“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Actually, I have had a series of five dreams since October 27,1965, which I believe to be closely related. All of them involved myself in situations of rather drastic physical stress or outright peril. Since the outcome of the dreams left me whole, however, it seemed their symbolic meaning concerned conflicts other than the physical, and I was interested in pinning these down.

(Dream # 1; November 19,1965: This was extremely sharp and vivid in detail, and in full color. My younger brother Bill and I were in a very deep mountain valley, with steep rocky brown walls. We were trapped in this valley and knew we might not get out. It was not too large. We were actually in a rickety old house on the valley’s slope, perhaps halfway up. There was a sharp drop-off below us. Part of the time I was looking out of a window, and part of the time I stood on the roof or a porch with Bill, our backs pressed up against the side of the house. The shingled roof slanted down and was covered with a fine snow. We were afraid to move because it was very slippery.

(Then I was looking at Bill, off to my left. He was too close to the edge of the porch roof. I hollered at him to be careful. Even as I did he slipped, landed on his backside, then tumbled over the edge as he scrambled for his balance. I heard him hit the ground with such force that I was very afraid he had broken a limb. I then looked over the edge of the roof, and to my great agitation I saw that Dick had not only fallen off the roof and hit the ground hard, but that now he had slipped over the edge of a steep cliff beside the porch, and was saving himself only by grasping a skinny little shrub that was in the process of loosening in the frozen ground. At the same time, Bill looked up at me and I thought he was smiling; or at least he didn’t appear to be worried.

(I then realized that I could go over the edge of the roof at the corner, where there was a drainpipe to use as a handhold, then reach down and save him by lifting him back up with one hand. I also realized that I could move more easily on this slippery roof than I had thought possible.

(Dream # 2; December 1,1965: In color, and sharp and vivid and very detailed. My younger brother Bill and I were in swimming. The water was a beautiful light blue-green, almost like bathwater, and was extremely pleasant and comfortable. We were in a stream above a high and rapid waterfall, with the surface of the water about us broken by rocks. I got the idea of going over the waterfall while holding my breath, yet hesitated.

(Then Bill went ahead, his body curled up into a ball, much like a fetal position. I saw him coast over the edge of the fall. I followed, holding my breath, and felt no shock or fear especially. It was very pleasant. I went deep down into the water at the base of the falls. I let myself float along, knowing that if I held my breath I would rise to the surface. At the same time I somehow knew there was a large underground rock ahead in the stream. It was like a pillar or barrier, dark and rough, reaching up high toward the surface. Still under water, I opened my eyes in plenty of time to see it ahead, and avoided hurting myself against its rough surface.

(Dream # 3; December 8,1965: Again in color. A long involved dream; believe part of the beginning of it escaped me as I woke up. The dream had to do with the fact that for some reason I was to be executed, by painless injection. I do not know why. At least part of the time I was in a brick-walled room partially underground. I think my father was to give me the needle.

(To the best of my recall I was not very afraid at any time, yet was sad and concerned. There was an examination table in this room, and I was to lay there while I received the injection. Part of the time I looked out of a window made up of many small panes of glass, and saw Jane on a swing outside the window. She was fully grown, dressed as though in the summertime; someone else was on the swing with her, but I do not know who. She didn’t appear to be worried about my predicament.

(I believe that my own feeling was one of sadness that I wouldn’t be with her, more than anything else in the dream. Part of the time I was also outside of this brick room. I also believe that I had received the injection, and that it was supposed to take effect hours ago, but hadn’t done so. So here I was hours later, wandering around. I thought of Jane but did not see her, and still felt this sadness and concern much more than any fear. I believe the dream ended on this note. At no time in the dream did I actually see my father; I merely knew he was there, and involved.

(I turned off the television set. Jane’s eyes were closed, but were to shortly open briefly; they remained closed for most of the session. Her pace was fairly fast, although she waited until I sat down again before resuming.)

In the first dream you see your younger brother slipping on an icy roof and falling. You go to his aid; discovering that you can manipulate better than you thought, you jump off the roof only to discover that your brother had also fallen over the edge of the cliff and was hanging on until you could get to him.

The furnace which you are all purchasing for your family is important here. The snow and ice in the first dream represent the fact that your parents were not warm. Dick went in debt to get the furnace. He fell into debt, as he fell off the roof; and on his part the purchase was an emotional and impulsive one.

Although you did not really agree, you leaped in to help him; as you jumped off the roof to go to his aid, you found that he had fallen farther than you thought over the edge of the cliff, and was hanging on. This represented further debt that he has taken on. He had fallen further in debt.

To some extent also the water symbol of the previous dream represented your mother’s womb, and was a connection to the penis symbol of the next dream. Now. The execution, which you feared, was a symbol for the death of many hopes, both financial hopes and artistic ones. For you would have to get further work, you feared, to help your parents. And to you this would represent a type of execution.

It was to be painless simply because your father did not mean in the dream to hurt you on purpose. But he would do it nevertheless, so you felt. The puzzlement is obvious. You did not see how he could do this to you.

Also, you are not at all certain in the dream that you would not prefer him to find outside employment, rather than increase your own work load, if a situation arose in which money was needed for your parents. Because your parents rather than his were involved you felt sadness and concern, because such a move on your part, you felt, would be unfair.

For a very good reason you have forgotten a portion of the dream. At the last moment you simply walked out of the room, and refused to have this done to you. You did not remember this detail simply because it seems to you that you should make every sacrifice for your father. The concern and sadness you felt then, for Ruburt, was false, and added on to hide the fact that you had refused to be sacrificed.

(Added later: Seth was correct. My father’s death was peaceful and painless—six years later, on February 5,1971.)

(End at 9:20. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes were closed most of the time, her pace quite fast. She said she could have continued, but I thought we had made a good start.)