STUDY GROUP READING #197
May  2003

1. One Study Group member asks: “People seem to be having very strong feelings ‘for’ or ‘against’ war and other important world issues. I am struck with the righteousness in peoples’ thinking and feeling, meaning that they believe their view is the only one and every other viewpoint is wrong. I myself can get in a righteous place quite easily, but I believe this to be part of the problem. Would you speak about this human tendency towards righteousness, and how we may work with this so we can be more understanding and compassionate with others and ourselves?”

2. Why is the modern country of Israel such a flashpoint of conflict? Why can't the Israelis and Palestinians make peace? And, is this a particularly significant piece of land on the Earth? Why has this dispute over this piece of land gone on for so many thousands of years? Will they ever make peace there?

3. A Study Group member from England asks: “When we look back on our lives, I'm sure that we always do the best we know how to do according to the knowledge and experience we have gained up to that point. However, due to an increase of knowledge and experience later in life, we can realize that we did not act for the best interests of all concerned. This lends itself to the old adage, ‘I wish I were younger and know what I know now.’ How can we heal the consciousness of blame? Is ‘forgiveness’ of ourselves enough, or the simple fact of recognizing our own ignorance? Is there a method by which one can go deep into the consciousness and re-enact the old situation in a new way with the better understanding in order to ‘wipe the slate clean’?”

 4. Would you speak about the origin of human language? It seems so remarkable that there are so many radically different languages and alphabets. How did humans first begin to communicate with words? Did they all speak in the same way in the beginning? How did the different languages come about?

 5. A Study Group member who works with elderly people writes: “In a past Reading, you made a powerful statement in which you said that the way the elderly are treated now would help to form the next generation of humans on earth. What you said made a lot of sense to me. But, generally, people talk about the raising of children as our heritage. Would you please elaborate on your statement concerning the elderly?”

 6. This is the time of Passover, Easter, and Spring, and, incidentally, the end of the most dramatic part of the recent war. It feels as if there is a pause in earth intensity. What is the best way to utilize this time to elevate our awareness, our consciousness?

 7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #198
June  2003

1. Do we really have complete free will? There seem to be such strong influences in our lives that it's hard to believe that we do. Is there such a thing as fate, or a destiny path? If there is free will, why are there times when we can catch a glimpse of the future (like in a dream or in a vision) that manifests exactly as we saw it? That implies that at least some of the future is set, regardless of the choices we make. Could it be that our free will manifests fully only before our birth, when we are choosing the circumstances of our lives to come? It seems that the rest just unfolds and we get to choose how we respond to what occurs.

 2. This relates to the previous question: You have stated that no one can predict the future with total accuracy. Why can’t you, the Guides, see the future since you are beyond time and space? And, what about the people on earth who claim to foresee the future? Would you address these two points?

 3. Following up on foreseeing the future, would you tell us if certain predictions in the Christian Bible, such as the destruction of the world, are likely, or inevitably destined, to occur?

4. In a personal reading for one of the Study Group members you made the following statement: “If you try to be so Christ-like in your interactions with others that there is no room for you to occasionally be upset, frustrated, sad, or frightened, then there is a slight negative result from your choices.” Would you please explain more fully what is meant by this statement?

5. Continuing on with the subject of Jesus and the Christ, one Study Group member asks: “I can understand that there are a handful of souls who are willing to watch over me and act as my guides. I discuss things with them, and occasionally get what appears to be direct answers to my questions. Yet, I have a hard time praying to Jesus. Even if he actually would listen and care, I wonder how one soul could take on the burden of the millions of people who count on him every day. I know that I have only a limited understanding of reality, but isn't that asking an awful lot of one soul, no matter how evolved and extraordinary he is? I am confused about this.”

6. How can we determine those aspects of ourselves that can be improved and/or modified? Would you give us a meditation to help us be open to changes that we need to make that we might be resisting, and suggest a process for changing those aspects?

