Ok, but what does the MySettings represent, the file reading from?
Things seemed to have gotten a bit confused here. I was only addressing the second question about the static vs. non-static error message, and I was using the example code the OP quoted in Post #8. That code is a class definition for the class "MySettings".
If you use "MySettings" (the Name of a class) as the root of a method call, as in "MySettings.class.getResourceAsStream("myFile");"
that is a Static reference, and it tells Java to look in the same directory/location as the compiled class file (as opposed to the Java source file) of the MySettings definition.
Please excuse me if I am undershooting the question. It seems to me that it is possible that the OP wasn't clear on the nature of static vs instance methods and variables, and that this led to his question on post #8.