On 27th June 2018 this conversation took place in Anna’s home, Tregoss in Pineridge in the Park Ecovillage Findhorn. It was edited by Keith Armstrong.

Anna shares her journey, beginning with her family’s move to the community in 1974 due to her husband Dick’s interest in spiritual matters. Eight members of the family made their home in Pineridge – Anna, Dick and their four children lived all together in a bungalow, and Dick’s parents lived into the caravan next door.

She recounts her own spiritual experiences, including an encounter with a spirit in their home in Cornwall, and seeing auras and “little black things”. Anna was drawn to the sense of community, and the support for her emerging spiritual life.

Over the years Anna became instrumental in developing Sacred Dance which was first introduced to the community by Bernard Wosien. She began documenting and eventually teaching the dances, travelling globally to share them. She emphasises that Sacred Dance, for her, was about sending out healing and peace, fostering group consciousness, and promoting non-competitiveness. She describes how dances “came to her” and how she felt guided by a higher power during her teaching, often witnessing profound emotional responses from participants.

Now in her eighties, Anna reflects on life after stepping back from Sacred Dance, acknowledging periods of depression due to no longer dancing and a reduced ability to garden, her “second love.” Despite these challenges, she maintains connections within the community, enjoys morning coffee with friends, and finds joy in small interactions. She shares her past struggles with chronic depression and a moment where a positive affirmation from Eileen Caddy prevented her from acting on suicidal thoughts. Anna concludes by expressing her happiness at being at Findhorn and feeling that her contributions, particularly Sacred Dance, are her enduring legacy.

We thank Anna’s family for the permission to make this remarkable conversation available as part of our collective autobiography.