Growing up, I attended and then staffed and helped lead the best summer camp ever. What did we do? Nothing. No entertainment. Of course, we did things, and it was fun. But basically it was a “training ground for the warriors” of peace, not aggression. It was affordable, and just about everyone was kind to just about everyone. It’s still going on, in Colorado, and in France, and in Canada. Printed on the back of the tee shirts was this phrase: “if you lose your mind…COME BACK.” It’s a profound phrase, though so simple. It rises out of the Buddhist notion that we’re never gonna be perfect—we all lose our minds, we all make mistakes. The trick to a life well-lived, however, isn’t being perfect, which doesn’t exist. It’s coming back to the present, coming back to kindness and decency, when we find we’ve gone off the rails. This is what we practice in meditation. It’s easy, though endless. It includes a sense of humor, instead of rigid positivity. So next time you find yourself lost in self-concern…come back! #shambhalasunsummercamp #shambhalasuncamp #shambhala #dharma #summercamp #mayitbeofbenefit

A photo posted by Waylon Lewis (@waylonlewis) on Nov 23, 2015 at 9:51am PST

I did this every year as a child (they accept ages 10 through 16).

You could’ve been home but you left!

You’re right

You shoulda been home but you left!

You’re right

Sound off, Ki Ki Sound Off, So So Bring is Way Down! Ki Ki So So Ki Ki…So So!

Sun Camp is offered in Colorado, France, and Canada. It’s great—my mentor/our idol Willy Ryken (half Winston Churchill, half Toshiro Mifune) broke my heart a thousand times (in a good way, with a smile), the camp itself gave me enough space to grow up (instead of filling our hours with chinzty crafts and crap), it was always the fun-est week every year I always used to say.

It’s Buddhist-ish, but if you’re not Buddhist you’ll have just as good a time, and won’t feel like you’re locked out of the tree fort.

Click here for more info.