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RECOGNIZE YOUR FUNDAMENTAL GOODNESS.
Since 1991, here at Sala Capriasca, in Tessin, Switzerland, we have a small living community intended for those who want to end their drug addiction or overcome a period of crisis.
We are located on the south-facing slopes of Sala Capriasca with a view of the valley and the lake.
Our day begins with Yoga, meditation and the chanting of mantras. In the afternoon we work around the pottery wheel in the ceramics workshop. In our friendly community, every person has his or her own personal space. The daily rhythm of the Yoga program and the creative work with clay enables you to calm your mind, feel differently, giving a broader and greater consciousness to freedom and life.
Basic goodness.  Audio - MP3

Philosophie
The foundations of my work with the people who have entrusted themselves to me are supported on simple and solid bases:
We live in an interesting time. We live in a fascinating period. We live in a dynamic time. Everything is constantly changing and never before have there been so many cultural and relational exchanges worldwide. The ideologies, the faiths, the concepts and the principles evolve, broaden, modify or disintegrate. The certainties of the past sometimes become obsolete, sometimes become useless.
But this world is rough and difficult. The consumer society is hard and competitive, superstition has become materialistic. Knowledge and values of internal life get lost and for many remain totally misunderstood. The human being's quest for fulfilment is overshadowed in the exterior world.
Today really, it is logical that so many people turn to drugs in order to have some peace of mind. But the boundary between material life and spiritual life is absurd. There is only one life. It is important that one's attention is not focused only on the external or internal world, but to have a balance between the internal and external world. A "Me" built only on the exterior, without the central experience of the "Self", does not live in a healthy way.
My task is to restore the dynamic balance between the external and internal world, so that the person can again develop him or herself autonomously. Activities should be part of daily life, but also tranquillity and the beauty. The messages of all the senses should be beneficial and beautiful. So that, when the mind starts, functioning clearly and quietly again, my task is to animate, to stimulate, to awaken sparks in order for the internal flame to be revived. Everyone should be able to live with his or her own initiative and develop his or her own energy. So, they have to learn to experiment the strength and the beauty of their inner consciousness, to find a central attitude which allows them to live completely.
"Awaken sparks", so that the internal fire may revive. This process takes diverse expressions: music, chanting, yoga, ceramics and other forms of artistic expression. What matters is that the internal life wakes up and that it gives a direction to existence. From Having to Being, that is the path.

The ideologies and the principles have no major importance here. For me, I am neither Buddhist, nor Hindu, nor Christian, nor Muslim, nor Jew. I belong to no religion, sect or political party. For me the diverse religions are the expression, in different cultural languages, of the same spirit of the human being. However, as I have a religious attitude towards life, I could say that I belong to all religions. Personally, I practice yoga as a spiritual discipline. Universality and tolerance are important to me. Fanaticism, ideology and intolerance on the other hand bring me difficulties. Each person should be able to live the divine nature of his or her consciousness, feel joy, love and peace in his or her heart. The cultural shape which he then gives to this experience is of secondary importance to me. Only the experience is the most important thing. Unfortunately the experience cannot be passed on. Each person must create his/her own experience. It is clear that words are useful only if the understanding is already there. I can only create the general conditions so that life can again develop in all the fields of existence.

WHY MEDITATION IS USEFUL IN REHABILITATION FROM DRUG ADDICTIONS
The first contemplation is the easiest. Meditation lets us naturally experience a condition of deep peace. A person with problems always has a restless mind. Meditation provides us with a natural, medicine free, experience of calmness. Morning and evening meditation allows us to relax our restless mind at least twice a day. This natural tranquillity makes us gain distance from our problems, which shift to become duties. With a quiet mind, we have a higher capacity to cope with our emotions, being more and more able to face our duties. The quality of the experiencing our own life is influenced by and dependent on our identification mechanism. Our identification depends on our experiences. We tend to identify ourselves in relation to our experiences. Each experience has three aspects:
1. consciousness (witness, level of Being)
2. sensorial perception
3. object of perception.
The main aspect of a human being is his consciousness. If we have problems, we loose ourselves in totally exterior things, being bewildered by the complexity of our perceptions. Identifying ourselves with pure appearance, we loose the consciousness of being and end up living estranged from ourselves. The world is seen as hostile and life becomes a struggle. Daily meditation is not an intellectual exercise, yet the experience of calmness and silence of our proper consciousness. Thus, the identification mechanism is being normalised, the level of consciousness resurfaces again to the front. Meditation naturally induces us into a evolution from having to being. This gives us a completely new way to experiment ourselves, gradually increasing our self-confidence. The internal address has been located. We learn through the fact, that love and joy are being anchored in our proper internal space. Nobody can ever remove this internal address. Every time we find ourselves in difficulties, we have a method, a starting point to rebalance our life. Meditation can also simply be defined as mental hygiene. Daily meditation helps us to break free even from the most radicated dependences. Throughout the years, we will observe small but significant improvements in all aspects of our personality. These improvements allow us to live our life with more balance and pleasure. Until today, meditation is part of the religious practice of all cultures. Given that in present times, humanity is less interested in religion, one should recognize that meditation, independently from any kind of religion or ideology, is of great use to our mental hygiene and development of consciousness. A lot of books could be written about this issue, but the above shall be sufficient for the present introduction.

