“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Dreams, then, come from various levels of what you call the subconscious. But as a rule any particular dream, although it originates in a particular level, will nevertheless have meaning on all levels. The meaning however may well not be the same. That is, the particular dream may be a method of saying different things or bringing different messages, the one particular dream automatically being translated by the various levels of the subconscious in terms of the interpretation given by any particular subconscious level to the dream symbolism.

The dream could be said to be a message to the multitudinous levels of the self. For purposes of analogy only, imagine that each subconscious layer is personified into a personality, who is then subjected to rendition of a dream or more, who watches a screen upon which the dream images flicker.

Every subconscious personality then would see and hear the same dream, as many persons may watch the same movie; and as each person in a theater interprets the symbolism of the drama differently, so does each layer of the subconscious interpret differently the same elements of one dream.

Now. The “I” who dreams, who is aware of motion, action and participation in a dream, this “I” is of course the inner self, focused momentarily upon the particular subconscious layer at which the dream is originated.

I will here suggest that the term “subconscious layer” has served its purpose, and in its place we will refer to “subconscious areas.”

When I spoke of the fine discrimination used in the construction of a dream, I had reference to the amazing work done by the inner self in the choice of its individualized symbols, which would have meaning to the many and various levels of the subconscious.

The dream objects are not randomly chosen, but only those are chosen which will be significant to the many layers of the self, according to the need or according to that part of the subconscious area which is to be instructed; that is, the portion which is directly a participant in the dream activities, and which plays out the dream drama while other parts of the self observe.

Without dreams the whole self would have no way of holding its various manifestations together, and the so-called conscious present personality would soon falter. Imagine if you will now a band of men, some in cars with the high beams of the headlights gleaming, so that some generalized conditions can be seen; and some with low beams showing only the road that the automobiles directly pass. The men can be compared to personified areas of the subconscious, with partial vision of existing conditions.

Another man in an airplane above sees the whole landscape, and through radio communicates to those below about those conditions which they cannot perceive. The man in the airplane, then, can be compared to the inner self, sending messages to other areas of the subconscious, whose energies and focus are necessarily used in limited fashion.

I will end the session shortly, after mentioning briefly an example of how various levels of the subconscious interpret a symbol. We will take Ruburt’s dream that we have already interpreted on some levels, and one symbol only, that of a tub, t-u-b.

The tub was the unifying symbol of the dream, interpreted by the various levels of the subconscious. On the most superficial level, dreaming Ruburt thought “One day I shall be an old tub,” meaning an old worn-out vessel. This having to do with the disappearance of early youth, and having superficial meaning to the surface female personality.

Ruburt knew he could look better if he spent half the time and effort, but was jealous anyway. So here the symbols coincided. He obtained subconscious information concerning your past life, the one symbol of the tub serving three purposes. It gave him information, it helped overcome his jealousy, and it was a transition from surface significance to deeper knowledge.

At the same time the word tub referred also to a friend of his, a woman whose maiden name was Tubbs, and informed him subconsciously that she was in difficulties, as when the tub or old washing machine leaked. Here the leaking of the tub referred to the leaking ship on one level, and to the difficulties that were being experienced by her old friend on another.