“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

This time reference is perhaps the most important within earth experience, and the one that most influences all creatures. In experience or existence outside of time (pause), there is no necessity to make certain kinds of judgments. In an out-of-time reference, theoretically speaking now, an infinite number of directions can be followed at once. Earth’s time reference, however, brought to experience a new brilliant focus—and in the press of time, again, certain activities would be relatively more necessary than others, relatively more pleasant or unpleasant than others. Among a larger variety of possible actions, man was suddenly faced with a need to make choices, that within that context had not been made “before.”

(Jane paused, eyes closed, often seeming to grope for words while in trance.) This is, again, difficult to explain, but free will operates in all units of consciousness, regardless of their degree—but (whispering) it operates within the framework of that degree. Man possesses free will, but that free will operates only within man’s degree—that is, his free will is somewhat contained by the frameworks of time and space.

The differences among all species are caused by this kind of organization, so that areas of choice are clearly drawn, and areas of free activity clearly specified. The entire gestalt of probable actions, therefore, is already focused to some degree in the species’ differentiations. In the vast structure of probable activity, however, far more differentiation was still necessary, and this is provided for through the inner passageways of reincarnational existence.

Each person, for example, is born with his or her uniquely individual set of characteristics and abilities, likes and dislikes. Those serve to organize individual action in a world where an infinite number of probable roads are open—and here again, private impulses are basically meant to guide each individual toward avenues of expression and probable activities suited best to his or her development. They are meant, therefore, as aids to help organize action (pause), and to set free will more effectively into motion. Otherwise, free will would be almost inoperable in practical terms: Individuals would be faced by so many choices that any decisions would be nearly impossible. Essentially, the individual would have no particular leaning toward any one action over any other (all with emphasis).

In time’s reference, the private purposes of each individual appear also in the larger historical context, so that each person forms his corner of his civilization—and all individuals within a given time period have private and overall purposes, challenges that are set, probable actions that they will try to place within history’s context.