7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

Volume II, SET H (July through December, 2003)

STUDY GROUP READING #199
July  2003

1. Some Study Group members have had dramatic experiences of expanded consciousness. Then, after the experience, they wonder if it was imagination, or something else. To throw some light on these kinds of experiences, we would like to ask the following question from one of our members. She writes: “I was sitting at my desk in the lab at work, and, in a brief moment, I had a shift from regular mundane reality to a cosmic connection with the universe. I was suddenly floating amongst the stars. The experience was ever so brief, but extremely powerful. I closed my eyes a second time and it was there again. I was seemingly at the center of the universe, surrounded by stars and darkness. I slowly opened my eyes, then closed them again but it was gone. What happened? Is this a kind of experience that can be created or repeated, and if so, how?”

2. Is there a general way to speed up our personal individual evolution? How can we make quantum leaps in our understanding?

3. The following question comes from one of our more scientifically oriented members. He asks: “Your teaching in the June Study Group Reading regarding the need to trust in, or imagine, spiritual realms in order to open the gate in the wall of doubt was profound, but seems to me to be incomplete. An intellectually oriented person can easily doubt that even a deep inner feeling proves the existence of a reality behind the feeling, such as the love of the soul. The process of trusting in, or imagining, may merely be programming the subconscious mind through repeated suggestion to eventually create the desired feelings. The unconscious is known to be extremely suggestible. An analytically inclined person needs to first convince himself or herself of the reality of spiritual realities through the study of evidence. For example, there is evidence for the reality of various kinds of extrasensory or nonphysical perceptions, which points directly to the likelihood of a nonphysical spirit or soul. There also is powerful scientifically investigated and documented evidence for reincarnation, after-death communication, and near-death experiences that cannot be conventionally explained. The study of this body of evidence seems very necessary as a first step for the analytical, intellectual type of person. Would you please comment on this?”

4. You have said in past readings that the earth was originally intended to be a beautiful place for humans to live lives of beauty and harmony. Why then is the weather on earth so destructive, sometimes killing people through floods, hurricanes, heavy snow, earthquakes, and so forth?

5. One Study Group member asks: “I have heard that we come to earth to learn and to evolve, because we can’t do that when we’re on the other side. I guess that once we’re at one with the universe, there’s nothing left to know. So, my question is: do we learn and grow in between lives? Can we learn from our lives after our death so that we don’t make the same mistakes again? Do we go from ignorant on earth, to all-knowing afterwards, and then back to ignorant when we come into earth again? How does this work?”

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #200
August  2003

1. It is said that “Patience is a virtue.” Other than annoying people when we are impatient, what is virtuous about patience, and how can we cultivate patience? 

2.  Many teachings say, “The answers are within.” If that is so, why do they seem so hard to access?

3. Many years ago, Ron and the Guides made a Universal Guidance tape called “Ancient Civilizations.” One of our Study Group members who is interested in early human existence asks: “In your ‘Ancient Civilizations’ tape, you stated that some humans from Atlantis relocated to the Northern Polar region, which was at that time not covered by ice. Where exactly is this area located now, and are there structures under the ice that we might find? Did those people create a tunnel system in that area, and are the tunnels still there, or is this a fantasy? Are there any descendent groupings of those people alive today?

 4. Recently, we asked if it was possible to love more than one person in our life. You stated that we could potentially love every person. Since there are so many past-life connections, and so many people around us that we have had past mating relationships with and could potentially love intimately, does that explain some same-sex attractions, gay relationships, or bi-sexuality?

5. Although mating relationships are often difficult and painful, we do see many examples of successful romantic couples, but very few examples of successful romantic threesomes or foursomes. Why is this? Is this simply a personal choice, or is there something in the nature of monogamy that makes it more common?

6. Domestic violence is one of our societies’ most violent interactions between people who love one another. Children are often silent victims of this abuse. Would you tell us what the consequences of witnessing domestic violence are to the children, and what should be done to counteract any negative effects?

 7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #201
September  2003

1. We have always referred to the source of these Readings as “The Guides.” Who are you, “The Guides,” and what is your relationship to Ron?

2. What would you say are the main points of your teachings, and the important purposes for bringing them forth?

3. Where do you (The Guides) get the knowledge that you give us in the Readings?

4. How can a person assess the validity of these teachings and decide whether or not they would be applicable to his or her life?

