“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The session was held in our back room. Jane began speaking while sitting down and with her eyes closed. Before the session she had remarked that she hoped Seth would mention Priestley’s book. Her pace was now average to begin, but quickly speeded up.)

Now. Our friend Ruburt has finally discovered the works of Dunne, I see, and he has also been reading Priestley on the subject of time.

(Jane now smiled as Seth began to consider the theories of both men. Before the session she had hoped Seth would discuss them. As it developed, the session proved to be an unusual one.)

Now. Priestley is indeed the priestly fellow, and Dunne is far from done, If you will forgive my jest. Portions of both of their theories are correct. Sometimes one of them is accurate on one point, and the other one completely off, and sometimes they are both wrong.

(Jane’s eyes now opened to some degree as she lit a cigarette. Her eyes now alternated often between opening and closing. Her pace was fast. She had finished the Priestley book just before supper, and said she hadn’t had time to think it over; but someone had been thinking it over.)

Now. Priestley puts it somewhat differently but the results are the same. According to him the consciousness, the individual consciousness of time one, becomes something else at physical death, and the consciousness that is part of time two in physical life becomes dominant in the next existence. There is one large difference here between us however, and I believe an important one. Priestley’s individual, after death, with his dominant time two consciousness, has available to him what was time one during physical life.

Time three, after the individual’s physical death, becomes for him what time two is for him during this existence. It is therefore available only to the same degree that time two is available to him now.

In concept, again on this particular point, Dunne went further. But in doing so he ended up in a frenzy, losing sight of where he was. And no wonder. It is simply because I am outside of these times that I can see through them more clearly, and there is no particular reason why I should be considered wiser in this respect than they. I am simply in a better position to observe. If Dunne were able to write another book now, on his time theories, he would be able to correct several of his well-intentioned errors.

The flame feeds the fire and the fire feeds the flame. Therefore, while this time one of continuous moments is no longer experienced after death, it is still a reality within basic time itself, a reality toward which the personality simply is no longer focused. Because the individual is focused within time one now, you still realize, or should, that the time one is only a small portion of time, and that other kinds of time exist of which you are not aware.

But when you leave time one behind, or because you leave time one behind at death, this is no reason to imagine that time one exists separate and apart from basic time. The same sort of error here exists concerning the life force, as I mentioned. You are merged with the life force now, and no one can deny that you are individualistic.

(Jane’s eyes began to open at times now. Her delivery was fast and emphatic. The candle flame remained the same.)

(Jane now took a long pause.)

(It was now time for the 26th Dr. Instream test. As usual Jane spoke while sitting down, with her head tipped down and her hands raised to her closed eyes. Her pace now slowed somewhat, and her voice was quiet. Resume at 10:06.)

Now give us a moment please, for our Instream material.

Important papers in a briefcase. An upsurge of interest in the doctor’s hypnosis experiments. (Pause.) Something now turned up, on a desk or table. I believe, again, a piece of paper with a format like a letter.

(It was 10:15. Jane took the usual double envelope from me without opening her eyes. Reading over the last session, she had been surprised to learn that she had held the test envelope to her forehead for a few minutes, since she didn’t remember doing this. Now, she once again pressed the test envelope to her forehead, this time more deliberately, and with both hands. She continued to hold it there. Her eyes were closed, her voice very quiet. This is the 23rd envelope test.)

Now, give me a moment and we shall see what we can do.

Now. Something square, as a plot. A connection with four other people, and a road, or road shape. Unusual shadows. A cake. Something that two people know, and two other people do not know.

(The monk mentioned by Seth refers to our friend Father Martin, who is mentioned in the 212th session. Apropos of this, Jane now said she remembered that Seth’s use of the word missionary did set up her own chain of association involving Father Martin. She said Seth put her back on the right track by mentioning this.

Now. Since you have a vacation coming up, I want to make certain that I cover one point in particular.

(Jane now smiled broadly.)

Having read Priestley’s ideas about Dunne, Ruburt now wonders if I am not a future self of his own, according to Dunne’s ideas; that is, if I am not one of those future selves of which Dunne speaks, or if I am not consciousness number two, or three even, of Priestley’s concept.

