8.       What is Russia’s near to medium term future?  … They too are asserting themselves, but their demographics don’t support it over the long term. D.M.

First, put this in the context of this physical Earth plane being a school of spirituality.

Then, as odd as it may be to say this, they struggle also with the forces that are in play – being human and subject to human issues, as well as spiritual forces.  These human and spiritual forces are the Will of the People.  Even though Russia has the government that it is known for in today’s world, the Will of the People (souls) is still a strong force.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Russian people/souls are like Americans in their way of thinking and behaving.  They do have a different collective consciousness and so their future as a nation and the past as a nation go along the lines of THEIR (Russian) collective consciousness and not OUR (U.S.) collective consciousness.  And I am NOT referring to citizenry ideals, but rather soul ideals when I refer to “collective consciousness”.  Individually, as souls, they have many different feelings and thoughts, some like Americans, but the collective force of their souls is what is paramount and thus more important.

Yes, they have conflict and struggle with themselves within – person with him/herself, citizens against citizens, citizens struggling with the government, citizens who accept the government the way it is – as much as outside themselves.  All of us struggle with ourselves internally, and that internal conflict then shows itself in our conflict with what is external to us.

To say what their specific future is would simply read like any other nation.  Don’t all nations, (even Canada), have these same patterns in consciousness of the people, and therefore the same patterns represented by different groups of citizens?  For this reason, at the same time, it is possible to say that the people, and government representatives are no different than the people and representatives of the UK, the US, or any other area of the planet.

People are still people.  (Not really profound, but true none the less.)  While their own unique government has it’s own characteristics and traits and problems, the people face many of the same internal issues which we all face all over the world.  We all have similar desires – to have a home, raise children, put clothes on their backs and food on the table, etc.  Their future has very little difference from anyone else’s future.  The issues of the past are the issues of the present and future.  While this may not answer your question distinctly, it is still an accurate description of their future.

As a political force, they are known to work more behind the scenes, but then how is that different from so many other governments?  There is not enough of a difference between the  past, present and near future to mention anything specific.  In their spiritual growth as a people, they have the opportunity to seek to call out to God… as we all do.  As time progresses for Russia, the prayers of a few will save many.  The prayers of many will save even more.  Prayer changes things.  Those who are prayed for will have God’s energy and spirit in their energy fields than those not prayed for.  As the Russian people continue to pray, so will their nation have ever more of God’s presence, which does lead to change.

The fact that we are all human beings on the planet does mean very sincerely, that we’re going to be having similar feelings, similar desires and similar sufferings.  Yet, as Americans, we cannot say “Everyone wants to be an American.”  It simply isn’t true.  Souls all over the world, are born where their evolutionary path is best for them.  People/souls are where they want to be, and like trees planted where they are, the lesson becomes NOT “Where do I need to go to grow best?”  BUT rather “How can I grow best in the place that I am?”

Look at Russia’s  issues today and you’ll see the same issues on into the next decade.  The timeline I’ve spoken of here – the most difficult times to 2026, then slowly start pulling ourselves out of the most difficult times as we decide to cooperate and work on our collective problems collectively, and this leading back to climbing out of the hole we seem to be in by 2038 – is the same timeline for Russia and all other nations and peoples on the planet.

9.   Jodie, please correct me if I am wrong on this, ok?  It seems to me like a huge impediment to the world is the US’s continuing militarism.  President Harding famously said that “The business of America is business.”  It seems to me now that the business of China is business, but the business of America is war.  What do you see happening over the next 20-50 years or more?

I will address this more in the future.  Regrettably, I would not be able to do it justice here at this time.

10.   I am seriously looking at Islam as a way of life, not just because I am moving (once more) to an Islamic country.  How will my family and people here in Charlotte who know me react to this once I inform them?  I feel drawn towards it.  It started back in the early 1980’s when I lived there.  How will my life change as a result of that choice?  It is a big choice.  All choices bring about consequences but big choices like that one can bring about big consequences, positive and negative, even neutral.

