“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(At supper time this evening I explained a few problems of a technical nature, connected with my painting, to Jane. I believe I have solved some of them, or at least am embarked on the right course after a very long period of trial and error. They involve mostly portrait work, and such mundane things as the handling of paint, both opaquely and thinly, and the symbolic meaning behind these things. I told Jane I wasn’t asking that Seth go into these this evening; I preferred that he talk about Jane or the Sumari work. I made the extra effort to explain these concerns to Jane because I feel it’s part of the resurgence I seem to be experiencing since we made the decision that I leave Artistic at the end of this month.)

An early acceptance would have tempted you to rely upon the facility before the inner spontaneity even began to grow to maturity. Your early comic book work should have told you that. You were quite facile and could have done well with it longer in other fields of activity—TV for example—had you chosen.

(I was very facile—so much so that a large part of my early work consisted of finishing off the work of others so that it would reproduce well. In the comic trade I was an “inker,” and had more work available than I could handle. I also made a lot of money at an early age, in those days before high taxes. A comparable income now would amount to several hundred dollars a week.)

The psychic developments are also interbound in your own work, because you doubted yourself the preparation time was extended by you. The final period was and is to be one in which your energies are directed to your work without the outside job, for finally you began to feel that you were not doing what you should do; this itself inhibited your trust in yourself further, and therefore the development of your work.

Trust between you and Ruburt was also a prerequisite according to your own plans, set earlier. The impetus to help you is a built-in one, also meant as a further stimulus to Ruburt in his work and in our work. Already the energies of your natures are beginning to regroup. You have therefore a firm foundation from which to begin your endeavors as long as you understand and believe that you have.

Now. The inhibition you were enforcing upon yourself by working outside was reflected in your work inevitably, as soon as you became aware that the course no longer served its purpose. You were not one with yourself or with your course of action. You were somewhat apart from yourself then.

(This is excellent material, as I told Jane. I explained to her after the session that I wasn’t sure about the reference to purple or violet, which I seldom use directly because they are hard to integrate into a painting—at least for me. By the next day, I may know why Seth made the reference. The reds I use, being cadmiums, can take on a decided violet cast when mixed with white. This must be kept under control. The painting I am working on now features a cadmium red shirt on the subject, and has given me some trouble because of its tendency to turn purplish if not watched; since Jane has seen me at work on this portrait often, she may have picked this up, although I haven’t mentioned it to her. I did explain to her before the session my dislike of too brown a cast to features—this was one of the points we discussed, as mentioned earlier.

Now some strong portions of Ruburt’s energies are already working in your joint behalf. The exercises are important symbolically because they show he is willing to spend time with his body rather than ignoring it. The intent will add to the exercises’ effectiveness. The body will be encouraged to free its rhythms and reestablish its natural ones. Energy will be released, but (smiling) three days is hardly enough for him to expect great results. The results will come from the changed attitudes. These themselves brought about the desire to exercise, and the desire flowed outward from your decisions. Areas of the body are being manipulated and literally washed, that have been relatively untouched and denied energy in the past. The exercises, and again because of the inner interests, will bring about a weight gain, normal bodily weight as the adjustments continue.