We celebrated the opening of the new Sanctuary in the Park Ecovillage on Easter Sunday 2025, creating an arc to the first Sanctuary opening on Easter 1968. As the Park Sanctuary rises once more like the phoenix from the ashes, we collate here the story of this sanctuary – which for many is the spiritual heart of our community.

We have come a long way from the early days when Eileen had to seek refuge in the public toilet block to find peace and quiet to sit and listen to the “still small voice within”. This Topic gives a brief summary of the history of the Park Sanctuary and brings together stories that make it come alive.

With this Topic we hope to set the ball rolling to bring together the histories of all the sanctuaries that have been associated with many of our community places. Each one, with its own unique energy and flavour, has played an essential role in the evolution of this centre of light. A few of these sanctuaries have been lost to us one way or another.

For now we list our sanctuaries here in gratitude and offer a short parade of images for some of them (just click on the links).

Those we can enjoy today:

In the Park Ecovillage at Findhorn

On the West coast, the sanctuaries in Traigh Bhan on Iona and on Erraid

We also give thanks for the sanctuaries which have been an important feature in the past, but which we can no longer access. They live on in our memories:

To enhance our slideshows we’d love to have more images and also find appropriate soundtracks. Given the challenges of copyright law, this may take a bit of time. If you have images or music you have the rights to, please don’t hesitate to send them to us.

It is of course the personal stories of so many members and guests which will breathe life into the history of our sanctuaries. In time we hope to collate such stories for all the sanctuaries which have blessed our community over the decades. Please get in touch with your own stories and photographs so that we can create a rich tapestry of appreciation and sharing.

Click here to get to Our Sanctuaries workspace post which we hope will be our collective workspace to get this done.

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The Park Sanctuary in the early days

In the autobiographies of the founders we can read how that small group met first in the living room of the Original Caravan which doubled up as the bedroom for Eileen and Peter. At times they used to meet up in Naomi’s caravan, and of course there is the iconic story of Eileen going down to the public toilet block to meditate. Once Joanie’s bungalow was built in 1967, she could sit there in the early hours of the morning, in a bit more comfort. Following these links you can read

Janet and John Willoner 1971 photo David Spangler

Janet and John Willoner

John Willoner, one of the first young community members, remembers: In the early days at Findhorn we used to meditate together in a tiny caravan that ROC (Robert Ogilvie Crombie) would stay in when he visited from his home in Edinburgh. It was located just behind the Original Caravan and at a squeeze we could seat seven people. After the meditation people shared any visions or insights they had received.

In early 1968 Eileen had guidance that more people would be joining our embryo community and we needed a larger space in which to meditate together – a purpose-built sanctuary. It was to be simple and beautiful. Read more … click here for the full article.

Peter Eileen Joanie ROC in Sanctuary photo Findhorn Foundation

Peter Eileen Joanie ROC in Sanctuary

The sanctuary was also used for lectures by David Spangler, as well as ceremonies and playing classical music.

Lark Batteau recounts the importance of the sanctuary: “Most everyone attended in the morning: Throughout the Park there would be a hustle and bustle to get there on time. People scrambled out of their caravans and bungalows, trudged up the path, entered through the outer door, hung up their coats, slipped off shoes, pushed through the swinging door, and quietly padded across the carpet to find a seat.” “For three years, every night, I would trudge, scamper, or shuffle up the path and push through the quiet door and then sit … and be still, allowing my body, my mind and my heart to settle down. Findhorn was my home. It provided shelter, food, companionship and purpose. The Sanctuary was the heart of my home.” Click here to read the whole story.

What happens in the sanctuary

Over decades routines changed and yet there is also a consistency, a specific ‘flavour’ or spirit which is strong throughout.

Findhorn News published in February 1971 on page 15:

Breakfast in your own caravan or bungalow and houseworkDaily Programme Findhorn News Feb 1971 p15
completed before 9 a.m.
9.00 Sanctuary
9.30 Work
12.15 Swimming (weather permitting)
1.00 Lunch
2.15 Work
4.15 Tea in your own caravan or bungalow
5.00 Work, lecture, tape, rehearsals, choir practice, yoga, swimming, etc.
7.00 Dinner
8.15 Sanctuary
8.30 Music
9.00 Evening programme — announced daily

For the efficient running of the community, punctuality is essential.

In Findhorn News Sept 1972 Jim Bronson describes in his article the group meditations held in the sanctuary: “Many of the community take the opportunity of offering something that has inspired them, sometimes thoughts expressed in prose or poetry, or readings, dances, songs or a combination of these. The variety of these forms reflects the fact that here we have people of all ages, from many ways of life and many spiritual paths.”

