This study guide is intended for use with The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures by Max Heindel. The guide contains two groups of questions for each chapter in The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures. The first group of questions for a chapter are questions whose answer may be found somewhere in the chapter. The second group of questions are labeled as "thought questions." The answers to these questions are not given in the chapter, but rather can be answered by relating what was said in the chapter to one's own experience and by using one's creative imagination.

  In using the study guide it is recommended that one first read an entire chapter from The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures to get an overall picture of the topic being discussed. Then answer the questions below, referring back to the text as needed.

  It is hoped that this study guide will help the reader clarify and make more precise the understanding of occult Truths, so that he or she may tred the path with a more certain step.

1-1] How is it possible to obtain information about life after death even if we ourselves cannot yet see that state of existence?

1-2] Next to each item on the left put the letter of the item on the right which would help support a belief in the item on the left:

1-3] When we feel already well-acquainted with apperson when we meet them for the first time, what is the probable origin of this feeling?

1-4] Why does each Ego usually incarnate once as a male and once as a female in each interval of 2100 years?

1-A] Describe something which you or people you know have observed which would give evidence that consciousness can exist independently from the dense body.

1-B] Describe some evidence that there is intelligence in the universe higher than man.

1-C] a) In what ways will someone who believes in the theory of rebirth live differently than one who believes the materialistic theory?
b) In what ways will someone who believes the theory of rebirth live differently than one who believes the theory of theology?

2-1] The following is a list of things which are invisible to most. For each, give some evidence that it exists.

a) Electricity
b) Steam
c) Very distant stars
d) Bacteria
e) The Spirit subsequent to demise of the dense body
f) Thoughts

2-2] The material scientist extends his ability to perceive things by developing mechanical instruments. What must the occult scientist do to extend his ability to perceive?

2-3] Give two reasons why it is valuable to know about the after-death state.

2-4] Which of the following are reasons why those who claim to be able to see the spiritual worlds often bring back different stories?

a) Different people may view different parts of the spiritual worlds.
b) Some people may have personal bias which affects what they see.
c) The spiritual worlds have no objective reality. Those who see them suffer from hallucinations.
d) Some people who have seen nothing make up stories in order to impress others.

2-5] Will all people some day be able to see the spiritual worlds?

2-A] a) What can cause water to pass beyond our range of vision?
b) Can steam be returned to a visible state?
c) If we have water, then it disappears, then it reappears, is it reasonable to postulate that it existed in between its two appearances? Why?
d) Under what circumstances does Spirit cease to give us evidence of its existence?
e) Does the Spirit sometimes return and resume giving evidence of its existence?
f) In between the two situations of appearance of the evidence of Spirit, is it reasonable to postulate that the Spirit existed? Why?

3-1] Next to each item on the left put the letter of the item on the right which is most closely related:

3-2] What vow must one take before one can become an Invisible Helper?

3-3] Do people who have clairvoyant vision sometimes make mistakes when they make statements about the spiritual worlds? Why?

3-4] Next to each set of materials given on the left put the letter if the item on the right which tells what could be accomplished be means of bodies made of those materials:

3-5] a) Which of the ethers are utilized by the plant? b) What role does each of these ethers play in the plant?

3-6] In which ether does the Ego make the record of its experiences which we call memory?

3-7] a) What types of things do animals desire?
b) The desire bodies of animals are composed of materials from which regions of the Desire World?
c) What types of feelings are humans capable of which animals are not capable of?
d) In what ways do the desire bodies of humans differ from the desire bodies of animals?

3-8] What directs the archetypal forces in the building of bodies?

3-9] On the average how much distance would one need to travel to get from the Physical World to the World of Thought?

4-1] a) What is the Ego supposed to be learning to control? b) Which of the bodies is most difficult for the Ego to control?

4-2] a) What activities are expressions of the Holy Spirit?
b) When someone is hypnotized, what are they unable to do?
c) Why is hypnotism a sin against the Holy Spirit?

4-3] If one considers the volume occupied by the physical heart of a person, which of the following of the person's bodies would intersect that volume when that person is awake: dense body, vital body, desire body, mind?

4-4] In each blank insert one of the words: desire, vital.

