Findhorn and Beyond
David's Desk is my opportunity to share thoughts and tools for the spiritual journey. These letters are my personal insights and opinions and do not necessarily reflect the sentiments or thoughts of any other person in Lorian or of Lorian as a whole. If you wish to share this letter with others, please feel free to do so; however, the material is ©2023 by David Spangler.
I received word a few weeks ago that the Findhorn Foundation would be ceasing all its educational programs and closing its operations by the end of this month. For years, people from around the world have been coming to this spiritual center in the north of Scotland to participate in its residential programs and to help in the community. The valid desire of people to reduce their carbon footprint by not traveling, plus the COVID pandemic and the new Brexit regulations had all cut off this flow of visitors and guests, leaving the Foundation without income and without volunteers. The recent fires that destroyed both the main Sanctuary and the Community Center didn’t help, either. All these things proved a perfect economic storm that the Foundation couldn’t weather.
This was sad news. As a co-director of the community for three years beginning in 1970 and a close friend of Peter and Eileen Caddy and Dorothy Maclean, the three founders of the community, Findhorn has occupied a special place in my heart. It was the place where I met my wife. It was also the place where those of us who formed the Lorian Association in 1974 first met and began working together. Both Findhorn and Lorian share a complementary vision of helping the impulse towards a new holistic culture emerge, though we have gone about it using different strategies. I think I had taken it for granted that Findhorn would always be there.
But things are not always as they seem on the surface. After the initial shock of the announcement had passed, I had an interesting experience. I spontaneously found myself in contact with the Findhorn Angel, the angelic presence tasked with empowering the work and growth of that spiritual center. In essence, it said that all was well, that while an outworn form was being discarded, the spiritual work of the community was strong and continuing. Further, from the angel’s point of view, the “Findhorn community” wasn’t simply the people living in the physical environs of Findhorn but included all the thousands of people throughout the world who had touched the energy and vision of that spiritual center and had made it a part of their lives. The educational courses might be ending for a time until new structures evolve to contain them, but the living inspiration and impact of Findhorn’s spirit continues as strongly as ever.
Contacting friends who live in the actual Findhorn community, I was told that a new spirit of creativity and a determination to fulfill Findhorn’s founding principles and vision was alive and well there. Good people were seeking to shepherd the core of Findhorn’s work into new forms more appropriate for the world we have today. I am confident they will succeed. Findhorn Strong!
I bring this up because, in a story like this, it’s possible to look at what is happening in three ways. The story could be one of ending and grief. Findhorn has come to an end; certainly, the Findhorn Foundation that we’ve known for the past fifty years has done so. Or the story could be one of new beginnings and hope. The community is letting go of an old form that no longer works, which opens up the possibility of something better emerging. Or the story could be that both are true, that reality is complex, and we live in a time when endings and beginnings are mixing together in ways that are threatening, uncomfortable, exciting, and creative all at the same time.
If the latter is the story we choose, then we need to rise to the challenge of embodying a consciousness that can handle the complexity with equanimity and poise. Like a surfer riding a constantly changing wave that is crashing and moving forward at the same time, we need to develop a sense of inner balance so we are not thrown off into deep waters. Fear and despair, anger and loss are all around us, but so are hope and courage, creativity and empowerment.
I feel we need to be suspicious of simple stories. “Oh, Findhorn has collapsed!” or “Wow, Findhorn is evolving!” We need stories worthy of the complexity of the world around us, not to mention the complexity of people, that allow us to see that many things are happening at once, and that we need to respond to the whole of it.
What is happening to Findhorn evokes sadness and grief in me but also excitement and creative joyousness. What is happening in the world evokes anxiety, sadness, and anger in me but also hope and the empowerment of new vision and new possibilities. Both bad and good things are happening, and my story of this moment needs to embrace both and not focus on just one or the other. I believe firmly in holding the whole picture in a centered way within myself, for that is when I truly feel the emergence of a spirit that in its love creates the space for healing and renewal.
On September 24, from 2 pm EST to 3:30 pm EST, my wife Julia and I will be joined by Roger and Katherine Collis and Mary Inglis in an online conversation discussing the ongoing story and inspiration of Findhorn and its work celebrating the sacredness of all creation, a work that is part of Lorian’s vision as well. Roger and Katherine are two of the founders of Lorian who also shared time with Julia and me at Findhorn while I was a co-director. Mary Inglis currently lives in the Findhorn Community and has been part of its growth and work for over forty years. This event is being sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Mysticism. If you are interested, here is a link for further information and for registration.
AN EXPERIMENT
One of the advantages of David’s Desk being digital is that I can do things I couldn’t if it were printed. My Lorian colleague and friend, James Tousignant, and I do podcasts together. He thought it might be interesting to you, my Reader, if he and I were to have a discussion around the theme of that month’s essay and then add the audio at the end. That way, you could both read my thoughts for that month and also listen to me talk about them with James. So, without further ado, here is this month’s conversation. I hope you enjoy it and the added dimension it brings to David’s Desk.