Vision Cafe – September 2007 art | cinema | performance space | theatre | galleries | poets

Vision Cafe – September 2007

CHANGE LIVES! BE A MENTOR
by Jill Gurr, Founder of Create Now!
Half of the United States’ youth population (17.6 million kids) are considered to be “at-risk” of getting into trouble with the law or are already in trouble. It’s easy to turn your back and ignore this problem as long as it doesn’t affect your life directly. But what will you do when a young person jacks your car? Or is sentenced to spend an entire life in a prison system on your tax dollars? The epidemic of at-risk youth is everybody’s concern.

One successful solution is mentoring. A mentor is a loyal advisor, teacher, confidante, guide and role model. He or she is a special friend who serves as an advocate for the needs of someone else and makes an effort to bring out that person’s best qualities.
In 1996, I founded “Create Now!” – a non-profit organization that matches creative individuals in Los Angeles with high-risk kids who live in court-mandated institutions, such as homes for abused and neglected children. Through “Create Now!,” I’ve personally mentored more than 50 kids and have trained dozens of other mentors to work with high-risk youth.

Research proves that kids who are mentored show great improvements in school attendance and academic performance, enhanced appearance and attitude, less hostility and better self-esteem. Mentors are individuals who teach us how to make good choices. They open doors to new opportunities that normally wouldn’t be available. A mentee, or protégé, is a novice, student or learner. At-risk and high-risk mentees can be of any race and religion. They generally come from disadvantaged homes in poor communities. All children need the support of a positive adult, but these kids especially need help.

Tasha is an example that proves mentoring makes a difference. I met this bright young woman at a detention facility when she was almost sixteen. She eagerly signed up for a “Create Now!” TV Writing Workshop with a professional sit-com writer. When Tasha graduated from high school, her mentors helped her apply to USC Film School and arranged for a scholarship. She was one of only fifty people in the world to be accepted into the film program. In December 2004, Tasha graduated from college and is now on her way to a lucrative career in the entertainment industry.

It’s a powerful feeling to know that you’ve made a difference in a young person’s life. These children represent our future. Mentors introduce them to a larger world where they’re a contributor instead of just another statistic.

To learn more about mentoring through the Create Now! program, visit www.createnow.org.

CONCERT FOR A UNITED WORLD
Free Concert & Open House
Hosted by Self-Realization Fellowship

Ocean breezes, peaceful gardens and the illuminating sounds of voices lifted in song-—sounds like a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Which is sure to be the case on Sunday, Sept. 16 when Self-Realization Fellowship hosts a “Concert for a United World” at its Encinitas campus.

The open house event-—expected to attract thousands-runs from 1 to 6 p.m. and will feature a 50-person orchestra and 45-person chorus, many of whose members hail from the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. This free event will also feature performances by conductor Robby Martinez, opera singer Jennifer Jones, and soloist Ken Bell as well as a performance by Alan Paul of Manhattan Transfer.

Tours of the garden, meditation chapel, and hermitage (where spiritual teacher Paramahansa Yogananda wrote most of his landmark book Autobiography of a Yogi) will be ongoing throughout the day. Also featured will be screenings of Glimpses of a Life Divine, a 30-minute film featuring the recollections of individuals who knew Yogananda as well as the PBS special Road Trip, highlighting a tour of the Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas campus, which is considered to be a North San Diego County landmark.

The 17-acre SRF Hermitage, Retreat and Meditation Gardens was founded in 1937 by Yogananda, a world teacher who brought India’s ancient science of meditation to the West in 1920. He dedicated his life to uniting East and West into lasting ties of spiritual understanding.

“Paramahansa Yogananda sought to foster a spirit of greater harmony and goodwill among those of all races, cultures, and creeds, and a deeper understanding of the underlying unity of all religions,” says Sister Mridani, a senior nun of the SRF monastic community in Encinitas. “SRF is honored to host this auspicious event for our local community, and to share that spirit of unity and friendship that Yogananda promoted.”
Since its establishment, the SRF Retreat and Hermitage has attracted visitors from all over the world. The meditation gardens offer striking varieties of flowering plants and trees, a series of ponds and miniature waterfalls, and a view of the magnificent expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Retreat programs are conducted by SRF monks and nuns. They provide a spiritual respite from the outside world for participants who can also explore the teachings of Yogananda in greater depth. -NLP/JAE

For more information, call 760.753.1811 or visit www.yogananda-srf.org

Kumbha Mela USA 2007:
The Confluence for World Peace

The Kumbha Mela USA-–an event to usher in peace by infusing collective positive energies-–will be held Sunday, Sept. 9 in Norwalk, California, followed by peace prayers Sept. 10 and 11 in remembrance of 9/11.

Continuing in the tradition of the first-ever Kumbha Mela in the United States in 2006, the Kumbha Mela USA ‘07 is a festival based on a rich Vedic tradition which heralds in collective positive thinking and celebration to bring about global peace. In India for thousands of years, millions of yogis, masters, saints and seekers have come together every 12 years at auspicious planetary convergences, to bring healing energy to the planet, and share information about spiritual traditions.

The organizers and more than 30 supporting organizations including Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam, Vedanta Society, Santan Dharma Mandir, ISKCON, Sindhu Center and the ISSO Temple have been meeting regularly to make this celebration event a success.
With at least 100 Spiritual Masters and their organizations, ashrams and temples, yogis and leaders expected to participate in the festivities, the intention of the Mela is to infuse tremendous “positivity” to the entire globe.

The major highlight of this year’s Mela will be the Grand Procession and immersion of energized idols from various spiritual organizations nationwide in the water brought from 21 holy rivers of India. Mahaprasad, energized food for offering, will be prepared from rice collected from thousands of homes. This contribution is a symbolic representation of bringing good will to the celebrations from the community at large. The success of the Kumbha Mela USA 2006--attended by over 5,000 people according to the LA Times--also highlighted the thirst among the people to understand and explore the roots of the Vedic tradition.

According to the Kumbha Mela USA website, “This event is a solid and unshakeable display of faith and dedication…It is indeed remarkable that the largest gathering of humanity on planet Earth happens not on account of any other occasion but straightaway on account of God.” For more information visit
www.usakumbhamela.net or e-mail us at enquiries@usakumbhamela.net.