“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Ruburt is attempting to rid himself of poor habits of years’ duration. He is progressing. Certain incidents, trivial in themselves, will at times carry a tremendous charge, not necessarily because he is repressing thoughts about the particular incident, but because the incident recalls unresolved past issues that he has psychically associated with it.

He pulls out part of the thorn but not all of it, working with the pendulum, in some cases. When the symptom hangs on this is usually the case. The general overall condition of his body represents his general state of inner health. Specific complaints represent usually local reactions brought about by a current problem or current incident.

If the local symptom does not disappear or subside within a day, then there are hidden or repressed elements connected with it, to which he is still reacting. Give us a moment.

I mentioned earlier that strong focus of activity in other areas is of benefit. Your apartment hunting, because of its novelty, and his interest in decoration and arrangement, stirred his imagination in new way so took energy away from symptoms. He imaginatively arranged you and your household in each new apartment he saw. This added to his inner sense of mobility.

Such activities, and you can think of others—I am simply using this as an example—are therapeutic, even though it may seem that they are beside the issue. They automatically sweep his consciousness into other areas of activity, away from issues to which he may have been sensitized in the past, and serve to give him a breathing spell and refreshment.

It may seem that response to a particular episode is out of all proportion in intensity, but attached to it may be past material which does carry a heavy charge. Now Ruburt can learn to use his subjective feeling also as an aid in this manner. He should not identify with it to begin with. It would help him if he could imagine it as having a shape or form, or a weight.

He is in possession of it. He has this mood. Say it is a mood of defeat. He should realize that he is not defeated but that he has a mood of defeat. See it as a form, then as you work with the pendulum close the eyes and see whether the form or the shape is disappearing. The image idea here will be an added reinforcement and help.

When this is working well the emotion will diminish as the image fades; an episode such as this latest one should be considered as a local condition, and not exaggerated. He has had an intensified condition in the knee, and it should be considered in this light, using the methods given.

When the knee is bad, today for example, the tendency is to focus upon it, and the difficulties involved, and to ignore entirely the other portions of the body which are not affected. Then in the overall he sees himself in his terms generally as a mess. The attitude should be: “This area is affected, why? We can find out.”

The points of sensitivity are diminishing. This he often forgets. Now you may take a break and we will continue.

When Ruburt is in good spirits and physical condition, at the end of the day let him note down, briefly, what he has been doing and thinking about. Let him use those days as models, the focus of attention being upon them rather than upon the poor days. The idea being to reproduce those daily activities and thoughts that naturally reinforce his strengths. He should not overanalyze, but generally speaking keep such days in mind as models to follow.

The twenty minutes of psycho-cybernetics should be particularly maintained when he is not feeling well, for in themselves they help him change his mood and give a breathing spell. Often on the days when he needs this exercise most he dispenses with it. As a part of his routine it is an excellent automatic way of mental reconditioning. Now do you have questions?

Give us a moment. There are three days left during which communication is most likely between you and your probable self. He is aware now of your existence, rather than only your probable existence.

He is himself trying to make contact after finally discovering where you were. There are some problems here we have not discussed that are rather involved in having to do with time relationships. He may make contact with you in his now during this visit, but this may not be known by you or experienced by you until some time in your future.

He is aware of this, but you are real to him in all of your Robert Butts time periods. From his vantage point it is a matter of when contact can best be made. He does not realize you do not perceive yourself as one in these separate time intervals. He realizes this about himself but he has not taken it into consideration in his calculations.

I will let you know very shortly what is happening if you are not aware yourself of contact. Conceivably he could make contact with you in the past, and you would have forgotten, but this is not the case. Although both of your realities are physical ones, the environments are entirely different. The forms you make out of matter are only generally similar. His consciousness has been perceiving this sort of unfamiliar environment with some awe. (Meaning our own.)

The medicinal possibilities take up his interest. He intends to communicate with you again, and I would say that in your time this would occur at approximately three o’clock tomorrow morning.

We hope that you will. (I didn’t.) I suggest that you give instructions to the effect that a portion of you will remain alert in sleep to such an encounter. Give us a moment. There may be a change of air pressure in the room that could alert you. Most probably it would be a telepathic communication, but he may touch you, to see if you feel physical to him. He will only appear in apparition form. The true stuff or material of his body of course will not be here, since its kind of matter cannot exist within your own, that is within your own system.

(“Is he humanoid in our terms?”)

He overestimates the difficulty of finding the causes, and this prolongs the process. He should not overwork with the pendulum. In one day, often, he stirs up many issues without getting to the bottom of any given one. It is highly important that both of you remember the gains. He is working well now, and this was at one time a major issue.

His spontaneity is being released in his writing. The deep depressions have largely vanished. Only echoes remain. The hands have regained some considerable strength. The feet are greatly improved. Other symptoms have entirely disappeared, so that he has almost forgotten them. Now he must remind himself, and so should you, of the progress made, particularly on poor days.

He should also imagine the future when present symptoms have vanished like the others. Anything but projecting them into the future. You can help him by reminding him of improvements and saying something like: “You used to worry just as much about your—say—feet, and they are fine now.” But remind him of gains. At least keep the gains in your own mind. It may be better not to mention specific past symptoms, while still dwelling on the improved condition. Do you follow me?

He has automatically changed many areas of thought over the past year. These are changed for good. And a fond good evening.