“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I consider the book “mine” in that I don’t believe it could have been written without me and my particular abilities. On the other hand, I realize that far more is involved. I had to read the manuscript to find out what was in it, for example; and to that extent the book doesn’t seem mine. But what does that mean?

My idea briefly is this: Our usual orientation is focused pretty exclusively in what we think of as the “real” world, but there are many realities. By shifting our consciousness, we can glimpse these alternate realities, and all of them are the appearance that Reality takes under certain conditions. I don’t believe that we can necessarily describe one in terms of another.

While I was trying to define Seth that way and questioning whether or not he was a spirit guide, I was closed off to some extent from his greater reality, which exists in terms of vast imaginative and creative power that is bigger than the world of facts and can’t be contained in it. Seth’s personality is quite observable in our sessions, for example, but the source of that personality isn’t. For that matter, the origin of any personality is mysterious and not apparent in the objective world. My job is to enlarge the dimensions of that world and people’s concepts of it.

To me, the Seth Material is no longer a continuing manuscript of fascinating theories to be carefully judged against reality. In a strange way it has come alive. The concepts within it live. I experience them and because of this my personal reality has expanded. I’ve begun to glimpse the greater inner dimensions from which our usual lives emerge, and to familiarize myself with other alternate methods of perception that can be used not only to see other “worlds,” but help us deal more effectively with this one.

The Sumari development constantly expanded as Seth produced this book. Now various altered states of consciousness are involved. In one I write Sumari poetry and in another I translate what I’ve written. At a different level I sing Sumari songs, showing musical knowledge and accomplishment far beyond my normal talents or background. The songs can also be translated, but they communicate emotionally whether or not the words are understood. In yet another state of consciousness, material is received that is supposed to represent remnants of ancient Speaker manuscripts. (These are also translated later.) Seth defines the Speakers as teachers, both physical and nonphysical, who constantly interpret and communicate inner knowledge through the ages. My husband has also written Sumari, but I have to translate it for him.

But beside this, as Seth was dictating this present book, I also found myself suddenly writing a novel, The Education of Oversoul 7, which was produced more or less automatically. Oversoul Seven, the main character, achieved his own kind of reality. I’d say mentally, “Okay, Seven, let’s have the next chapter,” and there it was as quickly as I could write it down. Portions of the book also came in the dream state.

In the meantime all I can say is this: We live in a world of physical facts but these spring from a deeper realm of creativity, and in a real sense facts are fictions that spring alive in our experience. All facts. Seth, then, is as much a fact as I am or you are, and in a strange way he straddles both worlds. I hope that Aspects will also span the world of facts and the rich inner realities from which they come, for our experience includes each.

The Nature of Personal Reality not only enriched my creative life but challenged my ideas and beliefs. I agree wholeheartedly with the concepts Seth presents here, while realizing that they run counter to many accepted religious, social, and scientific dogmas. Certainly this book is an answer to all those who have written for help in applying Seth’s ideas to ordinary living, and I am certain that it will assist many people in dealing with the varied events and problems of daily life.

Seth first mentioned The Nature of Personal Reality in Session 608, April 5, 1972, only shortly after Rob and I had finished reading proofs for his previous book, Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. He actually began dictation on April 10, 1972, but our personal reality was suddenly disturbed when we were caught in the flood caused by Tropical Storm Agnes. As a result, as you’ll see in Rob’s notes, further work on the book was delayed for some time.