Volume II, SET O (January through June, 2007)

STUDY GROUP READING #241
January 2007

1. A number of our Study Group members are curious about the four “Gospels” presented in the New Testament of the Bible. They are called the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Would you speak about these Gospels from the point of view of: what are the Gospels; who wrote them; why were they written; and the claim made by believers that they are “the word of God?”

2. If all writings are the word of humans, what about “channeled” words such as yours? How then would you describe the channeling that you are doing? Could the Gospels, or other spiritual works have been channeled? 

3. Our next question is from North Carolina: “What are the keys to a happy love relationship and marriage? Is there an ideal soul mate kind of relationship that will provide the most happiness, and should we who are single keep looking for that person? How can we tell if we have chosen to marry the ‘right’ person?” 

4. This question is from Oregon: “Millions of people around the world have been saddened by the death late last year of Australian wildlife conservationist, Steve Irwin. He was beloved by children and their parents who watched his television programs. They were inspired by his great love for wildlife, his courage, his non-stop energy, his devotion to his wife, his deep love for his children, and the kindness he showed to those he encountered. He truly seemed extraordinary on many levels, and went beyond the boundaries of what most humans accomplish in a single lifetime. Would you give us a deeper understanding of Steve Irwin, his soul's purpose, and his contribution to the world?”

5. This question is also from Oregon: “Most of the world's religions express a belief in some kind of satanic, evil force that exists outside of our human experience. That is not my belief, however, I would like to have a greater sense of truth about evil, and our choice to give it strength or not. Would you provide information that will give us a deeper understanding about what is known as the devil?”

6. Would you please close with an attunement for us to use this month, and include a focus for the new year, 2007? top

STUDY GROUP READING #242
February 2007

1. Ron’s new book, The Mystery of The Christ Force, has just been released, and some of our Study Group members have sent in questions about material in the book for this month’s Reading.
     Our first question is from California: “In the book, you, the Guides, speak about the Christ Force as a cosmic energy of perfect love that we can learn to experience. I like what you say about that love energy, and I try to feel it, but ‘energy’ seems a bit impersonal. I was wondering if there might be a Christ being of some kind associated with the Christ Force. It seems that we could get a more personal feeling of connection with a spiritual being. Is there a Christ Being?”

2. Our next question is from Kentucky: “One of your Readings in The Mystery of the Christ Force says that humans have an ‘intuitive sensing organ,’ that you described as a physiological
‘entity’ deep in the brain. Can this organ be observed, or detected using scientific instruments? Where precisely is it located? Would you tell us more about how it functions and how it affects the physiology?”

3. This question is also about The Mystery of The Christ Force from the same Study Group member: “According to the Bible, Jesus said, ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matthew 18:20). If this is so, if we use the Christ Force attunement as given in Ron’s new book, and we do the attunement with others, would that be of greater benefit than practicing it alone?”

4. This question is from Idaho: “In Ron’s latest book it says that Jesus took care in feeding his body. Would you please talk about what he knew about food, and how it related to his extraordinary life? Why was he careful in feeding his body? What did he feed his body?”

5. This question is from Washington: “In last month’s Reading when you spoke about Australian wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin who recently died, it seemed as though his series of past lifetimes had a ‘theme’ of sorts. Also, in past Readings about famous people, there seemed to be such themes. Do our lives on earth follow a pattern, or a certain theme? For example, are there souls who enter earth intending to focus on medicine throughout many lifetimes, or music, or politics, or even personal themes such as poverty, wealth, complexity, or other such focuses? Or, do each life’s choices lead to the next soul decision on what the entry criteria may be?”

6. This question is from Oregon: “There is a proliferation of new statistics about the incredible spiraling rise in population in our country as a result, largely, from high rates of immigration. The toll that the spiraling population rise is likely to take on our environment is already being seen, and is predicted to cause severe degradation of the environment and quality of life here within the next 30 years. It seems our country is more resistive to taking action to recycle, limit population, and protect the environment. We do even less than most European and Asian nations. Little is being done about global warming. Even though you often remind us that life on earth is temporary, it is hard not to feel despair over our individual lack of power to do much about this in any significant way. It is hard not to despair about what our children will be facing due to our nation’s inactions about these pending disasters. Would you give us suggestions for how to deal with our despair, and our tendency to feel powerless over how little we can control these problems?” 

7. This question is from California: “In many readings you have said that humans live within time and space, and that the souls live outside of time and space. Is it possible for humans to have an experience outside of time and space? If so, how would that be done?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #243
March 2007

1. Our first question is from California: “There is a movie and a book out now called, The Secret. It presents a teaching about what is called, ‘The Law of Attraction.’ Essentially, this teaches that what we envision, with emotional passion and belief, we will attract into our life. This metaphysical idea has been around for a long time, and it seems useful that it is now available to the masses through the book and movie. Yet, some people feel that this presentation is too simplistic. How should we understand this teaching, and how would you, the Guides, teach the ‘law of attraction?’” 

2. You have said that the time will come—and apparently this was so in the very beginning of time—but the time will come when we as humans can manipulate matter and kind of instantly create what it is we want. So, is there not some piece of this “law of attraction” where there is some basic truth about the manipulation of energies within the concept of the “law of attraction?”

3. Our next question is from the state of Washington: “There are many fears and negative feelings in humans that often shut them down so that they begin to feel no emotion, and they become cold, distant, and hard. They lose their compassion, or caring. When encountering such a person, is there anything that we can do to help them heal, or to re-vitalize their core of love and sensitivity?”

4. This question is from Canada: “I would like you to elaborate on the relationship between a soul and its human self. You have said that we do not need to worry about dying because we are eternal souls. But, I think you have also said that the human personality self, the personality matrix, is self-aware for a short time after death, and then merges back into the soul. So, really it would seem that the human personality self does end. Would you please clarify this?”

5. This question is from Florida: “In some past Readings you have said that Christians and Jews, and others, have misinterpreted the religious writings that they have from the past. You have said that they believe those writings to be the ‘word of God,’ when actually they are words created by humans. Would you tell us how a true religion can be formed to replace all this dogma?”

