“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

For one thing, association is not clearly understood by any means. It cannot be clearly understood simply because at present psychologists believe that association works only in connection with past events.

They also underestimate dream events, for many associations in your present are the result of events which have occurred in the dream state. The mind is hardly shut off when you dream. It continues to use its associative processes. Therefore any given personal association may originate from a dream event as well as from a past waking event.

The inverted time system recognizes the actual nature of time, however. There is room in this system for a rather complete explanation of the mind’s associative processes.

Now. The mind as opposed to the brain, perceives time in terms of the spacious present. It is true that the mind works on associative principles. Therefore these associations are drawn not only from the past, but also from the future.

The ego is not as a rule aware of this broader time experience. The subconscious however is so aware, and the associative processes of the mind can, and do, react to a future event, while the ego is closed off to it. Therefore it is possible for Frederick, this year, to become ill at the smell of a particular perfume because subconsciously he knows that in 1980 his mother will be wearing that perfume when she dies.

The associative processes work both backwards and forwards. An understanding of this will help in a study of the associative processes in general.