The Great Search 2 - Earth & Soul Annual Retreat, Richmond VA

In 2022 John Philip Newell began a second series of annual retreats to address the deep spiritual yearnings of this moment in time and to help give birth to new beginnings in our lives and world.

The Great Search 2 is the second of a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we explore the search for awareness, the search for spiritual and physical wellness, and the search for love.

The teachings of this retreat are based on John Philip Newell’s new book The Great Search: Turning to Earth & Soul in the Quest for Healing & Home (especially Chapters 4, 5, and 6, drawing on the wisdom of Carl Jung, Julian of Norwich, and Jelalludin Rumi).

The text for this three-year program is John Philip Newell’s new book (August 2024). The shared prayer book for this program is.

The Great Search 2 can be taken as a stand-alone retreat or in conjunction with The Great Search 1 and The Great Search 3 which can be attended in any order and at any of our retreat centers across the country or online.

This retreat will include a special evening dialogue between John Philip Newell and Diana Butler Bass, included for all retreat participants. The two authors will engage in a lively and hopeful conversation about the themes of The Great Search. Known for their spiritual depth, as well as their insightful teaching, Diana and John Philip are delighted to be in conversation together.

Our retreats are three-day teaching and spiritual practice events. Each day begins and ends with meditative prayer and chant. John Philip teaches from the wisdom of Celtic prophets over the centuries, applying this ancient wisdom to the most critical challenges of today. Cami Twilling invites us into spiritual practice bringing our inner attention to the presence of the sacred within us and within all things. In the early afternoon there is silence and free time for resting and walking. Our meals are shared in common and on the evening of the second day we have a party to celebrate our time together at the retreat. On the final morning before lunch we share together in a closing ritual of thanksgiving.

John Philip Newell (b 1953) is an internationally renowned Celtic teacher and author of spirituality who calls the modern world to reawaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being.

Canadian by birth, and also Scottish, he resides with his wife Ali in the ecovillage of Findhorn in Scotland. In 2016 he began the Earth & Soul initiative and teaches regularly in the United States and Canada as well as leading international pilgrimage weeks on Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland.

His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh and he has authored over fifteen books, including his award-winning publication, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, which was the 2022 Gold Winner of the Nautilus Book Award for Spirituality and Religious Thought of the West. His new book, also with HarperOne, is The Great Search (August 2024), in which he looks at the great spiritual yearnings of humanity today in the context of the decline of religion as we have known it.

Newell speaks of himself as ‘a wandering teacher’ following the ancient path of many lone teachers before him in the Celtic tradition, seeking the wellbeing of the world. He has been described as having ‘the heart of a Celtic bard and the mind of a Celtic scholar’, combining in his teachings the poetic and the intellectual, the head as well as the heart, and spiritual awareness as well as political and ecological concern.

For full bio see: https://www.earthandsoul.org/john-philip-newell

Cami Twilling, based in Colorado, is the Director of Earth & Soul (a Celtic initiative of study, spiritual practice and compassionate action inspired by the teachings of John Philip Newell). As well as heading up the overall work of Earth & Soul, she facilitates the spiritual practice component of the Earth & Soul Retreats. Previously she was the Director of Contemplative Spirituality and Youth Ministry at Trinity UMC in downtown Denver. She has studied meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition of Shambhala and received Spiritual Direction certification from the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to leading mountain and urban retreats, she has led international pilgrimage groups to Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland and work teams to Guatemala to build houses in communities that have suffered from political strife and economic hardship. Cami is passionate about the relationship between spirituality and action and believes that spiritual vision and practice can play a vital role in helping to heal and transform our lives both individually and together.

Host or Publisher School of Earth & Soul, Virginia