Lapidus Events

Practices that connect our mind and bodies, like yoga and yoga nidra (a type of relaxing meditation) can help to support our wellbeing – but could they also help us tune into our sense of play and creativity?

Join us for an intimate (10 participants max) playful workshop, designed to connect body, mind and creativity. We’ll use a mixture of yoga practices and fully guided writing exercises to open up to new possibilities. Our ambition is for you to leave with a renewed sense of freedom and confidence to keep exploring your creative life.

Come as you are, whether that’s writer or non-writer, beginner or experienced yogi.

What the workshop includes
A chance to practise three kinds of yoga (physical practice, guided meditation designed to boost creativity, and restorative relaxation)
Practices designed to open up your body and get ‘unstuck’
Simple, playful writing exercises to reconnect with your own creativity (e.g. writing in response to image prompts)
A chance to connect with likeminded others
Tea and nibbles, including specially selected writing enhancement snacks
A goodie bag, with a book, a notebook, a pen, a room spray to support relaxation

Who is it for?
Anyone who wants to reconnect with and develop their playfulness and creativity in a safe and collaborative space.

In this session, we turn our attention to the inner awareness of mental activity.
In yoga and meditation, we aim to develop the capacity to observe or witness the mind’s activities, recognising that we are not defined by our thoughts or feelings. This practice of witnessing is a lifelong journey. Yet, as anyone who practices mindfulness or meditation knows, it often feels like an endless return to the breath, accompanied by the chatter of the “monkey mind” and the commentary of the inner critic.
Freewriting, integrated with yoga and meditation, offers a powerful tool for navigating this mental chatter. It helps us make sense of what arises, allowing us to notice and gradually loosen the grip of unhelpful thought patterns. This combination of practices helps us make steady progress in taming the monkey mind and the inner critic, creating more ease and clarity in daily life while also freeing us for creative expression.
What to Expect
The yoga and meditation practice is suitable for all, including beginners. You will be encouraged to move at your own pace and comfort. Chairs are available for seated practice. The writing requires no prior experience and serves as a personal tool for self-expression. Writing takes place in short, guided bursts of about five minutes, using prompts to get started. This writing is purely for you – unfettered by grammar, spelling, or any inner critic. You are free to follow the prompts or let your pen flow wherever it leads you.
There will be opportunities to share your experiences if you wish, but sharing your written work is entirely optional. Any feedback focuses on emotional resonance rather than craft. The workshop also includes a tea/coffee and cake break, where you chat with each other. The venue is beautiful, spacious with a garden we can use for our break if the weather is good enough!
Typical Morning Schedule (may vary slightly)
9:30–10:40 – Slow, mindful yoga movements and breathing
10:40–11:10 – Writing prompts, writing, and discussion
11:10–11:30 – Tea/coffee break with cake
11:30–11:50 – Meditation
11:50–12:10 – Writing prompts, writing, and discussion
12:10–13:00 – Yoga Nidra and final writing session

Note
This is a therapeutic practice for personal wellbeing, not therapy or a creative writing course. The focus is on self-exploration and expression, not critique. My role is not that of a therapist or writing critic. While your writing may inspire ideas for future development, the emphasis is on personal reflection and discovery.

Details
• Date: Saturday,31st May 2025
• Time: 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM
• Location: Whirlow Hall, Sheffield

Summer is a season that’s associated with sunshine and light, abundance and joy. Nature is in full leaf and adventure calls in the form of holidays, trips and time spent in nature. This Summer depth writing workshop will be a chance for you to press pause on the busyness of life and reflect on the seasons and cycles of your self-experience through the symbolism of Summer and its associations with abundance, adventure, playfulness and joy through a series of guided depth writing prompts.

What to expect
Depth writing is a transformational creative practice grounded in Jungian psychology, creative writing & reflective journaling aimed at facilitating creativity, supporting self-discovery and expanding possibility. It’s a process-focussed approach to writing rather than a product-focussed one, which means there’s no need to worry about spelling and grammar and there will be no pressure to read anything out (although you can if you wish).
This Summer depth writing workshop will include guided timed writing exercises of between approximately five and fifteen minutes as well as the chance to reflect on the process & any insights arising from it in small group discussions.