Impulses from the ______ body impel the dense body to action, which causes wear on the dense body. The ______ body then works to repair the dense body. The ______ body specializes the solar energy which pervades space, and sends it along the nerves of the dense body. The ______ body has direct control of the voluntary nervous system. The ______ body works mainly through the involuntary nervous system.

4-5] During sleep, when the desire body and mind are withdrawn from the dense body, what scenes do they review? Why?

4-6] During sleep, what pumps rhythmic energy into the vital body in order to revive it?

4-7] During sleep, what works on the dense body to cause elimination of the products of decay?

4-8] From each parentheses choose the word or phrase which correctly completes the sentence.

When the desire body has (partially, completely) withdrawn from the dense body, it may see some solution to a problem of life or it may see some impending trouble. If the desire body then (stays outside of, returns to) the dense body, it may be able to transmit this information to the brain.

4-9] What advantage is there in having a strong will?

4-10] If a drunkard is cured of his drunkenness when a hypnotist superimposes his will on that of the drunkard, does the drunkard benefit from the treatment in the long run? Why or why not?

4-11] Mediums are often controlled by Earth-bound Spirits.

a) What are Earth-bound Spirits?
b) Are Earth-bound Spirits qualified to be spiritual leaders? Why or why not?

4-12] When the mind is not properly inserted into and connected with the dense, vital and desire bodies, what type of behavior results?

4-A] a) Give an example of a desire which may impell one to action.
b) In what way will the resulting action cause wear on the dense body?

4-B] Why is it wrong for us to control others by the exercise of our will power?

4-C] Why is it wrong to let others control our bodies (as in hypnotism or mediumship)?

4-D] If an Earth-bound Spirit takes permanent control of a medium's dense and vital bodies, what effect would this have on the evolution of the medium?

5-1] Insert one of the words, birth or death, into each blank.

From the point of view of people living on earth, entrance of a Spirit into a physical body is viewed as ______, and departure of the Spirit from its dense body is viewed as ______. From the point of view of an inhabitant of the spiritual worlds, entrance of a Spirit into a physical body would be viewed a ______ and departure of a Spirit from its dense body would be viewed as ______.

5-2] Next to each item on the left match the letter of the item on the right which is most closely related:

5-3] What observation gives evidence that the vital body leaves the dense body at death?

5-4] Which of the following is not a proper procedure to use when someone is dying?

a) Avoid embalming, cremating or organ removal for three and one- half days after the heart stops beating.
b) Cremate the body after three and one-half days has passed since the time the heart stopped beating.
c) Give the dying person stimulants to delay death as long as possible.
d) Maintain an atmosphere of prayer and quiet in the vicinity of the body for three and one-half days after the heart stops.

5-5] Which of the following is not true concerning the seed-atom?

a) The forces of the seed-atom have seen immanent in every dense body ever possessed by the Ego.
b) All the atoms in the body must vibrate in tune with the seed- atom.
c) All the experiences of all the lives of an Ego are inscribed on the seed-atom.
d) The seed-atom is located in the right ventricle of the heart, near the apex.

5-6] Can the Ego feel what is done to the dense body for the period of three and one-half days subsequent to the time when the heart stops beating? What connects the higher bodies to the dense body during this time?

5-7] When a desire body makes its appearance at a spiritualistic seance:

a) How is it able to state incidents about the past life of the Ego?
b) How is it able to produce phenomena, such as various 'pranks'?

5-8] Why is suffering experienced in Purgatory more acute than here on Earth?

5-9] For which of the following does the archetype cease activity at the time of death?

a) The person who dies by accident
b) The suicide
c) One who has been murdered

5-10] For which of the following does the continued post-mortem activity of the archetype cause intense suffering?

a) The person who dies by accident
b) The suicide
c) One who has been murdered

5-11] What desire body does the murderer encounter when he enters the Desire World subsequent to his death? What does this cause the murderer to feel?

5-A] If you were able to speak to the Ego of a miser after it had departed from its dense body (in death), what would you say to it?

5-B] What type of suffering will a smoker experience subsequent to death?

5-C] A murderer owes a debt to his victim. In what ways might the murderer pay this debt in subsequent lives?

