Private reasons for being caught in an epidemic

[Sena]

"Your concepts about death and nature, however, force you to see man
and nature as adversaries, and also program your experience of such
events so that they seem to only confirm what you already believe. As I
mentioned earlier (in Session 821), each person caught in either an
epidemic or a natural disaster will have private reasons for choosing
those circumstances. Such conditions also often involve events in which
the individual senses a larger identification, however — even sometimes
a renewed sense of purpose that makes no sense in ordinary terms."
(NOME, Session 828, March 15 1978)

"When people
are hurt in a natural disaster, for example, they will
often profess to have no idea at all for such
involvement. They will ignore or deny the inner
feelings that alone would give the event any meaning
in their lives. The reasons for such involvement
would be endless, or course — all valid, yet in each
and every case, man and nature in those terms would
meet in an encounter that had meaning, from the
largest global effects to the smallest, most private
aspects of the individuals involved. You have made
certain divisions because of your myths, of course,
that make this kind of explanation extremely
important and difficult. You think of rain or
earthquakes as natural events, for example, while you
do not consider thoughts or emotions as natural
events in the same terms. Therefore it is difficult for
you to see how there can be any valid interactions
between, say, emotional states and physical ones."
(NOME, Session 821)

Something interesting about Seth is that, although he disagreed with Freud and Jung, he had a good understanding of the unconscious mind:

"Your Freud and Jung have probed into the outer, personal subconscious. Jung saw glimpses of other depths, but that is all. There are rather unfortunate distortions occurring in Jung's writings, as well as in Freud's, since they did not understand the primary, cooperative nature of the libido." (from "The Early Sessions: Book 2 of The Seth Material" by Jane Roberts, Robert Butts)

https://amzn.eu/59OEkP7

[leidl]

Your concepts about death and nature, however, force you to see man
and nature as adversaries....

Sena and all, I find it very helpful to be reminded that we are not in an adversarial relationship with nature, the virus, the libido, or perhaps anything else.  From individual atoms to the solar system and beyond, all flows toward the creation of value fulfillment, each taking into consideration the interests of other forms of consciousness.

"Value fulfillment operates within microbes and nations, within individual creatures and entire species, and it unites all of life's manifestations so that indeed creatures and their environments are united in an overall cooperative venture — a venture in which each segment almost seeks to go beyond itself in creativity, growth, and expression."

"You will shortly see how some diseases are caused by the detriments set up against value fulfillment, often because of fears, doubts, or misunderstandings — and how other diseases may actually lead to instances of value fulfillment that are misread or misinterpreted."

"Remember that each segment of life is motivated by value fulfillment, and is therefore always attempting to use and develop all of its abilities and potentials, and to express itself in as many probable ways as possible, in a process that is cooperatively — correction: in a process that takes into consideration the needs and desires of each other segment of life."

—WTH Chapter 6: May 6, 1984

I find it interesting in that last bit that Seth uses the word "cooperatively" and then corrects himself, substituting "takes into consideration."  He seems to acknowledge that there is some tension between the interests of the different forms, and that the forms are aware of this.  But he does use "cooperative venture" in the earlier part of the quote without altering it. 

We are either in a cooperative venture with the virus, or at the very least, our psyches, the individual cells of our bodies and the virus are all aware of each other's needs, taking them into consideration.  What a thing to contemplate!  The virus is not an adversary; we know it will not take life unless that life is ready to transition.

I wonder how these ideas apply to other relationships that we perceive to be adversarial.  Right now, for example, I feel an adversarial relationship with my kitchen floor, which has some muddy footprints on it and some dried cat food smears.  If all form is conscious, if "creatures and their environments are united in an overall cooperative venture", perhaps I can re-frame my perception of my messy floor in the same way I can re-frame my view of the virus.  This kind of thinking could completely eliminate the sense of struggle in life.

[Sena]

"Value fulfillment operates within microbes and nations, within individual creatures and entire species, and it unites all of life's manifestations so that indeed creatures and their environments are united in an overall cooperative venture — a venture in which each segment almost seeks to go beyond itself in creativity, growth, and expression."

