“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(To Art O.): Now, my dear scientific friend over there: Atoms and molecules, minute as they may appear to you, also carry their burden of consciousness and responsibility. Yet there is a portion of consciousness that can joyfully perceive in a manner that is not dictated by its nature; it can playfully perceive as a creative aspect of its being, without responsibility. In one manner of speaking the very air about you sings with its own joyful consciousness. It does not know the same kind of burden of consciousness that often oppresses you. (Speaking generally): You are so frightened of death, in your terms, that you dare not turn your consciousness off for one second; for you fear that if you do, indeed, who will be there to turn it back on again?

(Art O.: “Is the whole entity involved in this dispersion of consciousness, or just the portion of it we know now?”)

It is the way that galaxies form. It is the way that the universe expands, and it is the way that entities form. Now, that is your answer. Chew that one over for a while.

Until you are honest with yourself and become consciously aware of yourself, you cannot honestly relate with others; you will project upon them your own fears and prejudices. You cannot afford to help them because you have too many insecurities within yourself. Now, you form the physical reality that you know, individually and en masse. To change your world you must change your thoughts. You must become consciously aware of what you tell yourself is true every moment of the day, for that is the reality that you project outward.

You can indeed change them, but do not deny the part of you that wanted to wring the other man’s neck. You were so frightened of the thought that you immediately inhibited it. Let us consider. You are terrified of the idea that evil is more powerful than good, that one stray violent thought of yours was more important and powerful than the vitality of good. At least you were aware of the thought. Now say the following happened, that in your terms you progressed to the point where you were no longer aware of the feeling —

Now three weeks later we have another encounter. Our poor ignorant workman again falls asleep at his chores. Our good minister comes by. He sees the idle one upon the floor snoozing, and he thinks, “I would like to kick you in the you-know-where.” But then, “Oh no, I cannot think such an unchristian thought. Violence is wrong.” So before he even admits to himself what he feels, hiding any acknowledgement of aggression, he bends down and says, “My good man, may you live long and heartily. God bless your life.” He pats himself upon the back and thinks, “I am growing more spiritual day by day.”

Three months later you have had a really bad day. You are mad at life in general, and now you find our friend upon the floor again; this time, perhaps, he is asleep at a somewhat more important chore that you wanted done. (Humorously): Now far be it from me to accuse you of such an act, even in a fantasy, but this time you are out of your mind. Again, it behooves you to deny your true feelings in order to be spiritual — which is not true spirituality — and you say again, “God bless you, may you go in peace.”

This time the psychic safety valve has had too much. The nicest thing that could happen would be that you suddenly blew your stack and kicked him. The worst thing that could happen would be that once again you restrain the acknowledgement of the pent up, perfectly natural aggression that is now ready to explode — so you send out a thought-form out of all proportion to any of the events that have transpired. The thought-form causes your friend severe harm; and all of this because you were afraid that one stray aggressive thought of yours was more powerful than the vitality that resides in each of you.

(Jim H.: “Now would you define bad in that context?”)

It does indeed, in your terms, but that knowledge is also available to you. Now we cannot cover one topic clearly in a single evening, much less one hundred and one topics. In reference, however, to one remark you made earlier: You have in almost all of your lives been strongly involved in what you would call religious endeavors. Your remaining lives were just as religiously involved in opposite endeavors, in your terms, but we will go into that later. The holy soul turned inside out is some fleshpot, let’s put it that way.

I am much more concerned with the reaction of all of you to the material that Ruburt read this evening (on Gnosticism). Now if it seems to you that one class member is monopolizing a session, then remember what I have said before: The questions spoken by one are the unspoken questions of many.

As Ruburt would put it, your sidekick over here (Jim’s wife, Jean) did not go along with your ideas at all in that life. She was a male at that time, however, and you were a female and a priestess. So was your friend (Bert C.). As a male in that life she had an expanding effect upon your personality, but you were very given to ritual and a belief in magic acts, and to the idea that existence in itself was evil and wrong. You were indeed a member of the sect now called Gnostic.

(Jim H.: “Is that why I react so strongly against Gnosticism now, because I’ve gone beyond that point?”)

You were at that time a male and a friend of his. Now almost all who come to these classes have at one time or another been engaged in such endeavors. You have all been a part of other classes, though not necessarily with me. Because of your long interest, certain aspects will hit many of you very strongly. Association operates not only within one life, but between lives in your terms. Words and phrases spoken now will trigger your memories, and those memories will become alive if you allow them to.

(Art O.: “Is that life the reason why I like African music now?”)

Now I am going to bid you all a fond good evening.

I bid you all, now, a fond good evening.