John Michell
An English author and esotericist who was a prominent figure in the development of the Earth mysteries movement. Over the course of his life he published over forty books on an array of different subjects, being a proponent of the Traditionalist school of esoteric thought.
Embracing the counter-cultural ideas of the Earth mysteries movement during the 1960s, in The Flying Saucer Vision he built on Alfred Watkins' ideas of ley lines by arguing that they represented linear marks created in prehistory to guide extraterrestrial spacecraft. He followed this with his most influential work, The View Over Atlantis, in 1969. His ideas were at odds with those of academic archaeologists, for whom he expressed contempt.
Michell believed in the existence of an ancient spiritual tradition that connected humanity to divinity, but which had been lost as a result of modernity. He believed however that this tradition would be revived and that humanity would enter a Golden Age, with Britain as the centre of this transformation.
Michell's other publications covered an eclectic range of topics, and included an overview on the Shakespeare authorship question (an issue that another of these four, Peter Dawkins, is intrinsicaly involved with), a tract condemning Salman Rushdie during The Satanic Verses controversy, and a book of Adolf Hitler's quotations.
Keenly interested in the crop circle phenomenon, he co-founded a magazine devoted to the subject, The Cereologist, in 1990, and served as its initial editor. From 1992 until his death he wrote a column for The Oldie magazine, which was largely devoted to his anti-modernist opinions. He accompanied this with a column on esoteric topics for the Daily Mirror tabloid.
A friend of Keith Critchlow, he joined him in the foundation of the Temenos Academy and also wrote on Critchlow's favourite topic, sacred geometry.
A quote: "Don't search dreams in the sky; they need strong footage on Earth."
Prof. Keith Critchlow
An artist, lecturer, author, Sacred Geometer and professor of architecture and a co-founder of the Temenos Academy in the UK. Buckminster Fuller wrote of Critchlow:
Peter Dawkins
Is a philosopher, seer, geomancer, historian, author, lecturer, workshop leader and teacher. Dawkins is a particular specialist in 'landscape temples' and sacred space, the Western wisdom traditions, the 'matter' of Britain, and Baconian and Shakespearean studies.
After practising as an architect for nine years in both England and Scotland, from 1978 onwards Dawkins has devoted himself full-time to research, education and healing work in connection with the world's wisdom traditions, mythology, architecture and landscape, with an especial focus on the intimate relationship between the human being, the landscape and the spiritual realms.
He teaches and runs courses and leads wisdom tours and geomantic pilgrimages in several countries. He has written many books, newsletters and articles, advised teachers, actors, directors and film-makers, and been interviewed internationally on TV, radio and documentaries.
Dawkins is founder and principal of The Francis Bacon Research Trust (FBRT), co-founder and elder of Gatekeeper Trust, and founder of the Zoence Academy and Mystery School which he runs in partnership with his wife Sarah. He has also served as a trustee of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust and of the British Council of the UN University of Peace.
The philosophy and wisdom embodied in the Shakespeare plays has been an important part of Dawkins' studies, and as a result he has given Wisdom of Shakespeare seminars, summer schools and other events since the mid-1980s, first with Sir George Trevelyan in Warwickshire, then with Mark Rylance at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, London (1997-2005), and since then with Jill Line in Warwickshire and Mark Rylance elsewhere.
A quote: "Our environment affects our consciousness, and our consciousness affects the environment."
Peter Dawkins' site on Francis Bacon.
My own page on Francis Bacon.
Sir Ken Robinson
An author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies. He was director of the Arts in Schools Project (1985-89) and Professor of Arts Education at the University of Warwick (1989-2001), and Professor Emeritus after leaving the university. In 2003 he was knighted for services to the arts.
Originally from a working class Liverpool family, around September 2001 Robinson moved to Los Angeles with his wife and children to serve as Senior Advisor to the President of the J. Paul Getty Trust.
Robinson has suggested that to engage and succeed, education has to develop on three fronts. Firstly, that it should foster diversity by offering a broad curriculum and encourage individualisation of the learning process. Secondly, it should promote curiosity through creative teaching, which depends on high quality teacher training and development. Finally, it should focus on awakening creativity through alternative didactic processes that put less emphasis on standardised testing, thereby giving the responsibility for defining the course of education to individual schools and teachers.
He believed that much of the present education system in the United States encourages conformity, compliance and standardisation rather than creative approaches to learning.
Robinson emphasised that we can only succeed if we recognise that education is an organic system, not a mechanical one. Successful school administration is a matter of engendering a helpful climate rather than "command and control".
A quote: "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."
Sir Ken Robinson website.