6-1] When people die as children they go directly to which of the following?

a) The Etheric World
b) Purgatory
c) The First Heaven
d) The Second Heaven
e) The Third Heaven

6-2] When people die as children and then enter the heaven world, they receive instruction. What are they then instructed about?

6-3] When someone dies prior to the age of (about) fourteen, what bodies does it retain and use in its next incarnation?

6-4] Mark each of the following true or false.

a) In the First Heaven we feel the mental and physical relief felt by those whom we helped during life.
b) If someone does not know that it was we who helped him, we will not receive his feelings of gratitude when we reach the First Heaven.
c) It does not matter whether or not we feel grateful, as long as we receive the help we need.
d) It does not matter whether or not we feel love, as long as we give to others the material goods which they need.

6-5] What effect may materialistic thought in one life on earth have on the dense body of the next life on earth?

6-6] Which of the following is the most prominent feature of the Second Heaven?

a) Form
b) Light and color
c) Tone

6-7] In Purgatory the evil habits and acts of life produced suffering which in the Second Heaven are transmuted into

a) Right thoughts.
b) Right feelings.
c) Right actions.

6-8] What do the Angels and Archangels and other Divine Hierarchies help us learn when we are in the Second Heaven?

6-9] What service do "dead" people who have reached the Second Heaven perform for those who are still in dense bodies on earth?

6-A] What kinds of forms have you built in the upper regions of the Desire World (the First Heaven)? When others come in contact with the forms which you have built, what sort of effect will those forms have on them?

6-B] When you enter the First Heaven after death, what would you most like to do there?

6-C] If in the First Heaven you had the opportunity to talk to a business man who had no other desire than to do business, what would you say to him?

6-D] If in the First Heaven you had the opportunity to talk to a materialist who still believed that life is just a prelude to oblivion, what would you say to him?

6-E] We have stored in our minds mental images of ourselves--of what we like and dislike, of how we act under various circumstances, of what we are striving for.

a) In what way do these mental images affect our actions?
b) If we wish to change our character, do we need to first change our actions or our mental images?

7-1] Why did Pythagoras demand that applicants for occult tuition should first study mathematics?

7-2] When an Ego is ready for a new birth, if there are several groups of people on earth with whom the Ego has ties, and with whom the Ego could equally profit from living, how is it decided as to which group the Ego will be born into?

7-3] When the Ego withdraws from its various bodies, what does it save from each, which it will use as nuclei for forming new bodies?

7-4] Arrange the following items in the order in which they occur when an Ego is coming to rebirth.

a) Conception occurs.
b) The Ego clothed in its mind and desire body enters the matrix of the vital body and again sees a panorama of the coming life.
c) The mind and desire body seed-atoms draw appropriate materials to themselves.
d) The mother alone does work upon the new dense body.
e) The Recording Angels form a matrix from the vital body materials, place it in the womb of the mother, and place the dense body seed-atom in the semen of the father.
f) The vital body seed-atom draws materials to itself.

7-5] Why is it said that birth is a four-fold event?

7-6] From each parentheses choose the word or phrase which correctly completes the sentence.

When an Ego is coming into incarnation, the coarsest desire material is whirled (inwards, outwards) with the result that that most selfish tendencies tend to be (apparent, hidden) in the child. To learn of these tendencies one can use (astrology, observation) and can thence help the child to develop the abilities needed to deal with them.

7-7] Up to the age of seven, what is the best way to get a child to behave in a particular way?

7-8] Mark each of the following true or false.

a) For children, highly seasoned food is better than plain food.
b) Too small clothing can rouse the sex-nature.
c) Corporeal punishment is a deterrent to sexual immorality.
d) A boisterous, hot-tempered nature can be soothed by an environment of red.

7-9] At what age can a child start to be informed about the origin and purpose of things and be expected to memorize what he is told?

7-10] At what age can a young person start to be taught to investigate things for himself, and to form his own opinions about things?

7-A] Give an example of a situation in which a person's feelings might blind them to the truth.

8-1] From each parentheses choose the word or phrase which correctly completes the sentence.

