Events
Kindle Soul Awakening
Learn about Yogacharya's Upcoming Events — Including Public Talks, Classes, Satsangs, Retreats, Ceremonies and more.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
The Power of Attunement:
A Guide to Your 2025 Spiritual Practice
PROGRAM STARTS IN JANUARY - REGISTRATION OPEN NOW
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
The Power of Attunement is a comprehensive, LIVE & INTERACTIVE yearlong spiritual program, rooted in the Kriya Yoga tradition, and led by Yogacharya O'Brian, Acharya Sundari Jensen, and CSE Teachers.
Designed to guide you through a natural progression of growth, reflection, action, and embodiment, this program integrates ancient yogic wisdom with modern practices.
Whether you're looking to cultivate inner peace, manifest your vision, or live more fully, this program provides the structure and support to help you align your life with your spiritual path.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Meditation for the Holy Days
DECEMBER 23, 2024 / 6-28PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Streaming Live
In the heart of winter’s dark days, we naturally seek the light of peace that only presence can bring. Paramahansa Yogananda offered this prayer: Teach me to find Thy presence on the altar of my constant Peace, and the joy that springs from deep meditation. He offered the example of setting aside time in the holy season to pray, meditate, and enter the deep peace of this season.
CSE’s Meditation for the Holy Days is held annually on December 23rd. You are warmly invited to stop for a moment, to sit in silence, breathe, and remember the divine light within you.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Kriya Yoga New Year Meditation Retreat
JANUARY 2 - 5, 2025
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
Join Yogacharya O’Brian and CSE Kriya Yoga teachers for this opportunity to experience the complete practice of Kriya Yoga which includes contemplation of higher realities, instruction in pranayama and superconscious meditation, and essential guidelines for health, vitality, and harmonious relationships.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Sunday Satsang
January 5, 2025 / 10-11:30 AM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Streaming Live
Yogacharya teaches the supreme science of Brahmavidya—the universal way of awakening to Self- and God-realization--the most essential, and relevant, teaching for spiritually conscious living today.
Chanting starts at 9:45 am (PT). Everyone is welcome.
Past Events
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Sunday Satsang
DECEMBER 8, 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
It's About Time: Reclaiming Sanity, Serenity, and Spirit in a Fast-Moving World
It is not new for people to want a respite from the intense pace of life in the world, yet now it feels more urgent. Today we find ourselves more entrenched in life’s complexity and at a loss to recover the simplicity of time and space that fosters sanity, serenity, and soul-nourishment. Even the best time management fails to nourish the soul. Yet, with spiritual insight we can see the profound opportunity we have to slow down, reclaim our attention, break up with busy, and direct our focus to what matters most. We are the timekeepers holding the keys to our liberation.
Chanting starts at 9:45 am (PT). Everyone is welcome.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
An Introduction to the Power of Attunement:
A Guide to Your 2025 Spiritual Practice
NOVEMBER 3 , 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
Discover the transformative potential of the Power of Attunement, a yearlong program designed to help you align your life with your highest purpose and live with greater awareness, clarity, and joy. Rooted in the Kriya Yoga tradition, this program provides the spiritual tools and practices to help you slow down, tune in to the call of your soul, and tune up your life to what matters most deeply.
Whether you're seeking to deepen your spiritual practice, find more peace and balance, or connect with a supportive community, this conversation will provide a clear pathway for stepping into a new year of growth and transformation.
Join us for an inspiring conversation about what’s possible for you in the coming year!
ONLINE
Bhagavad Gita Inspiration and Study
SELECT THURSDAYS / 7:30-8:00 AM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - Online via Zoom
The Bhagavad Gita guides seekers to Self and God-realization, highlighting our true essence and harmonious living. Join Yogacharya O’Brian to explore its themes, from inner peace and discernment to true happiness and fulfilling one's purpose in life.
ONLINE
Meditation and Devotional Service
SELECT THURSDAYS / 6:30-7:30 AM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - Online via Zoom
This online service reflects the daily devotions and silent meditation.
Meditators from all traditions or none are welcome.
IN-PERSON
Soul Freedom: Kriya Yoga Seminar
OCTOBER 4 - 6, 2024
Casa San Francesco - Varigotti (SV), Italy
When you seek freedom of the soul, you understand that it manifests in the pursuit of higher realities. Kriya Yoga offers a comprehensive system for achieving and expressing this freedom.
Join us for three days of deep inspiration and practice of Kriya Yoga in beautiful Varigotti by the sea. The retreat includes Kriya Yoga philosophy and practice, initiation, daily meditation sessions, chanting, and gentle hatha yoga classes.
Teachers:
– Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, Swami Nirvananda, Mauro and Graziella Fioretti, Barbara Zanella and Claudio Massettini, and Giuseppe Izzo.
IN-PERSON
Keep it Simple: A Meditation Retreat Day
AUGUST 3, 2024 / 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Awakening Meditation Center - Los Osos, CA
Why do so many people meditate, or want to start a practice?
The answer is simple. It's because meditation can help us find what we are looking for. Whether it is spiritual connection, a greater sense of well-being, inner peace, or prosperity, this time- tested tool opens the way.
Regardless of why we do it, or even how good we are at it, positive results are at hand.
Together we will explore how to meditate with grace and ease, benefit from a steady practice, set the right expectations for success, and make adjustments to stay on track.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Guru Purnima: Prayers for Purification, Healing, and Harmony
JULY 20, 2024 / 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
You are warmly invited to participate in our annual Guru Purnima yajna, an ancient Vedic ritual for healing and spiritual realization being offered online and onsite at CSE world headquarters.
