Findhorn came and went, by Will

Findhorn River

Well, Findhorn came and went without a blog post. Seems pretty typical at this point. It remains a challenge to write a good descriptor of this journey, even when there’s time to do it. So much has happened in such a short/long time. Our schedule is full; incredibly interesting and pretty ripe with unique opportunities. Like at Tamera, our time at Findhorn was long enough to allow us to sink into the community quite a bit.

We began with “experience week,” which is the standard starter course for any first-timers to Findhorn – it’s the pre-requisit for everything else they offer. During experience week we lived at “Cluny,” an old hotel that is now owned by Findhorn and used for programs and residents, a wonderful old place. Experience week was an introduction into group process, community living, “working community,” and many of the other nuances and practices carried-out by the folks at Findhorn.

On par with the rest of BB thus far, Findhorn was full and incredible. After experience week we moved to “the park,” which is the original location of the Findhorn community. We commenced many meetings with many parts of the community, and began holding sessions of our own as well. Findhorn is nearly 50 years old, one of the oldest communities we will visit. Incredible intention has been put into making this unique place function: Findhorn uses a wide variety of alternative building techniques, they power the whole place (160-ish permanent residents?) with 3 big windmills, grow a significant percentage of their own food, and take care of almost 100% of their wastewater (including raw sewage) through a “Living Machine” technology developed in the U.S. And still, Findhorn identifies itself more readily as a "working spiritual community" than an "eco-village" per se.

Though it is a spiritual community, there is not one over-arching dogma, but instead many wonderful individuals practicing their spirituality in their own ways, resulting a gentle sense of the sacred sprinkled throughout just about everything we did. We had a chance to work in the various work departments and get our hands into their world famous gardens. We met with the education department and learned about their many triumphs and struggles with programs and university affiliations. We were able to sit and interview some of the old-timers about how it used to be and what’s changed through the years. We met with the youth leaders and held council with the youth. We held community councils and a council training for the community. We met with the former president of the Global Eco-village Network, “GEN,” who now lives here full-time – a brilliant man with incredible perspective and scope. We helped to construct the new roof of an “earth lodge” on the land, using a “reciprocal frame” model (which is absolutely worth googling right now – an amazing, self-supporting technique). We spent 2 days in a workshop with Joanna Macy. We held evening presentations on Ojai, Tamera, and Auroville in an attempt to cross-pollinate between the communities.

Amidst the rest we also found time for own meetings and councils, visited another incredible and ancient stone circle site from the Neolithic earth-based cultures of old Europe, jumped in the cold north sea, made it to town for a good old Scottish fish’n chips from a place that’s been selling them since 1850, had a little fun, made independent study plans, and tried the scotch.

I love Scotland. It’s obvious from my name that I have heritage here and it feels to be an especially deep place for fulfilling the task of exploring ancestral roots (one of the intentions behind this pilgrimage). Especially important for me has been the chance to discover the indigenous of my own bloodline. It isn’t easy to learn, as a lot of it has been stamped out over the millennia. “Clavas Cairns” is the name of the Neolithic stones we visited in Scotland (there are hundreds of such sites still standing all over the UK). Just to be there – walking through the place, looking at stones erected by hands at least 5,000 years ago… hands that were connected to hearts, minds, bodies, and cultures that had an intimate relationship with the earth. Just to know the work of those hands – to be able to see it – does something for me that no amount of reading or research could ever do.

The standing rocks created circles, aligned with celestial bodies.

The old structures are thought to be burial sites... but no one really knows... and, there is speculation that they may be much older than we initially thought.

After 2 weeks at the park we packed up and left long before sunrise in a van, making our way through twisty roads and multiple ferry rides from the east to the west coast of Scotland, ending on the island of Erraid, where we stayed for a week. Findhorn care-takes the small settlement on Erraid for most of the year, using it as a retreat and residence. Just across the channel from Erraid is the famous Isle of Iona – home of ancient Celtic and Druidic sanctuaries, as well as the place where Christianity entered Scotland long ago through St. Columba: a site of sacred pilgrimage for many. Erraid is a rugged, wet, windswept Scottish Isle, with piles of granite dripping with big bracken ferns and mosses, peat bogs that forbid you to hike without a good pair of Wellington boots on your feet (“Welly’s” as the locals call ‘em), crystal clear blue water with white sand beaches (which are inviting, but the ocean is freezing). It’s a wild, elemental place. We stayed in old stone homes, once used for the families of lighthouse keepers stationed some 16 miles from here out in the Atlantic. Wood-burning stoves for heat and hot water, fresh milk and cheese from the cows, veggies from the gardens, eggs from the chickens, mussels from the sea, meditation twice a day… we were there to work and be in retreat together for our final 8 days before splitting up and heading our separate ways on independent study.

