“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Before the session Jane said that in the last week she: 1. Is reading much better—“damn well” on Seth’s book. Psyche, and on Emir. This applies to her copying work on the typewriter also. 2. Her newspaper and other small-print reading has been better overall, although it’s not even in quality. But still there have been definite improvements. Her intermediate vision needs the most work. 3. “My legs have changed quite a bit during the week. I’m definitely taller. I can stand taller most of the time.” These changes were accompanied by perhaps three days or so of muscular soreness, which has now largely disappeared. All of these things Jane considered to be her “two-week report,” as discussed in the deleted session for January 7, 1978.

This of course gave you at that time a different orientation of consciousness. Man did not see himself pitted against the elements, but allied with them, whatever their mood or behavior. I have explained that kind of consciousness fairly well in portions of Psyche that Ruburt is reading. Man could exult in nature’s energy, power, and splendor, even in the midst of the most fierce storm —in which, indeed, his life might be in danger.

In your terms, with time, historically, he began to lose this identification, so that an emotional separation began to occur between man and the elements, between man and the other manifestations of nature. He still sensed nature’s grandeur—(louder:) but that grandeur was no longer his own, and he felt less and less a part of it. Nature became an exterior power, more of an adversary, even though man has a love for the earth, the fields, and the grain that they yielded.

(Long pause at 9:41.) Your religions have been largely patterned from such self-disapproving bases. The thrust of your civilizations has been concerned with manipulating nature. Your latest snowstorm is an excellent example. Not only of nature’s power and its effects upon civilization, but it also provides you with a very small hint of the other side of the picture, for man despite himself has not lost entirely that identification with the elements. People still feel a part of nature’s power. Storms often, oddly enough it seems, bring out a feeling of adventuresomeness and neighborliness, because people are united—not against nature, as they may think, but by it. The good skier feels a part of the snowy hill, yet most skiers feel that the hill must be conquered. When you take a walk, you usually think of walking through nature, not realizing that you are a part of the scene through which you walk. The loss of a real, sensed, appreciated identification with nature has been largely responsible, however, for man’s attitude that self-disapproval is somehow a virtue.

You are different than animals, but in this case the same issues are involved. You must have a basic approval of yourself. This is information not only for you two, of course, but for others—but you must trust your basic being, with its characteristics and abilities. You have them for a reason in all of their unique combinations. You should also avoid labels, for these can stereotype your perception of yourself.

I will give you some (stereotypes): Ruburt is stubborn. He never forgets a slight. Ruburt is fiercely loyal. Joseph deals in details. His mind is logical rather than intuitive. Ruburt is spontaneous. Joseph is not. All of these are labels, and quite relative. Ruburt is loyal to you. He was not loyal, in those terms, to Walter Zeh, or he would still be with him. Ruburt is spontaneous—but if he were all that spontaneous he would be walking better. You, Joseph, are spontaneous. You do not have to think before you cross the floor—where there Ruburt is aware of the slightest detail—the arrangement of his body or the furniture, the lay of the floor.

Ruburt’s entire body has stretched noticeably in the last week and a half, the legs in particular. He has implemented that stretching so that he is indeed taller walking. The lower back is becoming more elastic, and that allows for a greater loosening of the knees. Those back muscles are strong and vigorous, but they were tightened in order to hold this lowered pose (with gestures).

You spoke of the pendulum (at last break). Again, labels are somewhat implicated, for you each thought you worked well with the pendulum, but that Ruburt did not. It can be used most effectively and in the past at times Ruburt used it well, particularly with your help—largely because he believed it necessary. Make sure you do not look for what is wrong, however, but for reasons behind behavior.

This is quite enough for this evening, since I expect you to take an almost equal amount of time not only to read this session together, but to explore at the same time the ways in which your own self-labels may have added to your own self- disapproval. That exercise is a part of this session.