Findhorn Foundation News

Going For Gold

Hello everyone,

Itís great to be connecting with you all again. I love having 15,000 friends all over the world and, whether the gold in your life is an Olympic medal, lengthening days and warmer sunshine, or the turning of the leaves to autumnal splendour, I send you joy and blessings from all of us at Findhorn.

Both Cluny Hill and The Park are abuzz with the energy of creativity and regeneration, in stark contrast to the gloom in much of the global media. The world is so obviously ready for change on many, many levels and it's uplifting to see the range of nationalities gathered at Findhorn and feel the commitment to learning new ways, building relationships and seeding practical global change.

How could I not be inspired, living at Findhorn? On Tuesday I spent an evening with an Experience Week group in Cluny, all so keen to step up to the plate and 'be the change' they want to see in the world. While there I ran into some people from the Foundation Programme, a three-month intensive leap into the power of purpose, leadership and service, who I had done a sacred dance session with a few weeks ago. On the way out I waved to a friend, on a day's silence as part of the Japanese spiritual practice group.

Earthshare and Happiness

On Wednesday, 26 of us went to our Earthshare farm to help harvest potatoes and beetroot. It was wonderful to don overalls and wellies and get out from behind the computer for a few hours. It is a great joy to live in a workplace and community that encourages such spontaneous acts of soul nourishment.

Then I had lunch in the community centre with an Italian participant in Ecovillage Design Education, a four week practical forum for learning the skills to work with spiritual, social, economic and ecological sustainability. We ate heartily, surrounded by the vibrant energy of American college students, here on a three-month programme, also learning skills to build a better world.

I also want to share with you my experience at the Happiness conference in London 8-10 October. Barbara Swetina and I held a 'playshop' using the simple tools of dance, song, heart connection, deep sharing and meditation which are at the heart of our lives and education here and the experience was magical, deep, powerful and transformative. Participants were touched and amazed that such a feeling of connection could be built in 2 1/2 hours. I am proud to say we create such spaces nearly every week at Findhorn - offering the opportunity for people to go within, feel their life force, open their heart, reach out to each other - and I realised again how important this is and what a remarkable contribution we make to helping the human family awaken to a new way of being.

The USA connection

If you are feeling like receiving a touch of this Findhorn magic and live near Ojai, California, Roger Collis, Findhorn Trustee and former community member, has organised a public gathering for Dorothy Maclean, now 88 years old and a co-founder of the Findhorn community. This will be a rare opportunity to meet Dorothy, celebrate her life and hear her story. ÝIt was in Ojai, 35 years ago where Dorothy first settled after leaving Findhorn and where she wrote To Hear The Angels Sing.

This will likely be one of her last public workshops as she is stopping travel and public work. Other former Findhorn members participating include Katherine Collis, Kate Martin, Freya Secrest of the Lorian Association and Lark Batteau of the New Troubadours. To register please go to the Meditation Mount website or call +1 (805) 646-5508 for information. The gathering will consist of an evening talk on 21 November and a weekend workshop 22-23 November.

Back at Findhorn we are again offering the chance to learn nonviolent communication, a a wonderful tool for transforming relationships at home and at work. Currently practised in 65 countries around the world, NVC can be practically applied in many fields to bring social change. Loving Honesty - Nonviolent Communication runs from Saturday 29 November for 7 days.


A new year is coming!

I know itís hard to believe, but the end of the year is in sight. If you feel drawn to a Christmas of quiet reflection and have done an Experience Week, you are very welcome to join the Christmas Celebration on Iona, from Saturday 20 December for 7 days. Nothing could be more nurturing than a week on one of the worldís most sacred islands, close to the beach, in a cosy, well-equipped home. Experience Week is a prerequisite for this programme.

If youíd like to step into 2009 Findhorn style, you have three superb choices:

* A New Year Gathering from Saturday 27 December for 7 days with songs and dances, meditation and ritual, rest and relaxation, to help reconnect with the qualities of creativity, innocence and authenticity.

* The New Year Spiritual Healing Retreat from Saturday 27 December for 7 days to promote spiritual healing and expanded awareness through meditation, prayer, celebration, dance and shamanic practices. Experience Week is a prerequisite for this programme.

* Erraid: New Year Retreat from Monday 29 December for 6 days, offering a wonderful opportunity to ëjust beí on what is surely one of the most beautiful of all the Hebridean Islands off the west coast of Scotland.

If you are already looking forward to Easter, all of us at Findhorn extend the most enormous invitation for you to join us for Grass Roots - New Shoots, our spring festival. In this time of transition to a more sustainable world we want to celebrate life in all its diversity and be inspired by nature's expression of renewal. So, whether you bring yourself, a partner or your whole family, let's join together to nourish and inspire each other with the creative energy of spring.

On the web

And finally, let me draw your attention to two exciting web-related initiatives. Firstly, the Findhorn Foundation College, which offers accredited courses to engage students in transformative education for sustainability and personal empowerment, launched its new website recently. I urge you to take a look and celebrate that there are such courses available in the world!

Secondly, the new film, Findhorn Now, which was being created when I last emailed you in August is now online. Click here to watch it!

Please give us feedback and share the film with your friends and family and begin its journey into as many lives as possible. We are very grateful to Kurt Mann, who came to Findhorn for 8 days with his colleague Chantal Verspaille and filmed and edited with passion, focus and sheer hard work. Kurt created Opening Doors Within (a film about Eileen and the early days) in the 90s, and is CEO and Founder of American Green. We see the film as the first of many (you can only cover so much in ten minutes!) as there are so many tools and initiatives we want to share with the world.

You can also watch the film on our YouTube channel. If you have a Youtube account, we'd love you to rate the film so we can help the film reach as many people as possible. If you don't have a YouTube account, it's easy to sign up. Then, to rate the film, click here, and then click on the amounts of stars (under the video) that you wish to give us.

I am off to Barcelona early November to represent the Foundation at the first European Human Forum organised by Alliance For A New Humanity. The Alliance, created in 2003 and presided over by Deepak Chopra, was set up to connect all individuals and organisations who, through personal transformation and social action, work towards the creation of a just, sustainable and peaceful planet. So, how could Findhorn not be there? If you are interested in the conference or the work of the Alliance, click here.

I am sending you deep peace, sheer delight and much laughter - we're all in this together and it's great to know you're out there!

Yvonne Cuneo
for the Communications team