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Welcome to Parmahansa Yogananda's Summer Day Program. If you could be a master over your habits,
your likes, your dislikes, your attachments - how you would feel - free, really free, to enjoy everything
without stress, without worry. And that was Paramahansa Yogananda. He came from India
to show us how we can live so that we have that joy inside, that peace, that happiness.
It's already there, but he shows us how to access it and how to live it.
Living a spiritual life isn't separate from having fun.
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[Applause]
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We have fun. We do we do improv, we learned how to make videos, record, but at the same time we connect
everything back to Guruji's teachings and also we practice meditation, so it's like you're
having fun but also you're practicing something that's really important.
If you had to describe camp in three words how would you describe it and why?
Fun.
People are nice.
And studying about God is fun.
What would you say you like about this camp?
I like it because you can get closer to God and it's just an awesome experience
and you make so many new friends.
I really think it's cool here and I like to meditate and learn new things about the Gurus.
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This year we're focusing on willpower and that's really important for our daily lives
to get us to reach our goals.
Your willpower is power from God that you have.
Willpower is a powerful thing. It helped me study, write, and even sing.
Willpower is different than anything else. It helps you find your true self.
It helped me get through a lot in life. It puts me in the right state of mind.
Willpower is a great thing to learn. Willpower is also hard to learn.
It takes a lot of concentration and even more dedication.
Look at our choosing - one, you have to be wise about choosing your event
and you have to use it in one direction
Now what we're going to do is attach a distraction to it.
So this could be your cell phone, right.
(laughter)
So the intensity of that light bulb is less because we have a distraction in the way, right.
So just keep that in mind that when you decide to do something there should be no distractions. Right?
I will use my dynamic volition until success or death
[Girls repeating affirmation.]
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[Applause]
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And what's one of the best or most memorable experiences you've had since you've been coming?
When we do all the games and we have fun together and I think I made a lot of friends through this,
so just the long lasting bonds. Peace.
This is a wishing tree and it says lots of words and things that you write
like funny, like joy, and nice people.
This is like Convocation, but without the adults.
And what did you like about it?
I liked the fly class on kites.
It's just part of my summer routine, so it helps me just connect back and remind myself to keep faith
throughout the year.
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This was a very blessed week for all of us.
The Parent Day Retreat for us was fantastic. It was at the temple in Encinitas and it was a full day.
There was a class, a satsanga, and it was like a day of Convocation for me.
It's totally different. It incorporates activities. It incorporates meditation to your daily life.
So I think it's the biggest gift we can give our children.
As the mother of three children my first question is, Okay, so I'm on the path, how do I get my whole family
onto the path? How do I get my kids in a very natural way, you know, but then it's a whole other commitment
to get yourself, to get your children all the way across the country for a whole week.
Having SRF everywhere and stepping into Guruji's footsteps here, and
I'm actually quite overwhelmed by what it has to offer.
I've worked in child development as a principal for over 40 years, and with all the training I've been through
this is the best I've ever seen helping parents to be good parents and to help their children
with their spiritual search to become positive spiritual beings.
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