Imre George Vallyon (Hungarian: Vallyon Imre, born 7 December 1940) is a Hungarian-New Zealand writer, and spiritual influencer.[1] In 1998 he was found guilty on several accounts of sexual child molestation of a girl who had come to him to seek spiritual guidance about a dead relative. Vallyon was sentenced to three years imprisonment.[1]
Imre Vallyon | |
|---|---|
 Vallyon in 2009 | |
| Born | 7 December 1940 Budapest, Hungary |
| Occupation | Author, spiritual teacher |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Notable awards | Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book Award 2008 Heavens and Hells of the Mind |
| Website | |
| www | |
Vallyon is the founder of the Foundation for Higher Learning, an international spiritual school formed to help provide people with the opportunity to practice spiritual work within a group environment, with schools in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and Canada. He is also the director of Sounding-Light Publishing, which was founded in 2006.[2] Vallyon retired in late 2017.[3]
Early life
editVallyon was born in Budapest, Hungary.[4] Vallyon claims to have had his first mystical experience at the age of three, describing the memory as suddenly going "out of my body and into a very profound state of cosmic realization...the whole universe was vibrating like a heavenly choir."[4]
In the midst of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Vallyon made the dangerous choice to leave the country; crossing the border at the time usually meant imprisonment or death. At the age of sixteen, he emigrated to New Zealand as a refugee.[4]
Career
editAfter immersing himself in several spiritual movements, Vallyon founded the Foundation for Higher Learning, where he teaches the Spiritual Principles and the Divine Laws of Life to Humanity. His methods stem from different forms of eastern and western spirituality. His teaching is universal, not biased towards any particular religion or tradition, yet embraces all traditions and points beyond them all to the One Truth, One Life, One Reality.[5]
Since 1980, Vallyon has taught the Ageless Wisdom through his writings, workshops, and retreats conducted around the world. Since 2008, Vallyon was invited and has been a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.[6]
In 2008, Vallyon won a literature prize at the annual nationwide Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Unpublished Manuscript and Book Awards for his book Heavens and Hells of the Mind. The awards recognise excellence in the mind, body, and spirit genres of writing. The judges called the book "a remarkable and exhaustive work on human consciousness and the wisdom of the ages."[7]
In 2009, Vallyon's book series Heavens & Hells of the Mind received the gold medal in the category of Enlightenment/Spirituality at the Living Now Book Awards.[8]
He also held worldwide retreats in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and Hungary.[1]
Teachings
editVallyon's teachings are influenced by spiritual traditions such as yoga, Zen Buddhism, Sufism, Catholicism, and mysticism.[1]
Conviction and imprisonment
editIn 1998, Vallyon was tried and convicted in New Zealand for sexually molesting a child. Vallyon was convicted of four representative counts of indecent assault and one count of sexually violating the girl by Hamilton District Court Judge David Wilson QC.[1] He was sentenced to three years imprisonment. On 26 February 2017, the Sunday Star-Times, released an investigative report exposing Vallyon's crimes.[1]
New accusations
editOn 4 February 2020, the news division of the Dutch broadcasting agency NOS released an investigative news report on Vallyon as a result of a breakup between the Dutch Foundation for Higher Learning and the International group.[9] The report states that several new victims had come forward, one of them being only 6 years old during the abuse. The article also says the Dutch Tax Authority has asked questions about illegal use of the ANBI status by Vallyon. Court records also indicate that Vallyon had prior offenses dating back to 1978. The presiding judge remarked on the lack of detailed information about these earlier incidents, stating that no one could provide specifics about their nature or extent.[1]
Retirement
editIn December 2017, after 30 years of teaching at retreats, Vallyon retired at the age of 77.[3]
Awards
editPublished works
editBooks
edit| Year | Title | ISBN | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Magical Mind | 9780909038-11-3 | English |
| 2005 | The Divine Plan | 9780909038-53-3 | English |
| 2005 | The Sedona Talks | 9780909038-54-0 | English |
| 2005 | Heart to Heart Talks | 9780909038-55-7 | English |