Every religion that teaches there is One God – (what I extrapolate as ‘One Infinite Consciousness with Infinite Possibilities and Infinite Capacity’) is worth studying and integrating into what we believe – every one.  The choices we make with walking our spiritual path, – what beliefs to hold to, or practice, what beliefs to gather from other religions, what spiritual beliefs we develop through our own efforts – in other words, whether an organized, established belief system, or an eclectic smorgasbord of personal beliefs – are all valid and worthy of being studied.  Not because we should practice all religions, but so we understand others and in turn, ourselves.

But, remember, first and foremost:  The most important thing is not what religious beliefs we hold to, but rather how we use our religious beliefs to motivate us to behave in relation to our fellow human beings.  Both good and bad choices can be made in every religion or belief system (or paradigms, philosophies, scientific structures or ways of thinking) in which we use to motivate us to behave certain ways towards and in relation to other human beings.

To change a little bit what Edgar Cayce said about people, namely his words of “There is good in the worst of us, and there is bad in the best of us” (E.C.), I would add, there is good in the worst of religions and there is bad in the best of religions. – WHY IS THIS TRUE?  Because, they’re made up of PEOPLE!  and it is the people who take on the beliefs and manifest behaviors.  Again, it is Edgar’s words above – and I’ll add, every organization that people are members of (or adhere to,) is only a reflection of the people who are this organizations’ members (or adhere to it.)  No system of thought or belief can be more than the people who make up its rolls.  However, all systems of thought and belief have the potential for growing into what the “Spiritual Teachers” teach, though.

My own recommendation to people is to study them all and choose which rituals, precepts, and practices fit you.  I recommend this, because while I encourage the study of all religions, I make the suggestion that there is no need to strictly adhere to only one religious belief system when much of the others have meaning for anyone, as well.  One can gain much by practicing all of a person’s interested religions or aspects of religions more as an integration of the available spiritual and religious belief systems.  It is not the “adhering” to one religious belief system that accomplishes spiritual growth.  Remember also, “mankind and mankind’s spiritual evolution was not made for religions and systems of thought.  These religions and system of thought were made for mankind’s evolution.”

In this “adding to” that I mention above, the understanding and knowledge of many religions to our mind and world view, we can slowly begin to open our eyes to a greater depth of how each religion offers the very same principles and teachings as other religions.  A deeper understanding of each can come forth recognizing that the same message is included among all – that we are all the children of One God.  Therefore, there is unity in the family of religions on this Earth – and that is what all the religions are – a family proclaiming a Father/Mother God at the Center.

Get to know the whole of the family and you’ll be able to see what each family member can add to the whole, rather than just one member of the family and only knowing that one member.  This can bring forth then a vision of the existence of the greater Family of Man.  What I suggest is embrace/integrate more, and segregate less.

All the special teachings of each religion (and even non-religions) – put together – can provide a closer Earthly comprehensive understanding of God.  No single religion can contain all there is to learn about God…… or Christ…… or Buddha …. or Krishna ….. or Mohammad….  or Elijah, … or Zarathustra, … or … etc.  Remember, it is the ***Infinite*** Consciousness of God which contains all the religions within this Earth.  Yet, even all the religions put together are not enough to give complete insight into the Infinite Consciousness of God.  Put another way, only God has a complete understanding of God.

A good metaphor for this is comparing the Earth to the entire Universe.  Do we have everything in the Universe here on Earth?  Does living on the Earth give us a complete view and comprehension of all things in the Universe?  Can we say that we completely understand life in the Universe and all it has to offer in our education, if we haven’t even completely understood life here on Earth?  See what I mean?  This is our collection of religions as compared to the Infinite Consciousness of God.  What we don’t know about God fills an entire Universe (or more.)

Christ said, “All things that come into being, come through Me.”  He also said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”    This is NOT saying Christianity is the best or should be followed or anything of the sort.  This is NOT saying that Jesus, during His life known as Jesus, only brought forth Truth during the life that we know about, when known as Jesus.  Who here thinks He is limited by only the life we currently know as Jesus?

