July 14, 2024
Being the Change: Using the Labyrinth and SoulCollage® for Inner Exploration and Clarity. Qualifying Workshop
with Catherine Anderson

This one day workshop invites you to explore the labyrinth and the SoulCollage® process as creative and embodied practices for the journey of life. These are times for deep soul searching, for discerning what it is we are here to do and be, and for finding ways we can be the change we want to see in the world.

Both SoulCollage® and the labyrinth give us ways to access our own inner resources and intuition. Using one of them alone will make a difference in your life, but used together they amplify and deepen each other because they are both languages of the soul. They enable us to access our inner world and deepen our understanding of ourselves as we journey on this path called life. Both processes allow us to create a sense of order out of the information that bombards us from all directions, and both encourage us to develop a higher level of awareness which enables us to thrive in the complex and ever-changing world in which we live.

This workshop will give you an embodied experience of the labyrinth together with a creative way to process your experience. During our time together you will experience walking the labyrinth and using images to make your own unique collage cards. We will see what messages arise from within as we explore the question of how we can be the change we want to see in the world.

No previous experience of SoulCollage® is necessary to attend this workshop. All supplies to create your cards will be provided.

You will receive a link to book your accommodation at Bon Secours Conference and Retreat Center once you have registered. A single room is $129 per night and includes meals during the workshop.

July 15 & 16, 2024
Labyrinth Facilitator Training
with Catherine Anderson

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way. The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

How to know if Facilitator Training is right for you?

• Want to deepen your own labyrinth practice?
• Want the tools and guidance that will enable you to bring the labyrinth to your community?
• Want to connect with a supportive community of Labyrinth Facilitators around the world?
• Find yourself heading up a labyrinth program at your church, school, hospital, college etc. and need broad training and/or specific answers?
• Considering offering labyrinth walking as part of your healing, counseling, yoga or  coaching business and are curious about the business considerations involved?
• Love the labyrinth and want to offer workshops of your own? Consider completing Facilitator Training on the path to becoming Certified, Advance Trained and Accredited. Our Veriditas Accredited Presenters are now offering some of our qualifying workshops.

We encourage you to join us! 

Please note: prior attendance at a Veriditas qualifying workshop is required. The online workshop prior to this training considered a qualifying workshop.

Learn more about becoming a Veriditas Trained Facilitator.

You will receive a link to book your accommodation at Bon Secours Conference and Retreat Center once you have registered. A single room is $129 per night and includes meals during the workshop.

July 17 & 18, 2024
Your Very Own Labyrinth
with Lars Howlett

Have you dreamed of creating a labyrinth in your living room, backyard, or neighborhood? Whether temporary or permanent, ten feet in diameter or sixty feet wide, develop your toolkit for making labyrinths that benefit any intention or space. Learn how to create the archetypal Classical and Chartres variations quickly and easily using simple materials. Craft a tabletop labyrinth for a home altar or art installation using small objects and make two simple walkable labyrinths. Apply the techniques you learn to design labyrinths for your own workshops, presentations, festivals and projects.

Through inspiring slideshows and video tutorials Lars Howlett (Discover Labyrinths) will share his experience engaging a wide variety of labyrinth settings, materials and audiences to illustrate how small and simple labyrinths can have a big impact. We’ll explore how patterns resonate differently and which are better suited for small spaces, diverse communities, and varying age-ranges and abilities. A special guest will join to share ideas and inspiration for community labyrinths.

You will receive a link to book your accommodation at Bon Secours Conference and Retreat Center once you have registered. A single room is $129 per night and includes meals during the workshop.

Catherine Anderson, Faculty

cathy@catherineandersonstudio.com

The labyrinth Catherine constructed in her backyard in 2007 has been an important element in her mindfulness and creativity practices and Catherine loves showing others how the labyrinth can support us in quietening our mind and uncover our creativity. She is the author of Journaling the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths, quotes and journal prompts inspiring you to find your unique work in the world, and Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation.

Catherine uses the labyrinth, SoulCollage®, expressive arts, poetry and mindfulness as pathways for self-discovery and as ways of uncovering meaning and purpose in life. Her personal journey of self-discovery has taken her from a career as an attorney to photography-franchise owner, to creativity-workshop facilitator.

Photography is another creative passion for Catherine and her book The Creative Photographer won a Silver Nautilus Award in the Creative Process Category in 2012.  As a SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainer, Catherine loves teaching others how to facilitate workshops using the SoulCollage® process which uses images as a form of “soul language” to access our inner wisdom.

