In December 2020 the world was facing a very different type of Christmas. Recovering from a reaction to a Covid jab and feeling thoroughly fed up, I was looking for something, but had no idea what. The Findhorn Foundation Community had recently come to my attention after watching the documentary Growing Up Green and so, out of curiosity, I started a Google search. This quickly led me to YouTube and the discovery of short videos of Judy McAllister on the Findhorn Foundation YouTube Channel in places in and around the Ecovillage as she read extracts from Dorothy MacLean’s books. Something inside just clicked into place as I watched video after video of Judy’s readings.
This was it. This was what I was searching for.
Findhorn beach
That famous ‘sense of coming home’ that I have since heard so much about in reference to visiting the Park, the Ecovillage, Iona or Erraid, is, it seems, equally as effective online. As I took in the video locations such as the Original Garden, the Park, the beach, the village, Cluny… there was an intriguing and surprisingly strong sense of connection, of familiarity even.
That was the start of my ‘Findhorn’ journey. From there, my thirst for more information and connection led me to the then Findhorn Foundation Facebook page, from there it was a short hop to purchasing Eileen’s books (starting with Footprints On The Path and swiftly followed by Opening Doors Within). Next, I attended online workshops about the three Core Principles which introduced many members of the Ecovillage Community to me.
Five years later, I have, due to a variety of circumstances, never actually visited Ecovillage Findhorn in person. In many ways, especially during Covid, whilst everything was online – Britta’s Wednesday morning meditation up at Pineridge or down on the blustery beach, Ash’s Thursday tea time meditation as she chatted about the gardens, the weather and gave us a much-needed general catch up with Park events – I felt hugely connected and a real part of the Community anyway, regardless of location. Then, the Community birthday celebrations online led me to discovering COIF. I quickly joined the COIF mailing list and this too helped me keep up to date with all things ‘Findhorn’.
As the restrictions of the Covid years slipped into history, understandably many events stopped online and moved back into the local Community, rather than the global one.
Eighteen months ago, I saw a mention in a COIF newsletter that they were looking for a volunteer to upload Community magazines to the website to create an online archive of them, making them visible to all. It sounded amazing and, with a background in magazine work, I felt the call to get in touch and offer to volunteer. I felt as though I wasn’t sufficiently qualified though. I’d never visited the Park. I wasn’t an in-person member of the Community. Could I do this? The ‘nudge’ pushed me to send a message. I soon received a reply and what followed were numerous Zoom meetings as Cornelia patiently explained how to use the website and all of the technical side of things as well as helping me to discover much more about Ecovillage Findhorn. I was instantly made to feel welcome and a part of the COIF Team.
I am still an online volunteer for COIF and I feel hugely privileged to be able to share archival information sourced from Community magazines, website posts and publications each week via COIF’s Offerings To Inspire posts, through the website, Facebook groups and Rainbow Bridge.
Another ‘Findhorn nudge’ (they’re persistent, aren’t they?) last year led to the concept and sharing of the Midwinter Gifts project through COIF.
Delving into the COIF archives as a volunteer has helped me to discover more about the people, places and history of the Community. Writing Topics this year about the Findhorn Garden and also about the island of Iona and Traigh Bhan has further developed the connection I feel with the energy of ‘Findhorn’.
I still have much to learn and my ‘Findhorn’ journey is very much ongoing. I’m amazed to find myself a part of Ecovillage Findhorn and COIF from a distance, thinking originally that it was all about those who were physically there in the north east of Scotland – but, for me, this is not the case. ‘Findhorn’, it’s messages, it’s principles, its love and light and energy reach far and wide, and the ‘Findhorn family’ is indeed a truly global one.
I’m a member of the Global Community and discovered ‘Findhorn’ back in 2020. Since March 2024 I have been a COIF volunteer. I live in England, in the East Midlands, with my husband and a family of dogs. I love to spend my days out in nature, going for walks in the countryside. Reading books, especially ones on poetry, philosophy and seasonal living is another favourite pastime. I’m a keen gardener and, perhaps unusually, prefer to spend time in my garden during winter and spring. Hobbies include nature photography, phenology and meteorology.
Leave A Comment