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Thoughts on the Future

Never be afraid of changes,

Never be afraid of expansion

Simply let go

And allow it all to happen quite naturally.

Open your eyes and see the changes that take place in nature

How naturally a flower unfolds without any resistance

How a tree changes from bare branches to green leaves

Grows and stretches its branches up and out to its full glory.

Eileen Caddy; Foundations of a Spiritual Community; p128.

This section is not about proposed construction projects, ecological initiatives, new businesses, organisations, or prophesies about international events. It is about the development of spiritual growth, for the most important aspect of change in life is internal, not external.

Truth about such matters cannot be reduced to a set of simplistic aphorisms. If it could, then all that could be said about spiritual guidance would have been written down long ago. Fortunately life is a more complex and interesting process, which involves endless growth and evolution, and the opportunity to express simple truths in a galaxy of new ways.

Before going on to explore co-operation with spirit further with some final thoughts by David Spangler, it might be helpful to re-iterate one of the most basic precepts. After all, you may be approaching the conclusion of these introductory papers, and wondering if they have done you any good, or brought you any closer to an understanding of the worlds, seen and unseen, in which you live.

Peter Caddy was fond of saying that much of his early training was concerned with instilling into him the need to ‘love where you are; love what you’re doing; love who you’re doing it with.’ Much of Eileen’s guidance is a re-working of that notion – believe that ‘all is very, very, well’, – even when you seriously doubt it! Her long training in meditation notwithstanding, Dorothy’s love for nature was perhaps the single most important quality she possessed in developing her connection with the devas.

You will always find something of value if you can recall this counsel. The community is at its best when expressing its love and caring – and at its worst when the challenges of the day become excuses for apathy and factionalism. Be honest with yourself, for authenticity is valued highly in any spiritual tradition worthy of the name, but remember that whatever the question, love is always the answer.

The Future of the Findhorn Foundation David Spangler

The future of the Findhorn Foundation is reflected in its past. It was born as a centre of demonstration. What it originally set out to demonstrate was three-fold:

  • The power of discovering the God within oneself and living in touch with one’s own sacred centre which, in turn, is one with the sacred centre of all creation;
  • The co-creative co-operation between human and non-human lives, between the invisible and the visible worlds, and between humanity and nature; and
  • A new vision—a new imagination—of reality and humanity’s role that can be a transformative contribution to the emergence of a new world.

This demonstration took practical form as God’s presence and guidance, the co-operation with angels, the nature spirits and other non-physical, spiritual allies, and the idea of the New Age.

The form of this demonstration has changed over the years as the Foundation itself has grown and attracted more and more people, and as the times themselves have changed. At first it was a group, then a community, then a school, and now, perhaps, a village.

In the future, the Foundation may take on other ways of demonstrating its purpose. For example, I think personally the development of the wind park, the eco-village, and so forth, is an important way of demonstrating a social and ecological vision for the future. The Foundation may even wish to re-evaluate and redefine its purpose, though it should do so carefully. To cease to be a place of demonstration—which implies an openness to the public and a willingness to be scrutinised and observed—might well mean ceasing to be the Findhorn Foundation.

This centre is also a place of presence. Essentially, this is the presence of the sacred—of love and wisdom—as mediated through all the people who participate in the life and activity of the centre. However, one might also speak of the presence of spiritual energies or qualities representative of the New Age or the presence of the angelic, faery, and elemental worlds. These, as well as others, also add to the quality of the experience a person may have at the Findhorn community.

This presence, in all its facets, represents one of the factors that attracts people to the Foundation and makes the experience here different from simply being at a workshop centre, a retreat place, or a community. If this presence changes, then the experience of the Findhorn centre will change.

Maintaining its policy of being open to the public as a place of demonstration and nourishing the spiritual presence that weaves through it will probably continue to define the community’s work in the future. However, the Foundation also needs to adapt to changes in the world and in the needs of those whom it wishes to serve. As well, the members of the community are also creative individuals, capable of new visions and new insights. While the past of the centre should not be disregarded—and major changes in direction and identity taken with care—the history of the community should not be a limit upon what the future might hold. Everything that is alive grows and changes, adapts and matures, and the Findhorn Foundation should be no different.

For this reason, I cannot predict what the future of the community will be like.  I can only trust that it will be informed by the same spirit that birthed it in the first place. This is the responsibility of every member, not to slavishly hold to the past or the way things used to be done if there is a need to change and equally not to slavishly seek change just for the sake of novelty or fads, but to discern and hold to the informing, incarnating, co-creative spirit of the place.

If this transmission of the essence of the community is accomplished, then I believe the future will unfold organically and gracefully from all that has been created here and all that you are creating in this moment.

