"Your moods have an effect upon the weather"

[Sena]

"You might say: "Of course, I realize that the
weather affects my mood," yet it will occur to very
few of you that your moods have any effect upon the
weather. You have so concentrated upon the catego-
rization, delineation, and exploration of the objective
world that it surely seems to be "the only real one." It
seems to exert force or pressure against you, or to
impinge upon you, or at least almost to happen by
itself, so that you sometimes feel powerless against it.
Your myths have given great energy to the
outsideness of things." (NOME, p.98)

"You form your own reality. If you are tired of having me stress that
point, I can only say that I hope the repetition will serve to make you
understand that the statement applies to the most minute and the most
important of the events that you experience.
....Often, however, individuals use disasters quite for their own purposes, as an
exteriorized force that brings their lives into clear focus. Some may be
flirting with the idea of death, and choose a dramatic encounter with
nature in the final act. Others change their minds at the last moment." (NOME, p.99)

"Objectively — whatever the appearances —
storms, earthquakes, floods, et cetera, are quite
necessary to the well-being of the earth. Both man's
and nature's purposes are served, then, though
generally speaking man's myths make him blind to
those interactions. People's thoughts and emotions
always give clear clues whenever illness is involved,
yet most people ignore such information. They censor
their own thoughts. Many therefore "fall prey" to
epidemics of one kind or another because they want
to, though they might deny this quite vigorously.
I am speaking particularly of epidemics that are
less than deadly, though danger is involved. In your
times, hospitals, you must realize, are important parts
of the community. They provide a social as well as a
medical service. Many people are simply lonely, or
overworked. Some are rebelling against commonly
held ideas of competition. Flu epidemics become
social excuses for much needed rest, therefore, and
serve as face-saving devices so that the individuals
can hide from themselves their inner difficulties. In a
way, such epidemics provide their own kind of
fellowship — giving common meeting grounds for
those of disparate circumstances. The [epidemics]
serve as accepted states of illness, in which people
are given an excuse for the rest or quiet self-
examination they desperately need but do not feel
entitled to otherwise.
(Long pause at 11:21.) I do not mean to assign
any hint of accusation against those so involved, but
mainly to state some of the reasons for such behavior.
If you do not trust your nature, then any illness or
indisposition will be interpreted as an onslaught
against health. Your body faithfully reflects your
inner psychological reality. The nature of your
emotions means that in the course of a lifetime you
will experience the full range of feelings. Your
subjective state has variety. Sometimes sad or
depressing thoughts provide a refreshing change of
pace, leading you to periods of quiet reflection, and to
a quieting of the body so that it rests." (NOME, p.100)