“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

The circulatory system, again, is activated. This is noticeable particularly in the feet, and all of the ligaments are beginning to release. This is an overall activation because of the overall intent, and therefore more in balance than the beginning of improvements in the past. The body instantly responds to a new image by activating its entire mechanism. Ruburt does not yet know what his response to the world will be—whether he wants, for example, television shows and so forth, or not—but he is now determined to respond, to be responsive, and not to simply retreat.

He has been searching for a key of that nature, something about which he could rally his forces. The moment came insignificantly enough—as Friday evening passed with your company on the porch (the Gallaghers, the Blumenthals.

As he is using it, the word “responsive” will give him freedom to respond as he wishes to the world in general, so that the two of you can make decisions. There is an overall picture you cannot see, in which you form your lives together, so that at one time you act, for example, as a unit, and on other occasions or times one acts out certain of your joint beliefs, while the other acts out another one.

He applied those methods of his own, but they differed from yours only in degree. You would not go so far. To a large extent, however, you agreed on retreat rather than response. To some extent now, you applied discipline in your work and lives to protect yourself against response to a world that you felt was insane, in direct conflict with artistic pursuits, and in which you felt quite alien —both of you, that is, as a unit.

Since you both held those attitudes and saw those beliefs everywhere reinforced, naturally enough in your experience, then in the overall it would be most miraculously unusual if one of you did not physically retreat. Your nature allowed you to try. You found it intolerable, and recovered. Because of Ruburt’s other characteristics personally, he tried it on for size, and found it fit with considerable chafing. But overall that way of life, to some extent has suited you both.

You wondered in the secret depths of your mind how well-suited Ruburt was for the solitude you believed necessary to produce good work. You intend, both of you, having the cat fixed, so he will not be frustrated inside. Ruburt fixed himself, and fixed it so he could not go outside—because, according to your joint overall attitudes, you believed you must isolate yourselves against the world.

Ruburt felt it would be more difficult for him, so he applied the additional discipline. Only lately have you really made an effort to examine those habits. They have been deeply ingrained. Whenever you apply yourself in such ways, you collect data that seems to support your ideas, so that unless efforts are made to change, the picture becomes grossly exaggerated—and to that extent unrealistic.

As Ruburt’s body becomes more responsive, it means also that he is becoming more responsive not just physically but in all areas. He thinks he feels uncomfortable with other people on such occasions because he is physically uncomfortable, sitting for long periods, or because he feels in an inferior physical condition. Instead, of course, he felt in such a position before the symptoms showed—as each of you felt, and were convinced in black-and-white fashion, that creative people were misunderstood, held in inferior position in the world, and were generally considered oddballs.

Ruburt’s own abilities he considered represented even the furthest reaches of the creative realm, therefore putting him in twice as inferior a position. In the light of your beliefs, the better you considered your own works, the worse your position in society, and your opinion of your fellow men: the better the creator, the worse his social position, the greater the ridicule.

The shoddy, superficial, popular novelist is acclaimed. The original creator is scoffed at. Ruburt could not stand ridicule, and so took a proud retreat. He now understands that retreat denies the responsiveness natural to the body, mind, and spirit.

Ruburt’s responsiveness will show physically. When he feels he can physically handle guests with some finesse, if not with perfectly normal behavior, you will know that his mental and emotional patterns have changed. You will also know that your emotional and mental attitudes in that regard have changed.

I am more concerned that the ideas of responsiveness be followed now, and that you apply your feelings of creativity to the situation. When Ruburt does not feel ashamed to meet guests, it will seem to him that this is because he is so physically improved. Actually the improvements follow and are the physical materialization of his responsiveness to himself, and to the natural world.

We will then go into that, with other material, at our next session. Ruburt’s interpretation of last night’s dream was correct, and his dream experience will show greater depth and variety now that he has stated his intent by beginning his (dream) notebook.