“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Jane described her feelings and experiences at her father-in-law’s funeral. Theodore M. told of his experiences in the Great Hall and Joel related his experiences with his personality, Bill. The question was raised, where is consciousness when one is in trance?)

Now, I cannot sing along with Mitch, but I do have something to say to this one (Sue) and that one (Joel) and, to some extent, to all of you and it is this. There is no need to justify your existence. You do not need to write or preach to justify your existence. Being is its own justification. You do not have to knock your gut out, in other words, either of you and this also applies to our friend, Ruburt. Consciousness is its own justification, and this goes for each of you. Only when you realize this, can you begin to utilize your freedom. Otherwise you try too hard.

Now no one asked me what it was like when I go in trance. Now to go into a trance is simply to focus intensely in a highly specific area of reality and, therefore, I throw or project a part of what I am here because I am able to utilize greater areas of my personality than those with which you are now acquainted in yourself. I can do this in a conscious manner and yet still, as I am here and as I have mentioned, I find a difficulty in looking at you and relating to the selves that you think you are within your given moment of time for I see the composites, so it takes some training on my part to pinpoint you in the time and space with which you are acquainted.

And, to some extent, I serve as a communicator from one level of your selves to other levels of your selves for I remind you of what you are.

(After break, Seth responded to a question that was not recorded.) It means this particular personality, otherwise you lose all aspects of free will. You, as you know yourselves, only accept those suggestions and ideas and concepts and hangups that suit your purposes at this time. You are not, therefore, at the mercy of any neuroses from a past life any more than you are at the mercy of any neuroses from this life. There are no fears from your present life that you cannot escape and conquer. I have not said that you will necessarily escape and conquer them, but it is within your ability to do so. The decision is your own according to your understanding as the individual personality. You cannot be hounded from one level of reality to another by a fear that you do not understand. You cannot be threatened in this life by fears from your early childhood in this life or by so-called past existences unless you believe so thoroughly in the nature of fear that you allow yourselves to be conquered by fear. Each of your personalities are free to develop, to accept, from the miraculous bank of reality those experiences and emotions that you want and to reject those that you do not want.

([Florence:] “Do we make instantaneous decisions? For example, I was thinking of the Los Angeles earthquake, one man walked out into the street and was killed by a brick. What made this one person in the entire building walk out?”)

It was not predestined, he chose. No one chose for him.

By the whole self indeed. Remember, when we speak of other personalities, again, this is only for convenience sake. This is your entire identity of which we are speaking. It is only you who are presently aware but of one portion and this portion you insist upon calling yourself. You are the self who makes these decisions.

Your main point of contention is brought about by the emotional barriers that are caused by the difference in terms. It is as if for a day you choose to work, say in the slums. It would be ridiculous for you to choose to work in the slums and then say to yourself, why did I choose to work in the slums? I would prefer to work on Fifth Avenue. You know the reason and your entire identity knows the reason. You hide them from the present self simply to insure the fact that the reality is not a pretended one.

(To Theodore) I have one note for our Dean over here. Do not try to take too many burdens from your mother. She needs the stimuli, she needs to exert herself. To take too many burdens from her is to tell her that she cannot handle them. You can only offer your father support, that is all you can do for him now and be acquiescent. Let him maintain those responsibilities that he can still maintain.

([Theodore:] “The ones he can or the ones he thinks he can?”)

I heard one we will.