The major difference in a young body and an old body is that the former contains (less, more) phosphate of lime, sulphate of lime, and carbonate of lime. The less of these substances that are taken into the body, the (less, more) slowly the body will become clogged. Fresh vegetables and fruits and distilled water contain (little, much) earthy matter. Cocoa and water from the ground contain (little, much) earthy matter. Buttermilk and grape juice will (help unclog, further the clogging of) the body.

8-2] Why do meat eaters require larger quantities and more frequent meals than vegetarians?

8-3] What poisonous residues does meat leave in the body of one who eats it?

8-4] What foods can be used a a source of protein in place of meat?

8-5] If we chew our food well, will we get more nourishment from it, or less?

8-A] Animals are evolving beings who will some day reach the human stage.

a) When current humans kill the animals for food, what effect may this have on the animal evolutionary development (what may the animals learn from these experiences)?
b) When humans take animals as pets and care for them with love, what may the animals learn?

9-1] Each item on the left is an allegorical or symbolical representation of an item on the right. Next to each item on the left put the letter of the item on the right which is represented:

9-A] Why have the patterns of behavior of the heavenly bodies been symbolically repeated in the myths of the various religions, the live of the World Light-bringers, and the architecture of the Temples? What are all these symbolical representations trying to bring to the consciousness of mankind?

10-1] Why is it insufficient to tell a person's 'fortune' based only on the sign the Sun was in at the person's birth?

10-2] Of what value is it to a parent or teacher to know the horoscopes of the children in their care?

10-3] a) Is the will of man shown in the horoscope? b) What influence does this have on astrological predictions?

10-4] How can the physician use astrology?

10-5] Next to each item on the left put the letter of the item on the right which is most closely related:

10-A] The horoscope shows some of the problems that we will encounter in life. How much control do we have over how we react to these problems or how we handle these problems?

10-B] Why is it better to read horoscopes for ourselves than to depend on someone else to read them for us?

11-1] Which of the following will aid one in gaining the type of clairvoyance in which one can control what one sees, and will also aid one in gaining the ability to consciously function in the spiritual worlds. (There are several answers.)

a) Approaching the act of procreation in a spirit of prayer, not for gratification of the senses.
b) Taking certain drugs
c) Crystal gazing
d) Development the qualities of persistence, devotion, observation and discrimination.
e) Finding a teacher who promises to initiate one and paying him what he requests, regardless of how high the price
f) Practicing the evening Retrospection and morning Concentration exercises.
g) Sitting in a circle with others, with everyone putting themselves in a passive state of mind
h) Ceasing to use alcohol, tobacco, and flesh foods.

11-12] a) When someone is to travel consciously in the spiritual worlds, what part of the vital body will accompany the desire body and mind?
b) If improper methods lead to the whole vital body being lifted out of the dense body, what will happen to the consciousness of the person?
c) Which part of the vital body normally takes care of blood circulation during sleep?
d) Which part of the vital body must be able to take care of blood circulation before one can safely travel consciously in the spiritual world?

11-3] Why does increasing the accuracy of one's observation increase one's health and longevity, and decrease one's need for sleep?

11-4] How is it that one who does the exercise of Retrospection is "living in an attitude of mind, and development along lines that would ordinarily have been reserved for future lives."

11-5] a) What is it, in addition to the dense matter, that normally slows down the currents in the desire body when it is in the dense body when one is awake?
b) In the exercise, when on has attained good concentration on some idea, what is one then unaware of?

11-6] Why does the Rosicrucian method of training aim to emancipate the pupil from dependence on others?

11-7] Why to Probationers in the Rosicrucian school perform their spiritual exercises in the seclusion and privacy of their rooms?

11-A] Make a list of things which have lasting value to your Spirit. Make another list of things which have only temporary value.

11-B] If someone else is present in the room, close your eyes and try to describe them as accurately as possible. If no other person is present, this may be done with an animal or an inanimate object. The open your eyes and check the accuracy of your description.

11-C] The Rosicrucian method of training aims to make th pupil self-reliant. What implications does this have for the organization of the Rosicrucian Fellowship?

12-1] Which of the following was not a mistake made by Amfortas?

a) He took the holy spear to use in fighting Klingsor.
b) He yielded to the sensual temptations of Kundry.
c) He deprived himself of the ability to gratify his passions.
d) He let go of his hold of the sacred spear when he was at Klingsor's castle.

