Beliefs and their effect on Reality, IE health etc.

[Ewhaz]

i've been debating this for quite some time, dealing with it in my own head and trying to figure out which path would lead to greater understanding and experience as well as deal with the issue of health.

we understand that the world around us is a construct of the mind of god, therefore as co creators we have influence over it and all the constructs included there in. this includes our bodies.

there is no doubt that beliefs effect our bodies. our attitudes and emotions effect our bodies for better or worse. worry wears them down, love hope and happiness allow it to mend and stay healthy and mend to some extent.

in the conversations with seth series, they speak very deeply about beliefs. they went so far as to say that if you believed yourself to be healthy, you could maintain your health just like that. of course modifying your belief systems is hardly a walk in the park, they are very deeply ingrained in this reality. they even went so far as to explore the meaning of one persons experience, who was a natureopath and was convinced that everything man made caused cancer or sickness. he later died of some cancer. did he subject himself to his own sickness, believing that he was constantly exposed to cancer causing substances and therefore programed his body to respond to those toxins and get sick?

question

so i've been asking myself, wondering rather, which is more important. do i play the game, ie take my pills, eat the right foods, get the right exercise etc or do i work on my beliefs instead?

in part, taking pills (vitamins) plays the game of the body not having enough. eating the right foods plays the game that the wrong foods will harm you or that you are already unhealthy and needing to modify the diet to correct an existing condition. in short, doing all of that supports the belief that my body is infirm in some way.

i know that dw has expressed the same, get plenty of sunlight and exposure to torsion fields and eat raw organic foods as much as possible. i myself have been into natural cures for the longest time, and i understand what is necessary to help the body heal and stay healthy.

so do i play the game, or do i grow beyond it enough to let my beliefs reflect that the hologram of my body can be perfect in and of itself without the distortion? i know the law of attraction may also be in effect, believing yourself to be healthy may in fact draw those things to you that would support it. so i'm debating which path to follow.

does any one else have any thoughts on this?

[Liam]

i am often wondering the same things as you. i've thought for a while that certain foods and alcohol for instance can cause lower vibrations. the way i tend to look at it is that diets containing a lot of processed foods and foods that are high in fat/saturated fat and salt are in a sense the diets of the 'old world' and that we need to support our development at a physical level by treating the body as well as possible and drinking plenty of pure water. i'm not sure what other peoples' views are on this but personally i try to avoid drinking fluoridated tap water. having to shower and wash cooking utensils in it is obviously unavoidable however. maybe this is due to a touch of paranoia after what i've heard about fluoride and its effects on the body but i can't help but thinking that the body is so reliant on water that this water should be as pure as possible. i have started to try and buy some organic produce recently despite being a student and not having a huge budget. to me though, the health of my body is very important so i don't mind spending a little extra. from my point of view, in order to view my body as healthy i have to feel that what i'm eating is healthy. maybe other people have more knowledge on the preparation and treatment of food, in particular meat and its potential effect on vibrations. whatever we eat i suppose the best thing is to think positively about the food and imagine it being nourishing for the body.

i've noticed that dw has recommended the 'superfood' chlorella on this site before. has anyone had any experience with chlorella? i was considering trying it recently but i am unsure about the purity of it if i buy it from a health food store. well i'm sure there are many more forumers who are far more experienced than me in this respect so i too would be interested in hearing some responses on this!

[twva]

so i've been asking myself, wondering rather, which is more important. do i play the game, ie take my pills, eat the right foods, get the right exercise etc or do i work on my beliefs instead?

nice question. my take, fwiw: i'm not sure it's an either/or situation. after all, talking about cancer ra said "[t]he other portion of healing [in addition to forgiving other-self] has to do with forgiveness of self and a greatly heightened respect for the self. this may conveniently be expressed by taking care in dietary matters. this is quite frequently a part of the healing and forgiving process."

so in taking good care of our bodies are we not expressing our belief in their perfection? since my body is perfect, i want to give it the best food, rest, sunlight, thoughts, etc. in other words, in taking care of our bodies we are working on our beliefs.