| 2007 | The Art of Meditation | 9780909038-56-4 | English |
| 2008 | Heavens and Hells of the Mind (Four volume boxed set) | 9780909038-30-4 | English |
| 2008 | Heavens and Hells of the Mind (Volume 1: Knowledge) | 9780909038-31-1 | English |
| 2008 | Heavens and Hells of the Mind (Volume 2: Tradition) | 9780909038-32-8 | English |
| 2008 | Heavens and Hells of the Mind (Volume 3: Transformation) | 9780909038-33-5 | English |
| 2008 | Heavens and Hells of the Mind (Volume 4: Lexicon) | 9780909038-34-2 | English |
| 2009 | A Spirituális Harcos | 9780909038-57-1 | Hungarian |
| 2009 | Le Chemin du Guerrier Spirituel | 9780909038-58-8 | French |
| 2010 | Les Conférences de Sedona | 9780909038-59-5 | French |
| 2010 | l'Art de la Méditation | 9780909038-60-1 | French |
| 2010 | Planetary Transformation | 9780909038-61-8 | English |
| 2010 | Felkészülés az Új Korra | 9780909038-62-5 | Hungarian |
| 2011 | De Kunst van Meditatie | 9780909038-63-2 | Netherlands |
| 2011 | The Warrior Code | 9780909038-64-9 | English |
| 2012 | The New Planetary Reality | 9780909038-65-6 | English |
| 2012 | De Code van de Krijger | 9780909038-66-3 | Netherlands |
| 2014 | The New Heaven & the New Earth | 9780909038687 | English |
| 2014 | Il Camino Del Guerriero Spirituale | 9780909038670 | Italian |
| 2015 | The Journey Within | 9780909038-70-0 | English |
| 2016 | The Way of the Spiritual Warrior | 9780909038-49-6 | English |
Ebooks
edit| Year | Title | ISBN | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Why Meditate? | 9780909038-91-5 | English |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Death | 9780909038-92-2 | English |
| 2012 | Know Your Own Mind | 9780909038-94-6 | English |
| 2012 | The Beatitudes | 9780909038-95-3 | English |
| 2012 | Planetary Transformation | 9780909038-90-8 | English |
| 2012 | Peace of Mind in a Troubled World | 9780909038-89-2 | English |
| 2012 | The Coming Avatara | 9780909038-93-9 | English |
| 2012 | Silence | 9780909038-96-0 | English |
| 2012 | Love and Wisdom | 9780909038-98-4 | English |
| 2013 | Karma | 9780909038-97-7 | English |
| 2013 | The New Planetary Reality | 9780909038-88-5 | English |
| 2013 | The Sedona Talks | 9780909038-85-4 | English |
| 2013 | The Art of Meditation | 9780909038-86-1 | English |
| 2013 | The Warrior Code | 9780909038-87-8 | English |
| 2014 | Living The Spiritual Life Today | 9780909038-99-1 | English |
| 2014 | What You Need For The Journey You Already Have Within You | 9780909038-21-2 | English |
| 2014 | Daily Meditations | 9780909038-22-9 | English |
| 2014 | Finding True Happiness | 9780909038-20-5 | English |
| 2014 | The New Heaven and the New Earth | 9780909038-84-7 | English |
| 2014 | ¿Por Qué Meditar? | 9780909038-18-2 | Spanish |
| 2014 | Shadowland | 9780909038-23-6 | English |
| 2015 | The Divine Plan And The Destiny Of Mankind | 9780909038-83-0 | English |
| 2015 | God The Mother | 9780909038-24-3 | English |
| 2015 | Enseignements De Cœur À Cœur | 9780909038-48-9 | French |
| 2016 | The Way of the Spiritual Warrior | 9780909038-17-5 | English |
Music
edit| Year | Title | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Chants of Illumination 1: Sanskrit Mantras to the Light | 9780909038-73-1 |
| 2007 | Chants of Illumination 2: Sanskrit Mantras to the Divine Mother | 9780909038-74-8 |
| 2010 | Chants of Illumination 3: Sanskrit Mantras to the Heart | 9780909038-75-5 |
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Shadwell, Talia; Wall, Tony (25 February 2017). "Foundation of Higher Learning 'guru' Imre Vallyon's followers kept in the dark about his past". Stuff. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Imre Vallyon". Sounding-Light Publishing.
- ^ a b Vallyon, Imre. "Imre Vallyon". Imre Vallyon. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ a b c Vallyon, Imre (2 December 2008). "Red Rose". YouTube. Sounding Light. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Imre Vallyon – The Founder". The FHL Org. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Imre Vallyon | New Zealand Society of Authors & Writers Association – NZ Society of Authors". authors.org.nz. NZSA.
- ^ a b "Nth Shore Writer Rewarded for Literary Excellence". Scoop Independent News. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
- ^ "Announcing the Results of the First Annual Living Now Book Awards". Independent Publisher – feature. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ "Spirituele groep breekt met leider na seksueel misbruik jonge meisjes". nos.nl (in Dutch). 4 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Winners of the Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book Awards" (PDF). Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust. Retrieved 26 July 2024.