Now. Such thoughts are excellent mental exercise for him, and while he is not precisely correct in either of these suppositions, in a basic manner I cannot say that he is precisely wrong.

Now. While Dunne and Priestley and myself used different terms often to express the same concept, we also differ in many respects as far as these theories are concerned. My third undifferentiated layer, you see, would correspond to the consciousness of Priestley’s third time, which is why I can tell you that at that point individuality is indeed maintained, and personality continues.

Otherwise I should be all life force and no self. Now, I communicate through this level of Ruburt’s consciousness. It is subconscious to him or to his ego, but it is not without consciousness by any means. And again, I communicate through that level. At my own level this is not in itself difficult.

Now I would be number six self, so to speak, according to Dunne. According to Priestley however, at this point in his theory, I would simply be that life force, or part of it, with no individuality. Priestley is more correct in depth however, though Dunne goes further, only to peter out. Nevertheless I would be a number six self. Using the same terms, however, I will make some distinctions. For as a number six self I have complete knowledge of all the other selves.

Now I could indeed be Ruburt’s number six self, you see. I am not, but I could be. It is entirely possible however, using Ruburt as an example, for Ruburt’s number six self, to communicate with Ruburt’s number one self; these communications sifting through the intervening selves however, and unfortunately. Now these various times of Priestley’s and Dunne’s have much in common with the planes of which I am speaking in our discussions, and the value fulfillment of our material is akin to Priestley’s insistence on depth within any given moment.

Now. While I am not Ruburt’s number six self, and I should know, this is not to say that I may not be Ruburt’s number eight or nine self.

His observations were not complete enough, for there are changes occurring now that he did not perceive. Therefore he did not project them into these other times. The becoming self grows more and more aware of its own portions, and of these various aspects of time in which these portions are or will be focused.

Now. At some point you, Joseph, and Ruburt and myself, are part of the same entity. This entity is that synthesization that Dunne did not foresee, but it in no way implies a loss of individual identities. This is extremely difficult to explain, since when I use the word individual identity, I am not referring primarily to egotistical identity alone. As a matter of fact, I am in one way, and in one way only, a future self—this is extremely simplified—of Ruburt’s; that could be compared I suppose to a theoretical number twelve self, according to Dunne.

Now. In that respect I am closer to Ruburt than I am to you. However I have been connected with both of you in the past, and this is something for another night. And at that point of synthesization we will be part of the same entity.

—believe it or not. For we are actually, you see, part of the same entity now. Therefore, if you will bear with me, you represent one of the selves through which I must travel in order to communicate. Is this clear?

(Break at 11:22. Jane now said she had been very well dissociated during the last delivery. She had a vague memory of her eyes opening at times. She had smoked a lot, and her voice was getting dry. Her delivery had been fast and emphatic.

Now. I will not keep you longer, though it grieves me to stop here.

I believe it is apparent in our own tests, incidentally, that some preciseness is beginning to show through, for in the general associations connected with the object, identifying points concerning the specific object now appear.

(End at 11:35. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes had opened at times. The candle flame had shown no noticeable change of importance during the session; Jane said she had not been aware of the flame one way or another all evening. My writing hand was tired. Before the session Jane had been tired; she now felt fine. She said Seth could have continued all night.)

Give us a moment again, and we will try to pick them up now. (At 9:50.) Outdoors, on a verandah.

At this time, that is now (9:44, Monday, October 25) our cat lover is reading. Our Jesuit is studying people, and they are flying.

A cloth, like a handkerchief, laid upon the table, and a candle. Red, I believe... Now I think of two candles, and the piece of cloth is white, the cloth on the table.

Now I look up at the bottom of something that is rising, I think like a small plane or boat, maybe.

Now as to sensations:

Now, we shall see what we can do. A talk concerning survival of your nation. Our friend the cat lover attends this discussion.

(We now begin with Seth’s material on Peggy’s Washington trip, from the 215th session, December 8,1965.)

(Peggy said there was no hesitation or delay at the gate to Camp Kilmer, since the military does not occupy the camp anymore. The camp is run in its entirety now by the OEO.)