As we sit down to write this Topic, we have three related tasks on our To-Do-List which, on consideration, feel like nested dolls:

• A Self-Study Guide (a list of essential and further reading/watching recommendations) offered by the NFA Education Circle to provide as a basic introduction to the Community.
• An overview of the Reading & Media section of the website.
• The Results of the COIF Hall of Fame 2024, the snapshot of Community members’ most inspiring, impactful, recommended reading/watching.

In this Topic we give a synopsis of those three aspects as we aim to make our bibliography as accessible as possible, as well as comprehensive. These two aspirations could be seen as mutually exclusive nonetheless we endeavour to meet them both.

We hope to inspire readers to get an initial understanding and then to delve into the breadth and depth of publications and stories that convey the history and culture of our Community over the last 60+ years.

Here you can learn a lot, but you must have a certain maturity, otherwise you see nothing. Firstly because there is so much here, and secondly because so many different things all speak at once.
Rainer Maria Rilke

What Mike Scott wrote at the beginning of The Living Record, is also true for this website holding our collective autobiography: this “is a map to aid us in our seeing. May it serve to clarify what has been, to shed light on what is, and to embolden our highest dreams of what yet will be.”

Exploring it will likely not be a linear journey, but more like walking a maze or labyrinth. The global Community, which many see as One Incredible Family, has grown out of the very unlikely beginnings of three adults and three children pulling their holiday caravan into an undesirable spot on the Findhorn Bay Caravan Park, on 17th November 1962, ‘just for a short time’. It has been described as a modern mystery school, and Peter Caddy illustrated that when saying: “Who would set up a community on this dump?!” In that tradition of the mystery school, we trust that you will find on this website the perfect posts for you at any given time, and we hope that this Topic may offer a helpful synopsis.

At the end of the Topic we offer a Timeline of Publications.

***

Self-Study Guide

In the NFA Education Circle a very dynamic group of Community Educators has come together to step up to the evolutionary challenge provided by the withdrawal of the Findhorn Foundation from the Park Ecovillage and the cessation of ecovillage based guest programmes.

The group felt that a list of essential and further reading/watching recommendations as a basic introduction to the Community is a crucial asset for future place-based educational offerings. And of course it may well also be of interest to global Community members offering programmes in the footsteps of the education that has grown up and out of the Park Ecovillage Findhorn.

A working group for the NFA Education Circle helped to design the COIF Hall of Fame 2024 to tap into the group wisdom of our Community (see more below) and used those responses as well as other sources to draft an initial list. This underwent further consultations and will be ongoingly reviewed to ensure that it stays relevant and evolves with the needs of those using it as well as with the ongoing changes in the community.

Overview of the Reading & Media section of the website

This section of the website is divided into

Books & More

Our eBook Library offers both old publications (which are no longer available) and new eBooks which are given to us for free by the authors. We want to express our deep appreciation to publishers and authors for their generous permission to share their work so freely.

In particular the following four eBooks give a solid contemporary introduction. Each one is a compilation covering essential aspects of the Community’s life at the time.

1969 The Findhorn Garden Parts 1-4
1980 Faces of Findhorn
1994 The Kingdom Within
2012 Spirit of the Future – Findhorn Foundation Community 50th Birthday Book

For a deep dive into the complexities of the Community’s history we suggest A Living Record completed in 2007 by Mike Scott, and edited by Keith Armstrong in 2016. Here you find 217 pages of a large compilation of lists of Community events, people, publications and much more.

Periodicals, Magazines and Newsletters

The very first publications were sent out as early as July 1966 when God Spoke To Me was distributed to people interested in what was going on in the garden at the edge of the Findhorn Bay Caravan Park. From 1969 it became a regular feature that newsletters went out from the Community. There have been many different incarnations, shapes and forms over the decades.

We are delighted that we can provide the full issues of the two most substantial global newsletters here on the website as pdf flip books, thanks to the enthusiastic support from our COIF volunteer Suzanne Farmer. Only 6 issues are missing where we do not yet have a digital version of the magazine, and we are working on getting that sorted.

