“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Ruburt in many ways was more often than either of us, more receptive to what could not be seen or touched. But contrariwise he doubted, always probed and then often doubted quite legitimate results, as indeed he sometimes continues to do so.

The value climate of psychological reality can be likened to an ocean in which all consciousness has its being. There are multitudinous levels that can be plunged into with various life forms, diverse and alien, but nevertheless interconnected and dependent one upon the other. I like the ocean analogy because you get the idea of continuous flow and motion without apparent division.

As temperatures in various depths of ocean change, and as even the color of the water and of the flora and fauna change, so too in our value climate there are quality changes, and senses equipped to project and perceive the changes. There are distortions because of the limitations of the outer senses, but the inner senses do not distort. The inner senses inhabit directly the atmosphere of our value climate; and they see through the evervarying camouflage patterns, and the flux and flow of apparent change. In our sessions to some small degree you plunge into this ocean of value climate, and to the extent that you are able to divest yourselves of the clothes of camouflage, to that extent can you truly be aware of this climate.

Concentrating upon your own camouflage universe, you are able to distinguish only the distortive pattern, and from this pattern you deduce your ideas of cause and effect, past, present and future, and ideas of an expanding universe that bloats. Consciousness takes up no space nor is it enclosed by time, as you know time. The camouflage patterns that seem to enclose consciousness are temporary, for short term only, and for limited but necessary purpose.

Any investigation of the basic inner universe, which is the only real universe, must be done as much as possible from a point outside your own distortions, but the only way open for you to escape the distortions of your own physical universe is to journey inward. To get outside your own universe, you must travel inward, and this represents the only perspective free of distortive elements, from which valid experimentation can be carried on. Your so-called scientific, so-called objective experiments can continue for an eternity, but they only probe further and further with camouflage instruments into a camouflage universe.

The subconscious, it is true, has elements of its own distortions, but these are easier to escape than the tons of distortive camouflage atmosphere that weigh your scientific experiments down.

If they were ever lucky enough to pierce through their own cube, which is doubtful, they would merely discover the cube nearest to them, without ever imagining that there were literally numberless such cubes. A small portion of the spacious present appears in your cube but you see it in camouflage terms of continuity, in camouflage waves of past, present and future.

Like rats in mazes, with luck you could theoretically travel from one cube or maze to another, though practically this is impossible. But even if your experiments gave you knowledge of many of these camouflage cube universes, you would learn little of the basic uncamouflaged inner universe, where all such divisions disappear.

There is nothing any more strange in such contact than there is in my contact with you. But because you are so involved with camouflage apparent reality, contact with such intelligence will be a startling discovery. The contact made will be from one male to another, although the alien male, from another camouflage galaxy, will be more involved than you consider possible.

As to the means, the very simplest and crudest but still to be adopted method will prove to be hypnotism, simply because at this point your personalities will not trust their own abilities but must rely upon suggestion from the outside.

I am tempted to continue without allowing you a break. Ruburt is doing well without one, but I am concerned with your fingers. Are they faltering? If so, then by all means take a break.

(However, Jane could not get her wedding ring off at all, no matter how hard she tried. She had removed the other ring she usually wears before the session. It fits loosely as a rule, but now she had to force it back on her fourth finger; contrariwise, she then had to wet it to remove it.

(During the day Jane called the hospital to try to verify the information Seth had given us on the condition of Miss Callahan. See the 44th session, page 17. She learned instead that a week or so previously Miss Callahan’s relatives had moved her to a rest home. The hospital did not know which rest home. To me this implied that Miss Callahan was in better condition, but Jane said she felt otherwise, that Seth’s material here was not distorted.

Hypnotism is a safer method to begin with than drugs, but hypnotism itself is not necessary if there is an inner willingness to explore the inner universe. The main barrier is the ego’s fear of being subjugated, even as it fears subjugation imagined in death. If the ego can be made to understand that inner awareness, exploration and investigation will actually enlarge its scope of awareness there will be little difficulty.

It may be necessary in the beginning to induce more or less complete amnesia, but this should be avoided. Through constant practice with hypnotism your scientists will discover that it is possible, and definitely beneficial, to allow the conscious ego to retain its memory. Since there is no real division between the ego and the subconscious, the knowledge of the ego and the knowledge of the subconscious are merged in any case. But to be truly effective there should be no attempt to hide subconscious knowledge from the ego.

