Vadim Zeland is a Russian author best known for Reality Transurfing, a series of books about choice, attention and intention that has been published in many countries. [1] [2] He also wrote Tufti the Priestess, and he keeps his personal life almost entirely private. [3] [1]
Who is Vadim Zeland?
Very little is known about Vadim Zeland, and that is how he likes it. In the short note he gives about himself, he says: “Before the collapse of the Soviet Union I was engaged in research in the field of quantum physics, then computer technology, and now books. I live in Russia.” [1]
He explains that he does not want to “advertise my personal life, as then it would cease to be personal.” When readers ask who he is, he says he usually answers, “Nobody”. He describes himself not as the creator of Transurfing but only as a “retranslator” of older knowledge. [1]
The idea of Reality Transurfing first gained popularity when he posted the text on the internet. According to his publishers, readers’ reviews and his “original take on the structure of reality” led them to publish the manuscript. [1] The official site gives the trademark and copyright date as 2003. [4] His English editions are translated from the Russian by Joanna Dobson. [1]
His books have since been published in many languages, with publishers across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. [2] He later wrote Tufti the Priestess. Live Stroll Through A Movie, Priestess Itfut and the 78-day course Transurfing in 78 Days. [3] His official site keeps a list of authorised Transurfing coaches. [5]
His ideas in brief
- Choose. Pick the life you want, don’t just wish.
- Lower importance. Want it, but don’t obsess.
- Step off pendulums. Notice what grabs your energy.
- Wake up. Bring attention back to the present.
At a glance
Known for: Reality Transurfing, Tufti the Priestess
Topics: Choice, intention, attention, importance
Format: Books and official Tufti videos
Books: Reality Transurfing Steps I-V, Tufti the Priestess, Transurfing in 78 Days
Official site: zelands.com
Good fit if
You enjoy big ideas about reality and choice, and you want practical habits for worrying less about outcomes and paying more attention to the moment you’re in.
Our take
An unusual, private author whose ideas have spread around the world. Start with an overview video, then read Reality Transurfing Steps I-V or Tufti the Priestess.
Vadim Zeland’s key ideas
These come from his official site, his books and explainers by Transurfing teachers. Tap a card to read more.
The space of variations
At the heart of Transurfing is the idea of an “infinite archive of various ‘films’ where everything that happened, will happen and could happen is stored.” [4] In his books this is called the space of variations.
His official site describes Transurfing as “the art of controlling reality using our freedom of choice”, adding that “the world always reflects our perception of it.” [1] As Bootsy Greenwood, a Transurfing teacher, puts it, the book is about learning to choose: “Not manifest, not wish, not dream, not hope, not pray, choose.” [6]
Zeland also writes that, unlike many esoteric teachings, Transurfing holds that “the thought is not material and cannot have impact on the matter” directly. [4]
Pendulums
One of his best-known ideas is the pendulum. In Transurfing, a pendulum is a structure created when many people think in the same direction, such as a group, a movement or a trend. To get what you want, the book says you need to “avoid the influence of destructive pendulums.” [1]
Bootsy Greenwood explains pendulums as programs in the world that grab our attention and pull us away from our own path, so that we start following what the culture or other people think we should want. [6] The Transurfing response is not to fight them, which only feeds them, but to notice them and calmly step aside.
Importance and balance
Transurfing treats balance as a basic law. When you make something hugely important, by obsessing over it or by looking down on it, you create what Zeland calls excess potential. [6]
As Bootsy Greenwood explains it, “Anything on a pedestal, you can’t reach it,” while things that feel normal and natural come into your life more easily. [6] So the practical lesson is to lower importance: keep your goal, but hold it lightly, without desperation or fear.
Heart and mind together
Transurfing places a lot of weight on agreement between what Zeland calls the soul and the mind. His site says that to choose your reality “you have to learn how to establish mutual understanding between the soul and mind, formulate intention and avoid the influence of destructive pendulums.” [1]
Bootsy Greenwood describes this as the moment “your heart sings and your mind rubs its hands with glee.” [6] He also explains the idea of slides: holding a clear inner picture of what you want, so that it shapes how you see and move through the world. [6]
Two screens and the awareness centre
In Tufti the Priestess, the narrator says that we each have “two screens: an inner and an outer screen.” Our attention is usually stuck on one or the other, either lost in thought or absorbed in what is happening around us. [7]
To “wake up”, Tufti says, you shift your attention to your “awareness centre”, which she describes as “an observation point, from which you can see where your attention is directed in any one moment.” [7] From there you can see what you are doing and what is going on around you at the same time. [7]
Composing reality frame by frame
Tufti describes reality as a film roll: “Reality exists only for a single moment, like a frame on a film roll, which moves from the past into the future.” [7]
The official site explains a common mistake: “Rather than composing the reality of the upcoming film roll, they tend to battle with the reality they face in the current frame.” [4] In Tufti’s words, “To compose reality means to choose the film roll and determine the direction in which the frame is moving.” [7] The book’s practical method for this involves what it calls the intention plait. [7]
Videos with Vadim Zeland
Zeland himself does not appear on camera. These come from the official Tufti channel (in Russian, as featured on his site) and from Transurfing teachers profiled on this site, checked one by one.
Start here
Understanding Transurfing
From the official Tufti channel
Articles about Vadim Zeland
Vadim Zeland’s books
His English editions are translated by Joanna Dobson. Reality Transurfing Steps I-V is the classic starting point.
Find his books in your country: US · UK · Canada · Australia · India.
Where to learn Transurfing
Zeland does not teach courses himself. His official site lists authorised Transurfing coaches and features the official Tufti videos. [5] [4] Transurfing in 78 Days works as a self-paced course in book form. [4]
His books are published in English and many other languages, so they are easy to find in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Europe and beyond.
What the Research Shows
Transurfing is a philosophy rather than a psychological method, but two of its everyday habits, paying attention to the present moment and picturing the future you want, have been studied by researchers.
- Being present. People were happier in the moments when their attention was on what they were doing. [8]
- Visualising your best possible self. Regularly imagining your best possible future self raised positive mood over several weeks. [9]
Frequently asked questions
Who is Vadim Zeland?
A Russian author, formerly a researcher in quantum physics and then computer technology, who wrote Reality Transurfing.
Why is so little known about him?
He keeps his private life private and calls himself a “retranslator” of Transurfing rather than its creator.
What is Reality Transurfing?
In the words of his site, “the art of controlling reality using our freedom of choice.”
What is a pendulum?
A structure formed when many people think in the same direction, which can pull your attention and energy away from your own goals.
Who is Tufti?
The narrator of Tufti the Priestess, who teaches about attention, the two screens and composing reality.
Does he appear in videos?
No. The official Tufti channel features the character, not Zeland himself.
Where should I start?
Watch an overview video, then read Reality Transurfing Steps I-V or Transurfing in 78 Days.
Sources
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Reality Transurfing Steps I-V
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Foreign Editions
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Books
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Introduction
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Authorized Coaches
- Bootsy Greenwood: Reality Transurfing Explained in One Video (YouTube)
- Vadim Zeland Official Site: Tufti the Priestess (online book)
- Killingsworth and Gilbert, A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind, Science 2010
- Sheldon and Lyubomirsky, How to increase and sustain positive emotion: The effects of expressing gratitude and visualizing best possible selves, Journal of Positive Psychology 2006
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