6. This question is from Minnesota: “Your bottom line message to us has been, and continues to be, about kindness, compassion, and love. If we were to totally commit our lives on earth to embodying kindness, compassion, and love, what would that look like? Would we be smiling and happy all the time, and be free of all negativity? Would we never get angry, sad, disappointed, or hurt? How can we live our lives in kindness, compassion, and love, and still live as humans with the full range of human experience?”

7. This is from California: “We live with ‘threat’ hanging over us, such as the threat of the next illness, of war, of loss, and so forth. The Buddhists say, ‘Suffering is a promise that life keeps.’ If there were not threat and suffering, would people become too mired in the physical world and not search for spiritual meaning?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #244
April 2007 

1. Since this is the month of Easter, we would like to begin with a question about Jesus that has been sent in by a Study Group member in Mississippi. She writes: “I would be interested in knowing what the soul of Jesus is up to now. Since the human Jesus left earth, has he manifested in other realms, such as other solar systems for example? Does he have other projects?“

2. This question is from the state of Washington: “Are there souls that have completed earth life, in that they have overcome all negativity and fear, but decide to return to earth in a new human life for some other reason? If so, what might that reason be?”

3. From the state of Virginia: “I read that in the United States, currently, one child in every 150 is born with autism. What is causing this alarming rise in autistic children? Is it due to our environment? Or is it nutritional, or due to some other cause? What can people do to help lower this very high rate?”

4. A Study Group member in North Carolina is confused about the answer to last month’s question about “the law of attraction.” He writes: “While I clearly understood the Guides’ response, I was left with an ‘incomplete’ feeling regarding the answer. At a few times in my life, I seem to have brought about a miraculous change through a profound commitment, and a new vision of how I wanted life to be. The result easily ‘showed up,’ even though I did have to step into the action ‘presented’ before me. I like what the German poet and philosopher, Goethe, said: ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’ My question is: does making a heartfelt ‘commitment’ shift energy patterns so that opportunities requiring action come into being which might not have occurred had we not made the commitment?”

5. This question is from Minnesota: “If God, or our spiritual guides, do not intervene in human situations, or manipulate the physical world, what explains the phenomenon when something happens and someone says, ‘There's no logical reason for this happening. It must be God.’ For example, my father's medical doctors all say that there is no medical reason that he should still be alive, yet he is still alive and somewhat functioning. It is hard to argue with my sister who says, ‘It's God who is keeping him alive for some purpose that we don't know.’ Would you provide some insight here?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #245
May 2007

1. As we all know, in April, a college student in Virginia shot to death 31 of his fellow students and teachers, and then killed himself. What can we understand about the factors that led to such a horrifying act by this young man? And what do we as a society need to address in greater depth to prevent this kind of violence?

2. One of the reports said that this boy had been mercilessly bullied in school by other children. Is that a huge factor in perhaps his actions, and in the results that bullying has on the self-esteem of an adult?

3. A Study Group member from Tacoma, Washington asks: “There has been a huge amount of interest in a young man, Barack Obama, who is running for President of the United States. Some people say that when he speaks they are immediately drawn to him. Would you share some information about his past lives that led him to this place in history, and his unusual attainment of such a large following so quickly?”

4. Our next question is from the state of Kentucky: “In the April Study Group Reading you stated that humans can manifest miraculous events in their bodies and lives if they have the will and dedication to study and train for many years. Would you elaborate on this? Specifically, what kinds of study and training are involved? What level of dedication is required?”

5. This question is from Oregon: “Animals have long provided great comfort to humans. Indigenous people all over the world have considered animals to be human self-discovery teachers in specific ways. For example, according to some Native American tribes, eagles represent courage and a connection to spirit. I would like to know if such beliefs are human fantasy and imagination, or did the souls create animals to help us learn more about how we can be better humans? And, do animals re-incarnate?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #246
June 2007

1. This question is from California: “You have said that the concept of time is only relevant to humans on earth. It would seem to follow that to the souls beyond earth there is no such thing as time, as humans understand it. Certainly not time in a linear fashion. This being the case, is it then possible for the souls beyond earth, if they decide that it best serves them, to incarnate on earth to a time that we would consider to be a past time on earth, or for that matter a future time? In other words, once we die from this life, could we decide to incarnate to a future time, or an earlier time than our current linear lifetime? And finally, could we even be incarnating into different lives and times simultaneously?”

2. This question is from Pennsylvania: “I would like to know why the fear of death is so strong in so many people. Even for many of us who believe in an afterlife, in reincarnation, in souls, and in God, death continues to be a disturbing area. We worry about the end of our own lives, or the lives of those we love. If existence outside of our limited human consciousness is what you always describe as perfect love, and as more wonderful than we as humans can imagine, then it seems to me that it would be pretty easy to do away with this fear of death. Why, if our purpose is to fully live, does this distracting fear of death persist?”

3. Bear with me on this next question because I’m sort of thinking aloud, but I am wondering if this ancient memory of when we could fly in and out of our bodies is at the root of Eastern teachings that emphasize detachment, divesting yourself of material attachments as a way to enlightenment? I am wondering if that is actually at the root of those teachings, and if so is it practical today?

4. From Tacoma, Washington: “The story of Noah and the ark isn't quite believable with all the animals and people in one ship repopulating the earth. However, there is evidence that there was a world-wide flood in the past. What was this tale of Noah and the ark supposed to teach in biblical terms? Was there a person Noah, and was there anything close to what the Bible teaches about this flood?”

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

Volume II, SET P (July through December, 2007)

STUDY GROUP READING #247
July 2007

1. This question is from North Carolina: “The reports are increasing regarding the psychological trauma sustained by troops returning from Iraq. It has been estimated that even if we currently doubled the number of healthcare providers able to offer services to those people, there would still be a shortage for this epidemic of trauma-related illnesses. I work in the medical field, although not specifically in mental health. It is sobering to see a great increase in drugs prescribed for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, as well as an increase in medications for stress-induced physical complaints. Would you please tell us what specific interventions might be most important and most beneficial at this time to ‘touch’ and help heal these particular types of mental, emotional and physical challenges in our veterans and their families?”

