“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I am going to deal with some personal material here this evening, pertaining to Ruburt. I have left him alone in this respect for too long. I heartily suggest that he seriously begin to tackle the smoking problem, for his health in many small but significant ways will benefit.

Smoking represents among other things, to him, a blanket of insulation, not only between himself and exterior reality, but a blanket between himself and interior reality. He is fully capable now of operating without such insulation, and it will be most beneficial for him to dispense with it.

Ruburt is more stable a personality than he knows, and thus he can now handle himself without dependence upon artificial supports such as his smoking. He will find that work on his book will go very well, smoothly. And as I believe as I have told you, our material will indeed be published.

(Break at 9:21. Jane was dissociated as usual; that is, she retained a very general idea of what she had been speaking about. Seth has dealt with her smoking habit rather lightly at various times. He was more specific in the 31st and 32nd sessions, tying it in with her past lives. See Volume 1.

There is a definite connection between his desire to stop smoking, and the fact that he has found silver threads among the black. His ego image, or in this case Jane’s ego image, is that of, among other things, a black-haired young woman, and that of a woman writer who smokes.

Disturbing the image in two ways at once is indeed difficult and I would suggest, as I believe you suggested Joseph, that the smoking problem be tackled. [...]

[...] To take focus away from the smoking problem, our Ruburt suddenly decides to go “a la naturel” as far as hair is concerned.

This horror, these few white hairs, then very naturally become the reason to increase smoking, for he now has an excellent reason to feel sorry for himself.

(This afternoon, frightened by a grim tale of lung cancer involving an acquaintance of ours, Jane made an abrupt effort to stop smoking. [...]

[...] I had originally suggested the day after his birthday to end his smoking habit, simply because it would be relatively easy for him at that time. [...]

[...] There is no reason why he should not succeed, and he will succeed in letting go the smoking habit. [...]

[...] The sinus condition has always been to some extent aggravated by the smoking habit, and there are also other conditions which will largely vanish. [...]

[...] His smoking, dear Joseph, is indulged in for entirely different reasons than those reasons which impelled you to smoke, and the habit is difficult for him to break, though he is breaking it and he has made strides that are important during the past year.

His smoking represents the tail end of a characteristic greediness that besieged him in past lives, with smoking this time as a remnant. [...]

As your sinuses begin to clear up you will not experience the nervous ability to gulp air or to smoke, at least to such a degree. You want to take smoke and air into your lungs. [...]

First, naturally, I have a few comments to make that will not only tie in Ruburt’s smoking habits with his present personality, but also to some extent tie in his present personality with past personalities.

The cigarette was your own construction, representing your inner realization that the cigarette-smoking Ruburt was there but not present. I smoked cigars. [...]

(Ordinarily, Jane said, she would have had a cigarette during the delivery; but this time she “got the message” that she was not to smoke. [...] She felt no force preventing her hand from reaching for a smoke, yet she didn’t feel free to reach for one.

(In the 222nd session Seth asked Jane not to smoke during tests. Sometimes seriously but more often humorously, he has gone into the reasons behind Jane’s smoking in these sessions: 31, 32, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 222.

[...] She had not smoked.

(Jane was smoking when she began speaking again. [...]

[...] At break time she then realized that she hadn’t smoked at all during the first delivery. As a rule Jane smokes steadily during sessions; even I hadn’t noticed she was going without cigarettes.

[...] Again, she had not smoked since last break. [...]

[...] And again, she did not smoke at all during the delivery. [...]

(Jane had not smoked since putting out her cigarette shortly after the session began, and when she resumed speaking again she refrained from smoking. [...]

[...] She hadn’t smoked.

[...] Her eyes had remained closed throughout both experiments, she had used many pauses, and had not smoked.

(Jane resumed while smoking, and with her eyes opening at times, at 10:29.)

[...] She had been smoking when she began this evening, and put out her cigarette without any trouble as she continued to speak. [...]

(Jane was again smoking when she resumed, and this time I could see that her eyes were narrowly open. [...]

[...] She was also smoking as she spoke. [...]

[...] Her eyes were closed to begin, but she was smoking and they soon began to open frequently.)

[...] Smoking.)

[...] Her eyes were closed, and they remained closed even though she smoked while giving the Dr. Instream material. [...]

[...] Her eyes had opened fairly often, her pace had been average, and she had smoked.

[...] Jane was smoking.)

[...] Her pace had been good, her voice average, and she had smoked.

[...] Her eyes had opened and closed frequently, and she had been smoking. [...]

[...] Not having time to give her a smoke, etc. [...] The nurse checked with the station to see if Jane could smoke. [...]

[...] She had not been smoking while delivering the material. [...]

(Jane said she had the idea that Seth got her to sit down by letting her smoke. [...]

[...] Her eyes were closed, her glasses off, and she was smoking. [...]

[...] Then she sat on a stool at the counter, smoking and having a cup of coffee while she looked at TV across the barrier. [...]

[...] It was time to turn Jane, and we spent the rest of our time together in our usual routine—massage with Oil of Olay, nap and TV, supper, smokes, dessert and prayer. [...]

[...] Her pace was a bit slower, and she was smoking as she resumed at 9:20.)

[...] She had smoked almost steadily.

[...] Jane’s eyes closed, even though she was smoking. [...]

(Jane has decided that she smokes too much during sessions; as a result she did not smoke while dictating this evening, but did light up at breaks. [...]

(Jane has not been smoking during her deliveries this evening. [...]

[...] She had smoked.

[...] Her delivery had been rather fast and emphatic, she had smiled often, used many gestures, and smoked a couple of cigarettes.

[...] She was not smoking. [...]

[...] Some of us had been smoking earlier, not now. Would the smoke show up more in the dark? [...]

[...] I think of a pack of cigarettes, not American brand, though neither of them smoke. [...]

He smokes on the verandah. [...]

(Jane had been smoking since break. [...]

(During break Jane again lay on the bed, or half reclined, while she smoked. [...]

[...] One: I have been asking Ruburt to stop smoking cigarettes, a dirty habit, and smoke cigars... [...]

[...] And to that self, physical reality is like a breath of smoke in air ... [...]