5. Is there anything else that you can say about Ron’s relationship with you? Why Ron, why now?

6. In a recent personal Reading, you say: “You wish to be natural, flexible, spontaneous. At times, that could mean that you grow irritable, irritated, frustrated, and angry. You would not wish to eliminate those responses.” When we believe that somebody has done us a wrong, like stealing from us, or being rude to us, we can become angry, irritated, and find ourselves thinking many negative thoughts. How does this align with your other admonition that we are to be kind, appreciative, loving, patient, and grateful? It seems like getting angry and frustrated with others is moving us in the opposite direction from loving them. Would you clarify this supposed dilemma and contradiction?

7. You have told us much about Jesus, his life, and his mission. Would you tell us similar things about Mohammed? Was he a prophet? Is his information from God truly the “final piece” to add on to the information that Jesus provided to the world? What was his main message?

8. The following is from a newspaper article: “Why do insults once hurled at us stick inside our skull, sometimes for decades? Why do political smear campaigns out-pull positive ones? The answer is, nastiness makes a bigger impact on your brain. And that, says [an] Ohio State University psychologist is due to the brain's ‘negativity bias.’ Your brain is simply built with a greater sensitivity to unpleasant news. The bias is so automatic that it can be detected at the earliest stage of the brain’s information processing.” Our question is, what is the soul’s purpose for this propensity to remember the negative in our lives over the positive?

9. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #202
October  2003

1. How can we overcome negative mental and emotional patterns, and limiting beliefs about ourselves, that get in the way of happiness? Is it even possible for humans to fully overcome them?

2. Is there an underlying purpose for our negative patterns? If so, how do we learn what that purpose is?

3.  A Study Group member asks: “It seems to me as if humans have become increasingly more self-aware, yet more self-absorbed. At the same time, we seem to be more disconnected from our environment as a whole. How and when did the split occur from an awareness of what could be called divine perfection to our preoccupation with a narrow definition of perfection based in our self-absorption?” 

4. Many people feel that in order to be well informed about world events, they need to watch television news and read the newspaper each day. But, as they take in the constant flow of information about war, terrorism, economic crises, murder, and crime of all kinds, they become very fearful about the world we live in. How can we stay informed and yet not be overwhelmed by the constant flow of negative information?

5. Are there any limitations to the wisdom or information you can give us in personal Readings relating to our individual selves, to other individuals, and groups of people? Is personal private information ever withheld about our own selves because there are lessons that we need to learn on our own?

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

 STUDY GROUP READING #203
November  2003

1. In the case of a person whose body is being maintained by medical means, and is actually in a vegetative state, where is the soul? What is the personality doing?

2. When people get old and are not healthy enough to be independent, and would just as soon leave the earth, what is the purpose of their staying around? They feel like they are a burden, they are in pain, and they have no future to look forward to. Why stay? 

3. Some believe that when a person dies, it takes 3 days to fully leave the body and complete the transition? What is the best way to be helpful when others are passing? Do our prayers help guide them during their transition?

4.  Studies have shown that although there are more guns per capita in Canada than the United States, the level of violent crime involving guns is considerably less in Canada. The increased violence in the United States is attributed to our television and news media that seem so focused on emphasizing the negative and spreading fear. What is it about this country, where so many people are so blessed, that causes us to be so attracted to the negative? Is there something in our collective psyche that is being worked out by wallowing in fear and negativity? Why are Canadians so different in their approach?

5. Some people have a very strong desire to have psychic powers. They meditate and try to open themselves up to guidance from the spiritual, but find they cannot. Why is this gift seemingly given to only certain people, and how should people who long for this gift, but don't have it, view the situation? 

6. Would you speak to us about how to deal with instant gratification versus long-term benefit? For example, we often want the instant pleasure of excess sweets, alcohol, cigarettes, and so forth, even though we know it could be to the detriment of our bodies. What is the driving force that causes us to choose instant gratification, and how can this best be dealt with? 

7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #204
December  2003

1. Would you please speak in more depth about your comment in the November Study Group Reading in which you said that our purpose is to master the human functions of thinking, feeling, perceiving, analyzing, and choosing? What do you mean by mastering these aspects? 