Who is it for?
This workshop is for writers, creative practitioners, seekers & inner explorers who are on a journey of self-discovery and who are comfortable with diving deeper.

Community guidelines
Everyone will be invited to:
Take responsibility for your own experience by working with the material at a level that feels right for you
Avoid over-disclosing any personal matter that is particularly private or painful
Practice CARE – Confidentiality, Attention, Respect & Empathy – with others.
Consider seeking outside support if anything particularly difficult comes up
Go in peace if the space is not serving you

About Dr Rachel Newsome
I’m a writer and creative guide with a PhD in applying Jungian Psychology to Creative Writing. I have over 20 years teaching as Lecturer and now lead depth writing workshops, courses & retreats underpinned by Jungian psychology focused on using writing & imagination to inspire the creative self in everyone. I’m a Seed Talks expert speaker, serve on the Editorial Team of the London Arts-Based Research Centre, co-Editor of forthcoming Routledge publication The Creative Psyche: Between Spirit & Matter and the creator of Depth Writing With Dr Rachel on Substack.
https://drrachelnewsome.substack.com/
https://rachelnewsome.co.uk/

Long, slow, hot days. Deckchairs, ice cream, sandcastles, splashing in the waves. What do you remember about the summers of your past?
Maybe there’s a particular summer you always return to in your mind or maybe your summers have merged into a golden glow.

In this 2-part creative writing course, we take a nostalgic look at summer memories and explore how to turn them into a piece of writing.

Workshop 1 (Friday 6 June 2025): Fun activities to come up with lots of memories and ideas. Then, you’ll get a chance to work on your writing at home.

Workshop 2 (Friday 20 June 2025): Learn writing techniques to bring your memories alive on the page, whether you want to write fiction, memoir or a journal. Then, there’ll be a chance to get supportive, encouraging feedback on work you’ve brought in from home if you would like that.

The day will be experiential and give you an introductory foundation on how to use Gendlin’s FOCUSing process in combination with writing for wellbeing exercises. This will enable you to deep dive as a reflective writing practitioner and as a writing for wellbeing workshop facilitator. This is a unique way of offering deeper insights and new perspective on what is happening in your life/the lives of your clients. There is a £20 discount for Lapidus members. The day will be 10am till 4pm, with plenty of breaks in between. I’m happy to have an initial 15 minutes conversation with anyone who has queries.

Welcome to Words in the Wood!

What?
A day of guided creative writing, in a beautiful woodland, shared with like-minded professionals. We have use of stunning indoor and outdoor spaces, fire circle, walks in the wood, time to be alone and together.

Who for?

Anyone in the caring professions, including:
· Counsellors
· Psychotherapists
· Medical professionals
· Wellbeing practitioners
· Coaches

Why?
· Experience therapeutic writing for self-care, giving us the resources to help our patients and clients, in a welcoming and supportive environment.
· Learn tools for reflective practice.
· Build rich connections learning with and from others in similar fields.
· Enjoy the peace and tranquillity of a beautiful 70-acre mixed woodland.

With whom?
The day is led by Caroline Hukins, a qualified counsellor and therapeutic writing practitioner. She works in private practice, counselling individuals and couples, and runs Writing for Wellbeing groups and training events.

Photo credit: Jeremy Parkinson

Breath Write Shine

For this year’s Lapidus Summer Festival, we’re shining a spotlight on the creative side of writing for wellbeing, with a special focus on poetry and expressive writing. Whether you’re a poet, storyteller, or simply someone who finds healing through creative expression, this festival is for you.

Expect a vibrant afternoon full of inspiring workshops, thought-provoking talks, and plenty of creative connection; all celebrating the power of words to support wellbeing.

Whether you’re just beginning your journey or are already deeply immersed in the practice, there’s something here to spark your imagination.

The event is open to members and non-members, to find out more about the line-up, and purchase tickets, please click here.

Mitigating Stress and Enhancing Creativity among Teachers in Croatia

Presenter: Emica Calogjera

Saturday 2nd August, 16:00pm-17:15pm.

Event details coming soon

About the Presenter

Presenter details coming soon.

