“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

“If, on the other hand, under the same circumstances, you stop yourself and say gently to yourself, ‘He will begin to feel better now, or his drinking is temporary, and there is indeed hope here,’ then you have given him aid, for the suggestions will at least represent some small telepathic ammunition to help fight off the war of despondency.

“Action accepts all stimuli in an affirmative manner. It is only when it becomes compartmented, so to speak, in the highly differentiated consciousness that such refinements occur. I am not saying that unpleasant stimuli will not be felt as unpleasant and reacted against in less self-conscious organisms. I am saying that they will rejoice even in their automatic reaction, because any stimuli and reaction represents sensation, and sensation is a method by which consciousness knows itself.

“The whole focus of the personality can shift from constructive areas to a concentration of main energies in the area of the impeding action, or illness. In such a case, the illness actually represents a new unifying system. Now, if the old unifying system of the personality is broken down, the illness serving as a makeshift temporary emergency measure may hold the integrity of the personality intact until a new, constructive unifying principle replaces the original.

He also has some fascinating comments on the relationship of various kinds of symptoms to the inner problems involved. “Do not forget that you are a part of the inner self. It is not using you. You are the portion of it that experiences physical reality. Now, physical illnesses that are not critical but observable—that do not involve, say, loss of a limb or organ— generally represent problems that are in the process of being solved, problems that are “out in the open.’

As Seth makes clear in other sessions, the symptoms in such cases are themselves part of the healing process. What we are supposed to do, then, is change our mental attitude, search ourselves for the inner problem represented by the symptoms, and measure our progress as the symptoms subside.

Above, Rob’s double portrait of Ruburt and Joseph. This represents Jane’s and Rob’s Whole Selves, the sum of their reincarnational personalities. (Robert Butts) Below, Jane and Rob in the same pose for comparison. (Rich Conz)