2. We would like to follow up on the question in last month’s Reading about continuing to live when we are old, sick, or in pain. You said that it was a “triumph” if one could fully live through such negative experiences and not artificially end one’s life. The question is, why is that considered a triumph? 

3.  It seems that as a culture we are losing our ability to express ourselves verbally in as eloquent a manner as in the past. People don’t read as much. Our stories are told through TV and movies, fed to us externally, visually, rather than inspiring our imagination through words. The richness of allegory, myth, and fairy tales is taking a back seat to simplistic sound bites. How does this affect our inner creative life, our dreams and imagination?

4. We are often told that time is not linear, that there is no past, no future, only now. Because of our conditioning, this is a very difficult concept to understand. Would you give us insight into the nature of time, explain why our understanding is incorrect, and tell us how we might gain a better grasp of the reality surrounding the whole concept of time? 

5.  Since December is the month of Christmas, would you tell us something about the Christmas Story, the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, that could give us new insights into its meaning and purpose? 

6.  Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

Volume II, SET I (January through June, 2004)

STUDY GROUP READING #205
January  2004

1. The New Year is a time when people traditionally try to make positive, healthy changes in their lives, often in the form of “New Year’s Resolutions.” Of course, it is difficult to overcome the inertia of habit, and most do not sustain their resolutions for very long. Given that it all comes down to our own choices, would you give us a step-by-step procedure to help those of us who wish to overcome the inertia of our old habits and keep our resolutions? 

2. Are there any great living spiritual teachers alive today who are as “enlightened” as Buddha, or Jesus, and who will contribute to humanity at a similar level? Can you identify them? What are the significant similarities and differences between your work in the Readings through Ron and these past masters? 

3. There is enormous public fascination with celebrity trials like the Scott Peterson, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jackson cases. Is there a benefit to society in this? How will our news coverage likely evolve in the near and distant future? 

4. Speaking of well known people, we would like to ask you about President George W. Bush. Although there are people who think he is doing a good job, one of our Study Group members asks: “Some of us find it very challenging to feel love and compassion toward President Bush, or even not to feel hostile toward him, particularly concerning his choice to wage war in Iraq. Would you please offer us an historical perspective of him as a soul, including past lifetimes when he has been of service to humanity, which might help us more easily see and feel the goodness in him now?”

5. Each month, we ask you to give us inspiration for the coming month. This month, would you please close by giving us a focus, or a mental practice for the upcoming year?

STUDY GROUP READING #206
February  2004

1. In our society there are generations of city dwellers who have never experienced the quiet simplicity of life in the country, of being completely immersed in nature. While more of us are physically closer in the cities, we seem to be more personally isolated. Many of us don’t know our neighbors, and many of our friends live too far away to share our lives in a practical way. Is this trend in harmony with the souls’ desires for humanity? What are the benefits and the costs of this? 

2. You just said that the souls did not intend so many humans, they did not intend large cities. What then did they intend? 

3. Intimate romantic relationships between two people, and family relationships in general, by their nature exclude other people to a degree. In loving our mate or children above all others, we necessarily love others less, or in more limited, more restricted ways. Will there be a time when we won’t pair off by twos, and when we will love all children as we love our own? Will we as a society evolve to commonly experience love for others separate from “ownership” of them, separate from exclusivity? 

4. With each new generation there is more sensory input, more to learn, more to absorb, more human manifestations. Now, children learn things like computers easily and quickly. As humans, are our brains growing in their capacity to learn. It has been reported that we use 10% of our brain capacity. Is the increasing sensory input causing us to use more than that? 

5. How will the increased input and knowledge affect the intuitive abilities of the next generation? Will they be more firmly entrenched in earth life, or will they have greater intuitive capacities? 

6. One of our Study Group members asks: “If I am sick, should I be able to heal myself physically by examining and treating my fears?” 

7. Regarding healing, I thought I once heard you say that the time would come when all physical illness would be healed by modern medicine. Did I hear that correctly, and if so, would you expand on that thought please? 

