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Wrekin Trust
From CopperWiki
The Wrekin Trust
Imagine a space that encourages you to explore and find your own path towards a spiritual, more holistic view of the world. The Wrekin Trust, founded in 1971 by Sir George Trevelyan, is just such a space. It is an educational charity which conducts seminars, conferences and study programs in a variety of disciplines, with the aim of encouraging people to find the unique path that will lead to the union of their self with the One, the World Spirit, Gaia…
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[edit] Sir George Lowthian Trevelyan, 4th Baronet
The man behind the Wrekin Trust deserves as much of a mention as does the Trust he started. Sir George Lowthian Trevelyan (1906-1996), the 4th Baronet of Britain, is credited with being one of the founding fathers of the New Age movement. This may strike you as quite ironic, really, when you realize that he was a staunch agnostic till the age of 36! It was only in 1942, when he attended a lecture by Dr. Walter Stein, that he gained an insight into the spiritual nature of the world. Thereafter, he became increasingly interested in exploring the holistic, mystical dimension of life.
Sir Trevelyan incorporated this interest into study programs for his students during his 24-year stint as principal of Attingham Park, a college for adult education. Here, he pioneered the introduction of such courses as “Holistic Vision”, “Finding the Inner Teacher”, “Frontiers of Reality”, “Spiritual Awakening”, “Death and Becoming” and “Death: the great adventure”- something hitherto unheard of in western academia. These courses were extremely popular among British as well as non-British students.
On retiring from the college in 1971, Sir George established the Wrekin Trust to further his vision of a spiritual and holistic education for everyone. He named it after a local mountain, the Wrekin. Soon after, in 1974, he was joined by Malcolm Lazarus as co-director of the Trust.
[edit] The Philosophy
The underlying philosophy of the Trust is one common to many New Age movements and concepts- all historical and contemporary events are viewed as symptoms of a changing, evolving human consciousness and of a paradigm shift in world view. In 1982, when the Right Livelihood Award recognized Sir Trevelyan for his dedicated work in “… educating the adult spirit to a new non-materialistic vision of human nature” [1], he spoke of the factors which led him to begin the Wrekin Trust. The popularity of his courses at Attingham Park had convinced him that there was an educational vacuum in society. “There was an aspect of adult education which was simply not being met: a quest for meaning in life, a quest for something beyond the materialistic, separatist way of looking at life.” [2] He saw his work as a step towards a “New Renaissance”, where the soul and the consciousness would be the targets of exploration.
The Wrekin Trust functions as an educational charitable organization whose mission is to provide the space and the means for each individual to find his or her own unique path towards spiritual enlightenment. It stands out from other similar organizations in its proud denial of any one ruling ideology or principle- students from all backgrounds are encouraged to immerse themselves in a diverse range of lectures, conferences, introductory courses and spiritual sessions. Each course or conference invites intellectuals from varied traditions and professions- from doctors, scientists, philosophers to mystics, New Age healers, etc. The goal of the Trust is to provide students with ample opportunity for discovering a more holistic, spiritual view of the world and through it to become instruments of positive change. It thus holds an important place within the New Age movement.
[edit] The Trust Today
11 years after Sir Trevelyan’s death, the Wrekin Trust continues to take forward his mission. It holds an annual ‘Sir George Trevelyan Memorial Lecture’, sponsors a ‘Forum for Spiritual Education…towards a University for Spirit” and organizes a steadily increasing list of events for the local community. It also publishes an annual newsletter. Recently, a biography of Sir Trevelyan by Frances Farrer was published- “Sir George Trevelyan and the Spiritual Renaissance of our Time”. The Trust is currently in the process of coming out with a ‘Directory of Spiritual Education’, to provide information on spiritual education providers and related resources.
[edit] References
[1] [1] [2] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
[edit] Further Reading
Trevelyan, Sir George: A Vision of the Aquarian Age (1977) Trevelyan, Sir George: Operation Redemption (1981) Trevelyan, Sir George: Summons to a High Crusade (1985) Trevelyan, Sir George: Exploration into God- A Personal Quest For Spiritual Unity (1991) Farrer, Frances: George Trevelyan and the New Spiritual Awakening (a biography), 2002
Author: Girija Duggal
