“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(This morning while I was at work, John Bradley stopped by briefly while on a hurried business trip to give Jane some information relating to a prediction of a narcotics scandal that Seth had predicted for Elmira in the 63rd session, of June 17. See page 158. Seth stated the scandal was due within three months.

(For other narcotics material that has developed since Seth made the prediction, see the notes on page 170.

(This evening after supper, while busy with other material, Jane received the thought that it was time to begin work on Book One of The Seth Material, a project we had discussed sometime before vacation. She thought the title should be The Physical Universe as Idea Construction. She came to the studio to tell me this, and that she also received the thought, evidently from Seth, that Donald Wollheim, her editor at Ace Books, could or would write the introduction for Book One.

Ruburt did not call me, and yet certain elements in his inner mind spontaneously came to my attention. It occurred to me that perhaps you did not know the importance of the material, or found it difficult to pick out its most distinguishing and valuable points.

The basis and firm groundwork of the material, and its primary contribution, lies in the concept that consciousness itself indeed creates matter, that consciousness is not imprisoned by matter but forms it, and that consciousness is not limited or bound by time or space; time and space in your terms being necessary distortions, or adopted conditions, forming a strata for physical existence.

Once this is understood, all the rest of our material can be seen in the light of both logic and intuition. It is, indeed, time that such a book be compiled, and I do suggest that when it is compiled you ask Mr. Wollheim to write an introduction. We will go into this more thoroughly as we progress.

The basic idea of the material should be stressed, however, and strongly, since it is from this that our other concepts emerge. The mechanisms by which psychic energy or consciousness forms matter should also be included, and naturally the concept that matter does not have duration.

I have been prepared to give you this present information but a suitable opportunity did not seem to present itself. And I do feel a responsibility in helping you prepare a book from the material.

You will find those who will help. Any divergence of opinion between Ruburt and yourself may be taken to me if such arises. The material should be copied as faithfully as possible. You may need to make certain deletions, but upon any given subject I prefer not to be paraphrased.

You cannot include all the material in one book, obviously. That is why I would like the matters mentioned above to be definitely included in the first book, as other books will be based upon them.

An introductory chapter may give explanations as to how the material came about and continues. I will let you rest your hand, and I expect thanks for such practical help on my part.

(Break at 8:30. Jane was dissociated as usual, and ended the monologue with a smile. During break, I jokingly remarked that it would be a great help to us if we knew who would be interested in publishing the material. I did not expect an explicit answer.

I cannot clear your way. I can only help you. You will understand the reasons for this at a later time but it is necessary, I will not say unfortunately, that you work, and that you give much to this material and to these ideas.

This material will take its place in the conceptual and emotional life of Western civilization, and finally will make its way throughout the world. New ideas are not accepted easily. When they take fire however, they literally sweep through the universe.

I am not reprimanding either of you in any manner, nevertheless your failure to take the house represented a lack of what we may call faith, and your work with the material will require faith in the ideas here presented.

–already anticipating your and Ruburt’s automatic horror at such impracticality, and also already knowing that Ruburt will fear that you will fear that the material is distorted.

I do not want you to take any time from your own painting to work on Book One of the Seth sessions, nor do I want anyone else to record the sessions.

(The only comment I had to make on the above material during break was that Jane would have but a limited time in which to start bringing in money from writing, since our bank account would not last forever. Jane resumed in a determined voice, staring at me, at 9:10.)

I have not, apparently, made as much headway with you as I thought. Ruburt is indeed correct, and I am concerned for you both, in that by now you should be able to put this material to practical ends—that is, by now these basic ideas should make your practical existence improve.

He was, and is, afraid of commitment to his own work, much less mine. You can be of great assistance to him, to yourself and to me. His energy, Joseph, and his ability to project ideas into material construction, is truly astounding; and with your help we must tap it.

(“Good night, Seth.”

(This material is included here because it is too lengthy to preface the next, 83rd, session.

(In the 68th session, July 6, 1964, page 221, Seth stated that our friend Bill Macdonnel, who was going to vacation in Provincetown, Cape Cod, for a few weeks, “will of course go to the seaside. There is a man, perhaps fifty years old, with whom he will become acquainted, or with whom he may become acquainted, with prickly hair. I see a rowboat with a symbol of some sort on it. I do not particularly see any women. That may be because my interests are somewhat different now, though this could be misleading.”

(In the 75th session, July 29, 1964, page 273, Seth stated regarding Bill: “Your friend has made two friends, one older and one approximately his own age. He is of course, or has been, near water. He has been at a bar with a large keg in it. There are two houses nearby, and a front room across from a beach. There is a boat and dock. I also believe he was in a group with four men, maybe something to do with a string of shells, also.”

(Bill returned from Provincetown last Saturday, Aug. 29, 1964. Visiting us the next day, Sunday, he confirmed Seth’s statements in almost all instances.

(Bill reached Provincetown the second week in July. He had not been there long, he said, when he did meet a man as described by Seth in the 68th session. His name and address will be furnished on request. The man was 54 years old actually, and his “prickly hair” turned out to be a brush cut. Bill first got acquainted with him in the Old Colony Bar in Provincetown. The man is from New York City, and was spending a week in Provincetown to “get away from his wife and family.”

(In the 68th session Seth mentioned a rowboat with a symbol. Bill recalls no such boat, stating he did not pay particular attention to boats. His acquaintance wore a cap with an anchor symbol on it, although we do not regard this as being what Seth referred to.

(Concerning the material given in the 75th session, of July 29:

(To leave the cottages for a moment, down the street within three blocks is a bar with a large keg in it, as Seth stated. Thus, the locale described in the session encompasses a relatively small physical area. The name of the bar is the Atlantic House, and Bill states that it actually is made up of several smaller bars, each featuring a different decor. In one of these smaller bars is a very large keg, which had been cut in half; each half is set into a wall, forming a striking display.

(Bill states that on or somewhere either just before or after July 29, the date of the 75th session, he attended a party at Larry O’Toole’s cottage. Attending the party were Bill, Gary, Larry, and two other men Bill did not know. Thus, as Seth stated, Bill “was in a group with four men.”

(Bill Macdonnel also states that as one looks out the front room of Larry O’Toole’s cottage, he sees just to the left a dock with boats, although Seth stated it as “a boat and dock,” singular. To the right of the joined cottages is the Provincetown Playhouse.

(The front room overlooking the water is, contrary to expectations, rather an unusual one in Provincetown, Bill said, since the cottages are rather crowded in against other buildings in somewhat of a helter-skelter fashion, and actually most of them do not command a view of the water. In this O’Toole’s cottage was out of the ordinary. The bar in the cottage has a small beer keg, Bill said, but he does not believe this is the one referred to by Seth.

(Regarding Seth’s statement about a string of shells, the only association with shells that Bill recalls is that shell ashtrays were used at the party. He does not think this is what Seth referred to.

(It might also be noted that Bill was a witness to the 68th session, but not of course the 75th. At the 68th session, Bill, Jane and I made tentative plans to experiment at set times for telepathic communication while Bill was at the Cape, but these plans did not materialize.)