As a life-long learner, Catherine has been fortunate to train with Jean Houston, Seena Frost, Lauren Artress, Jan Phillips and many other wise teachers. In addition to her work in the US, Catherine leads creative pilgrimage retreats in South Africa, France, Italy, Mexico and Portugal. www.CreativePilgrimage.com

Lars Howlett, Faculty

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferre, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. Visit http://www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way. The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

How to know if Facilitator Training is right for you?

• Want to deepen your own labyrinth practice?
• Want the tools and guidance that will enable you to bring the labyrinth to your community?
• Want to connect with a supportive community of Labyrinth Facilitators around the world?
• Find yourself heading up a labyrinth program at your church, school, hospital, college etc. and need broad training and/or specific answers?
• Considering offering labyrinth walking as part of your healing, counseling, yoga or  coaching business and are curious about the business considerations involved?
• Love the labyrinth and want to offer workshops of your own? Consider completing Facilitator Training on the path to becoming Certified, Advance Trained and Accredited. Our Veriditas Accredited Presenters are now offering some of our qualifying workshops.

We encourage you to join us! 

Please note: prior attendance at a Veriditas qualifying workshop is required. The online workshop prior to this training considered a qualifying workshop.

Learn more about becoming a Veriditas Trained Facilitator.

Payment plans are available - please select that option when you register.

Catherine Anderson, Faculty

cathy@catherineandersonstudio.com

The labyrinth Catherine constructed in her backyard in 2007 has been an important element in her mindfulness and creativity practices and Catherine loves showing others how the labyrinth can support us in quietening our mind and uncover our creativity. She is the author of Journaling the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths, quotes and journal prompts inspiring you to find your unique work in the world, and Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation.

Catherine uses the labyrinth, SoulCollage®, expressive arts, poetry and mindfulness as pathways for self-discovery and as ways of uncovering meaning and purpose in life. Her personal journey of self-discovery has taken her from a career as an attorney to photography-franchise owner, to creativity-workshop facilitator.

Photography is another creative passion for Catherine and her book The Creative Photographer won a Silver Nautilus Award in the Creative Process Category in 2012.  As a SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainer, Catherine loves teaching others how to facilitate workshops using the SoulCollage® process which uses images as a form of “soul language” to access our inner wisdom.

As a life-long learner, Catherine has been fortunate to train with Jean Houston, Seena Frost, Lauren Artress, Jan Phillips and many other wise teachers. In addition to her work in the US, Catherine leads creative pilgrimage retreats in South Africa, France, Italy, Mexico and Portugal.

www.CreativePilgrimage.com

Have you dreamed of creating a labyrinth in your living room, backyard, or neighborhood? Whether temporary or permanent, ten feet in diameter or sixty feet wide, develop your toolkit for making labyrinths that benefit any intention or space. Learn how to create the archetypal Classical and Chartres variations quickly and easily using simple materials. Craft a tabletop labyrinth for a home altar or art installation using small objects and make two simple walkable labyrinths. Apply the techniques you learn to design labyrinths for your own workshops, presentations, festivals and projects.

Through inspiring slideshows and video tutorials Lars Howlett (Discover Labyrinths) will share his experience engaging a wide variety of labyrinth settings, materials and audiences to illustrate how small and simple labyrinths can have a big impact. We’ll explore how patterns resonate differently and which are better suited for small spaces, diverse communities, and varying age-ranges and abilities. A special guest will join to share ideas and inspiration for community labyrinths.

You will receive a link to book your accommodation at Bon Secours Conference and Retreat Center once you have registered. A single room is $129 per night and includes meals during the workshop.

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferre, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. Visit http://www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

Athena Dugan is a Veriditas Certified Labyrinth Facilitator and the Volunteers Chair and Regional Representative for Philadelphia with The Labyrinth Society. Athena creates temporary labyrinths and facilitates walks in the Philadelphia area; her roster includes Philadelphia Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia and South Jersey Pagan Pride Day organization, Kensington community grounds, and more. She has created temporary labyrinths for public and private events. A Mindfulness and Soundbath practitioner, Athena hosts online labyrinth meditation walks and Living Labyrinths, a monthly podcast blog that introduces her listeners to various Labyrinth makers. Athena enjoys crafting handheld labyrinths with air-dry clay, papercrafts, and pyrography.