During this extended time of prayer, mantra recitation, ritual offerings, and meditation, we contemplate rita—the cosmic order—and seek to bring our will into harmony with divine will for the benefit of all beings. We contemplate guru—the light that dispels the darkness of ignorance. We offer our gratitude for our spiritual teacher, for our lineage of yoga masters, and for God as the Guru of all. We open ourselves to the purifying influence of the ritual and dedicate our participation to individual and global healing and spiritual awakening.
Everyone is welcome!
IN-PERSON RETREAT
Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita
with Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati
and Yogacharya O'Brian
JULY 10, 2024 / 9:30 AM - 4 PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA
In this day retreat Swamini Svatmavidyananda Saraswati will unfold all the ways in which the term ‘yoga’ is used in the Bhagavad Gita and their relevance in everyday life. Yogacharya O’Brian will offer insights on dharmic living including how to access the courage needed to do it.
Includes evening lecture, A Tale of Two Seekers: Lessons from the Chandogya Upanishads with Swamini, 6:30 PM-8:00 PM.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Kriya Yoga Meditation Retreat
JUNE 20 - 23, 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
Join Yogacharya O’Brian and CSE Kriya Yoga Teachers for this opportunity to experience the complete practice of Kriya Yoga which includes contemplation of higher realities, instruction in pranayama and superconscious meditation, and essential guidelines for health, vitality, and harmonious relationships.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Kirtan: An Evening of Chanting & Meditation
JUNE 21, 2024 / 7 PM - 8:30 PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
Let your mind become quiet and your heart overflow with the soul’s natural devotion as you listen, chant, meditate, and enjoy the delight of kirtan with Yogacharya O'Brian and Gitanjali.
Come celebrate the International Day of Yoga with us! Everyone welcome.
IN-PERSON
Open Your Heart and Your Mind to the Infinite: Silent Meditation Retreat
MAY 23 - 25, 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA
Silence is a friend to the soul, an open door to divine communion.
This silent retreat will focus on allowing the heart and mind to become quiet through silent sitting and walking meditation. It will include teachings on meditation, silence, and easeful action in harmony with the soul. When we learn how to welcome silence, we gain access to our inner resources, capacity for resilience, and the power to live an inspired, truly fulfilling life.
• Guided silent meditations throughout the day
• Daily teaching and practice sessions with Yogacharya O’Brian
• Learn the art of walking meditation
• Silent nature meditation and contemplation in the meditation garden
• Vedic insights into sound, silence, and creativity
Limited housing available.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Go Straight to the Goal: A Kriya Yoga Retreat for Disciples
APRIL 18 - 20, 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
This retreat is open to those who have formally entered into discipleship on the Kriya Yoga path. If you have not yet taken the steps of discipleship, you are welcome to attend the Kriya Yoga Meditation Retreat in June.
With discipleship, we evolve from being a seeker of the way to being one who has found a path of spiritually awakened living and the disciplined life it requires. We embark upon this journey with hope and faith, discovering its riches as love and grace lead us on.
This retreat offers teachings, practices, and inspiration from Kriya Yoga masters and their disciples for remaining steadfast on the path, living in the highest way, and fully embracing the opportunity of a lifetime.
Included in the retreat:
• Teachings on the purpose, practices, requirements, pitfalls, and blessings of discipleship
• Essential Kriya Yoga meditation practices for disciples
• Spacious schedule for immersion in meditation, contemplation, and strategies for healthy living
IN-PERSON
Divine Awakening: Preparing our Hearts and Minds for the Blessing of Mahashivaratri and Temple Consecration
MARCH 8, 2024 / 10AM-10 PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA
Retreat with with Yogacharya O'Brian and Rev. Irma Sandhya Lovic
"Divine Awakening" is a spiritually enriching retreat designed to prepare our community for the blessings of Mahashivaratri and sacred consecration of our new outdoor meditation temple. During this day-long retreat, participants will embark on a journey of spiritual deepening and communal bonding.
Meditation, mantra chanting, and yoga sessions will help purify the body and mind, fostering a deeper connection with the divine. Through educational and inspirational sessions, participants will gain insights into the profound significance of Mahashivaratri, the consecration ceremony, and the symbolism behind the rituals involved.
The retreat will also include practical preparations for the consecration ceremony ensuring that each participant is ready to play their part in this sacred event.
Everyone is welcome.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
MahaShivaratri: A Night with the Divine
MARCH 8, 2024 / 6-9 PM (PT)
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Streaming Live
Time of Healing, Awakening, and Transformation
with Yogacharya O'Brian and CSE Teachers
The fourteenth day of every lunar month, or the day before the new moon, is known as Shivaratri. Out of all twelve Shivaratris that occur in a calendar year, Mahashivaratri—the great night of Shiva—is one of the most spiritual significance.
The dark night vigil of chanting, devotional ritual, contemplation of the stories of Shiva, and meditation on the omnipresence of the Lord is a time for overcoming the darkness of ignorance—both on an individual and global scale. It is a time for healing, for diving into the great mystery of our existence, and discovering the lighted path of spiritually conscious living.
The program will be both educational and inspirational—an opportunity to learn and practice Sanskrit mantras, explore mystical symbolism, experience deep meditation, and celebrate your spiritual path.
Everyone is welcome.
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
A Ritual to Begin the New Year
JANUARY 4 - 7, 2024
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment - San Jose, CA & Online
You are warmly invited to a gathering and ceremony with Yogacharya O'Brian to enter the New Year with higher purpose, purified intention, and spiritually energized goals. Learn how to set your intention and use mantra to bring clarity and power to the mind. Participate in 108 rounds of Sri Ganesha mantra for the removal of all obstacles.
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© 2023 Ellen Grace O’Brian