“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Fear cannot be ignored. It must be faced and conquered. It always leads to retreat when it is not faced. The physical image is indeed a replica in many ways of the inner self. When a man is ill it is not necessarily because he wants to be ill subconsciously. It is not necessarily because he is receiving some hidden psychological benefit, or because the illness fulfills some need. He is ill often—always in fact—because of a distortion that is occurring within the self, and materialized in physical form.

Fear, and a complete, if sometimes momentary loss of confidence, was the basic cause that led to retreat and the physical symptoms. Fear itself is damaging as such, particularly when it is anticipatory. He knew enough so that this was partially counterbalanced. Otherwise he literally would have been in worse shape.

You can be grateful also. The winter of the spirit must be journeyed through, and it must not only be conquered but the benefits used. Yet without it maturity cannot arrive. The immobility showed itself physically in faithful replica to the inner immobilization caused by fear. You could see, in other words, the exact extent of the distortion in quite physical terms.

This response to fear is a danger to psychic work, where freedom is necessary. In projections most of all the self must be mobile. Rapidity of perception, mobility of consciousness, openness of emotional response, are prerequisites for our work. The fearful spirit fears to leave the body, and fears to reside in it also. Ruburt has my congratulations, for he has now successfully passed a period of trial. He tried without involving you except when he grew more than usually discouraged.

The inner senses are an attribute of consciousness. The outer senses make this information meaningful to the physical organism, and the body consciousness, the ego. This is for Ruburt’s book.

There are many other experiences encountered in projections and in ordinary living, you see, that are not translated into physical terms, for in physical terms they would have no meaning. The basic assumptions behind them would not be understandable in physical terms.

Only some of the data in projections is thus translated. Now, it is possible but difficult to catch your own consciousness in the act of its own natural perception, before impressions become crystallized in physical terms. Even the survival personality must translate perception into terms it can understand.

None of us are ever equipped, for general purposes, to perceive reality in all of its forms. The pyramid gestalts can do this, and we help the pyramid gestalts perform this feat. But as a rule we must pick and choose. There is too much for any consciousness to digest except those so highly developed that even I know little of them.

We are scarcely beginning our work. It will grow through the years, and we shall achieve much. We shall in probability continue it in other existences. (Smile.) Basically however you see perception has nothing to do with the outer senses at all. These are dim receivers at best. Some of your dreams tell you far more about the nature of reality than the most vivid physical experience.

You are at the point of a new and higher plateau. (Jane pointed at me, eyes wide open and dark.) You have not yet reached it however. It has taken you this time to consolidate your gains, and you have helped Ruburt these months also. The interaction between you results you see in a higher form of consciousness, for which both of you are responsible. For you do indeed operate as a gestalt also. Your joint abilities add up to more than your joint abilities.