“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

When he was not docile as a child there was vicious instant retaliation of a most complicated nature. There was ordinary retaliation, in that he was punished through word attacks, and through such corporal punishment as the invalid could give. But, and here Joseph we come to the real heart of the matter, the mother retaliated in the main not by a direct attack upon the child, but by causing the child to believe that its misbehavior could be, and very nearly was, going to result in the death of the mother. As any child does, the child at times wished for the parent’s death, and here we see the mother acting out her own death in order to punish the child.

Now symbolically any attack upon Ruburt becomes an attack by the parent, against which the child in Ruburt dares not retaliate. Flight becomes the only answer, the only sure solution, as flight from the parent was the only solution, for the parent could not run after.

You grew up in an environment, my dear friend, in which violence and aggressiveness became one, were expressed in some degree by both parents. But this expression was denied to the children, and you longed to retaliate. Your father’s aggressiveness, normal male aggressiveness, was blocked up, and directed against your mother. You longed to express your natural violence, you normal aggressiveness, and you also feared to do so, and dwelled mainly in your own world.

All of this needs to be said, you see. You are both learning at a rather amazing rate. In the past you turned some repressed violence inward against yourself. Ruburt’s selling jobs were very practical for a time, for they allowed him to release aggressive feelings. You become angry when you think, rightly, that Ruburt is too docile in his dealings, but this is because you are angry at your own lack of power as a child to retaliate against the atmosphere of violence that you sensed in the child’s home.

[...] This was to some extent in retaliation. [...]

[...] He will not hurt you if you hurt him to retaliate, but he will escape, close himself off from further hurt, leaving a shell behind, an animated but empty one.

[...] Yet in retaliation they strike out, forming a new class of downtrodden who must in their turn rise and retaliate.

[...] When the father is vigorous the son is fearful of retaliation. If the son does not understand himself, then when fear of retaliation is removed, particularly if the mother beckons, then a trap is set.

I must remind you once more that all time happens simultaneously, so the confused belief about punishment now, in retaliation for past action would actually be meaningless, since in simultaneous time all actions would be occurring at once.

[...] They would take what they could from your technology, but in conscious and spontaneous ways they retaliated — and still do — by exaggerating all of those human tendencies that your society has held down so well. [...]

At the same time you threatened yourself with the possibility of complete failure as an artist, almost in retaliation. [...]

[...] People felt that the sun and the moon would be offended if electric lights were used, for example, that in retaliation they might refuse to shine.

[...] You have a prejudiced god, who will for example slay the Egyptians on behalf of the Jews to retaliate against previous Egyptian cruelty. [...]

[...] You have a prejudiced god, who will, for example, slay the Egyptians and half of the Jews to retaliate against previous Egyptian cruelty. [...]

[...] And if that happened, he feared that you might retaliate, either by becoming ill, or by becoming eventually cool to him.

[...] It tried to stab you in the back, and did so, but you were able to retaliate and to slay your would-be assassin.

[...] While you believe, however, that energy is limited then you are gluttonous for using it at the expense of poorer nations—who will then, sharing the same belief, retaliate. [...]

[...] Usually such people were joined by common interests, a sense of honor, and there was no retaliation to be feared in this century.

[...] This has been mentioned before but it is a good point, that retaliation against his mother was felt to be impossible, for she would then have an attack for which Ruburt felt responsible. [...]

[...] At times you felt as a child that painting, or rather drawing, hurt her, and that also she might retaliate by withholding her support in other areas. [...]

Subjectively, when you were jealous (see the 350th Session) you were actively jealous of Ruburt for being successful, and wished to strike out in retaliation. [...]

[...] But when you shove one black cloud against another black cloud you can have one hell of a storm so you do not have to retaliate, therefore. [...]

[...] You may be terrified of aggressive feelings because [it seems] others so much more powerful than you could retaliate. [...]

[...] The development of abilities and the ESP book represented an effort by the spontaneous self to express itself, for this other portion of the personality was ready then to take over, and it then retaliated with the beginning of symptoms.