“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Jane has been using her twenty-minute psychological time period recently for health purposes, with excellent results. For a related specific incident, see the description of her dentist episode in the 152nd session. She has also been attaining excellent “states” during her psy-time periods. Again, she keeps records.

(It rained this evening, and in the cooler weather we held the session in our small back room. Using this room increases our sense of privacy, being sheltered from most noise as it is, and the risk of interruptions. Jane was quite restless during the session, changing position in her rocker frequently. She spoke with her eyes closed for the entire session; at times her delivery was quite fast, other times it was broken by pauses. Her voice was about average for the most part.)

Such actions naturally possess all the characteristics of action in general, and therefore will seek other methods of materialization and expression. An attempt at discipline will be made. The structure will seem, that is the impeding structure will seem, to maintain itself. The whole personality at any given time, because of its own nature and characteristics, has only a given amount of energy available to it in practical terms, though ideally speaking its energy is not limited.

This situation can be serious in varying degrees, according to the impetus and intensity of the original propelling cause behind the impeding action. If the impetus is a powerful one, then the impeding action will be of more serious nature, blocking up large reserves of energy for its own purposes. It obviously becomes part of the personality-psychological structure, the physical structure, the electrical and chemical structure, invading to some extent even the dream universe.

It is, momentarily, literally accepted by the personality as a part of the self, and here lies its danger. It is not just symbolically accepted, and I am not speaking in symbolic terms. The impeding action, as seen in an illness for example, is quite literally accepted by the personality structure, and by all corresponding systems, as a portion of the self. Once this occurs, a conflict instantly develops. The self does not want to give up a portion of itself, even while that portion may be painful or disadvantageous. There are many psychological reasons behind such a psychological truth.

For one thing, while pain is unpleasant it is also a method of familiarizing the self against the edges of quickened consciousness. Any heightened sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, has a stimulating effect upon a consciousness to some degree. It is a strong awareness of activity and life. Where the stimulus may be extremely annoying, and humiliatingly unpleasant, certain portions of the psychological framework accept it indiscriminatingly because it is a sensation, and a vivid one. This acquiescence to even painful stimuli is a basic part of the nature of consciousness, and a necessary one.

Unifying principles are groups of actions about which the whole personality forms itself at any given time. These unifying principles may change, and do change, usually in a relatively smooth fashion, when action is allowed to flow unimpeded.

Indeed, oftentimes they serve to preserve the integrity of the whole psychological system, and to point out the existence of inner problems. Often they serve temporary functions, leading the personality from other more severe areas of difficulty. I am not here saying that all illness is good. I am saying that illness is a portion of the action of which any personality is composed, and therefore it is purposeful, and cannot be considered as an alien force that attacks the personality from without.

I will at various times use as an example your friend’s ulcer, simply because the ulcer represents an excellent example of an impeding action or illness. It must therefore be clearly understood that an impeding illness is a creation of the personality itself. The very effectiveness and nature of the personality, and health of the personality, is dependent upon the manner in which it handles its ability to choose between various kinds of action.

—this is not meant to imply any negation of psychological or psychic values, although these are also actions.

(End at 11:00. Jane was again well dissociated. Her delivery had been fast, her eyes closed all the time, her voice good.)