8. American Indian Cultures (among others) believe in communication with “animal spirits.” Do such energies exist, or is it the power of imagination that is providing the support they receive from such beliefs?

9. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #207
March  2004

1. We would like you to help us more fully understand what we might experience when we are no longer in a physical body. For many of us, the physical life is so pleasurable that it seems it would be a great loss not to have our wonderful physical experiences. It is hard for many of us to imagine what will replace those experiences other than shifting states of consciousness. Beyond earth, do we create anything other than consciousness? How does the creativity of our soul consciousness reflect itself without physical manifestations perceived by the physical senses? Do we perceive each other as light bodies or ethereal beings beyond earth? Outside of earth, is there color, sound, experience of touch, taste or smell?

2.  What is the best way to determine what primary issues we have incarnated in this lifetime to address? What is the best way to manifest our full potential in this lifetime?

3.  One of our Study Group members asks the following question: “Same-sex marriage has become a hot political issue lately, with individuals and groupings on both sides determined to create laws which govern or mandate who may or may not become married in the United States. Although I am a gay man in a same-sex relationship, I don't feel that being legally married would validate my relationship more, or create a stronger, more blessed, or holier bond with my partner in the eyes of the souls or the Divine. Similarly, I don't feel marriage between people of the opposite sex is any more blessed in the eyes of God than same-sex marriages would be. There appear to be great fears surrounding this issue, ranging from those whose ideals are focused on eliminating ones who commit what they believe to be immoral acts, to those who fear being eliminated and seek acceptance for their differences. In light of these things, is there any benefit in the eyes of God in forbidding or preventing same-sex couples from being married?

4.   I want to follow up on something you just said, that God does not judge the things that we do on earth and loves us no matter what. Is that true also in the way that humans choose to worship God. There is so much diversity in religion and in the way humans choose to pray, to worship, to revere God. Does God care?

5. Another Study Group member asks: “Do our guiding souls ever speak to us through mechanisms other than our inner voice? Sometimes I feel that I am receiving guidance through a timely song on the radio, or even through a fortune telling 8-ball that I was given as a gift. Oddly enough, the answers I get through this ball almost always jive with my intuition. Is this completely silly, or just another way to get through to soul guidance?”

6.  Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #208
April  2004

1. A study group member asks: “There has been much controversy over the Mel Gibson movie, ‘The Passion,’ depicting the last hours of Jesus on earth. How historically accurate is the movie regarding Jesus’ last hours on earth? Why would Mel Gibson be so concerned with a movie more focused on fear and anguish than on the message of Jesus, which is love, forgiveness, and treating others as we would treat ourselves? I am concerned that Jesus’ message is being lost amongst the torturous portrayal in this movie. Would you please comment on this?”

2. You speak about the Christ force, as representing more than Jesus the person.  How would you name and describe this Christ force if you had a group of Hindus, Muslims, and Jews instead of groups of mostly Christians? 

3. Fundamentalism and extremism seem to be more prevalent than ever in our world, one side trying to convert or attack the other. Are we, as humans, becoming more polarized in our beliefs? Is this a trend that is here to stay? 

4. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

STUDY GROUP READING #209
May  2004

1. We have a follow-up question from a Study Group member who would like clarification on something you said in your answer about fundamentalism last month. He writes: “I have a concern about your statement that there is more fear in the world now than ever before. Are you saying that things are as dark as they were 2,000 years ago when Jesus entered the world? Is this increased fear the result of simply having more people in the world, or, has it to do with the news media focusing more on fear? Has mankind really gone downhill since Jesus came to bring the Christ Force to help us penetrate fear? Are we in more trouble now then we were two millennia ago? 

2. Another Study Group member asks: “Does our willingness to be vulnerable help us to break down our barriers of fear? In observing our human condition, I have noticed in others and myself that those who have the best handle on fear, (not absence of fear mind you), are those who are able to be emotionally vulnerable. Would you speak about this, and also help us recognize when fear is driving us?” 

3. Is the only way to heal fear to go through it? This seems to differ from some spiritual practices that suggest, rather than focusing on negative feelings, to focus on God, forgiveness, and equanimity. 

