Welcome to the Center for Sacred Sciences, a welcoming and inclusive spiritual organization based in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The teachings at the Center draw from the teachings of the mystics of all the great traditions, all of whom testify to a common, universal truth.
Programs
Our goal at the Center is not only to help individual seekers but also to foster a new world view in which both spiritual and scientific truths can be seen as different but complementary ways of describing a single underlying reality. To these ends, we offer the following services and resources:
There is a public service in Eugene at 11 am on most Sunday mornings, which usually consists of a talk by one of the center teachers followed by questions and answers. See our public schedule and directions to the service. The Center is accessible.
On our web site you can find teachings on many spiritual topics, available as audio downloads, as well as various written articles. We also publish books, videos, a newsletter, and a journal.
We have a lending library with thousands of books, audios, videos and periodicals from all the great traditions and different spiritual teachers. Search some of our collection online at TinyCat, and keep abreast of library news at the CSS Library Blog.
If you wish to develop a spiritual practice, the Center offers a distance studies course, a foundation studies course, practitioners groups, and silent meditation retreats. If you are interested in making a serious commitment to spiritual practice with us, you can learn how to join and become involved.
The Center is a non-profit organization governed by a board of directors. The Center is operated almost entirely by volunteer staff. The teachers at the Center present the teachings as a labor of love and receive no financial compensation from CSS for their teachings. However, because the Center does have on-going expenses, we invite you to consider making a donation or becoming a supporting member of the Center. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.
Mission
As adopted on Sept. 19, 1988, the CSS articles of incorporation state as follows:
The Center for Sacred Sciences is a nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these articles, the corporation shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal income tax section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The specific aims and purposes of the Center for Sacred Sciences are as follows:
- To preserve and promote knowledge of that esoteric wisdom or gnosis to which all the great mystical traditions testify.
- To explain and interpret the teachings of the mystics of all religions, all times, and all places in terms comprehensible to our own modern, scientific age.
- To support, engage in, and disseminate the results of scholarly research and empirical experiments leading to the establishment of a world view in which science and mysticism are seen to be founded on two relatively different but ultimately complementary modes of cognizing a single, inseparable reality.
- To provide an opportunity for individuals who wish to pursue a personal spiritual path to receive teachings and instruction in various disciplines and practices adapted from the great mystical traditions.
- To foster and encourage the development of sacred communities of like-minded practitioners dedicated to enhancing their own spiritual practices and to serving the spiritual needs of humanity at large.
In order to accomplish these aims and purposes we hope to establish educational and research facilities; write, publish, and distribute books, pamphlets, journals, newsletters, etc.; produce works of art, films, audio and video tapes, and other materials suitable for other forms of media; provide places of meditation, worship, retreat and refuge; engage in charitable activities in times of pressing need; render financial aid to organizations and individuals undertaking projects that reflect aims and purposes compatible with our own; and engage in any other activities that will promote our aims and purposes.
Listen: Introduction to CSS: Mission, Programs, and Teachings - mp3 audio, 2011