“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

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.

I told you about the importance of imagination and the various characteristic methods that people have in utilizing suggestion through imagination. I mentioned also Ruburt and dancing, and the way he utilized challenge there, a way that would not be characteristic for you.

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.

You have many of the beliefs of your culture, though you have broken apart from many. You still allow your imagination to follow your negative beliefs, thus you (me, RFB) are often unable to encourage Ruburt actively, as he is often unable to encourage himself.

A note about the curb incident Ruburt mentioned (the other day while shopping at Centertown): it was precisely because each of you are still so hypnotized by effects that such incidents are charged to each of you. Your worrying about Ruburt 85% of the time does him no good and you less. You can see this quite clearly when Ruburt displays his side of the same picture, concentrating on symptoms.

A third of that energy on either of your parts spent on the realization that the effects are caused by beliefs, and an effort to change the beliefs, will work wonders. Ruburt did this with the shoe episode, and with the arm to an important degree. You cannot encourage him, saying “I know you can do it, honey, don’t worry about it, you’ll do better next time,” when you are quite firmly convinced of the opposite.

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.

Ruburt’s body can perform far better, and is in the process of so doing. You would each do it a great service if you would simply leave it alone, stop negative projections upon it, if you cannot manage to send it positive help through being willing to change your beliefs about it.

Now. Earlier Ruburt’s beliefs behind the body beliefs causing the difficulty affected him in such a way that he picked up from others those moods and feelings that agreed with him, so often constructive body messages could not get through. Now however you are left with body beliefs that no longer have a foundation in other personal beliefs, so they will secede much more quickly in the face of encouragement, enthusiasm, and projects that are otherwise personally desired. These can be used therefore to activate the body now far better than before.

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.

You said earlier yourself that you probably hardly realized how your own viewpoint has altered. You said it passively. That viewpoint should be considered as part of the past. You can no longer use it as an excuse any more than Ruburt can use his symptoms as an excuse any more. You form your reality. If you want to sit back and say “My worry prevents me from enjoyment, creativity and fulfillment,” then do so. It would be better if you said that entire sentence and then put it in the past, and added, “I shall no longer do so.”

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.

(11:03.) Ruburt to some extent has also concentrated upon the condition again in an effort to get rid of it. You have done the same thing. In that light your other separate and joint accomplishments seem almost to vanish. Concentrate upon your love for each other. Concentrate upon your abilities, and on the methods you have now available that, used, will automatically dissolve the problem.