Our Community of Retreat Leaders
We are a community that believe the sharing of Divine Love in the spirit of peace, service and humility is our highest purpose. Each day the retreat leaders provide a contemplation practice and are available for one on one meditation guidance or spiritual counseling as well.
We are dedicating our time to support each person, with kindness, understanding, and to receive the peace of Assisi.
We are dedicating our time to support each person, with kindness, understanding, and to receive the peace of Assisi.
Brenda Brisch - Retreat Leader
Brenda has been lovingly guiding contemplative retreats for over 35 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 in the Paris ashram.
She joined the Assisi Retreat Community of retreat leaders in 2016. Brenda helps people discover their unique pathway to inner peace, and to understand that all of life’s circumstances are a guide to finding the stillness within. She gently guides people into the sweetness & peace St Francis & St Clare inspire.
In 2022 Brenda will lead retreats May - August
Brenda has been lovingly guiding contemplative retreats for over 35 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 in the Paris ashram.
She joined the Assisi Retreat Community of retreat leaders in 2016. Brenda helps people discover their unique pathway to inner peace, and to understand that all of life’s circumstances are a guide to finding the stillness within. She gently guides people into the sweetness & peace St Francis & St Clare inspire.
In 2022 Brenda will lead retreats May - August
In 2022 Vinod will lead retreats March, April, September & October
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Vinod Ravindranathan - Retreat Leader
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 (MBSR) 8 Week 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 with every guest the heart practices of St Francis. |
David Nowe - Retreat Leader
David attended a Franciscan Catholic High School and became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis at the age of 14. After attending Columbia University, he explored many cultures and traditions including his years as a Swami in India, living in a Zen Buddhist Monastery in Japan and traveling to 70 countries around the world.
David has a unique gift of opening people to unconditional love and helping them build a sustainable spiritual practice.
David is teaching in India for 2022. To reach out to him email him at: swamibrahms@gmail.com
David attended a Franciscan Catholic High School and became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis at the age of 14. After attending Columbia University, he explored many cultures and traditions including his years as a Swami in India, living in a Zen Buddhist Monastery in Japan and traveling to 70 countries around the world.
David has a unique gift of opening people to unconditional love and helping them build a sustainable spiritual practice.
David is teaching in India for 2022. To reach out to him email him at: swamibrahms@gmail.com
Founders and Retreat Leaders
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"As awareness rests in the heart, an indescribable joy from within unfolds." Bruce Davis
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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
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Bruce Davis PhD
Bruce has been guiding retreats worldwide since 1983. He is a psychologist and the author of many personal growth books. His best seller worldwide was The Magical Child Within You. This was the first book on this subject. His teachings 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 quiet heart your inner wisdom. For many years Bruce led teenagers into the streets of San Francisco to feed homeless people. His book My Little Flowers is dedicated to the simple and humble moments in life for all of us. He is a teacher of world religions and combines psychology and spirituality to create a rich understanding of human potential. Together Bruce and Ruth created two retreat centers in Assisi, Italy where they lived for 12 years. They live in California where they opened a silent retreat center www.SilentStay.com. Bruce books include Monastery Without Walls, Simple Peace-The Spiritual Life of St. Francis and The Love Letters of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. LINK to purchase books |
Ruth Davis
Ruth is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and NLP practioner and founded Assisi Retreats along with her husband Bruce Davis. She has been practicing meditation since 1968 when she went to India and embraced a heart path of meditation and devotion. She has the gift to help people connect to their spiritual heart to deepen meditation practice. She developed a method of awareness training called Infinite Heart Awareness™ Here we find our source inside, our home. Each person experiences this differently. For some it is deep peace, others stillness or gentleness. We discover heart intelligence. This transformational work comes from her years of personal meditation practice and NLP training. A devotional dancer from childhood, Ruth created a meditative movement practice embodying yoga philosophy and chi gung. She is an energy healer and spiritual counselor. She is a depth practioner of Yoga Tantra and the 10 Wisdom Godesses from India. |
Together Ruth and Bruce built two Meditation Centers in Assisi Italy and one in Northern California www.SilentStay.com
In Gratitude
In gratitude, we are honored that Brenda, Vinod, and David are a part of the Assisi Heart Team. Their extensive commitment to spiritual practice, community life, and a heart full journey is a gift to everyone.