“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Jane and I had an interesting little adventure this evening. Jane walked to our neighborhood store while I set to work typing. Since she did not return as soon as usual, I became a little concerned. More time passed, and my concern increased. I continued typing. Then I found myself picking up my pen. On a scrap piece of paper I wrote down: “Jane is at the Piper’s. 6:45 PM.” The thought had come to me clearly.

(Jane returned at 7:05 PM, and confirmed my thought. She had indeed, on impulse, visited Bob and Mary Piper, friends of ours whom we had not seen for many months. She had not consciously been thinking of visiting them when she left me. She recalled mentioning my name often in conversation with Mary Piper, particularly to the effect that I might be concerned because she, Jane, did not return promptly. It will be recalled that the Pipers witnessed the 73rd session [See Volume 2].

(Once again the session was held in our back room, and Jane spoke sitting down and with her eyes closed. She does not wear her glasses at all during sessions now. Her voice was rather quiet, her delivery contained pauses as usual.)

We will continue our discussion concerning action and identities. I have said that identity is a part of action, and basically inseparable from action. Identity attempts to form meaningful patterns and relationships from action. Consciousness is action that perceives itself. The ego is action’s attempt to stand off from itself.

(She was aware, she said, of a pulsation within while dictating. It was definite but not very strong. Jane likened it to the vibration one might feel through the floor of a house, say from traffic passing close by. At break, now, she checked to see if this was the effect she had sensed, but it did not seem to be, although traffic does pass our house rather heavily at times.

This, when it occurs, and this particular formation into a self may or may not occur, but when it occurs it is a result of our second previously mentioned dilemma. The self as you know it is in actuality a self plus an ego.

The self then, being action which has formed itself into gestalts of pattern perceptions, by which it knows itself, this self changes constantly. And within the range of effective perception, starting at any particular point, there are patterns within patterns. For convenience’s sake we will have to limit our discussion to some degree, taking the self as a particular gestalt within, or composed of, a particular range of perception patterns; though in actuality the range may be smaller or larger at any given time.

If however we changed our arbitrary boundary points, then the minor selves at either end would now seem to be portions of other selves. For practical purposes it may be said that a self is composed of a gestalt of perception patterns, within which a fairly constant efficiency is maintained. This is the best definition I can give you at this time.