Co-operation with Spirit David Spangler

(Extracts of a transmission entitled ‘Co-operation with Spirit – Further Conversations with John’ .)

Strategies of Co-operation

You ask what the areas are in which we most seek co-operation with you. What are the strategies to be followed? Again, I stress that you ask this question from a human perspective, with a human notion of priorities and differences in scale. This is not our perspective, though in saying that I do not wish to imply that yours is wrong. It is just to explain that my answer may not be what you expect.

For us, you see, all human actions that embody qualities of love and spirit open gateways to us and our power, not to mention the more important attribute of invoking the presence of the Beloved. The scale of the action is less important to us. An act of synthesis between two people and the creation of a healthy family relationship is not less meaningful nor impactful to us than an act of peace between nations. I realise this may be difficult for you to comprehend, but we do not work in a realm of quantity. The love of one person for another is as equal to us as the love of one person for a thousand, if the quality of that love is identical. That, however, is where the difference lies, for usually it is easier for you to love one other person in a specific way than to love a thousand people abstractly. In this case, then, that personal love has more quality and power than the impersonal, abstract feeling that lacks the same precision for you.

In asking us for those areas of endeavour where you may best serve or co-operate with us, recognise that we do not see one area, no matter how vast or vital, as being of greater intrinsic importance than another, no matter how small or trivial. We would not have you take up causes to the detriment of the quality of care you give to the immediate affairs of your individual lives, your work, your relationships with friends and family, as well as with seeming strangers, your creative accomplishments, and so forth.

What is important to us, because it affects the quality of the energy you unfold, is the skill of your actions. When you do what is within your range of talents and capacities in the moment, you are more likely to act with skill and create quality. When you attempt too much or you become too abstract, the skill and the quality are lost.

At this time in human history, you have reasonable skill in relating as individuals; where skill is lacking, and hence quality, is in relating as groups. Therefore, developing skill in expressing synthesis on the level of groups and collectives is one area to which we attach importance and would encourage you to give effort to that skill as a practical means of co-operating with us. In terms of honouring this collective energy on a planetary level, we place importance upon your United Nations. Though it has faults, it is still a major centre through which the energy of humanity as a whole can be focused and within which the encounter with yourselves as a whole species can take place. For all its internal conflicts, it is a source of important service in your world. It is at the moment your only true focal point for planetary synthesis. You cannot safely ignore it nor dispense with it. You can only replace it with something better. Until that happens, it is a lens for much energy and attention from my world in particular; to empower it to do its job more qualitatively and effectively is definitely to co-operate with us.

However, we are also concerned with the development of a group life in a less centralised fashion. All groups are under stress at this time, particularly those that identify themselves as being spiritual or oriented towards the emergence of a new age. The stress is to enhance their capacity to embody synthesis. This affects leaders and leadership styles, for the energy of the spiritual worlds cannot manifest where people are used as tools for the objectives of one or a few, and it affects relationships between group members, demanding greater honesty, clarity, and mutual empowerment. Not all groups will survive the quickening. Also, understand that by groups I also mean such collective enterprises as communities, neighbourhoods, villages, and cities. If you would co-operate with us, then explore ways of restoring the sense of communion and community to your organisations. In the days ahead, your graceful passage into a new world depends on your ability to share and co-operate with each other. Your lives are too fragmented, too isolated. Rebuild the human connections that can strengthen and enhance you by allowing you to strengthen and enhance others.

We are concerned in our world not only with humanity but with the integration and wholeness of all life upon earth. Thus, the kingdoms of nature and their well-being are important to us. We especially see that until you discover how to honour those kingdoms and work with them in a more co-creative fashion, you will not fully experience your own humanness. Also, in this time of quickening for the planet, it only obstructs the deeper incarnation of divinity within the world for humanity and nature to be in disharmony.

Therefore, you co-operate with us by empowering all efforts to establish a more cherishing and interdependent relationship with nature. We do not recommend a simple return to the land. It is a matter of discovering how to express your humanness, and its civilisational extensions, in ways that honour the land. Towards this objective, we also recommend that you learn from those more ancient cultures, such as the native American culture that lived in that relationship. You are not asked to recreate those cultures, but together you can give birth to a new culture that will learn to extend the spirit of harmony and balance further than any civilisation has yet been able to take it.

It is our interest that each man and woman be uplifted as an important participant in the drama of evolution. Each of you is unique and irreplaceable. In each of you the spirit of synthesis grows, and each of you adds to the expression of that spirit in the world. For this reason, you co-operate with us whenever you discern and support any activity, be it educational, political, economic, or artistic, that empowers and honours the development of a creative individuality. To repress this gift of self in oneself or in others is to deny the spirit that seeks incarnation in the earth. Thus, learn how to give to each the freedom to discover his or her unique contribution to the whole.