"You will shortly see how some diseases are caused by the detriments set up against value fulfillment, often because of fears, doubts, or misunderstandings — and how other diseases may actually lead to instances of value fulfillment that are misread or misinterpreted."

leidl, thanks for finding this valuable quote from The Way towards Health. This brings us to the question of what is "value fulfilment"? Seth introduced this idea in Session 44 April 15, 1964:

"The second law of the inner universe is energy transformation. This occurs constantly. Energy transformation and value fulfillment, all existing within the spacious present, add up to a durability that is at the same time spontaneous. Energy transformation and value fulfillment add up to a durability that is simultaneous. You may see what we are getting into here. Our third law is spontaneity, and despite all appearances of beginning and end, despite all appearances of death and decay, all consciousness exists in the spacious present, in a spontaneous manner, in simultaneous harmony, and yet within the spacious present there is also durability......

"The day of death is known. Consciously such knowledge is not given to the ego for obvious reasons, but every organism, through its inner senses, is equipped with subconscious knowledge of personal disasters, deaths, and so forth, the personality itself deciding beforehand what it considers disastrous; and the members of the species as a whole know in advance of their wars. As telepathy operates constantly at a subconscious level, as a basis for all language and communication, so clairvoyance operates continually so that the physical organism can prepare itself to face its challenges. The inner senses also convey the knowledge that death is merely an energy transformation, and your almost numberless religions merely represent idea symbols that attempt to make this knowledge plain to the ego. That they deal with distortions and camouflage material is not to be wondered at. They have managed in some way to make this inner knowledge a part of the ego-understanding of the species."
(from "The Early Sessions: Book 2 of The Seth Material" by Jane Roberts, Robert Butts)

https://amzn.eu/1zkPXnf

Value fulfilment =  Energy transformation

Death = Energy transformation

? Death = Value fulfilment

Death is one form of value fulfilment, but there are obviously other examples of value fulfilment. Birth is an example of value fulfilment.

I would like to make it clear at this point that I am not an "anti-vaxxer". My wife and I have had the first dose of the vaccine. Obviously, people have a right to choose, and the vaccine should not be compulsory.

[Deb]

 

We are either in a cooperative venture with the virus, or at the very least, our psyches, the individual cells of our bodies and the virus are all aware of each other's needs, taking them into consideration.  What a thing to contemplate!  The virus is not an adversary; we know it will not take life unless that life is ready to transition.

Value fulfilment =  Energy transformation

Death = Energy transformation

? Death = Value fulfillment

Yes! Brilliant, and a LOT of great quotes from Seth putting the virus into a more objective perspective. I wish we'd started off this way back in March! If someone truly believes in what Seth taught, then yes covid is not the enemy but an ally and we've lost the ability to see that. And even from a scientific perspective, an illness that kills its host goes 180° counter to the purpose of anything conscious that exists and so makes little sense in the greater scheme of things.

The deaths of Rich Kendall in late April, and then Mary Dillman in early December, have really brought death as a personal choice to the forefront for me. Adding the bit about it being value fulfillment was a surprise, but that makes total sense to me now. 

For Mary, Rich's death brought up the topic of her own eventual death with respect to her research project and the need to find someone to finalize her work. It had crossed her mind before Rich's death, but his sudden departure brought it up front and personal. Mary asked at that time if I would follow through for her and of course I said yes.

Then when Mary suddenly started feeling off in October and was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, she said several times to me that she wondered if it was her time to go, but then would cover that by saying she was confident she'd be around for a long time. She also joked she always wanted to go quickly but not THAT quickly. Then she was transferred from hospital to rehab center, and tested positive for covid. She refused treatment—I think she finally accepted that it really WAS her time to go—and covid was the quicker and more gentle way out. Bravo to her.

Many times over the years she said her work on the research project was her value fulfillment. A few days before she passed, she stopped worrying about her research and focused instead on telling a couple of people close to her how she wanted her personal effects distributed. So her priority switched from her research, to something more personal. I don't know if knowing I had her back allowed her to focus on other pressing concerns, but the idea that death itself is value fulfillment makes me think that she switched VF from her research to her death. She did say to me that she was looking forward to her new (after death) adventure.

My mind also goes back to that quote I'd put up a while ago, under the topic of the lost cat, where Seth said, "the animal went on as a youngster leaves the house and grows up. You aided in the evolution of its consciousness, then allowed it its freedom."

Mary graduated.

PS I have to say the virus has been a catalyst or aid for me in improving a few situations in my personal life.