David Spangler facts for kids

David Spangler, born on January 7, 1945, is an American thinker who explores spiritual ideas. He calls himself a "practical mystic," meaning he believes in finding spiritual meaning in everyday life. He helped make the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland a special place for learning about spirituality. Many people see him as one of the key people who started the modern New Age movement. However, he has also spoken out against parts of this movement, especially when it became too focused on money or sensational ideas.

David Spangler's Early Life and School

David Spangler was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1945. When he was six years old, his family moved to Morocco, a country in North Africa. His father worked there for the U.S. Army Intelligence. David lived in Morocco for six years.

He returned to the United States in 1957 when he was twelve. He went to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. Later, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he finished high school. He then attended Arizona State University. He studied biochemistry but also explored many other subjects that interested him.

David Spangler and the Findhorn Community

In 1970, David Spangler traveled to Britain. He visited a spiritual community called Findhorn in northern Scotland. He felt that he was meant to find his "next cycle of work" in Europe.

When he arrived at Findhorn, he learned something surprising. One of the founders, Eileen Caddy, had a vision three years earlier. She had seen that a "David Spangler" would come to live and work there. Eileen, her husband Peter Caddy, and their friend Dorothy Maclean had been waiting for him. After David arrived, he became a co-director of the community alongside Peter Caddy. He stayed at Findhorn until 1973.

After leaving Findhorn, David returned to the United States. He started the Lorian Association with other people from Findhorn. This group became a non-profit organization for their spiritual and educational work.

David Spangler's Ideas on Spirituality

Since his time at Findhorn, David Spangler has continued to teach and write many books about spirituality. He is known as one of the people who helped start the modern New Age movement. However, he also saw problems with it early on. He felt that some parts of the movement became too focused on money or old ideas dressed up as new ones.

David Spangler was sometimes misunderstood as someone who "channeled" spirits. This was partly because of the "transmissions" he received at Findhorn. These experiences became the basis for his first book, Revelation: The Birth of a New Age. Over time, he developed clearer ways to share the insights he had been having since he was a child.

David Spangler's Recent Work

In recent years, David Spangler has focused on what he calls "Incarnational Spirituality." This idea means that our everyday lives, including our physical bodies and experiences, can be seen as spiritual and sacred. It's about finding the sacred in the ordinary, not just in things that seem far away or "transcendent."

What is Incarnational Spirituality?

Spangler explains Incarnational Spirituality as exploring and celebrating each person's unique spiritual and creative abilities. It's about honoring how special and powerful each of us is. It encourages us to practice blessing others, making things happen, working together, and lovingly engaging with life. It is not a religion. Instead, it's a way to understand how we connect to the world. It shows how we can grow and shape ourselves and our world through our intentions, presence, participation, and service.

Books and Current Activities

In 2010, David Spangler's memoir, Apprenticed to Spirit, was published. A memoir is a book about a person's own life. This book describes his early years, his spiritual training, and his time with Findhorn. It also covers his later work with the Lorian Association and how he developed Incarnational Spirituality.

David Spangler is currently the Director of the Lorian Center for Incarnational Spirituality. He is also a Director of the Lorian Association (www.lorian.org). Through Lorian, he publishes a free monthly essay called David's Desk. He also publishes a quarterly journal called Views from the Borderland. This journal shares his insights from his clairvoyant (clear-seeing) research and experiences with subtle, unseen worlds.