Findhorn News and other early magazines (from 1971)
One Earth Magazine – a total of 79 issues spanning 20 years (1972 to 1996).
Network News – a total of 41 issues over 14 years (1994 t0 2008)

We are also working on creating individual posts of any relevant articles. This is a lot of work and limited by the fact that we need the copyright permission from each author. We are happy that we already have over 65 posts which are made from previously published articles. These contemporary views of history as it unfolds are crucial contributions to our collective autobiography.

In many ways we feel that our work with the Celebrating One Incredible Family (COIF) website is walking in the shoes of these Community Magazines. With the advent of the internet the focus shifted from printed newsletter to websites. Sadly this also means that some of the historical material has been lost in cyberspace when websites were redesigned etc. This highlights the importance of COIF to create our collective autobiography and safeguard historical material.

Films & Videos

We now have over 150 videos available for our readers – and there are many more to come. To make it easier to find what you are looking for, we have subdivided them into:

• Community Life on Video
  There are presently 19 videos that give a flavour of the many aspects of our Community life and culture.
• Community Places on Video
  In these videos (16 in Oct 2024) you can revisit beloved places of the Community, including the Universal Hall, Cluny Hill, Erraid and the Findhorn River.
• Conversations on Video
  Many of these videos (27 right now) are conversations between two or more people, some as interviews. Some are audio only, many are with video.
• Films & Documentaries
  

  Mainly Magnus photo BBC

  There are 17 posts under this tag so far and they range from major television productions, such as Mainly Magnus BBC 1973, to short documentaries with a very specific focus, and everything in between. Many hours of appreciating the kaleidoscope of seeing our Community in so many ways.

• Our Roots on Video
  Taking note of the feedback that ‘source material’ is one essential component of getting an understanding of our Community, we group together 19 (at the time of writing this) conversations by our founders and others who shaped the beginnings of the Community. Particularly for those of us who never met these formative figures in person it is good to be able to meet them at least in this virtual form. Particularly fascinating are conversations of the founders with each other, many years after they went their separate ways.
• Personal Stories on Video
  Personal sharing is one of the powerful tools which we have honed in our Community culture. It is one aspect of Experience Week which a lot of guests described as initially intimidating which soon became one of the most important parts of the week. In this group of videos (13 in Oct 2024 but hopefully many more before too long), you can partake in that experience. It is a colourful mix of personal reflections, Findhorn Journeys as well as obituaries.
• Presentations on Video
  This group of videos (33 right now) brings together presentations and talks, a lot given in the Universal Hall, which reflect the rich smorgasbord of themes covered by the many inspiring speakers, visitors as well as Community members who have inspired us over the decades. It includes the fabulous Findhorn TEDx videos, as well as many conference presentations.

Research Papers

Over the years a great variety of papers have been written about the Community. We have started only quite recently to upload and group papers and dissertations under the tag ‘Research’. They explore the Community as a whole as well as specific aspects of the Community. We know that this is just a fraction of papers written and hope that with time we will be able to create a more comprehensive collection.

Social Media & Websites

This is about the Community related websites which are ‘live’ right now. As such this is not really Community History – other than that history starts today. In time this function may well be carried by one of the other NFA websites.

Results of the COIF Hall of Fame 2024

In September 2024 we launched the COIF Hall of Fame 2024 asking Community members to ‘vote’ on

• Which Community related publications – books, films/videos and stories/articles – have had the greatest impact on you?
• What has given you personally the greatest insights into the global Community in & around Findhorn/Findhorn Foundation/Park Ecovillage Findhorn?
• What would be your essential list for someone new to the Community?

The results of this snapshot of Community members’ most inspiring, impactful, recommended reading/watching show the importance of the ‘source materials’, i.e. writings by the founders and early formative figures.

One very strong voice in the feedback was that it was daunting to write down favourites as there are just so many. As one of the respondents wrote: “It was a very difficult task because there is so much there – and each item gives a glimpse of the whole, each one is a fractal.”

***

Bibliography Timeline (extract from our Community Timeline)

We provide links to books and films which we have available on the websites. Others we either have not yet uploaded or we do not have permission (yet) to do so. Many books are still available, if not in print then they can still be found as e-book, facsimile edition or second-hand through Amazon, Ebay, www.abebooks.co.uk, www.bookfinder.com, etc.

