YEHA CAMP

Jinny, Angela, Ana, me and Jason after a LONG day at YEHA camp---we look happy but exhausted!
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In the States last spring I participated in an intense weekend called YEHA Camp in Sedona’s Mago Garden. This program through DahnWorld stands for Young Earth Human Alliance. YEHA gathers young people together that are interested in seeking personal growth not just from a resume stand point but understanding self in a larger spiritual way. I went thinking that I was going on a yoga retreat and was amazed to find that I was there on a soul growth mission--- in some ways it was the first time I met my “true self”--- the me inside of me. That was Spring ’05--- less than one year later I was in Korea participating in YEHA Winter Camp in KOREA!!

Ho Jin-- our fearless translator who also works with us at BR English.
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As a foreigner living in Korea you can sometimes feel like you are living a rock star identity--- especially around young people, who spend many hours in academies learning English--- when they are suddenly around an English speaking foreigner there is a funny phenomenon that happens--- every English sentence that they ever learned come spewing out. HI! HOW ARE YOU!? WHAT IS YOUR NAME!? WHERE ARE YOU FROM!?

“Stay Human”-- -the power of that statement is the same for me as what the Koreans have started here with YEHA and the Earth Human movement.

Us expressing our "love" for our translators that were somewhat annoying to always have with us.
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Now I have gotten use to this, but during YEHA this was compounded by being around some 500 other young Koreans that were ALL interested in learning about who we were. So, this time YEHA was like being a rock star.

One of the great benefits of working through a branch of the DahnWorld umbrella is that we have access to some just amazing trainings with high level experts in the fields of mind-body-spirit connection. During YEHA we were participated in a sampling of many different types of trainings. The first night there was a dance/rhythm meditation group that lead all 500 of us in a massive dance party—at first it was just fun dancing--- with partners and showing different kinds of moves. Then it morphed into a rhythm training called Jin-dong, which is letting go of physical and emotional barriers through the vibration of movement. It is amazing once you stop caring how you look or how you are moving or dancing your natural body rhythm takes over and you find yourself communicating with yourself on a whole other level--- most musicians, dancers and other performing artists talk about this kind of exuberant or even spiritual-like calm/trance that comes over them and they are able get in their zone….it is often talked about as a place of the most creativity within the brain. This training teaches that first of all anyone can reach this kind of state and second it is where one can be the most true to themselves.

During one of the DahnMuDo demonstrations.
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On the second day we got DahnMuDo training. DahnMuDo is a combination of TaiChi and TaiQuanDo--- both martial arts that are developed to commune and harmonize with the ki energy or source energy within all things. Since this training I have been taking regular DMD classes and have gotten really involved in this kind of physical training.

We were lucky enough to get two impressive lectures from the founder of Dahn—Dr. Ilchi Lee. He talked at length about BOS his idea of a standard Brain Operating System. Simply put--- we are the masters of our brain--- we own the hardware, but the question lies in what kind of software do we load into our brains? On a daily basis what kind of information are we giving ourselves--- and what kind of subliminal information are we giving ourselves through just living in the society and media that we are surrounded by. How can we train our brains to in order to function on a level of higher consciousness?

Japan team with part of the western team and others....
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I often leave these lectures thinking about the power of such a force and the impact that it might have on our world. Imagine if everyone could function on a level of where actions weren’t based on pure emotion but rather on a plain that suited higher morals. Where happiness could be found within without the unnecessary seeking of that from outside? Where individuals could live a sense of inner peace and self happiness? Could that world solve the real problems of the world without the red tape of today’s politics, religious infighting and social destruction of our current ways? Could simply “changing your brain” be the answer? I find the simplicity of this idea so fascinating and it seems to correlate with everything that I understand about God as well. As an image of god we are ourselves creators of that which is around us. In every moment we are able to create the situation that we are living in---or change it if necessary.

This kind of thinking flowed perfectly into the rest of the weekend. Sunday we had an international talent show of sorts where groups from around the country performed different kinds of dances and martial art performances.

One of the more touching moments of the camp was when the Japan team performed a “bosom” dance (or up beat dance) and then a traditional Japanese dance. There is still a lot of resentment in Korea towards Japan and the violent and humiliating way that they occupied Korea in the past. That said it was so beautiful to see the young people of Korea so openly welcome and cheer on the Japanese team. After they performed they requested to speak to the whole crowd and many of them with tears in their eyes they talked about reconciliation of the two cultures which in fact are one. One man openly apologized for his countries history and thanked the Koreans for putting something like this together for them to realize that Korea and Japan are actually one. It was a history making moment in a lot of those young people’s lives!

As the “western team” we didn’t have time to come up with an impressive performance, but we did get on stage and spoke--- we also talked at length about the wonderful welcoming nature of everyone and along the same lines of see the equality in each of us.

All in all it was a very moving and life changing weekend. Like my experiences at ASP and even in Ghana or on the campaign trail in Ohio you realize that when you strip away all the layers that we wear in our daily lives we really are all the same with the same needs and wants. I think that it is very easy to forget that when we get caught up in our emotional lives, but the weekend brought a new perspective to this thinking.

I came home even more invigorated to teach my students the power of their life vision and the power that they can have to make change in the world--- through peace and creating one-ness.

Lately I have been listening to a lot of Michael Franti thanks to my girl Angela--- and I love his concept of “Stay Human”-- -the power of that statement is the same for me as what the Koreans have started here with YEHA and the Earth Human movement. There needs to come a day--- soon I hope that we are viewing the world not from a country perspective but from an Earth management perspective. When we can do that then we will begin to really solve our collective problems.

Until that day---- STAY HUMAN and be human to all those around you!

Peace, Rose