“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I am not suggesting for example that five sessions, or four, be held in a week at this time; only that sincere requests should not be automatically denied because they do not fall within the scheduled time. And upon such occasions I will always make adjustments when you request them.

Knowledge on your physical plane must be applied in human terms and human values, or the possibility of helping someone else either through the sort of a session we held last time, or through a more regular session, should not be ignored.

I abhor fanaticism of any type yet I do not feel, myself, that a sincere request under ordinary circumstances should be denied. It is true that conditions were far from ordinary on the evening when Ruburt’s father and the poor personality of the woman were here, and under such circumstances generally, I would certainly not recommend a session.

He should take a half-hour’s brisk walk. This will allow him to use constructively the aggressive energy which does not have outlet. I also suggest, merely as a matter of discipline, that he contemplate his part in the universe, so that he senses an enlargement of self in which personal worries and obsessions will not loom so large.

This next may sound Pollyannaish to an extreme, but he should make it a point to help another human being in any small way, without expecting thanks, three times a week. I do not suggest, you see, that he do this on purpose daily, lest it develop psychologically into a self-sacrificial ritual. And I also most strongly suggest that three times a week in a very quiet, disciplined but positive manner, he makes it a point to express himself when any matters arise where he holds a diverse opinion from the one being presented.

The personality should live alone for a while, and work separate from the family establishment. It, the personality, must avoid a rigidity of attitude, for this will not only hamper the native intuition but serve to divorce the personality from his environment.

A balance here is extremely important. There should always be this balance. The personality, being intuitively strong, should apply some of this intuition outward toward other human beings. If solitude is achieved through living alone, then the personality should so be able to relate itself outward.

For safety’s sake a firm relationship between the ego and its environment should be considered a prerequisite for serious or extensive psychic investigation. The ego must have something to come back to. This is extremely important.

Discipline then should not only be considered, as it is by some schools of thought, as a mere mental discipline over the muscles, or various portions of the body by the inner self, but indeed a discipline in terms of training of the ego by the inner self, so that the ego as a personality achieves a well-balanced relationship with the physical universe.

Legitimate, balanced psychic journeyings will result in a beneficial effect as far as the ego and its ability to handle its concerns are involved; and whenever such journeyings or investigations result in a lessening of egotistic control over circumstance then anyone so involved should instantly ask himself questions, and abruptly halt.

I do not speak here of acquaintances who do not understand the importance of psychic investigation. I speak now of the ego’s ability to handle itself. And psychic investigation will, and should, increase that ability if it is properly begun, and if the ego is properly related to the physical environment.

This discipline however should be followed rigorously only with a program of ego orientation, in which the ego tries to discipline itself in the most difficult manner, for this particular personality, toward freedom. He should express himself when he feels a diverse opinion, when he feels wronged. It is only when aggressions are unexpressed that they are dangerous, and the repressed rage will hold back the desired psychic development. Even chemically such anger causes reactions that will make desired states of being difficult to achieve.

The personality also contains good intellectual capacities, and he should examine psychic experience in the light of his intelligence also. There are truths which the intellect cannot perceive, but the intellect knows the ego, and represents a firm and reliable pathway between the inner self and the ego; and psychic experience—I repeat, psychic experience—will not suffer from such scrutiny.

Ruburt is coming along well in the gallery situation. You should have a good winter, both of you. If Ruburt can stand it, I would suggest a three-day period after he leaves the gallery, during which he does no writing. Perhaps playing about his apartment while instructing his subconscious to work for him in the interval, and completely divorcing his conscious mind from his writing for that period of time. Such a method will result in maximum use of his abilities, and more practical utilization of energy.