“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I will also, though not necessarily at this session, but in this session or the next session, have some remarks concerning the man who asks for the answers.

Everything that is, is a materialization of aware, individualized, inquiring consciousness; and to love this is a personal, almost all-encompassing discipline and devotion. I say discipline because whenever, individualized inquiring consciousness expresses itself in form, it not only expresses its spontaneity; and this is not contradictory: But even while expressing its spontaneity, it disciplines it.

(Break at 9:28. Jane was dissociated as usual. She said she felt all right while delivering the material, but not as good during break. Her rate of delivery was so comparatively slow that perhaps half as much material as usual came through.

It develops, again, as you know, Joseph and Ruburt, it expands as an idea expands, taking up no space. The self may project itself into the dimensions of space and time, but the projection is a small part of its actuality. Even the uppermost or surface elements of the self with which you are familiar, the ego and the uppermost layers of the subconscious, even these cannot be said to be born at any given time, in time as you conceive it.

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.

A psychological experience may take up no space as a rock takes up space, but when a psychological experience happens it may fill you up. Yet you do not deny the existence of a psychological experience, though you cannot rip it apart from yourself and examine it with the physical senses. Still it has its effect, and its validity is well known to every man. So also are there other realities that cannot be examined through the use of the physical senses, realities so close to the self that they cannot be separated from it and objectified.

(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.

Outward extensions of the self can be more clearly objectified, the concentration at the outward extensions being less, and identity correlations being kept in more concentrated areas within the boundaries of the physical self. The eye sees but it cannot see itself. In like manner the self is, but is not consciously able to examine that which it is. Therefore man must take his abilities and travel inward, since going outward will not allow him to perceive the inner portions of himself.

(Jane and I usually go dancing Saturday evenings, leaving the house at about 9 PM. Shortly before 7 PM Jane told me that she felt herself to be in an excellent mood of pleasant anticipation; she thought she might be trying to receive information, but did not know how to go about it.

(I was working at the time but we decided to take advantage of her mood. It was now dark outside. The night was windy and wet. We turned off the lights and sat at our table by the bay windows in the living room. Shadows were active; the room was rather well lighted by lights from passing traffic.

(Next, in an effort to “break through” Jane’s mood, we tried a matching numbers test that failed. Then I tried a word association test. I could see well enough to write without turning on lights; the test revealed that Jane was concerned with some associations connected with books, publishers, stories and New York City, but did nothing as far as enabling her to “accomplish” something this evening, at least quickly.

(Nor was there this evening. Sarah and Malba were of course female. I believe the voice and the personality Jane used or displayed this evening was largely male. We sat on opposite sides of our coffee table. Jane’s back was to the light source and I could not see her features clearly. Her voice never became loud. Instead it acquired a very dry and light and hesitant quality. She used many ahs and ums and other such bridges, but I felt that these reflected the personality’s manner rather than Jane’s groping for the next word or phrase.

(The closest I came to getting any kind of personal information were a few remarks about our Denmark existence, three centuries ago. But here I was politely told I would not even be informed as to whether the connection was family.)