Change is Happening For All of Us
Written by Terence Gilbey, CEO of the Findhorn Foundation
Inside the new Light of Findhorn Sanctuary
A few weeks ago the Park Ecovillage Findhorn community celebrated a momentous occasion in the opening and dedication of the new Light of Findhorn Sanctuary. Built to replace the original 1968 sanctuary that was destroyed by arson fire in 2021, The Light of Findhorn Sanctuary is a vibrant and beating heart at the centre of today’s diverse and varied spiritual community that began as the Findhorn Foundation in the early 1960s. It is a physical representation of the timelessness, persistence, and strength of the core tenets and teachings of the Findhorn Foundation. It is also a symbol of the inevitability of change.
For more than 62 years, the Findhorn Foundation has held and embodied its three principles – Inner Listening, Co-creation with Nature, and Work as Love In Action, while emphasising the importance of community and living in coherence with the Earth and each other. It is awe inspiring to me that even through decades of unfathomable cultural and technological change, the Findhorn Foundation principles are as relevant and abiding today as they were at the start. It is this resonant spirituality and power of community that is woven into our ongoing educational programmes, such as Experience Week on the Isle of Erraid and Spirit of Iona retreats on the holy Isle of Iona, where we share with people from around the world how they can find greater coherence and wellbeing by embodying the spirit of Findhorn in their own lives.
Eileen Caddy was one of the original co-founders of the Findhorn Foundation. A deeply spiritual teacher and prolific writer, Eileen shaped the Findhorn Foundation community from the very beginning and her teachings continue to resonate today. If you have the opportunity to join our free, daily meditation offering, you will often hear Eileen’s daily guidance incorporated as a prompt for reflection during our silent time together.
Eileen Caddy
When I study the work of Eileen I am consistently struck by how often she focuses on the topic of change. In a no-nonsense and inspiring way, her books and lessons regularly speak of the importance of transformation, letting go of the old, and making space for the new. In fact, in her book of 365 Daily Meditations, change is referenced more than 160 times, and well over 20% of her reflections centre around this ONE critical concept. According to Eileen’s guidance, change is a sacred opportunity for awakening and is the manifestation of divine will unfolding in our lives. It is an outward expression of our internal transformation and an essential part of spiritual growth. She writes:
“You cannot hope to grow spiritually unless you are prepared to change. Those changes may come in small ways to begin with, but as you move further and further into the new, they will become more drastic and vital. Sometimes it needs a complete upheaval to bring about a whole new way of life. But it is amazing how soon you can get used to change as long as you have the courage and conviction that the changes which are taking place are all for the very best … Keep growing in wisdom and understanding and never at any time be content to remain static.”
The topic of change, and having the courage and conviction needed for change, seems particularly apropos in today’s world. We, as humans, are facing so much change that it can be disorienting. It has become a background hum that over-stimulates our sympathetic nervous systems, leaving many of us in a perpetual state of flight, flight, freeze or fawn. Change is an ambient frisson of energy that permeates our organisations, social institutions, environment, communities, families, and selves. It is something I often contemplate, for my own life and for the Findhorn Foundation SCIO. When I look at myself and those around me, it seems we are being challenged at all levels to find a path forward in our professional, personal, and spiritual lives that honours what has gone before, releases what no longer serves, and embraces what is yet to come. Sometimes when I feel buffeted by change, I hear Eileen’s words whispering out to me saying:
“Change is the natural law of life. Resisting it brings suffering; flowing with it brings peace.”
Yet I know firsthand that it is not always easy to find the flow of change and, often, there can be unintentional resistance.
Research shows that today’s pace of change is leaving many people feeling overwhelmed and out of control. We are living in a time of constant transformation – be it technology, identity, work, health, relationships, and even the way we relate to time itself. A 2024 GlobeScan survey (1) showed that across all regions and demographics, nearly eight in ten respondents say, “The world is changing too quickly” for them. And research conducted by LinkedIn in 2024 (2) showed that 64% of professionals globally feel overwhelmed by the rapid pace of workplace changes, with 49% reporting they are worried about being left behind.
