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Writing Summer’s Abundance

with Christine Valters Paintner

Saturday, June 11, 2022

9-12 Pacific

12-3 Eastern

5-8 pm Ireland/UK time

Hosted by St. Placid Priory

Program Description

Join us to explore the abundant gifts of summer in this Zoom mini-retreat session where we will explore writing in alignment with the turning of the seasons. The equinoxes, solstices, and Celtic cross-quarter days are all threshold moments and portals to a new season of life. We are invited to listen to the new invitations being offered by the earth’s turning.

Summer is a time of lingering, dreaming, and yielding to the mystery of things. It is a time to bloom  and enjoy the growth around us. It is a season of long days  filled with light and warmth renewing us with freshness and vibrant colors. This beautiful time is an essential part of the creative process and we will explore what summer is inviting each of us to consider more deeply.

Christine will guide you through different intuitive exercises to help you access writing as a process of discovery and honoring of your inner wisdom. In this way we can approach our writing practice in an organic way, not “forcing or holding back” as the poet Rilke once wrote but allowing what wants to emerge in the moment. She will share many examples of poems that explore summer themes as inspiration for our own writing. Along the way we will discover how our intuition and dreams might reveal a new way into creative practice that has less to do with goal-setting and visioning and more about allowing the unfolding within us and receiving the gifts that arrive.

We will engage in both free writing and poetry writing and all are welcome regardless of level of experience or preferred genre. This is a generative workshop, we are not here to edit our work, but to show up for the Creative Source when we slow down and listen to what is erupting in the silence. You will be invited to set aside your planning mind and enter into the playfulness of the creative heart, letting your writing guide you on a journey of discovery.

In addition to the writing exercises Christine will guide us in the contemplative practice of lectio divina, silence, reading of poems, song, gentle movement invitations to shift your energy and focus, and an optional chance to share a piece your writing in small groups in a contemplative and structured way as well as a few invitations to read aloud to all gathered if you feel inspired (always optional).  These contemplative and creative practices help to stir the soul’s imagery and open us to be surprised by the holy movements within.

The retreat will be recorded for those who pre-register but are unable to attend at the scheduled time.

Your Guide for the Journey

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Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE is the online Abbess for Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery and global community integrating contemplative practice and creative expression. Her programs draw on the wisdom of the desert, Celtic, and Benedictine spiritual traditions as well as the joy of the expressive arts, embodied practice, and Earth-cherishing wisdom. Christine is the author of numerous books on spirituality and creativity, including three collections of poetry. She lives on the west coast of Ireland with her husband John and dog Sourney. Find out more about her here.

Registration

Your registration constitutes an agreement with our online program Terms and Conditions below.

This retreat is being hosted by St. Placid Priory. Please contact the Priory for registration details and scholarship assistance. 
 
Please be careful to enter your correct email address when you register. 
 
All prices displayed in USD.

$60

Regular fee

If you need a different payment plan or a greater scholarship to make this program accessible, please contact St. Placid Priory.

Terms and Conditions

Please consider your purchase carefully and review the many free materials we have on our website to make sure the program will be a good fit or get in touch with any questions.

We ask that you honor our work by not sharing the program materials with others who are not enrolled.

Please contact us for permission to quote in settings beyond the program

These videos are made available to registered participants and may also be included in future versions of the program including self-study. If you choose to speak during a recorded gathering, you are giving us your consent to record that contribution. If you prefer not to be seen or heard, you can of course switch off or mute your camera or microphone at any time. Chat sessions are recorded and posted as well. Participation in the chat function is also giving consent to their recording. Breakout groups are never recorded.