Footprints on the Path
By (Author) Eileen Caddy
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Findhorn Press
1st June 1991
3rd Edition, Revised
United States
General
Non Fiction
Poetry by individual poets
821.914
Paperback
192
Width 137mm, Height 216mm, Spine 13mm
213g
The Findhorn Foundation and its associated individuals, projects and businesses is an international spiritual community in north-east Scotland. Over the thirty years of its existence and growth it has been remarkably open to all ideas and teachings, new and old, which make a contribution to living a more aware and spiritual life and creating a better world. All these philosophies have much to offer, and yet with the passing of time and the continuing advent of increasingly sophisticated spiritual theories and "new age" techniques, it becomes more and more obvious that the simple and direct teaching that has come through Eileen Caddy forms an absolutely solid basis for living a practical sacred life. The very simplicity of this teaching is what makes it stand out among the growing clutter of the new age marketplace. Eileen has gone through a long process of change in relation to her "voice within". When she first became aware of it during the 1950s, and for some years afterwards, it addressed her as "my beloved child" and spoke to her as does a loving father. After a while the relationship changed and the voice began to address her as "my beloved". In recent years Eileen has come to realise that in regarding the voice as something outside herself she was separating herself from God. "God is within", she says now, "therefore I am the voice". As she looks back over the guidance she has recieved over the years, she sees that again and again she was told: "we are one; there is no separation". It took her several years, though, to experience this as a reality in her own life. Much of Eileen's guidance, some of it containing very specific instructions, was received for the community as a whole during its early years and was undeniably valuable in guiding the fledgling centre along the right path. Yet at a certain point Eileen stopped receiving guidance for others, as her "voice" insisted that in the long run this was not healthy. Indeed, Eileen believes that the most valuable way to help people is to turn them inwards to their own spiritual resources, and her work now centres around this task. This presents a striking contrast with the modern trend towards "channelling" supposedly lofty beings - of often dubious credentials - who sometimes seem to expect to be obeyed unquestioningly. "Footprints on the Path" contains gentle but direct messages of the kind which are most likely to turn the reader inside towards his or her own divine source. Eileen sees it as containing a complete teaching in how to live a spiritual life, which the reader can either follow step by step or dip into at random.
Eileen Caddy was instrumental in creating the international spiritual community centered around the Findhorn Foundation in the North of Scotland, and in 2005 she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen for her lifelong service to spiritual inquiry. She is the author of The Dawn of Change, Footprints on the Path, God Spoke to Me, The Living Word, and The Spirit of Findhorn. Mike Scott is the founding member, lead singer, and chief songwriter of the rock band the Waterboys.