Author, philanthropist, film producer and adventurer.
Loel Patrick Guinness
Family
Loel Patrick Guinness (born 22 October 1957)[1] is a philanthropist, film producer and adventurer. He is descended from Samuel Guinness, a Dublin goldsmith (1727–1795), the younger brother of the Guinness brewery's founder Arthur Guinness. In 2010 he married the Thai model Natanyawit Choomkomont (known as Tanya Guinness). Biography Loel Patrick Guinness is the son of Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965) and Dolores Guinness, born as Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen (1936–2012). He has two sisters – Maria Alexandra (born 1956, married Foulques, Count de Quatrebarbes in 1979 and latterly Mr Neville Cook) and Victoria Christina (born 1960, married Philip Niarchos, the Greek businessman and renowned art collector). His grandfather was Group Captain Thomas "Loel" Guinness (1906–1988) and his grandmother was Gloria Guinness (1912–1980), writer, fashion icon and socialite.
The Kalpa Group
In 2000, Mr. Guinness established the Kalpa Group, which supports research projects that integrate ancient ideas and cultures with contemporary scientific technologies. In the field of artistic and architectural diagnostics, and in collaboration with Dr Maurizio Seracini, an expert on Florence's cultural heritage, projects have included: Recreating the underdrawing of Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi.
Utilised architectural diagnostics to recreate the Hall of Five Hundred in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, and discovering the location of Leonardo's The Battle of Anghiari. Uncovering the Leonardo's initial sketches for The Annunciation. In the field of cultural preservation, Loel Guinness established the Oxford Bön Project in conjunction with the Kalpa Group and the University of Oxford, sponsoring a multi-faceted approach to the study of Bön, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet. Projects have included: Annotated translations and textual studies, and databases of manuscripts and photographs. Books and articles for a more general readership. Documentary films, including the internationally acclaimed In Search of ZhangZhung (2003), which he produced. In conjunction with Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard University, a pilot study was conducted on the bodies of monks engaged in an advanced form of meditation yoga known as Tum-mo. He has also sponsored a number of key Bönpo monasteries, including Lubrak monastery in Mustang, Nepal, and the purchase of Shenten Dargyé Ling monastery in Blou, France.
The Cousteau Society
Loel Guinness continued his grandfather’s sponsorship of the famous oceanic explorer, Jacques Yves Cousteau, participating in the restoration of the R/V Calypso and culminating in the sale of the iconic vessel to The Cousteau Society in 2005 for the symbolic sum of one Euro.
Rainbow Body
Loel Patrick Guinness and his book Rainbow Body attempt to explain the ancient Bön religion practice of jalü. This principle presents a complete case of mind over matter transformation, where a learned practitioner’s body may disappear into light or shrink after death, as their spiritual energy returns to the universe. It represents the individual’s complete unification with the universe and the achievement of enlightenment.