Editor’s Note: the following extracts from the autobiographies of Eileen and Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean tell the story of the origin and building of the original Community Centre.

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Flight into Freedom and BeyondEileen Caddy in Flight into Freedom and Beyond pp140-1

We were no longer just a small group of people living in a few caravans. Our work with the nature kingdoms and the startling results of our co-operation with the devas had begun to attract attention and in 1969 we had over 600 visitors, including a team from BBC television. Some came for just a few days, others for several months, to help with the building, gardening and maintenance of the community. It was miraculous how often someone with just the skills we needed turned up at the perfect moment.

During that year, in addition to the Sanctuary, all seven bungalows of my vision were erected in place, the garden around them was landscaped with winding paths, a rockery with a lily pond and waterfall, and trees, shrubs and flowers were planted. It was a picture. In addition we erected the first of three more bungalows across the road, all of which were bought by people coming to live with us, and acquired three caravans including the seven-berth for our young visitors. The printing machine had its own building next to the office and we were sending out copies of God Spoke to Me as fast as they could be printed. We had a prefabricated building equipped for joinery, plumbing and electrical work. The road had been resurfaced and the original garden had been extended to include a beautifully designed herb garden.

One day in March, Peter, Joanie and I were talking about the problem of catering for our increasing number of guests using only Joanie’s small kitchen and seating everyone in her bungalow in two sittings, and we realised that another arrangement would have to be made in the near future. The enormous amount of food we had to produce twice a day was beginning to overwhelm us. I was also finding it a strain doing all the cooking as well as looking after the children with my rigorous nightly routine of meditation from midnight to 5 a. m. I was tired and needed to sleep in the afternoon.

That very day a friend who was staying with us mentioned that she felt it was time we had a central kitchen and dining room and she wanted to help finance it. Immediately Peter, went into action. He found a suitable site on the other side of our drive, contacted the owner of the caravan park and went to see the planning officer – all in one day! He discovered that the Planning Committee was having its quarterly meeting the following day, so in true style Peter drew up plans that evening, submitted them to a sectional builder the following morning and had the plans in for approval by lunchtime that day. The estimated cost was higher than we had expected, but my guidance confirmed we were on the right track. “Fear not, My little flock, for it is My pleasure to give you the kingdom, and when a kingdom includes a community centre in it, a community centre of the very best will be forthcoming. Go ahead in absolute confidence and order it. Never limit Me in any way. I want only the best.”

So we went ahead and by June that year we had a community centre with a carpeted dining room and a kitchen fully equipped to cater for 100, just in time to receive a bus party of 40 people.

Eileen Caddy Divinely Ordinary Divinely Human p 40

 

In-Perfect-Timing-209x300Peter Caddy In Perfect Timing pp293-298

Although we were only about ten permanent members of the community at that time, we had guest accommodation for over thirty others and it was no longer practical for us all to dine in Joanie’s bungalow as we had been. After the ‘hippie invasion’ began, St Germain through Roc insisted that we dine in a civilized manner, that we wash and change beforehand, that the table appointments were of the best, and that we ate in beautiful surroundings. Of course, Joanie was able to offer all these – except the space for us all – and even when we spilled over into Betty McPherson’s bungalow there was still not room for everyone.

After lunch one day, Betty said that she wanted a word with me. For some time she’d been thinking that the time was fast approaching when we’d need a central kitchen and dining room for the community, and she was prepared to help financially. This was confirmed for her at lunchtime, when there had been thirty for the meal, which we’d had outside in the sunshine – what would have happened had it rained? I agreed, so we immediately looked for a suitable site and decided that the empty space on the other side of the road from the driveway to the Sanctuary would be ideal. We found that we could fit a building, 30 feet by 40 feet, into that area. I sought and received the approval of the owner of the site. Later that day Eileen received,

“This community centre had to come. See it as a place of beauty, as well as utility. Do not be satisfied with just anything. Everything is being done for me, and therefore must be of the best. So be not satisfied with anything shoddy, I will provide all your needs, and the hands to build it and run it.”

