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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

  WITH ZEN TAO

Q:  I went to my local church last Easter and during the service, as the story of the crucifixion was told, I experienced a feeling of great sadness which brought tears to my eyes.  Is it possible that I was present at the time of the Christ’s suffering and that I was reliving that moment in time?

ZT:  I can tell you that your karmic record does indicate that you were in incarnation at that time and that you were a follower of the Master Jesus.

Q:  Could you tell me what part I played in that great drama?

ZT:  It is only natural that you are curious to know who you were in a past life, especially if you are deeply attracted because of a soul emotion to what is, for you anyway, a significant incident in your past.  Nevertheless I would remind you that what is important at this time is not who you were, is not the life that you led, either in that incarnation or in any other incarnation for that matter.  What is important is the soul feeling, the soul impression, that is arising now, in this life, which is the only life with which you should be concerned.  This soul memory is affecting your being now, is awakening within you feelings which will affect you for the rest of your present life.  It is how you respond to these feelings that brings about soul acceptance and spiritual growth.  All of us come back into life with a garland of karma around our necks, with what I will call unfinished business, karma that has to be faced and transmuted.  Sometimes we carry this karmic burden for life after life after life, because of our unwillingness to face and to handle it.  All of you have witnessed and experienced in your past lives human sacrifice, religious persecution, physical brutality and torture.  Sometimes you were responsible for inflicting the suffering, sometimes you were on the receiving end.  Sometimes you were the witness of great acts of sacrifice, sometimes you yourselves were making the sacrifice.  What is important, though, is not the physical acts that you experienced but the lessons that you learned from them, and by lessons I mean the spiritual lessons.

 It is easy for an old soul such as you to sit back and to enjoy a life of apathetical contentment, to make the sole focus of your life the satisfaction of your own physical needs and desires.  This too, of course, can be a soul lesson and the karmic transmutation for such behaviour will surely follow in some future life, because as you sow, so shall you reap.  However an evolved soul soon tires of this lifestyle, soon begins to feel soul discontent, and searches for a greater purpose to life.  Deep down you know that the purpose of your incarnation on the physical plane of Earth is the gaining of soul consciousness.  You recognise that you come into this life only with soul consciousness and that you leave this life only with soul consciousness.  Nothing else is permanent and lasting.  So the most important aspect of your being lies within, not without.  The knowledge of the inner self determines how you act in the outer world.  It is rather like being asked “Would you like to be given the gift of being able to recite by heart all the works of Shakespeare, even though you know that you will lose all that knowledge at death, or would you like to be given the gift of acquiring the spiritual consciousness and the insight that lies behind the works of Shakespeare, which you will keep for ever?”  You all choose what you want to learn and your destiny provides the opportunities for that learning.  So do not shy away from conflict or suffering for they are only passing experiences, rather, try to understand why you are in conflict, why you are suffering, and face them with equanimity. 

  Soul consciousness once gained can never be lost.  As you reach old age you may find yourself saying “If only I knew as a child what I know now, how much easier my life would have been, how much more would I have appreciated and enjoyed my life!”   Now the same is true of soul consciousness.  You incarnate with the consciousness that you have acquired in your past lives.  The greater the consciousness, the more rewarding the life, because you see a greater picture, you see beyond physical life.  So use every opportunity to go deeply into your being and to experience your soul expression.  If you are feeling sadness at the death of the Master Jesus it is probably because it represents a sadness for the loss or the frailty of some part of your being.   Could it be that the sacrifice of the Master Jesus reflects on your unwillingness to sacrifice some aspect of your ego-self, some aspect which you hold dear to yourself and which you are not prepared to surrender?  Could it be that in some past life you were called upon to sacrifice your being and were found wanting?   Could it be that, rather like the apostle Peter, in a moment of test you denied the reality of the Godhead?  As always, the answer to these questions lies within you.  The waters of your being have been muddied by the example placed before you and by the emotions raised.  It is for you, and you alone, to clear them.  

Q:  On several occasions you have told us about the Earth Changes that are to come in the not too distant future and of the visitation of a great plague that will affect all of Humanity.  Is the AIDS virus this plague or is there another one to come?

