“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Your attitudes before—and after—our last session, about Ruburt’s condition, can be equated however with precisely such uncreative and cowed frames of mind. To some extent those attitudes have been habitual. Carried to extremes, such a would-be artist or writer would never complete a painting or a book—not because of any lack of ability but because of lack of confidence and poor mental attitudes.

We had come along far enough, however, so that your confidence managed to straddle your momentary lapses of confidence. Ruburt’s lapses are far more significant, of course, than your own in the entire picture. He has not noted down his improvements daily, or any encouraging sensations, still because of those old fears.

Give us a moment.... Make an effort, Joseph—more of an effort—to compliment Ruburt on his appearance, when it strikes you that he does look good. This will help reinforce his confidence. Complimentary lies do not work as a rule, and certainly I would not suggest them. When someone has been worried about their appearance, however, as Ruburt has, then honest compliments, when appropriate, operate most strongly as positive suggestion.

You deal in this area, as in all areas, with probabilities. Ruburt’s body is changing into a more or less normally flexible one. He is pulling that probability toward him. When he is beginning a book, however, he does not think “This is a probable book.” It becomes his book, period. That is because he does not dwell upon possible impediments, and is relatively self-confident.

This simply means that his self-confidence is greater than any doubts he has. In the past his doubts about his body have greatly outweighed his self-confidence, and that is the reason for this material and that given in our last session.