This 2015 set of Study Group Readings is available on CD, MP3, as an e-transcript or printed transcript.
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STUDY GROUP READING #337
January 2015 - World Transformation The following Reading was one of the original "Reins of Power" Readings called "World Transformation." It was created around 1986 and had heretofore not been transcribed or re-leased digitally. For these Readings we would prepare the questions and then record them in a studio. The questions were asked by Don Marrs. OPENING TEACHING 1. You mentioned in a previous Reins of Power Reading that the die has been cast. World transformation has begun. Would you explain exactly what you mean by that statement? 2. You have indicated that there is something unique about the present period of earth life. Is this the New Age that many people are talking about? 3. Can you help us understand what world transformation will be like? What kinds of changes will take place around the world and the lives of us as individuals? 4. You say that there are millions of people who are now walking free from the past and have healed the major portions of negativity. What about the millions who have not been healed? How will they be helped by this? |
5. When you speak of world transformation can you give us an idea of the time-frame you're talking about? How many years will it take for us to see actual results? 6. Some people believe that there are guides and beings or a higher power beyond earth helping in this transformation. Would you comment on this please? 7. In previous readings you have said that the world leaders are closely guided, yet it seems they are making many negative decisions and the world is in quite a mess. What part do our leaders play in world transformation? 8. It appears that the mass media focuses on conflict and negativity. What effect has this had on human consciousness and what role will the mass media play in world transformation? 9. How does the current explosion of interest in meditation, personal growth, psychic phenomena and spiritual studies relate to world transformation? 10. Some people are just barely managing to keep their personal lives intact. How will these ideal teachings about world transformation be of benefit to people who are struggling in their daily lives? 11. How can each individual be of maximum effectiveness in facilitating a personal transformation? Would you give us a step by step procedure for playing our individual role during this time? 12. Finally, is there anything else you would like to add to the things you have already said? |
STUDY GROUP READING #338
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7. How can we avoid being involved in violence? Is there a specific way that we can make an internal attunement to protect ourselves and our loved ones? 8. Some people believe that violence on television and in the movies contribute to personal acts of violence. Would you comment further on this please? 9. Perhaps the ultimate violence that many people fear is a global nuclear war. What would you say to those who believe that such a war will take place? 10. There have been recent riots at sporting events such as the forty or more deaths at a soccer match in Belgium. What is the cause behind such an event? 11. It appears that personal acts of violence have become a way of life in many countries, for instance, in Lebanon. To help us understand why some countries have continual wars would you explain what is happening in Lebanon? How are we to interpret the continuing violence there? 12. We are now becoming more and more aware of a US policy of supporting military violence, particularly in Central America. Out of all of the possible ways of handing international situations why is the United States moving toward military solutions? 13. What can you say to people who have been victims of personal violence and are plagued by fear or hold hatred for the ones who have hurt them or someone they love? 14 and Closing. And finally, would you tell us what each person can do to help heal violence and contribute to peace in earth? |
STUDY GROUP READING #339
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8. If want to start healing our personal negativity where do we begin, with our thoughts, our emotions, or the situations that seem so negative in our lives?
9. What can we do about that negative voice that many of us have in our minds that continually criticizes and finds fault with everything no matter how hard we try to create positive thoughts and feelings? 10. There are some new so called recreational drugs that are said to cause ecstasy and deep feelings of love. Some people feel they gain an understanding of their fear and negativity by using these drugs. Would you comment on this? 11. In dealing with negative feelings there are two different common approaches. One approach is to ignore the fear, anger, or despair and try to replace them with positive thinking. The other approach is to delve deeply into the negative feelings and go through them to be free of them. How do we know which approach to healing personal negativity is the best for us? 12. There are many people who have had a very traumatic incident happen in their life, such as being a victim of child abuse, rape, violence, or atrocities of war. What's the best way to heal the painful effects of such an event? 13 and Closing. Finally we'd like to know if there's one attunement that we can use day after day that will help us heal our personal negativity in the most growthful way. Would you give us a step by step process for carrying out this attunement? |
STUDY GROUP READING #340
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6: Some religions have taught that to do certain things is a sin. They give the impression that this is God’s attitude and that God will punish us for sinning. Would you comment on this?
7: Some religions teach that there is a heaven and a hell. Would you comment on this? 8: In a logical sense, the presence of good or God implies the presence of its opposite, evil. Is there such a thing as evil or negative forces that exist in the universe? 9: Some people believe there is no God and they present convincing arguments to support their belief. Is there any proof that God exists? 10: Many people pray to God and believe in the power of prayer. What happens when we pray? 11: How can we live our everyday lives in ways that will lead us into a deeper experience of God? 12 and Closing: Finally, would you lead us in a guided meditation that will give us an expanded spiritual experience and a greater conscious awareness of God? |
STUDY GROUP #341
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7: How many years do we usually spend beyond earth between lifetimes and what do we do during that period?
