Satori helps campers seek enlightenment

Who am I? What's out there for me? Where do I fit in?

Many teenagers ask these questions on a regular basis and find few places to turn. Gifted teens -- those with unique learning skills -- often bear an even heavier load.

The nerd in math class who never misses a problem. The lonely girl who writes her own songs. The guy down the street who makes jokes no one understands. Alone and frustrated, it's hard to fit in when people don't understand you.

A man named Mike Cantlon and a whole family of smiling, accepting people are trying to change that. They run Satori, a weeklong camp each July on the Eastern Washington University campus.

Satori is billed as an academic camp, but it's much more than that. It tries to give campers new experiences in academics, acceptance and lifelong friendships.

Friends Cantlon and Bruce Mitchell started Satori 18 years ago. It blossomed with a network of participants from as close as Cheney and as far away as Japan.

Satori is a Japanese word that, grossly oversimplified, refers to a profound sense of ultimate personal enlightenment. There is no English translation. But enlightenment is what participants seek through relationships and curiosity. So it's an apt name for the camp.

Just a few weeks ago, I returned home from my fourth Satori. Campers can attend after their sixth-grade year, but I didn't go until after eighth grade, when a friend persuaded me to accompany her.

Four years later, I'm looking forward to my senior year, and back on how Satori has affected me and my family. My brother, Zach, just finished his second session.

Ostensibly, the purpose of Satori is to take classes. With access to some of EWU's finest facilities and classes taught by high school teachers, professors and passionate, college-age Satori alumni, participants get chances they'd never get in a public school or even most private schools.

Classes are relaxed and informal. Discussions and hands-on participation are inevitable, and every class leaves students with just as many lessons as laughs. Constantly updated class offerings give it variety. Over the years, I've taken classes on murder trials, microbiology, acting and improvisation, karate, dance, philosophy, life in the medieval ages and the infamous Satori Harold. The Harold is the official news publication of Satori, determined to capture all of its history daily, if not a bit sarcastically.

What keeps many people like me coming back year after year is that, well, we all come back year after year.

Maybe it's complete coincidence, or maybe Cantlon and Mitchell did what they set out to do 18 year ago. But Satori is the most socially accepting place on earth. It doesn't take long to make lifelong friendships.

Anyone who thinks it's right for them should experience Satori. For more information, visit the Web site at www.satoricamp.org.

Satori has broadened my horizons in ways I never imagined. It taught me to change the way I live my everyday life.

But you don't have to go to camp to do that.

Look for a Satori moment today: When can you learn more? When can you reach out? When can you seek a greater truth?

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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