Hello everyone,
There is definitely an autumnal nip in the air, 
not to mention rather a lot of rain and I can't believe it is three months since I last wrote to you. I hope your winter or summer, wet season or dry, has been filled with creativity and laughter.
We are all beginning to take a breath as we shift to a slower pace now. And what a wonderful summer it has been: lots of high-spirited Spanish and Italian groups; the laughter of children during our family weeks; vigorous volleyball matches during our youth weeks; 40 people learning Esalen massage (and practising on us willing volunteers); 40 people involved in a Nonviolent Communication Intensive; and the Festival of Sacred Dance where fabulously energetic Greek teacher Kyriakos Moisidis, a group of Greek musicians and a plethora of local talent led us deep into both the wild and still parts of ourselves.
A highlight of the summer was the Butterfly Effect International Youth Exchange, hosted by Findhorn College, where 30 young people - six each from Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Scotland - enjoyed a beautiful camp set up for them behind the Universal Hall and also in Culbin Forest. They took part in a specially designed Creative Sustainability pilot programme which aimed to deepen their awareness of inner and outer sustainability issues and become more empowered to affect positive change in their home communities.
The icing on the cake, however, was the permanent return of the community's co-founder, Dorothy Maclean, who at 89 has settled happily into Joannie's bungalow at The Park. We are all so happy to welcome her home.
I have been on an interesting journey too, stepping back from my Communications-based work of the last seven years to spend time in Park Kitchen. It's been lovely to empty my very full head and settle into mindfully washing lettuce, chopping onions, grating cheese, assembling strudel and chatting to the wide spectrum of participants who come to the kitchen to practise work as love in action. One afternoon I was working with a Korean, a Swede, two Italians, a Japanese and a Brazilian - the conversations were truly deep enquiry and global harmony in action.
If you also feel drawn to take time out from your life and you have participated in Experience Week and either Exploring Community Life or Spiritual Practice, our powerful 12-week life training, the Foundation Programme: Living from Purpose and Soul, begins 26 September. It might be just what you need.
And the next time you are looking for some Findhorn feeling online, check us out on Youtube and Facebook. There you will find frequently updated videos and photographs from Findhorn, as well as a chance to meet many others who are a part of our global community. It's a great way of connect with the Findhorn energy, wherever you are in the world!
Our planned Positive Energy 2 conference has morphed from its original format into a two and a half day workshop with David Whyte and Richard Olivier, now called Through the Dark Wood: Courageous Conversations on the Way to a Better Place, 3-5 October. I encourage you all to join me at this unique, one-off event as I have no doubt that these two men will facilitate a powerful and insightful individual and group experience to explore a different kind of future for us all.
The remainder of that week, 6-10 October, will be a Being Here-style programme - a time to deepen and explore the Positive Energy themes of resilience: inner, local and planetary. Mari Hollander and Jonathan Dawson will co-create the programme in response to the interests of the group and the opportunities that arise within the community.
In November we welcome back Caroline Myss for Defy Gravity - Healing Beyond the Bounds of Reason, 14-17 November. The workshop will focus on Caroline's new book, Defy Gravity, where she views healing from the mystical point of view and will prepare participants for their journey of healing.
Following straight on from Caroline is James Finley with Seven Steps to Spiritual Healing, 17-20 November. James has had exceptional feedback from last year's participants and this year will explore spiritual healing and how to become a source of spiritual healing for others. There will be practical exercises and time for group meditation, personal reflection and discussion.
If you book both these events before 14th November you will receive a £115 discount on the combined events.
If you are looking for a meaningful way to spend the end of year celebrations, remember we offer wonderful weeks at our retreat house on Iona for Christmas and on the nearby island of Erraid for New Year. There are also a New Year gathering and a retreat at Findhorn itself.
Click here for details of our December programmes and retreats.
Finally, at a recent co-worker meeting on finances we were appreciating our growing ability to ride the wave of these changing times with flexibility, creativity and openness. We also continue to explore the triple bottom line: how to balance the richness of the community's ecological and social capital with the need to take care of our financial capital.
We were all inspired by our great friend David Spanglerís view on abundance:
Viewed by the personality, abundance is a measure of quantity. To the soul, however, abundance is a quality. It means the one essence within all things, from which all things spring. To have a consciousness of abundance, on a soul level, does not mean having a sense of access to many things, seemingly stored in some treasure house, but rather being at one with the essence behind and within all things. True abundance is a consciousness of wholeness, oneness and quality, not of separateness, multiplicity and quantity.
Wishing you endless abundance,
love and laughter,
Yvonne Cuneo
in the kitchen and for the Communications Team
