“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

You have a good point of organization with your pendulum work today. Fear of the kind mentioned (scorn and ridicule)is behind the symptoms. Whenever our sessions, your own efforts, or other events, have convinced Ruburt either of the personal safe universe or of the basic safety of the self, that reassurance helped quiet the unconscious fears, and allowed him then to direct his will toward physical improvements.

The fears were never granted validity, however, though sometimes given vague intellectual recognition. They were considered cowardly, unadult, unreasonable, degrading, and both of you considered them in that light. “How abject can you get?” you would both think.

(10:00.) If you did not toe the mark, you were punished severely, or abandoned; or your sustenance was cut off. His unconscious had learned to tread a careful line, to let Ruburt use his abilities while seeing that he was protected at the same time. Its ideas were largely gained in childhood, and there was a giveand-take between Ruburt’s fears and hopes. Gradually, however, the give-and-take gave. He held back the fears, thinking them beneath adult behavior. He stopped giving his unconscious feedback in that regard.

Give us a moment.... Ruburt did not approve of fear. He felt it was, again, cowardly. It was given no validity, nor acknowledged as valid. As the books continued to sell, several conflicts arose. They served expression and creativity, and they insured financial security—but at the same time they made Ruburt’s unofficial “dangerous” thoughts publicly available. They told the world he did not toe the line, and he feared retribution, ostracism, scorn.

He fears the books will not sell, because he is afraid, as in childhood, that if you do not toe the line your sustenance will be taken away. Remind him that financially at least that not toeing the line has paid off very well indeed, and in your pendulum work inform the subconscious of that.

Tell the subconscious that you understand its purposes, and thank it for its concern. Apologize for cutting off the important give-and-take of feelings, and admit that under the circumstances it was given, its own fears were justified. You did not give it all the facts. “You” here is Ruburt. You did not grant its feelings any validity. Remind the subconscious that its origin is with the source self; which will indeed provide it automatically with the necessary conditions for safety and survival.

At the time the subconscious developed these fears, it believed that its survival was dependent upon other people, for Ruburt was young and frightened. If you did not do what other people said, you were in trouble—and deeply. In the face of that belief Ruburt still determined to do his own thing, only with the safeguards.

As his abilities blossomed, the safeguards turned into fortifications. He could not counter the fears because he would not acknowledge them. The unconscious therefore felt forced to take stronger measures.

(10:20.) Give us a moment.... At times, again, inroads would be made. I have probably mentioned before that in college Ruburt would cross the street often rather than meet a group of students. The pattern simply intensified. The Gallery of Silence affair was simply another episode, in which fears were poohpoohed, but he was afraid that those people would come here, and he felt threatened.

All of this goes back, forgive me, to fears that the spontaneous self will in one way or another get him in trouble.

Give us a moment again.... Obviously the unconscious is spontaneous, but his early experience taught him, as given earlier this evening, to use that spontaneity with care. The subconscious feels that it is doing its job, because Ruburt has not allowed feedback; not approving of fear, not allowing the feelings release, and therefore also cutting down on experience that could counter the feelings and show the subconscious that the fears were exaggerated.

(A note: We should ask Seth what sort of countering experience he has in mind.)

Ruburt does not think that you are afraid, for you seldom voice any fears. He feels, therefore, that he is a coward, that fears make him seem abject, that they are unacceptable. On various occasions, when the suggestions in his papers worked—you follow me—they worked because at the same time Ruburt was writing down his feelings: his aggressions and his fears.

He felt that aggressive action was also threatening, for the same reasons as just given. You do not bite the hand that feeds you. The feelings of panic are the result of fears usually buried, when they simply reach a point of intensity that seeks acknowledgement.