[MarkM]

this is an interesting series of thoughts and questions, and i recall seth saying this very thing.

i've asked the very same questions, mind you, and this is but a snapshot of my own thought-processes in regards to those questions.

in pondering this line of questioning, it seems wise to consider a hypothetical, exaggerated scenario, such as, for example, eating nothing at all.

now, i'm no boddhisatva, although i can't speak for anyone else. maybe it's an issue of lifelong conditioning, but i get pretty peckish come six o-clock. i don't think i would survive without eating...and there you go, that's what i believe!

now, is this an issue of only pre-concieved self-limitation? perhaps in the greater, law of one terms of illusion and duality.

i put this question into plain black and white terms for a reason. really, it's just, for me, a starting place for thought. i need air to breathe, water to drink, and food to eat. i'm going to go out on a limb and say all humans need these things to survive here.

that being said, we know our attitutes affect our health, as well. but i know that despite my attitude, i need air. the variable here is air quality, food quality, and water quality. if these things were severely poisoned, i might survive for a while, maybe a little longer with a positive attitude. i would certainly be tempting fate to not seek out better quality necessities.

the average diet of a north american is rife with toxins. here, it's a question of degree. we've demonstrated the ostensible limitations of positive thinking, although my grandmother lived to be 100 years old on a typical english and north american diet.

in attempting to address your question,

"in part, taking pills (vitamins) plays the game of the body not having enough. eating the right foods plays the game that the wrong foods will harm you or that you are already unhealthy and needing to modify the diet to correct an existing condition. in short, doing all of that supports the belief that my body is infirm in some way....

so do i play the game, or do i grow beyond it enough to let my beliefs reflect that the hologram of my body can be perfect in and of itself without the distortion?"

maybe it's a question of the lesser of two evils. maybe, it's an attitude issue, but we can have the attitude that we are taking good care of ourselves (and take good care of ourselves), and are healthy. to me, the sum of these things is greater than being complacent with a less than optimum lifestyle with regard for diet, although maintaining a positive attitude regarding health.

i'm thinking to myself, draw a distinction between healthy concern, and fear.

-mark

[SuperManny]

so do i play the game, or do i grow beyond it enough to let my beliefs reflect that the hologram of my body can be perfect in and of itself without the distortion? i know the law of attraction may also be in effect, believing yourself to be healthy may in fact draw those things to you that would support it. so i'm debating which path to follow.
there is no doubt in my mind that if your beliefs are strong enough in all the proper areas, you would have no need to take any supplements. in fact you probably wouldn't need to eat at all, or at least very little. however for most of us it's much easier to just take the supplements.

i was looking for a quote by ra, and finally found it, (b2 p82-83) only to see that it had already been posted by twva. (thank you!) ra discusses how "...a greatly heightened respect for the self... ... may conveniently be expressed by taking care in dietary matters." i think this is similar to how the bible talks about treating your body as a temple for spirit. so taking the supplements and eating quality food is also a way of showing respect for the body, (unless of course you really believe your body won't benefit from it.)

[Ewhaz]

that has been the other part playing in the back of my mind.. attitudes.

if your taking pills and eating organic foods to prevent illness... then maybe that is the belief that needs to be modified. maybe it needs to be 'taking pills to do the best for my body' etc. the focus being from preventing ills or being paranoid about sickness, toxins etc, to instead focusing on simply giving your body what it needs to be the very best.

i've read a lot of articles on healing and natural cures so i'm very aware of that particular distortion. needless to say, its easy to get worried and become paranoid about whats going into your body.

as far as the ra quote.. i am by no means trying to deny my body anything, deprive it or ignore its needs. in a round about way i'm trying to keep from sabotaging it by focusing on the wrong things and thus setting myself up for failure. i love my life, and that includes my body! i don't have the perfect body (in fact i'm obese) but its mine and i'm very comfortable in it.

i want to be able to do the best for my body while not focusing on all the ills that can happen and thus create the situation where they become an option for the cells of my body. i also realize that in a round about way, the law of attraction would end up working with whatever i focus on. if i focus on believing that i am healthy, it may very well be that i find my attitudes and the foods available to my body may be attracted to match my beliefs.

to bad there isn't a ra hot line we can call up with little questions like this :p

[MarkM]

as gandhi was not against british rule, but for indian self rule, maybe we can be not against illness but pro-health.:)

maybe it's not about preventing illness but encouraging health.

