So you know who I am, just a few words about the author of the trans4mind Web sites. I was born in '52 in London, spent most of my life in southern England, the last few years in the north, but just recently I've moved to France, to be with my friend and new love, Nicole Jérémie.

After leaving school I abandoned civil engineering studies because although it's a worthwhile subject, it wasn't what I wanted to do at all! I really wanted to travel the spiritual path - to fulfil my purpose for this lifetime basically - and that endeavour has introduced me to very many ideas and brilliant people, and many sidetracks that lead to nowhere as well.

I soon realised that a knowledge of psychology was going to be a help in this, so I trained in Rational Emotive Psychotherapy. Nothing to do with the spiritual path, you may think, but on the contrary, I found rational thinking to be a necessary accompaniment to esoteric and mystical philosophy. Beliefs that are merely intellectual fabrications and cannot be confirmed objectively in the here and now are merely a distraction, I feel.

Furthermore, beliefs and truths are quite different in nature. Fundamental truths are really so simple yet profound that words seem a stupidity. But getting to the truth is not so simple because of the way the mind is conditioned into reality-tunnels that obscure the truth pretty effectively. Sorting this out requires a disciplined approach that has scientific objectivity and method but also acknowledges the immense resource we each have of intuition and discernment, which may be called heart intelligence.

The work of Gurdjieff, Assagioli, Leary, Grof, Wilber, Tart and many others (including the notorious but important Ron Hubbard), has pointed me in the right direction - i.e. has given me useful results when applying their principles - but a relatively unknown English lady called Irene Mumford has been the breakthrough. Before she passed on, she laid the groundwork for Meta-Programming - which means to transcend and go beyond one's programming or psychological conditioning - and developed the best tools I have found to overcome the barriers that obscure insight.

The Project has students all around the globe who have found, I am told, a profound workability in the methods that are taught. In the last couple of years I've begun presenting this work on the Internet, which has enabled me to contact more interested individuals world-wide, who I would otherwise never have met. Quite a few have become students. The New Life Course is a recent introduction, co-authored with my friend Ken Ward, and this provides a very sound personal development path, leading into Meta-Programming. I've described the ideas that inform the New Life Course and Meta-Programming in 'Transforming the Mind'.

A second breakthrough was the addition of biofeedback monitoring to my work as a psychotherapist, as a way to help uncover suppressed thoughts, feelings and information. Jung, Korsybski, Matheson, Hubbard and Monroe have each been influential in this application. Another friend, Barry Penberthy, created the Ability Meter, a high quality, automatically balancing GSR meter. This greatly boosts the speed and accuracy of individuals' work on Meta-Programming. Through Irene I met her son, Gregory Mitchell, and he has been the biggest influence in this area. He invented a Bilateral form of biofeedback monitoring that enables one to determine hemispheric balance and to see instantly when either the left or right brain becomes aroused at a particular stimulus. Gregory did years of research and testing, in the context of mental development techniques and psychotherapy sessions, and a very precise picture has since emerged of how the various types of cognition relate to hemispheric arousal. This has added an extremely valuable new dimension to my work and its effectiveness.

More recently I have become involved with the equally good biofeedback firm, Clarity Meters in the States.

So you know where I'm coming from, here's a selection of issues that I'm often asked about, some of them controversial. I briefly offer my opinions, based on my own experience, but you should please note that none of this is 'taught' as such in the courses I run - the emphasis there is on individuals discovering their own truth, the knowing that lies deep within each of us.

What do I think of God and Spirituality?

God is a universal quality of love, life and truth. We are all part of God - "Light that is one though the lamps be many". This is traditionally an Eastern view - compared with the Western view of God as a personage in the heavens - though it is far more frequently held in the West in these New Age times.

To become more 'spiritual' is to learn to realise one's connection, that one is more than an isolated Ego. From perhaps a few close friends and family one begins to include those one doesn't necessarily agree with or like. It's a change from the 'human' way of reactive sympathy or judgement to the 'spiritual' way of conscious empathy and understanding, even in the most trying circumstances. It's an awakening, and life gives us ample opportunity to test ourselves, make mistakes and learn from them, and develop in this process.

Life is about having fun, achieving goals, enjoying humour and aesthetics, creating and exploring, making friends and advancing peace and justice in civilisation - but the most profound purpose we have is to travel the spiritual path, to awaken to our divinity, the quality of God that is in everyone and everything: expressions of love, life and truth.

What do I think of Christianity?