12-2] What does the man of the world experience (become wedded to) before he is willing to turn from worldly things and seek spiritual realities?

12-3] Why may people real pain when ideals are held up before them?

12-4] When Parsifal went to Klingsor's castle he found "how all the world is stirred, tossed, convulsed and often lost in shame." What did he find was the cause of all this upheaval and sin?

12-5] a) In what way was Parsifal willing to use the sacred spear?
b) In what ways was Parsifal not willing to use the sacred spear?

12-A] What type of feeling or thoughts does music stimulate within you?

12-B] Kundry represents the dense body.

a) What is the significance of the fact that if the Grail-knights wake her she must serve them, but if Klingsor wakes her she must serve him?
b) What is the significance of the fact that in the last act, when Parsifal has attained the wardship of the Holy Grail and Sacred Lance, Kundry says only one word, 'Service'?

12-C] Why do worldly actions bring pain?

12-D] Give some examples of how passion and sensual love stirs, tosses and convulses the world.

12-E] a) Why is the one who seeks spiritual things viewed as a fool by those who are worldly?
b) Give a specific example of something which a spiritually minded person will do which a worldly minded person will consider foolish.

12-F] The sacred spear represents creative power. Although we may not yet have the power to heal people instantaneously or to feed five-thousand people, we have voices which can speak words which may have some influence on those around us. What lesson may we draw from the Parsifal story as to how we should use our voices?

13-1] What gave the bodies in the solar system their initial motions?

13-2] From each parentheses choose the word or phrase which correctly completes the sentence.

In past periods the bodies of man were (more, less) dense than they are in the present Earth Period. When man became conscious he could start to (crystallize, spiritualize) his bodies, and to extract from each body a (soul, spirit), which is the power of the body from which it is extracted. (Higher powers helped us build, We by ourselves built) our bodies, and now (higher powers will give us, we by ourselves must obtain) soul-growth.

13-3] Out of what type of matter were each of man's bodies originally formed?

13-4] Each time life emerges from a Cosmic Night what must it do before it starts the work of the new period?

13-5] In the Moon Period, of what type of material was our vital body then composed?

13-6] a) What type of material are the Angels most skilled in working with? Why?
b) What, therefore, are the Angels most suited to help with on Earth today?

13-7] Which of our bodies are the Archangels currently helping us build and use.

13-8] What have the Lords of Mind done for us in the present Earth Period?

13-9] In the Atlantean Epoch, which of the following was the use which the majority of humanity made of the mind?

a) It functioned as a tool of the Spirit in governing the threefold body.
b) It developed cunning to aid man in achieving his desires.

13-10] a) Who is the chief director of all the religions based on Law?
b) Who is the chief promoter of the religion which will lead to Universal Brotherhood?

13-A] What was the evolutionary value of the flooding of Atlantis?

13-B] How does a system of Law with punishments for transgressors help people learn to control their desires?

14-1] From each parentheses choose the word or words which correctly completes the sentence.

The (dense, vital, desire) body of the (plant, Earth) causes in the plant a continuous building up of stem and leaf in alternating succession. The (dense, vital, desire) body of the (plant, Earth) checks this intense upward growth in a measure. Then the creative force seeks another channel and builds (brain and larynx, flowers and seeds, limbs and muscles).

14-2] In the Lemurian Epoch, man obtained his individual desire body. Which of the following was not one of the effects which this had on the dense body.

a) The cranium began to form at the end of the column of vertebrae.
b) The dense body commenced to harden.
c) The dense body developed a circulatory system.
d) The dense body became capable of generating a new body from itself.

14-3] In the Lemurian Epoch bodies began to be unisexual, and in each body only one pole of the creative force was then available for generation. What, then, was the other pole used for?

14-4] What effect does overdrawing of the creative force for sexual excesses have on the functioning of the brain?

14-5] In the latter part of the Lemurian Epoch man was unaware of birth and death. Why?

14-6] While man in the Lemurian Epoch was unconscious of his physical body, how was generation accomplished?

14-7] What did Lucifer (or the Lucifer Spirits) show women that they could do?

