In 2008, I spent a semester at Findhorn studying as part of the FCS programme. At the end of our Experience Week, my group stood in our classroom in the beautiful Park Building as our focalizer led a walking meditation and taught us the practice of attunement. He had laid out pieces of paper with work department names on them. I was determined to work at Cullerne and forge my way into the world of sustainable farming. Right at the last moment, the focalizer said aloud, “Let go of any ideas you had about what you wanted, and let your feet carry you. Go to the place that calls you.” Without thinking, my feet took me to a piece of paper with the words, “Cluny Garden,” written on it. I had no personal desire to learn gardening, it seemed slow. And yet, there I was. Then he said, “Now if there’s more of you than the number listed on the paper, some of you need to move.” There was a number “1,” on the Cluny Garden paper, and three of us were standing there. For whatever reason, the other two people left immediately and I just stood there, my feet glued to the spot. That was my first experience of truly tuning into something deeper with intentionality. I’d always trusted my gut, but this was a magical experience, it felt alive. I proceeded to do my Work Is Love In Action in Cluny Garden for the next three and a half months, and it changed my life. In fact, it brought me back to life. I started to believe in everyday magic, small moments of wonder. Though I’d always held onto that feeling, I was having trouble seeing it in the world, and it hurt. My favorite part of that semester was easily my work time in Cluny Garden. We had a small work group back then and I was urged to take my time with the vegetables, to commune with the flowers. A lovely man named Jacques taught me to listen to the plants. My focalizer, Sverre, made it his mission to make sure I learned about the nature devas and the spirits of the land. I was enchanted. I was revived. I was connected. From the moment I left Findhorn that semester, I knew I wanted to return. And yet, I would meditate, and I’d hear, “Not yet.” One fine day in the summer of 2018, I got the “It’s time,” I’d been hoping for, with a very specific date. I only realized when I arrived that I returned to Findhorn 10 years from the day I’d left. Findhorn had gone through many changes, but Cluny still held so much wonder, beauty and magic for me. I spent the next year at Findhorn, which was laden with ups and downs, and yet, my time at Cluny was pure magic. Nothing could change the magnificence of the land and the raw beauty of magical life around it. Since 2018, I’ve made many trips to the power point atop the hill behind Cluny and walked the woods surrounding that beautiful building. This photo is from my time at the powerpoint this past summer. It was a deeply illuminated day, a time when the beings of the land spoke through the treetops and I was filled with a renewed sense of wonder and vitality as I climbed back down the hill. For me, Cluny is a place of prayer, a place where the sacred comes down to Earth if we choose to pause long enough. There are only a few times in my life when I’ve fallen to my knees. For me, it is a sign of pure devastation. The moment I heard Cluny was being sold, I dropped to the ground and wept. Then, within moments, I felt a burst of energy through my lungs and I knew I had to try. So I meditated. Then, I meditated again, And the next day, I meditated again. Every time I got a clear, “Yes, go ahead, take the next step.” So here I am. Whether this is a short journey, or a very long one, I’m committed to seeing it through.