The physical body responds to stimulus from outside and from within!

[inavalan]

"[... 7 paragraphs ...]

The arms have been exercised in new ways. He has felt like performing some physical activities—getting the meal today. (Jane's first in many many months.) The impulse automatically led him to perform physical acts that before he simply would not have done, so desire and impulse mobilize the body.

The exercises—or rather, the exercising—automatically stimulates all portions of the body, and will lead to periods of relaxation.

I have mentioned this before, but your environment is a symbol of your inner life and beliefs; one appears physical to you while the inner life does not. The physical body responds to stimulus from outside and from within. Ruburt's newer activity enlarges the physical stimulation possible—the different view of your house and grounds, for example; or preparing one meal automatically reminds him of others that he will want to prepare."

—TPS4 Deleted Session April 26, 1978

[inavalan]

"The exercises you see should have a joyful, gamelike atmosphere, or a nonchalance. He makes them a combat zone: his will versus his symptoms, and this defeats his purpose.

He did this even in the mental exercises I suggested. I now recommend all endeavors that combine enjoyment and exercise, where the exercise at least to his mind is incidental, or at least secondary.

[... 7 paragraphs ...]

Now. A definite exercise schedule should be set.

I will at least counteract some of the muscular tension and dissipate it. The activity itself will encourage him. Fifteen minutes at the least. Some exercises where he can see his own progress. These not to be picked up and dropped, but continued. They need not be the same.

He need not decide, now, whether these be yoga or other exercises. He can do one one day and one another if he chooses— but fifteen minutes minimum of any kind of exercising activity."

—TPS1 Session 387 December 11, 1967

[inavalan]

"[... 4 paragraphs ...]

Each unit of consciousness inherently possesses within itself all of the information available to the whole, and its specific nature when it operates as a particle rests upon that great "body" of inner knowledge. Any one such particle can be where it "is," be what it is, and be when it is only because the positions, relative positions, and situations of all other such particles are known.

[... 5 paragraphs ...]

While you and all of the other species were what I have called sleepwalkers, your bodies by then were physically capable. In a manner of speaking, you did not know how to use them properly as yet. Now, from a waking state, you do not understand how your dream bodies can seem to fly through the air, defy space and even time, converse with strangers and so forth. In the same way, however, once, you had to learn to deal with gravity, to deal with space and time, to manipulate in a world of objects, to simply breathe, to digest your food, and to perform all of the biological manipulations that now you take for granted (all most emphatically).

You could not afford to identify too completely with such bodies until you learned how to survive within them, so in the dream state (pause) the true processes of life began as these new bodies and earth-tuned consciousnesses saw themselves mentally exercising all portions of the body. Behind all that was the brilliant comprehension and cooperation of all of the units of consciousness that go to compose the body, each adding its own information and specific knowledge to the overall bodily organizations, and each involved in the most intricate fields of relationships, for the miracle of the body's efficiency is the result of relationships that exist among all of its parts, connecting it to other levels of existence that do not physically appear."

—DEaVF1 Chapter 3: Session 890, December 19, 1979

[inavalan]

"... Let him imagine himself performing varied vigorous activities until he is nearly exhausted, and then imagine the ensuing deep relaxation."
—TPS1 Session 379 (Deleted) November 13, 1967

[Deb]

Well, going back to proofreading Mary Dillman's interviews, I've been really impressed by how many class members (known and not-so-known) reported that while Jane was so physically degraded, she would have amazing flexibility and other improved physical abilities (such as vision improvement) when she was in trance and speaking as Seth.

Being a big fan of Joe Dispenza, with his studies on the power of the mind over body, and also Bruce Lipton (more stories in kind), I have to say my old view of physical limitations and illness has changed drastically. The mind is a powerful thing. And there is truth to making our own reality.

[inavalan]

I browsed an argument on another forum about the possibility (or not) of getting in shape without physically working out. At least one of the posters was an Abraham-Hicks fan, and he wrote:

Many years ago, Jerry asked Abraham about physical exercise and if it really was necessary, e.g. if it was really necessary to do pushups every day in order to develop strong arm muscles, because that's what Jerry's experience was. And Abe said, no. Because the rule always is, ask and it is given. And when your belief matches your desire, it is. That's basically the only requirement, alignment with your desire. But... people usually don't believe that when they ask it is given. They think they have to do something in order to get something. They think they have to put in some effort, that they have to earn it, they believe that there is no gain without pain, that they need the right genes etc. And so, Abe explained, while pushups are not necessary by default, people nevertheless have to do pushups in order to develop strong arm muscles. Because the pushups function as a bridge for their beliefs, it brings them into alignment with their desire. They believe they have to do 50 pushups every day for a month in order to get x amount muscle growth. So there are basically two ways of going about it. They could do it the easy way and adjust their beliefs to their desire and then it is, or they could do it the hard way and do the action and put in the effort their beliefs require them to do to match their desire and then it is. Both methods work, but one is going about the hard way and is very limited in terms of possibilities, the other is going about it the easy way and is unlimited in terms of possibilities. So I'd say what it basically comes down to is that we have to decide where on that spectrum (collective vs. infinite possibilities) we are going to play the game.