Cornelia remembers: “When I first came to live in the Park in April 1990, the Sanctuary schedule was:

  • Eileen – went to meditate at 6am, and a few individuals joined her
  • 6.30-7.30am – silent group meditation
  • 8.35-8.55 – morning community meditation
  • 12.20-12.40 – noon community meditation before going to lunch in the CC
  • 5.40-6pm – evening community meditation before going to dinner in the CC

A few years later the noon meditation was stopped formally due to low numbers attending that group meditation, some individuals continued to sit in meditation before going to lunch.”

Angus Marland as the focaliser of the Sanctuary Group describes what’s happening in 2007 in Network News issue 45 and gives the following meditation schedule:

  • 6.30 – 7.30am
  • 8.35 – 8.55am
  • 5.40-6pm

In 2021, before the fire, the daily community meditations were led very much in the same way as described in 1972. Since then we have experimented with online meditations, meditating in smaller groups, in person or hybrid (in person and online). Now in 2025 we are embarking on a collective exploration to find out how we want to shape our culture in our new sanctuary.

The destruction of the Park Sanctuary in 2021

In an act of fire-raising (Scottish legal term for arson) a former employee of the Findhorn Foundation destroyed the two workplaces he had served for many years: the Community Centre and the Sanctuary. He was one of approximately 50 employees who were made redundant because of the dramatic changes imposed on the Foundation’s educational operations due to the pandemic, the economic downturn and the changes to visa legislation due to Brexit etc.

In the very early hours of 12th April 2021, the alarm was raised, 12 residents in surrounding bungalows were promptly evacuated and the fire services came on scene to put out the fires which completely destroyed both buildings. Amidst all the devastation it seemed miraculous that the damage was limited to those two buildings, especially as it had been a windy night, and there were many wooden structures nearby. Eye-witnesses observed that the wind stopped, and the flames went up near vertically. Bulbs from planters just outside the Sanctuary were transplanted and thrived.

Burnt Park Sanctuary planter photo Mark Richards

Burnt Park Sanctuary planter

One of the community members who needed to be evacuated was filmmaker Lorenz Gramann. He spent the whole night and the following morning documenting the night of the fires. The footage was used in feature documentary Firebird by Maria Craig, and he created a video installation with the gentle and profound music of renowned cello player Eugene Friesen, who graciously gifted the recordings. A historical document with an artistic touch.

Click here to see the video a local newspaper shared to report on the fire damage.

This twin destruction of the community’s social and spiritual heart was a huge collective burden, following on the heels of the lockdowns which had been so hard on our social networks and community spirit. Of course this was made worse by the distress that one of our own had been the cause of the fires.

It was no consolation to know that other Centres of Light also had the experience of devastating fires in recent years but it gave us a perspective that there were perhaps larger patterns at work, lessons to be learned, and world-work to be done. To name just a couple of such centres: Meditation Mount in Ojai, California was badly affected by a wildfire in 2017, and in 2018 Polestar Village had to move from Hawaii because the eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano devastated the village, farm and yoga retreat.

Over several months after the fires, the two sites were cleared with many opportunities for community engagement, blessings, grief-tending and healing. One of those occasions is described in the post Burnt guidance by Cornelia Featherstone.

Community Centre Garden 2021 photo Cornelia Featherstone

The Community Centre site was turned into a garden area, as the Sanctuary site was prepared for the rebuilding. Working consciously with processes around the garden and wild area, processing fire-damaged and other local trees for use in the new building, a wide-ranging co-creative process facilitated a design that brought forth a new shining light for the Sanctuary.

Click here to read Jonathan Caddy’s story of transforming the damaged  trees into benches for the new sanctuary. He describes healing and transformation through a creative and collaborative venture full of personal and organisational generosity.

Rising from the ashes

New Sanctuary Opening featured image

Click here to read about the new New Sanctuary opening opened on Easter Sunday 2025. There were several ceremonies, and an opportunity for global participation through livestreaming attended by hundreds from all around the world.

Angus Marland sent us his reflections which you can read by clicking here.

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Click here for more stories about the Park Sanctuary.

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Photo credits: In an amazing synchronicity David Spangler sent photos taken in 1971 just as we were compiling this post – Thank you! We also thank Mark Richards, Cornelia Featherstone and the Findhorn Foundation for the use of their photos.