“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(After the layoff since May 16.... When Jane said she wanted to have a session tonight, I suggested it be on herself. She needed it badly—we needed it badly. I no longer think of her as making it physically, I’m afraid. She’s been worse as far as symptoms go since we stopped the sessions, so doing that didn’t help either. We spend more and more time on affairs connected with symptoms, it seems—and those problems, connected with the construction going on in back of the house, where Frank Longwell is building Jane’s writing room in half of the garage, have combined to cut our production a good deal.

(It also seems that I’ll never be finished with “Unknown” Reality. During our talk last night, I told Jane that we’d made a serious error in deciding to publish it in two volumes, with extensive notes—that there were obviously other courses of action we could have taken. I know that she is very upset by the time element involved here, and now I’m not at all sure that I know what I’m doing on the project any more. I do know it’ll be done some day—and never again.... Jane has been spending most of her time lately using the pendulum, making notes, reading old sessions on herself and myself, etc, but presently I see all this activity as repeating old rhythms. We’ve talked about it a lot lately, but...? I think she came up with some new insights lately, yet she found hints of even those later, in old sessions; we’d just forgotten them.)

The point of power is in the present. You believe it or you do not believe it.

Because of your individual and joint intuitive understanding and intellectual discrimination, you were able from an early age to clearly perceive the difficulties of your fellows. This helped incite stimuli that made you question the entire framework of your civilization. You were able to do something few people can: leap intuitively and mentally above your own period—to discard intellectually and mentally, and sometimes emotionally, the shortsighted, unfortunate religious, scientific and social beliefs of your fellows.

Many of those old beliefs, however, still have an emotional hold, and some helpful beliefs have been overdone, or carried on too long. Because you see so clearly the failings of your age, you each have a tendency to exaggerate them, or rather to concentrate upon them, so that you do not have an emotional feeling of safety.

You react by setting up defenses. Because of Ruburt’s old ideas about femininity, kept beyond their time, he feels more vulnerable than you amid those unsafe conditions, and has put up extra safeguards. Life was not meant to be perfect. You can, however, choose to accept your challenges wholeheartedly, resolutely—something that you have not really done. I do not think you believe what I tell you, and you do not believe me because you do not really believe that the point of power is in the present.

For Ruburt, again, the old ideas of femininity, not examined, hung over, and so he felt more vulnerable than you. You must realize that you chose this reality, and unconventional challenges. You must realize that in so doing you automatically and knowingly took into consideration such adventures as the young man coming through the window (earlier today, while I was taking a nap).

You look at the time involved that the symptoms have continued, and you grant more power to that past than you do to the present.

Now people do the same thing in all areas of their lives. The beliefs involved in your case were particularly “tricky,” because they were initially part of your private and joint experience, meant to be helpful. Ruburt did distrust the body because it was female—a belief quite helpful, if distorted, when he was 15 or 16 years old, or even in his 20’s.

3.) You have to initiate some policy in the near future of meeting people. I will have suggestions. It does not matter if you think that any given contacts are “useless,” or that you do not reap intellectual benefits. The fact is that each of you need that contact. If you allow it, your own rhythms will become clear. Ruburt needs solitude, as you do, but also a format of an informal nature, for the emotions of others stimulate his abilities.

If you can only manage to realize that the point of power is in the present, in all areas, then Ruburt’s condition can dramatically improve in a short time. You are afraid of looking for improvements. You do not trust them. You think that because there have been failures in the past, failures are inevitable. Ruburt must reinstate a playful attitude mentally and psychically.

5.) Do the library together at least three times a week.

Later, I will add to this. Try as hard as you can to consider this a challenge that rouses both of you to your greatest achievement, rather than as a condition that must be put up with—and do not concentrate upon it. Seeing people, as I mentioned, is important. It prevents Ruburt from becoming too reclusive.

Do you have specific questions?