ZT:  No.  There is another one to come. This plague will be far more devastating than AIDS which only affects certain segments of the population.  Now I do not want you to be fearful of this fact.  The purpose of any disease is to provide an opportunity for soul growth and karmic transmutation.  It is a fact that every human being has the power to heal themselves of any disease including AIDS.  There is no such thing as an automatically terminal disease.  You do not have to die from any disease.  You have within you the power to heal your body of any disease.  You have the power within you to transform every cell of your body.  Always remember that you are not your body.  You are a being of spirit, a part of the Godhead, all knowing and all powerful, and are quite capable of healing every cell of your body of any disease.  For most people, therefore, a serious disease is a test.  Either you transform your being or you will die.  Unfortunately, today, most people have so programmed their bodies that they are incapable of changing their lifestyle, of changing their attitude to life, of changing their attitude to disease, and so they die and in that death is the karmic transmutation for the lifestyle that caused the disease.  Death is a great transmuter of karma.   Remember that only the physical body suffers.  The spirit does not suffer.  The spirit is never tainted by disease.  The spirit simply observes the imperfection of the body and draws lessons from it. 

 The greater your oneness with the Godhead the greater your ability to heal any disease.  This is what happens with great spiritual beings such as the Master Jesus.  They simply have to touch an ill person and by that touch they transform the cells of the person and so allow the body to restore itself to health.  Each one of you has that same power latent within you.  You programme your bodies just like you programme a computer.  Change the programming and you change the nature of your bodies.  You have the power to heal yourself.  So why don’t you use it?  It is because you don’t believe that you have the power.  You don’t believe that you are divine, eternal spiritual beings, with all the powers of the Godhead latent within you.  Finally, I would ask you to remember the trinity of the body, the mind and the spirit.  The body is subject to the power of the mind and the spirit, whereas the mind is subject only to the spirit.  The spirit is all pervading in this respect.  Unless it is in your destiny to face or to live with some serious illness, as an act of karmic transmutation, a healthy body, controlled by a healthy mind and attuned to the force of divine spirit, provides the best immunity to any disease.  You are the master of your body. You programme your body in every aspect of your being.  A healthy body, with a healthy aura, can resist any disease that attempts to take root within the body.

Q:  If we keep on talking about plagues and Earth Changes and such negative things, if we keep on affirming their reality, are our thoughts not going to attract these events to us?  Should we not be affirming peace and harmony on the Earth and holding more positive thoughts in our minds?  Moreover, if this destruction is coming anyway, then what is the point of striving to do anything, if it is all going to be swept away?

ZT:  You are making many assumptions!  If I may, I will take your second point first.  You say “What is the point in doing anything if you are going to die.”  The only certain thing in life is that you are going to die.  How do you know that you are not going to die tomorrow?  There is no divine certainty that you will live to your expected three score years and ten.  You do not know what life has in store for you.  That is the great drama of life, but does it stop you from living and enjoying life?  Even if you know that you are dying, say, from cancer, does that make your life less purposeful, less meaningful?  No!  Life is for living, and right up until the moment of your death you are learning and storing away soul experiences.  The whole purpose of life is the gaining of soul consciousness.  That is why you are here.  Every day, therefore, is given to you as a learning experience.  So do not waste even a day in idle pursuits.  Use it wisely, right up until the very second that you die and, perhaps, in that very second, as you are about to die, you will have the greatest learning experience of your whole life.  Remember also that all matter is just dust, is modelling clay in your hands, for you to use and to build into whatever you wish.  Nothing on the physical plane of life is permanent. What is permanent is the consciousness that you gain from the handling of physical matter.   For example, let us suppose that you rent a little plot of land in an inner city where you grow vegetables.  One day you are told that the land has been sold to a property developer as a building site.  Therefore all the hard work that you have put into cultivating the soil and producing your vegetables will be destroyed at a stroke when the bulldozers move in.  But what is not, and cannot be destroyed is the consciousness and the love that you have put into that land, is the creativity that you have expressed, is the knowledge that you have gained, is the oneness with nature which has affected every atom in your body.  Matter comes and goes, but consciousness comes and grows!

  With regard to the first point that you made, whilst not denying that human thought forms and prayer, in particular, are important and do affect life on the Earth, I would ask you to recognise that Humanity can in no way affect or influence the great cyclic patterns of evolution that are controlled by cosmic forces beyond your understanding.  It is rather like asking Humanity to change the pattern and the influence of the stars in the sky.  These great cosmic events happen whether Humanity likes them or not.  They conform to an evolutionary cycle that was in force before Humanity first walked the plane of Earth.  They control every aspect of life on the Earth.  Humanity can only bear witness to these events.  Humanity cannot in any way alter them.  Indeed these great forces would weave their pattern on the Earth whether Humanity was here or not.  The Earth was undergoing cycles of change before Humanity was placed upon it.  The Earth will continue to undergo cycles of change when Humanity has left and moved to another plane of existence.  Earth Changes are a necessary part of the planetary experience and, indeed, souls deliberately incarnate on the Earth in order to experience these great changes.  That is one of the lessons that Humanity has come to learn.  So there is no question of avoiding or putting off these changes.  They represent a test that many have chosen to experience.  I have often used the analogy of a drama on the stage to make this very same point.  The drama has been written, the director (GOD) has rehearsed the parts and the actors are ready.  If the actors suddenly try to change their lines at the very last minute chaos would ensue, the drama would lose much of its significance and meaning, both for the actors and the audience.  Only God can change the drama.  Only God can postpone or minimise the Earth Changes. 

