By brother initiate Wessel van Leeuwen,
Cape Town, South Africa
(Originally in English)

My wife and I recently returned from
Hermanus, South Africa, where we visited our son who lives at Camphill Village, an organic farming community for the mentally disabled. Those who attended the Cape Town Retreat in December 1999 at the nearby Habonim Campsite may remember the taste of the bread baked and supplied by Camphill...

Below are some details that I learned during my visit to Camphill, which should not surprise us, but which confirm again what our beloved MASTER always teaches us.

Dawn, the lady in charge of Camphill, was not there when we visited, but her eldest son Marc (18) was. I asked him if other guests had been visiting Habonim, to which he replied: "Yes, but not of the same type." Obviously curious, I asked him to elaborate on his remark. This is what he told me.

He said that, though his mother knew there were many thousands of people on the site during the retreat, she never felt there were more than a hundred because "you people" were very quiet, well behaved and exuded a feeling of peace. She heard no shouting and screaming during the day or night. What really struck Marc when he came back home at the end of the Retreat was what had been left behind! The campsite had been left impeccably neat, clean and tidy. And that was not all.

"It was the general atmosphere," Marc said. "How can I explain it? Let me say that there was a positive energy field, a sense of peace, calm, and tranquillity... I don't know how to describe it. It was very nice. It's unfortunately gone now. All I can tell you is that for some six weeks we felt very happy, quiet, and contented. Our dogs, too, were more gentle and obedient. We slept with our doors and windows wide open. We felt safe and secure. My mother didn't eat any meat or chicken during those weeks and smoked at least a third less. She still smokes less, and only now and then eats a piece of chicken. We all read Master's books and yes, it was different, very different, and we felt it."

Can you believe this story? Yes! Not only because it is true, but also because it so clearly illustrates what our beloved Master always tells us: that we can change the world with diligent and focused meditation.