8: Why do we keep choosing to come back into human life on earth and do we have an alternate choice? 9: In each of our lifetimes, what factors determine our purposes, our personality, our parents, where we are born? 10: Some people believe that we carry burdens from our deeds from past lives and that we must work this out in our present life. We are referring to the concept of Karma. There is also the belief that we can do something negative in this life that we will have to pay for in a future life. Would you help us to clearly understand these issues? 11: How do we end the cycle of reincarnation and move on to whatever comes after earth? 12 and Closing: And finally, would you tell us how we can best integrate into our daily lives all of this knowledge about reincarnation that you have given us? |
The following Reading was one of the original "Reins of Power" Readings called "Creating Your Spiritual Path." It was created around 1986. For these Readings we would prepare the questions and then record them in a studio. The questions were asked by Susan Scolastico.
OPENING TEACHING 1: There are many teachings about spiritual enlightenment. Would you describe the state of spiritual enlightenment or self-realization? What would be our subjective experience in this state of enlightenment? 2: Assuming that we have lived many, many lifetimes, have we ever reached such enlightenment fully in any one of those lifetimes, or are we building toward that kind of enlightenment in a particular lifetime, or say a last lifetime in the future? 3: From the soul's point of view, is there a difference between a spiritual path and simply living an ordinary life? 4: Do we need to follow a spiritual teacher to walk a spiritual pathway? And if we wish to follow such a teacher, how can we discern which one will be the best for us? 5: When we are attempting to walk our own spiritual path, how can we learn to identify what personal choices keep us on our path, and what choices divert us from the path? |
6: What role does meditation play in following a spiritual path and how can we choose the most effective meditation. Also can we fully walk a spiritual path toward enlightenment without medi-tating at all? 7: There are many people who feel that certain diets such as vegetarian diets, macrobiotic diets or fasting contribute to enlightenment. Would you comment on this? 8: Does attitude apply to yoga as well or can yoga postures enhance our spiritual search for enlightenment? 9: What about chanting Om and other such chants? What effect do they have on us? 10: Some people feel that when they are striving at their career or struggling with difficult life situations, that they are being pulled away from their spiritual path. Would you comment on this? 11: There are those who feel that sex and sensuality block a spiritual path. Would you comment on this? 12: Do recreational drugs help or hinder us on our spiritual path? 13 and Closing: Finally, what specific things can we do each day to help us on whatever spiritual path we choose for ourselves? |
STUDY GROUP #343
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7: How is the mind involved in extra-sensory perception such as telepathy and other psychic phenomenon?
8: What happens to the mind in the case of mental illness? 9: There is a wide range between a genius and someone of low intelligence. Is the potential for high intelligence always there? Does whether it’s activated or not depend on our present lifetime, or is the potential placed there by the soul before we’re born? 10: Science tells us that we only use a small portion of our brain potential. Is this what you are talking about here? 11: And I will ask about that psychic/intuitive part in a minute. But I want to ask first, when a person is unconscious or in a coma, what happens to the mind then? 12: It seems that many peoples’ minds fail as they grow old. Is this an inevitability? All of us would like to remain mentally sharp until death. How can we best accomplish this? 13 and Closing: This will be our final question and one so many of us are interested in. It has to do with the part of the brain that you spoke of earlier that will be activated in the future, that has to do with the intuition and perceiving the non-physical, spiritual dimensions of reality. Can we at this point amplify our perceptions of non-physical, spiritual dimensions of reality with our mind? And if so, what is the best way to do this? |
STUDY GROUP #344
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7: What is the nature of synchronicity—events, chance, coincidences? For example, you hear of someone for the first time on one day and the next day you happen to meet that person. 8: Is it possible that we have reincarnated on other planets? 9: Dolphins and whales seem to be very special and spiritual animals. Can you tell us about them and the relationship between them and us? 10: We’d like to ask about the Egyptian pyramids. Is there something special about them and the people who built them? And how were they built? 11: What is the Bermuda Triangle, and why does it exist on earth. Can we avoid its danger in any way? 12: What is the purpose and nature of black holes in space? 13: How and why do the astrological planets affect us? 14 and Closing: And finally, are out of body or astral travel experiences beneficial for our evolution? If so, how do we make that happen? As a postscript. In case you don’t remember, this was a time when people were reporting that alien creatures had abducted them and performed experiments on their bodies. The Question and Answer: Question Three from October, 2005 Study Group Reading #226: Even though you have previously said that humans create UFO experiences in our mind, thousands of people from many countries, including astronauts and airline pilots, have reported seeing them. Would you please help us to understand more about this situation? |
STUDY GROUP #345
September 2015 - The Sacred Family, Part 1 The following Reading is Part 1 of a subject area Reading called "The Sacred Family." It was originally created in 1998. The questions were asked by Susan Scolastico. OPENING TEACHING
1: Throughout history, it seems that human beings have continually formed themselves into families or tribal groups. Is this simply a natural result of the biological connections between parents and their children, or, is it a reflection of intentions by the souls and by God? 2: What is the process by which we choose our parents and family members? 3: Are there always past-life connections between members of a family? 4: What part do the genetic influences from our parents, versus the influence of past lives, play in determining our personalities? |
5: Some people feel very close to their family and they maintain deep family relation-ships throughout their lives. Others feel very little connection with their family. They may leave home at an early age and have little contact with their family. What are the factors involved in these differences?
