This post by Alan Watson (now Alan Watson Featherstone) was previously published in Findhorn Today – Papers prepared for New Synthesis Think Tank Conference October 1987 New York City.

1962 was a very significant year in terms of humanity’s relationship with nature. It saw the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, a book which in its clear articulation of the impact of our industrial culture upon the natural world has come to be seen by many as the birth of the environmental movement. 1962 was also the year in which the World Wildlife Fund was founded – an organisation which is still the largest, and one of the most effective, of the conservation groups in the world. For us, of course, it is better known as the year in which the Findhorn Foundation began, with three adults following their inner attunement to commence an experiment in ‘co-creation with nature’.

What these three events all had, and still have, in common is, at their heart, an understanding of the need to develop a new relationship with nature – a relationship of harmony, cooperation and respect, instead of the domination and exploitation which is embodied in our industrial culture’s approach to nature. What was beginning to emerge then, and has become much more obvious since, was the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life on our planet.

This understanding of the oneness of all life is, of course, central to many native cultures in the world, such as the native North American Indians, and some of the great mystic teachings of the East. In our Western culture, it arose from the field of ecology, which is, in essence, the study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. In fact, it has often been through the destructive effects of our industry and technology that these interconnections have become apparent, as in, for example, the spread of pesticides through food chains.

Here at the Foundation, the essential theme of the Deva messages received by Dorothy Maclean is the same, that all life is One, as in this message from the Lord of the Elements:-
“… when the wind blows it is part of you, … the sun gives to you and is part of you with each sunbeam, … from the water you came and the water joins you all… This concept of oneness is being stressed everywhere, being interpreted everywhere. We would emphasise the practical side, the fact that your bodies are one with the environment and that you cannot abuse the Earth without harming yourselves.”

Thus, Findhorn’s early experience with nature can be seen as providing, or revealing, a spiritual dimension to the principles of ecology. What was being learned experimentally by the scientific study of ecology was being demonstrated and experienced here in a deep and personal way.

In the quarter century since 1962 the basic ideas of ecology have become firmly established in our culture, and have given rise to a number of new fields of study and thought. These include the concept of bioregionalism – the redesignation of areas by their natural ecosystem boundaries, rather than human-imposed frontiers; voluntary simplicity, which can be succinctly defined as a lifestyle based on the principle of ‘living simply, that others (human and non-human) may simply live’; the philosophy of deep ecology, which articulates a biocentric world-view, wherein all species have an equal right to live, and humans are part of the web of life; and the Gaia hypothesis – that the Earth itself is a living being, in which we all co-exist and participate.

As the Foundation has grown and developed, it’s major focus has shifted from working in the garden to spiritual and holistic education, yet the same sense of relationship to nature can be observed in many of our activities and projects. This is particularly relevant with regard to our current phase of growth, namely the transition from a community to a ‘planetary village’. A planetary village, by definition, incorporates a conscious relationship to the planet, and is concerned with more than its own immediate survival and welfare. Thus, the intent of a planetary village can be seen as an answer to the question posed by Henry David Thoreau last century:- ‘What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?’

It is clear that it is only by making a conscious choice to live our lives not just for ourselves but also with a sense of caring for the planet, that humanity is going to survive and flourish as a species. With events such as the accidents at Seveso, Bhopal and Chernobyl, the accelerating rate of species extinctions, and increasing pollution and resource depletion all causing worldwide concern, what is needed is a demonstration of a functional reintegration of human culture back into the cycles of nature. This then is the goal, in ecological terms, of building a planetary village.

