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Category: Pilgrimage

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Join Us for a Virtual Celtic Pilgrimage ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, Tomorrow is the eve of St. Brigid’s feast day, a threshold time in the Celtic imagination where the doors to the Otherworld open wider and we are invited to rest into this liminal space and listen for our heart’s true calling.  As the pandemic continues on, many of you have asked us if we would consider creating a virtual pilgrimage. We are delighted to invite you into this sacred space with us. Nine days of giving yourself the gift of dwelling in time outside of time and letting your imagination bring you on a journey of

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Join Abbey of the Arts on retreat in 2021!

We are delighted that all of our 2020 pilgrimages and retreats have been full for several months now (you are always welcome to add yourself to our cancellation list as we do have folks drop out). We are scaling back on our live offerings for 2021 to allow more time for writing but are thrilled to announce the following programs which are currently open for registration: Writing on the Wild Edges: A Creative Retreat on the Island of Inismor (Ireland) with Christine & John Valters Paintner May 9-15, 2021 – limited to 18 participants More details here>> Poetry and the

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8 Practices of a Good Pilgrimage ~ A Love Note from Your Online Abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, The value of travel was ingrained in me from a young age. When I was growing up in New York City my father worked for the United Nations, and we had the privilege of traveling back to Austria, where he was from, as well as other European countries and once as a teen through Asia. As an adult I began to see the potential for deeper meaning in my journeys. I saw a difference between travel as a tourist and making a journey as a pilgrim. I often define pilgrimage as courting holy disruption. We

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Gift for Pre-Ordering The Soul’s Slow Ripening + other resources ~ A love note from your online abbess

Dearest monks, artists, and pilgrims, It has been a wonderful time of sabbatical this summer, time spent resting, time spent dreaming, time spent writing. I even made a trip to the Collegeville Institute at St. John’s University in Minnesota for a memoir writing workshop with Lauren Winner which was a wonderful experience on so many levels, can’t recommend the Collegeville Institute or Lauren as a teacher (and writer) of memoir craft enough. But I also spent lots of days following my own rhythms, going to arts festival events, and taking our sweet dog Sourney on long walks up the canal

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Join us in 2019 for a Pilgrimage or Retreat in Ireland

  Join the Abbey in 2019 for a pilgrimage to the sacred edges of the world and of your own heart and horizon. Christine and John Valters Paintner lovingly curate and guide these slow-paced experiences with small groups (12-16 people max) so that we create a community of kindred souls walking a magical landscape. We have had one room come available (can be single or double if traveling with a friend or partner) for Writing on the Wild Edges Retreat in Ireland for August 26-September 1, 2018. Please contact us if you are interested. For program details click here>> March

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Continuing Education Program and 2017 Ireland Pilgrimages | *Updates*

Awakening the Creative Spirit: Experiential Education for Spiritual Directors in the Expressive Arts November 13-18, 2016 with Kayce Stevens Hughlett, MA & Betsey Beckman MM in the Pacific Northwest Space has opened up in this program. Click here for more details>> May 2-7, 2017 with Christine Valters Paintner, PhD & Betsey Beckman, MM in Perth Scotland This program is starting to fill already! Click here for more details>> This five-day intensive immerses you in an experience of the bringing the transformative power of the expressive arts to spiritual settings. Join a small group of kindred souls to dive deep together

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One space just opened in our September 20-28, 2016 Ireland Pilgrimage!

We just had one space come available for the September 20-28, 2016 dates of our Soul’s Slow Ripening itinerary out of Galway where we explore Celtic wisdom for discernment. Imagine 8 nights on the wild west coast of Ireland exploring monastic ruins with kindred souls. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in joining us or have any questions. Full payment for the program will be due at the time of registration. Program details here>>

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