“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Here we run into something that will be difficult for me to explain to you. Any particular self theoretically could expand his consciousness to contain the universe and everything in it. The closed-in, solitary, isolated self of which you are so proud is, as I have said, an arbitrary formation, containing the core of identity; and you seem to prefer, psychically speaking, to stay at home.

They feared that their selves would be annihilated. Such a development as we are considering involves instead an expansion or extension; in the same manner that the expanding universe takes up no space, but expands in terms of value fulfillment, so the expanding consciousness would take up no space, but would also expand in terms of value fulfillment. This is your new frontier, your new challenge.

The expanding self, ideally, would reach out beyond the arbitrary boundaries it has placed upon itself. Again, there just is not any particular boundary between what is self and what is not self. There are gradations, and that is all. The skin is as much, if not more, a necessary connective as it is a boundary.

The isolated self, as you know it, can indeed be well compared to man’s early caves. In terms of value fulfillment the species expanded its potential tremendously when it left the caves; and so will man also experience the fulfillment of still unglimpsed potentialities when he walks forth from the cave of the arbitrarily limited self.

I shouldn’t have to say this. The image is truly astounding and ludicrous. However, as your expanding universe does not expand in space, so your expanded self will not grow in space to amazing proportions of pounds and tons.

When you realize that the self has no boundaries, then you can begin to make progress. Since consciousness to begin with does not exist in space, then there is no reason why the consciousness cannot so expand beyond its set limitations, and theoretically continue to do so. Such an expansion would give excellent impetus and value experience to those basic components, the cells and molecules, experience that would be retained and utilized. When so-called space travel becomes truly popular, truly practical, it will come along these lines.

Now. Space travel, when it occurs, will utilize expansion of self. Your idea of death is based upon your dependence upon the outer senses. You will learn that it is possible, through no physical act (and underline that, through no physical act), to relinquish the physical body, expand the self, using atoms and molecules as stepping stones to a given destination, and reforming the physical body at the other end.

In the beginning entry to your plane requires a simple energy unit, a sperm, a simple but potent capsule that contains all the future potentiality. After entry into your plane, the self or identity, the consciousness, without any physical act, can leave the physical body, expand, travel through the medium of atoms and molecules, and completely reassemble.

The consciousness, with its source in the inner universe, being not bound by time or space, is in a position to expand along the lines that I have mentioned. The physical body in a large degree is not. Do not mistake me. For practical purposes, theory aside, you could not maintain allegiance to your plane, live out a normal life span for example (and this is necessary) while separate from the physical body.

The various species and the multitudinous varieties of life in your universe could with much validity be compared to cells, organs, or limbs of some gigantic creature. There is no reason to feel that man is insignificant, or that the individual is impotent or at the mercy of forces he can neither perceive nor comprehend. To the contrary, the individual, any individual, is supremely important, necessary; and his, or even its, ability to use its energy constructively, but most of all to expand in terms of value fulfillment, is more vital than I can say.