“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Because of illness on my part this is our first session since March 22; thus we missed the regularly scheduled sessions of March 24, March 29 and March 31. This is the longest gap in the flow of the material since the sessions began on December 2, 1963. Both of us were eager to resume. Jane remarked last night that the enforced layoff was making her rather nervous. It was, she said, the same kind of nervousness she used to experience before each session, during the early months.

(About my illness: “Some things you have to work out for yourself.”

(Also about my illness: Seth doesn’t like to give warnings of future events, particularly when they may be only strong possibilities, yet avoidable. In these cases the suggestion itself could, under some conditions, bring the events about.

In regard to your illness, no healing of any sort can ever take place without inner understanding and psychic comprehension. My interests are those of an educator. Any healing brought about from the outside may be advantageous in the short run, and I would be only too willing to help in a situation involving illness, particularly of a serious variety, even though the advantages of my help would be surface ones.

I realize that such surface help at times could be most desirable. Basically however in your case the illness was not serious, and the advantage that you would derive from my help in a healing capacity would have been outweighed entirely by several disadvantages that are almost always present, in the case of healing that does not originate from inner comprehension.

(Seth has discussed this inner comprehension and physical illness in the 98th, 99th and 120th sessions, among others.)

I would have been removing the problem from you, and in this instance depriving you of the opportunity of solving it, and therefore of adding to your own energies and abilities. As it was, your illness was shorter by several times than it would have been had it occurred last year, and certainly much shorter than it would have been were it not for the understanding that you have derived from these sessions.

The illness did represent, however, a needed warning, materialized into physical reality as illness. A warning that after all there had been a recent tendency on your part, though slight, to slide into negative thinking. The illness was meant to bring you up short, to make you think.

(I spent eight or nine days in bed, the victim of what is generally called a virus. At no time however did I blame a virus, feeling that the real cause was psychic, thus permitting the virus to come to the fore. I was somewhat embarrassed at having “goofed” psychically. As time passed, and while I pored over several daily New York City newspapers plus Elmira’s daily paper, I came to realize to a small extent that poor expectations on my part had much to do with my falling ill.

He would not have been able to do this a year ago. You have learned something from this illness, and you will be stronger for it, but you would not have learned it if it had not run its course, and if you had not faced the reason behind it.

(Also see the first page of this session for material on the power of suggestion. For other material on suggestion and related subjects like illness, see the 68th, 98th, 99th & 120th sessions.)

A note I wanted to add: It was indeed no coincidence either that your house was so filled with guests when you became ill. Your Sonja was drawn by your own inner vehemence. It was very well that she did not spend more time with you.

The others did not come for the same reason, although your illness was the cause of their visits. John, your Philip, was definitely called as a reinforcement, and he responded. The other two visitors were neutral psychically. I will say more of this at a later date, when it will be pertinent to another discussion.

(Our host of visitors during my illness was another subject we’d hoped Seth would discuss this evening. From March 24 to April 2, Jane and I received a total of 21 visits from 16 different individuals. Of these 16, 7 had witnessed sessions. Some of the visits lasted for hours and left Jane very tired.

(Philip of course is the entity name for John Bradley, who has witnessed several sessions. While visiting us on the second day of my illness, John said that events transpiring within the drug firm he represents, Searle, appear to bear out predictions made by Seth some time ago. Seth had mentioned a time limit of several years for some of these predictions to work themselves out, and counseled patience on John’s part. See the 37th session, of March 23,1964, and the 70th session, of July 13,1964, among others.

They were called by your illness for various reasons.

I could indeed continue now along other lines. However I think it best that you retire for the evening. I did not neglect you, either, while you were ill, but the circumstances did not warrant a direct action on my part. I was here. I kept an inquiring, sometimes severe, sometimes amused, sometimes concerned, but always watchful eye upon the household.

(Jane had told me that during my illness she hadn’t felt Seth around. There were times during my illness when I had an actual feeling of disbelief at the steady parade of visitors. I did not see them all. I soon became aware that I felt better after talking to the ones I did see, and once I realized this I rather deliberately tried to capitalize upon this apparent exchange of energy. Sonja Carlson visited us twice; almost at once I understood the negative character of her thoughts, and decided not to let it bother me. I was concerned about Jane bearing the brunt of this, however.)