“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

This afternoon we had a long discussion about the conflicts we often feel between our natural desires for creative privacy and the fact that our works go out into the world. Each of us has a strong sense of responsibility toward those who read our books. Involved here also is Jane’s sinful self and “its” attitude concerning the requests she receives to go public through radio and television interviews, lectures, records, tapes, and so forth. She turned away from media attention many years ago. It took me some time after she’d started delivering the Seth material to realize that in spite of her outgoing, friendly nature, Jane is as much a private person as I am.)

Now: Again, master events are those that most significantly affect your system of reality, even though the original action was not physical but took place in the inner dimension. Most events appear both in time and out of it, their action distributed between an inner and outer field of expression. Usually you are aware only of events’ exterior cores. The inner processes escape you.

One morning last weekend (Saturday) Ruburt found himself suddenly and vividly thinking about some married friends. They lived out of town, separated in time by a drive of approximately [half an hour]. Ruburt found himself wishing that the friends lived closer, and he was suddenly filled with a desire to see them. He imagined the couple at the house, and surprised himself by thinking that he might indeed call them later in the day and invite them down for the evening, even though he and Joseph had both decided against guests that weekend.

Furthermore, Ruburt did not like the idea of making an invitation on such short notice. Then he became aware that those particular thoughts were intrusive, completely out of context with his immediately previous ones, for only a moment or so earlier he had been congratulating himself precisely because he had made no plans for the day or evening at all that would involve guests or other such activities. Very shortly he forgot the entire affair. Then, however, about fifteen minutes later he found the same ideas returning, this time more insistently.

(Long pause at 9:05.) They lasted perhaps five minutes. Ruburt noticed them and forgot them once again. This time, however, he decided not to call his friends, and he went about his business. In about a half hour the same mental activity returned, and, finding himself struck by this, Ruburt mentioned the episode to Joseph and again cast it from his mind.

By this time it was somewhat later in the day. Ruburt and Joseph ate lunch, and the mail arrived. There was a letter written the morning before (on Friday) by the same friends that had been so much in Ruburt’s mind. They mentioned going on a trip (on Saturday), and specifically asked if they could visit that same afternoon. From the way the letter was written, it seemed as if the friends—call them Peter and Polly—had already started on their journey that (Saturday) morning, and would stop in Elmira on their return much later toward evening. There was no time to answer the letter, of course.

It would be simple enough, of course, to ascribe Ruburt’s thoughts and feelings to mere coincidence. He remembered the vividness of his feelings at the time, however. It looked as if Peter and Polly were indeed going to arrive almost as if Ruburt had in fact called and invited them. That evening the visit did take place. Actually, some work had prevented the couple from leaving when they intended. Instead, they called later from their home to say that they were just beginning their trip, and would stop on their way.

Ruburt was well prepared for the call by then, and for the visit. Now the visit and Ruburt’s earlier feelings and thoughts were part of the same event, except that his subjective experience gave him clues as to the inner processes by which all events take place. More is involved than the simple question: Did he perceive the visit precognitively? More is involved than the question: Did he perceive his information directly from the minds of his friends, or from the letter itself, which had already been mailed, of course, and was on its way to Ruburt at the time?

When they do, you might question: Could it be possible that you really were perceiving an action ahead of time? Later, some people more stubborn than others might try to “prove” that some events are definitely precognitively perceived—but the point is that all events are precognitively perceived (intently), and that you actually step into an event, become part of it, reject it, accept the certain version you have “picked up,” or exert yourself to make certain changes that affect the nature of the event itself.

Even the conscious mind contains much more information about the structure of events than you realize you possess. The physical perceiving apparatuses of all organizations carry their own kinds of inner systems of communication, allowing events to be manipulated on a worldwide basis before they take on what appears to be their final definitive physical occurrences in time and space.

1. For the record only: Inclusive from Session 919 (June 9, 1980) to Session 932 (August 4, 1981), almost 14 months passed while we had Chapter 9 in progress. During that time Jane held four book sessions, with small portions of three of them being deleted, or private; 10 regular nonbook sessions, with brief sections of four of those being private; and 68 completely private sessions. Of that last total, she devoted 13 sessions to material on the magical approach to reality, and 27 to the subject of the sinful self. She came through with 82 sessions, then, during the production of Chapter 9.

I’d told myself to forget it each time I caught myself worrying that way—but finally, more concerned than ever about Jane’s physical condition, I gave up. With more than a little wry humor over what I considered to be a failure of belief on my part, I took action: Late in July I had a contractor, who is a friend of ours and well acquainted with Jane’s situation, install a heavy outside door in a bedroom wall, and construct the necessary step to the ground. He also hung another heavy door at the living-room entrance to the hall; we’re to keep that one closed at night. I had our friend position smoke alarms throughout the house.