“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Man, staying within the core of his arbitrarily designated selfhood, can in truth be compared to early physical man, cowering within his cave. You have learned to venture forth into the physical universe. You have not learned to venture forth from an arbitrarily designated selfhood, into an extended environment that knows no space or time. Such a possibility, such a future development in no way involves a denial of self, a dissolving or sweeping away of self, an annihilation of self. Many cavemen doubtlessly feared for their personal survival when they ventured forth upon the earth in daylight.

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.

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.

But as the mind represents, and it does, motion and excitement to the trees, so would the consciousness, as it rustled through the cells and molecules of so-called space, represent refreshing experience and momentary new satisfactions.

I mentioned space travel because I know that you are interested in it, but this is only one example, and a spectacular one to catch your interest, of the advantages of extension of self.

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.