<p>Gap years are becoming increasingly common in the US, following a tradition commonplace in Europe, Australia and the United Kingdom. </p>
<p>The purpose of gap years is to provide time to step aside the race from high school to college to grad school and then a beginning career, to more deeply engage with the world and the various possible roles each of us might play within it. Indeed, the Huffington Post recently advocated the worth of such time (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/30/gap-year_n_4325969.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/30/gap-year_n_4325969.html</a>), and Harvard University has begun suggesting gap years to applying undergraduates (<a href="https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/should-i-take-time">https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/should-i-take-time</a>). </p>
<p>Indralaya, a theosophical retreat center on Orcas Island, WA, is now joining this space in offering a residential internship program for young people in times of transition. Based on the theosophical premise that a balanced life comprises elements of study (head), meditation (heart) and service (hand), our interns will: </p>
<p>(1) Spend time exploring philosophical conceptions of the self, personal values and life's meaning through experiential workshops and a reflective journaling program; </p>
<p>(2) Be guided in a deepened personal and group meditation practice; and</p>
<p>(3) Be mentored in a choice of practical life skills relevant to retreat operations (e.g. organic gardening and orchard tending, ovo-lacto vegetarian cooking, business administration and accounting, or construction and building maintenance). </p>
<p>Interns will be provided with a cabin, with access to a nearby bathhouse. A large dining hall and lounge with a grand piano and guitars are also available for use. Meals are ovo-lacto vegetarian and will be mostly communal. Non-gluten, non-dairy and vegan dietary restrictions can be accommodated.Please visit <a href="http://www.indralaya.com/gap-year-program-2/gap-year-program-overview/">http://www.indralaya.com/gap-year-program-2/gap-year-program-overview/</a> or contact <a href="mailto:emlyn@indralaya.org">emlyn@indralaya.org</a> for more information. </p>