“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

When most people think of reincarnation, they think in terms of a one-line progression in which the soul perfects itself in each succeeding life. This is a gross simplification. There are endless varieties of this one theme, individual variations. The process of reincarnation is used in many ways, therefore, and in this time of rest individuals must decide on the unique way in which reincarnation will be of use.

(8:45.) Some, for example, choose to isolate various characteristics in a given life, and work on these almost exclusively, basing a given existence upon, say, one main theme. As seen from a physical viewpoint, such a personality would appear very one-sided, and far from a well developed individual.

In one life the intellect may purposely be very high, and those powers of the mind carried as far as the individual can take them. These abilities are then studied thoroughly by the entire personality, both the benefits and the detrimental aspects of the intellect weighed carefully. Through experience in another life this same kind of individual might specialize in emotional development, and purposely underplay intellectual abilities.

There are different depths to be probed in reincarnational existences. Some choose to “go all the way.” These personalities specialize in physical existence, and their knowledge of this system is most comprehensive. For these there is a movement through each of your racial types — a requirement that is not laid upon most. There is intensive preoccupation with historical periods. Many of these personalities live comparatively short lives, but very intense ones, and they experience more lives than most other individuals. They return, in other words, in as many historical times as possible, finally helping to shape the world as you know it.

Now: Dictation. In one way or another you are all travelers before you begin even your first reincarnational cycle. To make it as simple as I can, I will say that you do not have the same backgrounds, necessarily, when you enter the physical system of reality. As mentioned earlier, earthly existence is a training period; and yet as far as possible I would like you to forget your ordinary ideas of progression.

Ideas of good, better, best can lead you astray, for example. You are learning to be as completely as possible. In one way you are learning to create yourselves. In so doing during the reincarnational cycle, you are focusing your main abilities in physical life, developing human qualities and characteristics, opening new dimensions of activity. This does not mean that good does not exist, or that in your terms you do not “progress,” but your concepts of good and progression are extremely distorted.

(9:40.) In this one, as in no other reality, intellectual and intuitive abilities finally work so well together that there is little distinction between them. The self that decides upon reincarnational existence is the same self who chooses experience within the probable system. The structure of personality, however, within the system is quite different. The personality structures with which you are familiar are but one variety of the many forms of awareness available to you.

The probable system, therefore, is as complicated as the reincarnational one. Now I have told you that all action is simultaneous; therefore, on the one hand, you exist in both systems at once. However, to explain to you that decisions are involved, and to separate these events, I must simplify them to some degree. Put it this way: A portion of the whole self focuses in reincarnational cycles and handles developments there. Another portion focuses in probabilities and handles developments there.

They will grow in consciousness and continue their own lines of development on different levels. In one way, we are all thought-forms, and this will be further explained in the material dealing with the god concept. Understand, however, that I do not mean that we lack our own initiative for action, individuality or purpose — and remember also here that you live from the inside out. Then perhaps the statement will have more meaning for you.

With them you may discuss your experience during reincarnational cycles. These are like old friends. The teachers, for example, are themselves within a cycle. The more advanced ones have already encountered the systems of reincarnation and probabilities, and are themselves deciding upon the “future” nature of their own experience. Their choices, however, are not your choices. While I may mention some other realms of existence open to them in a later chapter, we will not be involved with them here.

Then give us a moment…. We have two broken-up periods for you. One very brief, 1611 to 1635. This is Denmark. Then 1638 to 1674. In one of these the information is as I gave it (several years ago). I was a spice merchant, and well traveled. I also carried paint pigments, or what ended up as paint pigments. Now give us time. (Pause.)

Two friends continued to travel and paint, however, and visited you occasionally, and you envied them to some degree. One became fairly well known at the time. His name was Van Dyck, but not the famous one. You loved your land but blamed it also, thinking that perhaps you might have been well-known as an artist had you not obtained it.

You thought you would settle down and paint on your fine farm, but instead you turned into a farmer, and a lecherous one at that. There is some connection here with your ambiguous feelings about money now, you see, and possessions.

Give us a moment. That was my last full reincarnation, adopted then because I loved the sea, and it served a strong purpose in spreading ideas from one country to another. The men who traveled with me also took part in the seeding of ideas. We spread them about the world as it was then known.

(10:57 P.M. Jane’s trance had been deep. We’ve received little information on our past lives, preferring to wait on this endeavor for various personal reasons. We found the data concerning Denmark intriguing. Jane and I ended up unsure, though, as to whether I lived two short lives, or one longer life divided into two spheres of activity.

(This in turn led me to wonder if tonight’s session contradicted one held several years ago, in which Seth stated that I had lived to an old age in the Denmark life. Jane had been my son. Actually there was no contradiction — merely a misinterpretation on our parts. Seth goes into more detail on this in the 595th session, in the Appendix.