Celtic Spirituality

Iona Pilgrimages

With John Philip Newell

Iona Pilgrimages with John Philip Newell

Each day begins with silent prayer and meditation in the Village Hall. Then mid-morning John Philip offers teachings grounded in Celtic wisdom, inviting us to further awaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being, and calling us to translate this awareness into action in our lives and world.

After the morning teaching, Ali Newell leads us into simple spiritual practices to more deeply ground the teachings in our bodies and souls.

Lunchtime and afternoons are free for hiking, conversation, and rest. Then in the early evening we gather again, sometimes in the ancient Chapel of St Oran to reflect on the themes of the day through simple chant, ritual, and prayer.

Our breakfasts and evening meals are communal. And one day in the week we walk together the nine-mile pilgrimage route around the island as we pray for new beginnings in our families, communities, and nations.

John Philip Newell is an internationally renowned Celtic teacher who 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. His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh, and he has authored over fifteen books, including his award-winning publication, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, in which he applies the great lineage of Celtic wisdom for this moment in time. His new book, The Great Search (August 2024), looks at the deep spiritual yearnings of humanity today as a key to new beginnings in our lives and world.

In 2011 John Philip was awarded the first-ever Contemplative Voices Award from the Shalem Institute in Washington DC for his prophetic work in the field of spirituality and compassion. And in 2022 he received the Sacred Universe Award from the Well in Chicago in recognition of his significant work in furthering humanity's relationship with Earth. 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.