Frequently Asked Questions
In conjunction with my mentor and colleague at the time, Gregory Mitchell, I developed an eclectic approach I call 'transformational psychology' that could be learned by students working alone at home. The book 'Transforming the Mind' was completed as a personal project (not a formal academic work) to synthesize the many sources of valuable information I had learned into a useable whole, which serves as background material to the courses. In 1997, I began working full-time on this with the trans4mind web site as the main vehicle.
There's more about myself - and I briefly offer my opinions about a range of issues that I'm often asked about - on the Peter Shepherd biography page.
The aim of personal development is to...
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Personal development works by... enhancing and integrating rational, emotive and intuitive faculties - mind, body and spirit working in unison.
Personal development empowers us... | |
| We achieve these aims by providing Comprehensive free on-line Resources to assist with personal development. What we call Tools for Transformation, created with the spirit of loving service, and made available to site visitors free of charge. | ||
If you are interested in the spiritual path, you'll like the Love is All You Need page, which contains a great range of methods and meditations that are really quite transformative. Many people find the free 30-lesson online course, The Positive Approach extremely helpful. I would work through at least the beginning parts of that as thoroughly as you can before paying for any further courses or services. In that way you can prove to yourself that you can make progress with self-directed personal development, and then you can go from success to success with the further appropriate free and paid tools that we suggest. Positive Approach is available freely. It's a great way to get going and to judge whether you like the Trans4mind approach to personal development. If you do, then you'll want to do the more advanced courses too...
It is possible to find out what your true goals in life are and to attain those goals. It is possible to recognize what your problems really are and to fix those problems for good. Unlimited possibilities then open up for you. Most of us struggle on. We do everything bar change our minds. Only a few realize that the path of improvement means changing ourselves. Those who have this realization - and act on it - gain what others can only dream about. All you have to lose is whatever stands in your way. Nothing will change unless you do. This free course will be a big help for you...
The New Life Course is based on principles that have helped thousands of people, endorsed by experts over many years. A step by step approach is followed throughout to help you uncover the self-imposed barriers to self-knowledge and freedom of expression and action. The course is available for free download in PDF format.
Note that these courses are for personal growth, they are not a substitute for one-to-one psychotherapy or medical treatment, when these are needed. Though there is certainly a therapeutic element, because they are home-study these courses are for normally happy, healthy and stable individuals looking to enhance their quality of life further.
If you are interested in the spiritual path, you're sure to like the Love is All You Need page, which presents a range of methods for meditation that are really quite transformative.=
With our tools for transformation you can be the change you wish to see in the world.
What is life? We are each sparks of the creative life force that comes from Source or God or whatever name you want to give this universal creative consciousness. The nature of this outflowing is Love.
What does our life expect from us? That we try to learn the lessons of life that arise because we are in animal bodies that are primarily motivated by survival, with mental identities that are primarily motivated by fear. We can learn the life transforming lessons when we realize that we are not, essentially, just a human animal but also we are a human being. That being is the spark of God, our spirit, that is loving, unconditionally so.
We pass between these two polarities, fear and love, so life feels up and down. Or perhaps we stay mainly, even totally, in the fear mode. We learn by overcoming our fears, we learn from our experiences and mistakes, we learn by sharing with others and realizing that they share the same nature as ourselves. We learn when we start to listen instead of defending ourselves. We learn when we realize that we are unique and at the same time, connected and one with all that is. Most of all, we learn that being of loving service provides the greatest fulfillment.
To become more grounded in our spiritual mode, we need to cultivate that aspect of our being. This is our personal spiritual path. It’s our real reason for being here. I would suggest you make it yours. You’ll get a good start following this page: Love is All You Need. Plus I suggest you check out Your Inner Truth, a phenomenal range of journaling tools to help you find the truth of your situation. You may feel stressed, or confused, there may be a lot going on and choices to make that seem a bit overwhelming. Or you may simply need time with yourself, to decide what is it you really want... and just who are you, really?
And later, when you feel ready, do the New Life Course to continue on a profoundly effective and holistic path of growth. That is truly life transforming.
Bonne voyage!
- Hypnosis Downloads
Much of the information on Trans4mind and our own courses is about getting free of the limitations of our conditioning, which is a form of 'cultural trance' or hypnosis - we learn to de-hypnotize our minds and reprogram the mind from the viewpoint of the Higher Self. However this is not for everyone and many people simply want quick-to-apply tools to remedy an aspect of their mind set that is resulting in specific problems on a daily basis - for this purpose hypnosis is a valuable ally.Modern techniques of hypnosis are nothing like the old stereotypes of a man swinging pocket watches in front of people, saying soothing things like "You are getting very sleepy" and issuing commands like "when I click my fingers you will forget..." That old approach is neither helpful nor effective, since your awareness is just further conditioned and suppressed. However nowadays the best techniques are not at all manipulative and they are extremely effective, helping you to change your mind set through giving you powerful information in a relaxed and open state of mind, so that you can get past the self-erected barriers in your thinking, overcome your fears, and adopt effective new strategies to transform your life.
- Clearing the Way
Ayal's site has become very popular, for the simple reason the answers she gives to people's questions are both extremely insightful and obtained through a kind of psychic tuning-in process. Beat that! She has great testimonials of the validity of her answers too, so it's not just hot air. Even though she knows nothing of my courses and never mentions them, I love her site. Her Clearing techniques are a more feminine approach than my rather more analytical one, and they work very well. - Love is All You Need
If you are interested in the spiritual path, you'll like this 'All You Need is Love' page, which contains a great range of methods and meditations that are really quite transformative. - Communication & Relationships
This is a free practical course to help you transform your personal relationships through improving your communication skills. - Emotional Intelligence
This is a nicer name than emotional intelligence or EQ, because the heart is where we feel emotions and this center has its own kind of intelligence. It's about developing emotional maturity through increasing awareness of one's emotions, i.e. to realize that one creates emotions according to one's interpretation. It's key to the recognition that our view of the world is our own creation too. It's also key to personal happiness and enhanced relationships - body/mind/spirit working together as one. - Freeing the Mind
Ken Ward is a great guy, very funny and clever, but for some reason most people bypass his site, unless they want a free zip program. But he has a wealth of interesting ideas and useful techniques here - if you have a spare afternoon, I recommend you sit down and get familiar with this site. - Nutrition: Medicine of the Future
This is a bunch of solid information about nutrition. It's an important subject as the quality of our lives depends to a significant extent on our getting this factor right.
On the site as a whole, you'll notice there is no third-party advertising of the kind that tracks your interests and location. No dodgy Javascripts nor storage cookies. We are that rare thing these days: a freely available source of extensive, helpful information - without the need to sell or pass on your information. That's because we believe personal privacy is a fundamental human right, like freedom of thought and speech.