4. Please give us more detail regarding the need to return into the physical world to heal negativity. Do all souls do this, or only some? Does this become a “requirement” that each soul must complete? Is the nature of the fear that the human self “left behind” in a certain lifetime the same experience that the soul will choose to re-create in a new lifetime? 

5. There is overwhelming evidence from fossils, body design, and genetic structure, that human beings (or at least the human animal body) are the result of approximately 600 million years of evolution since the first multicellular animals appeared. This process of producing ever-increasing complexity went through uncountable millions of generations of animal forms, proceeding from fish, to amphibians, to reptiles, to mammals, and finally to primates and Homo Sapiens. Why did the souls choose such a lengthy, convoluted method of creating the physical vehicle for souls to have experience on earth, rather than just creating humans from nothing? 

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #210
June 2004

1. There seems to be a great deal of personal change happening in the world. Many relationships are breaking apart, people are losing their jobs, the nature of work is changing, wars separate families—there are so many challenges these days. These changes usually create fear and anxiety, and a feeling of loss of personal power, until the feelings are healed and a new positive vision is achieved. Then, as one change is assimilated, another one seems to come along. What is the reason for so much change happening, and what is the best way to deal with all the change? Buddhist teachings suggest that we come to know the impermanent nature of life, and let go of our attachments to the physical world. What would you suggest?

2. It seems that there is a large concentration of fear, violence, hatred, and fundamentalism in certain parts of the world, the Middle East for example. Is this just a perception based on heavy media exposure, or, is there an unusual concentration of fearful, negatively-oriented people in certain areas of the world? If there are more fearful people in certain areas, is this caused by their environment, or do certain souls choose to be born in such places so they can work out their fears?

3. The Bible, and most Christian religions, teach us to pray using “The Lord's Prayer.” If Jesus were present today, what prayer would he suggest we use?

4. One Study Group member asks: “I have heard that the origin of fear is ultimately the fear of death. While you have assured us that there is no death, my mind seems unwilling to accept that. Is there anything else you can say to help us change our thinking about death, and reduce the amount of fear we unconsciously hold in life?”

5. There is a lot of media hype that influences our expectations about how we should express sexually throughout our lives. It is not uncommon for people, especially middle aged women, to feel conflicted abut the gap between societal expectations for much sexual involvement, and the actuality of our experience of lesser levels of desire. What would be the natural progression of our human sexuality desires and expressions throughout life if we were to factor out the media’s influence?

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month?

Volume II, SET J (July through December, 2004)

STUDY GROUP READING #211
July 2004

1. People die in many different ways at many different ages, from accidents to illness, from infancy to old age. Some people believe that we create everything that happens to us, that there are no “accidents.” Would you speak about this in relation to events that happen that we have no control over that do appear to be accidents? How much of our lives are we actually creating? Are we a “vibrational” match for everything that happens in our lives, or, are there things we have no control over?

2. When a person ends their life by their own initiative through suicide, what happens after death? What about someone who simply has enough of the physical existence, does not understand the lesson of the suffering, and is tired of it all? 

3. There seem to be a lot of women at this time who are experiencing physical symptoms of distress. Are women's bodies reacting more than men’s to the fears associated with national and international unrest, and the gruesome reporting on violence worldwide? Is there such a thing as a collective female pain body that differs from men?

4. This question is from a long-time monthly Study Group member: “A bevy of questions arise at the passing of Ronald Reagan and his years spent with Alzheimer’s. In a general sense, what is the gain for a soul to have its physical expression lie dormant for ten years waiting to die? What is going on in the conscious mind of the person with Alzheimer's? What kinds of people tend to get Alzheimer's? What can you tell us about Alzheimer's that would shed some light on this dreaded and seemingly wasteful disease?

5. One Study Group member is confused about negativity and soul choices. He asks: “Do souls plan and agree before incarnation to do ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ things, like child abuse, murder, rape, and torture? If so, why? I've heard and read so much conflicting information. For example, I've heard that murders, rapes, and so forth, are actually planned and agreed upon, that they are not viewed as bad or evil, but as challenging events that produce growth. I've also heard that such things are not planned. What is the truth here?”

