The Nature of Action

From Session 139 found in Volume 3 of Seth's Early Sessions:


"Action itself cannot be directly perceived. It cannot be seen nor touched. Its nature can never be examined from an objective viewpoint. The objective viewpoint will, at best, give but hints and signs. Action, to be examined in such a manner, would have to be stopped. You cannot tamper with action, not with the basic nature of action, because any such tampering causes it to change.

"Action can be experienced directly, however, but only when no effort is made to tamper with it. It must be plunged into. Once more, action is not a function of structure. Action is inseparable from structure. Structure is action. Identities are action, as I have explained. Your idea of action as it occurs within dreams comes closer to the real nature of action than does your idea of muscular force. For in dreams the ego makes little attempt to impede action. Though in dreams you see or feel your arm move, your legs run, still the arm and the legs of the physical body may not move.

You cannot touch the action. You cannot touch the action, now, of your own arm as you write. You see the results of the action. You can feel effects of the action, but you cannot directly perceive the action itself. Since identity is dependent upon action, then it should be seen that it is impossible for an identity to attain stability, since total stability would destroy it.

"We come here also to one of the other causes of the dreaming state, beside those of which we have spoken in the past. The mind, of itself and separated from the ego, must still be action, and therefore never still. Since action of any kind, being composed of inner vitality, must seek materialization, the dreams become the constructions of that dream universe of which, again, we have spoken. But action can never complete itself. The dream once begun continues, and the dream universe itself forms anew other constructions.

"Here is an analogy. Imagine then the inner vitality being some cosmic sphere, but a sphere of more dimensions than you can imagine. Its motion could be called action, but this is deceptive because action is the basic nature of the sphere itself. Action is its composition. Action is that from which it is, therefore it moves, it acts outward. But all outwardness turns ultimately inward, and then again outward in all directions. And each inward action forms a new dimension that must, again, be thrust outward toward utilization.

"Yet each outward thrust turns again inward; and of itself, because of the nature of action, is the creation of new action.

"Now, to continue with our analogy, this cosmic sphere which we have imagined would be a model for every action.

"Because of its own nature it must act, yet no action can ever complete itself. The sphere would act in as many ways as were open to it, and every action changes that which is acted upon. Therefore each action would create a new reality. In such a manner are all fields activated.

"If you will remember the three creative dilemmas discussed in our past session, you will see that we have here the reason for our self-perpetuating universe, the reason for termination within it, and the inherent necessity for change. If one thought were held forever, no other thoughts would follow, no action would follow, and no identity. In your own intimate psychological experience, in the intimate psychological experience of every individual within your race, you will find recognition of the thought.

"Thought cannot be seen or touched. Thought is action. A thought within your field must vanish, be terminated, disappear, before it can be replaced by another. The identical thought will not return. A very similar thought may return, but the two thoughts will not be identical, although you may perceive them as identical. This is an error of perception.

"No two actions are ever identical. We must mention here also a little regarding pulsations and the appearance or semblance of continuity. Every action involves a pulsation; you will recall we spoke of the pulsation of atoms and molecules.

"(For some material on pulsation see the 60-65th sessions, among others.)

"Now, I have just told you that one thought must terminate before another thought can appear. Although this might sound as if I am speaking in terms of continuity, I am not. The action of our imaginary sphere upon and within itself is simultaneous, and in all directions. All actions occur basically within the spacious present, but all action cannot be aware of itself except as it attempts further action, i.e., materializations.

"While so materialized, action is aware of itself in two basic ways; through its innate comprehension of itself, and through a secondary, more limited but more focused perception of self belonging to such materializations. The innate comprehension of course involves us with the inner self. The secondary self belonging to the materialization gives us, within your field, the ego.

"Action does not involve time as you know it. Action does not involve space as you know it. The semblance of continuity is merely the result of a choosing of some actions from an infinite number of simultaneous actions.

"I have several things I want to say.

"First, I want to make certain that action is understood, insofar as we have discussed it. Action is the inner vitality of all reality. It seeks to utilize itself in as many ways as possible. Its action, its attempts at outward materialization, however, must result in the creation of new inner vitality, for this is the stuff of which it is composed. And this new inner vitality will then seek materialization, and so the cycle is never completed.

"The word materialization is used because it is applicable within your field. Nevertheless, as you know such materializations hardly all result in the construction of matter."

... "A note now concerning thought, as it is a form of action with which all men are familiar. Here you can see that your ego accepts thoughts as a part of its identity. Thought's actions are accepted by the ego, yet the ego seems to stand apart from them; and because of ego's nature it fears to plunge into the action of a thought. For it, the ego, has but recently pried itself from action, and so perceives action now as if action were a province of ego, and not the other way around.

"But the ego's seeming independence from action is basically meaningless, since ego is also action, and can never be otherwise. Any such separation of action from itself only adds to the totality of action, in that it increases action's ability to perceive itself from as many viewpoints as possible. Perspectives represent action's action upon itself. Any one dimension must result in another dimension, for the action within any given dimension can never complete itself, but will continue."