“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Eating is more a gluttonous endeavor to you in that regard. The preparation of food is a waste of time. It takes time away from more valuable things, both in its preparation and cleanup later. It is too sensuous. Those are your attitudes emotionally. Food must be kept as simple as possible, as unobtrusive.

Ruburt considers it in very poor taste (humorously) to ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ over food. Both of you enjoy a sense of moral superiority in the presence of your brothers’ families, that they eat so heartily while you refrain. Both of you now prove that you are not sunken in materialism by being thin. Ruburt simply carries this further than you do, rigidly holding his ground despite all entreaties to the contrary.

The phrase, “giving into your appetites,” is important here. It is one of the reasons for example why he does not like to eat, generally, in front of others. It is a moral principle to him, but also applies privately. It involves not being fleshy in voluptuous terms, a kind of esthetic discipline that morally disapproves of others. The sexual connotations are obvious, and added on. When he did not feel loved he would not eat—the two appetites, you see.

He did not, in the past now, feel nourished. When your intimate situation improves, so will his eating habits. But oddly enough the reverse also applies—when his eating habits improve so will your intimate lives. Your tempting him to eat, for example, and underline tempting, has strong sexual connotations to which he will respond, both sexually and through eating more.

Philosophically and practically there are many ramifications on this subject that I hope to cover, but what I have said for now applies. The word tempt is important, for it implies on you part a willingness to have him taste and share with you both through food and sexual enjoyment. Telling him to eat without understanding your own emotional attitude is useless, for he picks up and exaggerates the Puritan-like feelings toward food. Your preparing food for him now and then as a counterpoint can help.

He does have, as you do, buried sensuous tastes that can be cultivated: his buried far more than yours. Your combined emotional feelings toward food have been exaggerated by him. He thinks you disapprove for example of the very foods you tell him to eat, the sugars and starches. You condemn them except when mentioning them to him.