Photo credit: Glenn Carstens Peters, Unsplash
According to the World Economic Forum there has been no historic precedent to this current phenomena of change, which has been referred to as the 4th Industrial Revolution, in terms of its velocity, scope or impact on everything in our lives. (3) What once took decades to invent can happen in months, and technology is evolving faster than the laws, ethics, or language can keep up. In his book, The Exponential Age: How Accelerating Technology Is Transforming Business, Politics, and Society (2021), author Azeem Azhar posits that due to the ever-increasing rate of technological advances, we are no longer moving at a linear pace as a species, but at an exponential one. We are in a time when the rate of technological advances is quickly outstripping the linear mindset of most existing institutions and individuals (who have evolved over time to metabolise more gradual, incremental change). As a result, the gap between technological capability and society’s ability to adapt to it is growing wider, causing disruptions in economics, labour markets, politics, social organisations and individual health and wellbeing. Very simply, organisations and individuals cannot adapt fast enough and are crumbling under the pressure.
“Technology is exponential, but humans are not … the body changes linearly, but technology changes exponentially.”
The idea of exponential change is further supported by the work of Thomas Friedman, who describes how society has entered the dizzying “age of acceleration”, and that dealing with change is truly the challenge of our time. (4) Like Azhar, Friedman explores how the rate of change is outpacing our institutions’ and organisms’ ability to adapt. He describes how social systems and personal lives lag behind technological growth and as a result, there is a “dislocation effect” – a sense of disorientation when change outruns our ability to absorb or respond to it. According to Friedman (5),
“We are being asked to dance faster than we have ever danced before … the world is accelerating at a pace we’ve never seen before, and we’ve not yet developed the human adaptation systems to match it.”
Considering that humans aren’t built for constant, ungrounded change, it is not surprising that many feel unmoored in our fast-changing world and are experiencing first-hand Friedman’s “dislocation effect.” Feeling anxious and discombobulated are common symptoms of too much change, as are uncertainty, stress, fear, grief, inflexibility and intransigence. Some even suffer from “change fatigue”, which is the mental, emotional and physical exhaustion people feel when subjected to frequent, continuous, or poorly managed change without time to adapt, recover between changes or make meaning of what is happening. Change fatigue is a sort of burnout that comes from facing too much uncertainty and transition and the symptoms of it include weariness, feeling numb or disengaged, anxiety, being irritable or cynical about “new ideas”, believing change has become futile and never-ending, feeling powerless or that change is being “done to you”, and just wanting things to stop for a while. Knowing this, it is not surprising that so many are seeking isolation, as we explored in last month’s article, “Let’s Go Forward Together”.
The good news is that there is an antidote available for the overwhelm of change and the pressure of living in an exponential age, and it lies not in racing faster to catch up, but rather in slowing down and connecting to that which makes us uniquely human. In his book, Technology vs Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine (2016), futurist Gerd Leonhard (6) proposes that humans should focus less on trying to keep up with technology and instead preserve the unique aspects of the human experience that machines cannot emulate, such as creativity, intuition, imagination, emotion, compassion and ethics – what he calls the “androrithims” (rather than algorithms). Along a similar line, Thomas Friedman, in his book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide for Thriving in the Age of Acceleration (2016) (7), encourages people to navigate acceleration by seeking moments of pause and reflection in order to make meaning, to listen deeply and reconnect to what they value. He quotes the work of Dov Siedman, who says,
“When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they START. You start to reflect, you start to rethink your assumptions, you start to reimagine what is possible and, most importantly, you start to reconnect with your most deeply held beliefs. Once you’ve done that, you can begin to re-imagine a better path … What matters most is what you do in the pause.” (8)
At the Findhorn Foundation we already know the power of the pause. Becoming still, turning inward, and connecting to oneself, others, nature and spirit is at the heart of our philosophy and essential practices, such as meditation, attunement, and inner listening. From the very beginning, the core teaching of Eileen Caddy was to, “Be still, and know”.
