Self-development/growth course/training vs religion?

[Extrovertive]

How many of guys ever took part of a self-development course for personal growth? By self-development, I’m talking about something like Avatar personal growth training http://www.avatarepc.com - developing worldly intellect and growth, tools and resources like from http://www.learningstrategies.com - Natural Brilliance, Consistent Achievement, Boundless Renewal, etc. Tony Robbins motivation course, etc. Has those help your spirtual growth and perception?

And how does it compare to religion teaching like Christianity, Buddhism, Islamic, etc?

[Lobsang]

I think you can mention buddhism in the first paragraph as one can practice certain Buddhist meditations without being a religeous person. They are about mental training, not about ‘God says you should be this way’. I downloaded a free ‘book’ about Therevada Meditation, and some of the concepts in there changed my view of life quite a lot. I never did actually learn to do the meditating, but I have learned simply by reading the book.