What change are you seeking in your life right now? What do you long for? We come together in this workshop to explore our current longings, taking a closer look at what we are seeking at this moment in time, and uncover personal patterns that teach us to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Come take a peek at some of the wisdom embedded in the labyrinth experience while exploring ways of interacting with the labyrinth to guide you in your personal quest. You will emerge from the experience with 1) an expanded understanding of how to use the labyrinth to enhance spiritual growth and self-discovery, 2) how to engage three keys to self-discovery - the head, the heart and the body, and 3) your own personal labyrinth quest map to continue your explorations beyond the boundaries of this workshop.

The labyrinth is a field of memory, information and potential, offering spiritual seekers, wisdom teachers, and all human beings a personalized path of learning and self-discovery. Join us in this journey of learning and self-discovery with the labyrinth!

Laura Esculcas, Faculty

With passion for myth and metaphor, Laura curates wisdom journeys and immersion experiences in Portugal’s mystical landscape. Laura is co-founder of EarthShamans, a SoulCollage® facilitator, and teaches Energetics of Art with Ubiquity University Wisdom School. She is trained in Sacred Landscapes, Intuitive Feng Shui, and the Personessence™ System of Understanding People. Laura holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over ten years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a sacred journey shared with others. Now informed by more than ten years of immersion in the Portugal ecofield, Laura uniquely blends depth of experience, keen curiosity, and genuine open-heartedness as she facilitates wisdom journeys and pilgrimage experiences into Portugal's place-based myths.

Laura first met the labyrinth in 2001, on an Advent Quiet Day in Santa Cruz, California. Since that day, Laura has been a Labyrinth Enthusiast. She has served with Veriditas as a small group facilitator in Chartres, and teaches qualifying workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training in Europe.

Laura speaks English and Portuguese and lives near Lisbon with her husband and son, and their two dogs.

Would you like to introduce the labyrinth to others, facilitate group walks and lead transformative workshops? Join Veriditas Faculty Members Laura Esculcas and Lars Howlett (see bios below) for our next Virtual Labyrinth Facilitator Training. Go deeper with your personal practice in the labyrinth, meet others on a similar path, and receive a hard copy of our updated 160-page facilitator's manual with a wealth of labyrinth resources! Past participants can also enroll in the course again for half-price as a refresher.

Take the training from the comfort of your home in four consecutive 4.5 hour Zoom sessions (with breaks totaling one hour). Laura and Lars will share their insights, experiences, and inspiration from their personal and professional work with the labyrinth. Attendance in a Qualifying Workshop within the past two years is required for participants to experience a shared labyrinth journey led by a Veriditas Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator. (Check our calendar for in-person or online qualifying workshops).  To become trained, you must actively participate in the entire 16-hour training. For more information about scholarship opportunities and the program see: Veriditas.org/ft  

So, what is a labyrinth facilitator? First, it's someone who understands what a labyrinth is and can speak about it to a variety of audiences. This is actually a bit tricky, since the definition is quite slippery, and the origins are mysterious. Also, the terminology and applications of labyrinths vary a lot depending on if you’re talking to a group of high school students, a church congregation, patients at a cancer treatment center, or employees in a corporate office. Likewise, there are an infinite number of applications for the labyrinth. You could walk for prayer, healing, transformation, creativity, problem solving, community building, or stress reduction, among other things. 
 The second main aspect is organizing events and optimizing the labyrinth experience. There are many aspects to leading a group walk from framing the labyrinth with music, light, and thematic elements to incorporating a ritual or interactive element. There's also the pace and flow of the walk-- conducting the symphony of different people entering and exiting into sacred time and space. Lastly, there is the practice of holding space for a variety of experiences and providing opportunities for processing the walk through small group sharing, journaling, or other creative reflective exercises. Finally, becoming a labyrinth facilitator creates a pathway to working professionally in the realm of labyrinths. 

This training runs from Monday, July 29th through Thursday August 1st, from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM Pacific time each day.

Laura Esculcas, Faculty

http://www.mysticalportugal.com

With passion for myth and metaphor, Laura curates wisdom journeys and immersion experiences in Portugal’s mystical landscape. Laura is co-founder of EarthShamans, a SoulCollage® facilitator, and teaches Energetics of Art with Ubiquity University Wisdom School. She is trained in Sacred Landscapes, 

Intuitive Feng Shui, and the Personessence™ System of Understanding People. Laura holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. 

Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over ten years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a sacred journey shared with others. Now informed by more than ten years of immersion in the Portugal ecofield, Laura uniquely blends depth of experience, keen curiosity, and genuine open-heartedness as she facilitates wisdom journeys and pilgrimage experiences into Portugal's place-based myths.

