“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

His fear of the spontaneous self originally developed simply because that self seemed so different from other people that he tried to keep it within bounds. He tried to tie it to writing alone, which was the closest approximation he could make to creative conventional activity, while still allowing himself expression. His own abilities, again, kept working through all of the frameworks, however, and none of them could content him.

Your society teaches a basic distrust of the self, but even then from their organizations people look for a sense of approval. While relying upon himself, Ruburt still had no guidelines, and to some extent he felt that he had to rein himself in, to go cautiously, and he began to doubt himself. Even science fiction was not large enough, imaginatively, to contain his abilities, and when those abilities did indeed flower he was afraid he was more of an outcast than ever.

While trusting himself enough to use the abilities—and in a largely uncongenial social atmosphere—he still found it necessary to be highly critical, and not to rely upon the abilities too much, lest he was unknowingly as deluded as many people would certainly say he was. That meant, however, that to some degree he cut himself off from solutions that the abilities themselves could provide.

Give us a moment.... Once again, of course, there were no guides in the exterior world, and the two of you determined to explore the nature of reality to the best of your abilities. You also decided that you must use great caution while you were doing so, in your dealings with the world.

The pendulum suggestions are meant to reinforce the basic trust in the self, and in the self’s abilities to handle experience without enforcing artificial armor. Both of you chose to do what you are doing, and accepted your historical period.