This is saying, by any name, that the Consciousness of God which we also call Christ, Emmanuel, or The Son of Man, has many names and many presentations and many languages and many paths and many manifestations through many human generations and lifetimes and many entrances into the Earth during humanity’s existence, for all the many different children and life forms of the Infinite Consciousness of God.  This includes in relation to God’s Children that don’t reside on the Earth or in the physical Universe.  This also includes those spirits evolving in forms which human beings don’t recognize or acknowledge.  Teachings exist in the Universe, even, which we don’t know about here in the Earth.

The reason we have so many religions is because we are so diverse in our individual consciousnesses, and like the colors in the rainbow, “Allah loves variety.” [A movie quote reference.]  Infinite Creativity can create all possibilities, all languages, all ways of living, all ways of believing, all dimensions, all ways of everything – and bring all life to Infinite Oneness with God using all the Infinite paths that exist.

There is a family of religions because we are a Family of Man.  All religions are united in One God, because all life is united in One God.  Finally, because all life is united in God, and the diversity of consciousness being manifested as life forms is potentially Infinite, (as I say above) religions on the Earth were/are created to serve the spiritual evolutionary paths which lead to awareness of our own connection and oneness with that which is Infinite in Consciousness – our own Higher Self.  This family of religions is meant to and created to serve the Family of Man.

We are One with God, which means we are Infinite in Consciousness, but to be aware of Infinity, eventually, we must grow into our awareness.  (This might not be done fully while existing as human beings.)  We have Infinite time in which to do this, and we need not reject any family member in order to add more family members.

Finally, for your personal situation, the fear of rejection of personal shared religious beliefs, which can be triggered through a shift in religious beliefs like you’re mentioning, can contribute to a fear of rejection of the close emotional ties, connections and relationships with those with whom the religious beliefs were shared. This fear comes from people having seen emotional ties painfully disconnected in human experience before and knowing it can happen, so therefore fear of it comes, thinking it will happen again.

To prove there are no reasons to fear disconnection of the emotional ties, means one must prove that the emotional ties won’t disconnect.  That can only be demonstrated through our actions and behaviors of not-disconnecting, as well as pro-active behaviors making sure the connections stay in place.  No amount of words without actions will calm fears.

Religion and spiritual beliefs are personal and unique to each individual.  In essence, it is another language of understanding used to relate to each other.  Religion is a shared “language” of spiritual understanding – helping us to know what each other means when speaking of our spirituality.  However, each person’s language is still in its totality, unique to themselves, and there will be some misunderstandings, because even though our language is similar to the person sitting next to us, it is not 100% exact to anyone’s language.

For this reason also, I recommend the expansion of beliefs to include and integrate other religions rather than a trading of beliefs going from one complete religion to a different complete religion. With this comes the learning of new “languages” rather than trading one language for another.  With this expansion, also comes the making of the spiritual path into “one’s own path” unique in it’s own way, put together in it’s own way, and designed specifically by and for the person who does the choosing.

God does not care which spiritual path or which religion leads one to God.  God does care that we love God above all else, and love our neighbor as our self.  No one ever has said, “God is religion.”  However, over and over again, multitudes have said, “God is Love.”

11.   Back to my new teaching job in Kuwait:  how do you see me being of service to others?

You, also, have the opportunity to teach “how a seeking human lives a life”.  We are not just a boxed in robot meant to serve through an occupation, but rather a comprehensive individual consciousness – life being – who by our efforts to learn and grow in the different ways of searching for Oneness with all, we demonstrate to those who observe us – how to learn and grow and practice in the different ways of searching for Oneness with all.

On a smaller scale, you, also have the opportunity to serve by being kind, by being patient, by being helpful, by being understanding and forgiving, by showing mercy, by showing compassion, (to ourselves as well as to others), by listening, by having courage, by laughing and having a sense of humor, by listening within to the Still, Small Voice of God who resides inside our heart, and yes, by experiencing long-suffering and what long-suffering means.  By trying, by keeping on keeping on, by doing the best we can with what we have.  By asking questions and seeking the best answers we can grasp in the moment. By living one day at a time, but seeking wisdom, by trying, by being supportive to those who struggle, by calling on (remembering) God as much as we can, and by striving to be true to ourselves, and keeping an open heart and open mind.  How we live our life is what we teach, even to those we don’t know are observing and learning from us.  This is service, because this is Love.