6: There are many different ways that human beings have devised for creating a child these days, from in-vitro fertilization, to surrogate parenting, to perhaps even cloning at some point in the future. What is the spiritual significance of this kind of variation from the original “natural” method of reproduction created by the souls? 7: When a child is adopted, can we assume that this has been preplanned by the soul of a child before its birth? If so, what is the spiritual point of adoption? 8: What are the most important factors to keep in mind when raising a child? This concludes this month’s Study Group Reading, Part 1 of The Sacred Family. Part 2 will be used in October as Study Group #346 and will resume with the asking of Question No. 9. Until next month, for this time in earth, the speaking is ended. |
STUDY GROUP #346
October 2015 - The Sacred Family, Part 2 The following Reading is Part 2 of "The Sacred Family." Part 1 was used for the September 2015 Study Group Reading. It was originally created in 1998. The questions were asked by Susan Scolastico and start with Question 9. 9: What influence do parents have on the careers that their children choose? Is the child’s choice of career a matter of the family influence, or, are such choices made out of soul or past-life influences within the child?
10: If a family does not participate in organized religion, what is important to teach the child about spiritual matters? 11: There are many family situations that are different from what used to be considered normal, such as divorced families, same-sex parents, single parents, and so forth. What is the spiritual implication of this? Will there be a turn back toward the traditional family, or has it forever changed? 12: The parents in many families either have to, or choose to, work full time, leaving their children in the care of others. What is the impact of this choice on the family dynamic and on the evolution of society as a whole? 13: What is the effect of so much reporting and portrayal of violence on our society, our families, and particularly our children? |
14: We are sometimes the cruelest to those we love the most. Those closest to us seem to trigger the most primitive, negative behaviors. What are the common factors that cause this?
15: The teenage years seem so difficult for so many. What insights can you give us into this important period of life? 16: There has been an increase in teen suicides, even in loving families. What factors contribute to this, and what is important to teach the teens to prevent this? 17: The term “dysfunctional family” is used a lot these days to describe families with challenges. Is there truly a “normal” family, or are family challenges an important part of our development and growth? 18: For many reasons, including people moving away for jobs, or financial reasons, many people are isolated from their extended families. It seems like a lonelier time personally for some. Yet, culturally, we are more connected because of television, movies, and the Internet. What are the ramifications of this? 19: Do we always have the same role in our families over many lifetimes, such as always being the father or mother of someone, or being the child of someone many times over, or, do we switch roles depending on the learning needs from lifetime to lifetime? 20: There seems to be a trend toward having children at an older age. Will this have any appreciable effect on society? 21 and Closing: Would you please close with an attunement to help us feel the oneness and connection with our families and society at large? |
STUDY GROUP #347
November 2015 - Eastern Masters, Western Saints The following Reading was a Reins of Power Reading called: "Eastern Masters, Western Saints." The questions were asked by Don Marrs. 1: What is it that makes a person a Master or a Saint? What do they have that the average person doesn’t have?
2: Could we talk a little bit more about the inner experience of these Masters and Saints? How is it similar or different from our own inner experience? 3: Are there any Masters or Saints incarnated on earth right now? And if so, how might we identify them? 4: Would you talk about the many gurus that people consider recurrent Masters? For example, people such as Maharishi, the leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement, or Muktananda, or Yogananda? What are their contributions to earth at this time? |
6: We want to ask about some of the major spiritual figures in world history. We don’t have time to go into too many of them, but what we’d like to ask about them is who were the beings, and what was the true purpose of their life? What was their spiritual mission? First, Jesus.
7: Would you talk about Buddha please? 8: And what about Moses? 9: Will there be any major figures in the present or future who will have the same impact upon humanity as Jesus or Buddha, or the others have? 10: There’s a saying that when the student is ready, the Master will appear. Is it necessary to our spiritual growth to follow the teachings of a Master? 11 and Closing: Finally, would you speak about the magical quality that we attribute to Masters and Saints and tell us how we can find this in ourselves. |
STUDY GROUP #348
December 2015 This month's Reading is a combination of two Readings: Track one is a question and answer that I took from Study Group Reading #178, October 2001. After the terrorist attack of 9/11, we held a group at our home to comfort each other as best as possible and to ask questions about the event which we used for the October 2001 Study Group Reading. Because of the terrorist attack in Paris, and in other locations as well, I thought you would be interested in what the Guides had to say as it still applies today. After this question you will find the December Reading that focuses on the season.
Q and A from September 2001: Our civilization has been attacked. It is human to want accountability. Is it moral to use all of the force at our disposal to bring the perpetrators to accountability?
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The rest of the December Reading was originally given at a Christmas party held at our home in December of 1991. This was a gathering of about 20 friends. We were there for communion and merriment, and Ron did a Reading for the group without the formality of questions being asked. I have inserted tracks at various places to help you navigate the Reading if you want to re-listen to something particular.
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