The brotherhood that will be anchored here in form will only be secondarily a brotherhood of teaching, that is, a centre where people can gain hidden or mystery knowledges. We are not interested at this point in giving out secret knowledges. It must be a brotherhood of action, dedication through service, through love and awareness, educators in the greater sense.

From ‘Rockozi and the Brotherhood‘;
Findhorn Foundation Original Series Study Paper

So education in the future … will deliver to man the most priceless gift of all, which is absolute freedom. Man has sought for centuries and centuries. He’s looked for it in political ways, and he’s looked for it in healing ways, in medical ways, and psychological ways and religious ways. But a man is free only when he is educated, when he is constantly educating himself, when he is constantly leading out from himself what is most deeply there in perfect awareness of his environment.

From ‘Education in the New Age‘;
Findhorn Foundation Original Series Study Paper.

The first paper in this section is by Michael Lindfield, a long term Community member and for many years a trustee of the Foundation. Michael was largely responsible for devising the ‘Experience Week’, our most successful workshop since the birth of formal educational programmes in the Community. Although written more than ten years ago, shortly before Michael and his family left Findhorn, his words are still apposite.

The second paper is by François Duquesne, who became Foundation focaliser after Peter’s departure. Although written in 1973-4 it talks about the creation of a ‘university’ in the present tense, and indeed for a brief period a formal college structure did exist as part of the Foundation [1]. As we are currently exploring links with academia once again through the Semester Studies programme, and the ‘Art of Living in Peace’ trainings this extract may be of interest. The paper assumes that the university is going to be the only future means of joining the Community but this policy was never put into practice – as David Spangler later remarked, we “should have a university, not be a university.”

When considering our formal educative process it is vital to see it in some kind of historical context. Today our programmes form the bulk of Foundation income – we need them to be successful in order to continue the many activities which support both these courses and the Community at large. These workshops were not however conceived as primarily an income generating exercise, but as a means of bringing the excitement, wisdom and challenges of community living to a wider audience. This is also true of many of our present programmes. The thought of creating extra income certainly formed a part of the initial envisioning process, but there is no doubt that the emphasis has changed.

This is in part as a result of the success of our many workshops. Today it would be hard for a new member, particularly one living at Cluny Hill, to experience community life as something separate from the need to cater for our guests. Given the importance of the concept of service in our philosophy there is every reason why this state of affairs should continue, but it is nonetheless vital for every participant in this process of service to be able to contribute in a willing and authentic way.

Even although many of our workshops and conferences are focalised in whole or in part by individuals not resident here, the founding impulse is still very strong. To a greater or lesser degree every educational event that takes place here is influenced by, perhaps it is not too much to say based on, the realities of our day to day lives. It is therefore of great import that all those coming into contact with our guests should be able to make their contribution from a place of inspiration and joy rather than from a sense of dogged duty, resentful self sacrifice or victim consciousness.

This is not to say that individuals cannot have off days or legitimate complaints. We are not all saints! Nor should anyone attempt to pretend that they are ‘fine’ when they are actually in the midst of a painful personal experience. Although authenticity is a necessary quality, it is not sufficient in itself. It is also essential that all those living and working in the Foundation have access to the tools which can aid in the emphasis of the positive qualities required to work in a centre of light, and to the understanding which provides comfort and wisdom to those in genuine distress. The third paper in this section is a short extract of Eileen’s guidance which addresses this issue.

Inspiration may simply come from spending time in sanctuary, in the cathedral of nature, or with friends and family, but a wide variety of growth oriented techniques have also made their contribution to our educational culture over the years as a welcome addition to our own evolving methods of living education. The fourth paper in this section is then a brief overview of some of these influences.

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[1] After a successful beginning the students of the college (who included Michael Shaw, the current chairman of the Foundation trustees), decided that they preferred to merge their programme with that of the regular membership. An interesting case of the vitality of what we would now call ‘living education’ taking precedence over a more formal programme, the widely recognised excellence of the course material notwithstanding.