“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

And our dear Lady of Florence: you have not yet put one tippy-toe in the clear waters of the inner self. You have not even danced about the shore. These inner realities represent your freedoms and your triumphs and your strengths—they represent the wonders that are within you—they cannot be given to you by another. No man’s reality is the same, whether it be physical or spiritual reality. You close the door to your own heritage when you do not look inward.

Now I would tell you, take one tippy-toe out of your physical time (to Florence)—only one tippytoe, and you will be surprised at the results. If you take the physical time, if you only take 15 minutes a day and make the effort to do so, this will automatically lead on your part to an initiation in the inner self. For the very fact of taking the time will represent a commitment which thus far you have not been willing to make. You had better open that door yourself—or someday I will huff, and I will puff, and I will blow the door down—and then there will be a mighty panic! And what have we here! And all it takes from you is the smallest whisper. You could at least speak through the keyhole. I will tell you, you will not find the answers you are seeking in any other way. There is no other way to find them. And again, you know this way.

You are the flower that is telling itself not to grow. You can counter this—and to some extent your attendance in class does counter it. You can counter this by changing your attitude. Where is your courage? You are extremely courageous in the exterior environment. We take on racial problems—we deal with the weighty issues of our community. We tend to look boldly and courageously into the problems of our society—but lo and behold, what happens to our courage when we think of looking into ourselves. Now, you are not being intellectually honest by refusing to look into yourself. You are using your intellect instead as an excuse. You are saying, intellectually I will not operate in this particular area. You think you are saying, I am too intellectual to operate in this particular area—my intellect impedes my progress. Your intellect does not impede your progress, your attitude towards your intellect does. Your intellect can be used to examine your progress. It can be an aid and it can help you in your achievement. Your intellect is not afraid of the inner self. It will grow with you gladly and as a friend if you will allow it to do so. Pretend then that the inner self is another land—and that you are a tourist—and highly curious—that you are intellectually and intuitively curious—pretend that all this courage you use in your daily endeavors is an aid to help you find your way in this new and strange and wondrous environment. Imagine yourself using all the abilities, as you look inward, that you use daily in looking outward.

Now I have said what I came here to say this evening. And you all know that there is fondness behind my severity. And you all know I would not huff and puff and blow your door in unless I gave proper warning—and I am giving proper warning! Now, there is joy in all this—and there is spontaneity—and you do not have to think in terms of walking into the inner self in a sack of ashes and crying repentance. If I had gold stars, I would paste one on his (Theodore’s) forehead—but then he would be the one who would have to go to the bank and explain the strange star and not I.