I DO NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL BODY,
YET I AM WRITING THIS BOOK

(Before the session, Jane said she felt rather nervous; she thought Seth would start his own book this evening. Her feeling of nervousness is quite unusual in these sessions. I offered reassurances, telling her to forget the whole thing and let the book come out in its own way.)

I write this book through the auspices of a woman of whom I have become quite fond. To others it seems strange that I address her as “Ruburt,” and “him,” but the fact is that I have known her in other times and places, by other names. She has been both a man and a woman, and the entire identity who has lived these separate lives can be designated by the name of Ruburt.

Names are not important, however. My name is Seth. Names are simply designations, symbols; and yet since you must use them, I shall also. I write this book with the cooperation of Ruburt, who speaks the words for me. In this life Ruburt is called Jane, and her husband, Robert Butts, takes down the words that Jane speaks. I call him Joseph.

I am writing this book to assure you that this is not the case. Basically you are no more of a physical being than I am, and I have donned and discarded more bodies than I care to tell. Personalities who do not exist do not write books. I am quite independent of a physical image, and so are you.

You have each lived other existences, and that knowledge is within you though you are not consciously aware of it. I hope that this book will serve to release the deeply intuitive self within each of my readers, and to bring to the foreground of consciousness whatever particular insights will serve you most.

As I begin this book it is late January, in your time, 1970. Ruburt is a slim, dark-haired, quick woman now, who sits in a rocker and speaks these words for me.

(Long pause at 9:35.) My consciousness is fairly well focused within Ruburt’s body. It is a cold night. This is our first experience in writing a complete book in trance, and Ruburt was somewhat nervous before the session began. It is not just a simple matter of having this woman speak for me. There are many manipulations necessary, and psychological adjustments. We have established what I refer to as a psychological bridge between us — that is, between Ruburt and myself.

I do not speak through Ruburt as one might through a telephone. Instead there is a psychological extension, a projection of characteristics on both of our parts, and this I use for our communications. Later I will explain how this psychological framework is created and maintained, for it is like a road that must be kept clear of debris. You would be much better off in reading this book if you asked yourself who you are, rather than asked who I am, for you cannot understand what I am unless you understand the nature of personality and the characteristics of consciousness.

I hope to remind you of these. I do not speak so much to the part of you that you think of as yourself as to that part of you that you do not know, that you have to some extent denied and to some extent forgotten. That part of you reads this book, [even] as “you” read it.

This is not to say that other realities do not exist. I have been conscious before your earth was formed. To write this book — and in most of my communications with Ruburt — I adopt from my own bank of past personalities those characteristics that seem appropriate. There are many of us, personalities like myself, unfocused in physical matter or time. Our existence seems strange to you only because you do not realize the true potentials of personality, and you are hypnotized by your own limited concepts.

(10:18. Jane left trance rather easily, although it had been a good one. She was quite surprised that so much time had passed. She was also much relieved that Seth had started the book, while keeping her well under. “Oh, he’s smart,” she laughed. “Somebody’s pretty tricky.”

(Seth resumed his book at 10:34.)

(Pause at 10:45.) The hour is growing late. Both of my friends must get up early in the morning. Ruburt is working on two books of his own and must get his sleep. Before I end this session I ask you to imagine our setting, for Ruburt has told me that a writer must be careful to set the scene. (Humorously.)

Physical reality has always been refreshing to me, and through Ruburt’s cooperation and as I write this book, I see that I was correct in appreciating its unique charms. There is one other character to be mentioned here: Willy, the cat, a beloved monster who is now sleeping.

The nature of animal consciousness in itself is a highly interesting subject, and one that we will later consider. The cat is aware of my presence, and has on several occasions reacted rather noticeably to it. In this book I hope to show the constant interactions that occur between all units of consciousness, the communication that leaps beyond the barriers of species; and in some of these discussions, we will use Willy as a case in point.

(11:00 P.M. Jane was out of trance quickly. Her pace had been good throughout the session. She said she was glad Seth had begun work on his book. “For ages in the past,” she said, “whenever I thought Seth wanted to start the book, I was afraid to let him do it.”

(Jane wondered now about reading the book as Seth produced it. It might be impressive to say that she didn’t see the script until it was finished. We decided that it didn’t matter whether she did or not, though, so she will read this material when I finish typing it up.)