Few people would find exception to the social morality taught by Jesus. Indeed, much the same is found in all the major religions; the Buddhist parables mirror and precede those of the Bible by 800 years. The problem is that to actually behave as is recommended requires one to be fairly enlightened and to recognise that your neighbour - and your enemy - is indeed your spiritual brother. One is then up against one's case - all the suppressed upsets, disagreements, misdeeds, justifications, fixed rightnesses and so on - and no case handling is provided. So people behave the same and just add the hypocrisy of their Christianity to their load of guilt.

The other problem with Christianity is its theology. The main themes - all-seeing eye, man in the sky, original sin, crucifixion and saviour, resurrection, final judgement, need for worship and sacrifice, forgiveness from on high, fear of Hell and so forth - have been recycled in religious beliefs since the original Sun worshippers, and they all oppose personal responsibility and spiritual development. The theology is an inversion of the truth and an ideal way to hold down the masses in subjugation and propitiation. It's myth and powerful. Strength is nevertheless drawn by many from their faith, because there are enough truths mixed in and the religion provides stability, but ultimately the lies are limiting.

Jesus was a person who - alongside his enlightened message of love - questioned the status quo and pointed out the dark side of the religious establishment, and their hypocrisy. The same situation remains in place. Jesus did not teach a way for individuals to overcome their fixed ideas and safe solutions to open their minds and so remove their prejudices and hatreds in order to follow his basic teachings of love, and to be one with God - or if he did, it was suppressed or misinterpreted by the Church. I believe the Church, from the time of St Peter, also removed enlightened teachings and reincorporated Jewish mythology including the idea of a God to be feared, original sin, and so on, thus producing a major cause of human psychosis these last 2000 years, sadly in the name of Jesus and love.

Despite these misgivings, I have long thought of the Insight Project as a New Christianity, as it enables individuals to actually be like Christ. There are many elements of the original teachings within the Bible that illuminate Christ's teachings rather than reinforce the Church's control, or which illustrate enlightened modern ideas such as some of those in Transforming the Mind. The lies in the Bible introduced or manipulated by the Church need to be exposed as such (the Dark side) and the truth in the Bible that is what remains of Jesus' original message needs to be better understood (the Light), and connected with current situations and modern ideas, to reveal a practical way that can transform people's lives and expose their inner Godliness. Perhaps Meta-Programming is that, and for those who do not have the time and motivation for such an endeavour, the approach described on my friend Ayal Hurst's site Clearing the Way is a great starting point.

What do I think of Sexuality?

You don't need me to tell you that finding the right partner, and getting on well, can make you feel twice the person. In a way, you are. The closeness of a loved one and family provides stability and fulfills a primary genetic drive. Sex, too, is a natural and mutual enjoyment of senses and provides intimacy on all levels, as well as a lot of fun. Where it goes wrong is when communication breaks down, misdeeds are withheld, upsets build up, tension rises and the relationship is threatened. With fear, possessiveness enters the picture, then jealousy rears its ugly head. Jealousy is the opposite of granting beingness, life and freedom of choice to one's partner. Rationality is confused by the animal mating and territorial drive as well, and all the social conditioning and guilt complexes related to sexuality, not least the repression of sexual pleasure urged by many religions. The solution, as with all problems, is renewed communication with openness and honesty.

What do I think of Prayer?

I learnt as a psychotherapist that no one can help you if you don't help yourself - you have to get off your ass (take responsibility). I do believe that prayer works, however - it is a connecting up with God. In truth one is part of God - one is God - so really this is connecting up with the Higher Self. But still, one has to play one's part and act; do what's necessary and then the order of life will align with your wishes, provided they are ethical (for the greatest good). Egotistical whims don't cut it!

Taking responsibility is fervently resisted by many clients undertaking therapy, who really just want you to take their problems away, so turning this around is the main task in psychotherapy. I prefer these days to work in the field of personal development, where people start off with the attitude of positively working to improve their lives and expand their awareness.

To praise and thank God may seem a bit silly if one considers one is indeed God, but really it's a recognition of the wonder of all life, love and truth, and so it does help to connect us with our shared spiritual nature, and is perhaps the best function of prayer - an expression of gratitude. Whilst one is feeling grateful the bugbears of fear and attachment can have no effect. The other great function it has is to flow healing energy to others. Love is all-powerful and unlimited in supply; the more we love, as a nice side effect, the more we receive also.

What do I think of Past Lives?

Depth psychoanalysis and hypnotherapy reveal this factor of influence from past life decisions, especially those made at the time of traumatic experiences. There are many convincing cases of recalled facts from past times being checked out. It's actually nearer the surface in that we act out this stuff in our daily lives, and young children - who have less left-brain conditioning - frequently recall their previous existence. Between life decisions also play a part in our make-up, and these factors soon come to light even in Meta-Programming, which takes an objective, Present Time approach to case handling.

