Soul of a Pilgrim: a Lenten online art retreat
February 22 – April 7, 2012
*Registration closes February 22nd!*
Description
“Return to me with your whole heart.”
—Joel 2:12 (from the reading for Ash Wednesday)
“And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”
—Mark 1:12-13 (from the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent)
"If your journey is indeed a pilgrimage, a soulful journey, it will be rigorous. Ancient wisdom suggests if you aren't trembling as you approach the sacred, it isn't the real thing. The sacred, in its various guises as holy ground, art, or knowledge, evokes emotion and commotion."
— Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage
Ash Wednesday initiates the Lenten pilgrimage. “Return to me with your whole heart” we hear the prophet Joel proclaim. How do we begin this rigorous journey of returning with wholeness? Are we ready to step out into the wilderness of our souls and follow the way unfolding before us?
Jesus was baptized and then sent into the wilderness for 40 days; it was a kind of pilgrimage, a journey of deep discovery. We don’t go on a pilgrimage like we do on vacation. We prepare ourselves for an encounter with the holy presence which will always evoke awe and trembling, or emotion and commotion as Cousineau wisely writes.
Pilgrimage is an archetypal experience. People have been drawn to make sacred journeys across traditions and generations. It is also a powerful metaphor for the inner journey we take when we respond to the holy call in our lives. Lent is an invitation to make a forty-day pilgrimage through the desert landscape of our own lives. We don’t need to travel long distances to benefit. We need only prepare ourselves to pay attention to each step along the way.
Join Christine for a 40-day art retreat where we will explore various facets of pilgrimage as an inner experience through preparation, landscapes, maps, passports, postcards, and keeping a journal of our experience. This is not an easy journey, it demands commitment and staying awake. But the rewards are well worth it, we always return from pilgrimage with a treasure, a gift to offer back to others.
Art, reflective writing, gentle movement, and contemplative practices will be our primary tools and practices to help us navigate. Our focus will be on the expressive arts where we engage the process over the product and our creativity helps to illumine our inner landscape. We let go of self-doubt and the inner critic to make way for an honoring of our own unique creative voice and what it has to teach us about where we are being led in our lives to sing, dance, weep and laugh.
A private online forum will be a place to share our art, reflections, experience, challenges, and encounters with fellow pilgrims.
Weekly Themes:
Week 1: Preparing for the journey – February 22-25
Week 2: Keeping a journal of the experience – February 26-March 3
Week 3: Navigating archetypal landscapes – March 4-10
Week 4: Exploring maps and creating our own way– March 11-17
Week 5: Passports, thresholds, and border crossings – March 18-24
Week 6: Sending postcards from the edge – March 25-31
Week 7: Challenges, obstacles, and the longing for home – April 1-7
How it works and what is included:
- Each week you’ll receive five emails (Sunday-Thursday). Sundays email will introduce the theme for the week, offer some reflections and a suggested expressive art experience. The emails from Monday-Thursday will offer continued inspiration on the theme through a photo, quote, and reflection questions. A printable PDF handout will also be posted with the whole week’s materials for easy access. Please note that because week 1 is a shorter week, there will only be two emails sent – on Wednesday and Thursday.
- There will be a guided meditation recording to launch our experience together available for download as an mp3 file.
- You’ll be invited to join a private online discussion forum where you can share insights with other companions on the journey. You’ll be able to post photos of your art projects or your photography, and share any writing you might do. Christine will be active on the forums supporting you on your Lenten pilgrimage.
Some additional notes:
- While scripture will be referred to throughout the retreat as one of the wisdom strands we draw upon for guidance on the journey (along with poetry and writing of mystics), it is not a “scripture retreat” per se. If you are looking for a retreat that reflects on the daily readings for Lent as its primary focus, then this might not be the best fit for you.
- Everyone who registers will need to sign up for the private Ning website for our class (instructions will be sent a few days prior). You are not required to participate in the online discussion, but the course materials will be accessible there, so everyone will need to create an account.
- You will receive a list of suggested art supplies before the retreat.
- Questions? Feel free to email me at Christine@AbbeyoftheArts.com.
Payment and registration:
The program fee is $150 for 6-1/2 weeks of this guided Lenten experience
To register please complete these TWO steps:
1. To pay by credit card through Paypal or Google use the payment button above. You will receive an automatic payment confirmation along with a class registration confirmation.
If you prefer to pay by check, send it to: Abbey of the Arts, PO Box 23160, Seattle, WA 98102 and let me know to expect it. You will receive your registration confirmation when the check arrives.
2. Send an email to Christine@AbbeyoftheArts.com verifying which email address you want registered for the retreat. This is a very important step! We want to be sure you don't miss anything!
For information about financial assistance and our refund policy please visit this link.