November 2024 Update
Celtic Cross during sunrise on Iona this summer sent to us by Teresa Cetto.
Written by Britta Schmitz
Just now, around the Celtic Festival of Samhain, which traditionally marks the Celtic New Year and the beginning of winter, we can feel how the earth withdraws life force energy from the outer world deep into the fertile darkness of the soil, into the roots and seeds. We can feel the season changing – the autumn leaves fall to the ground, the fresher morning breeze carries the promise of the first frosts, the sounds of the wild geese fill the air, the sun rises later and sets earlier each day … An eternal twilight seems to reign the short days in the northern hemisphere and the nights grow longer, colder and darker, bringing back their special magic of millions of stars sending their light to us all through the night …
Sometimes we even get to enjoy the Northern Lights like Natalia Bystrianyk. Natalia took this picture in the garden of our retreat house Traigh Bhan on Iona.
This turning point of the Wheel of the Year reminds us that now is the time to withdraw from our outer activities, retreat into our homes, light our fires and candles, and go within. At this time we honour our ancestors and loved ones who have passed beyond the veil and give gratitude for their love and support.
We also bring in the last of summer’s blessings and look back over our year, take stock, and look at the seeds which lay dormant within this year’s harvest. It is the time to wisely choose the seeds we would like to sow and nourish over the darkest quarter of the year, so that they will take root and grow when the light returns in spring. The seeds in our gardens and the seeds within our hearts.
Thank you for all your love and support as we foster the new that wants to emerge from the spiritual core of this Centre of Light within the Findhorn Foundation. I would like to share with you some of the seeds that our team has already sown and which we will keep tending to see them fully thrive, grow, and be harvested over the coming year.
Our Daily Meditation
We are so happy to invite you to join our daily online meditations! We hope that they will nourish you as much as they nourish us. It would be so lovely to see our small Zoom room grow from just a handful of people from our team and our global network of Resource People to a bigger group all around the world – as we go into the silence together, seeking stillness, inner peace, strength, and guidance to make a difference in the world.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you for the first time on the 8th of November, 9am UK time to join our daily online meditations!
Opening our Zoom room to the world brings Eileen Caddy’s words to mind, which Rosie Turnbull pointed out to me on her visit last week:
‘I want you to see this centre of light as an ever-growing cell of light. It started as a family group; it is now a community; it will grow into a village, then into a town, and finally into a vast city of light.’
– Guidance received by Eilleen Caddy, Foundations of a Spiritual Community, p. 164.
Over the years many of us have been wondering if this ‘City of Light’ might be a global ‘City of Light’, a ‘Network of Light’ of energetic connections rather than an actual physical city in one place? Like our global community coming together in online spaces no matter where they are? All of us being able to meditate together in a virtual sanctuary?
It might not have been what Eileen envisioned when she received this guidance in the early days, but as we know many a guidance only reveals its full meaning when looking back. The possibility of online meditations might not have been what our co-founders saw coming in their time, but surely they would have appreciated the magic of technological progress, which makes the connections among all of us in the Network of Light tangible, with the loving support of beings seen and unseen.
Your pictures
We are happy to be exploring other new ways of interacting with you through the magic of technology too. It is wonderful that we can now receive your beautiful pictures from all around the world and use them for our daily inspiration quotes, which we post on all of our social media platforms. It is a joy to create the posts with your photographs! Thank you for sharing your personal places of magic and beauty with the world! It means a lot to us!
Receiving your pictures really gives us the feeling of being part of a global community, of sharing this stunningly beautiful planet with others who appreciate and co-create with nature and all of life – and feel and see the sacred touch of Spirit in the natural world surrounding us. I believe that focusing on these moments of magic in everyday life – and sharing them with each other – does make a difference in the world, and helps to raise vibrations.
You are welcome to send your pictures to us too. Please enjoy the pictures we have already received from mid-November in our daily inspiration posts on facebook, instagram, linkedIn, X, and in our weekly inspiration emails.
Let’s share the magic!
Erraid and Iona
As I am writing this, I am looking forward to my time on Iona together with my partner Donald and my dog Anka to hold one of our winter retreats in our retreat house, Traigh Bhan. You can read more about what we are looking forward to here and find out more about our winter offerings here.
We are so happy that many of you enjoyed our 'Spirit of Iona' retreats all through summer and autumn. The first months were held by Andrew Powell, our Education Director, and the October retreats were held by Fi and Ellie, who are part of our Experience Facilitator Team. It is great to hear about your experiences and receive your pictures from the magical times you spent on this sacred island.
Pictures of Iona taken by Rob Blaauw
“Earlier this month I spent a wonderful retreat week on the sacred island of Iona. A digital detox, a time to switch off from work and social media. Tuning in and reconnecting to spirit and nature on this special island, a warm embrace, staying in cosy Traigh Bhan cottage, named after the beach nearby with gorgeous views towards Mull. I can warmly recommend it. ❤️”
Hearing heartwarming feedback like this, reminds me of the guidance Eileen Caddy received in 1972 about the importance of our retreat house, Traigh Bhan, for the world:
‘The time will come when Iona will become an extension of Findhorn [...] It will be greatly blessed and will become a temple of light as the power builds up and becomes greater and greater.’
Not far from Iona is the Isle of Erraid, where a small part of our community lives, and serves, in harmony with nature and all life. At the moment Andrew is spending time there to get everything ready for spring, when we are planning to hold our first Experience Weeks on the island. Our plan is to also continue holding our traditional Erraid experiences, such as the Celtic Festival Weeks, Love in Action Weeks, and Retreat Weeks. We will keep you updated on how things are developing on Erraid in the New Year.
Pay it Forward Fund
Another piece of exciting news is that we are planning to launch our Pay it Forward Fund soon. This fund will enable people who are facing financial barriers that hold them back from joining our experiences to participate in our offerings. Our aim is to make our experiences accessible to as many people as possible and invite everyone who feels called to take part in our experiences to join us.
