Findhorn Foundation

The Findhorn Foundation “The Findhorn Foundation is the educational and organisational cornerstone of the Findhorn Community, and its work is based on the values of planetary service, co-creation with nature and attunement to the divinity within all beings. We believe that humanity is engaged in an evolutionary expansion of consciousness, and seek to develop new ways of living infused with spiritual values. We have no formal creed or doctrine. We recognise and honour all the world’s major religions as the many paths to knowing our own inner divinity.” (from the web site www.findhorn.org)

Findhorn foundation offers skill building sessions to communities and villages to help them develop in a harmonious way. They are responsible for much of the training around non-violent communication, experiential games and GEN (global eco-village network). The Findhorn Community claims that they have been able to reduce their ecological footprint to half that of the rest of the UK. Four windmills generate the electricity for the Park.

 I visited Findhorn via the Experience Week. There were 15 of us that stayed at the Cluny Hill College campus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our week we learned how to use non-violent communication skills with one another. We used experiential games that helped us to connect with one another on a profound level. By the time we left there. we knew each other on a genuine and intimate level.

We had the opportunity to visit the original site of the Findhorn Community called “The Park”. The founders started there in 19– while it was a caravan or camper park. After making a loving connection with nature and growing amazing vegetables, the community grew until it had to expand it’s boundaries to accommodate over 500 people.

Above is the communal dining area at the Park.

On the right is some of the original caravans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Below is my favorite space which I lovingly called the Hobbit house. Officially, it is known as the Nature Sanctuary.

Our focalizers were talented and sensitive people who were very keen to provide a living example of non-violent communication.

Yern and Catherine took us on a couple of field trips to show us more of the beauty of the land.

Scotsman at Findhorn River.

 This castle is called New Hope and is a new and developing community near Forres Scotland. It is at the forming stages and is using Findhorn Community as it’s blue print. The gardens out back are beautiful and unique.

The only draw back of my visit to Scotland is that it was too short due to the cost. I would be happy to spend more time there and learn more from the community when I can find a way to do it. But it won’t be in the winter, they only get 5 hours of sunlight then!!!

Crystal Waters

Crystal Waters is located about an hour north west of Brisbane. It has three streams running through this otherwise arid land. Crystal Waters is a permaculture village with about 640 acres of land and 83 1  acre plots. The population averages between 150 and 200 people. It began in 1984 with a group of four people who had the desire to live in harmony with the earth and each other in a sustainable way.  The objectives are:

We care for the earth

• All living and non-living things; animals, plants, water, land, air.

We care for people

• Promoting self-reliance and community responsibility

We disperse that which is surplus to our needs

• Distribution of surplus labour, information, money, skills.  



There is a lot of land held communally. A cafe and sheltered dining area provide the main space of informal communal gatherings. The village hosts a weekly market to sell and buy each other’s goods.

The homes are placed so that three to four families live clocse together and form a cluster for more frequent interactions with one another.

During my stay, I lived with Robin Clayfield.



Robin has designed her property using permaculture principles and a profound spiritual connection with all the creatures and energy of the land.



Robin, her son Tumii (age 12) and a family friend, Per Christian (from Norway, problem solver extraordinaire) and I formed a family for the month and worked to reveal the beauty of the space Robin shares with nature. We planted food the first week I arrived and were able to harvest and feast upon it by the time I left.



Crystal Waters has a policy of no dogs and cats in an effort to create a wildlife sanctuary. As a result there are a wide variety of birds, as well as various diurnal and nocturnal marsupials.



The kangaroos are very comfortable here.

Crystal Waters operates more on a “village” basis than on a “community” basis. There is a lot of physical and emotional space between the residents. One can easily not know who is living on the land at any one time and can go a month without seeing the ones they do know. The political decision making system originally created follows the Robert’s Rules of Order from British Parliament. It is very much head driven.  The village struggles to make decions on how to live in harmony on a continual basis.

Robin, and some of the other residence come from a very heart oriented space and attempt to advocate for the spirit of nature, animals, water, and earth as a whole.

