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]
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
Vallyon 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
After 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]
In 2008, Vallyon won a literature prize at the annual nationwide Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Unpublished Manuscript and Book Awards for his book Heavens and Hells of the Mind.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]
In 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
On 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
In December 2017, after 30 years of teaching at retreats, Vallyon retired at the age of 77.[3]
Awards
"Heavens and Hells of the Mind", 2009 Gold Medal in the Enlightenment/Spirituality Category of the Living Now Book Awards
"Heavens and Hells of the Mind", 2008 Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust Book Award[7][10]
