Greetings from Findhorn

Hello friends. Shay here. We have been at Findhorn for 4 days now and the green hills have never been greener. Damanhur passed with a flash, just a short stay of 8 days and now we reuinite in Scotland after our first short break from group living. I spend my first three days solo in Italy and then traveled to Brighton on the Southern coast of England. It was a great place to be with my Clarito after so many months of separation. I had my birthday there and am now 31! Somehow being 31 feels so old to me . .. a new phase of life where the 20s seem to be fading far away already.

I have enjoyed our days here at Findhorn. We are currently staying at Cluny, one of the two main campuses. Cluny is a gigantic old hotel that became part of Findhorn in the 60s or 70s, not sure which. It is 5 stories tall, houses about 100 people, has more bathtubs than I could count, and continuously reminds me that I am in a very old and ancient land. The landscape here is as beautiful and lush as I imagined. Every shade of green imaginable fills my eyes everyday. The sun is like a special guest that only makes itself visible long enough to be deeply appreciated, only to disappear again behind the grey sky.

Findhorn is nearly 50 years old, making it the oldest community we have visited so far. They seem to have a very accepted way of doing things and have touched thousands upon thousands of people with their unique view on life and their innovative contributions to both social and environmental efforts. This is also a deeply spiritual community and awareness of 'spirit' infuses everything we do here.

We will be here for another 3.5 weeks and the days are jammed packed. Currently, we are participating in Experience Week and are grouped with people from all over the world . .. Brazil, Portugal, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, the USA, London, Germany, Austria, etc. It is a great group and I feel quite young both in our group and also being here generally. I am not sure what the average age is here, but certainly over 45. I have met some great elders, some true elders of the movement. This Week is like a basic introduction to life at Findhorn, in all its aspects and will give us a good platform for deeper sharing in the coming weeks.

More soon . . .

Cheers,

Shay