“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(After supper Jane offered to have a session for me because during the day I’d had a number of recurrences of the panic feelings in my chest. The first one came early this morning after I’d shoveled but a few scoops of snow in the driveway—no work involved at all, really, but I had to quit for fear of having an “attack” of some kind.

When I said it was not rational (in the 367th session), I spoke relatively speaking. Of course, communication is possible. The conscientious self groups about ideas of right and wrong. This portion of the self is often altered, its characteristics becoming less apparent as individuals move through the various social groupings of work, church, or community, where it is obvious that the standards of behavior are hardly rigid, but adaptable.

You two have largely worked alone, and your work goals involve of course the development of personality characteristics that must apply to artistic work. You are aware of the fact that a great painting can still be great despite depicting, say, acts of violence that are “bad.” In a certain fashion you began to apply the “wrong kind” of moral judgments. I will try to explain, though you may, Joseph, at first, disagree.

Now: you panic yourself. What body would not be panicked by some of your worries and thoughts? Again, I have covered this. If optimism seems to be such a simple-minded, idiotic attribute, then listen. It is indeed foolish enough to take it for granted—at least part way (and with irony)—that everything—All That Is, the important things—will somehow work out all right. The foolish body, not realizing that such a philosophy is a food for idiots, replenishes itself for good activities, and in an animal fashion anticipates comfort and exuberance.

The pessimists insist that nothing will work out right in the everyday world, and that is where you live. Illness will increase. Poverty is certain, depressions, and old age with the worst of imagined terrors. Of course, his body does not realize that the pessimist’s views are the most intelligent, proper, sane and reasonable, and so it falls ill because the mind tells the body it has nothing to look forward to.

The idea of a van to Florida led Ruburt into daydreaming, though he was very frightened of the idea, but you immediately thought of the difficulties, that it would not work, and overall neither of you have applied creative, imaginative, positive thought, steadily. You pick up each other’s thoughts and feelings. Ruburt has made progress, but both of you still believe that worrying will somehow lead to positive action, that fear will be an impetus.

I know the extent of your creative abilities. There were occasions in the past when these were applied, and Ruburt improved considerably. His improvements of late have been largely the result of work in Framework 1. They have been steady since he began walking, but slow. Imagining a trip to Florida, for example, or anyplace he wants, planning for it, is a far more effective method of therapy than any worry, for such plans activate body and mind.