“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

It became—relatively now—a displaced discontent. You felt that there was nothing you could do about the situation, that there was no reason to worry about it, but the anxiety was displaced then, draining your energies.

When you begin devoting your time to your painting you will be satisfying then a deep need of your being, and therefore energized. You will feel personally that you are solving problems that you are meant to solve, problems that are nevertheless created challenges having to do with the nature of painting, problems then and challenges that you consider quite worthwhile.

It does help however if you understand that birds must fly if you are a bird. It does help for example if elephants do not try to build anthills. So there is no need to compare personalities in a judging way, merely to know your own.

(“I understand.” I thought Seth was doing very well.)

The symptoms therefore will be released as that energy or concentration is placed back where it belongs, into creative and practical action. You felt as if you could not move also, and before Ruburt’s symptoms began. You felt this psychologically; do you follow me?

The ordinary fears connected with any such discussion should be discussed. Only in this way are they faced, encountered and cast aside. They do not grow then in secrecy, and gather charges.

Do you want a rest?

A point, if you do not want a break now: Concentration must not be on Ruburt’s symptoms. Underline many times.

I am not saying that he was completely better then, but the improvements far outweighed the symptoms at that time. Do not let that happen again. That was the result of discounting improvements as they did show themselves, and this applies to both of you.

You chose to do what you did, individually and jointly. In narrow terms you can say that you both made a mistake. In larger terms no error was made. You simply happen to be dealing with the area of activity in which terms like “mistake” appears valid. Do you follow me?

Now. I will tell you something else. You felt that you owed it to your mother to try a secure type of financial arrangement, as far as you were personally able to do so. You realized that a full-time job was out of the question. Remember at least that you did not fall into that trap, and that you both had enough sense to avoid it.

What you do in that regard is not nearly as important as an understanding of your attitudes. The basic “problem” (in quotes) again therefore has festered, gone underground, in the past. It was obviously one born from your basic creative natures—a challenge rather than a problem, but one that was interwoven with all kinds of social and economic and family connotations.

Now. If you understand the reasons, and do as I have suggested then you will be involved with the real issues, not basically (underlined) superficial ones—like why does Ruburt have trouble going down the step.

That becomes merely another symbol for the inner difficulty. Do not concentrate upon that.

I suggest that you do some sketching. Now. As you progress our sessions can also be freed for other endeavors. As the natural flow of your energies returns to your work, so will greater energy be released in the sessions as well. The part of the sessions in your lives as applied to your Elmira existence so far will be covered at another time. Obviously there is a connection, you see. And now—I bid you a fond good evening.

I could come through far stronger, but I do not want to frighten the natives.

Remind me at our next session to say something about spontaneity and scheduling, as applied to your daily lives. Ruburt does not like scheduling from without, applied from the outside, in other words. And neither do you.