The Stage Is Set

"The Stage is Set," were the bold letters that graced the backdrop of the music stage of the common area at the Sheraton hotel in Stamford Connecticut. Those were the welcoming words that greeted my entrance as a pop song was blazing in the air.

I walked to the registration desk and penned down my information on paper, and so it went, I was officially registered as a participant of the NEBY(Northeastern Baha'i Youth) Festival 2008.
http://www.neby.org/about.html

All through the weekend, from the performers to the plenary sessions and featured guest speakers, including workshops, their message revolved on the theme: The Stage is Set. The question is; The Stage is Set for what?
That is why I attended the conference, but on a more selfish note, the lineup of speakers and performers featured Rebequa Murphy(A beloved speaker) and KC Porter (My favorite producer).

Throughout the weekend, where I was opportune to be in the company of over 1000 Baha'i youth and their friends, listen to great talks, participate in a workshop, pray and got my spirit enlivened by heavenly devotional music, I got the answer to my question.

As Ms. Rebequa Murphy pointed out quoting from the Baha'i Writings "We have been created to carry forward an ever advancing civilization," I learned that the stage is set for us the youth (young adults included) to bring about the realization of the Oneness of Humanity-- the next stage in the spiritual development of mankind. And we can do it by living conscious lives, proactive lives, lives filled with meaning and of service to Humanity.

I also learned that activities known within the Bahai community as core activities are building blocks in the realization of this essential principle. Let me explain a little bit about these activities and we can see why they are such fantastic avenues for building Unity:

1- Study Circles: A group of friends come together and immerse themselves in a sequence of study of the Holy Writings as it relates to spiritual matters such as Life after Death, the Importance of Prayer, the Blessings of Sharing the Word of God, the Role of Children and Junior Youth in a Community etc. And each book in the sequence calls for actions which are of service to Humanity. e.g One of the practices of the first book in the sequence(Reflections on the Life of the Spirit) asks us to share a prayer. Just imagine the power of Creative Energy we infuse into the world as we share prayers with our friends, families, and neighbors.

2-Children Classes: A series of lessons for children based on the development of Virtues. These classes teach us on how to be better humans, bringing to light those pearls latent in us. Those "gems of inestimable value" that benefit the world.
And Oh by the way! One of the lessons is Unity. And the children memorize this quote: "So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole earth." AH HA. Meditate on that.

3-Junior Youth groups: This is about peer groups formed purposely to act as a support network of mutual respect and love for one another as well as being of service to their immediate community. This is my favorite core activity. Teenagers are filled with energy, more in tune with what is going on in the world, and have creative ways to address these issues. If we support them and offer them the tools, This World will be a Different world (a Better one I must add). Contrary to popular belief, teenagers are not spoiled brats who are only concerned with designer clothes and shoes, bling-bling and the latest technological gadget, they have intuitive and powerful minds as well, just get to know them and you'll be blown away.

4-Devotional Gatherings: This is when we gather to give Praise to the Lord. In an atmosphere of complete devotion we express our praise in whatever manner we deem conducive to this purpose: connecting our souls to the All Highest Essence of Creation, becoming One with the Friend as Rumi says.

Since the purpose of this entry was to report on my participation at NEBY 2008, I say, it was a blast. I had a good time. Got to converse a little bit with KC Porter, saw Rainn Wilson (Dwight of the the TV Show-- The Office) give a hilarious but touching account of his spiritual journey, Jam till 2am on Saturday night, played with Ali and Nasim Youssefi, Ben, Mike,and Dan on both the main and side stages, and had a safe drive back to Charlottesville-VA.

Just a side note, I got to eat at an Italian Restaurant close to Broadway(New York City), on our way from the Conference, after a short stop to say Hello to one of our friends' sister at Columbia University. What can I say? I am Blessed and You are Blessed too.

PS. No photos here, because I sold my digital camera to make money to attend the Conference (Just Kidding.