“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(After supper Venice McCullough [Palmer] visited us. She and her husband are staying overnight at Bumbalo’s before she goes upstate to help her daughter while the granddaughter has an operation for a cleft palate. Venice seemed good, yet was heavier than ever. She dwarfed Jane as the two sat side by side on the couch. “Now there’s something she could do, something about by making a decision,” I said later, meaning her weight. I thought such a decision would be simple compared to the ones Jane is trying to cope with.

(I had 2 pages typed on last night’s session, and gave Jane page 1 so she could refresh herself on my question, the one that Seth had begun discussing, about the intensity of her reactions. “Well, I almost feel him around now,” Jane said at 8:42.)

It was also excellent that one such memory carried with it a direct emotional response. That kind of response means that there is communication between, say, the present and past areas of the psyche.

The information came in a natural manner—which is, again, excellent. I do not want to rehash his entire early background, but it is important that he become aware of its emotional content. I wanted to make a few additional points. Ruburt became aware of non-Catholic Christianity to any degree only after our sessions began. The Sinful Self is quite as evident there as it is in the Catholic Church. The Protestant version is often intermixed, however, with psychic organizations. In that light, as in the Catholic one, the female’s guilt is seen as even larger than the male’s. So that additional pressure is cast upon the women, who are indeed seen as spiritually inferior—or (underlined) on the other hand painted as pure, pedestal-like individuals in the manner of the Blessed Virgin. That particular subject matter can be discussed at another time. Ruburt has often wondered at the poor quality of most intuitional material, particularly since it is supposed to be so important. The truth of course is not intrinsically in the nature of the material itself, but in the very fact that it is almost exclusively translated in terms of Christian thought, however bizarre that interpretation might be. For that matter, such material often simply restates the entire concept of the Sinful Self in different form. Often that form is highly inflammatory. The main point is a good one to remember, however.

The Sinful Self was highly suspicious of any such activity. I believe we have begun an excellent natural therapy in that regard. Ruburt is working at all angles of the problem at other levels of consciousness now, and the Sinful Self is beginning to feel a new sense of give-and-take. (Pause.) Other portions of Ruburt’s personality do utilize our material also, of course, and we deal with a certain kind of natural pacing. It is an excellent idea to go over these sessions one at a time and keep the material in the forefront of consciousness for a while.

(“No, I guess not, except to continue with the one from last session.”)

In the framework of the Sinful Self’s points of reference and in the Catholic philosophy in which it is based, suffering for a good purpose, toward a good end, toward a good goal for the sake of the soul, is a virtue. (Pause.) The entire Catholic dogma is built about Christ’s agony and death. Now to a portion of the personality believing in that system, Ruburt’s position makes hardly a ripple. That system regards the body as highly distracting, disruptive, heir to the lusts of the flesh, and so forth. Its discipline through suffering is one of Christianity’s most appalling effects.

Again, it is capable of such understanding, however, and it can change. Its motivation is to feel at one with a state of grace, at one with its place in the universe. That purpose is the same as Ruburt’s own, but its methods and understanding are still at a certain level, a level that can indeed be changed and reeducated.

(I thought so too. The first question automatically led to the following ones. There were many more to be asked, too. I was appalled, while thinking at the same time that perhaps at last we’ve finally reached the core of the problem, and can take steps to do something about it. The Sinful Self.... What a concept, I thought, speculating briefly about the untold damage it must have done to millions of people over the centuries. My first thought after the first question’s answer had been that it must be excised from Ruburt’s character, or at least that its beliefs must be changed so much that it becomes unrecognizable compared to what it is now.

(Jane turned on the television after a very brief discussion. I wanted badly to study this session with the idea of basing future questions upon it. I wanted to know how suffering could be good for the soul, among other questions, since from its supposedly exalted position one would hardly think the soul needed suffering to improve its position or understanding. My feelings toward the Sinful Self were certainly not charitable, nor was I about to concede it a state of grace in view of its damaging actions, even if Jane has ignored it and shut off communication. There is much to be learned here. Perhaps we’ve finally got a good hold on what needs to be done.)