Zoom Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85163678537 

 About the Lapidus Living Research Community

The Lapidus Living Research Community (LLRC) meets on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom to discuss all things research, with a focus on qualitative arts-based research practices, theory and methods.

All Lapidus members are welcome, regardless of research experience. FREE AND NO TICKETS REQUIRED. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.

Writing For Wellbeing & Activism – A 2-day event

Writing has the power to uncover, heal, and transform. As we write, we shape our world and ourselves.

Inspired by this belief, Lapidus International invites you to participate in a two-day conference that explores the intersections of writing, wellbeing, and activism. This conference is an opportunity for academics, practitioners, writers, and activists from around the world to share knowledge and engage in dialogue on the role of writing in personal healing and social transformation.

This gathering aims to bring together participants from various disciplines to investigate how writing for wellbeing can also serve as a vehicle for activism. We welcome diverse perspectives that examine writing as a method of supporting mental health, fostering resilience, and creating social change.

To find out more and book tickets please click here.

Harnessing creativity to deliver rich, enjoyable and meaningful evaluation.
Tuesday 16th September, 23rd September and 30th September 2025, from 10am – 12.30pm.

Are you frustrated with traditional evaluation methods?
Do you feel your evaluation tools don’t reflect the creative nature of your work?
Are you finding it hard to engage participants in evaluation?
Do you get poor response rates from questionnaires?

Over the course of three interactive workshops, we will look at ways in which we can better harness creativity to generate appropriate, relevant, meaningful evaluations.

You will discover how to evaluate in ways that are enjoyable and rewarding for participants; that generate improved response rates; and deliver richer and more meaningful data.

Working collaboratively, we will co-produce creative solutions to real-world scenarios. Sharing ideas and practice, we will explore ways in which creativity can reinvigorate existing evaluation methods including questionnaires, focus groups, feedback and monitoring.

The full cost is £225 for three workshops and all handouts.

A £75 discount is available for freelancers and self-funding individuals. Please email support@janewillis.co.uk for a coupon code.

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 practice underpinned by Jungian psychology, creative writing and journaling designed to facilitate creativity, foster self-discovery & facilitate transformative growth with the gentle guidance of Dr Rachel.

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 retreat will take place at the rustic and charming historic family home of Monte da Japonica and its surrounding cork woods.

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. The focus of the retreat will be on process, rather than outcome, and on what comes up in the writing, rather than craft and you’ll be invited to work with the material at a level that feels right for you. 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.

Cost: single & shared rooms from £495 (For individual room costs, send me an email)
Deposit: £125

About Rachel
Rachel Newsome, PhD, is an independent writer, teacher and creative guide with twenty years of experience as a former lecturer in Higher Education. She holds a Jungian arts-based doctorate in Creative Writing and delivers a programme of depth writing offerings aimed at supporting transformational growth in others. She is Co-Editor of forthcoming Routledge publication ‘The Creative Psyche: Between Matter & Spirit’ and is regular speaker for the UK public education platform Seed Talks. She is author of Depth Writing with Dr Rachel on Substack and serves on the London Arts-Based Research Centre editorial team.

This excursion-retreat weaves together the inspirational power of strikingly beautiful locations with literary pilgrimage, lively literary discussions, and expressive writing for wellbeing.

During this 12-day UK adventure, participants will be invited to respond to stirring poems and prose pieces of English, Welsh and Scottish authors within sites associated with their life and creative work. In this program, we will travel through varied landscapes, savor restful stays in delightfully scenic surroundings, and visit historically significant places within the Cotswolds, southeast Wales, Liverpool, the Lake District, and Edinburgh. As we savor the charms and literary vibe of these places, we will enjoy numerous opportunities to amplify our sensory perceptions, experience playful creativity, gather rejuvenating memories, and gain personal insight, as we respond to stimulating writing prompts.

Registration for this trip is now open, and the final date to pay your deposit and register is December 5, 2025, but you are encouraged to register as soon as possible to hold your place in the tour. Contact Geri Chavis at ggchavis@stkate.edu to receive a detailed brochure and for answers to any questions you have. Arrangements for this trip are made by Sovereign Tourism, based in London.

Program Leadership by Geri Chavis, Founder/Convener of MN Poetry Therapy Network, Professor Emerita, St. Catherine University