Meditation
The meditation which I teach and which I lead personally has good therapeutic results. It is important to note that I remain independent from any school of meditation or organization. Independence is fundamental in my work. The meditation sessions are shorter than usual sessions in order to prevent stress and tension from becoming too intense. He who goes slowly goes healthily and goes far!

Chanting
For several years I have been using, as with the Yoga tradition, the morning chanting of a mantra. This practice has proved to be exceptional. Many feelings can pour out finally and the tensions can be liberated and undone. The mind becomes quieter and calmer. Almost all my guests have greatly enjoyed this morning chanting. We notice that a day that begins with chanting unfolds into a pleasant sense of well-being.

The therapy phases:
The phases are generally identical for all therapies.

1st phase : Relaxation
In the first weeks I notice relaxation, the guest feels really comfortable and relaxed.
A drug addict often lives an extremely disturbing life.
Many humiliating compromises to get the daily fix, ending up in stealing, prostitution and drug trafficking.
Jobs are lost, homes are lost, the permanent confrontation with those around them, family, friends, the money troubles and finally the loss of their own self-esteem.
By coming to therapy in my house, this tension disappears. There is a reassurance and an initial well-being. It is a period of grace where my guests are open and receptive to what I can give them such as knowledge and education.
We begin to appreciate the morning chants, we discover their relaxing benefits. Nine out of ten people appreciate the relaxing effects of the chanting of mantras.
The meditation experience is above all a "non-experience ". The continuous and uninterrupted stream of thoughts, give way to mental peace, sometimes to the complete silence of the mind.
Initially meditation is a simple method of mental hygiene. But, in the long run, it makes us discover the space of our heart.

2nd phase: Purification.
The second phase normally begins after three months. Thanks to the morning chants and meditation, one feels great mental calm, and thanks to this calm, the guest can now start a clarification process. This is the optimal time for the manifestation of tensions, of inner knots coming to the surface and the appearance of hidden problems. The nervous system spontaneously begins to get rid of the useless and heavy baggage of stress which has accumulated for years. This period of purification is always more or less disagreeable for everyone but it is very important and fundamental for recovery. The intense phase of this clarification process lasts approximately three months, but it then continues more calmly throughout life. The inner knots come to the surface; the stress shows itself and is projected to the outside.
The aggressions, sadness, anger, anguish and agitation come to the surface of the consciousness, and in this initial phase they are not generally recognized by the person for what they are. That is the weight of the tensions, the thaw of the fears with emotionally strong consequences. The person tries to find a motive for these disturbed and disturbing feelings. Generally, it is not difficult to find a motive, an argument which can lend itself to the need to explain the agitation of the consciousness. I am mostly the one chosen for these projections. The ideal screen for all the projections of the father, authority figure, the man, etc.
However, it is useful during this period to rely on my experience and to follow my indications.

Conclusion
Those who have observed the simple rules have managed to successfully end the drug addiction during the time spent in this house.
Those who have made commitments have generally extended the time for recovery from their problems.
We can end suffering, but to do so, a certain rigour is needed and initially it is necessary to have confidence and let yourself be guided.

Biography
For 24 years I have been running this residential centre for drug rehabilitation.
I used mantra singing, meditation, transmission of knowledge and ceramic work on the potter's wheel.
We have achieved many great results.
I am now retired and no longer accept clients at home.

My work continues in another way.
I started giving lessons in schools.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVXpjNODIyE&t=2267s

I have published a book in German on fundamental goodness and inner joy.
https://www.amazon.de/Grundlegende-Gutheit-Vincenzo-Kavod-Altepost/dp/1326839217/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517136752&sr=8-1&keywords=grundlegende+gutheit
The book I wrote is currently translated into Italian and published towards the end of 2018 or at the beginning of 2019.

I have published on a web page the 24 main programs that I used in my work in the rehabilitation of drug addictions.
http://www.free-mind.guru/
These programs are freely accessible.
Currently they are used in a prison in Italy and by some private individuals.

                                                  Vincenzo Kavod Altepost

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Address
Vincenzo Kavod Altepost
a Verlin 9
6954 Sala Capriasca
Ticino, Switzerland
Tel:
0041 79 632 41 35
v.altepost@bluewin.ch



 

Pictures of home
The view
Room	Terrace	Room
Laboratory	Pottery	Sight