Findhorn community:Scotland.

[Antaletriangle]

http://www.findhorn.org/index.php?tz=0

wikipedia:
In the late 1940s Sheena Govan emerged as an informal spiritual teacher to a small circle that included her then-husband, Harrow-educated former RAF caterer and erstwhile J. Lyons and Co. employee Peter Caddy, and Dorothy Maclean, a writer on spiritual matters. Eileen Caddy, as she became, who had a background in the Moral Rearmament movement, joined them in the early 1950s. The group's principal practices were channeling and forms of meditation. In 1957 Peter and Eileen Caddy were appointed to manage the Cluny Hill Hotel near Forres, Maclean joining them as the hotel's secretary. Though now separated from Sheena Govan, whose relationship with Eileen Caddy had deteriorated, they continued with the practices she taught.[6]


Findhorn attracts cultural and artistic events. Mike Scott and The Waterboys, shown here playing a concert at Universal Hall in 2004, have recorded and performed at the community on numerous occasions.In late 1962, following concerns by the hotel's owners over adverse publicity, Caddy's employment was terminated. He and Eileen settled in a caravan near the village of Findhorn; in early 1963 an annexe was built so that Dorothy Maclean could live close to the Caddy family. They began organic gardening as a way of growing food and supplementing their income (the family at this point being entirely supported by Family Allowance). To this activity they brought their spiritual practices, which partly centred on supposed communication with 'nature spirits' or devas as Maclean referred to them; the Caddys credited the garden's success - it allegedly produced "exceptionally large vegetables"[7] - on these practices. Peter Caddy also introduced the positive thinking methods he had learned in the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship. Locals from outside the community, however, feel that the garden's successes can be explained by the unique microclimate of Moray[8] or the substantial amounts of horse manure donated by a local farmer.[6]

The fourth original adult member of the community was Lena Lamont. She had been with the Caddy/Maclean group all through their period at Cluny Hill and was with them from the beginning at Findhorn, though she became less involved as the years went by. She eventually left Findhorn in the early 1970s.

After Peter Caddy had met British New Age leaders, and after Eileen Caddy's theories had been distributed to a New Age mailing list in the form of a booklet titled God Spoke to Me (she claimed to receive daily messages from God in a nearby public convenience)[6] a community began to form around them. Initially, many of its practices were unconventional even by the standards of New Age circles. During the early and mid 1960s, Caddy and his circle of 'channelers' believed that they were in contact with extraterrestrials through the medium of telepathy, and prepared a 'landing strip' for flying saucers at nearby Cluny Hill.[9] The contactee element of Findhorn's origins was gradually played down during the 1970s after the predicted landings failed to happen, and is no longer mentioned in its publicity.

Dorothy Maclean left the community to live in North America in 1973. Peter Caddy left in 1979, shortly after informing Eileen "that he was taking one of the Foundation's young women followers on a trip to Hawaii".[6] Eileen Caddy remained, and in 2004 was awarded the MBE by Queen Elizabeth II [10]. Peter Caddy died in a car crash in Germany on 18 February 1994. Eileen Caddy died at home on 13 December 2006. Dorothy Maclean continues to give talks and workshops worldwide and still visits Findhorn regularly.


[edit] A centre of education
The arrival of David Spangler in 1970 resulted in the gradual transformation of the small community into a centre of residential spiritual education with a permanent staff of over 100. There are now a wide variety of courses and conferences on offer and this remains the Findhorn Foundation’s core activity. The Universal Hall, Findhorn's theatre and concert hall, was built between the years 1974 and 1984. The musical group The Waterboys, who have performed a number of concerts in it, named their album Universal Hall after the structure.


[edit] A growing ecovillage

Recycled living in the Findhorn Foundation Community made from the old vats used in whisky stills.Main article: Findhorn Ecovillage
Findhorn Ecovillage is based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland near the village of Findhorn. Within the Findhorn Ecovillage at The Park, sustainable values are expressed in the built environment with 'ecological' houses, innovative use of building materials such as local stone and straw bales, and applied technology in the Living Machine sewage treatment facility and electricity-generating wind turbines.

