“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Suggestion not only impels toward action, but causes you to interpret action in a given manner. In strict Darwinian terms, man and animal alike had to be turned aggressively outward in the most competitive of physical ways. A new achievement on the part of a species, or any mutation occurred, occurred as the direct result of personal experience—and of course no information was available otherwise.

For example, Ruburt’s latest status, and your somewhat natural concern with the temporary walking difficulty—you know what I am referring to—I say to you that the concern is natural; for it certainly seems so to both of you. You have little idea, however, how sometimes the most natural-seeming reactions are not natural at all, but programmed. An animal, say, in Ruburt’s position, feeling as much new activity in the body, new motion in the knees, new elasticity in the ligaments, would quite naturally accept the improvements with physical elation, even if it had more difficulty one day, or two, than it had in days previous. It would sense the body’s interstate condition. It would not worry, but would exercise whatever new motions were possible. It would take it for granted that its body knew what it was doing. It would not be hampered by remnants of Darwinian or Freudian concepts.

(10:36.) I want to show you where culture and cultural beliefs meet with your private experience. Ruburt’s body needed more challenge. Before this latest episode that upset him showed, Important releases in the hip sockets occurred, with hardly any notice on his part. Little inconvenience. The amount of new motion there was minute but vitally important if his stance upward were to improve.

That small alteration, however, immediately altered the legs’ position, however minutely, placing new challenge upon the entire leg and foot region. That challenge further activates additional motion: it is almost impossible to explain how intimately your psychological beliefs program your experience of events, or to tell you how to interpret them.

Ruburt’s new attitudes and intentions to be responsive are renewing the body. The fears and anxieties of course do not help. They add tension. You are going ahead in spite of the worry. The entire jaw is being realigned to its natural and most ideal position. This is allowing all of the other bodily beneficial changes.

The work of the jaws necessitates the actions occurring, and if the new jaws end up with new teeth (humorously), that must not be considered a failure or a tragedy. That fear is precisely what keeps Ruburt from saving the teeth so far. The teeth business has to do also with Darwinian concepts of age, with thought of the animal not surviving, and in your world that is ridiculous. The fears behind the fears are groundless. He must not be so afraid, then, of losing the teeth—and then perhaps he can save them. But in any case you both lay highly negative and unwarranted suggestions in that area.

Darwin managed to bring out nature’s complexity, though this had been mentioned by other men—I believe by a man called Mendel in particular. But Mendel did not catch man’s imagination. Darwin then brought nature to man’s focus in a new way, for before neither science or religion had dealt with it in a meaningful manner. The full sweep and extent of the natural world , with all of its seeming ambiguities, cruelties and splendors, had to be accepted as more than a passive package delivered into man’s hand.

Darwin’s theories, and Freud’s for that matter, will in the future be seen as any other antiquated, outmoded system—yet from their ashes will rise new ways of interpreting and experiencing reality.

Some of this can be used, if you want to, in an appendix to the new book.