“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now: you read an article about a child suddenly cured of arthritis by a healer, and you wondered about it. (See attached clipping.)

You mentioned telepathy. And wondered what the child was picking up from the parents. Here I want to emphasize the importance that telepathy can play, and the vital role of suggestion.

In a way the child allowed itself to be hypnotized into the condition, the symptoms becoming potent physical “posthypnotic” suggestions. The parents did not want the child to suffer. But on the other hand the mother was early frightened by the idea of a vital male baby, who might be overly rambunctious and difficult to control. She was overly fearful, ironically enough, for the child’s safety—and hence he developed a condition that kept him under scrutiny all the while.

The child would not be run over by a car, for example, or pick up diseases from other children in school when he grew. He would be protected.

The disease showed itself early. The mother wanted the child to stay still, was worried lest it fall. It was actively motivated toward lack of motion. Such exaggerated fears, of course, were a strong element in the family itself, so that the family did not feel free to move. The woman was not easy in social life, and could now stay home to care for the small invalid.

(Pause.) The child wanted to please the parents. He received an overabundance of sympathy, special treats, and so forth, so that his condition brought more and more rewards, even as he became more uncomfortable. The child responded in such a manner because of its own characteristics. Another child, for example, might have become overactive in rebellion. In a strange fashion, the pain represented heightened sensitivity – extremely unpleasant, but also represented a vital emotional bodily response of a direct nature. In other ways,the family behaved opaquely. Nothing seemed clear-cut.

Unfortunately, cries of pain brought the child instant attention, and they were often exaggerated. The child wanted out, finally, but did not know how, for he had allowed the destructive game to become real.

The healer was the hypnotist in reverse. The doctors had always acted doubtful, and professed pity, and the child recognized their feelings of hopelessness. The

healer expressed confidence. The healer believed the child could be healed. Telepathically this was known. The man could stop the game.

(9:50.) The healer instantly reached the boy in Framework 2, whereas you know time is foreshortened—so in your terms results can appear far more quickly than in usual terms. The healer telepathically reminded the child that he was indeed full of energy and vitality. When this was fully understood, the previous suggestions vanished, with their results.

It is possible that such a healing can automatically give the family as a whole a new set of beliefs. If not, of course, one member or another may become ill, or the child might have a relapse. As probabilities go, however, the child’s experience is enough to show it that such illness can indeed vanish overnight. Now that knowledge is a part of that child’s experience, and the cure will be the great event of his life, in that it will always be in the back of his mind as he grows.

The child becomes a teacher for the parents, for the doctors who treated him, for the people who read the Enquirer, and for all the people who will meet the child as he matures. Remember the old man. Here the hypnosis, the suggestions, were self-applied, although many came from society’s beliefs. The man was a contractor, given to physical labor in his younger years, but convinced that the minute he retired his body would begin to fail. It would deteriorate with age.