Q:  When are these Earth Changes going to happen?

ZT:  Only God can answer that question!  Of course it is possible to make prophecies, based on astrological predictions and a knowledge of the timing of these cosmic cycles, as to the coming of this great event.  However an aware person can get a sense of when it will happen by simply attuning to the planet and to its environment.  Look at what is happening to the ecological structure of this Earth.  See how Humanity is polluting the earth, the sea and the sky.  See how Humanity is polluting the ether with its thoughtforms.  Humanity’s behaviour alone will bring about Earth Changes even if there were no great cosmic cycle.  It is Humanity’s thoughtforms that are directly responsible for many so-called ‘natural’ disasters, such as earthquakes, storms and droughts.   I know that you view these Earth Changes with fear, but has the thought ever occurred to you that they could be a great blessing, a great healing process, whereby the Earth is restored to harmony and Humanity can begin afresh.  As Humanity fouls its own nest, so to speak, so life on the Earth will become increasingly difficult.  The atmosphere, the ecology, the temperature, the balance of water and air will all change dramatically, but Humanity will learn from its mistakes.  A great moment of truth for Humanity will occur and a great spiritual awakening will happen as Humanity at last recognises the oneness and the sacredness of all creation.  This will introduce the Golden Age when Humanity will live in harmony with the Earth, when it will co-operate with rather than coerce Nature.

Q:  Throughout the Ages it is apparent that Humanity has faced different challenges as it has walked its evolutionary path.  What is so special about this Age?   What is the lesson that we have to learn from these Earth Changes?

ZT:  The challenges which face Humanity at this time are all designed to help it to turn its face back towards the Godhead, to become aware of the oneness of all life and to understand what happens when Humanity chooses to create in its own ego image rather than as instruments of the Divine.  Humanity has to rediscover its roots, its birthright, and to recognise that there is a Force which some call God, that there is an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient Force Which creates, sustains and destroys all things.  Truly all is one.  Humanity has the choice of either flowing with this Force, of living in harmony with It, or of ignoring It or of even trying to oppose It.  Humanity has the choice either to create in its own image, to fulfil its own desires and needs, or to be co-creators with God and to forward God’s Plan.  Humanity has lost its vision of wholeness or holiness.  It has become self-centred and ego-centric.  How else can an individual or a nation justify using God’s resources to create solely for the benefit of itself and at the expense of other individuals or countries around it?  How else can an individual or a nation say that they own anything, that they have the sole right to resources in the ground and that they can decide who has access to them?  In truth, everything belongs to God and you are all a part of that God.  I have described this reality by saying that you dwell in God but that a little part of God dwells in you.

  Humanity has to learn that there is only one race, namely, the Human Race, and that you are all part of one family, the family of Man.  In this family all should be treated as equals regardless of race, colour or creed.  In this family God’s gifts should be shared equally, for everything belongs to God, nothing belongs to Humanity.  Because an aspect of God’s consciousness is present in all of creation, then everything in creation should be treated with respect, as if it were God, and this applies to the Animal, the Vegetable and the Mineral Kingdoms.  Just as everything is shared equally between members of a family unit, so it should be between the races of the family of Man.  Finally I would ask you to remember that as you sow, so shall you reap.  The great Law of Karma governs all your actions.  An abuse of any of the four Kingdoms of Matter will attract the appropriate karmic balance in a future life.  You are immortal beings.  You keep on returning to this planet in an endless cycle of life after life after life.  So remember that the planet that you are polluting today will be the planet to which you will return in your next life, the child that you are abusing today may be your parent in your next life and will in turn abuse you.  Do not ignore the pleas for help from a starving peasant in Africa or India because in your next life you may be that starving peasant.  Give up just a few of your luxuries so that the basic needs of the poor all over the world may be met.  The sacrifices that you make now will be your rewards in the future.   It is an unfortunate fact of Humanity’s character that it only turns to God when it is suffering, when the ego is faced with extinction, when it no longer feels that it is in control of its life, when it needs to be ‘saved’.   It is the wise soul who realises that it never was in control, that God controls everything even down to the individual hairs on your head.   It is in this spirit that you should face and handle the forthcoming Earth Changes.  They will be a great healing process both for the planet and for Humanity dwelling on it.