Laura first met the labyrinth in 2001, on an Advent Quiet Day in Santa Cruz, California. Since that day, Laura has been a Labyrinth Enthusiast. She has served with Veriditas as a small group facilitator in Chartres, and teaches qualifying workshops and Labyrinth Facilitator Training in Europe.

Laura speaks English and Portuguese and lives near Lisbon with her husband and son, and their two dogs.

Lars Howlett, Faculty

www.DiscoverLabyrinths.com

Lars Howlett is a leading expert in the design and creation of sacred space for walking meditation, centering prayer, personal healing, conflict resolution and community building. Lars is a practitioner of mindfulness and student of sacred geometry since 2003, experimenting with a wide variety of designs, materials, intentions and settings in his personal and professional projects. Universities, churches, health centers, retirement communities, mental health centers, retreats, and individuals find Lars for inspiration and insight in creating exact replicas of historical patterns or one-of-a-kind artistic installations. 

Lars was a three year apprentice to Robert Ferré, inheriting the tools, techniques, and teaching curriculum of a master builder. Lars is a Veriditas Faculty Member and Certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator trained by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress at Grace and Chartres Cathedrals. He was the Chairperson of World Labyrinth Day from 2013-18.

Lars is an inspiring teacher and passionate speaker on the history, spirituality, and practice of walking labyrinths, leading workshops to cultivate inner wisdom for personal transformation with slideshows of personal projects and visits to sacred sites on four continents. 

“Vision and Revision on the Labyrinth and in Life: How does the Walk Nurture Our Practice and Creativity?”

Throughout life, opportunities to nurture and tend our creative and imaginal selves are ever present. As such, the work of Vision and Revision reflects our journey from “good” toward “better” as labyrinth facilitators and walkers.

Please join Veriditas Council members Vicki Longhofer and Rob Hodges for our Meet Up! on August 3rd. Through small and large group sharing we will explore the journey from good to better practices on the labyrinth and in our lives.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there! The Meet Up is free but remember to register.

If you are interested in becoming a labyrinth facilitator or simply learning more about the labyrinth, this Qualifying Workshop is for you. In addition to its basic components, we will cover best practices for walking the labyrinth and an excellent video introducing the labyrinth as a walking meditation (narrated by Veriditas founder, Lauren Artress). Woven throughout the workshop will be numerous easily applicable journaling methods to help you deepen and transform your own labyrinth practice. Join us!

Susan Borkin, PhD, is a psychotherapist and speaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A pioneer in the field of writing therapy, she is the author (or contributing author) to six books on journaling. She is an advanced facilitator and member of the Veriditas faculty. 

An inner and outer pilgrimage to sacred sites in South West, England-

Wells Cathedral, Glastonbury Abbey and Tor, Tintagel, Avebury and a dawn ceremony inside the inner circle of Stonehenge. Meditation, Sacred Circle Work, Music and Exploration.

Do you yearn for a deeper connection with yourself and the world around you?

Join Robin B. Dilley for a transformative workshop inspired by the sad Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. "Matters of the Heart" is a qualifying session delving into the Tin Man's backstory, where a functioning human loses his voice and heart, leaving him hollow and yearning for connection.

Think about the labyrinth as your Yellow Brick Road. We will explore the metaphorical labyrinth of our lives, uncovering why we might silence our authentic voice or push away love. Through guided exercises and introspective dialogue, we will embark on a journey to rediscover your center – your integrity, your compassion, and the unique gifts you have to offer.

Joseph Campbell refers to the “Promised Land,” as coming home to the heart! Using the background story of the Tin Man, we will come home to our true hearts.

Three takeaways from the day:

1. Explore how the Labyrinth can help recover our heart
2. Discover the importance of using our voice.
3. Developing Community and using our oil can.

Dr. Robin B. Dilley brings over 35 years of experience to the table as an Arizona Licensed psychologist, author, and workshop facilitator. She has been an Advanced Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator since 2015 and recently became a Veriditas Faculty member. 

Since learning about the Labyrinth in 1992, Robin has drawn on her background in Experiential Family Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, and Jungian Theory to develop an active Labyrinth practice. She incorporates the Labyrinth into her work with clients in several ways. She explores its use as an ancient archetypal symbol for guidance and personal insight. Additionally, she teaches clients to use the Labyrinth as a tool for mindfulness and anxiety management, empowering them to use it for relaxation and stress reduction.