The challenge in this is to integrate a practical understanding and application of the consequences of our planetary interconnectedness into our personal and community lifestyles. This means becoming aware of the effects and consequences of all aspects of our lives on the world, and then making a conscious choice of lifestyle in favour of one which actively benefits the other species on the planet, and the whole earth itself. A simple example of this involves the so-called ‘hamburger connection’, whereby tropical rainforests in South and Central America are cleared to provide grazing land for cattle destined to produce ‘cheap’ beef for fast food hamburgers. A recent report estimates that each hamburger so produced involves the destruction of 60 square feet of rainforest! While not many hamburgers are consumed here, many other aspects of our lifestyle have similar effects far beyond our physical boundaries, and we have scarcely begun to learn about them, let alone to seek positive alternatives.

There is obviously a very wide spectrum in which we can work with this approach in our lives, and what follows is a brief look at just some of these.

Energy Usage

In some areas we have taken greater steps in this sort of direction than others, usually where there are direct economic benefits to the community from adopting a more ecological approach. Perhaps the best example of this is in energy usage, where we’ve insulated and draught- proofed our buildings, converted caravans from non-renewable oil and coal-fired heating to the more readily renewable fuel source of wood, fitted low energy-consumption lighting to much of Cluny, and have installed some solar panels for hot water production at the Park. This will also be one of the areas which shows the greatest results in the coming years as we proceed with the replacement of our caravans with more ecologically-sound permanent buildings, the construction of the wind farm etc.

Integration into the local environment

For many years the Foundation was quite insular and isolated, but recently has begun to work consciously with involving itself more in the local area. This is true primarily in a social and economic sense, but will become increasingly so in ecological terms as well. Actions such as the planting of trees in the caravan park and elsewhere are connecting us more fully and deeply with the land here, while the purchases of more local organic food, the collection of paper and cardboard for recycling from Forres and Elgin, and the planned Caledonian Pine Forest regeneration project all demonstrate a deeper relationship with our own bioregion. Scotland is a country which has been very seriously degraded in ecological terms, with many species of wildlife having been lost and the forest cover reduced from an original 80% to less than 10% today. For a sustainable future a lot of work needs to be done in restoration ecology – bringing life back to the land – and there is great potential for the Foundation to be involved in this.

Integration of ecology and economy

Where a more ecological lifestyle carries a financial premium, rather than a saving, we have not always been so eager to adopt it. What is required is a reappraisal of our approach to economics, to consider not only the cost to ourselves, but also the cost to the Earth, which can often be much higher, as typified by the hamburger example referred to above. Economy and ecology come from the same root word, the Greek ‘oikos’, meaning home, yet in our industrial culture they are frequently in conflict and opposition. This is often true here as well, where, for example, we haven’t always been willing to pay the extra costs involved in buying organic food, despite the fact that it clearly has less impact on the earth in its production. Thus we need to transcend the polarity of ecology versus economy in seeking to demonstrate a lifestyle which works for us and the Earth.

Redefinition of quality

Another area which needs some redefining is what we understand by ‘quality’. The Foundation has, from its earliest days, always sought to produce, and work with, products of the highest quality. While this is commendable most of the time, there are occasions when it comes into conflict with an ecological lifestyle. A recent example of this was when a suggestion was made to print a sales brochure on recycled paper, which is now available in a quite acceptable quality standard, and one response was that it shouldn’t be used because it didn’t feel as good to the touch as the regular paper! While there may be some occasions when recycled paper is not appropriate, it should be used a lot more than it is at present. So, our definition of ‘quality’ needs to take account of the quality of our relationship with the Earth.

The integration of co-creation with nature into our daily lives

While most, if not all, of our members are very concerned with the state of the planet, and agree in principle with the various aspects of what an ecologically sustainably lifestyle involves, it is only a relatively small proportion who embody these principles in a comprehensive way in their lives. A major need is to bridge the gap between just being conscious of what is needed and actually making a personal commitment to doing it. The educational role of the Foundation could be more emphasised and expanded in this regard to empower individuals and the community as a whole to translate the the principle of co-creation with nature into all aspects of our daily lives. When this happens we can experience ourselves as conscious parts of Gaia, and provide a much- needed example for the world.

23rd July 1987,
Alan Watson