The Swiss Filmmaker Felice Zenoni, a native of Altdorf, Uri, Switzerland, just released a new movie called “Namaste Seelisberg.”

Village of Seelisberg

High above the Rütli Meadow and Lake Lucerne, the site of the Rütlischwur (Ruetli Oath), the oath that laid the foundation of the original Swiss Confederacy in 1281, lies the idyllic village of Seelisberg.
In 1971, the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi seized the village, along with two historic hotels, for himself and his movement, which was widely considered a cult at the time.
The locals protested vehemently, even appealing to the Federal Council for help. In vain, Seelisberg became the headquarters of the “Transcendental Meditation Movement” (TM), which attracted celebrities such as The Beatles, Mia Farrow and David Lynch; Mike Love (The Beach Boys) and Clint Eastwood, both long-time practitioners and adherents attending TM. Clint Eastwood was frequently cited as one of the major stars who sought “enlightenment” through the movement’s teaching led by the Swiss headquarters.
Soon, the culture clash in the idyllic Canton URI Alps was impossible to ignore-thousands of followers of the shrewd, financially powerful guru flocked to Seelisberg.
Today, 55 years later, the village is once again facing profound change: In 2026, the movement left Seelisberg.
The historic hotels have been sold, and a Swiss real estate company plans to restore the iconic buildings as part of a 200 million Swiss franc project and open them to the public.

In the movie “Namaste Seelisberg”,

Director Felice Zenoni

Renowned Swiss director Felice Zenoni delves into the events that made the mountain village famous far beyond Switzerland. He illuminates the cultural conflict surrounding the TM movement from various perspectives. Residents, followers, and former employees of the guru all have their say.
Combined with breathtaking landscape shots and astonishing, partly previously unreleased archival footage, a multifaceted picture emerges of a conflict between tradition and contemporary spirit with universal significance.
A subtle, visually stunning, and moving documentary gem.

Published by Urner Zeitung, Yann-Alexander Hage

Elaborated by Ulrich Koepf

Location of Temple

Discovered 5000 years ago!

Tea originated in China. It is estimated that the tea plant was discovered there almost 5,000 years ago. This was a well-kept secret for a long time because it was not until 700 AD that tea was grown in Japan.

In the 17th century in Europe

The first tea boxes finally arrived in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century with the merchant fleets of the Dutch and British colonial rulers. Tea is prepared mainly from the uppermost leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, which belongs to the genus Camellia family. It likes to grow wherever the climate is humid and warm.

China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya

The main growing areas are China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. After picking, which happens in most cases by hand, the tea leaves are withered, rolled, fermented, dried, and sorted. In contrast to coffee, which is carried out in raw form, the tea leaves are already processed on the plantations and exported as finished tea. Generally, tea is divided into four types: green tea, white tea, and oolong tea, each infused with about 80 ° C of hot water, and black tea, for the preparation of which boiling water is used to achieve full flavor development.

There are countless varieties per tea species, e.g. Assam and Darjeeling (both black teas) or Sencha (green tea). In the German language, they also describe tea-like infusion drinks such as herbal tea, fruit tea, and Rooibuschtee as tea. Also common are flavored teas, smoked teas, or roasted teas. Tea is mainly consumed in the form of loose tea leaves or as a portioned tea (tea bag), more rarely as a powder or in a compressed form.

The trade names

In the trade, several names are common, in addition to the type of tea also provide information about the leaf size and appearance of the leaves: orange, pekoe, broken, fannings, or dust. This results in abbreviations such as FOP, TGFOP, and BOPF, which as well as the notes “First Flush” (first harvest in spring) and “Second Flush” (second harvest at the end of May) function as quality terms.

As the years go by,

I find myself reflecting more and more on what I have experienced and seen over the years living and working in the 7 countries I was fortunate enough to have experienced, with the languages, cultures, and food of those countries. The conclusion I came to, is that we are all the same, and have the same objectives in life, no matter where we live, what language we speak, or what skin color, we all have the same problems, issues, worries, and illnesses. The only thing that separates us from one another is the language we speak, the distance between us, and the governments that decide our well-being!

