planet, a car" - but also taps into the fear one has of total commitment.