“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Alright. Now you are both afraid of making a move, but it is much easier for Ruburt to adopt the physical symptoms of immobility, because of his own background.

I told you in our last session that one member of a family could accept the symptoms for the whole family. Some of these are of course his own. In your particular circumstances, because of Ruburt’s background, you see the physical manifestation of both of your fears—an incapability of motion.

Now in your discussion you released some emotions, and this is beneficial, but you have not discussed such problems together in some time. You feared upsetting Ruburt, and Ruburt would immediately insert desperately positive statements out of a panic to find that you were so disturbed, and this would anger you.

When you can into longer accept it then you must change it. Otherwise the feeling of hopelessness builds up. Ruburt has been afraid, because of his background, to accept the negative aspects of your exterior circumstances. He loves you so deeply that he never wants to admit that you are hurt, bitter or sad. He has always thought that you were used, mainly by your mother, but he was afraid that his statements would be misinterpreted because of his own relationship with his parents.

However Ruburt has also picked up your feeling of hopelessness. Both of you have refused to come to grips with it and have been afraid of making any physical moves, or upsetting the apple cart. Ruburt is only too aware of the fact that he pushed to leave Sayre, and that your circumstances afterward in Florida were negative. He felt you blamed him for this, and thought it was an undisciplined action on his part, forcing you to make changes you did not want to make.

When you are afraid to move you are creatively constricted. Ruburt is acting out your situation as a family and as a unit. You did this at one time. That (underlined) terrified him more than the present situation.

All of the material given concerning Ruburt’s background and motives is highly legitimate, but it shows clearly why he was willing to take on this role. He thought it would free you. In late months he has seen that it has not.

When you do move you have a tendency to feel that Ruburt should pay for the inconvenience. Here you associate him with your mother, and Ruburt feels this unfair. Except for our sessions there has been little freshness in your environments because you would find it, both of you now, threatening. In other words you have preferred to place the problem, both of you again, upon Ruburt in physical terms, rather than face the inner issues with initiative and daring.

You, Joseph, have been afraid of daring in that respect, and so have closed your mind to solutions that are possible. Ruburt’s own affiliation and identification with a place has allowed him to burrow in here and thus go hand in hand with your fear, your own fear, of initiative movement.

You do to some extent identify with your mother, in terms of a husband rather than a son, now that the king, father, has been removed. Ruburt feels that the mother acts as a center from which you will not move, but feels guilty of this feeling. To some extent out of misguided loyalty, all of the men in your mother’s life have kept her from using her own strength.

Her happiness is not dependent upon your activities however. She has far more vitality than any of you give her credit for. She will make out, in Ruburt’s terms, no matter what you do, or your brothers do. You have used this as an excuse.

Now you both thought that Ruburt’s symptoms were a solution. You thought they bought you time. This has been a cooperative effort. You felt your physical problems insurmountable, that you had not the energy to face them. Ruburt’s symptoms you thought gave you both time. You had moved so often in the past you were afraid of making a false move, and so you chose to make no move at all. You became afraid of challenge.

Ruburt was terrified because his early efforts seemed to have left you nowhere. You seemed to have no initiative to make a physical move on your own, and he was afraid of making another false suggestion. You simply became afraid to act in the physical universe. For a while you adopted the symptoms of immobility then Ruburt accepted them.

The thought of the Seth sale revived you. Then the old ideas of hopelessness settled back in, particularly when Ruburt discovered the taxes. You have both been resentful against your landlord, and particularly against Leonard Yaudes, and he had something to do with Ruburt’s latest (underlined) symptoms.

Your attitudes are entirely wrong, and causing much of the difficulty. Properly applied, the book Ruburt’s student brought from New York could be invaluable to you, and I mean invaluable. It does not mean that it would relieve you of personal responsibility, however.

Now. One note. You both felt that since you were the one who had the part-time job, Ruburt would accept the physical symptoms of your predicament, and you felt this was just.