Seth: Your own preoccupation with arms, as a country...

[Mark M]

Nov 1972  Seth class :


"But when all the young men refuse to kill for the sake of peace,  and
when
all the women forbid their men to kill for the sake of peace,  and when
you
realize that no peace will come through killing, and that  the end does
not
justify the means, and when you grow full and light  with thoughts of
peace, there
will be an end to war. But as long as any  men go to war for the sake of
peace, there will be war. And, as long as  any woman teaches her sons to
go to war
because of love of the peace,  there will be war.

"You make your world. When you populate your world with ideas of  peace,
then
peace will grow. When you think thoughts of aggression, you  attract
aggression and you draw it out from others in daily contact, and on  the
part of
nations.

"...Now you cannot understand this now, and yet I tell you that your  own

preoccupation with arms, as a country, is received by others, and  your
own
thoughts are materialized and you create wars in your minds  that then
must be
faced with your flesh and your  blood.

"The reality that you have is a replica of your thoughts. If you do  not
like
the world, you must change your thoughts and no  exterior manipulation
will
change the face of your experience one iota, if  you do not change your
dreams
and your thoughts.

"...Unfortunately, you equate aggression with strength, so you are
afraid to
elect a peaceful man. And all the other countries feel the same,  so they
are
afraid to put into power, by whatever means, peaceful men.  And so your
world
situation is the result of your individual beliefs,  enmasse.

"...Now, when individually you believe in peace, and when you no  longer
believe that good is weak and evil is powerful, then, on  countrywide
bases, you
will put people into power who believe in the active  nature of peace.
And,
again, there is no other answer."

US arms preoccupation illustrated followed by the eternal question asked of programs that might help people:

The Pentagon Inspector General's office has uncovered more than 100 overcharges by contractor TransDigm alone, totaling $20.8 million. Where are we going to get the money for that?

The overpriced plastic toilet seat covers that cost $640 in the 1980s now cost $10,000. Where are we going to get the money for that?

Paying $2,286 for a landing gear that should have cost $10. Where are we going to get the money for that?

$8,124 for a bevel gear that should have cost $445. Where are we going to get the money for that?

The Pentagon plans to buy more than 2,400 F-35 planes. DoD found 800 unresolved defects in the plane. Where are we going to get the money for that?

The high-tech helmet for flying them costs $400,000 each. Where are we going to get the money for that?

An F-35 costs $38,000 an hour to fly. Where are we going to get the money for that?

Spending eight times on "defense" what Russia spends. Where are we going to get the money for that?

Except for China and Russia, the US acts like its sphere of influence is the entire globe (Ukraine!, markets!), with more than 750 military bases. Where are we going to get the money for that?

Aircraft carriers cost up to $13 billion each. Where are we going to get the money for that?

A massive nuclear arsenal. Where are we going to get the money for that?

Further arms preoccupation in the US is all the people who buy guns for themselves.

[Deb]

"You get what you concentrate upon. There is no other main rule."

—NoPR Chapter 3: Session 617, September 25, 1972

[Sena]

A massive nuclear arsenal. Where are we going to get the money for that?

In my view, the U.S. does need to possess a deterrent. Disarmement needs to be a worldwide agreement; it cannot be unilateral:

"Good mental or physical health can hardly flourish under such conditions. There are instead most beneficial groups in this country and abroad, who actually, actively, yet peacefully join together to work for worldwide nuclear disarmament, and also to tackle such questions as nuclear waste. Their efforts are directed in other ways also, as they try to convince all areas of the world to share their wealth and foodstuffs equally."
—Way to Health Chapter 14: June 27, 1984

How many Seth readers are there in Russia, China, and North Korea? I do recall that a Russian person joined this forum.

Some time ago Deb posted about a Seth reader in Taiwan:

https://speakingofseth.com/index.php?topic=1586.0

[Mark M]

One can believe that unilateral disarmament will lead to the "enemy" nation taking advantage of that and attacking.

Or one can believe in a safe universe, unilaterally disarm, and see that the "enemy" nation either does not attack or itself likewise disarms.

[Mark M]

"Once again, then, ideas of the most optimistic nature are the
biologically pertinent ones."

--Seth, Session 06\27/84 for The Way Toward Health

[Sena]

Or one can believe in a safe universe, unilaterally disarm, and see that the "enemy" nation either does not attack or itself likewise disarms.

Anorexics believe they can do without food, and they stop eating.

Not every anorexic is like Therese Neumann, who is said to have lived without food for 36 years:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18437337/

[Mark M]

Certainly they stop eating/stop eating enough, but I would think they, at large, actually do believe food is needed. My understanding is they are avoiding being fat, in an extreme, eating disorder way.

[Sena]

Certainly they stop eating/stop eating enough, but I would think they, at large, actually do believe food is needed. My understanding is they are avoiding being fat, in an extreme, eating disorder way.

