Center For Spiritual Enlightenment

I find it interesting that I posted a review here 4 months ago and it has been removed. I’m assuming it didn’t meet the 4.5−5 star rating I see here today. I gave this organization 2 stars because it is not what I thought it would be.

Warm, inviting and peaceful atmosphere. I’ve been to Sunday service a few times and love the singing, pause for meditation, and messaging. I am told they also have classes for intro to meditation etc that are very good. Also attended a guest speaker session that was excellent. Good energy in this place.

This place is absolutely lovely. I have been trying to get more into meditation and this is a wonderful place. The grounds are beautiful, there is a lovely bookstore with spiritual books and they have some wonderful singers in their services. I’m so happy my friend brought me here. You run a fabulous center. Thank you for your work. :) Lisbeth PS. I hope to be back again soon. Best wishes.

This is truly a center for spirituality, taking what is good from the world’s religious & spiritual traditions, based on the pluralistic philosophy of Paramahansa Yogananda and Hinduism. They offer many programs & courses, & are active in promoting non-​violence, yoga & spirituality. The physical center is a nice place to visit.

There is a website for locating the labyrinths in your local area (in fact I found 3 close to my house). The link is very useful and is
. I haven’t been to CSE yet. I shall post my review after my visit.

A good place to receive universal spiritual teachings; and to learn more about the amazing Kriya path as introduced to the West by Paramhansa Yogananda.

I took my first yoga class ever tonight at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. It was amazing! I’m hooked and this center will definitely be seeing me again!

Beautiful! Incredible! Please do visit… I’m hooked!!!

Please believe me when I say I am the LAST person my friends and family would expect to attend a church of any kind. Ever. Then I had kids. And soon after, I realized regardless of my own beliefs and issues with various organized religions, I owed it to my children to provide them with some type of spiritual training.
Enter CSE. I’d driven past this place a few times years ago when I lived on The Alameda but never felt comfortable enough to go in. It all seemed a tad too New Age-​y to me. But now, as a parent desperate to provide answers to a three-​year old… I decided, «what the hell…“and stopped in for a look-​see.
That was three months ago. And I haven’t looked back. This place is simply amazing. It has something for everyone (except atheists… sorry guys). The altar backdrop, adorned with symbols from each of the world’s major religions, says it all. CSE is founded on the Kriya-​yoga tradition which has strong ties to Hinduism. But please don’t let that stop you from checking it out. Honestly, it’s the kind of place where a non-​fundamentalist person of any religious background will feel totally comfortable. And this place is legitimate… it’s not a cult, not a fly-​by-​night, phony «religion» (CSE has been around for over 25 years), and definitely not exclusionary.
The Sunday services are lovely — excellent music, excellent sermons, well balanced — I always leave with a spring in my step because I feel so refreshed afterwards. The founder of CSE (and its head minister, Rev. Grace O’Brien) is a heartfelt, fantastic speaker on par with the likes of Deepak Chopra and any other spiritual teacher you can think of. And the assistant ministers are all equally well spoken and capable of delivering powerful sermons. The children’s program is truly better than the idealized version I had in my head. My daughter loves going and I love to hear about all the neat things she does when we meet back up at the end of the service. Kids are broken into groups by age range and each group studies age-​appropriate info about world religions, world music, yoga, meditation, ethics, morals, and much, much more.
The CSE grounds are beautifully laid out with Spanish Mission-​style buildings and fountains, statues representing various deities/​figures from world religions, and a walking-​meditation labyrinth. And the small (but well stocked) bookstore is a wonderful place to hang out before or after a service or yoga/​meditation class. Speaking of classes, CSE offers all sorts… from the aforementioned yoga and meditation to more specific ones tailored for women or men or parents or those experiencing loss, etc. Most classes, seminars, talks are offered free or on a free-​will basis.
Ok. I realize this is beginning to sound suspiciously like I’ve been hired by CSE to write this review. But I can’t help it. This place is really that good. If you are seeking a spiritual home and having a tough time finding a place that fits… stop by and check it out.

I am searching for a place to hold evening workout/​dance classes and I thought the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment would be the perfect place. Some of their information matches what my dance/​workout is about.
I have not yet attended a service, but I did walk the grounds and the Labyrinth. I had never heard of that type of meditation before and lucky me, there was a pamphlet in the entry way.
While I was waiting to talk to the person who is in charge of the classes there I thought I would try it. So I read the little pamphlet, which was easy to read and therefore easy to follow. Then I stepped into the Labyrinth. It was very interesting.
The pamphlet says, «Walking the labyrinth is a form of prayer or meditation – it requires that we come with an open heart and mindful attention.»
I can see how walking the labyrinth in the beauty and peacefulness of the Center’s gardens can be a walking prayer or meditation.
I will update my review when I go back. I will go back for something. .. that is how nice it is. .. you want to go back. I’ll be there for a service, a class, a meditation. .. .something. I will let you know.

The grounds are lovely and peaceful, and the Sunday morning services are calming. They include meditation, chanting, spiritual music performed by an AMAZING gospel singer, and a homily. They believe that there are many faiths and many paths, but one divine source. I’m not sure how atheism would fit in there, but I didn’t ask.
I came away feeling pleasantly serene. If I could go here every weekend, I would. Living 350 miles away makes that a bit difficult, however.
There is a children’s service that sounds second-​best to that Humanist Sunday School up in Palo Alto I heard about.
I am only sorry I didn’t have time to wander around the grounds more and walk the labyrinth.
My dad Bob is the sound guy, so maybe you can stop by and tell him I said hi. :)

The architecture itself is so close to nature with a tree left in it’s original state and the center built around the tree. The warmth provided in all the lectures is enveloping and makes you so relaxed that the meditation time is second nature. The live music performed during every service leaves you begging for more. The bookstore is amazing. There’s a great program for the children while the adults attend the service in which they get to do yoga amongst other things. Healthy snacks are served after the ceremony and the you can walk around the grounds and enjoy the plant life, as well as the labyrinth built in to the ground in the back area. Such an uplifting experience that the rest of your day will seem to have been planned exactly according to the «guide to a perfect day.»