The Isle of Erraid

The old monastary on Iona

Sheep with a view on top of "Dun I", the tallest point on Iona

During this first trimester I have learned incredible things about alternative and life-sustaining ways of living, about community, about human-systems, and some the changes that will almost certainly have to happen in the coming times if we are to make it as a species. And, the real learning seems not to be how to do all of that, but who to be while doing it. Who to be at this time on the planet? Who to be when another species goes extinct? Who to be when the 200-year spike of cheap energy that we’ve been riding crashes? Who to be in myself? Who to be with the land, the earth? Who to be with my friends? Or my lover? With my community? The answer over and over is a mixed bouquet of truth, humility, integrity, and trust, which if lived seems to spell the only response that any of us could ever give… and seems to account for the deepest level of learning unfolding on this incredible journey.

We are now spread the winds on our independent studies... but that's another story...

Cheers,

Will

Belated words on Damanhur

Belated words on Italy and Damanhur from Will:

For me, Damanhur was an interesting and introverted time. The place felt thick: the air was thick and humid, the vegetation was thick, the “field” of spirituality and unique Damanhuian practices was thick, even my body felt heavy, thick. I was making good use of the Italian espresso and still, I felt tired the entire time I was there.

Like Tamera, Damanhur is also a community that is some 30 years old. We were only there for 9 days, so it’s much more difficult to say a lot about it. We did not have the community immersion experience at Damanhur that we had at Tamera. Being at Damanhur was wonderful and very eye opening; an incredible chance to see a new way of being in community. Damanhur is spread throughout an area in northern Italy, with pieces of property sprinkled around a number of towns and valleys. Unlike Tamera, one needs a car to see all of Damanhur. We were staying in the central hub of the community, on some of the longest-own land in Damanhur. We were a short drive and a longer walk away from many of Damanhur’s primary projects, businesses, and social initiatives, including the famous “Temples of Humankind.”

Perhaps what Damanhur is most known for, the Temples were one of the first projects the community undertook, in secret, long ago. Without building codes, and following the inspired vision of their founder(s), they began to excavate a mountainside, hand-digging bucket-loads of dirt and rock by night so no one would see them. What has emerged there over the years is now both known and celebrated (though the unveiling process wasn’t easy). The Temples go some 30 meters under the earth and are an elaborate maze of corridors and secret passageways, leading in and out of multiple chambers, temples, and halls. Every wall is painted with “sacred language” developed by the Damanhurians, incredible murals, stain-glass, mosaic, and other sculpted and welded works of art. Putting all spiritual philosophies and intentions aside, the Temples stand alone simply as incredible works of art and architecture. And yes, there are many more esoteric and occult qualities to them, but I will leave those to you to discover if you are interested.

Damanhur impressed me again and again with the scale and accomplishment of its alternative society. They have their own schooling and child-care, their own currency, their own real-estate offices, stores, shops, super-market, and businesses of many kinds. People generally live in family groups called "nucleos," in large houses with 20-30 people in each. An impressive use of space and resources. Everything is quite well functioning and immaculate. The community functions smoothly on a “normal” everyday level, while at the same time integrating incredible alternative forms of… everything. This is a place where art and spirituality are highly valued; where alternative energies and ecological designs are being pursued quite matter-of-factly; a place with a dedicated focus on researching the paranormal; a place full of rituals, philosophies, beliefs, and insights that guide their unique culture.

For me, a highlight of Damanhur was the nearby river, where we took our breaks numerous times. We had wonderful opportunities to sit and ask questions of our hosts. We held a council with the youth. We toured, and were fed, and saw much. My overall impression was that Damanhur offers much to see: an incredible living example of a very highly functioning, artistic alternative society – and, at the same time – there seems to be much more than meets the eye at Damanhur. I left more curious about the place than I was when I arrived.

Now we’re at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, as Shay mentioned in her previous post. It’s wonderful… but that’s another story. Thanks for reading!

~ Will

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

Damanhur through Siri's eyes...

