Favorite Inspiring Quotes
Life Transition: Mind Development
Commentary by Peter Shepherd

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” ~ Plutarch
Conventional education may be about cramming our minds with a syllabus in order to become a viable employee, a cog in the machine, but life-long self-directed personal development is quite different, it's about transforming our mind... unlearning all of our conditioning; opening to new possibilities; releasing our judgments, assumptions, attachments and prejudices; and nurturing our creative flame. See our previous Inspiring Quotes about The Mind and Peter Shepherd's free online book, Transforming the Mind.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ~ Aristotle
Aristotle also said, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."
We work to develop the various tools that our mind provides, e.g. by raising IQ (through mental speed, concentration, reading skills, memory, intuition and logical/mathematical abilities). We can also work to develop our EQ (emotional intelligence) and SQ (spiritual intelligence).
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” ~ Joseph Addison
There's nothing like a well-written novel for providing insight into the mind and heart of another human being, albeit fictional. Films and especially short videos do nothing of the sort; unspoken words remain hidden. And non-fiction books have the space to really examine a subject in depth. I believe our true education derives from the books we read.

“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for.” ~ Oscar Wilde
Well, that includes our mental development.
“Before you act, listen.
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.”
~ Ernest Hemingway
Before you react, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.”
~ Ernest Hemingway
Mindfulness is of course a function of mind, a detachment inviting objectivity, and the presence of spirit in the present.
“Curiosity is the beginning of the mind. Wonder is the end of the mind...” ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
...and the beginning of the Spirit.

Articles about mind development...
Educating the Will ~ by Peter Shepherd
If you are concentrating you are awake and aware - your mental life is both intensified and broadened. But often, when we put our mind on something we think of something else and this, in turn, reminds us of yet another. The mind wanders from one thing to another by associations, until the original subject is forgotten. Do you find this easily happens to you? It makes study nearly impossible and completing a project successfully much more difficult. Are there ways to improve your concentration directly? Continues...
Mind Development - Two Ways of Knowing ~ by Gregory Mitchell
The left and right brain provide two modes of knowing, two modes of perceiving the world and to deal with the material of this world exist. One is potential, the other one manifest - which in most people is the right hand side which corresponds to the left brain. You might say that the left brain is the chalk and the right brain the blackboard, when both sides of the brain are working together. Continues...

No one need accept that they must remain as they were shaped, by the conditioning of their childhood and culture. The benefits of Mind Development are all encompassing and life transforming. Intelligence is a skill that can be learned and these are the courses to do so...
- How to Study - this is a FREE introductory course and presents the foundation skills necessary for mind development. Learn how to study with maximum comprehension, recall and ability to apply what you have learned effectively.
- Super Vision - demonstrates the amazing changes in mental capacity that can be created by effective techniques training perception, and illustrates how closely mind and body function in coordination.
- Effective Communication - a practical course to help you transform your personal relationships through improving your communication skills.
- Concentration: Educating the Will - teaches the best ways to improve your concentration. If you are concentrating you are awake and aware - your mental life is both intensified and broadened.
- Power Reading - enables you to double your reading speed and be able to evaluate what you have read with clear and incisive intelligence... essential ingredients to success in your profession and in your continuing education.
- Creative Memory - the key to cognitive enhancement. To further develop and memorize easily, we need to restore and integrate our creative right-brain processes of super memory. Our memory is capable of great things; it has simply not yet been trained properly.