As the Findhorn Foundation shapeshifts in preparation for its unfolding into something new and more sustainable in 2024, I have selected a few images that capture some of the essence of what Findhorn – and here I refer to the wider Community – has meant for me.
Much of it has been about Love, Magic & Miracles, the title of a 2012 conference and the name of Findhorn’s first eBook, published in 2021. It was my gift to the community and I featured 21 interviews and stories of heart-opening and transformation.
- This was a pointer to the pioneering Park Ecovillage and centre of sustainable and heart-centred living. photo Geoff Dalglish
- All smiles … Ash Balderson photo Geoff Dalglish
- RJ Chapman infusing Cluny Hill with his musical magic. RJ served as the PA to a trio of women who were the successive chairs of Management (Ana Rhodes, Camilla Bredal Pedersen and Caroline Matters) photo Geoff Dalglish
- Findhorn co-founder Dorothy Maclean in a playful mood with a water pistol. She transitioned into the light as Covid arrived in March 2020. She was 100. photo Geoff Dalglish
- My Findhorn Experience Week fellow adventurers back in 2010.
- Plant please talk to me … this is Findhorn, after all.
- The cover image for Dorothy Maclean’s autobiography entitled ‘Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic.’ I snapped it in the central garden area of the Park Ecovillage.. photo Geoff Dalglish
- The iconic whisky barrel homes
- Charismatic tennis coach and spiritual healer Sylvia Black, who competed on the international stage in her younger days.. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Geoff with Natalie Rule and Maren Lacht after creating the water feature in Findhorn’s Original Garden. photo Geoff Dlaglish
- Celebrated pilgrim, author and spiritual teacher Satish Kumar, who is a major source of inspiration for me. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Duerten Lau, a former focaliser of Cullerne Gardens and current co-head of the New Findhorn Assocation (NFA). photo Geoff Dalglish
- Feral elder, artist, musician, potter and permaculturist Craig Gibsone
- John Willoner, Dorothy Maclean, Jonathan Caddy
- Alan Watson Featherstone, founder of the award-winning Trees for Life conservation charity that is dedicated to restoring the Caledonian Forest. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Findhorn ‘babes’ Gabrielle, Biz and Catriona who were born in the Findhorn community. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Jonathan Caddy with his beloved dog Bess a decade ago.
- Interspecies communicators Anna Breytenbach and Dorothy Maclean in the Findhorn home where Dorothy eventually p;assed at the age of 100 in 2020. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Findhorn elder Niels Paulsen who has possibly held more Findhorn programmes and retreats than any other active member of the community. photo Geoff Dalglish
- A carpet of golden magnificence. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Taking a pathway to a more fulfilling and sustainable life … photo Geoff Dalglish
- Community Centre and garden
- Happiness is connecting with nature through an outdoor job in Park Garden. Italian Carolina Nuti helping give the roof of the Guest Lodge a haircut. photo Geoff Dalglish
- More than 60 years later the Original Caravan stands at the epicentre of a renowned spiritual community, Ecovillage and centre of learning that has touched hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Dorothy Maclean, co-founder of the Findhorn Foundation community, shows that she’s still up for a bit of fun and silliness, even in her 95th year. With her is Lesley Downie and Susanne Andrés (behind). photo Geoff Dalglish
- New Story Summit focalisers Yvonne Cuneo and Richard Olivier relaxing outside the Findhorn Foundation Community Centre. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Veteran hiker John Willoner was among the first to join the fledgeling community back in 1967. photo Geoff Dalglish
- A section of the Findhorn River. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Meet Kosha Joubert, the dynamic South African-born former head of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) which hosted the GEN+20 conference at Findhorn in 2014. The movement connects more than 10,000 villages, urban neighbourhoods and intentional communities in more than 100 countries around the globe. It showcases high quality, low impact lifestyles that have led to some of the lowest per capita ecological footprints in the developed world. Yes, there is another, more fulfilling way to live! photo Geoff Dalglish
- Findhorn’s Universal Hall is a magnet for a variety of great music acts, films, dance and all manner of gatherings. The Hall was lovingly built by the community over a period of more than a decade and officially opened in 1983 with WILD3, the third World Wilderness Congress. The earlier wilderness events were held in South Africa and Australia. Photograph: Graham Meltzer
- The inspiration continues … flashback to 2015 and a 20-year-old Tara Gibsone prepares to hold her first Youth Experience Week at the Findhorn Foundation, following in the footsteps of her Dad, Craig Gibsone. Craig was my first focaliser during a month-long Ecovillage Living training in 2009 and is a highly respected community elder. Tara held her first Eco Experience Week earlier this month. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Joie de vivre … Melissa Godbeer, the former head of research and development at the Findhorn Foundation College, celebrates the joy of being alive. She’s a Reiki master/teacher and treated me to a treatment that left me feeling wonderfully nourished and at peace. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Toasting marshmallows alongside the Findhorn River with the younger set during Family Experience Week. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Happy Days … the Family Experience Group outside the Community Centre in a tree was a favourite with the younger set! The tree survived the nearby inferno when the Community Centre was torched by an arsonist. photo Geoff Dalglish
- Love in Action … a core Findhorn value is that work, or service, is love in action. photo Geoff Dalglish
- My favourite sign within the Ecovillage. photo Geoff Dalglish
- At high tide it is a pebbled beach and around six hours earlier or later its a wide, white sandy beach that’s ideal for walking. photo Geoff Dalglish
- There’s always a rich reward for getting up early and communing with Nature. photo Geoff Dalglish
- One of my favourite early morning images of Findhorn Beach taken a few minutes before sunrise. photo Geoff Dalglish
- The Nature Sanctuary
- Can you believe that this magical artwork is being created at 10pm? And every night it’s different! photo Geoff Dalglish
- A CNN International film shoot on Findhorn Beach. I hosted the team in 2016 during my years as PR for the Findhorn Foundation. It was part of a CNN series called Going Green that spotlighted earth-friendly initiatives around the world. photo Geoff Dalglish

CELEBRATING VIBRANT ELDERHOOD, COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND WORK AS ‘LOVE IN ACTION’
This image captures some of the joy and sense of selfless contribution of Craig Gibsone, 81, and John Willoner, 79. They’re off to the nearby woods to log trees that have been toppled in storms or succumbed to age.
Both have served the Findhorn Community since the 1960s, playing a multitude of roles.
Craig was my first ‘focaliser’ when I attended a month-long Ecovillage Training offered by the Findhorn Foundation 14 years ago. He’s a Permaculturist who has taught me much about living in a way that is kinder to the Earth and each other. And he exemplifies the motto: If it isn’t fun, it’s not sustainable.
John singlehandedly ran the Findhorn Foundation’s Conference office for 20 years, hosting a multitude of high-profile spiritual teachers like Neale Donald Walsch, Eckhart Tolle, James Finley, and Caroline Myss. He is a close friend and hiking buddy who has introduced me to many of Scotland’s highest peaks. He’s also taught me about service to others and generosity of spirit.
Both elders live within the Park Ecovillage at Findhorn and make the world a richer place. They epitomise the idea that Work is and should be Love in Action. Photograph: Sylvia Black

An author, writer, and spiritual and ecological activist












































Will write later more. Love Findhorn and its lore and named my new harlequin cat Crystal after Crystal, Findhorn’s cat – deceased. love ❤️ and light 🕯️to spirit cat Crystal. crystal my imaginary cat will soon become real! r.d. 🌹❤️🌹