Now, through her newest endeavor, Arizona Labyrinth Connections, an extension of her psychotherapy and spiritual consulting practice, Dr. Dilley leads well-designed transformative workshops which include storytelling, journal writing, and a labyrinth experience.  She creates workshops regularly and has two signature workshops, “Lessons from The Yellow Brick Road” and “Lessons from The Miller’s Daughter.”

Robin is available to create a workshop for your group or individual consulting to enhance your life’s journey. She also publishes a regular newsletter, Continue Your Journey.

Robin lives happily with her spouse of 28 years, Pam Smead. They enjoy cruising, walking, reading, and exploring life together.  Don't hesitate to get in touch with Robin at drrobinbdilley@gmail.com to learn more.

Led by Judith Tripp, MA, MFT, a member of the Veriditas Faculty, a transpersonal psychotherapist, leader of Women's Dream Quest, and teacher.  She leads pilgrimages and retreats in the US, Europe and Australia.  She is also an author, a musician and singer.

Anyone who comes to Chartres whether it be to visit the labyrinth, to explore the magnificent medieval architecture or to meditate in the glory of this always sacred site, soon realizes that this holy place is an homage to Mary. The Sacred Feminine is alive and well in Chartres and has been throughout history.

We will create a sacred circle to explore how Mary has been honored in Chartres throughout history. We will meet her spirit through lecture, meditation, art, music and ritual. We will share insights, creations and stories. Includes one special evening labyrinth walk in Chartres Cathedral. 

This can be a stand-alone workshop or a perfect pairing with to Cycle One of Walking A Sacred Path. No meals are included.

Lean back and look at the beauty of the night sky,

lean forward and gaze at the sublime vision of a medieval cathedral,

lean in and walk labyrinth.

You are no longer the same person.

The Universe is thrumming with energy, mystery, and beauty. These qualities are marvelous gifts from Creation, but as the mystics and poets tell us, we must actively participate with joy amid the sorrows of the world. When we embrace courage, we begin a pilgrimage toward “the task of tasks that help us move from being destructive to creative presences on our struggling planet.” We are co-creating a New Story.

In our workshop we will explore this glorious New Story, bringing a convergence of science, spirituality, and the arts under the rubric of Cosmogenesis.

For cosmologist Brian Swimme, Cosmogenesis is the realization Creation didn’t happen only out there, billions of years ago—but is happening in here and now and is revealed in the development of our own imaginations. His work reflects a wild faith in the intelligence of the universe that “knew” from the very beginning that life was coming on a spiritual quest.

For mythologist Phil Cousineau, the New Story is a Numinous Narrative reflecting our desire to create art, a recognition of the alluring power of beauty, in the classical Greek sense, and personified as Aphrodite or Venus.

What better place to delve into these mysteries than the great pilgrimage center of Chartres! Our week features presentations by Swimme and Cousineau including storytelling, poetry, film clips, creative exercises and ample time for conversation.
A Vocal artist will lead a daily call-and-response as well as an evening of music around the St Yves Labyrinth.

Our time together will be highlighted by an evening of star gazing along the Eure River with Brian, and an afternoon of sauntering with Phil around the medieval streets in the spirit of notitia—the practice of noticing everyday beauty with the eyes of the soul. Each activity is designed to renew your own sense of awe and wonder about the universe and to aid you in creating your own New Story which reflects the twists and turns of your life pilgrimage. Please join us.

The Chartres Experience

What better place to feel nurtured than the sacred space of Chartres Cathedral? We begin with a reception to meet each other followed by an opening ritual and orientation to the program. Then each day, there is a morning seminar, a small processing group, and an experience of what Chartres has to offer. On Tuesday afternoon, there is a tour of Chartres Cathedral. Then, on Wednesday, there is an orientation to the labyrinth followed by a once in a life-time candlelit labyrinth walk with medieval music on the Chartres Labyrinth.  Thursday afternoon is a tour of the Crypt , and a closing celebratory reception and dinner are on Friday.

Recommended Reading/Viewing:

• The Art of Pilgrimage, Phil Cousineau, Conari Press, 1998, revised 2022.
• Who Stole the Arms of the Venus de Milo? Phil Cousineau, Sisyphus Press, 2023.
• Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe. Brian Thomas Swimme, Counterpoint, 2022.
• The New Ecozoic Reader: Reflections on Brian Thomas Swimme. The Center for Ecozoic Studies, 2023.
• Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice. Lauren Artress. Riverhead Books, revised and updated, 2006.
• GLOBAL SPIRIT with Pico Iyer
  
• TED X Talk on Mentorship and Following Your Passion
  
• On Pilgrimage for Banyan Books, Seattle, WA
  
• Conversation between Lauren Artress and Phil Cousineau

Cancellation Policy

We understand that life happens! When things don’t go as you planned, Veriditas has policies in place so that you always know what to expect should you have to cancel an event. Please read our updated cancellation policy here.

