Dorothy Maclean (January 7, 1920 – March 12, 2020) was a Canadian writer and educator on spiritual subjects who was one of the original three adults at what is now the Findhorn Foundation in northeast

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Biography

Maclean was born in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. She obtained a 3-year

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. From 1941 on, she worked for the British Security Coordination in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Following her posting to Panama, she encountered and wedded John Wood, a union that ended in divorce in 1951. On her way to

in 1941, Maclean had met Sheena Govan, and it was through her that she would later meet Peter Caddy. Living in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the 1950s, Maclean became involved in the spiritual practices of Govan and Caddy, and eventually

Eileen Caddy Eileen Caddy Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE (26 August 1917 – 13 December 2006) was a British spiritual teacher and New Age writer, best known as one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation community at the Fin ...

. When the Caddys were appointed to manage a hotel in

, Maclean joined them as the hotel's secretary. After the Caddys became unemployed in 1962, they moved into a caravan near the village of Findhorn. In 1963, an annex was built so that Maclean could continue to work with them. A community eventually grew up around the Caddys and Maclean, and this community has, since 1972, been known as the Findhorn Foundation. Maclean was known for her work with ''devas'', said to be intelligences overseeing the natural world. Her book ''To Hear the Angels Sing'' gives an overview of this work and also provides autobiographical materials. A full-length biography, ''Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic,'' was published in 2010. Maclean left Findhorn in 1973 and subsequently founded an educational organization in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

with David Spangler. Her childhood home, Woodside, at 40 Spring Street, Guelph, has since been designated a heritage property under the '' Ontario Heritage Act''. Maclean retired from public life in 2010 and lived again at Findhorn. She turned 92 years old during Findhorn Foundation's 50th anniversary celebration in 2012. She turned 100 in January 2020 and died shortly after on March 12, 2020, in Findhorn.

Selected works

* ''Wisdoms'' (1971) * ''The Living Silence'' (1977) * ''The Soul of Canada'' (1977) * ''To Hear the Angels Sing'' (1980) * ''To Honour the Earth'' (1991) (with Kathleen Thormod Carr) * ''Choice of Love'' (1998) * ''Seeds of Inspiration'' (2004) * ''Call of the Trees'' (2006) * ''Come Closer'' (2007) * ''Memoirs of an Ordinary Mystic'' (2010)

Documentary

* ''Opening To Angels - Guardian Angels and the Angelic Realm'' (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Dorothy 1920 births 2020 deaths Canadian women centenarians Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women non-fiction writers Findhorn community New Age writers New Age spiritual leaders Writers from Guelph