2. This question is from the state of Virginia: “Just what are emotions? Do emotions exist in the soul realm, or are they just an earth experience? If emotions exist in the soul realm, how are they used; what are they like? Would you please teach us about the nature of emotions from both the earth and the soul perspective?”

3. Speaking of emotions, you advise us to express our emotions for the maximum health of body and soul. However, in some Asian countries, it is considered unseemly to talk about feelings and to outwardly emote. And yet, some Asians have a longer life span in general than westerners. Would you please discuss this?”

4. Your answer to the previous question makes me wonder, do we incarnate into a specific culture maybe not only to reconnect with people that we love, but also to learn certain patterns that might be expressed in a culture such as the Asian cultures that perhaps do not emote as much? Do we incarnate into say into the United States in order to learn more about feelings and emotions?

5. This is a question from Pennsylvania: “After many readings from the Guides I find myself directing my thoughts and prayers to my Guides rather than to God, thinking that my Guides are a more direct connection to my source of support in this life. Occasionally I talk to my soul, but that can feel redundant. When we pray, are there a difference between praying to our Guides rather than God, as if we are speaking to one of the king’s ministers rather than speaking directly to the King. Or, are our thoughts and prayers received everywhere in the heavens and to the same degree?”

6. This question is from New York: “Sometimes I look at the physical body with pure amazement. The way that all of the complicated systems work together perfectly is nothing less than a miracle. You have said that the souls created physical bodies. Would you tell us how the souls were able to do that?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #248
August 2007

In the opening of this Reading, the Guides discuss the experience of, and dealing with loss.

1. Our first question is from Pennsylvania. The Study Group member writes: “I have a concern that the political climate in this country can turn to tyranny and oppression. You have said that you do not see a dramatic turn to malevolence happening, and that the way to a better world is for people to bring more compassion, kindness, idealism, and love into their daily lives, which, gradually, they are doing. You have said that negative events are over-reported, while the much larger story of the gentle presence of positive events is not considered newsworthy. In spite of this, however, there does seem to me to be a possibility of a loss of freedom and rights occurring in this country, as has happened in other countries in the past—a turn to ‘fascism,’ if you will. Do the trends and signs still indicate a gently evolving future for our country, or is it looking like there will be some severe bumps and dislocations as the people in power refuse to release their hold on power, and perhaps seek to expand it through fear, violence, war, and oppression.”

2. This question is from California: “Previously we asked about the ‘laws of attraction,’ in terms of creating what we want in life. Would you speak about the components of creating a wealthy life with a lot of money? Is it partly a function of being born somewhere like the U.S. where there is opportunity, as compared to the poorest parts of Africa? Is the component of our past-life patterns a large part of what kind of life we create?”

3. This question is from Wisconsin: “You have often stressed the importance of human free will, however, on the surface, it would seem that every human being is making the best (and possibly only) choice they can make in each moment based on the totality of their life experiences and understanding in that moment. If this is true, it would seem to indicate that our perception of having free will is merely an illusion, and that there are no real choices being made by us at any time in our lives. Would you speak about this?

4. This is from South Carolina: “In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, there is a list of people who supposedly had a very long lifespan, including Methuselah who was described as living more than 900 years. Then it says, ‘Enoch then walked with God instead of dying.’ What does that mean? Who was Enoch? Did he exist? And how was the end of his incarnation different from other people of that time?”  

5.  You said that in ancient times the human self would simply use another body. Now the body dies, we reincarnate and use another body. So is the difference between the ancient past and now simply a matter of awareness?
     SUSAN: So I am presuming that it wouldn’t be possible for us now to live 900 years?”

6. This is from Kentucky: “Some of us practicing the Christ Force attunement as described in Ron’s new book, The Mystery of The Christ Force, are having experiences of unity, clarity, expansion, and completeness. Are these sublime feelings all ‘in our heads,’ so to speak? What is the soul-mind-body process that is occurring during these attunements?”

7. Every now and then there is a message, or a movement for everyone to pray or to meditate at the same time of day—everyone in the world, or who hears the message—to pray or meditate at the same time of day to further world peace or enlightenment. How does that help us, as opposed to everyone who may be praying or meditating on a daily basis at various times of the day? Is there an added benefit to that kind of focus?

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

STUDY GROUP READING #249
September 2007

1. I want to go back to your comment that the language of the souls is experience. Are you saying that all experience is the language of the soul? What about the experience of fear? It is still an experience. Would you discuss that further please?

2. Your opening leads to our first question from California: “A new book has come out based on letters from Mother Teresa. In dozens of letters spanning 66 years, she described the ‘emptiness’ that she felt, and she confessed her struggles with faith, and doubting the existence of God. Apparently, she never resolved those feelings. It is an interesting insight for those who blindly admire the ‘faith’ of a spiritual leader and try to aspire to be like them. I imagine that she is not the only spiritual leader who struggles with faith while putting on a face of surety. Would you comment on this?”

3. Our next question is a combination of two questions that were similar, one from a Study Group member in England, and one from Minnesota: “It seems that some people today are complex and quite difficult to relate to. It is difficult to feel close to them because they are often critical, irritable, or demanding, even if one treats them with positivity and love. In the August Reading you spoke about creating love for the people around us, even those that we find irritating, or don't like. How can we understand and work with this in ourselves and with others? How do we imagine difficult people, as you suggested, ‘stripped of their negatives,’ with ‘the perfect light of their inner being shining out.?’”

4. This question is from Houston, Texas: “You have said that in the beginning of life on earth, the only energy was the perfect love energy of the souls and God. How did selfishness, greed, and human negativity come about? You have said that the perfect God force lives in us. How did negative thoughts even enter our heads unless they were created by God? And how can knowing this help us in our lives today?”

5. This question is from Austin, Texas: “You have said that souls are in some general groupings. For instance, one soul could be in a teaching group, and also in another group. Would you expand on the general soul groupings and how they work? How can we know which group we might be in?

