@Aedes,
Great post fellas, and very educational as well! I have my opinion on this subject as well but please understand that I'm not scientist nor am I educated in the health portion of it. I'm just a self-proclaimed philosopher that has pondered and taken a keen interest in obesity.
First off, I'd make a perfect obese person. I eat good, eat a lot and eat rather quickly but enjoy food more than many things.:shifty: Actually, from a philosophical standpoint I feel that I've actually been obese.
Anyway, I have a dear friend who is severely overweight which has been something that he and I have been discussing for many years. I've watched him from skinny in high school to SEVERELY overweight today. This with my own mind is all I know of obesity and that of which I've observed through years of being an observer from a birds-eye-view.
What is Obesity?
As I see it, obesity is a state of mind not body. It is merely a physical reflection of that which the mind accepts and likewise produces in the physical form. I'm not sure of all the medical aspects of it but lets consider for a moment how one becomes obese and I'll use an example.
With my friend, his mother was slightly obese. Observation and interaction along with deep inner pondering on this and understanding of various things lead me to believe it's more of a state of mind than anything else.
If you are obese or become obese, I feel it has less to do with genetics and more to do with level of conscious thought and the perception of reality and as we know, signals of perception can alter the proteins within the body and likewise produce physiological change,... , .. thus producing an effect which we call obesity.
While some may be obese prior to birth or after birth, I believe this state of mind can be altered easily based solely on the level of consciousness our mind vibrates at... :shocked: (It does sound a little off the wall.) With this in mind, our consciousness and conscious thought creates merely a reflection in the physical form. This physical form becoming to many of us, who we are when in all actuality, it's merely a reflection of separation from who we really are... does this make sense?
So, basically obesity could be considered a state of mind. Let's think about that for a moment...
Obesity and Fear
I can only speak for what I see amongst Americans and have stumbled upon on the net but from what I understand, America is an obese country. We've enjoyed wealth and food and a lifestyle like no other. There are obese people everywhere and many of them don't get that way until they are 30-50. I've talked to many a men that say, "this six pack is paid for".
America, as a whole has been living in fear just as I have lived in fear. Fear of debt, fear of death, fear of love, fear of flying, fear of terrorist, fear of retirement, fear of God, fear of the government, fear of bills, fear of living, fear of cancer, fear of mosquitoes, fear of heights, fear of nearly everything around us including fear of OBESITY... The perception of fear and the signal of fear would send signals throughout the entire body. It's the acceptance and living in fear, and the perception of fear that creates physiological change which is merely a reflection of conscious thought transmuted into what we call physical matter. Fear of obesity will create obesity. ... hang on, there's more. :listening:
It goes beyond just the fear many of us have and into the influences of how we were raised and what we accepted as truth as we grew physically from birth further and further away from our, (real) conscious self into what we see as a reflection of our conscious thought... an illusion... an effect. I know, I often tend to ramble but my thoughts come quicker than can be typed...
Obese People Think Obese
My friend, the one that I care so much about, lives an obese lifestyle. We've had many philosophical discussions however he's so separated from himself that he cannot see himself other than a fat, (obese) man.
I'm speaking of a fella that's 340+ pounds. He's accepted this lifestyle and accepted his fate and has accepted the fears of dying young because of his obesity. He tries real hard to lose weight and has taken all kinds of pills and all kinds of classes and can even lose weight for a period of time but then gains it all back again.
I observe this over and over and it's killing me to see this and trying to find a way to help my pal... However, I've discovered I cannot help him at all. His thoughts are obese, his actions are obese and he's accepted obesity and therefore has created his obesity. Maybe it was how he was raised, maybe the lack of a loving father or mother,.. maybe a friend that tried to change him... maybe a fear of staying obese. Who really knows?
Whatever it may be... He does not visualize himself thin therefore can loose the weight for a month, maybe even a year just to return to where he started off or even worse... I this the cause? Or could merely be an effect? When he's lost the weight and looks into the mirror, he sees himself not a thin man but an obese man.
Obesity as an Effect
Too often as we live in this world of effect we tend to think that we can change the effect by treating the effect. Obesity is only an effect of something much greater and much deeper. We live in a world of effect and that's exactly what mankind studies and treats. Obesity is no more a disease than chocolate pudding... It's an effect of a much larger and prevalent cause. If we treat obesity, we are only treating the effect. The effect can be altered with drugs and it can be changed with practice but what of the cause?
This leads into cause... oh gosh, I'd have to write a book to explain it properly, please forgive me for rambling. :brickwall:
Needless to say, we can change obesity when we start dealing with the cause rather than obesity. What is the cause? ... well, ponder on that a few months... :rolleyes: This is intended to only inspire thought.
Obesity as a Disease
Is it a disease? Is it a disease of the mind or is it a disease of the flesh? Is Obesity a cause, or is it an effect? Those are some questions that come to mind when referring to Obesity as a disease. Obesity is exactly what we've excepted it and feared it to be... we've created it. The frame of mind, the vibration of thought consciousness, the signals of perception we've accepted into our bodies... the alterations of our own perception reflected in physical form through conscious thought..., (difficult to explain).
If obesity be a a disease, is it a disease of cause or effect? (a disease of mind or matter?) This is something to think about.
Can We Overcome Obesity?
You bet your 'sweet bippie' we can. I have to believe that man has been given the power to change the physical world to that of his ability to think from within in accordance with his knowing of himself. Obesity can be overcome easily if we stop treating the effect... Meaning, we stop treating Obesity and start treating the cause of Obesity. Sure we can scientifically alter the effect but in treating the effect, (Obesity) we experience more of it as seen throughout the ages.
To overcome obesity we must overcome the acceptance of it. We have to take a good look at what Obesity is caused by and work on the cause.
- Obesity is an effect
- Cancer is an effect
- Obscurity is an effect
- Tooth Aches are an effect
- Emotions are an effect
- Disease is an effect
- ... Merely everything we think of as real, or reality is only an effect.
- .. .. All of the above as a cause, would produce yet another effect. :hmm:
We as a mankind live within a world of effect. Obesity is an effect of a much greater cause.
I could go on and on because this is a topic of great interest. I feel that I've rambled on enough and to describe effect, (Obesity) it would take a very long book or essay to understand it a way that could be understood. So, taking issue with the cause of obesity would be on the only way of overcoming it. We can treat obesity with drugs and science but is that actually overcoming it?
To finish, the only way that I can help my dear friend is to help myself in this obesity ordeal. When I see him, I see myself and it's something that I've lived and experienced and something that I have not let loose of.
Disclaimer and Credentials
Zero! Zilch and None. These are simply my thoughts written above and I have absolutely no sound proof other than my experience of it. Academically I have ZERO credentials so take from it what you may and do with it what you will. Is it complete... Absolutely not! Obesity is something that interests me very much and I don't have the answers to it, just a lot of thoughts that hope to inspire more thought and dialog. This is obesity as seen through the eyes of a self-proclaimed philosopher.
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To overcome obesity we must see ourselves as NOT obese when we look into that mirror. Is the mirrored reflection a cause or is it an effect?
The reflection will only be that which the mind reflects. We can call it a disease, but is it a disease of the mind or a disease of the flesh? Could it be possible that we believe the effect into existence?
OK, I'm done for now! :intentive: :sarcastic:
One more... :uh-oh: ... :not-so-fast: .... Can we change the effect by changing the cause of that effect?... Is the effect merely a reflection of self?