There is an interesting article on the false beliefs of anorexics:

Yet, systems of belief, including false beliefs, are often resistant to change even in the face of contradictory scientific evidence, and retrospective examination of the "facts" may be ineffective and can even strengthen the false belief (Lewandowsky et al., 2012; Fazio et al., 2015; Yousif et al., 2019). Today, research on "fake news" has disclosed some of the factors involved, including political and economic interests, denialist campaigns, shared values, maintenance of social networks and so forth.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02110/full

[Deb]

Not every anorexic is like Therese Neumann, who is said to have lived without food for 36 years:

I find it surprising that a medical publication would have a paper about stigmata and Therese's lack of nourishment. I heard about someone else that said they never ate, in more recent times, and they found out she was sneaking food. Photos of Therese show she was a bit on the plump side. 

[Mark M]

Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_nervosa

[Sena]

I find it surprising that a medical publication would have a paper about stigmata and Therese's lack of nourishment.

Deb, if it is true that Therese did not eat for 36 years, it confirms Seth's teaching that physical reality is camouflage reality. We need food only because of our belief that we need food! The problem with the anorexic is that they want to be very, very slim.

"The settings in your physical environment, the sometimes lovely paraphernalia, the physical aspects of life as you know it, are all camouflages, and so I call your physical reality a camouflage." (from "Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul (A Seth Book)" by Jane Roberts)

https://amzn.eu/1TVLuJ5

[Mark M]

Sena,

Not so fast; this is from Seth talking about shorter sleep periods (and somewhere he suggested more frequent, smaller meals):

"The same applies to your eating habits. By turn you overstuff and then starve the tissues. This has definite effects upon the nature of your consciousness, your creativity, your degree of concentration. Along these lines, for example, you do literally starve your bodies at night, and add to the aging of your bodies by denying them food throughout those long hours. All of this reflects upon the strength and nature of your consciousness."

—Seth Speaks Chapter 8: Session 532, May 27, 1970

[Deb]

Deb, if it is true that Therese did not eat for 36 years, it confirms Seth's teaching that physical reality is camouflage reality. We need food only because of our belief that we need food! The problem with the anorexic is that they want to be very, very slim.

I wonder if newborns believe they need to eat? Plants and animals? Our cells are constantly dying and being replaced, children grow... we haven't yet learned how to maintain these bodies without food, or use the energy around us for nourishment. Our cells have organelles that take in and utilize nutrients and remove waste. But then cells are matter and so we're creating them too.

I guess it's not that simple... eating could be one of those root assumptions we accept when we come into this physical system.

Therese's anorexia was a religious thing, there's an interesting article here that explains what it's about. It also contains a list of others like Therese. Things tended to not fair well for them.

I enjoy growing, cooking and eating food, and my body came with a digestive system, so anorexia is definitely not on my bucket list.

The OTHER anorexia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_mirabilis

[Sena]

Sena,

Not so fast; this is from Seth talking about shorter sleep periods (and somewhere he suggested more frequent, smaller meals):

Mark, you have evaded the point I made about the need to eat being merely a belief.

[Mark M]

I posted a Seth quote where he is saying not eating ends up starving the tissues.

Which is common sense I might add.

"Common sense is esoteric!" --Seth, CWS, V. 1, Chap 8

[Sena]

I wonder if newborns believe they need to eat?

Deb, in my view newborns don't have beliefs because they don't have words.

The species Homo sapiens developed so-called belief systems. These sets of beliefs are reinforced by culture, theology, and experience and training as to how society works cultural values, stereotypes, political viewpoints, etc. Beliefs are often considered as convictions or as religious beliefs, but as scientists there are also philosophical beliefs relating to the sphere of daily life. If a stimulus is received, it may be interpreted through the belief system to be whatever the belief system might lead the recipient to rationalize. A belief system need have no basis in reality so long as it consistently provides adequate explanations.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10699-015-9409-z

I enjoy growing, cooking and eating food, and my body came with a digestive system, so anorexia is definitely not on my bucket list.

Good for you, Deb! I have a belief that I need to eat chocolate and drink coffee.

The OTHER anorexia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anorexia_mirabilis

Anorexia mirabilis is a fascinating topic I had not previously heard of. A few years ago my wife and I stayed with a group of nuns in Madrid. They served us some excellent meals which they too enjoyed eating. They were not "cloistered" nuns. It may be cloistering which gives rise to unsusal beliefs.

[Sena]

I posted a Seth quote where he is saying not eating ends up starving the tissues.

In that case, Seth seems to be contradicting his statement that beliefs create reality.

"I close by saying, as I have said before: You are given the gift of the gods; you create your reality according to your beliefs; yours is the creative energy that makes your world; there are no limitations to the self except those you believe in."
—NoPR Chapter 22: Session 677, July 11, 1973

[Deb]

In that case, Seth seems to be contradicting his statement that beliefs create reality.

Or could it be that our starving of tissues is because we believe, even when asleep, that we need food. In which case I don't see a contradiction. We just haven't learned how to nourish our tissues from the energy in and around us. As far as I know, atoms and molecules don't need food—they exist and are made of pure energy. And everything in our physical plane is made up of atoms and molecules, including these bodies.

[Mark M]

Sena wrote:

'in my view newborns don't have beliefs because they don't have words.'

Somewhere Seth said there is thought without words and this may have even been in the context of babies. Yes, hard to imagine.