“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

As far as distance, physical distance, is concerned, this whole idea is subconsciously taken into consideration. That which appears ahead of you in distance, and has not yet been experienced, under usual circumstances has not yet entered the psychic space of inner environment. When you reach this imaginary physical experience, and if you are emotionally involved in it, then it becomes the PRESENT, in capital letters.

In many cases he perceives in a dream a future physical event, and then within the dream situation acts out various possible solutions, until he hits upon the most agreeable one. In the dream state the personality actually has at its command a stupendous amount of subconscious information of which the ego is not aware. It is actually more practical therefore to seek the solution in the dreaming state, or in periods of dissociation if you prefer. The amount of data available to the subconscious is simply superior in quality and larger in quantity to that available to the ego, and this information can be used effectively through suggestion.

The subconscious in sleep has great freedom, and has at its command information gained through past experience in this life and in other lives. In the intense focus of awareness that occurs within the dream state, the inner self is able to direct all of its energies for the purpose of solving a given problem.

It is able to use all of its vast information, gained through previous experience, and all of its knowledge, to solve the problem at hand. Literally, the whole inner personality is able to focus upon any given problem, completely free of distractions, using the subconscious language of symbols. This language is crisper in its fashion, and more concise and more inclusive than any written language. For as we have explained, each symbol has various meanings to all layers of the self.

Computerlike, the data is instantly made available exactly when and where it is needed. The ego is indeed equipped to handle physical reality. Its purpose is the manipulation of the personality within the physical universe. Its most effective method of procedure however is to form the problem concisely, and then to feed it to the subconscious before the personality enters the dreaming state.

This requires on the ego’s part an excellent ability to perceive correctly the elements of the physical situation, to express it in terms that the subconscious can understand, and to deliver the message properly. The subconscious will then break the physical data given to it down into its psychic components, translate it into symbols; and the inner self, at the request of the subconscious, will then focus all of the energies at its command to deliver the most acceptable solution, taking the entire needs of the whole self into consideration.

Necessary and vital information is therefore not collected. The problem is not seen in any total light, but in a distorted manner. This distorted picture is then delivered to the subconscious, which is able to make some corrections. It still cannot view the physical situation as clearly as can the ego under best conditions.

When the ego is of such a rigid nature that it distorts physical reality out of all context, then however the personality had better rely upon the subconscious even in this respect, for the subconscious will at least perceive those elements of physical reality that immediately threaten the whole self.

(In the 54th session Seth went into considerable detail in explaining the construction of entities. He could not give us this information earlier, he said, because we would have leaped to the conclusion that he was Ruburt’s [Jane’s] subconscious mind; this is not so. As everything else does, entities constantly change. To quote Seth: “Ruburt is not myself now, in his present life; he is nevertheless an extension and materialization of the Seth that I was at one time... He grew, evolved and expanded in terms of a particular, personal set of value fulfillments... He is now an actual gestalt, a personality that was one of the probable personalities into which Seth could grow. I represent another, I am another.”