“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(At this conference Jane, A.J. and three other science fiction writers formed a group they called “The Five.” Letters were exchanged for some little time. In her letter of November 12 Jane asked A.J. a few questions about The Five. A.J. replied on November 22, stating that before he could answer Jane’s questions he would like Seth’s answers to three questions: “When was the last time you grew up?”, “What do you love?”, and “When is the self born?”

(In the 4th session, December 8,1963, Seth stated he lived in Denmark three centuries ago, and that Jane and I did also. According to Seth Triev no longer exists. It was situated near Eastern Roads. The use of the word Roads in this connotation may have a maritime meaning. See Volume 1 of The Early Sessions.

The self, Mr. A.J., is more than you know. It is capable of intelligence that you do not use. It is capable of making distinctions finer than you now imagine. The self, as other sections of this material explains, has methods not only of perception, but of criticism and judgment, that man in general does not take advantage of nearly as much as he could.

Man has always feared what he could not objectify. He has always attempted to objectify, to separate whatever realities he could from himself, to hold them in his hands, so to speak, so that he could observe and study them.

Those things, those realities which were most intimately connected with himself, those realities which he could not objectify and hold in his hands, he feared. He attempted to deny the existence of such realities, yet he cannot. You cannot hold a psychological experience in your hand as you can a rock, though its weight may be indeed heavier than a rock. You cannot put it on a scale. Though its color, to continue our analogy, may be as gray, you cannot see a psychological experience as you can see a gray rock.

(During break we quickly looked through the early sessions to see if we could establish the year of Seth’s birth. It had not been given. We did find that he died in 1655, in a fire in Sweden. Much of the reincarnational data is incomplete. Jane and I asked many questions about this kind of material in the beginning sessions, but as the material began to unfold such questions were pushed aside. Seth has said at various times during the year that we can bring such information up to date, but it seems that we do not get around to it. Thus it becomes one more category about which we have many unasked questions.

He has not done so to any great extent. Until most recently he would not admit the existence of anything unless he could objectify it. Now, even in his scientific studies he discovers that his senses have often misled him, his precious solid objects for example found to be solid only to his senses, an appearance given by the limitations of his sensual perceptions.

I was indeed rather spicy myself. My kindest regards to Ruburt and yourself, and my regards to the man who asked that the questions be given to me. He lived two other lives, one in Spain approximately 1341, and one in England in the 1800’s; this one as a banker in London. He as a personality has often been in the position of being distrustful of strong elements of compassion within himself in this life—

(End at 10:50. Jane was dissociated as usual. She felt much better than when the session began. Note that the date of Seth’s birth, given as 1486, is probably wrong. Jane and I think it should be 1586. I did not catch this during the session and so did not ask about it. From material given in various sessions we think the date of Seth’s death, given as 1655, is more likely to be correct. If Seth had been born in 1586 he would have been 69 at his death in 1655. I will ask about the discrepancy in the next session.)

(I never did obtain any hints of identity. I tried three times specifically; and each time in a most dry and amused, even pleased way, the personality said firmly that Jane and I could not be told why at this time. I learned that three were involved in the watching. The group had not been with us very often in the past. They knew Seth. They said he was an educator, and that they were also. One of the more interesting points the spokesman made was that much instruction was passed on to our plane of existence through dreams; this when the ego was more relaxed.

(Jane had recently had some more levitation dreams. The nameless personality said the group had assisted in these dreams, and that Jane had done better psychically, with them, than she had so far done physically. It also developed that Jane had begun to develop her psychic abilities as a child, as a means of protection and escape from a very unhappy family situation. I named some people, now dead, with whom Jane had been closely involved in her maturing years. The spokesman said these personalities were on “other” planes, and that he could not contact them.

(In a most amused way the personality said he and the others did not think much of our fumblings around with various tests this evening. The group was not with us when we tried moving the ring; it was with us when we concentrated upon the rocker. “A corridor had been open” then. I did not ask for predictions and none were volunteered. Future contact was a possibility. The group was “interested” in watching our progress with Seth. They thought Seth was “all right” as a teacher. We could not be told now why they must remain anonymous. Although some instruction was given to personalities on this plane through dreams, it was difficult because of the ever-guarding ego. They were able to accomplish more in the way of education after personalities had left this plane.

(The foregoing sums up the bulk of our conversation. The nameless personality announced that he and his fellows would leave us, and a moment later Jane had left the state. It did not last more than fifteen minutes, and was finished by 9:15 PM.