Britta: What brought you to the Findhorn Foundation?

Andrew: Following a life-changing event in my 40s, my focus shifted from my career to spiritual exploration through the study of various spiritual traditions and healing modalities. I remember receiving a series of very clear guidance, followed by synchronistic meetings that all drew me to Findhorn. I recognised a calling that could not be ignored, so I researched the Findhorn Foundation and booked a place on an Experience Week.

Britta: What was your journey within the Findhorn Foundation?

Andrew: I arrived for Experience Week and was deeply touched by the strength of the energetic field and the unique community living in Cluny Hill, a former Victorian Hotel I call ‘the big house on the hill’. I progressed through each workshop and placement consecutively: Experience Week, Being in Community (BIC), Living in Community as a Guest (LCG), Living Educator Apprenticeship Programme (LEAP), and Senior LEAP, working in homecare, the gardens, kitchens, and supporting management with key issues.

Britta: What is your professional background?

Andrew: I worked in healthcare for 30 years, spending many years within the National Health Service (NHS) as a nurse and clinical lead in acute hospital settings and the community. In the 90s, I moved into HIV/AIDS care, eventually leaving to manage the restructuring of a leading HIV continuing care charity before moving to South Sudan to help run an emergency and primary clinical unit in Juba.

Britta: What made you apply for the role of Education Director of the Findhorn Foundation?

Andrew: I have been deeply involved in the Findhorn Foundation's journey since joining the educational team several years ago. Though immensely challenging at times, I truly believe that the current transition was always meant to happen. As with all profound changes, it opens us to new opportunities and great potential. We have a significant chance to forge a change process that is both guidance-driven and factually informed. In simple terms, I applied because I believe the Findhorn Foundation has a real spiritual calling in today's world consciousness, and my personal channelings and guidance have been very clear to stay and help.

Britta: What was the process in creating the overall education strategy and the new retreats and experiences for the Findhorn Foundation that are starting this July?

“I believe we are called to offer experiences that touch people’s hearts and help them awaken to the mystery and love that surrounds us.”

This process has been driven primarily by guidance and attunement. We have explored this path with other individuals and groups along the way. Our call, especially post-pandemic, has been to simplify our approach and create a genuinely exquisite experience that allows people to connect or reconnect with the purity of their spiritual selves through attunement and our core practices. I believe we are called to offer experiences that touch people's hearts and help them awaken to the mystery and love that surrounds us. We are beginning at Traigh Bhan, which supports the rebirth of the Foundation within the purity and strength of an incredible elemental and spiritual field. The experience focuses on helping people to decompress, open to their spiritual natures, and participate in communal shared living, built on the foundation of Work as Love in Action.

Britta: What was the role of attunement within this process?

We strive to create a working culture within the new Foundation that is guided and supported by attunement. We inherit the legacy of decades of human and spiritual endeavour, which strives to open us to greater mindfulness and truth. This is something truly special about the Findhorn Foundation and all the beautiful hearts that connect to this field and network.

Attunements and meditations are held regularly in Traigh Bhan sanctuary

At the heart of our existence swirls the perpetual dance of attunement – a profound alignment not just within ourselves, but with others, and the omnipresent Divine. It isn't merely a practice, but a state of being; a melodic symphony where every note resonates with the music of the universe. Attunement is the spiritual art of being completely present, where each moment is an open door to the divine nature of our true experience of living. It is expansive consciousness within the heart of your experience, connecting you to eternal wisdom, and loving-kindness.

In daily living, attunement is the thread that weaves our individual threads into a shared tapestry of collective consciousness. It calls us to live in conscious connection, directed by the wellspring of our hearts and spirit, enabling a life filled with communication, efficiency, and joy. In this harmonious state, we find our actions, time, and purpose synchronising in a flow that elevates our experience of working and living.

Britta: Why are the new offerings starting on Iona and Erraid?

There are strategic and operational considerations that have influenced this decision. We are now a small organisation with limited resources and capacity, still emerging from the greater transitional processes of the Findhorn Foundation Trust and the Ecovillage Community. Additionally, and in many ways, our guidance has directed us to begin within the strength and love of the Iona presence, growing and nurturing our service from this new beginning point.

Interview with Andrew Powell, Education Director

The Presence of Traigh Bhan’s Sanctuary

Mike Scott’s ‘Peace of Iona’