6. This question is from California: “There was recently a report that scientists can re-create an out-of-body experience in the laboratory by stimulating a part of the brain. What does this mean to the spiritual explanation that we are not our body? For those of us who have had an out-of-body experience, it is a very real and often comforting experience. It is unsettling to think that it can simply be scientifically explained as something in the brain. Would you talk about this?”

7. This question is from England: “Would you explain what is happening in the experience that we call ‘déjà vu,’ where we strongly experience that the present events that are unfolding have already happened?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #250
October 2007

1. Our first question is from a Study Group member in California. She writes: "I have a problem understanding exactly what it means to forgive someone. I can understand the fears that drive a person to commit crimes and hurt others, but I do not understand what it should feel like when I forgive a person. People explain forgiving another as actually serving themselves, but I cannot feel a sense of freedom or relief in simply understanding what causes a person to do what they do. What is the difference between understanding a person’s wrong behaviors, and truly forgiving a person?" 

2. This question is from England: “Would you speak to us about animals and our connection with them? Do they have eternal souls? If we have a close, positive relationship with an animal, such as a dog or a horse, how does that affect the animal? Also, on the negative side, does our cruelty affect animals, for example factory-farmed chickens? For certain wild animals, their survival depends on eating other animals, which seems cruel. Would you speak about all of this?”

3. This question is from Florida: “Would you speak to us about obsessions, obsessive thoughts and behaviors. For example, when we have done something we wish we hadn’t and cannot get over thinking about “What if this, or that,” and “I should have done so and so,” what is the best way to deal with the obsessive mind?”

4. From Virginia: “In a Study Group question from this past summer, you said that in early times of the earth, souls came in and out of bodies very easily, and if a body seemed to be deteriorating, the soul could just pick another body. But wouldn’t that new body already have a soul inhabiting it? Or were there bodies ‘hanging around’ without souls? How did one just change from one body to another? Also, could two souls inhabit one body at the same time?”

5. From California: “I often find that when I'm having a one-on-one conversation with someone about my philosophies on life and my spiritual beliefs, that while I'm talking I have this simultaneous awareness of using the same words that I've heard from the Guides through Ron. It's not that the experience is "cosmic" in nature, or perhaps it is, but the feelings are soothing, reassuring, peaceful, loving, and definitely spiritual. Would you please comment on this experience, the energies, the feelings, and anything that might help me gain insight?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #251
November 2007

1. Our first question is from England. The Study Group member writes: “Would you speak to us about confusion? We can be confused about all sorts of things, which makes our lives difficult because we are often moving in several different directions at once. What would you say are the general causes of confusion in our lives? Perhaps if we could clearly understand how we are confused, for example when we don't know what is the right thing for us to be doing, we could work better with it in ourselves and others.”

2. The next question is from a Study Group member in Oregon. She writes the following: “You have mentioned before that essentially we humans are the ones who choose, although our souls may, from time to time, nudge us in a particular direction that may better serve our journey, our purpose. What I hear is almost always my own voice offering direction or creative ideas, and when I check in to my feelings I feel good. However, it doesn't always work out, no matter how good it felt. My question is, how do I know when my soul is providing the ‘nudges’ that you talk about? How can I tell the difference?”

3. This question is from the State of Washington: “Does the soul of a person, or the guiding souls of a person, ever get disappointed by what we do—those things that we choose to do that get in the way of being happy when another choice was available?”

4. This is also from Washington State: “Often the Guides, you, say that something is the soul's choice. That choice by a soul may be a terrible genetic disease, the inability to have children, a certain propensity towards a personality or physical trait such as obesity, or fear—something that really can make life miserable, or at least challenging and difficult. It seems that we humans are more or less stuck with our soul's choices, and often they can impact our small human self for a lifetime of self blame, struggle and sadness. And, although we are our soul, it seems that it would be less difficult for us if we had some way to get clued in to the what and why of those things that impact us—that we can't do much about, or that we struggle with. Is there some sort of way that the souls care for, or respond to, or nurture humans who struggle with their soul choices that cause human challenge? Sometimes it all seems so cold and callous to allow such human suffering for the sake of 'learning.’ What can we do to get some help down here?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #252
December 2007

1. Our first question is from England: “Is it possible for the average person to tune in and read people in the way that the Guides do? Do the Guides tune in to the same levels of
information that psychics and clairvoyants use? Can we do the same?”

2. This question is also from England: “Do the guides achieve anything for themselves in helping us so much? Are we helping them in some way?” 

3. From Minnesota: “In your October reading you said that animals do not have human emotions or an individual soul. You said they have more basic ‘responses’ to their environment, and have a group of souls somehow related to them. I watch my cats and they certainly seem to be pretty instinct-driven. But, I'm wondering about other types of animals. I've heard stories about dogs performing seemingly altruistic acts, such as risking their own lives or going to great lengths to save humans. Is this just an instinct related to thinking of themselves as part of a pack? Also I'm wondering about the higher primates that seem to be genetically related to us, like chimpanzees and gorillas. I've heard of a child falling into a gorilla cage at the zoo and the gorilla gently lifting the child back up to her parents. Do these primates have individual souls, or other differences that make them seem more
human to us?”

4. This is from North Carolina. He writes the following: “In our culture, the role models are
often those who follow their dreams, and are successful in attaining them. Personally, I have never had a ‘dream,’ or been consumed with something I wanted to do or accomplish in life. I felt somewhat cheated in going through life, hearing about people who always knew they wanted to be a baseball player, or a doctor, or whatever. I still don’t have a dream, and don’t want to finish life with an empty feeling of not accomplishing what I was meant to do on earth. How do we connect to our dreams, and move from idle day to day desires, to discover what is really important for us to focus on in this lifetime?”

5. From California: “Life as most of us have known it, at least in the United States, seems to be changing—from the threat of terrorism, to the economy, to, well you name it. At least from the media point of view, earth affairs can seem frightening. So, we are asking for something inspiring to remind us of just why we are here on earth. Are we on a relentless path of destruction, or is there actually hope for the future?”

