A vision of the future is drawn with our imagination ...

One thing for sure is that peace in the world starts

with peace of mind in each one of us,

and social transformation is based

on the awakening of each one of us.

Kazuaki Tanahashi

from his book

"Painting Peace: Art is a Time of Global Crisis"

Dear Creative Friends,


I've just returned from the beautiful St Francis Springs Prayer Center where we "created with the muses". Time in community is always healing and inspiring. Now, I'm creating supply kits for the next couple of retreats which will take me back St Francis Springs at the end of this month, and then next month to France, followed by time in Greece, and then a final retreat in the Netherlands. I love creating the kits for the classes. Having been a student of retreats for many years, I discovered that I most enjoyed those retreats where I could just arrive and have everything provided, rather than the time, effort and cost involved in sourcing the supplies needed on my own.


I've recently found Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's poetry blog and her poems have been a way to maintain a sense of inner peace during these times. At the end of this newsletter you'll find one of her poems that spoke to me called "Some Good News", which is a reminder of the beauty around us.


Below are the remaining retreats I'm offering this year ... maybe I'll see you at one of them. I'll also be in Chartres in September supporting the Veriditas programs with presenters Diarmuid O'Murchu and Brian Thomas Swimme. You can find out more about those here.


With love and peace,

Catherine

www.creativepilgrimage.com

CREATIVE OFFERINGS for 2025

All artistic practices are satellite dishes

for hearing the signals the soul sends out.

Bharati Mukherjee

March 30th to April 3rd, 2025 in NC

Circle, Spiral, Labyrinth Retreat



Two spaces have recently opened up in this retreat.

More information and registration here.


In this five day, four night contemplative retreat, you will have the opportunity to walk labyrinths, learn to draw labyrinths without a compass, create "circles of peace", integrate labyrinth walks with creative processes, and more. This workshop is ideal for anyone wanting to deepen their labyrinth experience, or for labyrinth facilitators wanting to discover new ways to integrate a labyrinth experience.

July 27th to 31st, 2025 at St Francis Springs, NC

Visual Journal as Invitation to Creative Possibility


There are still three spaces available in this retreat.

More information and registration here

November 16th to 20th, 2025 at St Francis Springs, NC

Exploring the Ebb and Flow of Life with SoulCollage®

and the Labyrinth


There are still three spaces available in this retreat

More information and registration here


Join me in my hometown of Cape Charles, VA for the Women's Wellness Weekend!

April 4th to 6th, 2025


I will be teaching a SoulCollage® workshop on Saturday entitled Exploring the Ebb and Flow of our Lives with SoulCollage® and will be leading a labyrinth walk on Sunday morning.


More information and registration here

Registration closes on March 21st

Join me in the Netherlands!

May 25th to 30th, 2025

SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Portals of Transformation


More information and registration here


Note: Combining this retreat with a couple of days in Delft is a great idea!

Some Good News


It’s like driving over a hill

the day after a flood

only to discover on calm water

a gathering of trumpet swans,

the elegant stretch of their long necks rising,

their white wings spread wide in arrival.

 

Or like skiing through a vast valley

only to find another trail that leads you

into a grove of elder cedar trees,

their great trunks humbling you,

their balsamic scent opening

in the shade like holy incense.

 

Yes, that’s what it’s like when,

in a world that feels hostile and hateful,

you arrive in a faraway town full of strangers

who welcome you into warm rooms

filled with bright cloths, with soft guitar,

with fringed yellow tulips in blue vases.

 

Yes, that’s what it’s like when,

after listening to the firehose of the news,

you meet new friends who speak with you

of moss and making baskets and singing and seeds,

and your heart leaps up like a crocus in spring,

alive with the truth of how good it can be, this life.

 

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Chinese Proverb