The fourth annual Youth Angels Day Camp (YADC) was held at Deerwood Elementary School in Eagan, Minneapolis. YADC is a spiritual camp organized by the Science of Spirituality, Minneapolis community, and open to all children between the ages of 5 and 15 years of age, interested in learning to lead a spiritual way of life. Honoring the timeless reality that spirituality cannot be bought, the camp is free for all. During the one-day camp, children learn the important gems of leading a spiritual life, in a fun, safe and nurturing environment. YADC 2010 was attended by approximately 80 children, with over 30+ adult and teen volunteers.
Camp counselors and volunteers conducted workshops that aimed to teach and convey important spiritual messages such as the benefits of daily and regular meditation, the importance of inculcating ethical virtues at a young age, and above all, the need to love and live in harmony with all of creation. These messages transcend all barriers of religion, race, ethnicity and gender.
The day began with an orientation for parents and children alike. Simon, the YADC mascot was present to get the camp off to an exhilarating start. All parents and children were then invited to an impressive exhibit put together by the children of the Minneapolis community, sharing invaluable insights on a wide range of spiritual topics, ranging from the emotional, mental and physical benefits of meditation, and the importance of loving kindness, to the power of positive thinking. The parents were very inspired by the wealth of knowledge that the children shared with them - a true testament to how much parents can sometimes learn from their children. The exhibition was followed by an introduction to Meditation presented by guest speaker Phil Vedova from Naperville, Illinois. The junior campers delighted the audience with a spiritually rooted skit about the “attention balloon,” which is within all of us. The skit demonstrated that just as the balloon can be swayed easily in any direction in which the wind blows, our attention has the tendency to wander endlessly. However, just as tethering a balloon can help control it, we have been born with everything we need to tether our attention and focus it in the right direction. By focusing our attention on the third or spiritual eye we can give flight to our soul and thus make good use of our attention balloon. The skit conveyed in an age-appropriate manner, that meditation allows us to learn the techniques of tethering our “attention balloon” and focusing it in the right arena. The children then meditated for 7 minutes following the skit. All attendees then congregated for an invigorating session of yoga led by a seasoned yogic practitioner Punja Bhai Ji.
After a lunch of pizza, YADC 2010 offered workshops for junior, senior and teen campers, entitled “Steps towards Happiness,” “Meditation- Discover the Power within” and “Science and Spirituality -Friends after all” respectively. The workshop for teens was run by guest speaker Phil Vedova. Vedova introduced the harmonious relationship between spirituality and science. The spiritual laws which have been in existence since the beginning of time, are today being corroborated by science. To the eagerness of the young scientists in the crowd, Vedova spoke of string theory, the existence of parallel universes, and of the genome project - the most recent developments in science and quantum physics, which point to the existence of regions beyond just our physical plane, and provide clear evidence that we are all more similar than we thought. The genome project for example, after years of research has concluded that at our essence, we share 99.99% of the same genes. It is the less than 0.01% in our genetic makeup that accounts for our external differences. These recent messages of science corroborate and prove the messages of spirituality since time immemorial – that we are all one interconnected family and that there are worlds beyond the physical, which await us if we choose to traverse them through meditation. The workshop cleverly conveyed to the teens, that the laws of spirituality transcend all barriers that we as humans have put on ourselves and the world around us. The workshop was enlightening for all the teens and parents alike who chose to sit in on it.
Counselors and volunteers in all workshops used creative ways appropriate for the age groups, to demonstrate the power of meditation, ethical living and positive thinking. Children in the junior and senior camps learned about the virtues of non-violence, truthfulness, humility and loving kindness. They also learned about the impact they can have on their surroundings by meditating and being good stewards of the earth; most importantly, they learned of their birthright to know God – a message that has been shared by Saints and mystics through the ages. The seniors and teens received instructions on the meditation on Inner Light. Following these enlightening workshops, all campers enjoyed games organized by the volunteers. Then the group of 90+ children and their parents gathered around a campfire for a session of songs and music. Patricia Rojas Guzman led the children in an enthralling song-dance to the Spanish tune of “Macarena.” Following this, teen volunteers Anant Naik and Kishore Ayyar presented an alternative version of a popular rap song cleverly altered to offer the campers a great take-home promise: “We will, we will, meditate!”. Finally, guest musician Arlene Samsel entertained the crowd with her accordion and some English sing-along songs. The campfire concluded with a popular camp song – “Lean On Me” which all of the children chimed in for.
YADC 2010 was a tremendous success, thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of the parents, children and the volunteers who gave of their time selflessly. It was particularly heartening to see several teen volunteers helping to ensure the day was a success. Their efforts were much appreciated by all. The essence of YADC is to inculcate the gems of spirituality in children as early as possible. One is never too young to learn how to be a true human being.
Parents were grateful and congratulatory at the end of the camp, and promised to bring their children back again next year. One parent shared “My family looks forward to this camp every year - we can’t wait to come back next year!”
Please find below comments from parents and volunteers,
after the camp last year: (Comments from this year would soon be posted here!
It was a very fulfilling experience for my daughter
Tanvi. She loved it and demonstrated the yoga and other activities at home.
She thoroughly enjoyed the skit as well and was thrilled that she got to see
Shri Krishna in "person". She is a big fan of the Krishna series.
I really appreciate all efforts of members in organizing this great event!
Thanks,
Chetana
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My daughter Eesha had a wonderful time. She
learned many things like yoga and meditation. She tells everybody in
the house to do it now. She said that everybody was very caring. Thank
you for giving such a wonderful experience to Eesha.
Thank you very much
Ruchika
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Thanks for arranging excellent camp. My son Ninad really
enjoyed it.
Thanks
Abhijeet
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It was an awesome event with lots of fun for the
kids and the kids at heart alike. I had a blast performing in the skit. But
the singing the songs part of the camp was truly awesome. That was the best
part for me in the whole camp.
thanks
Utsav
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It was a fantastic camp and a great experience as a
counselor. Srilekha really enjoyed the camp and she liked every activity.
She was telling me that "Amma, I wish camp could be there from early
morning to until over night". She is conscious about her dialing
number(763) too.
It was so much pleasure to be in the camp. Eagerly
waiting for the video now
.
Shaila
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Eesha
had a wonderful time at Camp!! she learned a lot from all the volunteers!!
Her favorite part was the skit and learning to meditate, she wants to come
every year and can't wait to be senior next year.
Thank
you to all the volunteers for an outstanding spiritual and fun day for all
the kids!!
Sonia
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Science of Spirituality Minnesota is grateful to all
its volunteers and parents for supporting it. Also many-many thanks to
all campers to make this camp a great success.
.