October 24 - 26, 2025

The Generous Exchange: How Channels of Beauty, Goodness and Excellence Restore our Health, Ignite Hope and Inspire Positive Action

With Maria Sirois, PhD

Reservations for this program by Email Only. Please email jolita.grigonyte@oceanedge.com to secure your space.

How do we strengthen our wellbeing, build a grounded optimism and contribute beyond ourselves in such a complicated time? This is the question so many of us are holding. We know that in the presence of beauty we are calmed and often healed. In the presence of excellence we become motivated to show up as our better selves. And in the presence of goodness, we are inspired to bring forward thoughtfulness and care. These three pathways, encapsulated in the character strength, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, have long been understood to enable our kindness, health and generosity. Today however, through recent research in the field of positive psychology, we understand an even more broad reaching impact: as we invest in this strength, we are moved to act on behalf of the earth and its species. We protect what we find inspiring and beautiful. In our weekend retreat, we will double down on the benefits of appreciation, be reminded of our own capacities for goodness and excellence, explore practices of gratitude that ground and elevate us, and consider how we might participate in a generous exchange with the larger world.

This retreat is for you if:

• You would like to experience a grounded sense of hope
• Could use a bit of a respite and restoration
• Long for a sense of inspiration and uplift
• Seek to have a positive influence on others and contribute beyond yourself
• Would like to be reminded of the beauty and goodness in spite of all the noise, fear, worry, and crazy around us.

Weekend Program Package Includes:

• All Program Sessions with Maria
• Luxury Accommodations (not included in commuter package)
• Welcome Reception
• Delicious, Healthy Meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners)
• A copy of Maria Sirois’ new book and book talk event on Saturday night
• Use of our private beach, indoor/outdoor pools, and fitness rooms
• All taxes and resort fees

Pricing / Package Options 

• Single Occupancy Mansion Room with 1 King - $1,849
• Double Occupancy Mansion Room with 2 Queens - $2,520 ($1,260 per person)
• Single Occupancy Britterige 1 Bedroom Villa - $1,445 Commuter Rate - $885 
• To reserve, please contact Jolita from our Reservations Team at jolita.grigonyte@oceanedge.com.
• Please note that there is no online booking available for this program.

Program Schedule

Friday, October 24

4:00pm Check-in (arrive early for Spa Time)
5:00 – 5:45pm Welcome reception
5:45 – 6:45pm Dinner
7:00 – 8:30pm Program Session 1: We will look at why positivity matters so much at this time, connecting it to our resilience, our capacity to enjoy our lives, and an increasing sense of grounded happiness, meaning and optimism.

 
Saturday, October 25

8:00 – 9:00am Breakfast
9:00 – 11:30am Program Session 2: An exploration of the benefits of beauty (natural beauty, moral beauty - also known as goodness, and the beauty of excellence) and begin to consider practices of attention to beauty that are easy and potent.  Also, we weave into the discussion the growing evidence of goodness that emerges far beyond ourselves when we increase our appreciation for ourselves and our world.
12:00 – 1:00pm Lunch
1:30 – 3:30pm Program Session 3: We discuss what the most appreciative of us know and do, and don't do, and how we can overcome our own internal barriers to shaping our day in ways that serve us.
3:30 – 5:30 Free Time / Spa Time
5:30 – 7:00pm Dinner
7:00PM – 8:15pm Book Reading and Signing

Sunday, October 26

8:00 – 9:00am Breakfast
9:00 – 11:30am Program Session 4: We will close with considerations of what practices and perspectives feel most helpful at this time, and why our choice to care for ourselves has a larger impact on those we most care about. 
12:00 – 1:00pm Group Farewell Lunch
1:00 – 4:00pm Stay for Spa Time