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way.The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

How to know if Facilitator Training is right for you?

• Want to deepen your own labyrinth practice?
• Want the tools and guidance that will enable you to bring the labyrinth to your community?
• Want to connect with a supportive community of Labyrinth Facilitators around the world?
• Find yourself heading up a labyrinth program at your church, school, hospital, college etc. and need broad training and/or specific answers?
• Considering offering labyrinth walking as part of your healing, counseling, yoga or  coaching business and are curious about the business considerations involved?
• Love the labyrinth and want to offer workshops of your own? Consider completing Facilitator Training on the path to becoming Certified, Advance Trained and Accredited. Our Veriditas Accredited Presenters are now offering some of our qualifying workshops.

We encourage you to join us! 

Please note: prior attendance at a Veriditas qualifying workshop is required. The Pilgrimage prior to this training in Chartres is considered a qualifying workshop.

Learn more about becoming a Veriditas Trained Facilitator.

Accommodation:

You will receive a link to book your accommodation at the Hotellerie St. Yves once your registration has been completed.

Join Cynthia James on a priceless, inward journey to explore the sacred sites and energies of southern France – the legendary home of Mary Magdalene – sites that have for centuries attracted mystics, magicians, saints, and those who seek the Holy Grail.

Follow in the footsteps of Mary Magdalene, embrace the Black Madonna, explore the mysteries of the Cathars, stand in awe deep in a prehistoric cave exactly where people did 16,700 years ago, walk the largest labyrinth in the world, and so much more. We’ll spend time in Marseilles, St. Baume, Arles, Sainte Maries de la Mer, Carcassonne, Montpellier, Chartres, and end in Paris. For more information about the tour that the Chartres Pilgrimage is part of, please click here.

The great artist and mystic William Blake stated, “Imagination is evidence of the Divine.” He knew—and we are discovering now—that to live a life with a vibrant, grounded imagination is not a luxury, it is a necessity, especially during these chaotic and worrisome times for everyone on Planet Earth. Yet to live a life nurtured by our imaginations we must honor symbols and metaphors as keys to another way of knowing; a deep, embodied way of receiving guidance that welcomes healing and the Holy into our lives. To invite the Holy, we must step over the invisible lines of being “proper” or “cultured” or “educated” in the formal rational sense. We must become Holy Fools, approaching life through synchronicity, attention to hidden meaning in plain sight, humor and yes, even bravery.

Activating our imaginations in service to creating for the good of humankind is the challenge of our age. Imagination is the most important resource we have, and yet we mistrust it, disparage it, and abandon nurturing it within ourselves and within our communities. When our imagination is alive and grounded in the body, it becomes a compass for our passion, our soul’s calling, and our next step in life.

The Walking a Sacred Path Program in Chartres will be an opportunity to befriend your imagination, embrace its wisdom through symbols and metaphors. In morning seminars with Cynthia and Lauren Artress, providing content through stories, writing prompts, and discussion, through the tours of the Crypt and Chartres Cathedral our imaginations will be nurtured. The highlight of the week is a private evening in Chartres Cathedral for an initiatory ritual culminating in a labyrinth walk with live music.

This experience is about co-creation and manifestation.

This is a private group. A few spaces are available. Please click here for more information.

The Chartres Experience

What better place to feel nurtured than the sacred space of Chartres Cathedral? We begin with a reception to meet each other followed by an opening ritual and orientation to the program. Then each day, there is a morning seminar, a small processing group, and an experience of what Chartres has to offer. On Tuesday afternoon, there is a tour of Chartres Cathedral. Then, on Wednesday, there is an orientation to the labyrinth followed by a once in a life-time candlelit labyrinth walk with medieval music on the Chartres Labyrinth.  Thursday afternoon is a tour of the Crypt , and a closing celebratory reception and dinner are on Friday.

Recommended Reading:

• Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice. Lauren Artress. Riverhead Books, revised and updated, 2006.
• On Pilgrimage for Banyan Books, Seattle, WA

  Join us at St. Anthony's Retreat in Three Rivers, California for a pilgrimage into the sacred ground of our own lives through music, poetry, SoulCollage®, and immersion in the beauty of the natural world of the Sierra Nevada Foothills - gateway to Sequoia National Park.  