It didn't seem quite right to me, so I looked up Seth (see above more context):

"The physical body responds to stimulus from outside and from within."
—TPS4 Deleted Session April 26, 1978

It makes sense, because all levels of consciousness that choose to participate in the physical framework, at all levels, from particles and cells, to humans are in communication and have a level of free will.

"Behind all that was the brilliant comprehension and cooperation of all of the units of consciousness that go to compose the body, each adding its own information and specific knowledge to the overall bodily organizations, and each involved in the most intricate fields of relationships, for the miracle of the body's efficiency is the result of relationships that exist among all of its parts, connecting it to other levels of existence that do not physically appear."
—DEaVF1 Chapter 3: Session 890, December 19, 1979

I disagree with "ask and it is given", "basically the only requirement, alignment with your desire", and such. Those ignore the physical framework's primary assumptions.

[Deb]

I need to look up and share some studies Joe Dispenza quoted in his Placebo book. There have been studies where people have practiced mental scenarios and their bodies responded with muscle development. No physical exercise needed. That would be the mental stimulus.

I also don't agree with "ask and it is given." I'm totally on board with creating our own reality, but there is more involved than just asking.

[inavalan]

I think that the experiments / observations you referred to are about training skills, like shooting hoops, sports in general, or preparing for an interview, or a presentation, ... I don't remember reading about things like growing muscle, but on the other hand healing has often some physical component too, so ....

I think that what Seth says, while other channels don't, is that in this physical reality framework, there are consciousnesses at many levels of development, like cellular level vs. body level, and they are all in permanent communication, each one creating its own reality, exercising its free will to choose based on its perceptions. I guess, the more evolved consciousnesses have the psychological power to influence the less evolved ones, and also the "responsibility" that comes with the power.

[Deb]

Yes it's definitely used in sports—mental rehearsal. But studies show that the body can physically change using mental rehearsal too.

From Joe Dispenza's You Are the Placebo, making your mind matter, Chapter 5 How Thoughts Change the Brain and the Body. Emphasis is his. He's basically supporting Seth's teaching that we make our own reality, including our physical representation. I'm tempted to read this book again. BTW I can provide links to the examples he gave.

"In a Harvard study, research subjects who'd never before played the piano mentally practiced a simple, five-finger piano exercise for two hours a day for five days—and made the same brain changes as the subjects who physically practiced the same activities, but without ever living a finger. The region of their brains that controls finger movements increased dramatically, allowing their brains to look as though the experience they'd imagined had actually happened....

"In another study of 30 people over a 12-week period, some regularly exercised their little fingers, while others just imagined doing the same thing. While the group that actually did he physical exercises increased the strength of their little fingers by 53 percent, the group that only imagined doing the same thing also increased the strength of their little fingers—by 35 percent. Their bodies had changed to look as if they were having the physical experience in external reality over and over again—but they only experienced it in their minds. Their minds changed their bodies.

"In a similar experiment, ten volunteers each imagined flexing one of their biceps as hard as they could five times a week. Researchers recorded the subjects' electrical brain activity during the sessions and measured their muscle strength every two weeks. Those who only imagined flexing increased their bicep muscle strength by 13.5 percent in just a few weeks, and they maintained the gain for three months after the training stopped. Their bodies responded to a new mind.

"A final example is a French study that compared subjects who either lifted or imagined living dumbbells of different weights. Those who imagined lifting heavier weights activated their muscles more than did those who imagined lifting lighter weights. In all three of these studies on mental rehearsal, the subjects were able to measurably increase their body strength using only their thoughts."

Another example I remember but could not find in the book was a study done with women who did maid service in motels. I was able to find the study here. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17425538/

"In a study testing whether the relationship between exercise and health is moderated by one's mind-set, 84 female room attendants working in seven different hotels were measured on physiological health variables affected by exercise. Those in the informed condition were told that the work they do (cleaning hotel rooms) is good exercise and satisfies the Surgeon General's recommendations for an active lifestyle. Examples of how their work was exercise were provided. Subjects in the control group were not given this information. Although actual behavior did not change, 4 weeks after the intervention, the informed group perceived themselves to be getting significantly more exercise than before. As a result, compared with the control group, they showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index. These results support the hypothesis that exercise affects health in part or in whole via the placebo effect."

[inavalan]

Yes it's definitely used in sports—mental rehearsal. But studies show that the body can physically change using mental rehearsal too. ...

Thanks for these quotations.