What do I think of Telepathy?

You have probably had the experience where you look at someone from behind their back and they turn around - they have picked up your attention. Telepathy is going on all the time, but it is a non-verbal, intuitive phenomenon and so with our left-brain oriented minds we don't notice it. Try picturing a colour and then ask a friend to say the first colour that comes into the minds, before they've thought about it at all - you might be surprised.

What do I think of Channeling?

Channeling is the passing on of communications from a spiritual being who is not in a body on earth. Psychically open people might find this occuring spontaneously. The communication, before it can be relayed in words, has to pass through the filter of the channeler's left brain, and is therefore affected by the channeler's beliefs, fears, education, prejudices, etc - so what comes out might be quite different from what goes in. The best channelers seem to be quite transparent in this regard but my own experience is more fuzzy and vague, though still valuable. It's important to know what is your own identity/mind and what is another's. Again, this is sorted out in Meta-Programming.

What do I think of Out-of-Body Experiences?

The Monroe Institute specialises in the use of brainwave entrainment to prepare individuals for the state of conciousness in which they can adopt a viewpoint independent and remote from the body. They may operate on this physical plane or on more dream-like planes of existence. Ever notice how you wake up to turn the alarm off seconds before it's time to go off - how did you know? The combination of fear and body trauma may cause a spontaneous out-of-body experience (OOBE), at times such as during operations, severe illness, drug-induced states, lucidity during sleep, or near death. Near-death experiences usually involve a recognition of the coming between-lives transition, which can have quite a mind-opening effect afterwards. The phenomenon is well documented, though scientists will say it is all subjective, which of course it is. Your viewpoint is as limited as you consider it to be. You don't need to move, you just be, where-, when-, what-ever, because you are both everything and nothing anyway. But usually, fear rules.

What do I think of Intuition?

Intuition is a right-brain, non-verbal kind of thinking, accessing subconscious knowledge and abilities. The subconscious includes memory of all times past, the use of a super-computer in the lower brain to work anything out, plus access to the all-knowing Higher Self, the part of oneself that knows all but pretends it doesn't for purposes of game and an interesting life here. Most people do their best to ignore their intuition, c'est la vie!

What do I think of Karma?

Karma means you reap what you sow. You get back what you give out. Unlike the Eastern view, however, I do not think it is imposed by a universal law. I think it is self-imposed and that karma is eradicated by learning from the mistakes of one's past, and recognising how the old ways of being are continued into the present. Till you learn such lessons you continue to dramatise a fixed identity that makes those actions right - however that identity is self-defeating and you suffer from it. The practice that I teach, Meta-Programming, is about undoing one's karma by learning many, many lessons, but in this lifetime rather than in a series of many painful lifetimes as can often be the case. This is why I think Meta-Programming is revolutionary and potentially of tremendous help for many people at the deepest level.

What do I think of Archetypes?

What makes our identity? We have our cultural conditioning - upbringing, education, propaganda, peer pressures, etc. We have the in-built genetic programmes of a super-intelligent, language-speaking, reasoning chimp, and our hormones, neuro-peptides and sexuality. And we have our individual case: particular identities aligned to goals, safe solutions to problems, fixed ideas, beliefs and decisions often empowered by trauma, all mostly suppressed but still acted out. And there is the group phenomena - ever noticed how people tend to behave quite differently in a group? Otherwise sane people get caught up in shared irresponsibility - vandelism is done to impress peers, the vulnerable are picked on, looting occurs after disasters, armies rape and pillage, and so on - adopting a degraded way of being. Jung noted that the group phenomenon operates on the scale of Mankind: the archetypes or ways of being - some noble, some barbaric - that can be found in all peoples, however remote, that show we are in a deep sense connected. So archetypes are part of the picture but certainly not the whole.

What do I think of Astrology?

This is another aspect of our identity. We come from another (between life) plane of existence, bring along decisions and purposes for this life, and we align to a specific location in this universe space/time to reincarnate - this alignment is astrological. There is a genetic influence at work here, subtle and certainly more complex than the 12 star signs. It can however be over-ridden to the extent that we operate as self-aware, determined spiritual beings rather than bodies.

What do I think of Scientology?