6. Would you please describe what methods, thoughts, and energies are most effective to use in creating results in life on earth? Is achieving success a matter of will, action, and persistence in the outer world, or, do inner intentions, commitments, and heartfelt desires actually help “attract” whatever it is we wish to manifest?

7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #212
August 2004

1. To follow up on last month’s question about manifesting in the physical world, would you speak about using the power of words and affirmations to manifest our potential in earth life?

2. In the past you have suggested that in praying for healing we “command” the forces of God to heal us, or to do our bidding. Would you elaborate on this concept of wielding the forces of God, and give us a practical method to do so?

3. At the time of the millennium in 2000, some people were hoping that a new age of enlightenment was being ushered in, while others feared that the millennium marked the “end times” of disaster, war, and destruction. In a Study Group Reading at the beginning of 2000, you said that neither enlightenment nor catastrophe come from a counting of years, but rather from the choices of people. You recommended that we patiently live through our fears, release them, and then choose love and idealism. As for the upcoming doom and catastrophe, you said that the patterns indicated no such thing, but rather a calm and steady decrease of selfishness, and a gradual growth of idealism and love. However, since 2000, many dramatic negative events have occurred in the world, and many people around the world are worried about the future. What do the patterns that you now see indicate? Have they changed from what you saw earlier?

4. If one has lived prior lives in spiritual bliss why would that individual choose to come back to earth in a less enlightened state?

5. Are there clues to knowing if someone is completing and living a last human life? You have said we often cannot tell, but are there signs if we know what to look for?

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #213
September 2004

1. I would like to follow up on something you said in the opening. You said that war is humans creating death, and is another way of leaving the planet. I understand that we don’t have to create depression in ourselves about war, that that is our responsibility not to create depression. But, if we don’t condemn events that we believe are bad, isn’t there a danger of that resulting in apathy and a passive acceptance, rather than to motivate us to do what we can to stop such events?

 2. Some people believe that sickness and disease are “messengers,” providing a mechanism to access the soul’s truth and work out issues. If that is true, then is it possible that things that we do to treat or prevent disease inadvertently work to remove these “opportunities?”

 3. It can be very discouraging to have an illness that is difficult to heal. When we feel we “should” be able to heal it naturally and don’t, we can often feel like a failure, or we can feel that we have not done the “right” thing. Would you speak to this attitude and how to think about healing, or failing to heal, physical illness? 

4. Is there something about the way the souls create that we can mirror to help us in our own human creations and creativity? 

5. Technology may soon allow us to enhance ourselves with genetic engineering, computer chip implants, and other means.  Is this in alignment with the souls’ plans for humans?

 6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #214
October 2004

1. How do spiritual guides select which person, or personality to guide?

2. What techniques tend to increase our communication with our guides and our soul? Does it help to do such things as tai chi, yoga, meditation, physical work outs, and so forth?

3. Here is a further question about communication with guides from a Study Group member. She asks: “Often, I wish I could talk to you, the Guides, through a Reading with Ron, but I don't. Yet, I seem to either get an answer to a question, or I have less of a compelling need to know. In such cases, have you actually helped me within my own experience? I sometimes feel, or sense, that you have, or that I have tapped into a place of ‘knowing.’ Would you speak about this?”

4. Would you please talk to us about "intuition?” What exactly is it? How does it benefit us? How do we develop it? 

5. A Study Group member asks: “I am wondering how a traditionally idealistic and good country like the United States can become so incredibly destructive at home, and especially abroad, and why so many Americans seem not to notice this? What lesson are they missing? Or, perhaps, what lesson is being offered to them to learn? Where is the purpose here, from the souls' perspective? I can't see one. I feel mostly sad, but also fearful.” 

6. One of our Study Group members has a question about giving to others. She writes: “What is our responsibility to give back to those in need in the world, in terms of giving money to organizations that are trying to protect our precious environment, overcome racism, create peace, feed the poor, protect children? I have a stack of 80 requests beyond those I've already supported. I read them all and have so much compassion for the people they are serving and their causes. I support as many as I can. I give financially and with service to my church. I have great gratitude for the blessings in my life, compassion for so many appeal organizations, and I want to share, but I have limited funds. What do you have to say on this subject?” 

