“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

The affair was important because it showed him that such techniques do work, and it is an excellent example of one of the most important ways you have of helping him. You did not lecture him, for example—simply stated your recognition of behavior that you knew he would not want to continue, and was trying to break.

Since his intents have now changed some, he is able to use any remarks by you that lead him to recognize such behavior.

Your simple remark then was strong enough to completely alter the pattern of his thoughts and behavior last evening, and most of today, so I want you to recognize the importance of your comments. In the past Ruburt might have reacted differently, perhaps with self-pity, but now he is much more amiable to beneficial suggestions, so that one can completely turn him about, back to his course.

At your present “working level,” Ruburt goes through a series of beneficial physical changes, of posture, body alignment, release of muscles. These are all occurring. They are for that matter accelerating. The practical value, for example, of good suggestion finally does accelerate into improved behavior, though some periods of time may be involved. Finally, however, the suggestions accumulate, so to speak, in the realm or level we are speaking of.

Saying all this, I want to make certain things plain, however. You are still largely in Framework 1, so I do not want you to think in terms of absolutes. I do not want you to suddenly expect in Framework 1 sudden, normal activity on Ruburt’s part, or to compare his present behavior against that standard. That operates detrimentally.

The two of you often misunderstand your patterns of behavior in that regard, for they operate at many levels of your lives. Ruburt is pragmatic, however, in that he insists upon relating philosophy to daily life—but, again, by providing overall models for behavior, rather than, say, specific detailed method.