“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

It seems under those conditions that only pessimism can be an adequate response, so that any private or global condition of an adverse nature, left alone, will further deteriorate. Remember, along with these passages, material I gave recently on the uses of the rational mind, and its necessary dependence upon intelligence that it cannot itself directly perceive.

The world in those terms (pause) is as much the result of unpredictable behavior, unforeseen events, unexpected benefits, unforeseeable conditions, as it is the result of predictable actions, usual cause-and-effect phenomena (pause), and a close inspection of public and private life would show quite clearly that both are magnificently touched by significant coincidences. Unexpected events, unpredictable actions of the most auspicious nature.

The Sinful-Self concept causes you to expect the worst in any given situation. In that light, hopeful expectation seems quite out of place, and unworkable. Without the dictates of the Sinful Self, however, you can begin to sense the contours of the natural self, or the natural person. You can begin to sense your own good natures, in other words, and those basic natures are automatically optimistic.

They automatically expect the best from any situation. They represent your natural persons. As Ruburt begins to understand the “artificial” characteristics of the Sinful-Self concept, then those natural characteristics of the natural person will more and more emerge. It will be, for example, less difficult to have pleasant expectations, for they will begin to bubble up by themselves into the mind.

The barriers become unnecessary when you realize that the self is not sinful. I use the word “sinful” in Ruburt’s case because of the early church connections in particular. Science’s flawed self still carries the same import, however, the idea being that while science does not deal with values, so its says, it misleads itself considerably in making such statements, for it projects the worst kind of values both upon mankind and the rest of nature—so even if you are not tainted from religion’s old beliefs, it is difficult to escape such ideas.

The natural person can be evoked, and its responses elicited, particularly through touching and through statements of love and affection. The Sinful Self feels it does not deserve such attention. Love is therefore surrounded very carefully by all kinds of barriers by both science and religion, and in your own lives you could now be much more demonstrative in those regards. For they offer a natural therapy.

Ruburt was not responsible for the housekeeper’s death when he was in high school. He felt such accusations, however. Even those made him question the nature of reality. They were grist for the mill. They were the way the problem was stated.

These issues can all be encountered, however, and adequately encountered once they are clearly understood. It is not particularly necessary that Ruburt dig back into the past on purpose to discover those old feelings. Many will now surface most likely on their own in response to current events, as per this morning: the memories will not be frozen, but will move naturally into present experience, and take their natural place.