Magic Camp

Imagine being a kid, 10-15, and spending 3 mornings a week, for two months, learning magic. Imagine, furthermore, that this class is being conducted by a place called The Magic Academy, founded by the famous "illusionist" (a far more accurate description of what magic is all about) Gopinath Muthukad.

While you're at it, imagine how sheer the fun of mastering illusions that can mystify parents and friends alike. Imagine the impact on the kids' experience of themselves, and the world, on their understanding of the rational grounding of all illusions, on their belief in themselves, on their growing mastery of mystery.

Now imagine this school taking place in India, where magic is everywhere. India, where people still astound audiences with the famed Indian Rope Trick. India, where magic and illusion abut religion and science. Read, for example, this paper Illusions and Images of Magic India and Indian Magic

So this is powerful play, this magic. Powerfully informative. Powerfully healing. Stage magician David Copperfield and psychologist therapist Julie De Jean have developed something called Project Magic, specifically for "people with physical, psychosocial and developmental disabilities or those recovering from accidents and illnesses." They have found that magic "motivates the rehabilitation process and develops and improves self-concept while boosting hand, gross motor, problem-solving and social skills."

Magicians, as this article explains, "know an awful lot about how people perceive the world."

A summer camp in magic. What a gift to give a child.

from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith