“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

You spoke to Ruburt about imagination, and he must learn to use it for his benefit, through imagining himself free and well. This fear itself should be faced for what it is, and dealt with like any other fear. Ruburt considers it almost unspeakable. (The fear that he will not get well.)

As you were reading today, your imaginations are centered in the wrong direction. Ruburt fears that he has a condition which will persist indefinitely.

(“So far he’s been right.”

There is a definite time period involved, and your own remark only shows that what I said earlier is correct. Both of you must believe that he is to completely recover. It is most important that Ruburt believe this, but extremely helpful if you will.

(“But I don’t see any signs that he believes it.”)

You have not helped him believe it either. You are creating the reality. You must believe in his health. He must. He can learn to do this first of all by ceasing to project an image of himself as ill into the future. (Long pause.)

He can do this by employing the exercises that you mentioned, that will show him a daily improvement that will help break the negative image and prevent further negative projections. He can do this by the daily walk. All of these help break the negative projections, and are already proof physically of inside willingness that is then physically materialized for him to see—in terms of physical performance that he can judge.

He can do this as I mentioned earlier by reminding himself of the otherwise healthy state of his body, and being thankful for it, by expecting (underlined) four time’s improvement, and looking for it, and not expecting the symptoms to remain as they are.

Now when he has expected improvements and looked for them he has found them. They have happened.

He can do this by concentrating on his book, getting out more. Now these sound like very simple procedures, but they are the ones that work. He had some difficulty because of the childhood experience of seeing his mother ill for so long. (Long pause.)

Give us time. There are other reasons however why you fell into the same trap, and I will try to get them for you. You are doing the same thing with his symptoms that he does with them, that so annoy you: prolonging them in time in your imagination, and you have less reason to do so.

The method is not difficult. You are using it the wrong way quite well in some regards. Ruburt has had his own negative attitudes about his illness to contend with, and often yours as well. You did more good by telling him he bent over well from the front this evening (while we were exercising), that simple statement, than you ever could by any remark, however well-meaning, that he is not bending his leg when he walks for example.

When he was walking his thoughts were upon how well or poorly he was walking, rather than on his book, the weather, or some neutral subject.

The state of his symptoms becomes his day, and yours, when either of you indulge in that kind of procedure. He overdid when he constantly watched himself, trying so hard to get up correctly.

He must not immediately try to check out the results, but have faith that they will come. If he says, now, “I can get up easily,” and then he does not in the next instant, then he thinks he is faced with a new failure.

(“Well, he is.”)

He is not.

(“He just created it for himself, didn’t he?”)

The point is that he expects a suggestion to take hold at once, and against countering suggestions that he may have given. For example: he will be working and want something. Perhaps four or five times he will think “Oh, hell, it will hurt to get up.” This will be on the fringe of consciousness. Then consciously he will say “Now I can get up easily,” and wonder why it hurts.

(“Doesn’t he ever get sick of this routine?”)

He does indeed. Now give us time. (Long pause at 10:25.) The two of you together can help break these procedures so that at least the both of you are not applying negative ideas at the same time. There are countless small daily rituals that can break or reinforce such attitudes. I will mention one that you broke. It was the ritual involving your can opener.

Ruburt has taken to using the railings. He does not need them. A sense of defeat is connected with the railings. Let him try resisting their use.

(“Why doesn’t he try this on his own?”

He is afraid he will fall. There are other small rituals that can be avoided, and as they come to me I will give them to you. The joint exercise idea is very good, and the morning one also. He still does not like the living room door closed at night. He feels closed in. Small changes made in his morning ritual will help bring about some morning improvement.

Quite hidden, all the habitual rituals of a family have deep psychological connotations. To change such habits is often illuminating therefore, and that is why I mention this here. Ruburt can stop trying to get everything arranged on his desk before work, so he will not have to get up for example. This is a strong negative suggestion that helps to override the conscious suggestion “I can get up easier.”

(“He doesn’t get many good results from suggestions at all, does he?”)

He uses suggestion very well—backwards. In the instance just given you—

The little habits that have been built up about Ruburt’s condition should be abolished. This does not mean that you need to stand aside and not help him now and then when you see he needs it. It does mean that habitual limiting tendencies of his should not be continued.

These are most important of course around the table, since you both eat and he works there. The bathroom and the stairs. The morning hours particularly are important.