Meditation teacher Will Trend, right, with Zoe Kingston, left.Picture by Peter Boam.
MEDITATION teacher Will Trend is a man on a mission.
They say from small acorns mighty oaks can grow, which is something Will, who hopes to spread enlightenment throughout the Island from the bedroom of his Adgestone cottage, has very much taken to heart.
"I want to get one per cent of the Island population meditating, enough to influence the wider collective consciousness," he enthused.
"There will be less negativity and crime and more productivity and creativity."
Will moved to the Island from Ecuador four years ago and used to visit regularly, when he lived in Portsmouth. He has taught all over the world and now runs sessions at the home he shares with his girlfriend, Zoe Kingston, as well as retreats at East Dene, Bonchurch.
He teaches transcendental meditation, known as TM, a method which involves the repetition of a secret mantra in order to release stress from the body. Will believes its effects on health and wellbeing can be life changing.
"It’s a simple mental technique that allows the mind to slow down to quiet fields of awareness," he explained.
"As the mind slows down it eventually transcends, which gives the body the chance to release accumulated stress. The main benefit of TM is releasing the stress that’s underlying in 90 per cent of all illnesses — it won’t do anything in itself but it allows the body to regain its natural balance.
"People experience a deeper relaxation than ever before.
"It allows you to release your full potential and there’s no limit to what you can do."
Will has been practicing TM for more than 15 years. He was taught by the master himself, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who famously introduced The Beatles to meditation and popularised the concept of TM in the west.
The 1960s saw a number of artists and poets take an interest in TM, heady with spiritual ideals, and it is now finding favour once again as people seek escape from their increasingly busy lives.
"There are thousands of teachers all over the world and millions of people who practise TM," said Will, who claims it is something anyone can do.
"Maharishi worked out 20 minutes was the ideal time for the western mind to meditate," he said.
"I teach it in four sessions of two hours and what happens is a gentle unfolding of the knowledge of how to meditate.
"It’s the purest form of meditation available and most people are blown away by it. You realise all the happiness you have craved is inside."
Will’s celebrity fans include Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans, and Martin Duffy, Primal Scream’s keyboard player.
Both musicians — and former IW Festival acts — have visited Will on the Island to benefit from his teachings and cannot recommend TM highly enough.
"I’ve been in a band for a long time and I used to drink and take drugs and I felt the time was right to do this," said Tim.
"I just came to think it was the next step to do something really positive for myself. I want to reach my full potential.
"It’s incredible in every way and I want to get more people meditating."
Martin, who has visited the Island a number of times with his family, is fairly new to TM.
"I thought it was the right time to investigate, I just felt I needed to be a bit more at peace," he said.
"It’s early days but already I can feel it will be an ongoing thing in my life.
"It’s a positive force, good for people and the community."
Will estimates there are around 1,000 people on the Island who practise TM — 200 of whom have been taught by him. But he is dedicated to increasing that number to the magic one per cent, enough for a shift in critical consciousness known as the 'Maharishi Effect’.
He believes the result will be an altogether happier and more enlightened Island.
"The IW has huge potential and I want to get it to wake up," he said.
"TM lets you own life rather than it owning you and you become less like a football of circumstances.
"You don’t have to believe in it or change your lifestyle, it just works."