“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now, I am glad to see that our friend Ruburt is again spry, good-natured, and himself again.

The book jacket is indeed one to be proud of, and the book will be a book to be proud of. There is a small matter I would like to clear up. There was no subconscious distortion on Ruburt’s part, when I told you that the nonphysical self book would sell. I am speaking of this instance only.

I knew that the book would be returned shortly, and this is the reason that I gave you this reassurance. In some other instances concerning the same kind of matters, some distortions did occur. These were not basically distorted passages, only partially so. I believe two poetry books will sell. One is the psychological book. Now, this is undistorted, and if this does not materialize, than I am wrong, not Ruburt, for once. Or probabilities enter in. Obviously Ruburt must send the books out, for example.

I would like to devote a little time this evening to a matter that concerns Ruburt rather deeply. You may or may not include this in your official records, as you prefer.

This has to do with the attack made on Ruburt by your domestic cat. Several issues are involved: Ruburt’s own mood at the time, for one thing. Now. The cat senses both of your moods immediately. It is psychically very close to you both. Being a house cat, it is closed in with you. As a rule you both radiate strong constructive energy. For a short period of time, Ruburt turned his creative energy, as he knows, I believe, inward rather than outward, knotted it up, misdirected it, did not focus it properly, and turned it into destructive energy.

Now. Ruburt would not turn any destructive energy loose upon you, my dear friend, for he loves you too deeply. He is too mature now to turn such destructive energy inward in a strong manner, against his own organism. He would not willfully turn such energy loose even upon an animal.

Now, the other smaller episodes involving Ruburt and the cat alone have always occurred during the same process, only when lesser emotional crises were involved. You were quite right in saying that Ruburt fears violence. This is one of the keynotes of his personality, and rather obviously this has to do with his early life and his mother.

The child even then realized that violence and aggression was somehow connected with his mother’s illness. He also, that is Ruburt also, felt the violence that is a part of his father’s personality. Suddenly the tantrums ceased. He held them back in pure terror of the consequences, for suddenly the violent-tempered mother was immobile. He feared the same fate. The father had completely disappeared. To the child the father simply vanished from the face of the earth, an equally fearful fate.

She did express this violence, and again with fury, through verbal attacks to which Ruburt was extremely sensitive. But Ruburt did not even dare to express his violence verbally, because of the parent-child relationship. Added to this was the fact that the child loved the parent much more strongly, you see, than the parent ever loved the child.

Now symbolically any attack upon Ruburt becomes an attack by the parent, against which the child in Ruburt dares not retaliate. Flight becomes the only answer, the only sure solution, as flight from the parent was the only solution, for the parent could not run after.

The cat therefore was allowed to chase our friend through the apartment. Beside the rather ordinary humiliation, there was the deep bewilderment, you see, for this was the first time, symbolically, that the parent could pursue physically. If it were not for these early connections Ruburt would not have been so panic-stricken.

Ruburt knew this well. He has since grown to like all animals but at the moment of the attack, you see, the cat instantly became this personification of evil to him, and again his primary concern was to flee. There was never an instant in the whole affair when he thought of striking back.

Now you become, Joseph, the voice calling Ruburt a coward, you see. I am speaking of course from the viewpoint of Ruburt’s subconscious.

As a rule you do not express these feelings in the area where they would normally be expressed, and you also use them as a basis for creative work. As such they are valuable. You are twice angry at Ruburt’s lack of aggressiveness in the business world, therefore.

All of this needs to be said, you see. You are both learning at a rather amazing rate. In the past you turned some repressed violence inward against yourself. Ruburt’s selling jobs were very practical for a time, for they allowed him to release aggressive feelings. You become angry when you think, rightly, that Ruburt is too docile in his dealings, but this is because you are angry at your own lack of power as a child to retaliate against the atmosphere of violence that you sensed in the child’s home.

You are also angry at Ruburt’s docility because it reminds you of your father’s lack of aggression in his business dealings. When all this is out in the open as it is now, you will find that both of you can deal much more effectively with the outside business world, and you will not be hampered as you both have been.

I should not need to tell you, Joseph, that a rebuff or reproof by you is intensely felt by Ruburt. This does not mean of course that you should not speak your mind, merely that the fact should be taken into consideration.

Now these emotional confessions of Ruburt’s annoy you considerably. They are not necessary. However your annoyance can be tempered with somewhat more understanding, and this in itself will tend to minimize their occurrence. When he indulges in this sort of thing he is feeling rebellious, you see, and this is a result of the built-up aggressive feelings of which I have been speaking.

Now I will leave you both, and I hope you will see that I have done you both a service, for this is my intention. The storm with Ruburt has passed, and you have both learned much because of it. It is a minor storm indeed, compared to what would have occurred some years earlier. He does not move furniture as erratically as he did, and is learning despite this to use his energies constructively.

I repeat: Ruburt should make a daily habit of his exercises. If you have any questions I will answer them. Otherwise we shall close our session.

Ruburt denied the cat its usual psychic reinforcement also, you see. Incidentally, working with the earth will almost always restore him.