Download Reader’s Guide PDF (Short Version – 12 questions) Download Reader’s Guide PDF (Long Version – 40 questions)
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. The book opens with the concept of souls planning their lives before birth, as the husband and the woman select certain experiences and people to be part of their lives. Do you believe that such planning takes place prior to incarnation?
2. Think about the important people in your life. Could your souls have met and made certain agreements before your lives began? What might these people be here to teach you? Why might you have wanted them to be a part of your life? Does your answer change depending on whether a person has had a positive or negative impact on you? If you chose to interact with these people in order to learn and to grow, is there such a thing as a “negative” impact?
3. Although the woman plans her life before it begins, she states these plans can be altered. What are your thoughts about free will? How does it interact with destiny? Do they both exist? Can they both exist at the same time? Is one more dominant than the other, and if so, which one?
4. A powerful connection exists between humans and animals, both wild and domesticated. The mare is intuitively aware of the woman’s feelings and thoughts. Do you feel that the animals and/or pets in your life share this same ability? What have they taught you? What have they shown you about yourself that you otherwise might not have known? In what ways might an animal’s consciousness be more limited than that of humans, and in what ways might it be more expansive?
5. Have you ever sensed the presence of someone who has died? How did this make you feel? Do you believe that people who have died can still be around you? How close do you think they are?
6. The old man tells the woman that “the earth turns on a kindness.” Was there a time in your life when someone showed a kindness to you, whether small or large, that touched you deeply? How did this kindness transform your day, your thoughts, or your emotions?
7. What do you think about the idea of parallel universes? Do they exist? Do we come into contact with them? What might your life be like in a parallel universe?
8. In your opinion, what happens after you die?
9. Do you believe that you create your own reality? To what degree is your reality created by your thoughts, beliefs, desires, and emotions? How is your outer reality a refection of your inner reality? When has changing one changed the other?
10. The woman learns that the most important moment of her life was a kindness that she doesn’t even remember performing. What if life were measured in kindnesses rather than wealth, titles, and achievements? How would your defnition of a successful life change? Would you consider yourself successful under this defnition? What could you do to be more successful?
11. Think of an occasion when you showed a person, animal, or plant unconditional love, if only briefy. Imagine how it must have felt for the other to receive your love. How did this help the soul of that person, animal, or plant? How did it help your own soul?
12. If your life were a song, what kind of song would it be (a pop song, the blues, a classical symphony, etc.)? What would it sound like? Could you make it a different kind of song, if you wanted? What would you change it to? What would the lyrics be? Who is composing your song?