San Francisco Bay Area Gnostic Center

Our main center is conveniently located in Downtown Berkeley in the heart of the Bay area, minutes from the Cal campus. The BART is close by (15 minute walk) and we are fortunate to have parking ($1/hour) available right at our doorstep. If you opt for street parking, meters don’t operate on Sundays.

This area of downtown is a melting pot of cultural diversity with countless dining options, and a great variety of coffee shops, street vendors, and plenty of places to hang out or relax on your way in or out of town.

Our Courses

The three introductory courses we offer are “Dreams and Out-of-Body Experiences”, “Self Discovery”, and "Christian Gnosticism." These are 4 and 8-week courses, which meet for an hour and are open to the public. We also offer a free weekly drop-in session on "Meditation". We run these classes on Sunday, which is a great time for those who have busy weekly schedules.

Our live course runs synchronized with the online courses, allowing you to get the best of both worlds. The video lectures online for each weekly topic of the course can be viewed before coming to class in Berkeley, enabling you to have time to absorb and comprehend the material. The Teacher on Sundays gives a brief summary of the week's topic and then takes any questions you may have about it. The majority of the time is then used to investigate the topic by leading the students through a good practice.

Students come from the Bay Area, and the greater Bay Area (Dublin, Brentwood, Sacramento, Sebastopol and even Renol!) to attend these free classes. Thanks to our location, the Berkeley center attracts people of all ages and from different backgrounds and cultures.

Advanced courses on topics such as “Gnostic Wisdom”, are available to those who have completed the 2 preliminary courses at the center or online. We also offer a “Teacher’s Course” for those who are keen to communicate this information to others.

Our Practices

We feel that it is through practice and actual experience that the teachings of Gnosis truly come alive for the individual. For that reason, we offer a variety of optional group practices in which each person can benefit from strength generated by the group. For example, we have an evening mantra practice, in which we explore the power of Sound. These practices are very uplifting, and can become a way to recharge your batteries after a long day at work or school.

Not only have our in-class group practices been highly inspiring, but we also organize group walks in nature, all-day goal-oriented practice sessions at the Center, special all-night practices for Astral projection, and weekend retreats. These activities that take place focus on the intensive investigation of the practices outside of the hustle and bustle of city life and can yield tangible and life-changing results.

These special events are always announced well ahead of time and have been a big hit with many students.

A Place to Meet

All kinds of people from all age groups come to the courses. It can be truly inspiring to listen to some of the experiences and successes had by others. As the courses go on through the weeks, it's very nice to see friendships form around shared experiences with the simple and profound techniques of modern Gnosis - where the peace and immense wisdom of the divine spark within each of us can be directly experienced through practical efforts.

Back in October 2006, we started a café so that students and teachers could gather before or after class to chat over a cup of tea or coffee. You never know what subjects arise around a warm cup of tea!The café offers fresh fruits, bagels homemade vegetarian pizza, cookies, juices and teas—all available for a small contribution.