The Intelligent Optimist – The Intelligent Optimist Holiday Auction 2012
Auction Ends: Dec 2, 2012 09:00 PM PST

Unique Experiences

Unique Experiences: Enjoy Three Nights at the Silent Stay Retreat & Hermitage

Item Number
131
Estimated Value
405 USD
Sold
265 USD to ellie57
Number of Bids
11  -  Bid History

Item Description

Come enjoy the gentleness of silence at this four-day retreat. Inhale sweet silence, heartfulness meditation and meditative movement. Renew body, mind and soul. The owners of this hideaway have brought the tradition of a European-style retreat home to the hills of Northern California. This serene hilltop location at the gateway to Napa Valley is nurturing, healing and the perfect environment for cultivating inner peace.

The high bidder will receive three nights' lodging at this magical getaway.

Some background on Silent Stay Co-Directors Bruce and Ruth Davis:

Bruce Davis is one of the world’s leading authors on the power of silence, and for the past 12 years, he has been teaching and guiding people in the art of silence at the world renowned retreat centers that he and his wife Ruth have created in Assisi, Italy, and at
the gateway to the California Wine Country.

Today, Bruce writes, speaks and coaches people on the art of being silent and the joys that come from it. How he came to this unique expertise began during his work on his Ph.D.

While a graduate student, Bruce Davis met and became an apprentice to a remarkable woman who had the gift of entering into and teaching people in their dreams. These years were to be the beginning of Bruce's quest to understand the potential of psychology and spirituality.

In 1975, he wrote the book The Magical Child Within You, which was the first book written on trusting and nurturing the inner child. A few years, later he co-authored another bestselling book, Hugs & Kisses, about loving life, which has been a theme of his work ever since.

Through the years, Bruce has studied and lived with spiritual teachers in India, the Philippines, Germany and Indonesia. For many years, he and Ruth led a program that involved 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.

A spiritual psychologist and teacher of world religions, Bruce has been leading retreats worldwide since 1983. He and his wife Ruth created two centers in Assisi, Italy, home of St Francis, and lived there for 12 years. They recently returned to the San Francisco Bay area to continue their work. Bruce gently guides the daily retreat meditations at Silent Stay. His work is based in his deep connection to silence, simplicity and heartfulness.

Bruce is also the author of The Heart of Healing, Monastery without Walls , My Little Flowers, Simple Peace – the Inner Life of St Francis, and The Calling of Joy.

A 1972 graduate of Hobart College with a BA cum laude, Bruce also holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook University.

Movement as a Spiritual Practice

Ruth, a devotional dancer since childhood, has been teaching movement as a spiritual practice since 1985. She is the author of Sacred Movement Ritual DVD and book.

Initiated into an Eastern Yogic Path as a young woman in 1970, she holds that each person’s life is a gift. She has traveled and lived in many parts of the world. She and her husband Bruce lived in Assisi, Italy, from 1999 to 2011, where they built and owned two retreat centers.

She has recently returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and created Silent Stay, a Retreat Home and Hermitage for people of all traditions. She supports people in the monastic tradition of taking time away from daily life to spend time with their heart and God -- and the silence that holds the two together.

During the retreats, she leads people in Sacred Movement Ritual, a moving meditation which she created in 2005, as well as a walking meditation. Sacred Movement Ritual is the culmination of her life's journey of dance, spirituality, devotion and teaching. It is a series of nine moving contemplations that help create peace and wisdom, while
balancing the subtle energies of the body.

Ruth has owned and operated her own businesses since 1971. She holds certifications in Ayurvedic Medicine, NLP and Hypnotherapy.

This item is valid through December of 2013.

Find out more: SilentStay.com

Item Special Note

To all bidders in The Intelligent Optimist Auction:

If you have the winning bid on one or more items, an automatically generated message from Bidding for Good in your email “in” box at auction’s end will serve as proof of your win. You'll hear from the staff at The Intelligent Optimist with instructions on how to redeem the item in the days to follow. 

If you bid on a tangible item, we’ll mail your item the week after the close of the auction on November 18. We will add $4.99 to your charge for shipping and handling for small items and $9.99 for larger items. You’ll be charged the actual shipping price on items of significant weight. We will mail these the least expensive way available from the United States Post Office (i.e., media mail for books and magazines), with delivery confirmation. If you’re concerned about shipping costs, please contact auction@theoptimist.com for a quote.

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Any product proven defective will be replaced with a product of equal or better quality at no cost to the bidder. We guarantee bidders will be sent all items they won. We do not guarantee shipping delivery times.

While Global Light Media is not liable for anything beyond our control that occurs as a result of the auction, the company will reimburse any bidder who does not receive an item or experience that fulfills the description on the auction site for the amount paid to Global Light Media through the site.

Please email us at auction@theoptimist.com with any questions.

Thank you for participating in The Intelligent Optimist Auction and making a bid for a better world!

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Silent Stay Retreat Home & Hermitage