6. The end of the year holiday season is upon us. Would you please close with a special top
“holiday” attunement for us to use during this time?

Volume II, SET Q (January through June, 2008)

STUDY GROUP READING #253
January 2008

1. This question is from Minnesota: “How much of what we learn in this lifetime is retained for future lives, versus ‘starting from scratch’ in our next lifetime. I’m amazed at how much I’ve grown over the course of my life, but so much of it seems to be from age, experience, and maturity. When we start over again as a new baby without the benefit of experience that we remember from past lifetimes, how much do we simply have to learn over again? Are some types of learnings, for example the ability to handle our emotions, more retained than learnings that are based more on intellectual knowledge? How can we think about learning that will benefit us as a soul, and in our future lives on earth?”

2. This question is from Kentucky: “The Guides, speaking through Ron, seem to have changed their speech patterns through the years, such as tone of voice and dialect. They have also modified their teachings over the years. For instance, in the past decade or so there has been an emphasis on the importance of kindness, compassion, and love. Yet, in listening to recordings made in the 1980s, I notice that these three areas were not mentioned as such. Have the Guides changed their teachings? Are different Guides speaking through Ron, and, if so, how are the Guides selected?”

3. This question is also from Kentucky: “Many people believe that geographical orientation is important. Some people pray or meditate facing east, homes are built facing east, and some cemeteries are arranged so that the dead are buried with their feet to the east. Is there any significance to this? Are there subtle energies involved in orienting the human body in a particular direction?”

4. This is from North Carolina: “Why is it that we as humans hold so many unconscious habits, thought patterns, and feeling reactions that we are not aware of? Is it that we have embedded these unconscious patterns in past lives and must learn to unravel their origin in this life so that they don’t run us? Some philosophies recommend just ‘leaving the past behind’ and dealing with the present moment, letting go of resistance to whatever is occurring, connect to God, and go from there. How do you suggest we best deal with and handle reactive patterns in everyday life, other than, as you have so often suggested, feel the feeling, then recreate a vision of ‘truth’ to operate from? This process seems like an endless battle we need to be engaged in.”

5. I saw a wonderful documentary on TV called, “In God’s Name.” It profiled spiritual leaders of the largest religious/spiritual groups in the world. My favorites, for their being, their actions and their teachings were Amma the “hugging saint,” and the Dalai Lama. Both of these teachers seem to have such a radiant joy and happiness about them, even in the midst of life’s traumas. Is this kind of inner peace even possible in the western world with the many demands, not the least of which are the financial demands just to exist here? How can we stay in a state of joy, peace and love?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #254
February 2008

1. Our first three questions this month are from Study Group members in Minnesota: “Ron recently published an article entitled, ‘Where Do You Go When You Meditate?’ http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Dr._Ron_Scolastico In that article he said that in deepened meditative states, ‘you can actually go to the level of cosmic existence in which you can directly experience for yourself the ongoing beauty, majesty, and love of the extraordinary spiritual beings that inspire and guide humans in their life on earth.’ I have occasionally experienced that deep level during meditation, and it is wonderful! My question is, if humans would learn to regularly go to that place of experiencing the spiritual beings, wouldn’t living a human life become boring and depressing? Wouldn’t it get more and more difficult to ‘come back’ to our imperfect human lives, and perhaps use meditation as an escape from human life on earth?”

2. “Regarding negative emotions, you have advised us many times to feel our feelings, share them with someone we trust, and then let them go. What is the ultimate purpose of doing this exercise? Is it to make the ‘bad’ feelings go away so we can have ‘good’ feelings? If so, that seems to contradict what you have told us about the truth about feelings, that is, that they are neither good nor bad. Would you clear up this confusion?”

3. “Some authors that I have read assert that there are some basic fears that we have as human beings that shape our personalities—for example, a fear of being unlovable, fear of being unworthy, fear of being incompetent, and so forth. If that is true, is there any way to eliminate our basic fears and live free and fearless lives? Or, is our real work as humans the acceptance of this ‘truth’ about basic fears, and just working to become more aware of our true natures as eternal beings living imperfect human lives, thus ‘balancing’ out the human with the divine?”

4. This question is from North Carolina: “You have said that we are in control of our
thoughts, which is a concept that I understand and tend to agree with. However, many times, my reactions to situations—what people say, or events in the world—will trigger negative thoughts in my mind. That is usually a pattern of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and a web of negative thoughts that I get caught in. This is hard to change, erase, or overturn in my mind. How can we best ‘side step’ these negative reactions and maintain a positive self-appreciation, and confidence in our talents and abilities? Is there something we need to practice in order to eliminate or replace such mental patterns, or is it even possible to now change those patterns in our lives?”

5. This question is from Virginia: “The FDA has recently approved cloned meat for public consumption. If one is a meat eater, is there a spiritual downside to eating cloned meat?”

6. This question is from California: “You often use the phrase, ‘when you make your death.’ How do you ‘make’ a death? Is there an optimal way to die, and how can one achieve that?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #255
March 2008

1. Our first question is from Kentucky: “In the Bible, Jesus describes the kingdom of God as follows: ‘It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it….and…It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.’ (Luke 13:19-21). Would you explain this parable? Is Jesus saying here that God’s kingdom is a process rather than a place?”

2. This question is from Oregon: “We have been told that the human Jesus performed many healings while on Earth. Is it possible for any or all humans to perform miraculous physical healings on another person—even on an animal perhaps—like healing blindness, deafness, incurable cancers and the like?"

3. This is from Minnesota: "What actually happens to our bodies, minds and consciousness when we meditate? What happens inside us that makes physical healing, reduced stress, happiness and joy, and other beneficial outcomes possible when we regularly ‘tune in’? Does something tangible change inside us? Is it our belief in the process that just leads us to take different actions, or is it something else?"

4. This question is from California: “I am wondering about panic attacks. How much of it has to do with the health and state of our bodies/brains/nervous systems, and how much to do with our environments. How much has to do with exaggerated fears and thoughts? I know that sometimes all the self-talk and reassuring words don’t always help, but once when I thought the panic was due to a humidity and pressure change it made some sense and that helped.”