I contacted the Planning Officer at once, and we discovered that the complete plans would have to be in by the following day for the next Planning Committee meeting—otherwise, we would have to wait for three months. He said that if I went round to his office he would tell me what was required. I drove to Elgin, about 15 miles away, and was told that they needed six copies of our plan. Plan? I said, ‘How am I to get six copies of the plan in by tomorrow?’ I was told that if I brought the plans in they would photograph them on their machine. I then enquired if they knew an architect who could draw up the plans by the next day. The staff looked at each other in bemusement – I think they considered me a nut case. (Since then, I’ve discovered that an architect would normally take about nine months to get the plans through for a building like the one we wanted!) So they smiled at me indulgently and said that they didn’t know of such an architect.

I returned to Findhorn and asked Eileen to get some guidance on all this. We were told that now was the time for us to have a community centre, and it was to be one of the very best, and no expense was to be spared to make it so. Also, that God would meet our needs from His limitless supply. I asked what architect I was to get to design the community centre and draw up the plans. I was told, Peter is to design it himself, and not get outside help. He knows what is needed more than anyone. Therefore, he is to design it. I was also told that the kitchen was to cater for 200 and the dining room designed and constructed so that it could be extended later. I designed it in one evening, and it is interesting that if I had to do it over I wouldn’t change anything. Some of the details were not put down, but we worked them out as we went along.

Later that evening I took the rough plans to a girl in the Sectional Builders Office, and asked her if she could redraw and improve it for the next day’s meeting of the Planning Committee. She did, and I took them to the Planning Officer – only to be told that we needed building permission as well, and that committee wasn’t meeting for another six weeks. I therefore phoned the official Building Inspector and asked him to come over straight away. I presented the plans to him and asked him to write on them what specifications the committee would require – for example, how thick should the concrete be, where the drains should go, and if we needed a septic tank. In fact, the building had already been erected by the time we had permission to build it! But we’d known that all would be well, since the Building Inspector himself had told us what we would need and would hardly be expected to reject his own recommendations.

One day around this time I overheard two new members of our community talking about the laws of manifestation and expressing doubt about them. I explained how everything at Findhorn had been manifested. First we were given a vision or guidance, and then we would go ahead in faith, knowing that God would meet our needs. Never did we have the money first. One of them looked at me doubtfully and said, ‘Well, if the money comes for the community centre, which will cost thousands of pounds, then I will believe it’. Later that morning, when we were offered a sum of money that we thought would be sufficient to cover the cost of the building, our doubting ones were speechless. But we too were dumbstruck when we received the estimate for the construction of the building alone, as it was for £3800, far more than we had anticipated. This didn’t take into account the expense of kitchen equipment, dining room furnishings, painting, heating, lighting, etc. We wondered whether we should rethink the whole project, and possibly have it constructed in a less expensive material than cedarwood, like concrete blocks or stone. But everything seemed to be right and all had gone smoothly. Eileen sought guidance:

“Fear not, little flock, for it is My good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, and when the Kingdom includes a community centre, a community centre of the very best will be forthcoming. Go ahead in absolute faith and confidence and order it. Step by step all the needs for the community centre will be met. Never limit Me in any way. I want only the very best. What is being done will have very far reaching results. So feel yourself expand with all that is taking place. It is definitely to be a cedarwood building, the dining hall should be carpeted and really comfortable. For it will be used for many different occasions, not just for feeding. All is very well, so give eternal thanks, and see it come about.”

A few weeks later, our friend said that she had sold some jewellery and would increase her contribution from £3,000 to £5,000. This still did not cover the final entire cost of £10,000, but we knew that God would meet our needs, through His channels, one way or another. Kitchen equipment was ordered. We started off with a minimum, but the best. Carpeting and curtains were chosen, but we were still concerned about the cost. We again received reassurance, I tell you your every need will be wonderfully met regarding the community centre. Do not skimp in any way, over anything. Draw from My limitless abundant supply, and expect the very very best. All is being done to My honour and glory. So you all may see My hand in everything. One day Joanie, our treasurer, came to me and said that she had two big bills of great expense to pay, and we had no money. I was spending the money and had the faith that there would be more, but Joanie had to pay the bills. She said, ‘We’ve got these big bills coming in. There are only ten members in the community. We really don’t need the great big potato peeler, or a large Hobart Mixer, and we certainly don’t need a hot plate. We can serve from the stove. Should we not get these later?’ I considered the matter and said, ‘No, Joanie, we’ve been given detailed guidance about this community centre, and the promise that all our needs would be met. So we go ahead in faith.’ Her face fell and she left shaking her head. I think her heart sank. The very next day she received a letter from a lady whom we’d never heard of, who said that she’d just received a copy of a Findhorn publication and was so impressed by it. By the same post she’d been given a gift of 3000 shares, and said that obviously they were meant for us. Joanie sold them for £650, the exact amount of money of the outstanding bills.