-mark

[One 66]

perhaps it just appreciating the experience of it all regardless of it being positive or negative.

one 66

[twva]

i think i maybe agree with you, ewhaz, about supplements. after all, the very name "supplements" implies there is something lacking in our diet, so by taking them i suppose we could be sending an unfortunate message to our bodies. and ra did tell carla that when she started taking pituitone or whatever it was she was ceasing to affirm the perfection of the spiritual healing of her kidneys.

in terms of diet my family tries to follow the basic edgar cayce guidelines: 80/20 alkaline/acid; eat as much locally-grown food as possible. in our case that basically means have a really big garden, keep a small flock of laying hens, and buy locally-raised meat.

i think you're also right about attitudes, especially during mealtimes. if you can be clear that this food you are eating is going to help your body be strong and healthy, chances are it will. and i think that's probably just as true about the occasional burger and fries as it is about an arugula salad. was it jesus or edgar cayce who said that that which comes out of my mouth is more harmful than that which goes in?

[walle]

actually i think it was more along the lines of what goes in the mouth is not what defiles it but rather what comes out of what you take in. edgar quoted jesus on that one. but myself having been through an intense diet transformation which included integrating quite rapidly ayurvedic and macrobiotic cooking can say that mindset and quality of food both matter. i cook 3 meals a day using local organic produce whole grains and always attempting to maintain full awareness and love for all things. it is a full time job. but the longer i work on it the easier it has become for me to know what my body needs and understand the relationships that energy has with life. food can be a incredible catalyst just as trying to understand any source of nourishment can be. i would completely agree with the mindset being of equal or greater importance than the actuall food your eating however the closer you get to using the natural occuring foods and ways of preparation as possible the more intune you become with life. when you can keep your body balanced and stable throughout the day you can be far more successful in working on the mind/heart/sex relations. observation of desire and self occurs more naturally when one has a excellent relationship with the internal organs and keeps the body in as close to a balanced state as possible. this is not easy but a path that is useful to integrate for enhanced spiritual progress.

[Kris]

there is no doubt that beliefs effect our bodies. our attitudes and emotions effect our bodies for better or worse. worry wears them down, love hope and happiness allow it to mend and stay healthy and mend to some extent.

so i've been asking myself, wondering rather, which is more important. do i play the game, ie take my pills, eat the right foods, get the right exercise etc or do i work on my beliefs instead?

personally ewhaz, i think you should do both. if you eat properly and get exercise, you won't need to take supplements. more importantly though, as you said, i believe that our attitudes and emotions do effect our bodies for better or worse.

david has often spoken about how our dna turns into a tight ball when we are angry and how the body cannot heal itself in this state.

ra also talks about how anger can cause terrible illnesses.

so to me, it just makes sense to take care of our bodies and our minds. if you eat properly and have a positive attitude, it will be easy to believe you are healthy because you will be.

kris

[AmelieJolie]

whenever i feel confused about the "meaning of life", i get seriously depressed. when i am more secure in my beliefs, i feel healthy.

i think it is dangerous to label people with depression and such because this reaffirms the label by the person's belief in it- "as we think, so we are".

what causes the drop in the serotonin levels in the first place? that is the question i feel we should be asking.

imo, depression is really soul-sickness......

although diet, lifestyle, etc....genetics may play a role too.....every case is unique.

however.....

we have the power to change it, don't we?
at least we do once we are given or we are able to find the right knowledge or keys.

[h2ochris]

we are energy, everything is. these are good questions to ask. all the symptoms of the physical body start with energy that we are taking in. our feelings, our thoughts of self, the food that fuels us. there are so many factors to what ails us and what heals us. as technology grows and the chakras and auras can be investigated, the more that people will accept the self destructive behaviors that drive us. we must realize, we are years of dysfunction. we learned it from our parents and they learned it from theirs. this is why self realization is the most important thing you can do. that is the first start to accepting and knowing who you are. we are all love and all is perfect. it may not explain good and bad but it does help to accept it, because there is no good or bad, there just is. we are connected to everything, therefore everything effects us. be love and be one and then the healing starts. bless all!!!!!