14-8] When people took generation into their own hands, using it ignorantly and with passion, what effects followed with respect to:

a) awareness of the Physical World,
b) awareness of the Spiritual Worlds,
c) occurrence of pain,
d) the needs of the dense body with respect to food and shelter.

14-9] When humanity started to misuse the sex force, why were they forced to leave the Etheric World, which contained the Tree of Life (healing power)?

14-10] From each parentheses choose the word or words which correctly complete the sentence.

The Lucifer Spirits influence the (left, right) side of the brain, and there stimulate (altruistic, selfish) mental activities. When in the future, the heart becomes (an involuntary, a voluntary) muscle, it will be able to send blood only to the (left, right) side of the brain and thereby establish the New Jerusalem, which will be a state of (confusion, peace).

14-A] Why would abuse of the generative function tend to be greater if bodies were bisexual instead of unisexual?

14-B] Give an example of a situation in your life in which pain has caused you to do some thinking and thence brought you some wisdom.

14-C] a) When someone steals property from others, what Cosmic Law are they apparently ignorant of?
b) When someone treats others cruely, what Cosmic Law are they apparently unaware of?
c) When someone misuses the creative force, what Cosmic Law do they need to be informed of?

14-D] What will people need to learn before there can be Peace on Earth?

15-1] From each parentheses choose the word or word which correctly completes the sentence.

Jesus is a member of the (archangelic, angelic, human) life wave. Jesus is evolved to a point that is (far ahead of, about on the same level as, behind) that of most other members of his life wave. Christ is a member of the (archangelic, angelic, human) life wave, who is evolved to a point that is (far ahead of, about the same level as, behind) that of most other members of His life wave. The lowest vehicle that the Christ ordinarily uses is in the World of (Divine, Life, Human) Spirit, from which World come the (separating, unifying) forces in the world. The lowest vehicle Christ learned to build was the (concrete mind, desire body, vital body), so in order to function on Earth He needed to borrow the (dense body; dense and vital bodies; dense , vital and desire bodies) from Jesus.

15-2] When it was customary for people to marry within the family, what was carried in the blood from ancestors to descendants?

15-3] In the evolutionary process, in what order does mankind develop the following qualities?

a) Feeling of Universal Brotherhood
b) Individualism
c) Patriotism

15-4] When Christ-Jesus was killed and the blood flowed, Christ diffused Himself over all the Earth. What effect did this have of the Desire Body and Mind Body of the Earth?

15-5] What is Christ currently doing for the Earth?

15-A a) Of what value was it to people of olden times to retain the memory of all that had happened to their ancestors?
b) Why is it no longer of value to us to retain this memory?

15-B] For what should we be grateful to the Christ?

16-1] Which of the following does not give the Earth pleasure?

a) The breaking of a stone
b) The harvesting of grain
c) The plucking of flowers
d) The pulling of plants up by the roots

16-2] From each parentheses choose the word or phrase which correctly completes the sentence.

On the Sun the rate of vibration of matter is (higher, lower) than on Earth, and there is (less, more) crystallization on the Sun than on Earth. The archangels who live on the Sun are (less, more) advanced than the humanity of the Earth. On the Moon the rate of vibration of matter is (higher, lower) than on Earth, and there is (less, more) crystallization on the Moon than on Earth. The beings which live on the Moon are (less, more) advanced than the humanity of the Earth. Of the vibrations which come to the Earth, those which come from the Sun have a (hardening, spiritualizing) influence, and those which come from the Moon have a (hardening, spiritualizing) influence.

16-3] In the early stages of our evolution our bodies crystallized more and more. What stopped this process of crystallization and started a process of lightening?

16-4] a) The operation of which of man's bodies tends to cause the dense body to harden?
b) What did Jehovah give to mankind to help people gain control of this body and thence to limit its hardening tendencies.

16-5] What qualities must a man develop before it is safe for him to be freed from externally imposed Laws?

16-6] a) In what respect is the Sun the body of the Cosmic Christ?
b) In what respect is the Earth the body of the Cosmic Christ?

16-7] a) At what time of year are the spiritual impulses from the Sun the strongest?
b) At what time of day are the spiritual impulses from the Sun the strongest?