The U.S. disbursed $33.2 billion—$19 billion in economic assistance to 184 countries and $14.2 billion in military assistance to 142 countries, in the past years. Out of the top six U.S. foreign aid recipients, five of them were from Muslim countries. And yet it seems the U.S. can’t buy good press in the Middle East no matter what!

These budget cuts proposals were submitted by the Trump administration in May 2018, but I am not certain that they have been implemented as of today. 

The  Administration’s FY2018 foreign assistance request would have reduced funding for every country and regional program in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

The FY2018 request included $460 million to continue the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America, which would have been a $240 million (34%) cut compared to FY2017. The strategy is designed to address the underlying conditions driving irregular migration from Central America by promoting good governance, economic prosperity, and improved security. The request included $46.3 million for El Salvador (a 36% reduction), $80.7 million for Guatemala (a 43% reduction), $67.9 million for Honduras (a 29% reduction), and $2 million combined for Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama (a 90% reduction). It also included $263.2 million for the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI; a 20% reduction). The request would have shifted the balance of aid for Central America toward security efforts and away from governance and economic growth programs. ????

Colombia,

would remain the single largest recipient of U.S. assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean under the Administration’s FY2018 request; however, aid would have fallen to $251.4 million—a $135 million (35%) reduction compared to FY2017. Colombia has received significant amounts of U.S. assistance to support counternarcotics and counterterrorism efforts since FY 2000. The FY2018 request included funds to support the implementation of Colombia’s new counternarcotics strategy, including eradication and interdiction efforts. The request also included funds to support the implementation of the Colombian government’s peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by fostering reconciliation within Colombian society, expanding state presence to regions historically under FARC control, and supporting rural economic development in marginalized communities. 

Haiti,

which has received high levels of aid for many years as a result of its significant development challenges, would have remained the second-largest recipient of U.S. assistance in the region in FY2018 under the Administration’s request. U.S. assistance increased significantly after Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake in 2010 but has gradually declined from those elevated levels. The Administration’s FY2018 request would have provided $157.5 million to Haiti to improve food security, foster economic and educational opportunities, develop the rule of law, and address health challenges—particularly HIV/AIDS. This would have been a $27 million (15%) cut compared to FY2017. 

Mexico,

would have received $87.7 million of assistance under the FY2018 request, which would have been a $51 million (37%) cut compared to FY2017. Mexico traditionally had not been a major U.S. aid recipient due to its middle-income status, but it began receiving larger amounts of assistance through the Mérida Initiative in 2008. 

After reading these facts I ask myself?

“What happened to all that money?”

As you can see from the list above, the United States supports most of the countries where these people are leaving to gain entrance to the United States, besides supporting and subsidizing the countries they come from they now expect to enter the  US and take advantage of all the social benefits that a legally admitted immigrant or refugee, after waiting for months, sometimes for years, would receive?!

These people are not leaving their country because of war, turmoil, or social unrest, they are leaving because their government is unable to provide them with jobs, security, and social benefits, because the government can’t control, root out, and abolish the drug lords and gangs causing these people to leave in the first place, and because the governments are corrupt.

It is a shame the human race is unable to recognize and appreciate the miracles, the creation of life, and all the beauty of this planet, from one continent to another, the miracles of our creations and how the planet provides us, the human race, with water and food to survive. Only for the human race to screw it all up because of hate, greed, and power.

I don’t have the solution,

no one else has one, and even if there was a solution, it wouldn’t change the way this human race is living and behaving on this planet of ours.

After seeing and experiencing just some of the world’s issues, I decided to give my humble opinion about it, which some of you probably don’t agree with, or you may have another point of view, that I would love to hear 0f.

I love North America,

where I spent 40 years of my life and I love my native country Switzerland as well, where most of my family members live, but I realized that the further you are from where you started the closer you get to where you belong!

That is why I am back to where I started, here in Switzerland, watching it all unfold for the remaining time of my life. 

My contribution to this planet can only be a tiny part, such as cleaning the lakeside in my home state of contaminating, harmful stuff, teaching my grandson to treat his environment with respect, and writing articles and blogs that may reach an audience to create awareness, and hopefully make a few people take part and contributing, making the planet a better place for future and our kids.

Yours truly Ulrich Koepf