This means working to bring to your world freedom from all that would repress, be it fear, hunger, neglect, or a failure of love and connectedness. In so doing, keep in mind, though, that not all selves grow and flourish in the same environment. The greatest forms of repression are not always economic or political systems as such, but rather an attitude of disconnectedness and a failure to share, to break bread together in the most basic meaning of that ritual as an act of empowerment.

We find a powerful connection to your world through acts of healing. Do not narrow those acts to a single definition of medicine, but come to understand the many forms that healing can take. It is an attitude of respect and empowerment, as much as an action of removing disease.

Know the healing power that each person has in this context, and practise it quietly. You can each be a comfort and a source of peace to one another through your simple willingness to be compassionate and to love. Understand as well that the gift of peace itself is often the greatest form of healing. At a time when so many of you fear the outbreak of a nuclear war, to heal the causes of conflict, whether in a person, between people, or between nations, is to perform needed service. To heal is to remove all that would threaten life and its potential for growth. To be a healer is to be a peacemaker in all your affairs, and vice versa. To help us and yourselves, practise the spirit of giving peace and of healing the roots of conflict on all levels of human activity.

You co-operate with us when, through the grace and skill of your actions, you fill your world with beauty and harmony and encourage the spirit of creativity. Is this too general? Too abstract? It is the human attitude of overlooking the simple and seeking the glamorous and powerful that too often leaches that skill and quality from your actions and closes the door to our world.

I said once, you do not need me to point out to you the things that need doing in your world. There is suffering in your world; act to diminish it. There is hunger in your world; be a source of nourishment. There is poverty amongst men and women; be a source of abundance and sharing. I have spoken of a new spirit of divinity entering your world and of the quickening that is taking place. Work to understand this vision. Open your eyes and your mind to understand the possibilities for transformative action that are around you. Your culture is changing. Do not fear this. Above all else, do not fear nor be a source of fear for others, for fear is the greatest obstacle we face in sharing our energy with the world. Many people in your society are exploring the shape this new culture might take and strategies for giving it birth. The information and vision is growing about you; seek it out. Do your homework to be a knowledgeable agent for evolution upon your planet. We cannot do this for you. No spiritual power can. This is your role, the reason you are upon earth. It is your challenge that in the depths of your selfhood you discover the spirit and skills of synthesis and love. Acknowledge that spirit and explore those skills. Then we can help. Then your world will be transformed.

Challenges of Co-Operation

You ask about the challenges of co-operation and what can be done about them. I would mention five challenges.

The first is to confuse the invisible worlds with the spiritual worlds. There are many dimensions of life which are normally not open to your physical senses. I have spoken, for instance, of the formative worlds and the psychological realms of the so-called astral and lower mental planes. Not all of these have the wisdom or knowledge to interact skilfully with human evolution. Because a person is in touch with some non-physical entity or region through psychic means does not mean a true contact with spiritual realms has been established.

The second challenge is glamour. This might be seen as the substitution of the unreal for the real, of the image for the substance. It accepts the form but neglects the spirit. Glamour is a loss of perspective and of balance. It bedazzles the individual with visions of power, of superiority, of being different and special. It inflates the self but does not nourish the development of synthesis. To seek contact with spirit because the idea seems glamorous, offering insights into hidden mysteries and secret powers, is to completely misunderstand the nature of the spiritual worlds and the responsibility they offer. One can also, however, have a glamour about being a humble servant of the most high. In either case, the person is really in touch with an image of his or her own emotional and mental needs and is acting on his or her own behalf, not truly on behalf of the greater wholeness.

The third challenge is simple confusion of interpretation. The spiritual worlds are different from yours. Time and space are experienced differently, and communication often uses a language of imagery and emanation which is difficult to translate directly into words. The message or contact may be misinterpreted. This often happens in the case of prophecy. Your tendency is to interpret in terms of physical events and happenings, when the message may deal with psychological and mythic changes.

The fourth challenge is more serious. It represents the loss of personal integration. An individual may tune in to a source of psychological or even spiritual energy beyond his or her capacity to integrate within the personality structure. The result is a loss of inner balance and perspective, even a disintegration of the psychological structure, allowing even more unconscious material to pour into the consciousness. The consequence is what you call a mental or emotional breakdown. When drugs are used to bring about contact with inner worlds, this is even more likely to take place.