Each day will begin with meditative music and unfold with opportunities to experiment with images, words, sound, and movement through the landscape in a series of sessions led by experienced facilitators.                      

The cost of this four-day, three night retreat is $925 and includes accommodation in a single room with private bathroom, all meals and snacks, collage supplies and a copy of Instead of Sadness.

If you would prefer to share a room with a friend, the cost is $800 per person. Please provide the name of your roommate.

Early Bird rate until June 10, 2024:

Early Bird Single Occupancy:  $875

Early Bird double Occupancy:  $750

For more information or to register, contact lauraesculcas@gmail.com. or WhatsApp:  (+351) 912 228 2 676.   

Check out the full event listing at:  https://bit.ly/sacredgroundretreat

Our stories and the connections we make are the threads that bind us together on the path of life, weaving a beautiful tapestry of shared experiences, hopes and dreams. 

"We tell our stories to remember who we are and what matters to us. Our stories are stepping stones on our journeys. In telling our stories we touch our souls. Listening connects us to each other, deepening the importance of our stories.” 

 ~adapted from Barbara Hamilton Holway     

In this qualifying workshop we will engage in the intuitive spiritual practices of the Labyrinth and Soul Collage® to reflect and listen deeply. 

There will be space for sharing stories, soul care, for tears and laughter and all that is between.

This workshop is an invitation to take intentional time out of the routine of your daily life, joining others for rest and renewal both individually and collectively in community. 

Sharry Nyberg:  is Co-Founder of Glide into Grace Retreats. She is passionate about sharing the labyrinth with others, training with the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress in San Francisco in 2002 and becoming a Veriditas certified Advanced Labyrinth Facilitator in 2019.  She is a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator and a creator of art. She retired after serving the United Church of Christ for over 21 years and continues to lead retreats, workshops and creative opportunities, as a spiritual companion on the journey, holding sacred space for others to experience and engage in rituals and practices noticing moments of sacred-nicity.

The Virtual Facilitator Training, led by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress, will be held online Sunday through Thursday each afternoon from 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm pacific time. We will mail you the Facilitator Training manual so you will have it to follow along with in the class. There will be plenty of time for questions along with the didactic material. Programs will be held on Zoom and you will be sent the link to join once you register.

The goal of Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator Training is to prepare people to introduce others to the labyrinth in an articulate, professional and effective way.The training addresses meditative walking in a variety of settings, with a variety of different populations. It is focused primarily on the Eleven Circuit Medieval Labyrinth but is inclusive of all forms.

Walking the labyrinth is being embraced as a spiritual practice throughout the Western world mostly because of Veriditas trained facilitators. The Veriditas Facilitator Training -- which began in 1997 -- remains the most rigorous and comprehensive training offered. 

How to know if Facilitator Training is right for you?

• Want to deepen your own labyrinth practice?
• Want the tools and guidance that will enable you to bring the labyrinth to your community?
• Want to connect with a supportive community of Labyrinth Facilitators around the world?
• Find yourself heading up a labyrinth program at your church, school, hospital, college etc. and need broad training and/or specific answers?
• Considering offering labyrinth walking as part of your healing, counseling, yoga or  coaching business and are curious about the business considerations involved?
• Love the labyrinth and want to offer workshops of your own? Consider completing Facilitator Training on the path to becoming Certified, Advance Trained and Accredited. Our Veriditas Accredited Presenters are now offering some of our qualifying workshops.

We encourage you to join us! 

Please note: prior attendance at a Veriditas qualifying workshop is required. The online workshop prior to this training considered a qualifying workshop.

Learn more about becoming a Veriditas Trained Facilitator.

Payment plans are available - please select that option when you register.

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

Join us in the beauty of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, California  for the 37th annual Women’s Dream Quest as we explore the theme of Dreaming Equanimity.  In these times of fracture and division, it is more important than ever to find our serenity, provide solace for our beloveds and generate peace for our world.  

Judith Tripp

Judith Tripp, MA MFT,  is a transpersonal psychotherapist, pilgrimage leader and musician.  She is on the Veriditas faculty and teaches at Chartres Cathedral.  She has led the Women’s Dream Quest at Grace Cathedral for 37 years as well as other venues all over the world.    She also  leads pilgrimages to Iona, Portugal and Avalon.  Judith has created the  musical offerings Homage, Return Again, and To Bless the Walk and authored the Book: Circleway, The Story of the Women’s Dream Quest.  More information on Circleway.com.  

