{"id":6612,"date":"2007-07-26T23:23:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-26T17:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/2007\/6612\/"},"modified":"2015-01-21T11:20:13","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T05:50:13","slug":"germany-youth-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/2007\/6612\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany youth retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"

From youth retreat conducted in Germany
by Bri.Dipamrita Chaitanya & Shubamrita Chiatanya – July 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amma\u2019s Youth in Europe are moving ahead, under Her Love and guidance. The third Youth Exchange Programme held at the M.A. Center, Germany was a phenomenal success in which the youth from different parts of Europe participated. This year this programme was supported by the \u201cYouth in Action\u201d Program of the European Commission DG Education and Culture. The exchange aimed at bridging the gap of culture, social background, language and creed and at highlighting and practicing the universal values which are the foundation not only of a mature personality, but also of a harmonious society. The theme of this year\u2019s programme was \u201cValues \u2013 the foundation of a happy and balanced life.\u201d The youngsters enjoyed every minute of their stay, and wholeheartedly participated in the workshops and all other activities organised for them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The participants<\/div>\n

Br. Shubamrita and Bri. Dipamrita gave inspiring talks to the youth every day, which were filled with practical wisdom and humour. \u201cValues like love and compassion are not just to be talked about \u2013 they have to be practiced in our everyday life. These values are the same in each country, in each culture of the world. They have always been relevant, they always will be relevant, and they are, more than ever, relevant now. Values are like the software of a computer \u2013 you don\u2019t see them at the surface, but they shape and influence each one of our thoughts and actions\u201d said Br. Shubamrita addressing the 80 plus youngsters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From drumming workshop<\/div>\n

One of the key values to be strengthened in the younger generation today is love and concern for Nature. \u201cNature does not need human beings, but human beings need nature. We need to make it a priority in life to protect and preserve Mother Nature\u201d Bri. Dipamrita stressed in her talk. The environmentalist Mathieu Labonne came to the same conclusion: \u201cIf we don\u2019t act now, Nature will act upon us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In various workshops with the eminent personality development coaches Daya (Antti-Juhani Wihuri from Finland) and Martin August (from Denmark) the young people were invited to run a \u201cvirus scan\u201d and update their \u201cvalue-software\u201d, and refocus on their goals in life.<\/p>\n

Through various spiritual practices like Yoga, Tai Chi and Meditation the young people were invited to turn inwards and balance the many activities and impression of the full daily program. At night the whole group gathered to sing together – real rocking Bhajans.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From painting workshop <\/div>\n

Every afternoon the participants had the chance to take part in various workshops like Art-Work, Filmmaking, Textile Design, Song writing, Drumming and Acrobatic. As part of the Eco program of the M.A. Centre Germany a group of participants installed a rainwater collection device on the compound.<\/p>\n


\"\"<\/a>Simone from Ireland talking about the values she learned form her parents<\/div>\n

The deep and thought provoking topics of the exchange have not affected the light and fun atmosphere. During Seva activities, walks in nature and a unique rally called \u201cDarshan \u2013 the hunt\u201d the young people could experience the beautiful spirit of togetherness as one European family.<\/p>\n

During his visit to the center to see how the retreat was going, Christian R\u00f6sler, official from the German National Agency of \u201cYouth in Action\u201d said: \u201cI have observed something remarkable here: Each one of these young people have the potential and strength to go out and help other young people – those who drop out of school, who are underprivileged and misfortunate in life.\u201d He was very impressed with the way the activities were going on and wished the youth all the success in life.<\/p>\n

In a workshop with Singer and Songwriter Sathya (Mikka von Herzen) and Axel the youngsters wrote lyrics in five languages to the theme song of this year\u2019s Youth Exchange, expressing exactly what Mr. R\u00f6sler remarked upon:<\/p>\n

\u201cLighten up our candlesShow us how to loveLet us spread your messageOn the wings of a doveIn your arms we all feelJoyous and secureAmma please remember usAnd keep us close to you\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Building rainwater collection device <\/div>\n

Seeing the enthusiasm, dedication and sincerity of the young people makes one more optimistic about the future \u2013 a future that is shaped by individuals who aim to BE the change they want to see in society, a youth full of values, a youth in action.<\/p>\n

With Amma\u2019s grace, this Youth Meet turned out to be a memorable experience for one and all.<\/p>\n

Nath<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From youth retreat conducted in Germanyby Bri.Dipamrita Chaitanya & Shubamrita Chiatanya – July 2007 Amma\u2019s Youth in Europe are moving ahead, under Her Love and guidance. The third Youth Exchange Programme held at the M.A. Center, Germany was a phenomenal success in which the youth from different parts of Europe participated. This year this programme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ashram-diary","category-ayudh"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/files\/2007\/07\/Group-Photo-with-Br.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/e.amritapuri.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}