“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(In Monday’s session Seth had started a discussion of Jane’s recent visitor, “Augustus,” who had shown definite signs of a subordinate or secondary personality. As we sat for tonight’s session Jane said, “I know what Seth’s going to call Augustus’s other personality: ‘Augustus Two.’” We were amused, thinking of Seth and Seth Two.¹ Now, Jane began speaking slowly in trance.)

To begin with, Augustus was brought up to believe that the inner self was dangerous, that individuals reacted because of inner conflicts over which they had little conscious control. (Gesturing:) He believed that the individual personality was relatively powerless to understand itself and that it stood precariously alone and undefended, with a chasm of evil beneath and with an unattainable, cold, just, but not compassionate Good (with a capital “G”) above.

(Pause.) Augustus’s mother noted only that her son seemed highly changeable. Augustus Two did not present himself as obviously “another personality” until after Augustus’s marriage, when the demands of fatherhood and making a living were placed upon him. He could not cope.

(Pause.) Here, however, the “deception” brought about certain difficulties. Not only was Augustus Two more sexually promiscuous, but by contrast Augustus One seemed very pallid indeed. Augustus Two was originally intended to help Augustus One. It’s true that the exotic conditions spilled over, casting some glamour on Augustus One when Augustus Two left for a time, but the contrast was too blatant, too out in the open. Augustus One, still the primary personality, became even more frightened. He knew that gradually Augustus Two was outliving his purpose, showing him up, and had to go.

(10:46.) In fact, once Augustus Two obviously “took over” the body of Augustus One, it was all out in the open in the family. The wife began to take notes of what was done and said. When these events were repeated to Augustus One later, the lying and cheating was evident. So was the infantile nature of the “personality”; yet Augustus Two purported to be all-wise, from a galaxy far surpassing Earth in every category of endeavor. And here he was making predictions that never happened, and boasting and lying like a trouper.

The nature and importance of belief appeared so eloquently that Ruburt was astounded, and found himself forced into some complicated psychological footwork. The two “personalities” were no longer separate, but merging.

(Pause at 11:00.) Augustus said, “My friend killed a neighbor of mine who was against me by giving him pneumonia. He looks out for me.” Another neighbor has ulcers, and Augustus told Ruburt that after he touched this neighbor the ulcers seemed to have been healed. So he said, “I would like to know how much of this great ability belongs to me.” And looking briefly away: “Perhaps I do not need my friend to protect me after all.” Now this was definitely to the good, in that Augustus was beginning to feel that perhaps he was not powerless. His own personality, however, is left to handle the definitely unsavory characteristics of an Augustus Two who is no longer personified.

(The session resumed, however, after I had put my notebook aside. During a spontaneous exchange, Seth delivered some insights concerning his own origin and creative aspects, and why Jane’s personality would make the emergence of a Seth possible. There was more. I didn’t write down what was said, and as usual ended up wishing I had — perhaps we’ll take the time to recoup it during a session.