Findhorn Foundation
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Findhorn attracts cultural and artistic events. Mike Scott and The Waterboys, shown here playing a concert at Universal Hall in 2004, have recorded and performed at the community multiple times. |
The
Findhorn Foundation is a
Scottish charitable trust registered in
1972 to act as a focal point for the work of the community that grew up around
Eileen and
Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean near
Findhorn,
Scotland, from
1962 onwards.
In the late
1940s Sheena Govan emerged as an informal spiritual teacher to a small circle that included Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean. Eileen Caddy joined them in the early
1950s. Their principal practices were
channeling and other forms of
meditation, and the bringing of love and perfection to everyday tasks.
In
1957 Peter Caddy, Eileen Caddy and Dorothy Maclean were appointed to manage the Cluny Hill Hotel near
Forres. Though now separated from Sheena Govan, they continued with the practices she taught.
In late
1962 they became unemployed and, for want of any other accommodation, settled in a
travel trailer near the village of Findhorn. In early
1963 an annex was built so that Dorothy Maclean could live close to the Caddy family. They began
organic gardening as a way of growing food. To this activity they brought their spiritual practices, and this led to communication with nature spirits under whose guidance the garden flourished. Peter Caddy also introduced the positive thinking practices he had learned in the
Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship.
After Peter Caddy had met British
New Age leaders, and after Eileen Caddy's guidance had been distributed to a New Age mailing list in the form of a booklet titled
God Spoke to Me, a community began to form around them. In 1969 the community and its garden were featured in a
BBC television documentary.
Dorothy Maclean left the community in 1973, and Peter Caddy in
1979. Eileen Caddy remained, and in
2004 was awarded the
MBE by
Queen Elizabeth.
Universal Hall, Findhorn's theatre and concert hall, was built between the years 1974 and 1984. Musical group
The Waterboys, who have performed a number of concerts in it, named their album
Universal Hall after the structure.
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Findhorn Foundation official website
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Findhorn Roots detailed history
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Findhorn Community e-book
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A brief history of Universal Hall by Liza Hollingshead*
Findhorn Flower Essences*
Auroville*
Arcosanti
