“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now. If I thought you were a sheep then I would try to lead you. And I would tell you where to go and what to do. You could ask me questions about your personal life and I would not require that you think for yourself. Instead, I would be quite happy to tell you what to do and to sit here and receive your thanks. If I thought you had no abilities of your own, and this applies to all of you, if I did not know that you were multidimensional personalities with all kinds of abilities at your disposal, then I would not tell you to think and feel for yourselves. I would not say you have the ability within you to solve your own problems. I would solve them for you.

I want each of you to know yourself—to solve your own problems—because they cannot be solved otherwise. And no one can tell any of you what to do! If one problem is solved seemingly in such a manner, then you will simply have to set a new problem of a similar kind and begin again from scratch, in another life or other circumstances in this life. Therefore, it does not serve you, although it may seem initially kind, to help you in such a manner.

Whenever you seek from others the answers to problems, then you take it for granted that within yourself there is no greater strength. And each time you accept answers from others you reinforce the attitude that you do not have the knowledge within yourself to find the answers. And, therefore, such answers easily given do not help you in the long run.

I have told you and I have told each of you here—that you are basically no different than I am. You are a consciousness in your time—dwelling within flesh. Presently, I have no body with which to manipulate in your physical system. And yet, regardless of that fact, each of you knows me well—you feel this vitality. And as I have said time and time again—such demonstrations should show you, since they are coming through Ruburt, that this energy is a portion of the energy that is your own—you have as much energy as I have—you have as much energy available to you as Ruburt has available to him. You each have as much energy within each of you as is being shown now in this room. My message is to use your own energy—to open yourself so that it can be known through you. The answers that you want reside within you. They will sweep out as easily and as clearly as air... if you let them! I repeat again: physically, Ruburt dwells within the same world as each of you. He has access to no more energy than you each possess! Then use your own energy! When you finally feel what I am saying, then you will ride above your own energy!

You think of yourself (to Brad) as a “closed physical personality”—weak and helpless—in a world that you do not understand. You do not realize that you have as much energy available to you now as Ruburt is now showing or as this voice now shows.

Imagine your image of yourself as an old garment. It no longer serves your purposes—throw it away! Do not say, “It is miserable, but it is mine and I love it!” Throw it away!

It is to demonstrate that you have the same vitality within yourself, and if I have this vitality and I do not have a body, then how much vitality do you have that you should be using that you are not using. It is to demonstrate that you are no more physical than I am, and it is also to demonstrate that consciousness is a joyful and a vital thing. Though my voice does not often sound joyful it is a matter of mechanics. It is to show what is possible.

You can indeed provided it is within the abilities of the physical self. Now, the teaching abilities are within your capabilities. However, you are at present imprisoned within this false conception of yourself—and within this prison, you do not think of others except as they are related to yourself. Do you follow me?

No. There is a point where you are so imprisoned within yourself that you cannot feel the reality of others. Now, as a teacher, you must be able to sense the reality of others and in teaching relate the self that you are to the selves you sense they are, independently of you and therefore give their integrity full freedom. You can to some extent escape this prison, personally, by attempting several exercises.

(During the break the discussion centered on the last part above. Seth added:) When you do that, you see, when you relate all others to yourself initially, when you are imprisoned within yourself to that degree, then you are also imprisoned by others because you project your own reality into them where it does not belong. Do you follow me?

You had negative ideas but youth was strong enough to hold you up. And as soon as early youth left, then you allowed the negative ideas to hold sway. You have every opportunity now to begin again. No one can force you to be the self that you are and can be. But no one but yourself can make you recreate the failure that you have been recreating. You can meet appointments and meet with people about work. There is nothing stopping you but your own imagination. Change the nature of your imagination. The power is within your own hands, and I tell you to use it. For I know that you can use it!

Now. My prescription immediately is to think in terms of motion. Do not say again, “I think in terms of immobility.” Instead, immediately change your imaginative image of yourself. You must and you can do this. You must first change your image in your imagination and act upon it immediately. You must refuse, and absolutely refuse, to accept any more excuses from this superficial portion of yourself. You must imagine that within yourself—for this is the truth—there is a stronger and more powerful self, a larger self.

It is the emotional recognition, not the intellectual recognition, that is important. You must feel yourself successful in your endeavors—not tell yourself that this is possible.

You were afraid because you were hiding some very basic feelings about your wife, and therefore you closed it off from yourself. And in so doing, you also closed off vitality and creativity.

This is not original with me, but you cannot deny one feeling without cutting off all feeling to some extent. You cannot cut off one portion of yourself without cutting off the channels to the whole self to some extent.

Now, you said that you would still like the answer given to you as to which road you would travel. And to me this means that you still do not realize that the answer is within yourself, and that you are the one to answer it.