So, you (and all of us) have one way to be of service – Love.  You (and all of us) have infinite ways to manifest this love.

12.   All of us have our talents which are really meant for serving one’s fellow beings.  How do you see me best serving others whether it is at the school, the community, or even the world at large?

The very foundation of this answer is one that you already know in your heart, and which will not be defined by your mind.  It is not an aspect of life that is found outside of us, but rather within us.  It will always be this way – and always will be a challenge for us when we are faced with this question throughout all the different environments of life – always being the challenge which is one that exists within us – and only is then reflected/manifested in the external environment of which we find ourselves a part.

How to best serve:   Love and all the ways we can create to manifest love, thus making it real in our everyday life.  It is love that brought us into existence.  It is love that brought all things into existence.  It is love that helps us to individually get to know ourselves – and find it within ourselves to forgive ourselves and others, to show mercy to ourselves and others, to have compassion for ourselves and others, to let go of judgement of ourselves and others, to be patient with ourselves and others, and on and on.

When we find the willingness to do this – towards ourselves as well as others – we are then opening ourselves to the awareness of the Infinite Love and the Consciousness of Infinite Love that exists with our very hearts at all times.

Offer service to that which is in one’s own lap to offer service to.  Remember, we need not travel the world to find what is in one’s own lap.

13.  I am now convinced that I still have the great potential for being materially very well off in this incarnation.  However, I am even more convinced that I will gain far more joy and purpose in my life by being of service.  I feel deeply and clearly now as I type this (probably due to fasting) that this particular incarnation is meant to be more of service.

I will entitle this answer as “The Wise Use of Money“

Yes, this is the challenge for each of us individuals – to see the inner gain as the real gold and to recognize money as one tool of many.  Money, material wealth, is like a hammer.  How much money we amass is like how many hammers we can amass.  But, how many hammers can we use at once?  How many hands do we have?  If we only have ourselves, then we have 2 hands, but if we share it with many others, we can have millions of hands.  Do we hold on to these millions of hammers selfishly for our self, or do we strive to share what we have unselfishly with others?

Money is a tool, just like hammer and nails, building materials, wood, metal, etc.  It can be used to build.  Used through us by the Inner Spirit, it can do many things, but of itself, it can do nothing.  Just like a human being.  When we take the hammer in our hand and put it to use, that is when we build something.  In essence and in truth, we are the tool, we are the hammer and nails and we are the money- the currency that God uses.

And at the same time, when has amassing wealth, by itself, ever been what leads us to go within on our inner journey to know God?  When have we ever needed money to enter within and commune with God in the silence of our own inner being – in prayer and meditation?  When has money, of itself, ever been required to love God above all else or love your neighbor as yourself.  Yet still, neither does it need to get in the way of doing all this (both sides of the coin can be seen in the last sentences if we look closely.)

Both, money and the human heart/mind is like the water at the Cana wedding.  When these are poured forth in the service of others, they become worth so much more.  Money only has value when it is put to use.  The human heart/mind has value for others when we pour forth the fruits of the spirit.  The water in the urns at the Cana wedding, only became wine when it was poured forth.

We all imagine that we can accomplish great things with great amounts of money, but the great things we think we’ll accomplish tend to be all external world things – and not the internal world things.  It is therefore important to always remember that we won’t take any external world things with us when we move on from this world, however, …  of the internal world within us – we will take everything which we have gained or become.

Money is a material tool, and like water, it accomplishes material things, but only when it flows with us and through us and keeps on moving.  It is like a river that must move or it becomes stagnate.  Hence, why so many in the world are involved with making and spending it – everyone, for the most part.  It serves as a means for all souls to be involved with the world we live in.  The only one who doesn’t use money is the person who has closed themselves off from the entire world – like the person on a deserted island by themselves.  The use of money has served to help us stay connected to society and the world.  We must go out into the world to obtain some.  We must involve ourselves with other people. We must connect with others to obtain our material needs.

