“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I will start simply enough.... As I told you, the reasons behind the body beliefs have largely vanished. You are left with beliefs about the body. These, denied the core beliefs that gave them birth, would naturally begin to weaken but could linger for some time, generally speaking, unless they were recognized as beliefs.

So beliefs about Ruburt’s body on both of your parts, but of course primarily on Ruburt’s part, must be understood as beliefs that then cause physical experience. Some of these have already begun to vanish, but both of you to some extent project them into the future, treat them as conditions in fact, and not as beliefs that cause conditions.

You become hypnotized then, both of you, by the effects. Each physical breakthrough manages to dilute that picture some, but often in spite of Ruburt’s habits and to some extent your own.

Some of this has to do with the fact that both of you think in terms of absolutes, but often in different ways. Ruburt feels free enough to go to Florida, if he feels he does not have to face what he thinks of as your idea of absolute freedom, in which he is performing as normally as anyone else, or nearly so. If that is expected of him in line with both of your current beliefs in the body’s poor performance then he does not feel free to go at all.

The fact that he plans a trip means to him that he is free to go, and that there are some gradations of freedom physically in which he can operate and use as a vehicle. Now: your idea that you are not going freely, with freedom, is in those terms an absolute. It means that within the gradations offered you will not have a good time, but will compare what you have with a “perfect” freedom that Ruburt now does not possess. All of this because of your beliefs about Ruburt’s body—again, primarily Ruburt’s beliefs, but yours also. Often I use “you” to refer to each of you.

Within Ruburt’s present physical situation there is a degree of freedom for the trip and for enjoyment—an opportunity for manipulation, and understanding this will add to that freedom. You are each concentrating on negatives when you ignore the freedom that does exist, and denying yourselves pleasures that could help enlarge that freedom. This does not apply to the trip alone. Give us a moment.... If you both understood all I have said about the point of power, you would not compare the present physical situation with what is desired, and set the present situation in an unfavorable light, but as a progressive series of stepping stones toward the desired state.

Now: the walking most clearly shows Ruburt’s beliefs and yours. The inner conditions are being righted, but Ruburt must see himself in his mind walking better—not perfectly but better for now, and he has begun in point of power to learn how to do that.

Give us a moment.... In such circumstances you do not encourage each other, but each add to the problem. There is no reason why such a journey cannot be enjoyable, creative, healing, and bring you each great pleasure. If you each structure that experience ahead of time, however, and see it focused entirely on and through negative beliefs, then it simply becomes another hassle.

Now it does no good to say that the other person should have more sense then to be affected, for usually the other person has their problem because of the same kind of reaction. This applies not only to you two, but in many family situations.

The means and methods should not be stressed however, for these will automatically follow. That is, in whatever way you can, see yourselves having a productive, enjoyable, creative journey. Ruburt should not wonder, for example, how he is going to manage in the morning, but overall see himself as enjoying himself, and the rest will follow.

You do not need to imagine him arising with your flexibility, nor should he at this point, but you should each expect continued improvement, and gradations of ever-growing freedom of mobility. Above all, you are from this point to stop structuring your lives upon the bedrock reality of Ruburt’s condition. For that “condition” is not a permanent thing, but a changing reality, an improving condition.

Then you will be free to release your own energy for yourself, and to actively and joyfully encourage Ruburt to do the same. There are many things, including this trip, that you both can actively enjoy—but not while you are insisting upon absolute freedom, while at the same time concentrating upon those elements in your experience that seem to keep you from it. Then your main concentration is not upon freedom at all but upon the lack of it, so that the freedoms that are available, even physically to Ruburt in his condition now, become minimized, and both of you suffer.