Greetings from Damanhur, where esoteric knowledge meets community…
The underground Temples are magnificent! Truly awesome, I am humbled by the amount of work that went into the excavation (by hand) and construction of these holy works of art. The full construction was in secret, both from the local authorities and new members of the community. Now they are not so secret, and are known as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, a major tourist attraction. Known for their craftsmanship, the art combines mural, stained glass, mosaic and metal work. They have created beautiful tiffany style domes; in fact they hold the record for the world’s largest.
On our first afternoon here we were given a tour, finishing our day with a beautiful concert in the temple of mirrors. It was amazing! Drawing on many traditions they have created a uniquely Damanhurian style of music accompanied by spirit dancing.
We spent a day painting rocks in one of the extensive spiral labyrinths, a meditative service. These are considered to be connected to the temples, which are situated at the crossing of many synchronic lines of earth energy.
A special treat was the ‘concert of the trees’ , they have researched a way to use bio feedback technology to interact and generate music with plants. Sitting in the beautiful woods, listening to new age sounds, I felt my inner voice questioning the feasibility of the situation… but the truth was these people are working with the plants, and living in connection. The concert was in the middle of one of the many neucleo, or families, here. Twenty to thirty people live together with common kitchens and living spaces and private rooms. This particular neucleo is known as ‘the tree people’, because they live in the trees! It was beautiful; in this space I felt playful and was reminded of the Miwok village.
Today I learned a lot about the alternative technologies through visiting the neucleos doing this research. So cool! In addition to straw bale houses and tree houses (with living trees supporting the structures both inside and out) they are building a rotating building. This building is situated on a crane joint, and when complete will move with the sun to receive the most energy possible. It is designed to be a completely self sustaining home, with no input or output. This means full solar, rain catchment and composting toilets. Very cool.
Immersed in this new community, I already miss Tamera. I miss my new friends, and the feeling of being surrounded by open hearts. Damanhur's esoteric and analytical approach to spirituality and research feels different than the heart centered field of research at Tamera. Both are working to create models for holistic sustainable communities, in very different ways. It is interesting to see these different models and notice similarities and differences, and notice the effects on my personal experience. More and more I am learning what is important to me, and what I value in community and work.

Leaving Tamera...

Whew! Hard to believe that we've been here in Tamera for almost a month. We have mixed feelings about leaving - looking forward to the next experience, but sad to leave the place and people we've fallen for here. It's been an altering and eye-opening experience. One of the greatest gifts has been hearing the truth of what people are living in crisis areas in the world, in Palestine, Columbia, and Tibet being a few. Summer University is now over and things have quieted down considerably, leaving us some time to process and reflect. We just returned from a trip to visit two ancient entities: Evora, a 7,000 year-old stone circle, and a 2,000 year-old olive tree. Both were absolutely beautiful, moving, humbling... It's difficult to fathom the amount of time these things have been on the earth and what has happening during their existence: wars, fires, the rise and fall of empires, the millions of births, the millions of olives, the number of people that have pilgrimaged to these places... Our experience of time is so different. We'll be in a number of councils throughout our days here, as well as learning about the progressive and huge projects with the solar village and permaculture here. It's an incredible inspiration. These are pictures of Evora, the Olive Tree, and an impromptu middle-eastern music session during Summer University. Sharon, a beautiful Israeli percussionist has been teaching me Balkan, Sufi, and Moroccan songs. I'm in heaven. Have to run, but wanted to give a quick update. Last night we camped at the stone circle and "peepers" lulled us to sleep - a sound of home. We miss you all... xo, e

Tamera

We arrived in Portugal after a long, but smooth journey.  We got bumped to business class (which was lovely) and even boarded the plane with John Cusak (an L.A. moment).  All luggage arrived with us and we were met at the airport by two folks from Tamera, the community we're staying at here in one of the most undeveloped places in Europe - surrounded by a rolling, dry California-like landscape.  Cork trees are scattered, their bottom halves black, where the cork has been harvested.  It's dry and hot by day - chilly and humid by night.

   Tamera is 130 hectars and has many buildings spread throughout.  The founders are German, so there are lots of them here; many with sun-bleached hair and stinging blue eyes.  

   We're spending most of our time in the Youth Village with 22 "youth" (19-35) from all around the globe who are here for two months to study peace work.  They're from Ghana, Brazil, Columbia, Finland, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the U.S., Israel, and Palestine, to name a few.  Amazing people with touching stories who are doing powerful work in the world.  It's so inspiring.  

    I spent most of my first day playing music with people, amazingly unfazed by the time difference.  Claudio (one of the warmest and most charismatic people I've ever met) is a musician much like you, Adam.  It just pours from him with unbridled enthusiasm.  He's teaching us all to dance, sing, and play Samba (I'm in .  Aaron and I were invited to a session later that night in their meeting hall which ended up being an unbelievable groove/funk dance session with incredible musicians and totally unexpected.  We've been asked to play at the opening of Summer University and have a rehearsal tonight - yes!  Seems like there's music coming from somewhere at all times here.  Conversation is always rich.

   We're in session with the Youth Summer for the day for the rest of the week and then we'll be doing service in and learning about the solar village here before their biggest event of the year.  350 peace workers from all over the world will be arriving for Summer University next week.  I can't even imagine.  It's been a profound experience to live in a truly global community and our presence, as Americans (we're the only ones in the group), has been welcome.  Phew.

   Aaron is well too, in a super-human way.  It's like he didn't travel at all and has been running through the hills and doing yoga in his spare moments. 

    We're missing you all and hope that you're well. Let us know!  We should have a chance to be online a few times a week.

  MUCH love,

      E&A

Welcome to the BB Log!

We are happy to invite you to follow our journey as we explore spirit, community,and sustainability through residencies in villages around the world. A deep thanks to all of you who have supported us in making this journey a reality.Read on,and enjoy!

Warmly,

the BB8