We are a community that believe the sharing of Divine love in the spirit of peace, service and humility is our highest purpose.
Founders Bruce & Ruth Davis
"As awareness rests in the heart, an indescribable joy from within unfolds." Bruce Davis
Bruce Davis, PhD
While a graduate student, Bruce met and became an apprentice to a remarkable Shaman who had the gift of entering into and teaching people in their dreams. For four years, Bruce was introduced to many realms and worlds outside normal western thought. These years were to be the beginning of Bruce's quest to understand the potential of psychology and spirituality.
He received his doctorate from Saybrook University. As a spiritual psychologist he teaches the essence of world religions, how psychology and spirituality intertwine offering a more integrated, centered, and fulfilling life. He has taught at JFK University in Pleasant Hill, California and many spiritual centers in the United States, Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland.
Bruce has been guiding retreats worldwide since 1983. His retreats are based in his deep connection to silence, simplicity and heartfulness. He has a gift for guiding people from the busy-ness of the mind & personality to the home of the quiet heart. He supports people who have had a Near Death Experience NDE or spiritual awakening helping to integrate these experiences into daily life. His primary intention is helping others to develop a meaningful spiritual journey, built out of a life of joy.
In 1975 he wrote the book The Magical Child Within You which has been said to be the first book written on trusting and nurturing the inner child. A few years later he co-authored another best selling book Hugs & Kisses about loving life, which has been a theme of his work ever since.
Discovering the heart of awareness including inner peace has been the focus in his retreats. Bruce has taken people to sacred places like Assisi, Italy where participants discover the sacredness within themselves. For twelve years Bruce and Ruth (his wife and partner) lived in Assisi, founding the Assisi Retreat Center where people of all backgrounds are welcome to enjoy the simple peace and spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. The Assisi Retreat Center received the official blessing of Pope John Paul II for its ecumenical work. Both CNN and Travel & Leisure Magazine named the Assisi Retreat Center as "One of The Top Ten Meditation Centers in the World." In 2012 he and his wife Ruth, opened Silent Stay Meditation Center in California. It is Bruce's wish to provide a sanctuary for everyone who yearns for inner peace towards finding their own path to a purposeful, joyful life.
Through the years, Bruce studied and lived with spiritual teachers in India, Philippines, Germany and Bali, Indonesia. He and Ruth led a program of taking teenagers from one of America's wealthiest communities into the poorest neighborhood of San Francisco to give food to people living in the streets. This program is still ongoing with the help of Branson School students in Ross, California.
In addition to his books The Magical Child Within You and Hugs and Kisses, Bruce is the author ofThe Heart of Healing, Monastery without Walls ~ Daily Life in the Silence, My Little Flowers, Simple Peace ~ The Inner Life of St Francis of Assisi and The Calling of Joy. His latest book is The Love Letters of St Francis & St Clare of Assisi.
Ruth Davis, Heartfulness Teacher
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"A retreat is a time to come home inside yourself, where the mind stops and silence of the heart begins." Ruth Davis
At age six, Ruth had a spiritual awakening in her first ballet class. Her heart burst open to the divine and joy filled her body. She felt she was dancing to God, as all and everything. Her dance became her devotional practice, which eventually matured into the energetic studies of Yoga, Chi Gung and the movement of consciousness through the body and beyond the body.
Ruth began meditation practice at the age of 16 in 1968 when she embraced Surat Shabd Yoga as her spiritual path. Ten years later she started visiting many holy sites in India including Punjab region, Rishikesh, Hardwar, Varanasi and most recently Chennai. She is a continuing student of Vedic, Tantric wisdom & Mystic Catholicism, with particular connection to the teachings of self-inquiry of Ramana Maharshi, the silent saint. |
In 2005 she began an energetic study of the MahaVidyas, Wisdom Mothers of Yoga Tantra, while living and teaching in Assisi Italy. From this yearlong contemplation sprung a chi gung style movement practice that helps people embody spiritual teachings.
Concurrently she created a meditation dialogue sequence that guides people to experience their spiritual heart, the energetic core of our being that is one with the Absolute. This work is a part of each retreat as our heart nature meditation.
Even though an avid seeker of the ultimate truth from a young age, she leads a householder life. She raised 2 daughters (with 2 grandchildren) and has owned various restaurants. Business life, family life and spiritual seeking have always been her world view. In 1993 after the death of her first husband she committed to leading Heartfulness silent retreats with her current partner & husband Bruce Davis. She holds certifications in Clinical Hypnotherapy & NLP.
In 2000 Ruth and Bruce founded the Assisi Retreat Center a Temple to the World Religions in the heart of the ancient city of Assisi Italy.
