Fire Your Wild Imagination - Portugal Depth-Writing Retreat
Expand your sense of possibility with a transformative writing practice in the cork woods of Alentejo. We are all born with a wild imagination. It is through this unlimited creative resource that we can access the unconscious, connect with our intuition, develop a greater degree of self-awareness and expand our sense of possibility. Fire Your Wild Imagination will be a chance to explore this vast inner superpower through a holistic creative practice underpinned by Jungian psychoanalysis and neuroscience that uses writing and imagination to tap into the unseen and untether creativity with the gentle guidance of Dr Rachel Newsome.
ABOUT THE RETREAT
Fire Your Wild Imagination will include daily depth writing workshops focused on cultivating creativity through attuning to your curious inner child, your wise inner sage and the wisdom of nature. The focus of the retreat will be on process, rather than outcome, and on what comes up in the writing, rather than craft, skills and technique. For those who have a writing or other creative practice, depth-writing can be used as an adjacent activity to support, deepen and expand your projects. Wherever you are at, this retreat is a chance to fire the creative, healing superpower of the wild imagination that courses through all of us.
The retreat will take place at the rustic and charming historic family home of Monte da Japonica and its surrounding cork woods. It will be a rejuvenating time of exploration and connection, writing and reflection, spending time in nature and enjoying meals together take place at the rustic and charming historic family home of Monte da Japonica.
Who is the retreat for?
The retreat is for writers, creative & therapeutic practitioners, seekers, inner explorers and those on a journey of self-discovery who are curious about how writing & imagination can be used to support transformative growth and would like to dive deeper.
A note about care
• Although the practice of depth-writing is transformational, it is not therapy so you will be invited to take responsibility for your own experience, go at your own pace, engage with the material at a level that feels right for you and avoid over-disclosing matter that is particularly private or painful.
• By attending the retreat, you are agreeing to practice CARE – confidentiality, attention, respect & empathy – with others.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
I am a writer & creative guide with a PhD in applying Jungian psychoanalysis to creative writing. I have a background in both the media and academia with over twenty years of teaching experience. After pursuing a career in journalism and becoming Editor of the arts & culture magazine Dazed & Confused in my twenties, a breakdown & related chronic illness resulting from unresolved childhood trauma brought me crashing to a standstill. Finding myself at a brink, it was through a mid-life encounter with Jungian psychotherapy that I began a dynamic journey of recovery. Following this life-changing experience, I became interested in how writing & creative practices of all forms can be an equivalent transformative space to explore the threshold between inner & outer worlds and develop psycho-spiritual growth.