The Findhorn Ecovillage is intended to be a tangible demonstration of the links between the spiritual, social, ecological and economic aspects of life. It is a constantly evolving model used as a teaching resource by a number of university and school groups as well as by professional organisations and municipalities worldwide.[citation needed] It is a founder member of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) a non-profit organisation that links together a diverse worldwide movement of autonomous ecovillages and related projects.

The Findhorn Foundation Ecovillage Project has received Best Practice designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat).

Since the 1980s numerous organisations have started up in the vicinity of Findhorn which have an affiliation of some kind with the Findhorn Foundation. These include Ekopia, Moray Steiner School, the Phoenix Community Store, Trees for Life (Scotland) & The Isle of Erraid. Collectively they now form an ecovillage which aims to demonstrate a positive model of a viable, sustainable human and planetary future. As of 2005, Findhorn Ecovillage has around 450 resident members, and its residents have the lowest ecological footprint of any community in the industrialised or the developed world, and also half of the UK average [11].


[edit] Organisation of the community
The community includes an arts centre, shop, pottery, bakery, publishing company, printing company and other charitable organisations. All aim to practice the founding principles of the community and together make up the New Findhorn Association (NFA).

In 1999 a community association, the New Findhorn Association or NFA, was formed to provide a structure for all the people and organisations in the community. It includes people from within a 50-mile radius of The Park, at Findhorn. Each year a council and two listener-conveners are elected by the membership of the NFA, who organise monthly community meetings to decide upon community-wide issues.


[edit] Individuals connected to the Findhorn Foundation
Individuals with past or present connections to the Findhorn Foundation include celtic art author Aidan Meehan, Waterboys songwriter and singer Mike Scott, sports psychologists John Syer and Chris Connolly, authors William Irwin Thompson, Caroline Myss, William Bloom, Sir George Trevelyan, Marko Pogacnik and Paul Hawken, Scottish novelist Margaret Elphinstone. motivational writer Carol A. O'Connor, activists May East and Vance Martin, Australian singer Hans Poulsen, Trees for Life (Scotland) founder Alan Watson and naturalist Richard St Barbe Baker.

The following have given lectures, workshops or presentations at the Findhorn Foundation: Eckhart Tolle, Neale Donald Walsch, Caroline Myss, E.F. Schumacher, Ervin Laszlo, Geoffrey Ashe, Paul Horn (jazz musician), James T. Hubbell, Paul Winter, Laurens Van Der Post, Jonathon Porritt, Satish Kumar, Joanna Macy, Peter Russell, Anita Roddick, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Petra Kelly, Matthew Fox (priest), Patch Adams, John and Caitlin Matthews, Robert John Stewart, Peter Dawkins (FBRT), Robert Muller, Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Danah Zohar, Machaelle Small Wright, Lynne Franks, Hazel Henderson, James Twyman, Jane Goodall, Aubrey Manning, David Bellamy, Miranda Holden, Sandra Ingerman.

Andre Gregory speaks of his experience there in the film, My Dinner with Andre.

[Seth Haniel]

I was up there for a couple of days in January 1991 and had a look around - took part in the Friday night 'concert' etc,. but even then I felt it was starting to go too materiel.

[Antaletriangle]

Yeah this materialist rubbish tends to creep into every corner at some point-it seems that original incentives and ideals become lost and somewhat polluted after a while-i sure hope that the original meanings are still somewhat in tact here though?

[Seth Haniel]

afraid the meditations planned were somwhat ruined - they had two spectacular meditation rooms then but being situated right next door to an RAF base with fighters screaming up and down every so often the tranquility was too soon shattered

;(

[Antaletriangle]

Yeah,not conducive to peace and tranquility when you have GR4 tornados buzzin' the place!!lol.