In 2012 she founded Silent Stay Meditation Center in Vacaville, California with her husband Bruce. Having served over 2200 guests a wildfire came through one fateful night in 2020 and burned the center to the ground along with 50 years of their spiritual collections.
But one thing remained..... the peace found in the silence, which can never be taken or destroyed.
Concurrently she created a meditation dialogue sequence that guides people to experience their spiritual heart, the energetic core of our being that is one with the Absolute. This work is a part of each retreat as our heart nature meditation.
Even though an avid seeker of the ultimate truth from a young age, she leads a householder life. She raised 2 daughters (with 2 grandchildren) and has owned various restaurants. Business life, family life and spiritual seeking have always been her world view. In 1993 after the death of her first husband she committed to leading Heartfulness silent retreats with her current partner & husband Bruce Davis. She holds certifications in Clinical Hypnotherapy & NLP.
In 2000 Ruth and Bruce founded the Assisi Retreat Center a Temple to the World Religions in the heart of the ancient city of Assisi Italy.
In 2012 she founded Silent Stay Meditation Center in Vacaville, California with her husband Bruce. Having served over 2200 guests a wildfire came through one fateful night in 2020 and burned the center to the ground along with 50 years of their spiritual collections.
But one thing remained..... the peace found in the silence, which can never be taken or destroyed.
Nicole Becker, Silent Retreat Leader
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Nicole draws on 30 years of immersion in the radical acceptance practices of Classical Yogic & Tantric philosophy and world devotional/mystical practices. She delivers a simultaneously simple and sophisticated Hatha yoga practice that harmonizes the whole being and heals the personal and collective nervous system. Her teaching is expressed with authenticity, depth, graciousness, humor and intuition.
Nicole teaches you how to do "your Yoga" - emphasizing a natural and personalized approach including movement, breath, rest, and meditation. Her movement classes are a unique blend of traditional yoga, yoga therapy, modern somatic exploration, developmental movement, meditative inquiry and laughter. She assists people of all ages, experience, and fitness levels to get curious and stay compassionate. Nicole is a certified Heartfulness Meditation Teacher and part of the interfaith teaching team trained by her parents Ruth and Bruce Davis of Silent Stay Retreats. She has been teaching and leading classes, workshops, and retreats in US and abroad since 2004 and founded/directed Ojas Yoga Center in El Cerrito, California 2009-2020. |
Brenda Brisch, Retreat Leader Assisi Italy
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Brenda has been lovingly guiding contemplative retreats for over 40 years and has devoted much of her life to spiritual inquiry. After practicing Transcendental Meditation in the 1970’s, she studied Vedanta philosophy and yoga with an Indian monk from Gujarat. She began teaching Hatha Yoga in his school in Chicago shortly thereafter.
In 1976, she met her teacher, Swami Muktananda, with whom she traveled widely for many years. She became a monk under his auspices, and he instructed her to continue teaching in Europe, India, and the United States. She was the swami in residence at his ashram in Paris. She joined the Silent Stay community of retreat leaders in 2016, teaching in California and Assisi, Italy. Brenda helps people discover their own pathway to inner peace, and to understand that all of life’s circumstances are a guide to finding the stillness within. |
Vinod Ravindranathan - Retreat Leader, Assisi Retreat Center
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Vinod has been practicing meditation for over 30 years. In 1994 he was trained in Vipassana at the Wat Ram Poeng monastery in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Although not a buddhist monk, he accomplished the same degree of training. A few years later he earned his Mindfulness Teacher Training from Bangor University.
He currently facilitates the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course in London. In the earlier part of his career, he worked in the corporate world as a lawyer before joining various non-profit organisations including; the UNHCR and Amnesty International Secretariat in London. In Amnesty International he helped people dealing with sexual & gender equality, migrant & refugee rights, compassionate care for drug addicts and animal welfare. Vinod finds joy in sharing the heart practices of St Francis as a guide to inner peace. |
Igusti Ngr Oka Adiputra El Aleph, Retreat Guide Bali, Indonesia
Gusti, native to Bali, lives in a area near the Mother Temple. He lovingly guides us to the sacred places, temples and ceremonies. He is a bright light representing the beauty and wholeness of Balinese culture and spirituality. His warm open heart is a gift to us all. He has become a village leader and collects donation to bring food to those in need.
Gusti, native to Bali, lives in a area near the Mother Temple. He lovingly guides us to the sacred places, temples and ceremonies. He is a bright light representing the beauty and wholeness of Balinese culture and spirituality. His warm open heart is a gift to us all. He has become a village leader and collects donation to bring food to those in need.
In Gratitude
We are honored to share the peace with our beautiful community of teachers. Their extensive commitment to spiritual practice, community life, and a heart full journey is a gift to everyone.
FeEl The ongoing presence of peace
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