“I was also extremely busy. As well as looking after the three boys and Peter, cleaning, washing, ironing and mending, I did all the cooking for the community with Joanie. We also did all the buying. She and I did everything together. Joanie is a perfectionist and painstakingly slow, and I like to get things over and done with, so we were constantly chivvying each other. But it was done with great love, and only she and I knew how deep that was. We cooked for everyone for two years in the kitchen in her bungalow, and they all ate in the living room and on her patio. We had seven standard meals which we repeated each week and we often joked that we hoped guests wouldn’t stay longer than a week or they’d have the same thing all over again!”

“We cooked only vegetarian food – all with potatoes, as no British meal is complete without them. Everyone loved the food. I even received guidance not to let it become too much of an emphasis, as that would detract from the true reason for people being there. I was amused, as I thought we cooked only simple fare. But it was wholesome and I suppose that was what everyone appreciated.”

“As soon as Joanie realised I was making nightly pilgrimages to the public toilet for my meditations, she offered me the spare bedroom in her bungalow. I received confirmation in guidance to accept and from then on I adopted an even deeper meditation rhythm. I slept for a couple of hours each night, then waited upon God for five or six hours, listening, recording and reading as guided by my inner voice, until 5 am when I went home to be ready for the family. I was always there when the children awoke to give them their breakfast and get them off to school. Then Peter and I went together to morning Sanctuary with the rest of the community and Peter read out what I had received the night before. It was always relevant, often sparking off something in someone else, giving them the direction they needed just at that moment in their lives.”

“This guidance applied to us personally too. When Joanie had first joined us, the love between her, Peter and myself was so powerful I was frightened by its intensity. I thought Peter had fallen in love with her, and I was shaken by my guidance that we three were God’s foundation of love in our group. I was told, ‘This is all in My plan. The foundations of light have been laid. The foundations of wisdom have been laid. And now the foundations of love are being laid, which shall be the last and the greatest. I need three to anchor these tremendous powers. Triangles within triangles. Rise above all that is personal into My divine light.‘”

“Nevertheless, in the first months after Joanie joined us, I was concerned by Peter’s love for her and consumed by fear that they might sleep together. I was confused and bewildered about it all, even though my guidance reassured me that the love between Peter and Joanie would never come to physical expression. Then the precious triangle would be forever broken. ‘Remember, this is no ordinary triangle. Simply let the love flow and tell Peter to allow nothing to spoil something that is quite unique and precious. See that My will is done without any diversions. Your own relationship with Joanie must be so strong and unshakeable that it will be able to withstand anything. It is My love that is flowing between you with such force.‘ ”

Peter, Eileen, Joanie, ROC in the Sanctuary

“What bewildered me even more was the depth of feeling between Joanie and me. God told me that it was perfect and would continue to grow deeper, but I was still concerned. I had never experienced anything quite like it in all my life. I was told: ‘Be at peace. The time of testing for each one of you has had to take place so that there is nothing of the self left. Try to spend time in the evenings together, the three of you, just to find that peace and understanding that is so necessary for the unity of the whole group. Love unites. Love is the only answer. Let My divine love flow through you three. You, My beloved, must continue to live this strange life. It is essential for the work I am preparing for you. It is right for you to sleep in the room in Joanie’s bungalow. I must be able to call you at any time during the night or early morning. You need the full support of Peter and Joanie in all that you do, for you three are to become one in My love and light.’ ”

“The relationship between Peter, Joanie and myself was cemented by the powerful experience of Christmas 1967 on Cluny Hill. We indeed became one in God’s love. Joanie’s friendship became an anchor in my life and with her and Peter to keep me down to earth I was in no danger of floating off into higher realms, never to return!”

Extracts from Flight into Freedom and Beyond, Eileen Caddy with Liza Hollingshead, FPress, 1988/2002.