Do you ever find yourself wondering:

• is there any way of understanding what goes on in our heads and hearts?

• why do I feel such contradictory emotions?

• people think I am calm and in control but do they really know what goes on inside me?

• is it possible to make sense of the way we react to situations, other people and them to us?

• why is it that most of the relationships in my life seem to be falling apart?

• can broken, painful relationships ever be put back together?

• why does fear or anxiety prevent me living life to the full?

If you are asking any of these questions then read on to find out how this course can help you.

Life is about relationships. How we feel about ourselves determines our ability to form and sustain healthy relationships. There are a number of factors that shape our self-image and we have developed courses that help us to identify and understand those influences. This course focuses on an understanding of our temperaments.

The temperaments

Our temperament is the combination of basic traits with which we were born. Hippocrates (460-370BC), often given the title, ‘the father of modern medicine,’ discerned patterns in those traits that enabled him to make distinctions between four main temperaments. He gave those patterns names that have all passed into our modern language. He called them Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic and Melancholic.

We are born with our temperaments. Each temperament has its own set of ‘ingredients’ and these ‘ingredients’ show themselves as strengths or weaknesses. Many people experience real relief on discovering which temperaments they have as they realise that there are people other than themselves who think and feel as they do!

What will the course achieve?

Imagine that you have bought a plot of land and you want to build a lovely two-storey house. You employ an architect to draw up the plans to your design. The plans are passed on the builder and he orders the materials and starts work. You entrust the project to him and go abroad on a long business trip. Part way through he decides that a bungalow would look better so he uses the materials that were meant for a two-storey house and builds a bungalow. The work is finished; you return and inspect the end result. What you see is a distortion of what was intended. The materials are under stress. There is only one thing for it – go back to the blueprints, dismantle what is out of place, understand the proper function of the materials and reconstruct.

We are born into this world with the ‘raw materials’ of our particular temperament. There is a design for the development of our character and personality but the influences at work in those early formative years determine whether our personalities end up as they should or as a distortion of the original intention. This is why the course is written from the perspective of what each child would need with their own particular temperament. We have an opportunity now to look at the blueprints, dismantle where necessary and begin to rebuild with God’s help.

How does it work?

If you decide to do the course we will send you three questionnaires. These are:

1. Your temperament checklist. This helps us to determine your particular temperaments and so tailor the course to your needs.

2. Your parents’ temperament checklist. This is for you to fill in and this helps us understand how your parents would have influenced your development.

3. Family Background Questionnaire. This consists of a series of questions that enables us to see what factors shaped who you are today.

When you reach the Family Background Questionnaire you will see that the material is presented in a way that allows responses from me and further responses from you. That is why we call this a ‘conversational course.’

Once the questionnaires have been completed we get into the course material and you will quickly begin to gain an understanding of yourself that will be of real benefit.

Cost

We have a simple policy – if you are able to pay please do but if you cannot then don’t let that stop you from doing the course. In commercial terms this course must be worth a sizeable sum but we are not doing this for profit but to be of help. We set a figure of £70 if you are able to pay. Please let me know if you would like to do the course but are unable to pay. If you wish to pay online I will send you a PayPal link or an address to which you can send a cheque.

What to do now

Simply write back via the contact tab and let me know you are ready to proceed and I will send the questionnaires through to you. If you have any difficulty opening any of the documents please contact me immediately and I will send them in a different format. You don’t need to print the documents – simply fill in on your computer and return them as attachments.

Testimonial

'Working through this course is slowly enabling me to turn my life around. I was at a very low point, emotionally, spiritually and physically, when I started and had suffered from ME for three years. The course has enabled me to face up to and understand my deep fears and feelings of inadequacy and guilt. By studying the temperaments I now understand why I think and feel the way I do and I am starting to accept myself and to experience God’s grace in a new way. It’s not easy but with John’s gentle understanding and support I am starting to change and I am just so thankful that the Lord led me to this course.' - Julie