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Open letter from Felix Maria Woschek

Dear friends,

We have gone through many changes lately up here at Schweibenalp and I would like to tell you a bit about it. Since its foundation in 1982, Center of Unity has developed substantially and I take this development as a mirror of the people who have helped to shape and support this place from the very beginning. In the past 26 years, all of us have developed and gone through different stages of life and, therefore, it is only natural that our Center, too, has developed and hopefully matured.

Just over a year ago, the Center's founder, Sundar Robert Dreyfus, nominated some old friends to the Board of Trustees (one of them being myself), with a view to getting more support and ideas for shaping the Center's future. At the beginning, I was not quite aware what this entailed but then the process began to unfold all by itself in a highly dynamic and constructive way.

Die The challenge ahead of us was to create a new, contemporary vision and to facilitate its practical implication taking into consideration, among other things, economic restraints.

In another insight, we recognized that it was important for Schweibenalp that Sundar made it the centre of his life again..

Central to our vision is the faith in the unity of humankind, regardless of culture and belief, and that this unity can be experienced in the heart. To approach this unity, we asked ourselves where our own thoughts and deeds conflicted with this unity.

We have had profound discussions about this multilayered question. Historically, this also entails that Schweibenalp needs to develop from an Indian-oriented Babaji Ashram to a centre of universal peace. Schweibenalp is to be more than just a retreat for spiritual seekers. It is to be a place where people actively work towards the vision of peace and global, trans-religious understanding. As I once put it quite provocatively: Schweibenalp is a place for those seeking to embrace new lives – not for those just seeking to flee their old ones!

To achieve this we need a strong community and people who know how to contribute their manifold experiences and visions in a practical manner. Some key qualifications are the ability to cope with life, apply commonsense and implement concepts in everyday life.

We decided that officially we will cease to present ourselves as a Babaji-Ashram. We feel connected to the spiritual guidance of all the teachers who have nurtured us; but for the sake of openness and universality we do not wish to be associated with a particular spiritual direction. We will thus possess the inner autonomy needed to be open for all directions and no one will feel excluded because of rites and rules that do not appeal to him or her.

Another focus of our vision is to engage more closely with young people. We want to pass on the knowledge of the old while learning from the fresh minds of the young. We had to admit that for young people Center of Unity seemed neither particularly attractive nor authentic. Casting their critical eye, they found fault with many of our longstanding habits and dogmas. Thanks to their jaunty and fresh openness they pointed out to us quite a few hypocrisies. In the future, we will offer more programmes for young people.

In addition, we are now faced with new challenges that had not been on our horizon a few years ago. These include ecological redesigning of Schweibenalp in order to realise a holistic approach to spirituality. We are planning to cover as much of our energy consumption as possible by solar energy combined with a block heating station. The thermal insulation of the hotel and the new double-glazed windows to be fitted will also contribute to this process.

We realised that networking with other groups makes us stronger. Therefore, we see the Center of Unity as being part of a global movement and we aim at supporting peace projects around the world in the future. We will increasingly present such projects on this website and keep you updated about how to participate in and contribute to them.

Hopefully, we will succeed in maintaining and making this wonderful place with all its potentials even more appealing. We hope that as many people as possible may find the courage to walk the talk and step on the path to unity, leaving behind old things while daring to embrace new ones.

We are going through a period of great change and are asking for your support and patience during this process. We would also like to say thank you to those who have accompanied and supported us so far and extend a hearty welcome to those who share our vision and want to accompany us further on this path.

Kind regards and best wishes

on behalf of all Schweibenalpinists

Felix Maria Woschek