Spiritual Virtues Summer Camp gears up for August

Spiritual Virtues Summer Camp

Spiritual Virtues Summer Camp

Who: Children ages 4-12

When: August 2-5, 2010

Time: 9:30 am to 12:30 pm

Fees: $75 first child, $55 siblings

Register: Registration form

More Info: www.virtuesconnectionportland.com

By Daniela Agostini

This August the Spiritual Virtues Summer Camp will take place once again at the Beaverton Baha’i Center, sponsored by Baha'is of Beaverton and the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living. Inspired by the work of The Virtues Project™, this camp helps children and parents develop spiritual qualities such as patience, kindness and unity.

“Virtues are what is good about us.”
~ Sharon, age 6 (quoted by the Virtues Project)

Keelei, who is 4 and is planning to attend this year’s Summer Camp, asked her grandmother, “Is ‘courtesy’ a boy or a girl?” Grandma Luz (Villarroel) replied, “I believe they are both.” After listening to The Virtues Songs A to Z CD by Jennifer Russell, Keelei concluded: “‘Courtesy’ is being like God.” These little girls seem to understand what the virtues are and the station to which they lead us.

Many virtues are universal to all faith traditions. The Dalai Lama confirms, “All major traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness - the important thing is that they should be part of our daily lives."In the Spiritual Virtues Summer Camp, children will learn about various virtues from the myriad of faith traditions, explore these virtues through the arts and learn how to implement them in their daily lives. Parents are welcome to participate also, as they may wish to reinforce the children's lessons.Some of the virtues the children will learn include:

Truthfulness

“Then have done with falsehood and speak the truth to each other, for we belong to one another as parts of one body.”
~ The letter of Paul to the Ephesians. 4:25

Helpfulness

“They helped everyone his neighbor…”
~ Isaiah 41:5

Service

“Devote thyself to my service, do all thine acts for my sake, and thou shalt  attain the goal.”
~ Bhagavad-Gita, 12:10

Love

“Thou shalt  not take vengeance,  nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt  love thy neighbor as thyself…”
~ Leviticus 19:18

Respect

“A man is not an elder because his head is grey… he in whom truth, virtue, gentleness,  self-control,  moderation, he who is steadfast and free from impurity, is rightly called an elder… is called respectable.”
~ The Dhammapada 26

Forgiveness

“…If a person falls into error a hundred thousand times he may yet turn his face to you hopeful that you will forgive his sins,  for he must not become hopeless, neither grieved or despondent!”
~ Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha II p.436

Unity

“The function and purpose of a shepherd is to gather and not disperse his flock. The Prophets of God have been divine shepherds of humanity.”
~ Foundations of World Unity: “The Dawn of Peace”, p. 14

Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha'i Faith, speaks of a brotherhood that is spiritual, higher and superior to all others, a heavenly brotherhood  originating from the breath of the holy spirit and manifested by the practice of virtue.  He declared that the divine Manifestations, that is, the founders of the world’s major religions, taught mankind how to develop these virtues. Their holy books contain the lasting legacy of these teachings.

Baha'u'llah compares mankind to a garden with flowers of many hues and fragrances. Like a garden, a spiritual society of man must reflect the principles of a healthy eco-system. For germination to occur, there needs to be a dynamic balance of elements. Soil rich in nutrients is needed, as is sunshine and water. The wind helps with seeding. When all elements are balanced, a beautiful garden blossoms, providing fruit and vegetables and improving the quality of the very air we breathe. Human welfare and ideal brotherhood, like the eco-garden, are attained through the interplay of “merciful attributes” or virtues.Unity is a virtue of the higher order for it is attained when many virtues work together.  The Baha'i Writings explain:

"The divine Manifestations since the day of Adam have striven to unite humanity so that all may be accounted as one soul. The function and purpose of a shepherd is to gather and not disperse his flock. The prophets of God have been divine shepherds for humanity."
~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 14

Hence the practice of virtues is conducive to the emergence of peace, unity, and divine brotherhood. When the children understand the virtues as “what is good about us” and  as "being like God,” and when they learn how to practice virtues in daily life,  they begin to understand the attributes of God. With this knowledge, they hold the secret necessary to create unity within their own hearts, and to remedy the disintegration that they so often witness in their communities and in the world.