One has to be very careful what one says and thinks, particularly in a Centre of Light, for through the power of thought whatever one thinks is speedily brought about. For example, we jokingly said that if we went on expanding, we would have coach parties arriving – and sure enough we had a letter from a society in Aberdeen, saying that after Sir George and Bruce MacManaway had both given lectures and talked to them about the Findhorn Community, they wanted to bring a party of forty-seven to visit on 15 June. Joanie, who always provided tea for visitors, visualized the party in her bungalow for tea, and demanded that the community centre be finished by that date. We had only six weeks time, and it didn’t seem humanly possible, but with God, all things are possible. Just the right people and materials became available at the right time. For example, we had a heating engineer, who was a trained electrician and plumber, join the community for six months; but his wife had a dreadful laugh, and she was encouraged to have her meals in her own bungalow. I wondered what we were going to do about that laugh when we all moved into the new dining room. Then I remembered the dining room at Attingham Park Adult Education College, where one had to shout to be heard, so at great expense I decided to put in a sound-absorbent ceiling. The lady with the laugh left two days after the ceiling was completed! I felt that the good Lord had even used a laugh to ensure that we had the perfect room; I certainly wouldn’t have thought of the sound-proofing otherwise.

It was a wonderful experience going out and buying only the best of everything, like all stainless steel for the kitchen. (It had to be the most suitable, though not necessarily the most expensive.) Geoff Everett obtained the best tables for us at cost price, but they went missing during shipment. At the same time Geoff had a visit from the head of a furniture manufacturing company, and asked him if he could make ten tables like the ones that we had ordered, and deliver them to the north of Scotland in two weeks. He said that he would deliver them himself, if we could give him accommodation overnight, as his wife hadn’t had a holiday for four years. So we got our tables at the right time.

The community centre was finished on the evening of 14 June, ready to serve dinner for thirty-two, and prepared for the coach party the next day. It seemed a miracle, but we had been taught to expect (and then accept) miracles.

A large patio, with a lawn and garden, was constructed just outside for use in the warm weather. The whole was enclosed by an interwoven fence. We sowed the lawn in November, the wrong season, particularly in that climate. It did grow though, and the right man came to help with it: by profession a greenkeeper, he had just lost his only son, and had come to Findhorn for three weeks to bury himself in work. He taught the whole community how to maintain a lawn, and for the next three weeks he had us think only of lawns.

About five days before he left, another great enthusiast came, Donald Wilson, Founder-Secretary of the Soil Association, and a compost fanatic. When Donald came no one was allowed to think about anything except compost. For him, it was the be-all and end-all of gardening. Donald was surprised that we had so many young women with us, as he’d expected men to make the compost; when Martha, our 82-year-old member, heard of this, she said, ‘Lord, we need young men, to make this compost. Send them.’ That night they started to arrive from all over the place, and by the next day we had seven young men to do the heavy work of making the compost. One of these men was an architect, and I remember seeing him up to his knees in pig manure, sewage sludge and seaweed, and I thought, I wonder what he’ll think of this place. Two months later he wrote that the time he’d spent at Findhorn making compost was the happiest time of his life.

Memoirs of a Ordinary Mystic coverDorothy Maclean in Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic p112

When the community had grown to about twenty-five residents we decided we needed a building in which to have our meals. Eileen received guidance that, yes, we were to build a dining room with kitchen facilities. It should be large enough to serve two hundred people, with everything of the highest quality. Though the cost would be astronomical, we had learned to trust our guidance. Peter proved his tremendous faith here, for despite the fact that the treasurer kept coming to report that we didn’t have the funds he was committing, he went ploughing ahead. And sure enough, on the day when a major bill would arrive, so would a check to cover it. The basic design and layout of the kitchen sufficed us for the next twenty-five years.