Writing on the Wild Edges: St. Brendan’s Voyage as Creative Guide
with Christine Valters Paintner, Simon de Voil, Nóirín Ní Riain, Deirdre Ní Chinnéide, and guest artists
with forum facilitators Aisling Richmond and Polly Paton-Brown
Monday, May 12 – Friday, May 16, 2025
Daily live sessions from:
4-6pm Ireland
11am-1pm Eastern
8-10am Pacific
Program Description
Join us for a 5-day virtual journey that is part writing retreat and part inner pilgrimage.
St. Brendan the Navigator is best known for his 7-year voyage by sea to the “Land Promised to the Saints.” His journey involves prayer and preparation, companions and guides, and along the way many diversions and encounters full of holy surprise.
We will be exploring this story as a map for our own creative process. Each day we will consider an aspect of how the story invites us into our creative practice and we will engage in various writing explorations together.
Brendan seeks a blessing for his pilgrimage and kindred souls to companion him. He encounters frustrations and strangeness along the way. He is immersed in seasonal rhythms and cycles that sustain him. And finally, he is able to reach Paradise when he realizes what stands in his way. All of these are aspects of creativity.
We will hold the spirit of inner pilgrimage on this retreat as we journey to the wild edges of our hearts and imagination. In Ireland, the ancient monks sought out the wild edges of the world to imitate the desert mothers and fathers. St. Columbanus called his monks “inhabitants of the world’s edge.” The wild edges were an outer place reflecting an inner longing to move past all that is safe and confined. The writing life offers us a similar call.
The Celtic monks were also known for their creative outpouring, the countless hours spent illuminating manuscripts so that sacred texts would be preserved, while ornamenting them to reflect their beauty. The spirituality of this tradition also nourishes our own creative hearts, calling us to threshold places within where the written word comes alive. Writing can take us to our own wild edges – where we claim space to dive into our creative hearts and encounter the call to bring forth beauty into the world.
During our online sessions there will be teaching and meditation, as well as many writing prompts to help to break open the connection to our intuitive selves, where we discover new dreams and longings. We will travel out to our own wild edges to see what creative possibilities await us there. We will explore the joy of the process of writing itself as a journey of discovery.
We will be entering this time as pilgrims who take a journey into strange lands to shake loose our expectations and assumptions, so we might see the world with more freshness, we might peer beneath the dull surface of the ordinary to discover a new aliveness and the sacred in all things. We will approach writing as a spiritual practice.
This online retreat is open to writers of any genre or ability and experience. The writing explorations are meant to be generative of new ideas and visions and support you in making new discoveries. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer” but the description above stirs a longing in you, know that you are welcome to join us.
For this live offering we will have a facilitated forum where you can share your writing and your process with kindred spirits.
Daily Themes
- May 12: Blessing the journey
- May 13: Setting sail and creative longings
- May 14: Strange encounters
- May 15: Rhythms and cycles
- May 16: Feast of St. Brendan and reaching Paradise
We will turn on closed captioning during the live Zoom session (which you are able to turn off in your settings if you find distracting) as well as provide a video recording with closed captioning available and a text transcript of the session.
The program will be recorded for those who pre-register but are unable to attend at the scheduled time or who want to view again. You will be sent a notification when this is ready to view.
You have lifetime access to all online programs.
Your Guides for the Journey
Christine Valters Paintner
Christine Valters Paintner is the online Abbess and director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, Benedictine oblate, and author of numerous books on spirituality and the arts. Her deepest belief is that the earth is the original monastery–a wisdom guide and mentor in living a soulful and vibrant life. Visit the “About Christine” page for more information.
Simon de Voil
Reverend Simon Ruth de Voil is an interfaith-interspiritual minister, sacred musician, spiritual counsellor, and chaplain. His sacred work—both musical and interpersonal—explores themes of the inner landscape of the soul, the enchantment of the natural world, and the healing power of spiritual practice. As a chaplain and counsellor, Simon helps individuals and groups connect sacred presence with everyday life. Simon is also a transgender activist and a luthier in training. Visit Simon’s website here>>
Nóirín Ní Riain
Rev. Nóirín Ní Riain PhD is an Interfaith Minister (One Spirit Interfaith Seminary), an internationally acclaimed spiritual singer, theologian, writer, musicologist, and Celtic Spirituality expert. Rev. Ní Riain performs weddings, naming ceremonies, concerts, lectures, and gives workshops all over the world. She lives near Glenstal Abbey, county Limerick, Ireland. Visit Nóirín online.
Deirdre Ní Chinnéide
Deirdre Ní Chinnéide is trained as a psychotherapist / spiritual director and workshop facilitator. She has worked all over Ireland, the U.S.A. and Europe including Bosnia and Kosovo. The Aran Islands with its unique history, culture and natural beauty provides a special setting for the retreat work, and was the place of inspiration for Celtic Passage, a journey of the heart which she leads through music, reflection and prayer. Deirdre divides her time between the Aran Islands and the mainland offering retreats, workshops and performances of spiritual music and also works part time with Partners in Faith, a Catholic adult faith education programme working in marginalised areas in Ireland.
Deirdre has also co-authored the book Journey to the Well: Connecting to Celtic Ways and Wisdom. Visit Dierdre’s website here.
Forum Facilitators
Aisling Richmond
Aisling Richmond is a Somatic Therapist and transformative guide who is deeply inspired by nature and the wisdom of the soul. Aisling is currently undertaking a PhD in Psychology and Transformative Leadership to work with cultural change. She shares a home with her partner in the rugged wildness of Donegal, North West Ireland. Aisling works as a therapist, supporting people to resolve trauma and life challenges through body-psyche-soul wisdom. She also mentors people in finding their deep soul purpose, and teaches a rich range of transformative programs online. Aisling is passionate about soul centred living, where nature and the feminine are deeply valued. Having worked collaboratively with many organisations including Amnesty International, Aisling has also been a guest lecturer with both Galway and Limerick Universities. Visit Aisling’s website here>>
Polly Paton-Brown
Polly Paton-Brown MA UKCP worked for many years as a psychotherapist and trainer in the field of trauma. More recently, Polly’s focus has been on helping people explore their spirituality and prayer, using creativity and connection with nature. Polly has a particular passion for creating healing dolls as a portal to transformation.
Always a lover of nature, horses and creativity Polly now integrates all of these into her practice. She has trained in Nature Based Practice and Eco-pychology, Environmental Arts, Expressive Arts and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. She is a licenced facilitator of Chakradance, The Art of Allowing , Creative Awakenings and the Wild Soul Woman Programme.
A member of the Iona Community, Polly was coordinator of their healing ministry for 11 years and when in that role ran regular retreats on the Isle of Iona. She is also a Sister of Belle Coeur. With roots in the contemplative and monastic traditions, Polly also draws wisdom from other spiritual paths such as Druidry and Sufism. She is passionate to help those wounded by the institutional church restore their image of God and themselves. Visit Polly’s website here>>
Registration
Please be careful to enter your correct email address when you register.
$120
reduced fee
- Includes partial scholarship
- Select this only if you require financial assistance
If you are in need of additional financial assistance please fill out our Scholarship Request form.
Terms and Conditions
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