Event Information
ONLINE AND IN-PERSON Worldwide Meditation for the Holy Days Location: Online via Zoom & In-Person at CSE

Worldwide Meditation for the Holy Days
with Yogacharya O'Brian & Kriya Yoga Ministers from Around the World
Friday, December 23, 2022
9 AM - 5 PM (PT)

Join us for any or all sessions. Registration requested.
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"Celebrate Christmas upon the altar of the vast inner silence and in the sanctuary of every desire, with every living thing in the world and the Cosmos. Then will you know the Cosmic Christ as ruling in the heart of all finite Creation." — Paramahansa Yogananda

In 1931, Paramahansa Yogananda established the tradition of an all-day meditation at Christmas time for devotees to spend an extended time focused on divine communion through meditation.

On December 23, 1949, Roy Eugene Davis arrived at Self Realization Fellowship International Headquarters in Los Angeles, California and met Paramahansa Yogananda. The following day Mr. Davis participated in his first all-day meditation session with him.

CSE’s Worldwide Meditation for the Holy Days is held annually on December 23rd to commemorate that auspicious occasion. It will be led by CSE Founder and Spiritual Director, Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, along with Kriya Yoga ministers, including some of Mr. Davis’s disciples from Europe and the East Coast, in addition to CSE minsters.

This day-long program will include silent meditation sessions along with alternating periods of chanting and inspirational readings. You are welcome to join us online or in the Temple at CSE for any or all sessions.

MEDITATION SCHEDULE

  9:00 AM     Yogacharya O'Brian (Santa Cruz, CA)
  9:50 AM     Barbara Zanella and Claudio Massettini (Savona, Italy)
10:25 AM     Yogacharya Harald and Marlies Reiske (Passau, Germany)
11:00 AM     Mukundadasa Giovanni Formisano (Milan, Italy)
11:35 AM     Swami Nirvanananda (Bolzano, Italy)
12:10 PM     Ryan Strong (Sacramento, CA)
12:45 PM     Rev. Julie Darshini Hitchcock (Los Osos, CA)
  1:20 PM     Isha Das Craig Bullock (Rochester, NY)
  1:55 PM     Acharya Devin Atma Sodt (Santa Cruz, CA)
  2:30 PM     Acharya Paula Vandana Whang-Ramos (Gilroy, CA)
  3:05 PM     Marty Prakash & Stella Wuttke (Santa Barbara, CA)
  3:25 PM     Acharya Sundari Jensen (Boulder Creek, CA)
  4:15 PM     Yogacharya O'Brian (Santa Cruz, CA)   

MEDITATION LEADERS 


Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian (Santa Cruz, CA) is the Founder & Spiritual Director of Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in San Jose, California. Yogacharya O’Brian was ordained to teach in 1982 by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. She is the author of several books on meditation and spiritual practice and is a frequent speaker at conferences and retreats both nationally and internationally on the value of meditation and the importance of ethical and spiritual awakening to contribute to world peace.
www.csecenter.org

Barbara Zanella & Claudio Massettini (Savon, Italy) are the spiritual directors of Centro Kriya Yoga Stella in Italy and were disciples of Roy Eugene Davis. They are currently building a yoga retreat in Stella, Italy to support and serve others in spiritual growth.
www.kriyayogastella.org
Yogacharya Harald & Marlies Reiske (Passau, Germany) are the directors of Kriya Yoga Center, Germany. Ordained by Roy Eugene Davis and authorized to teach Kriya Yoga in 1989, they have been his representatives in Germany since that time. They have presented many seminars with Roy Eugene Davis in Germany and Lakemont, GA, where they were his interpreters. They translated several books of his books into German to serve German devotees with seminars and a quarterly Transcendence newsletter.
www.kriya-yoga.de

Mukundadasa, Giovanni Formisano (Milan, Italy) is the founder and director of Kriya Yoga Ashram, Milan. After studying and practicing yoga from the age of 12, and following the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda for many years, in 2003, he met his teacher Roy Eugene Davis, who later ordained him and authorized him to teach Kriya Yoga. Mukundadasa regularly offers classes on Hatha Yoga, meditation, and Yoga philosophy.
www.kriyayogaashram.com

Swami Nirvanananda (Bolzano, Italy) travels extensively throughout Europe, the United States, and India, inspiring audiences with devotional music and raising funds for Shantipuri Friends Foundation, a non-profit charity to support his work serving the poor in and around the holy city of Puri, Odisha, India. Merging the teachings of Kriya Yoga with the devotional aspect of Bhakti Yoga and the charitable path of Karma Yoga, Swami Nirvanananda expresses unity in the diversity of many paths and religions, all leading to the same goal: Universal Love and Oneness with Spirit.
www.nirvanananda.org
           

Ryan Strong, AD (Sacramento, CA) is a teacher in the Kriya Yoga tradition, an Ayurvedic Doctor, and a practitioner of Vedic Astrology. Ryan has taught meditation practices since 2003 and was ordained by his teacher Roy Eugene Davis in 2011. Ryan has taught clinical Ayurveda at the California College of Ayurveda since 2011.
www.stronghealthcenter.org           

Rev. Julie Darshini Hitchcock (Los Osos, CA) was ordained to teach by Yogacharya O'Brian in 2019. Rev. Julie currently serves at Awakening, a CSE affiliate center in Los Osos, CA, leading classes, retreats, and meditation.
www.awakeninginterfaith.org

Isha Das Craig Bullock (Rochester, NY) is an accomplished teacher, writer, lecturer, practicing psychotherapist, and spiritual director of The Assisi Institute in Rochester, New York. His education includes extensive study in psychology, spirituality, mysticism, world religions, and yoga. Isha Das was made a minister and official Kriya Yoga teacher by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.
www.assisi-institute.org

Acharya Devin Atma Sodt (Santa Cruz, CA) met his guru Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, in 2001. He was ordained to teach in the tradition of Kriya Yoga by Yogacharya O’Brian in 2010 and has been teaching meditation and spiritual growth practices since 2005 for groups and individuals.
www.csecenter.org

Acharya Paula Vandana Whang-Ramos, M.Div., (Gilroy, CA) is an Associate Minister and Senior Kriya Yoga Teacher at Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. She also serves as the Spiritual Director of Blue Lotus Kriya Yoga Meditation Center, where she offers Kriya Yoga teachings and Vedic Counseling to sincere seekers in the rural communities of Silicon Valley, CA. Rev. Vandana was initiated into Kriya Yoga by Mr. Roy Eugene Davis in 2006 and was ordained to teach by her Spiritual Teacher, Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, in 2012.
www.bluelotuscenter.org

Marty Prakash & Stella Wuttke (Santa Barbara, CA) is the Founder & CEO of Wuttke Institute of Neurotherapy and is board certified in Neurofeedback, BCIA. Marty has been a meditation teacher since 1984 and is a Minister at Center for Spiritual Awareness.
www.wuttkeinstitute.com

Acharya Sundari Jensen (Boulder Creek, CA) met her spiritual teacher, Yogacharya O’Brian, in March of 1992. She is a Senior Kriya Yoga Teacher and serves as CSE’s Executive Minister and Board President. As Provost of Meru Institute, Acharya Sundari oversees the training of CSE teachers and leaders. Acharya Sundari is also a certified Hatha Yoga teacher, Meditation teacher, Vedic Counselor, and IAYT certified Yoga Therapist.
www.csecenter.org