The fifth challenge is, from our point of view, the most serious. This is the loss of will and integrity by the individual. The simplest form of this is when a person becomes dependent on guidance from non-physical sources. The person may still have a will with which to act out his guidance, but loses the capacity to think things through for himself and make skilful choices. Indeed, the person may become fully passive in the hands or under the influence of an invisible force, as in the case of most forms of mediumship. There was a time when such an approach had value, and even now, it may be appropriate for the rare individual; it is not, however, the emerging way of working with spirit, which demands full consciousness, integrity, and will on the part of the individual with which to co-create. By will here, of course, I do not mean that wilfulness that can arise from the unintegrated ego but the capacity to direct the energies of one’s own identity through moral choice and inner understanding.

To deal with these challenges, I recommend the following. First, discernment is important. Do not attach importance to any message simply because it comes from a non-physical source. Examine the life of the human personality through whom the contact is made. Is it a balanced life? Is that person’s behaviour in harmony with the spirit purportedly behind the contact? We encourage creative doubt: not the doubt that shuts out the possibility of spirit altogether, but the doubt that asks you to look twice and to consider a communication in the light of your own values and integrity, not to mention your intelligence.

In this regard, remember all I have said about the spiritual worlds. They are both a level of consciousness but also, most importantly, a function of relationship, one that empowers, elucidates, liberates, and blesses. This relationship is not the sole property of the invisible realms. You may express it as fully as I.

There are spiritual projects within the psychological realms, as well as the spiritual worlds, that can be benefited by human co-operation, and there are beings who seek that co-operation. A person who becomes part of such a project may well receive specific guidance. However, remember that the most precious gift you have is your intelligence and free will, your capacity to think for yourself, to be true to yourself and to grow as a unique expression of divinity. No true worker for spirit, on any level, will seek to abridge this gift. Our responsibility is to nourish the right use of will on all levels. For this reason, you may well be suspicious of any person or force, on any level, that asks you to surrender your inner will. You may give it freely to another as an act of communion, but it cannot be coerced from you without violating the very intent of God for the growth of your being. Unfortunately, there are those who live in the invisible worlds, particularly in what I call the psychological realms, who are your equivalent of busybodies, still afire with a passion to form schemes and tell others what to do. Be forewarned. Any guidance should strengthen your ability to act with wisdom, without the need for continual guidance, not make you more dependent in the name of a sacred plan.

Honour your human self and its talents. You are not less spiritual or worthy because you happen to have a physical body, nor are we automatically better because we don’t. Develop your creative talents and skills; develop your joyous and growing spirit. Rejoice in your ability to accomplish. Never make contact with spiritual realms a reason for your life, nor the only skill you can claim. You are a human being, an incarnation of the divinity, made in the creative image of God, capable of loving and giving birth to the power of the synthesising spirit. Act accordingly and honour the spirituality of your earthly nature, as well as of your unique incarnation. Then you will develop an inner poise and strength that cannot be deceived. Then you will have a wholeness as a person that will call forth to our wholeness and make our communion and co-operation inevitable and graceful.

Co-operation is a community act. It requires more than one person. If you seek co-operation with us, seek it even more so with other human beings. Also, in working with the invisible realms, having others with whom to share, whose perspective and insights you treasure, can help you avoid glamour and confusion and keep you honestly human.

Finally, in seeking the spiritual worlds, remember that what you truly seek is your oneness with God. We are not a substitute for divinity. We are colleagues, if you wish, in the endeavours of earthly evolution; we wish to be friends. However contact with us is less than it could be if it takes the place of a spiritual path to the Beloved. Put God first, then we can meet in the mutual embrace of her spirit.

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Reading List

Eileen Caddy and David Earl Platts; Bringing More Love into Your Life: The Choice is Yours; Findhorn Press; 1992. Choosing to Love; Findhorn Press; 1993

There is also a wide range of New Age written material, usually ‘channelled’, which attempts to predict possible changes in human culture. A useful guide to their authenticity is the extent to which they stress the inner transformative process, rather than depending on phenomena and cataclysmic predictions. In addition to works by David Spangler and Eileen Caddy some of the more popular ones are:

Ken Carey; The Starseed Transmissions; Harper Collins; 1991

Chris Griscom; Time is an Illusion; Simon and Schuster; 1988

Barbara Marciniak; Bringers of the Dawn; Bear and Co.; 1992

James Redfield; The Celestine Prophecy; Warner; 1993. This manuscript is a brilliant metaphor masquerading as real-life drama in true Castenada style.

Julie Soskin; Winds of Change; Ashgrove; 1994. Whilst rightly concentrating on inner dynamics, some of the suggestions about changes in the quality of light in our skies are well worth contemplating.