Quiet Weeks
A Meditative Atmosphere in the midst of Everyday Life
Quiet Weeks take place in the two week intervals between seven-day retreats. During these weeks, specific areas in the house are kept in silence, while the rest of the house continues to function as usual during staff working hours. During staff off-days (Sunday and Monday) silence will be kept all day. This provides a quiet, meditative atmosphere in the midst of everyday life, where each participant will have the option of remaining in silence, or moving from silence into talking as they wish.
Design Your Own Retreat
Quiet Weeks offer the opportunity to design your own retreat–with options for timed and open sitting, group dialogues, and individual meetings with teachers in residence. You may attend as many days as you like, and you may combine two retreats with the Quiet Weeks to create a month long retreat.
You may participate in Quiet Weeks either as a guest or as a volunteer. Please see Visit for more information, and the Calendar for dates. For more detailed information about Quiet Weeks, please contact us.
An Invitation
These extended sittings, meetings and dialogues allow space for looking, listening and questioning alone and together. In this meditative space we can explore the possibility of staying here with what is arising moment to moment, not knowing and yet open, curious and alert, ready to learn.
This continuous gathering of energy provides an opportunity to deepen into silent presence which is always available here, in this moment. Silence brings transparency to what is happening and also allows the possibility of revealing the truth of what we are—and what appears to obscure that fact.
This alternative, meditative way of living our day-to-day life enables us to live a more conscious life, in direct touch with what is happening moment to moment, here and now. A compassionate life is a natural result of living more from a simple listening rather than from ideas, images and conditioning. From simple listening actions arise which carry warmth and affection, actions which are born of love.
Practical Information
Quiet Week participants are guaranteed a private room.
Each week there will be group dialogues and there will also be opportunities to meet one-on-one with one of the teaching staff, when they are in residence.
There are miles of walking trails, with beautiful meadows and open vistas, secluded forests, cascading water, a hillside pond and benches for pausing and sitting.
There is a daily schedule which you may use as you wish, with open and timed sitting periods. The schedule includes silent periods as well as times for quiet conversation for those who wish.
Guests are asked to donate one hour of work each day during the staff work week, from Tuesday through Saturday. Volunteers participate in the same work schedule as staff, in exchange for food and lodging (8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Tuesday through Saturday). Please see Visit for more information.