7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #215
November 2004

1. Having recently had the Halloween period, we would like to ask about ghosts. They appear in our popular culture, and we seem to continue to be fascinated with the idea of ghosts. Would you tell us if ghosts actually exist?

2. Psychologists speak of the unavailable area of the mind that is outside of our awareness as the “unconscious.” Since it has been portrayed as the reservoir of uncontrollable human impulses, many people think of the unconscious as a mysterious, even frightening part of ourselves. What is the unconscious? 

3. Some people feel that nature is quite savage, in spiritual terms. The food chain means that many animals prey on other animals, and this seems to be the “natural order of things.” Would you explain why nature is arranged in this way, and what that means for humans in relation to vegetarianism, farming practices, and our concerns for animal welfare? 

4. A Study Group member asks the following: “You often suggest that we recognize our magnificence, and reflect on what a wonderful human we are. When we are in a state of emotional pain, or depression, that can be very difficult. We might ask, ‘If I am such a wonderful, magnificent human, why do I not have the love relationship I desire, or the job I want? If I am such a wonderful human, why are others not recognizing my magnificence and lining up to be with me?’ How can we resolve this seeming contradiction?” 

5. There are surveys that show that more than 95% of Americans believe in God, and 90% meditate or pray. What is it that makes us so disposed toward spirituality and faith? Are we “wired,” or “programmed,” to believe in a higher power, is it cultural, or, is it just based on the fear of death? 

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?

STUDY GROUP READING #216
December 2004

1. A Study Group member asks: “In the recent election here in the United States, the present administration was voted in by a growing number of people who claimed to cast their vote with ‘moral values’ as their primary motivation. They cited issues such as, ‘pro life’ anti abortion, rejection of stem cell research, and anti gay marriage. Others of us abhor the rigid biblical interpretation some of these people ascribe to, which puts bible belief over science, wages unneeded war, and advocates capital punishment. These people seem to view themselves and their country as above others who have different beliefs. They demonize those who are drawn to love people of the same sex as partners. Would you help us to understand this apparently growing and powerful movement, and tell us how to cope with our fears about it taking as much control over our country as the Taliban did in Afghanistan?”

 2. Some time ago, you said that more people in the world were wanting more kindness and understanding. However, many political commentators have characterized the recent election campaign as one of the most mean-spirited, divisive, and fear-filled campaigns in recent history. Please tell us how you see the country progressing in the next few years. Do you believe that it will continue on a path of divisiveness and mean-spiritedness, or do you think there will be a turn towards more desire for kindness and understanding?

 3. A Study Group member asks: “Many people believe that prayers are always answered. If two mothers are praying for their sick child to live, and one child dies and the other child lives, those who believe that all prayers are answered could attribute this to two things: (1) either the prayer was answered with a no, meaning that it was God's will for the child to die; or, (2) one mother did not believe hard enough, meaning that prayers are only answered if the praying person has absolute belief that the prayer will be answered. My question is this: when a person is praying to ask for something from God, does it actually change anything in the physical world? Do the souls, or God, actually act on requests from humans in the form of prayer? If so, what is the key to getting a prayer answered?”

 4. These days, it seems that many people are brought up in what we call “dysfunctional” families, some with much violence. Yet, not all of these children become violent, abusive adults. What makes the difference as to the outcome of a terrible childhood? Is it past-life influences, guiding souls, or something that occurs in the present lifetime, such as a mentor, or a person who sets a good example in the life of the child?

 5. In the search for contentment and enlightenment, are some people more limited than others? How can we tell if we are so limited, and what can be done to move beyond the limits?

 6. I need to return to the question of the effectiveness of prayer. Just knowing that there is even a possibility that the souls could choose miraculous intervention to save a loved one’s life makes me feel, “Why wouldn’t they choose to do that for my loved one?” The loss of a loved one is the most painful of human experiences, and it seems cruel that the souls wouldn’t save my loved one if they could. Would you help us understand this a little more please?

 7. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use in the coming month?