“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now: you are, of course, taught that any meaningful endeavor takes a great amount of effort of a certain kind—the exertion of the will, the utilization of the time in an organized fashion—and this can promote a tooth-gritting determination in some people.

Now recently that phrase has been introduced into your suggestions. Because you are so used to the belief in exerting such effort, in the beginning, as I mentioned, some fear can be involved as you begin to let the effort go, while watching to see that you aren’t backsliding instead, or being irresponsible. This letting-go happens naturally just before the initiation of any creative endeavor.

Ruburt did experience some fear, but overall has handled it well. I do want to make the point that that state of mind should be applied whenever possible to all areas of your lives. Now physically, the burning sensations are the results of stretching. Often, say, the back areas of the leg will be loose and comfortable while the topside knee portion might be sore. This means that the relaxation of the back muscles and ligaments is allowing new stretching of ligaments connected with the knee, and the condition might be reversed the next day, or in an hour.

The same applies to the arms. The feet are coming along excellently, so that they will be flexible enough as Ruburt walks more—that is, they will be able to manipulate in concert with the changed positions that the legs are now beginning to achieve.

It was natural enough for a while that Ruburt be quite aware of bodily sensation when he tried to “give up all effort,” but he is beginning now to sense the body’s pattern of activity, its relaxation, its stretching periods, and so forth. One important point: he gobbles experience, emphasizes it, studies it—and that quality also means that his bodily sensations are treated in the same manner. That is why the concentration upon the moment, upon his writing, upon, say, meals, immediately helps to take his mind off of his body. Remember desire in terms of Ruburt’s wanting to vacuum a rug, or whatever, and encourage those desires rather than an attitude of “I must do something physical today.”

The letting go of effort will indeed more and more release such desires. Ruburt has to a considerable extent largely disposed of the habit of negative projections, though he still catches some now and then. Except for the point of power, he has not actively promoted his desire to walk normally, and this was relatively wise, for as he begins to let go of effort he was not tempted to think of contradictions, as he might have had he more actively encouraged those desires.

So now we come to imagination and desire. When these are utilized properly you do not need effort, for effort becomes effortless. It is and it is not. When Ruburt feels he understands this, without taking any special time, let him think of using desire and imagination together, purposefully disconnecting them for this exercise from willpower or effort, and seeing himself shopping with you in a store, or walking a beach in Florida, or anything else that automatically comes to mind.

Now the will can be used, but when there are divisions then the impulses and imagination should be released in such a fashion, and they will then mobilize the will, in such a way that action is united.

The session should be read carefully, and the sessions given to trust of the body emphasized, now, instead of, say, the work sessions—again for now.