She encouraged people to turn inward and listen to their inner guidance. For decades, Eileen Caddy taught that we do not need to be afraid of change or resistant to it. Instead, we can open ourselves to the inevitability of change, get curious about it, and allow it to unfold gently in our lives by trusting in the spiritual process of it. To do this, however, we must be willing to radically shift our perspective and reframe our experience of change. The dominant Western culture constantly reflects back to us a fearful and disempowering narrative that we are unfortunate victims of change. Instead, Eileen Caddy invites us to adopt a frame for change that is rooted in openness, faith, humility and love.
The table below highlights how the teachings of Eileen Caddy and the Findhorn Foundation differ from the messages of mainstream culture as it relates to change. Are you willing to shift your perspective?
| Western Cultural Narrative about Change | Eileen Caddy/Findhorn Foundation Guidance Regarding Change | |
|---|---|---|
| The Source of Change | Change is relentless, unforgiving and driven by external forces. Stability is boring and delusional.
“Change is a constant in life that you cannot control. Do not resist it. Be willing to disrupt systems and throw out the old.” | Change is a gentle surrender and begins from within, through connection with inner stillness, honesty, humility and deep listening to divine guidance.
“Be still and let go of the old with grace. Let change unfold from within.” |
| The Motivation for Change | Change is often motivated by fear – fear of being left behind, not being good enough, or experiencing terrible outcomes.
“Change or you’ll fall behind.” “Change or the world will end.” |
Change is motivated by love and alignment with a higher purpose and inner truth; change is a pathway for spiritual growth.
“Change when your soul calls for it.” “Nothing needs to be pushed. It will unfold. You are already changing.” |
| The Pace of Urgency of Change | Change is fast, accelerating, and high-pressure; if we don’t change we risk collapse.
“Time is running out. We must change – Now!” |
Change is gentle, gradual, and divinely timed. You can trust the process and have faith.
“Change can come in a twinkling of an eye if you trust and believe.” |
| The Outcome of Change | You must change to be worthy, accepted, loved, or successful. Change is about achievement, self-improvement, and productivity.
“You can always be better.” |
You are already divinely worthy – change is a natural unfolding of your spiritual growth.
“You are divinely designed. Let that truth emerge.” |
| The Agency for Change | You are responsible for making change happen – through force, strategy, willpower, perseverance.
“You must MAKE change happen.” |
You are invited to allow change to happen – by surrendering, trusting, and listening to spirit.
“You must ALLOW change to happen.” |
| The Experience of Change | Change feels overwhelming and chaotic and creates anxiety.
“Too fast, too much … I’m exhausted.” |
Change is safe and divinely guided when we trust.
“Change may be uncomfortable, but it is safe when you trust all will be well.” |
It is clear that we are living in an exponential era where change is accelerating so quickly that we are not able to keep up, and futurists say that the most profound changes are still yet to come. (9) It is my belief that for each one of us, how we choose to respond to accelerating change will ultimately determine whether we falter or flourish – as individuals, as organisations, and as humanity. We all have an opportunity to diverge from the mainstream narrative and release the fear embedded within it. We can choose to see change as a vital component of spiritual growth and when facing the challenges of our lives, we can pause, quiet the noise, and connect more deeply with who and what we are. Only in this way will we be able to regain balance, make meaning, and find mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. Even more, it is through stillness and presence that we are reminded of the truth that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and in that knowing, remember the beautiful essence of what makes us human and trust that everything is happening for us, not to us.
“Be still and go within to find the guidance you seek. All that you need lies deep within you.”
(1) “People Feel Overwhelmed by Pace of Change in the World,” GlobeScan (2024)
(2) “Nearly two-thirds of professionals are overwhelmed by workplace change,” LinkedIn (2024)
(3) “Technology is exponential, but humans are linear,” David Espindola (2019), author of The Exponential Era (2020)
(4) Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, Thomas Friedman (2016)
(5) ibid.
(6) “Technology vs Humanity: The Future is Already Here,” Gerd Leonhard (2018)
(7) ibid.
(8) “Thomas Friedman’s ‘Thank You For Being Late,’” ABC News (2016)
(9) “Flash-boiled frogs in the Era of Exponential Change – Are You Feeling the Heat,” David Espindola, author of The Exponential Era (2020)