5. This is from North Carolina: “What is the best course of action to take when we are in a committed relationship and yet find others attractive? How can we love more than one person and not create problems and upset in our primary relationship? And, a related question is: if we are in a mating relationship and find another one attractive, and our mind starts comparing and wondering if we are with the right one, how can we stop or control this kind of thinking?”

6. This question is from Texas: “It seems that we have all been conditioned to believe only in what we can visibly see in the world, and what we can ‘prove’ in the physical sense. How can we break this habit and learn to believe in the reality of the soul and the reality of God?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #256
April 2008

1. Our first question is from Florida: “Often when we are happy, there is an underlying fear that the happiness will end, that something bad must happen. How can we live a life free of this kind of, ‘when will the other shoe drop’ mentality?”

2. This question is from Great Britain: “My question is based on my professional work as a
therapist. The Guides have said that no damaging and difficult experiences can actually damage our souls. However, I have worked with many people who have been so abused and betrayed as children, particularly with sexual abuse, or who suffer with what we refer to as ‘borderline personality disorders,’ that they do not seem able to recover enough to have any sense of trust or safety in their lives. Any healing or recovery seems very slow, and actually quite limited. Would you help us think about what these issues mean, and how real healing could occur?”

3. This question is from North Carolina: “One of the Course in Miracles lessons states, ‘God’s will for me is perfect happiness.’ And yet, suffering, or the appearance of suffering, is present for me much of the time, and I assume that other people have this experience. It’s almost like I am holding on to an addiction, and I do not want to give up suffering in order to experience happiness. Eckhard Tolle, in his book, A New Earth, presents the concept of a ‘pain body’ that takes over our consciousness because of the memory of earlier training and negative experiences. That pain body reacts to situations, people, or events in the place of our true self—the one that is connected to Being, or God. My question is this: Why do we seem to want to hold on to the appearance of suffering, rather than see joy, and how can we best give up this habit, or apparent addiction to suffering, so that we can be happy?”

4. Ron and I have been watching a TV show about orangutans. They are amazingly human-like in their behavior. They learn new things from each other, seem to have emotions, and have memories, in the sense that they respond to things that frightened them as a baby orangutan. I know we have asked about animals many times, but is there perhaps more of the soul, or at least intelligence, expressed through the brains of these animals than, say through a cow’s brain?

5. This question is from California: “There are many ways that one could interpret the advent of Spring, and the religious holiday of Easter. What would you say about this time of year to inspire us?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #257
May 2008

1. This question is from Minnesota: “When challenge after challenge seems to pour down on us, all happening at the same time, how do we cope? When it seems like we cannot take one more trauma, what do we do? When we feel paralyzed, and all we can do is to barely function, what is the best way to proceed?”

2. This question is also from Minnesota: “I would like to ask about dreaming. Sometimes I dream at night and don't remember anything about the dream in the morning. Then, sometimes the dreams are so vivid that I wake up with intense emotions (either positive or negative), and it takes a while to realize that the dream was just a dream, and not real. Would you speak to us about dreams? Why are some dreams immediately forgotten, and some are unforgettable? Is there a message in our vivid dreams that seem so real? Do those vivid dreams come to heal unresolved issues, or, are they merely a result of something like eating spicy food the night before?”

3. This question is from Los Angeles: “I've been watching the HBO series on John Adams and the ‘founding fathers’ of our country. What a huge and beneficial change they brought to the world. Would you give us some past life information about George Washington, or any of the other larger than life men from that time period? Surely they were rulers of some kind in other lives. They were just so wise and far-thinking.”

4. This question is from Massachusetts: “A close friend has a 25-year-old son who enjoyed a normal childhood, only to be diagnosed with a serious mental illness when he was 19. Since that time he has lived at home, basically in his own world, never going outside, other than to doctors' appointments. His parents are very loving, understanding, and supportive. Other people that I know also have children who have major mental illness. Would you speak about chronic, severe mental illness? Is there a soul’s purpose to it? How can we best support these people and their families?”

5. This question is from British Columbia, Canada: “Is it necessary for humans to reach a certain stage of intellectual or physical development before they can create, or have spiritual experiences?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #258
June 2008

1. Our first question is from British Columbia, Canada: “Is ‘channeling’ a recent form of communication with humans? Would you please elaborate on the differences and similarities between a person who channels, and someone who does what you have described in readings as ‘matching the actual energy structure of the human self to the energy structure of the soul’?”

2. Would you say that the bible, or at least parts of the bible, were channeled, and perhaps other spiritual books like that were channeled?

3. This question is also from California: “What is the point of healing our patterns from past lifetimes? Is it so that we can have a happier lifetime next time? Is it for some soul purpose that we are not aware of? What is the hoped-for outcome of healing painful past life patterns? If we don’t heal them, what then?”

4. In a personal Reading for a Study Group member in Minnesota, you said that her father, who is at the end of his life, is now experiencing a “porousness” in his personality. Can his soul communicate to his personality more clearly because of this? Would you speak about this porousness that you mentioned?

5. This question is from Texas: “My sister, who can perceive auras, saw the presidential candidate, Barack Obama, speak in person. She said that as he was speaking, his aura, or energy field around his body, was solid gold with multi-colored jeweled prisms of light shooting out. I can also see auras, and I have observed that when Ron is speaking for the guides, his aura also turns solid gold. What does this mean? Is this a sign of divine inspiration? Or, are we imagining things and having human distortion?”

6. This question is from Seattle, Washington: “When parents do not belong to a church or spiritual group, besides being a good example to the children, what are some ways that the parents can build a foundation for the children about God and spirituality?” 

7. This question is from California: “How would you, the Guides, define a ‘spiritual experience’?”

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

Volume II, SET R (July through December, 2008)

STUDY GROUP READING #259
July 2008

1. Our first question is from the state of Kentucky: “Polygamy has been in the news recently. A few societies encourage polygamous relationships, but most prohibit them. Are there any spiritual implications here? Do our souls have intentions regarding ideal human mating relationships?”

