“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Ruburt is not an extremist—nor, on the whole, is he given to extremes. He has at times taken some comparatively extreme measures, and they were taken to some degree because he felt he could be an extremist.

By then, however, Ruburt began to fear that he was headed for trouble—that he was too impetuous, headstrong and impulsive. Leaving Walt for you on a moment’s notice, so to speak, was not extremist behavior either, for he had spent three years in that relationship, and gave it indeed all the trial period it deserved. And though he loved you, he did not “plunge” into marriage with you either. In not wanting children, a good amount of discipline was used by both of you—the kind of discipline that simply would not be possible for people “driven” by impulsive desires. Ruburt finally did put an end to his menstrual cycles a good deal earlier than might have happened otherwise. It is easy enough to say that that was extreme, but many women have hysterectomies for the same purpose.

You are both apt to say that Ruburt goes to extremes, and several times I used the word myself, and Ruburt never forgot it—but I did not use it with the same implications that it carries for him. A sense of purpose steadily applied, the continuity of feeling and work, the steady application over a period of years, these are not the marks of an extremist.

I want to make these points because Ruburt’s physical condition in part was the result of his feelings that left alone, in good condition, he might resort to “extreme behavior.”

Now, what would that extreme behavior consist of “at its worst?” He felt that if he were a person given to extremes, then to use his abilities he must apply due discipline so that his head was not turned, so that he did not become a victim of fame, as many other writers and artists did—or so it seemed. It certainly should be obvious to Ruburt now that his personality contains some quite conservative aspects—a marriage going into two decades and more does not exactly make one worry about promiscuity. So many old fears were based upon misconceptions on the part of the personality that in younger years found itself to be quite different than its contemporaries, and gradually began to set up defenses against them.

The personality is always pleased with its abilities. If those abilities are extraordinary, or if they do not fit into the social structure, a personality can approve and disapprove, use the abilities, and yet feel the need for protection. I want to erase, however, any ideas that either of you might have that Ruburt is an extremist. He is far too tolerant, for one thing. Extraordinary ability may seem extreme behavior when compared to the mundane lives of many people. A mountain-climber is not necessarily an extremist; an extremist goes from one kind of extreme behavior to another.