Peter Shepherd - Daring to be Yourself

Daring to Be Yourself

By Peter Shepherd

Disclaimer:

The reader is advised that this book is not a substitute for
counseling or psychotherapy, when that is needed to help an
individual get through a particularly stressful time.

Daring to be Yourself
Copyright 2007, Peter Shepherd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN: 978-0-9806237-7-2

Inkstone Digital
www.inkstonedigital.com

CONTENTS

When I was five, as a child in England, I perceived little sparkles in the air around me in the garden, and indoors, in one room of the house there was a place where Jesus and some angels always were, to meet me. I also stood on the sofa and gave sermons to the family, as if to a congregation. Where I got these ideas is unclear, because it was before I was told about such things, though I can hypothesize now (past lives, archetypes...).

Outside the window were goblins that scared the life out of me but the angels gave my life back. Phew... either I was crazy or my childish brain had not yet been programmed into perceiving only the consensus reality, as a couple of years later I had none of those experiences but knew well the alphabet and times tables. Nevertheless Id received my first taste of the spiritual dimension and that has inspired my life ever since, to know and experience more, and to understand how our everyday lives relate to our inner and more subtle lives.

A few years on, after being a choirboy at the local church, it suddenly dawned on me that all these sermons about our sinful nature and the wrath of God, were being made on a totally misguided agenda. I let go of that belief system and it was a huge relief, a huge burden off my back. Going in quite the opposite direction, I studied Buddhism and found there a validation of each individual as a spark of the universal consciousness. There were meditative methods to help the person attain a higher level of that consciousness for themselves. But again I found the orthodox dogma of that religion stifling. I decided to both stay clear of organized religions and also to look for better ways of expanding consciousness that do not take lifetimes to achieve their goal. It was enough for me to perceive of God as the quality of Love, and that when we love (which is to say accept unconditionally) we are part of God. As the saying goes, When we love, we are the universe and the universe lives in us.

I realized that inner gnosisintuitive knowledge of spiritual truthwas the way to go, since fundamental truths are simple and graspable when we look inside to our intuitive understanding. What remained complex was the structure of mind, and the million and one ways that mind sneaks in to obscure or corrupt our natural insight.

Although my plan at school was to become a civil engineer, at 17 years I managed to damage my brain playing rugby. I had very severe concussion, and actually this happened three times, one time too many apparently. I lost memory of all the math Id learned at school and when I started a degree in civil engineering it was completely beyond me. So... I had to make up for those missing brain cells by finding other qualities within myself. I needed to change tack, to go back to basics and follow my own path, not just that which was intended to please others or to match their expectations, which is really what my career direction had been.

The problems I was facing spurred a lot of research in the direction of psychology and mind development, to learn about what goes on in my thoughts and feelings and to start to recover my mental abilities. I also continued looking to see if there really is a dimension even more fundamental than the mental: my spiritual self.

I then actually started a career in photography and did that for many years, but alongside I continued to learn about what I was beginning to feel was really my life purpose, and what my circumstances had pointed me in the direction of: to understand the mind and the spirit and to find out how to master these things and to teach what I find out to help others, who may be in the position I was in. So I got an education in psychology and psychotherapy over several years on a part-time basis. My primary teacher and mentor during this period of time, Gregory Mitchell, was a researcher of mind development techniques and he helped me to get my brain functioning well againand that information forms the basis of the Mind Development courses I offer now.

A Transformative Moment

It was a time in England when there was a recession. Id gotten into debt and wasnt earning enoughthe situation spiraled into bankruptcy. I lost my home and business and my relationship collapsed too. I was left with nothing and after having fought this for so long, I felt in despair. But then one day when all was lost, walking on the cliffs by the sea, with half a mind to jump over the edge, I had a sudden aha moment. The sun and the grass seemed incredibly beautiful. I felt exhilarated and more powerful than at any time in my life, like Id suddenly let go of the bonds that were tying me down. I felt grateful to be alive and filled with love.

It was a transformational moment for me because I finally recognized who I was I got in touch with my heart. So this was actually one of the best moments of my life. I realized that underneath all of this trauma was really a tremendous opportunity; it was clearing the decks for me to do what Id always really wanted to do, what I was born to do.

And thats just what I have done. I had received training in Rational-Emotive psychology but now I started to study the transpersonal dimension of our consciousness, that which is beyond the Ego personality connecting us with universality, as pioneered by Assagioli, Grof and others. I found these two divergent branches of psychology only really formed the full picture when combined as one. The everyday, rational and behavioral understandings of psychology were just as important as the more esoteric understandings to do with consciousness, and in fact each needed the other to provide a true and holistic picture of things.

I continued by training and participating in a range of personal growth techniques, writing the book Transforming the Mind which summarized my knowledge to date, further developing the most effective methods Id found, moving to France, finding the love of my life who I knew was there, running the web site to reach all those people who are looking for the same things Id searched so long forand to be of service in the most valuable way I knew how.

A turning point in your life like that, when you have nothing more to lose, gives you the freedom to turn things around, to move out of your comfort zone, to think outside of the box of your conditioning, to be free of attachments. It provides the chance to be creative, to be yourself.

Of course, I dont suggest that readers go about losing everything they have, in order to clarify their situation in this way. Far from it. But I think its a good idea to imagine yourself in that position... how would you feel? What fears would you have and how could you overcome them? What opportunities would it offer you... and why arent you taking advantage of those opportunities now, instead? One finds, in retrospect, that the bad times had a place in the scheme of things, that you wouldnt be where you are now without them. Provided you do indeed wake up to your life purposeotherwise it could all effectively have been for nothing.