2. This question is from a Study Group member in Kansas City: “My question has to do with the idea of Oneness. In our world of vast diversity, it is difficult to imagine how we can experience ourselves as one with each other, and one with our Source. But, my instincts, a few personal experiences, and my spiritual path seem to tell me that separation is a temporary experience that humans have until we come home to complete wholeness and unity with our Creator. Is this true?         Also, what about souls? Are they separate, or do they experience oneness with each other?”

3. This question is from the state of Maryland: “In the case of extraordinarily creative people, like the composer Mozart, it seems that they are born with special abilities. Is that because such people have attained those abilities in a past lifetime? How does a creative genius get inspiration and talents to surpass most of the rest of us?”

4. Is there also a component, with a genius like Mozart, for example, who perhaps felt unfinished in his expression of music, and he might come back in the next lifetime and begin with music very early in that lifetime? Is that a component of this?

5. This question is from California: “The Monsanto Company's decade-long research into bio altered foods is beginning to hit the newspapers again. Given the world-wide rise in food prices, and the resulting famines and starvation, many nations are beginning to accept the increased productivity of biotech foods. Is there a difference in the nutritive value of foods produced from biotech seeds, compared to foods produced from traditional farming? What should we know about biotech foods now that they are becoming more accepted?”

6. This question is from Minnesota: “I have heard you describe the transition process between life and death differently for three different people who have died. Is there a common pathway that we all take through death, or, is it different for each person? And, how does any confusion that we die with impact that transition period? Is human confusion or fear in the transition
period what the Catholics describe as ‘purgatory’?”

7. This question is from British Columbia, Canada: “Would you please elaborate on the relationship that we each have with our own soul? I really appreciate the way that you explain such concepts with examples and analogies.”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #260
August 2008

1.            Our first two questions are from British Colombia, Canada: “I just finished reading Ron’s book, The Mystery of the Christ Force, and I was surprised to find that the book says that so many of the Bible stories about Jesus are based on actual events. Are the stories of the birth of Jesus true as well, that is, the shepherds being visited by angels, the birth in the stable, and the three wise men?”

2.            This is her second question: “How is it that the counting of time, in terms of AD and BC,
began with the birth of Jesus?”

3.            This question is from California: “Would you tell us about the relationship between the person Judas and Jesus? Did Judas actually betray Jesus, or was he acting based on instructions given to him by Jesus?”

4.            A study group member in California asks: “I was recently reading the Old Testament of the Bible, which Christians believe is the ‘word of God.’ In those chapters, God is often quoted as saying he will ‘smite the enemies’ of the Israelites, and he will cause plagues and disasters to those enemies. In Leviticus, Chapter 26, God says, ‘If you will not hearken to me and will not do all these commandments…I also will do this to you: I will visit you with terror, leprosy, scab, and the burning ague…and I will pour out my anger against you, and you shall be defeated before your enemies. And if you will not yet for all these things hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times for your sins.’ This does not seem very God-like to me. I imagine God to be all-loving to all humans. Would you speak about this?”

5.            This is another question from British Colombia, Canada: “It would be interesting for us to know more about how Ron came to be a conduit for the teachings of the Guides. Would you please describe some important past lives of the ‘Ron-one?’”

6.            This question is from California: “For many of us, making attunements, or meditating, often leads to falling asleep. Is there still a benefit in attuning and falling asleep that is different from just having a snooze?”

7.            This question is from the State of Virginia: “I read some interesting research about the changing demographics of the world populations. Caucasian people are having fewer children. Some countries have more boy babies than girls. Muslims are moving to what used to be primarily European/Christian countries. Would you comment on what this means in the long term? Will it ultimately result in a more homogenized world? Or, will there ultimately be more separation?”

STUDY GROUP READING #261
September 2008

1.        Our first question is from England: “Would you please shed some light on the idea that is strongly promoted in the Christian and other spiritual traditions, that one should place love of God over and above love of one’s fellow humans? Perhaps the idea behind this is that one’s longing for love will never be perfectly fulfilled with another human being. But, I believe that God is in every human being, and other people are there for us to serve and connect with, whereas loving God can be quite abstract, and even isolating.”

2.           This question is from Massachusetts: “The 24-year-old daughter of a close friend of mine committed suicide in April. Another friend’s 19-year-old son took his own life last November. When one takes his or her own life, what happens on the soul level immediately after death, and, how does that affect them when they come back into a new life on Earth?”

 3.            This question is from Kansas City: “Some of the people that I talk with appear to need proof of having a soul. I wonder what you, the Guides, would say to such people? It’s a comfort to me that you communicate to us and remind us of our truth, since so often the experience of isolation and separation feels so real inside the human experience. What are some key ideas that you might say to a person who is looking for the truth of having an eternal soul?”

4.            This question is also from Kansas City: “Is there some kind of ‘portal,’ or ‘passageway,’ within our brain, heart, or nervous system, that helps us invoke clearer memories of our eternal nature? Or, should we simply trust that such memories come when we are ready? Are ‘soul memories’ something that we can consciously accelerate?”

5.            This question is from Annapolis, Maryland, and it is also related to the brain: “I have been reading about the experiences of Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist, who had a stroke that shut down the left side of her brain. She describes experiencing what she calls ‘Nirvana,’ in which she was not influenced by her ego, and felt that she was one with all the universe. Would you speak about her experience of having no boundaries of her body, lack of ego and ego chatter, and a lack of identification with self? Since one side of her brain was shut down, I am also
curious about how the two sides of the brain work in this kind of experience.”

6.            This question is from Silver Spring, Maryland: “If a genius such as Mozart comes to earth bringing his musical abilities from previous lifetimes, how is it that he can go so far beyond what he did in previous lifetimes? His music as Mozart in the 1700s was so much more
advanced than anything he might have done in a previous life. From where did he get his new musical ideas, and the new tunes that seemed to just pop into his head? How could he hear a whole orchestra in his head when, in previous centuries, there were no such things as the
orchestras that existed in the 1700s?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #262
October 2008

1.            Our first question is from Annapolis, Maryland: “I am asking about a teaching from a man who studies the Kabbalah. That teaching says that humans are addicted to pleasure, and that the Creator ‘strikes a deal’ with us to send us painful situations and people that allow us to work for our pleasure in life. This idea of a deal seems contrary to what Jesus meant when he said, ‘It is my father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.’ Would you speak about this? Is there some kind of ‘soul contract’ that we have prior to incarnation into human form? And, how do we best achieve true pleasure in this lifetime?”

