The Youth Mystery School
Every summer since July 2005, groups of young people (aged 16-19) have gathered and met each other for the first time. They come from all over the country, and most often they are nervous. Why? Because they just signed up for something they have never done before, and for which there is no road map. Although nervous, they are also exhilarated because they've stepped into an opportunity to meet themselves in a very significant way. The 4-1/2 days which follow bring about a metamorphosis rarely experienced. The video below, offers a clue of such transformation.
Share this story of transformation written by a recent graduate...
When I went to the Youth Mystery School in June of 2008, I was a broken soul. I had just come out of the hardest and most painful time of my life. I had lost nearly everything I held dear, my girlfriend had been assaulted and broken up with me, my martial arts practice had gone down the drain, my grades were at a record low, and I had gotten out of the hospital for a suicide attempt just a month earlier. I had all but given up on life or any good that could happen in it. I figured that if life had given me so much pain and suffering, it wasn’t worth it to continue anymore. There was no way there was enough good to come, to make up for the bad I had already experienced. I had lost the will to live.
It was then, when all hope had faded, when I had totally given up the possibility that anything could prove me wrong or make life worth living… it was at that time when I fatefully went to the Youth Mystery School. The instant I met Deborah and Gay I knew this was going to be interesting. By the end of the first night, I knew this was going to change me forever. Every day I learned something new. I found strength in myself I had sacrificed to the hardships of my life. I found love and connection I had longed for since I was a small child trying to make friends in kindergarten. I found the value of myself, the connection possible among people who started as complete strangers, and the power of the universe itself
The spiritually transformative experience of the Mystery School has changed so many people’s lives, and saved mine.
David (19), Winchester, VA