I've studied Hubbard's work and know the subject well, in practice and theory. Whilst misguided in some ways, he nevertheless had a wide range of valuable ideas, in particular the therapeutic applications of simple but valuable philosophical insights, that I have incorporated in my work and without which the courses would be ineffective. His insights were of course rooted in the prior work of people like Crowley, Korsybski, Freud and Jung, as well as parapsychology and Eastern mysticism, and he incorporated the ideas of many uncredited co-workers. His motives and personality were dubious and this is reflected in the organisation that he created to serve him, which I have no time for whatsoever. I don't buy in to the upper level Scientology stuff. It is evaluated information (by Hubbard) that does not turn out to be valid with proper inspection techniques (which Scientology does not have). Scientology paints a picture of a very dangerous universe and I differ completely from this. I think we're on an evolutionary, positive spiral - not a negative one. We're on the verge of a breakthrough in consciousness for mankind, not a chasm. This is a beautiful world, if we make it so, not 'the ash-tray of the universe' as Hubbard states. We do have negative influences from the past in terms of fixed ideas, self-defeating and irrational considerations, safe-solution identities and unknowingnesses - but these case things can be sorted out. There's nothing stopping us. But we do have to make a positive and determined effort to develop personally and transend our human natures, otherwise we continue as ever before.

What do I think of UFOs and Aliens?

Again, lots of disputed evidence for these things that abounds on the Internet. It seems outside beings of some sort have at times affected and maybe even directed Mankind's genetic and possibly cultural evolution. Some people can recall such as space wars, electronic implanting of ideas and life on other planets. Hubbard's 'OT Levels' were based on this (and his science fiction imagination) and were misguidedly applied to people as though they were all the same, but I've found that individuals have very different histories, including on different planes of existence or time continuums. Some recall an Atlantis-like existence, not necessarily in this universe. Most people recall very little if nothing is suggested to them, partly because moving into a new body is a pretty good wipe-out of such information and partly because if you mention a pink elephant, most people will not be able to avoid mocking it up in their mind. I think it's best not to address the distant past directly - what is genuine and significant will continue into the present and that is the best place to look for it.

What do I think of Personal Development and the Spiritual Path?

Behavioral psychology has installed the idea that we inherit all of our traits and besides the modifying effects of cultural conditioning, we stay basically the same as our genetic hard-wiring dictates. That's true if you don't do anything about making positive change, if you don't recognise the aspects of yourself that are more than animal. Recently many have recognised this possibility and they are looking for valid information that can help them make positive changes. We are operating on three broad levels - spirit, mind and body - but they are not isolated in this game we play, and we combine socially and culturally as well. Because the spirit uses a body-mind here on earth, one cannot ignore the genetic, experiential and environmental factors of the body-mind. The human identity mixes up and confuses all these factors because they are somewhat contradictory and one is forced to adopt survival solutions to stay alive with some degree of pleasure. Meta-Programming sorts all this out ...

What do I think of the New Millenium?

The concept of a New Age has come about as many have rejected the limitations imposed by conventional religion, behaviorists and moralists - they see that life can be better, much better. In the search for appropriate information to assist this change, a lot of nonsense has been accepted and many blind alleys are followed. But the movement, now begun, will eventually reach its goals, because the vision is ethically right and the momentum is essentially empowered by love, life and truth. Our new site Heart Intelligence describes how this can happen. The start of a new year is a good time to change things for the better; even more so the start of a new millennium. It just feels right.

What do I think of Transforming the Mind?

This book is an organisation of ideas - most of them not my own - that make sense to me. I put it together as a personal project to help clarify the broad picture, as I could see that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The book could of course be considerably expanded but I feel that would dilute the message, so I've included a lot of material that is complementary to it (especially practical techniques) in the New Life Course and in addition I've tried to make the Links page a good route for further exploration.

What do I think of Meta-Programming?

I'm no guru or super-person. I'm on the spiritual path and I want to help others that are too. I've taken responsibility for promoting the techniques and information of Meta-Programming, because they're too good to be lost, and if I didn't do this, they probably would be. That would be tragic because in my opinion this body of work offers the potential for motivated individuals to dramatically advance their understanding and awareness, and ultimately this could be very significant. Because of the way consciousness and information is connected, an individual breakthrough in consciousness can profoundly affect consciousness at a much wider level. This is an opportunity that you are welcome to be part of.

What do I think of Health & Nutrition?

Nutrition, I have found, is one factor that is best not ignored, and in recent years I have been working to learn more about the affect of nutrition on the body-mind. My studies at ION (The Institute for Optimum Nutrition) in London were very instructive and I have incorporated this into my work and online (Nutrition: Medicine of the Future).

I'd like to reiterate that none of the above is taught in the the New Life Course or Meta-Programming - the emphasis in the courses is for individuals to discover their own truth, which may well differ radically from my own views. I'd be very pleased to discuss these and other such issues with you - just drop me a line. Good communication does not require agreement but it does need clarity and comprehension alongside empathy. I hope many of you will find the trans4mind Web site helpful on your personal development and spiritual path. Please let me know how you get on.