“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.)

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 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.

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.

—regardless of what you think of them. Your thoughts and imaginations do cause your activities. Your negative attitudes also help continue the symptoms, as do his. The physical facts of going down the stairs sideways existed first in imagination, and were materialized. You need not deny the physical fact, but if you understand what causes physical facts then you change the direction of your imagination, thought and expectations in order that the following future facts will not be like the ones that so displeased you.

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.

With the best intentions in the world, his conscious attention was on his symptoms and his physical condition all day long, on the procedures involved with motion.

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.

(“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.”

—but you made some leeway with Ruburt in your last remarks (which I’ve forgotten as I type this) and I would like him to examine his normal habits in the light of what I said about his table and arrangements. Do you follow me?

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.