“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

A good number of his depressions were body depressions. The body was de-pressed, pressed down, and this of course affected the psychic state. He hides his body in his dress. His face is in good condition because he considers that the mirror of his soul, and allows it therefore free-enough expression. He trusts his head.

The idea that being is its own justification is important here: The rights and privileges of the body cannot be long ignored, though Ruburt’s body has withstood very much. You should be thankful under the circumstances that the condition was not worse, for the body’s own resiliency fought back, and provided some balance out of its own sanity.

When Ruburt felt, as I have told you, that you no longer loved him, then he had less use of the body. He feels his body’s condition should tell you how devoted he has been to his work, instead of getting at it for not walking right or eating enough. He feels you should consider his condition as one of the means adopted in a goal in which you both believe. He was then afraid of giving up the condition for fear of using physical energy at the expense of mental energy, and hence at the expense of his work.

(I couldn’t agree with these ideas less. It may be beating a dead horse, but let me say that I’ve told Jane time and again that I don’t consider her physical condition an acceptable price to pay for any sort of creative achievement. This idea hasn’t penetrated, though.)

Part of the reaction had to do with past conditioning, and was all interwoven. He was so often told “Do not fritter away your energy,” “Do not go in so many directions at once,” “Restrain yourself,” and so he was making sure that he avoided these pitfalls.

The condition with the teeth simply resulted from keeping a tight upper lip, clamping down the jaw. He made his bed, he would lie in it. To relax meant to let down the guard, and distractions in. The physical strains altered the appearance of the teeth, then. Physically there were infections, enough to maintain the condition and no more. The condition had certain invisible boundaries that were carefully maintained. Only when the body objected and went over those boundaries did he become frightened, for he saw then that he lacked the control over the body he thought he held. He could not silence all of its objections.

He never planned on the condition becoming permanent, but only as a conditioning process to be dispensed with when no longer needed. He also wanted you so see how hard he was working, so that you would not resent his being at home. This also showed that he was paying for the privilege. He did not intend that you pay also.