16-A] Why did the Earth (and the humanity of the Earth) need to be thrown off from the Sun (in the Hyperborean Epoch)?

16-B] Why does Law (as established by the Race Spirits) necessarily make the interests of the nation have precedence over the interests of the individuals?

16-C] How do wars between nations help people further learn to control their desire bodies?

16-D] Why can there not be Universal Brotherhood as long as there are nations?

16-E] How do you think it feels to the Cosmic Christ (whose preferred home is the Sun) to occupy the dense Earth?

16-F] What does it mean to say that the Christ has been born within a person?

17-1] a) Do we ask God for more Knowledge? What might we better ask Him for?
b) Do we ask God for occult powers? What might we better ask Him for?

17-2] a) What food was used to help man forget his spiritual nature?
b) Why was it desirable for man to temporarily forget his spiritual nature?
c) When man is ready to regain his spiritual vision, what must then be eliminated from his diet?

17-3] a) When an animal is killed, what desire is it that clings to the flesh?
b) What effect does this desire have on the people who eat the animal flesh?

17-4] In what respect does man need to emulate the plant?

17-5] When one treds the mystical path, why is it dangerous to oneself to continue to eat meat?

17-6] The good cannot use good for direct destruction of evil. How then, can the good overcome evil?

17-7] Why is it undesirable to kill all feeling or to cut ourselves off from the expression of all feeling?

17-A] When we feel true compassion for all living creatures, what affect will this have on our lives?

17-B] How can sympathy lead to understanding?

17-C] a) Why must one forswear spiritual love in order to obtain material power?
b) Why must one forswear sensual love in order to obtain spiritual power?

17-D] Why are purity and harmlessness necessary for one who would develop occult powers?

18-1] Each item on the right describes a means which God may use for leading people with the characteristics on the left. Next to each item on the left put the letter of the item on the right which gives the most appropriate means of leading that personality:

18-2] Which of man's bodies is to be subdued by man himself, without any outside assistance?

18-3] What will be the characteristics of the kingdom of the Son?

18-4] When we repent of our sins, which of our bodies is purified?

18-5] a) Which of our bodies needs to be continuously watched so that it will not lead us into temptation?
b) What is it that must do the watching?

18-A] Give an example of some belief which you have faith in, although you have no direct knowledge of it.

18-B] Why is faith in oneself valuable when one is trying to develop some skill?

18-C] a) Why should we not attempt to 'kill out desire'?
b) What should we do instead?

18-D] Give an example of something which your desire body would like but which your mind forbids.

19-1] When Graham Bell was inventing the telephone, why was it useful to him to make a physical model of the telephone after having mentally conceived the idea?

19-2] Arrange the following items in the order in which man learned to exert forces by means of them, starting with the earliest.

a) electricity
b) gas (wind, steam)
c) solids
d) liquids

19-3] Which of the above sources of force is most easily stored, transmitted, and utilized?

19-4] What is the next, even subtler, source of force which mankind is destined to develop?

19-5] Waves and wind and steam had to be concentrated and controlled before they could serve man as forces that would do his work for him. What must we learn to do with Though-power if we are to get it to aid us in our work?

19-6] The Earth-spirit feels our passions, feelings and emotions. What ways does it have of reacting to these?

19-7] In the future, what organ of the body will be used to bring thoughts into manifestation (to crystallize them into things).

20-1] When the Semitic race was being formed, the Great Leaders selected the most likely from the old stock and regulated their marriage relations.

a] Why were some of those among the chosen group later disqualified?
b] Who are the descendants of those who were disqualified?

20-2] In the Sixth Epoch, will people be divided into races and nations?

20-3] What will be the universal religion of the Sixth Epoch?

20-4] a] Why have the Jewish people incarnated again and again in Jewish race-bodies, even though Egos usually incarnate in different races in different incarnations?
b] How is this hindering the evolution of these people?
c] What may help them work out of this situation?

20-5] In the Sixth Epoch the Life Spirit will be further developed. What additional qualities will then ripen in mankind?

20-A] Why do Egos usually incarnate in different races in different incarnations?

20-B] How must races now begin to treat one another if the coming of the Sixth Epoch is to be hastened?