The following excerpts are from Eileen’s autobiography Flight into Freedom and Beyond where she talks about her meditation practice and the sanctuary.

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In my time of stillness with God, I was told: “Start the day by finding Me right there in the very centre of your being, knowing and feeling My peace and serenity for the rest of the day. So often you are woken up suddenly by one of the boys and your immediate reaction is to feel resentful and to bite his head off. All those little things that annoy and irritate you are for a purpose. You are being tested dozens of times a day, so strive as you have never striven before to be different. Keep on longing for it by seeking My help.”

The problem was how to meditate with so much going on in such a confined space. In desperation I turned within. “Why don’t you go down to the public toilets?” I was told. “You will find perfect peace there.”

I was aghast. What a thought! To sit in a public toilet to listen for the voice of God? I couldn’t imagine anything more undignified! Nevertheless, when I thought about it, God was absolutely right. Late at night or very early in the morning I was unlikely to be disturbed. So that is what I did, no matter what the weather. Even when it was cold or snowy, I wrapped myself in my winter coat and sat in the toilet for hours with my notebook and pencil, recording the most beautiful visions and messages. It was a perfect solution, however unorthodox. I could no longer doubt that God was within and that it was possible to meditate anywhere.

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Every evening Peter, Dorothy and I spent an hour or two in meditation on our ‘inner work’. We were connected with Naomi, who was doing similar work in the United States, and she gave us a list of magnetic centres in various countries to which we radiated love and light, making telepathic connections and linking us all in a worldwide network of light.

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I longed for my times of silence, and the nourishment I received from them made it worth the effort of going out in snowy, windy weather. Nevertheless there were some nights when I was reluctant to leave our snug little caravan. The early mornings were even more difficult. I was told that these were the times when I grew the most, spiritually. I found that hard to believe when every thought, every movement, was an effort…

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By the end of the third year [1965] I had begun to enjoy our life. The children were content, had settled into school and made friends easily in the village and caravan park. Our garden was flourishing and producing almost all our fresh food, which made balancing our tiny budget easier. We were a happy family unit with Dorothy living in the annex and Naomi and Lena and her children in their caravans close by. Our meditations were rich and fulfilling and much of the disharmony we had experienced had been smoothed out.

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In the meantime the need for a Sanctuary was paramount. Naomi’s little caravan, which had served us so well over the years, had become far too small for our ever-expanding numbers, and it was clear that the time was ripe for a special building for meditation and times of quiet for the group. I held the vision God had given me of a simple cedarwood building for this purpose. In spite of this, it was slow in coming. …

… Finally, Peter came to me. “There’s all this energy and enthusiasm for the Sanctuary, and it’s obviously a need, as Naomi’s is too small for all of us, so why isn’t anything happening? Could you get some guidance on it, so we can find out what is blocking it?”

Without saying a word, I turned within and wrote down: “My beloved, as soon as there is absolute unity concerning the Sanctuary, it will be brought about. It is not enough to say a Sanctuary is needed. When I give you a clear vision, that must be held without deviating. Up to now there have been too many different ideas from various people and the perfect picture has become blurred. Let Me stress again the need for beauty and simplicity. You hold the vision of a simple cedarwood building and I have shown you where it is to go. It is not to have any extensions. The Sanctuary will be the focal point of the whole community and it must be perfect in every detail. The secret of manifesting is to have a very clear picture; to be completely united about it and know that nothing can stop it coming about because it is part of My perfect plan for this magnetic centre.”

Instantly Peter dropped all the other ideas about painting it in colours having a certain spiritual significance, or adding rooms for healing, or putting a dome on the roof. He wrote to ROC telling him about the confusion as a result of listening to different sensitives and trying to incorporate their embellishments into the design. Peter acknowledged: “Again it has been brought home to us that it must be God and God alone who gives the direction and reveals the way. There is a great need for unity on the matter of the Sanctuary.” Peter may not have paid any attention to my personal opinions but when it came to my guidance he was willing to drop all other ideas and follow it to the letter.

From then on things went smoothly. We ordered a prefabricated building of cedar and the money for it came in unexpected ways. Manifesting the Sanctuary was an important step for us and we learned many lessons. We were told to order the very best materials, carpeting and chairs, and when the time came to pay for them the money would be there. I was told: “All must be pleasing to the eye; all must be harmonious and blend in perfectly. The most expensive is not necessarily the best, however, so never be guided by prices when choosing something. Feel deep within and know it is absolutely right, then go ahead and get it. Count not the cost. Remember what I have said about beauty and simplicity and don’t get carried away by anything exotic. When in doubt, be very still and allow Me to reveal the right things.”

When it came to furnishing the Sanctuary, we used the colours given in guidance to ROC: gold, green and magenta. We chose a dark green carpet that would wear well and a friend who owned a furniture factory ordered it for us. When it arrived, we were informed that he had paid for it as well. It was a leap in faith to order fifty chairs to be covered in expensive washable velvet dralon, but we did it. They were beautiful. When I was told in guidance to order another twenty, I swallowed. The miracle happened when that very day we received a cheque from someone in Canada for the exact amount we needed! We chose heavy magenta and green curtains to keep in the warmth on the long, cold winter nights when the sun went down at four o’clock and didn’t rise again until eight the next morning. And as each bill came in, somehow we had the means to pay for it through the donations of so many people who had visited us and wanted to support us in what we were doing, and also many who had never even seen us but had read God Spoke to Me, the little booklet we continued to send out on request.

I had specific guidance not to put any ornaments or artifacts into the Sanctuary, as it had to be a place of peace and harmony with no allusion to any one spiritual teaching. “Great care must be taken that the Sanctuary is not cluttered up by gifts from people who want to contribute something to it. You will have to decline their offers gracefully and lovingly. Let there be nothing that will distract or label you in any way, so all can enter and become part of the whole instantly. It will be the vibrations in the Sanctuary that will strike people more than anything else, so right from the start let it be a place where all who enter will feel perfect peace and love surrounding them, and stillness will fill their whole being with nothing to disturb or distract.”

Then I was given these words to be inscribed in beautiful handwriting and placed on the doors of the Sanctuary:

Peace be unto all who enter this My Sanctuary,
May My Peace descend upon you,
May My Love infil you,
May My Light guide your every step,
Cast all the old aside and become New in My Spirit.

On Easter Saturday 1968 the Sanctuary was completed. And on that very day a beautiful silk weaving representing the sunrise arrived by post from the Donovourd Weavers in Pitlochry. We placed it on the wall in the Sanctuary – its only adornment. On Easter Sunday we held our first meditation there and I was full of joy and thankfulness for this still place in the heart of the community.

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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 a.m. 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.

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We give thanks to Findhorn Press for the permission to offer such extensive quotes from Flight into Freedom and Beyond, Eileen Caddy with Liza Hollingshead, FPress, 1988/2002.