Telepathy involves of course a focusing of abilities and energy. The trouble is that when you are dealing with, say, the transmission of a picture, you are still dealing with camouflage. You will do better when you focus inwardly in a receptive manner, but without any inhibiting factor. That is when you are willing to receive whatever comes. Focusing upon a camouflage objective will give you a camouflage result.

Using Ruburt’s phrase, this may sound “far-out,” (in quotes), but even by the year 2000 it will all sound quite reasonable, and long before that your scientists will come to conclusions much like these. It is simply much easier, and even more scientific, to achieve a so-called, again, objective view of your universe by going inward, than it is to attempt to escape your distortive atmosphere by going further outward, because in the outward direction you will only meet more camouflage.

There are definite experiments that can be tried in scientific laboratories that will enable your scientists to glimpse the inner reality, and to actually discover the ways and means by which the inner energy-self transforms the energy of itself into physical patterns. There are laws which govern the birth and death, not only of men but of all conscious beings, and these laws can be discovered for the asking.

I regretfully believe that a break is in order, but we are all in fine form tonight.

You could do much better too. Relax, let go. You are like a donkey too, but I will pull your tail. Soon I will have you at the point where your fingers will feel no fatigue, and then I will make up for lost time.

My apologies, I forgot your break again. And incidentally: Ruburt’s hard-headedness and egotistical dragging of feet so far, hampers me in a beautiful little demonstration. I see the office of your precious Psychic Society, and your director, but Ruburt fears to make a mistake, and he blocks me.

(Break at 11:15. Jane ended the monologue with another blow upon the desk. She was fully dissociated—way out, she said. She felt Seth was ready to talk about the American Society for Psychic Research; but she was so afraid of making a mistake that she couldn’t let the material come through yet.

Ruburt possesses two necessary qualities which luckily do not blot each other out, though they could. He is extremely receptive, open to and even appreciative of inner data, and also possesses an ego strong enough to maintain necessary discipline. This makes it easier and also more difficult for me, but goes a long ways toward minimizing any psychological dangers on your part, and what is gained is solid. There will be no backtracking, and while achievements along some lines may be slower they can be counted upon.

We are working slow in some respects, but building a firm foundation. Experiments will be conducted, for example, as far as traveling through your camouflage space is concerned; and not only will this traveling be effected, but the physical form must be apparent to others in two places at once, so to speak. Material must be carefully gathered by the personality in its secondary location, to make such experiments effective in scientific circles.

In all probability there will be some failures, but there will be many successes, and the fear of failure will be our worst inhibiting factor. On a few occasions, with Ruburt’s growing training and with his consent, and with yours, we may have to try a somewhat deeper trance state, but this would only be occasionally, and with your consent.

As for you, your abilities are latently of the highest quality, but you also bring up inhibiting barriers that I hope will vanish. In some respects Ruburt long ago developed his ability to draw upon basic energy. If we can, and we can, overcome his quite natural fears and inhibitions, we can all use this ability with most beneficial results. He thinks he is undisciplined. Actually he early recognized his ability to draw upon added energy, and somewhat feared it.

I want to go into discussion as to actual experiments that can be conducted in laboratories, with definite, valid results. Telepathy is one, of course, but eventually it should be disconnected from camouflage physical material.

I can and will give you further proofs, not only of my identity but of your own. The spacious present enfolds but does not enclose you, and my words will lead you on. There may be distractions and even some distortions, but in the long run there will be no doubts. Your paintings at their best, and Ruburt’s writings at their best, will also reflect the inner realities that even your scientists will come to see.

As much as I truly regret closing the session I will do so, so that you can get your sleep. However I am often here, and my energy pervades the chair, Joseph, upon which you sit, and the pen with which you write. I hesitate even now to close the session, but realize that you must be weary.

(End at 12:05. Jane was fully dissociated. Her hand sensation began to recede as soon as the session ended. Neither of us felt particularly tired but thought we’d notice the lack of sleep tomorrow.

(The 46th session was due Wednesday, April 22, 1964, at 9 PM as usual. At 8:35 two of Miss Callahan’s relatives knocked on our door: Miss Betty Dineen, an older woman who is a teacher, and a distant relative but close friend of Miss Callahan’s, and Miss Callahan’s nephew John. We keep the key to Miss Callahan’s apartment, and bring up her mail each day; periodically one or another relative comes to pick up the mail and check over the apartment.