Imagination is the most powerful tool we have to make sense of the complex world and times in which we live. In this retreat we will explore what our lives might look like if we used our imagination to direct our energy and passion towards the longings of our Soul. Using the labyrinth and SoulCollage®, Lauren Artress and Catherine Anderson will guide you to discover new ways to reclaim, replenish and rediscover your imagination.

This retreat offers you to a time of stillness from the outside world in which to nourish your soul, still your mind and explore your imagination. We will explore how you can use your imagination as an inner compass … a gateway to your inner world … a decoder for an often noisy, messy and complex outer world. You’ll spend each day nourishing your connection to your interior world while learning new ways to direct and focus your energy into creating the world you want for yourself and others.

Through Lauren’s deep and rich labyrinth teachings and Catherine’s SoulCollage® practices, the creative landscape of the imagination comes alive as you explore new practices to befriend, strengthen and bring clarity to your imagination.

In addition to a rich selection of collage images, participants will receive their own book of “Imaginary Images” to use in the retreat as well as a box of SoulCollage® supplies which will include 12 blank cards and clear bags and glue stick. No labyrinth or SoulCollage® experience is necessary to attend this retreat.

If you would like accommodation at the Mercy Center for the duration of the Retreat, please select the accommodation option during the registration process. Overnight accommodation is $150 for Friday and Saturday night and includes breakfast and dinner.

Catherine Anderson, Faculty

cathy@catherineandersonstudio.com

The labyrinth Catherine constructed in her backyard in 2007 has been an important element in her mindfulness and creativity practices and Catherine loves showing others how the labyrinth can support us in quietening our mind and uncover our creativity. She is the author of Journaling the Labyrinth Path, a book of finger labyrinths, quotes and journal prompts inspiring you to find your unique work in the world, and Meeting Your Soul on the Labyrinth: SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth as Pathways for Transformation.

Catherine uses the labyrinth, SoulCollage®, expressive arts, poetry and mindfulness as pathways for self-discovery and as ways of uncovering meaning and purpose in life. Her personal journey of self-discovery has taken her from a career as an attorney to photography-franchise owner, to creativity-workshop facilitator.

Photography is another creative passion for Catherine and her book The Creative Photographer won a Silver Nautilus Award in the Creative Process Category in 2012.  As a SoulCollage® Facilitator Trainer, Catherine loves teaching others how to facilitate workshops using the SoulCollage® process which uses images as a form of “soul language” to access our inner wisdom.

As a life-long learner, Catherine has been fortunate to train with Jean Houston, Seena Frost, Lauren Artress, Jan Phillips and many other wise teachers. In addition to her work in the US, Catherine leads creative pilgrimage retreats in South Africa, France, Italy, Mexico and Portugal.

www.CreativePilgrimage.com

And co-taught with:

The Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

Lauren is the grandmother of the modern day Labyrinth movement and is the Founder of Veriditas. She is the author of: Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool (Putnam/Riverhead Books, New York), The Sand Labyrinth Kit, (Tuttle Publishers), The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform (Riverhead, 2006) and most recently, The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers (Rose Petal Press, 2020). In May of 2006, Lauren's rediscovery of the labyrinth was honored by Grace Cathedral and she was designated Honorary Canon, a lifetime title.

7 days, 45 miles of flat water canoeing, designing / creating / walking labyrinths, delicious food, 15 participants max.

Join labyrinth maker Lars Howlett and naturalist Lauren Bond for a one-week retreat along Utah’s Green River. Together we’ll paddle, camp, cook, and savor a shared journey through Labyrinth Canyon. Learn to design, create and walk archetypal labyrinths made from natural materials along the riverbanks. Take meditative walks alone or as a group down canyon trails and swap stories and sing songs around the campfire each evening. Create a map that reflects your very own River of Life and learn how to embrace the meander as we wind our way together.

Like a labyrinth, the river traces a long, winding path from source to sea. The twists and turns slow its pace, allowing more time and space for absorption. Nature’s wisdom is woven into this organic design and replicated in the labyrinth. For thousands of years people have designed, drawn, and walked labyrinths to reflect and reconsider their own life journey. The labyrinth was born from the meander—a pattern that takes its name from an ancient river. The mystery of the meander forces us out of linear thinking and our rational mind allowing us to get lost in the present moment and tap into timelessness and innate wisdom.

https://www.theriverspath.org/utah-river-retreats/meander-the-river-of-life/