Join us for a 3-hour mini-retreat on Zoom
5:00-8:00 pm Ireland/UK time on Saturday, May 1, 2021
9 am–12 noon Pacific / 12 noon-3 pm Eastern
Sponsored by St. Placid Priory
Join us on the Celtic feast of Beltane which celebrates the fertility of spring for this Zoom mini-retreat session where we will explore writing in alignment with the turning of the seasons. The Celtic feasts are each considered to be threshold moments or portals to a new beginning. It is also a feast day of Mary and begins a month dedicated to her. Christine will guide you through different exercises to help you access writing as a process of discovery and blooming. 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. This is a practice of honoring the path of the sacred feminine. Along the way we will discover what wants to flower forth within us.
We will engage in both free writing and poetry writing and all are welcome regardless of level of experience. 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. In addition to the writing exercises Christine will include lectio divina, silence, reading of poems, 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.
We will record the session and make it available on our course platform for those registered but encourage you, if possible, to join us live.
About the Presenter
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE is the founder and director of AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community exploring contemplative practice, creative expression, and ways to nourish an earth-cherishing consciousness. She is a poet, spiritual director, teacher, pilgrimage guide, and author of 15 books on spirituality and the arts including two collections of poetry. Visit the "About Christine" page for more information.