We wish we had more, because we are challenged to ride the eddies, the white waters, and currents of the river of life – and we have to work and be challenged to navigate this river of life.  We get tired and weary of the river of life – but this weariness lesson also is an internal struggle/challenge in itself, isn’t it – our attitudes and judgements towards what we find on the river of life is also a spiritual exercise in play.  In turn, as we connect with others on this river, we are able to strengthen our presence in the river, making the journey better capable of providing for us and others.  It is this uniting with others that is even one more spiritual lesson, isn’t it.

You may pursue more material gains.  While money doesn’t automatically come into your life for the purpose of tripping you up spiritually, the potential is there for imbalance of attitudes towards money and thus tripping up – falling flat on one’s face.

In the doing so – the pursuing of work and payment – do so with a real purpose – and watch out for those imagined purposes.  Seek wisdom in life and all life offers.  Seek wisdom in gaining of money and the using of it.  Humanity has never had a billionaire as a real spiritual leader – as a teacher of humility.  More often, we have them as examples of stumbling, but not as spiritual examples.  Still, in our observance of those with money, we tend to think, “if we had that money, we would do a lot better job of handling it.”  Of course, that is what that other soul said, too.  AND God will give us that chance, if we so choose it, but … what will it serve us if we lose our soul during that chance.  If it is our egotism that says “I would do a better job of handling lots of money”, that same egotism will be present when we are in that position.

God, in His Infinite Mercy, spares most of us the path of being a billionaire or millionaires.  Still, it is an experience where we tend to run straight towards, though – thinking that our suffering and struggle would be less, if we had so much money.  But, in having the amount of money in our life that we currently have – as an average person – are we now extending all the love that we have in our hearts to the people in our lives?  Are we now forgiving all those in our minds and hearts because of money?  Are we now showing mercy, unselfishness, understanding, tolerance and compassion to all the people that we come across – only because of money?  Are we extending our support and help when we can, only because of money?  No, it’s because of what is in our hearts.

It is all in the consciousness of the person – in the heart of the person, and in the fears or courage of the person.  If we’re not helping with the current monies that we do have in our life, how would having more money change our attitudes and our feelings?

It is this path that Jesus was referring to when He said, “What does it benefit us to gain all [the material gains] that we want, but lose our soul in the process.”

Money is not selfishness of itself, nor are we meant to learn to condemn it or be afraid of it – not at all.  It is a hammer and nails, tools, with real purpose, meant to serve us to help us be a part of this Earth community.  As we gain understanding of this – how to use the hammer and nails we have while building our hearts and minds, we are given more to hammer with.  God does not overwhelm us with more than we can handle – that includes material wealth.  We are not given 3 hammers when we only are capable of using 2 hands.  We may be given 3 hammers if it is already in our consciousness and history to share what we have with others.  If we seek and learn wisdom, part of our classroom will also be to use the money in wise ways.

Finally, the millions of dollars in these large corporations don’t only go to a few people, but these people then hire other people, giving them money for their services, they then hire others, they then hire others, and on and on.  Each of the places are employers who provide jobs to people who then help establish and continue with other jobs.  This is the story that Jesus told of the 4 servants.

14.   Will fasting bring a huge benefit to my health?  How much?  In Islam, Muslims fast for the month of Ramadan but that really means just from sunrise to sunset.  Maybe one week of out each month?

When done appropriately and wisely, fasting can bring benefits to physical health and the spiritual journey.

But, not fasting can also bring benefits to physical health and the spiritual journey.  The issue and question is not whether fasting brings benefits or not, but rather, where is the heart and mind in the journey of spiritual learning.  One saying that is mentioned in spiritual teachings is, “It is not what goes into the mouth that causes mistakes [or is kept from going into the mouth].  It is what comes out of the mouth [the words we say to others].”   Look at the heart and mind in the dedication to the spiritual path and all that the spiritual path calls us to do inwardly.  This is because fasting of itself can do nothing, but rather it is what is in a person’s heart and mind that takes our religious practices and turns them into true purposeful acts of dedication.