1966

Peter duplicates, sends out Eileen’s guidance monthly under title God Spoke To Me

1967

First professionally printed booklet is published: God Spoke To Me Part 1

1968

25,000 booklets and pamphlets sent out from Findhorn

1969

BBC’s Man Alive is first television programme to show film of the Community
First Community magazine is distributed: Findhorn News March 1969
Publication of first version of The Findhorn Garden Parts 1-4, containing Dorothy’s Deva messages
First spoken word tapes are published, featuring Peter, Eileen and ROC

1970

Limitless Love & Truth, Continued Revelation Parts 1-3 are David’s first Findhorn booklets
Printing Office built (now General Office)
17 David Spangler lecture tapes issued; over 50 more will follow in the next 5 years

1971

Printing Office is re-fitted; Findhorn Publications inaugurated
Publication of David Spangler’s, and Community’s, 1st book Revelation: Birth Of A New Age

1972

First internal Community newsletter begins: Weekly News

1973

Release of first Findhorn music tapes: Homeland and Love Is by The New Troubadours
BBC’s Mainly Magnus TV special on Findhorn is filmed in Community Centre
Eileen’s God Spoke To Me parts 1-4 re-published as a single-volume book

1974

New Printing Building is completed in front of Hall site
Recording Studio is assembled in front room of new Printing Building

1975

Publication of The Magic Of Findhorn by Paul Hawken
Revelation: The Birth of a New Age by David Spangler

1976

First issue of Community periodicals One Earth Magazine
Publication of The Spirit Of Findhorn, first of several new collections of Eileen’s guidance
Vision of Findhorn – Anthology by David Spangler
The Findhorn Garden, by The Findhorn Community

1978

Rainbow Bridge – internal weekly newsletter first published

1980

Publication of Faces Of Findhorn

1981

Angel Cards go on sale for the first time
New recording studio opens in basement of Universal Hall
Film My Dinner with Andre released

1984

Faces Of Findhorn documentary is shown on British TV

1986

Summons to a High Crusade, Findhorn Lecture Series by George Trevelyan

1987

Publication of Eileen’s best-selling book of guidance, Opening Doors Within
Transformation Game is marketed as a box-set for the first time

1988

Publication of Eileen’s autobiography, Flight Into Freedom

1991

Release of Opening Doors Within video featuring Eileen Caddy
Publication of Carol Riddell’s book The Findhorn Community: Creating A Human Identity for the 21st Century

1994

Findhorn Press goes independent of Foundation
To Hear the Angels Sing: An Odyssey of Co-Creation with the Devic Kingdom by Dorothy Maclean
The Kingdom Within, ed by Alex Walker published

1996

Posthumous publication of Peter Caddy’s autobiography, In Perfect Timing
A Pilgrim in Aquarius by David Spangler
One Earth Magazine closes

2001

Growing People: People’s personal experiences at the Findhorn Community ed. Kay Kay

2002

In Search of the Magic of Findhorn, Karin Bogliolo & Carly Newfeld

2004

The Community is documented in 3-part British TV series The Haven

2009

The Gentleman and the Faun by R Ogilvie Crombie (Later entitled Encounters with Nature Spirits: Co-creating with the Elemental Kingdom)
The Turning Point – A Return to Community (2009) documentary by Lisa Mead

2010

Documentary Follow the Rainbow to Findhorn is released
Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic, autobiography by Dorothy Maclean

2011

The Occult Diaries of R. Ogilvie Crombie, by Gordon Lindsay

2012

Spirit of the Future – 50th Birthday Book ed by Adriana Sjan Bijman
The Story so Far documentary by Maria Craig

2017

Four TEDx Findhorn events are hosted

2021

Growing Up Green documentary by Maria Craig

2023

Firebird documentary by Maria Craig

2024

My Generation Anniese Giuntini

The above is only a selection of titles, for a complete list of books please go to Books & More.

As always, none of our compilations are 100% comprehensive. If you find anything that is missing, we would love to hear from you. Please add a Comment at the bottom of this post and we will do our best to follow your suggestions.

***

Sabine Weeke, who has worked for Findhorn Press for many years to this day, has been instrumental in putting together this section of the website. We want to appreciate her for all her work on the bibliography.

This Topic has been prepared by the COIF Core Team, in particular by Cornelia Featherstone and Sylvia Robertson.