I remembered a lot about myself during my time at Crystal Waters. I remembered that I am but one entity in a vast web of creatures that are integrally connected in a complicated weave of ecology. As a human, I am not separate form nor above my surroundings. I am just part of them. While I have evolved to the point of having a frontal lobe and am capable of complex problem solving skills, I have not used these skills in a way that allows me to live in harmony with all other life. I intend to step further into living in a balance and in harmony within the web of all life.

Arabia in New Zealand

The west coast of the South Island is a different climate than that of the north shore. I had the opportunity to visit the shore and found it’s landscape to be like I would imagine that of Arabia.

it was very windy, sunny and rough.

We found a sea cave and took the adventure of entering it.

It was such a rush to enter into complete darkness and hear the sound of the ocean coming from the other end. We were not sure how large or small the cave would become and had glinting thoughts of “What if it fills up with water while we are in here?” We continued through complete darkness even as a wave brought water up to our ankles.

It was such a gift to see day light at the other end of the cave as more waves rushed in and receded. I am reminded of times when I just can’t see the end of the tunnel but have to move forward through darkness on the trust and faith that I will reach the other end and it will be beautiful.

A new day always follows the darkest of nights.

New Zealand Wedding

While I was in New Zealand I had the opportunity to attend a wedding with Paul. I was told that the wedding is traditional for Golden Bay. Golden Bay has a reputation for being alternative and progressive in ideation regarding relationships with each other and with the earth.

The wedding was held at a beach side park. We all brought a bouquet of flowers and were invited to dress fairy style. The guests were all asked to walk through the spiral you see above and lay down flowers along the path. The flowers were physical representations of blessing for the bride and groom.

At the center of the spiral was an archway. Once the couple exchanged their vows to support each others personal, community wide and earth wide evolution, they passed through the archway and exited the unwinding part of the spiral as a married couple.

The couple expressed the desire that no gifts were brought. They wore used or recycled clothing. They had friends play music and share good organic food from a local co-operative of farms.

In the picture below you will see the horse that the bride rode to come down to the sea. The groom followed behind until they reached the spiral where they walked hand and hand to the archway.

A few hours after the wedding, the tide was high and took all the flowers and blessings to merge with the sea.

The gifts of New Zealand

New Zealand is an amazingly beautiful country. It is very well set up for tourism. In the short term,  this is very handy. In the long run tourism is not all that healthy for New Zealand. Most tourism is not ecologically friendly with  plane travel, camper vans and accommodations. Also, having a saturation of outside currency weakens a sustainable economy.

I traveled to the north of the South island visiting some of the beautiful sites with Steve and Jenny (Kiwi friends).

Inland, we visited Howard’s Hole where scenes from  The Lord of the Rings were filmed. We also visited Nelson Lakes with it’s unique beach tree forest.

I eventually arrived at the Tui Community where I spent the next month.

Tui is a community of about 35 adults and 15 children. They have an agreement to make efforts to live in harmony with the earth and each other. As you can imagine, there are many different opinions of exactly how to make such harmony happen.

Tui uses “non-violent” communication in order to work through differences of opinion about how to create harmony. I had a first hand opportunity to practice this with a Trust member. I found the process quite valuable.

I lived in Dawn Lodge which was the area for all World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms volunteers. We formed our own miniature community in the lodge sharing meals, clean up, work detail and international stories.

The beautiful aspects of Tui were that they had an “choice” piece of land. The property is held in “Trust” by members who pay when they have decided to commit to the community after living there for at least a year. The land was situated next to the Abel Tasman National Forest, was a short walk to Wainui Bay, had great views of the ocean, islands, and mountains.

The community of Tui uses their system of non-violent communication effectively. They hold weekly meetings (using a heart centered approach) and twice weekly community meals. There is enough freedom for people to live with a diversity of approaches to creating harmony and still form a sense of community.

Tui community is a great reflection of the larger world in which I live. People don’t all agree, we have moods, wounds, and issues. What I came to realize is that a community is a space where my actions and my use of energy is reflected back to me in a very short period of time. I can not help but see the effect of my actions on others. This is great feedback for me to know in what ways I need to grow and change. It can be taxing to have such immediate feedback, but also a blessing to have such quick karmic cycles.