2.            This question is from Iowa: “Many years ago, you likened the process of leaving the body at death to the liberating experience of extricating oneself from an old, cramped shoe. From the soul’s perspective, does the timing of the body’s cremation or burial have any effect on the journey of the departing human self? In other words, while the one who has died is re-uniting with soul energies, and the physical body is disintegrating, is there any connection, any remaining link, between the two processes—the physical disintegration and the spiritual awakening? Or, is the connection severed at the moment that the body officially ‘dies?’ If this is different for different people, would you please offer us some perspectives on the subtleties of this process?”

3.            That question made me think of something I wanted to ask. It made me think of a program that we watched where a person fell into a frozen pond and essentially his body flat-lined, his heart flat-lined, his brain. He was essentially dead. But they were able to then bring him back to life later, but he was flat-lined for quite a long time. Where is the personality? Is it kind of hanging around waiting to see what’s going to happen, and essentially would leave if the body died, and come back if it didn’t?

4.            The following three questions are from New York City: “I am interested in knowing what the Guides can tell us about humor. It seems as if it is a double-edged sword. Laughter can be stress releasing, but it can also be at someone's expense. Would you help us see this more clearly?”

5.            “Would you talk to us about the situation that we call ‘climate change?’ What alternative
fuels would be most beneficial for us to develop?”

6.            “The Guides have been such a positive part of my life that I would like to share my experience with everyone. What is the best way to do that?”

STUDY GROUP READING #263
November 2008

1.   Our first question is from California: “I would like to follow up on your response to last month’s question about laughter and humor. I am wondering about the essence, or core nature of humor and the enjoyment of it. It seems to be an instinctive pleasure, or joy, in suddenly seeing a completely new, unexpected meaning in words or images. Is humor strictly a function of our ‘animal’ nature and brain, or, is it at base an aspect of our spiritual nature? In other words, do souls and other spiritual beings laugh? If not, it would be difficult for me to identify with them as higher aspects of our human selves.”

2.   This question is from England: “My question is about the experience of falling in love, and sexual love, that can be so blissful and intense, but then is so painful when it ends. What happens when we go through the intense experience that we call ‘falling in love’ with someone, and then have the experience of ‘falling out of love’?”

3.   This question is from California: “Scientists who study the brain have been unable to find the location of the sense of ‘self’ in the brain. What I am thinking of is my moment to moment experience of being me, such as my experiences of joy, fear, desire, and so forth. Is ‘self’ in the spiritual, or God realm? Is the sense of self a realm that connects with the soul realm?”

4.    This question is from Florida: “I am curious about the location of the lost continent of Atlantis. The Edgar Cayce Foundation people have actively looked in the Bahamas for traces of Atlantis and have only found what they believe to be a long underwater seawall. Some researchers claim that the present Greek island of Santorini was Atlantis. Are there any structures anywhere in the world that are above water, or underwater, that are able to be found that were built by the Atlantians?”

5.   This question is from the state of Kentucky: “The psychologist William James, in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, classifies one form of religious experience as being a ‘neuromotor’ experience. Some examples of this are Pentecostals speaking in tongues, Shakers shaking their bodies, Sufis whirling in circles, fundamentalists rolling on the floor, and certain meditaters hopping on foam pads. Most of these people believe that these experiences are beyond their conscious control, and that God, or the Absolute, is actually controlling their bodily movements. Would you comment on this? Also, how are these experiences different from attunements to the Christ-Force?”

 6.    This question is from Michigan: “There has been much written and spoken about a great shift in consciousness that is coming for all of humanity, and for the earth as well. Some of us are curious about this, and have listened to, or read the various interpretations. This happens to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar, as well as with many other cycles from various traditions. This shift is predicted to occur around December 21, 2012. It has been called ‘The Shift of the Ages,’ ‘The End of Days,’ and also ‘The Ascension.’ There have been many predictions surrounding this event, ranging from terrible cataclysmic earth changes and chaos, to waking up one morning to a completely different reality that will be heaven on earth, with all of humanity occupying their light bodies. With all of these different takes on what will happen on this day, will it matter if we have tried to remain committed in our daily lives to act and speak with kindness, compassion, and love, and stay open to our eternal beingness? If so, to what extent? Would you please give us guidance from your perspective?”

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

STUDY GROUP READING #264
December 2008

1.    Our first three questions are from California: “Many people are excited about our President-elect, Barack Obama, for many different reasons. Would you speak about him from a spiritual perspective, particularly his past lives and his soul purposes?”

2.    This is the second question from California: “Now that Obama has been elected president, it appears that people everywhere are looking at the United States with more respect, and many are feeling new hope for themselves and the entire world. Apart from our wealth, what does America represent in the world that causes such inspiration among peoples in other countries?”

3.    This is the third question from California: “I would like to ask about the subconscious, and its relation to the soul. The subconscious mind is considered to be a vast substratum of mind below normal awareness. Its existence is evidenced by numerous mental phenomena, such as, hypnosis and suggestion, automatic writing in mediumship, extreme creative
genius where the material just appears spontaneously in consciousness, and many other examples. This appears to be a vast realm of unconscious mental activity going on simultaneously with conscious awareness and thinking. How is this subconscious realm related to the soul?”

4.    This question is from Minnesota: “Many of us have regrets in different areas of life, such as our parenting. Even though our mind might know that there is only God, and that our children are spiritual beings and cannot ultimately be harmed, our hearts sometimes feel these painful regrets. What is the best way to deal with such regrets?”

5.    Our year ends with many different holiday celebrations, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, to Hanukkah, and others. What is most important about this time, and would you close with an attunement for this end of the year period? top

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