- Event Date: 30/09/2026
Fire Your Wild Imagination: 5 day Portugal depth writing retreat, Sept 30th – Oct 4th
Event Details
- 14:00
- Monte da Japonica, Alentejo, Portugal
- From £150
Event Description
We are all born with a wild imagination. It is through this unlimited 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 the Jungian-inspired process of depth writing – a transformational practice aimed at nurturing depth of connection with self and world via the depths of the creative psyche. It will take place the beautiful cork woods of Portugal’s Alentejo region under the gentle guidance of Dr Rachel Newsome.
Who is Fire Your Wild Imagination for?
The focus of Fire Your Wild Imagination is on process, rather than outcome, and on what comes up in the writing, rather than craft. This retreat is for writers, creative & therapeutic practitioners and those on a journey of self-discovery who are curious about how writing & imagination can be used to support transformative growth and who are comfortable with diving deeper.
What will we be doing?
There will be two daily writing workshops on each of the three full days of the retreat. The morning workshops will be a chance to fire your wild imagination through attuning to your curious inner child, your sage inner guide and the wisdom of nature. In the afternoon you’ll have plenty free time to explore the cork woods or relax by the infinity pool. The day will finish with a reflective workshop focused on exploring your experiences of the morning session and any insights arising from it more deeply. Both sessions will include guided writing prompts as well as sharing and discussion.
A note about care
Throughout the retreat you’ll be invited to take responsibility for your experience by taking from the material what you need and working with it at a level that feels right for you. You’ll also be invited to practice CARE – confidentiality, attention, respect & empathy – with others. 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 which courses through all of us.
Cost (includes accommodation, vegetarian meals & writing workshops)
Luxury room single use: 1,000 Euros
Luxury room sharing: 850 Euros pp
Budget room single use: 650 Euros
Budget room sharing: 550 Euros pp
Deposit: 150 Euros
*The deposit is refundable up to May 1st 2026. Outstanding payments are due by July 31st 2026.
Getting there by plane: The nearest airport to Monte da Japonica is Lisbon. A pick can be arranged from the airport direct to Monte da Japonica for 50 Euros per person. Alternatively, you can get the bus to the nearest town of Redondo or a train to the nearest city of Evora. There is a small charge for a pick up from Evora. Pick up from Redondo is free.
About Dr Rachel Newsome
I’m a writer, speaker & creative guide with Jungian arts-based PhD in writing-as-inner-work. I have a background in both the media and academia and now run a programme of depth writing courses and workshops throughout the year aimed at nurturing depth of connection with our deep creative self. I’m a Seed Talks expert speaker, serve on the Editorial Team of the London Arts-Based Research Centre and am co-Editor of forthcoming Routledge publication The Creative Psyche: Between Self & Spirit. I write about my travels between worlds on my Substack, Dreaming Awake. And, as you can probably tell, I love to dive deep.
https://rachelnewsome.co.uk/
https://drrachelnewsome.substack.com/
Get Tickets
- Event Date: 30/09/2026
Please Note:
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About Fiona
Joining the event
Please note the later start time of 4pm for this event.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84269597268
Meeting ID: 842 6959 7268
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be available for a limited time after the live event. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process and upload the recording after the live event.
For questions before or after the day of the event, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays). For queries on the day of the event, please contact mel@write4word.org.
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. LLRC events are free and no tickets are required. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
Want to help shape the future of the Lapidus Magazine?
We’re hosting a friendly, informal open meeting for anyone curious about becoming a co-editor. This is an opportunity to find out what the role involves, how the editorial process works, and how you might contribute your skills, ideas, and perspective.
Whether you’re an experienced editor, a regular reader, or simply someone who cares about the magazine and the community it represents, you’re very welcome to join. We’ll share an overview of the role, what support is available, and the level of commitment involved, as well as hearing from those who have already expressed interest. There will be plenty of time to ask questions, explore possibilities, and decide whether this could be a good fit for you.
This is a no-pressure space to learn more, connect with others, and consider how you might get involved in shaping the next chapter of the magazine.
About the Lapidus Magazine
The Lapidus Magazine is our members’ publication, and showcases writing, ideas, and reflections from across the Lapidus community. It provides a space for thoughtful exploration of writing for wellbeing, creativity, and personal development, highlighting the diverse voices, experiences, and practices of its members.
As well as sharing articles, creative work, and insights, the Magazine helps foster connection within the community and supports the organisation’s wider mission. It offers contributors an opportunity to be published and heard, while giving readers access to rich, engaging content that reflects the breadth of work happening across Lapidus.
Co-editors play a key role in shaping each issue—working collaboratively to commission and select pieces, support contributors, and bring the publication together. It’s a chance to influence the direction of the magazine, nurture emerging voices, and contribute to a meaningful, creative project at the heart of the community.
Join the event
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83771100467
Meeting ID: 837 7110 0467
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be made available for a limited time to those who can’t attend live. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process the recording. To access the recording, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk.
For queries before the event, please contact Flo on the address above (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays).
For queries on the day of the event, please contact the Magazine team on magazine@lapidus.org.uk.
What is writing now?
In this session, we will explore different forms of writing and what we think writing is ‘for’ in today’s conditions. We are in a ‘digital age’ (some would say) and an era of change, challenge and climate crisis. How do these environmental factors influence what and how we write, and what we understand to be ‘writing’? Fiona will show a poem-film touching on these themes to stimulate our conversation.
About Fiona Hamilton
Fiona Hamilton recently co-translated a novella by Emma Santos who published in French on themes of feminism, mental health and living outside societal norms. Fiona was a co-founder of the Climate Choir Movement and is involved in various arts for health initiatives. She is Head of Programmes for Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes at Metanoia Institute/Middlesex University. Her writing includes a play about the power of dance and music, a poetry collaboration entitled Fractures and a chapter in the book Cornerstones (Little Toller Press, 2018) on land and landscapes, poems in Project Boast (Triarchy Press, 2018), a story in verse Bite Sized (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2014) and articles in many journals. Her website is www.fionahamilton.org
Join the event
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86431180121
Meeting ID: 864 3118 0121
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be available for a limited time after the live event. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process and upload the recording after the live event.
For questions before or after the day of the event, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays). For queries on the day of the event, please contact mel@write4word.org.
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. LLRC events are free and no tickets are required. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.