With that said, fasting can support a person’s spiritual practice and is a helpful health related activity for you and many people, in general.  For you, it can enhance the spiritual journey you are on, but remember, by itself, it can do nothing to help the spiritual journey, but with God, all things can help the spiritual journey.  Do so with wisdom, and seek a deeper understanding rather than acting by rote without understanding.

This means that even if we spent all our life doing physical fasting, but still spent all our life not working on fasting of the heart and mind – the letting go of judgment, condemnation, blame, guilt, shame, prejudices, criticisms, hatred, fears, impatience, etc – then we haven’t accomplished anything.

Finally, all three parts of us are connected – spirit, mind and body.  What affects one affects the other two, also.  This also is relevant when the body is involved in our spiritual practices.

If you’re seeking a detailed description of what food fasting can do for you, then I would also offer that food fasting is not the #1 thing that God asks of us for our spiritual path – “The Father does not seek sacrifice from us, but rather mercy.”  So, while you practice food fasting, (which I see can be some health benefits, as will other health activities) also take the deeper step and fast from the negative things of the heart and mind, as well.

For you personally, I can see food-fasting for about 4 days to be the optimum physically – a 5th day if you feel up to it.

15.   What do you see for the future in a country like Kuwait?  It is an oil producer but eventually they will need to diversify away from that.  There is only so much accessible petroleum in the ground and their country is small.

Yes, that is a good assessment of the decades ahead for Kuwait.  They will provide oil for the world for about the next half century before their economy begins to suffer.  Open minds with foresight can help them to steer into the future, leading them to expand on opportunities and draw upon their own inner, national resources – which includes people and what people offer.  (I say the next half century, because other energies will come forth, but petroleum will not become useless.  Kuwait’s exporting will diminish some, but they will continue to export at levels which will still contribute to their economy.)

16.   North Korea…..what is their future?  That is all I can think of for now.  As always, I truly appreciate your answers!!!

This nation will have a slow evolution as compared to much of the rest of the planet, but it is their own rate of evolution none-the-less.  As the 2020’s close, going into the 2030’s, then is when they will open up noticeably but slowly to outside opportunities reaching out to friendly nations to help them to enter into more of a world arena.  This will be a slow process, but the NK of the end of this century will be different than the one at the beginning of this century – as all nations are.

But, all nations have their own serious problems to work on.  No nation has all the answers and no nation stands out above all others as being the best.  Each nation is different and cannot really be compared to any other, although this has never stopped anyone from comparing.

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Do not be discouraged about the stories of people in government being involved with intrigues and all the back-room deals, back-stabbing, international conflicts and such that causes great fear to grip people.  These exact same things have been happening on this planet coming from human involvement for over 20,000 years and even in greater ways than today.  And those of us human beings who choose to bring about the destructive parts and harmful parts always do find ourselves, as souls, coming face to face with the acts which we inflict on others.  NO SOUL ever escapes the responsibility connected to the return of the pain and suffering we created for others.  NEVER.  But, sometimes, it does take many lifetimes to come full circle in order to heal these created experiences for others, learn from our mistakes, put things back together, clean up the mess we make, and find that which we’ve lost.  And remember, all that happens comes from the hearts and minds of individual people joining with other like-minded and like-hearted people.  No institution of itself can do anything.  It is the people who are involved inside the “institutions”.

So, from a spiritual point of view, this Earth plane of existence is a school of spirituality.  We will face our own acts with the purpose of cleaning up the mess we make or have made in a past life, learning from our mistakes and growing beyond them.  Even the darkened souls of WW2, will one day, as souls, come into a lifetime where they will reverse the injuries they created, and lead people back to healing and light.  There are many famous people who’s name you would recognize, who have found their way back onto their better paths – working to bring healing this life instead of the harm which they did in their pastlives.  I will not mention names.

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And with that, I end this particular set of questions, because in truth whole books could be written with these questions.

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Thank you to everyone who sends in questions.  I hope this offers you much.  Meditate on the answers and even more will come.