“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now. Sooner or later we are going to have to discuss the ways in which what would appear to be sensual perception is made available to an individual when the physical body, with its senses, perceives an event at which it cannot be said to be present.

The self does not remain as permanently attached to the physical body as you imagine, during physical existence.

The ego is much more dependent upon the physical self than are other portions of the personality. The physical body is more like a home station, from which frequent excursions are made. The ego is like a guardian who is left at home, as watchdog.

Sensual data is not basically—underlined—dependent upon the physical body. The individual can receive sensual data in other ways. The senses are indeed often used by the inner self as a constant method of acquainting it with circumstances pertinent to the survival and interests of the physical body, but the inner self is not entirely dependent on them for its entire data by any means. The mind can bypass the senses, and receive its data in a more direct manner, translating what it perceives as automatically as it translates sensual data.

When a clairvoyant event is perceived the data is received by the mind and given to the brain, which then interprets it as it does usual data. The physical body becomes aware of it in other words, but the senses have been bypassed.

(Shortly after this my familiar old thrilling sensation began to creep over me. I have not been aware of it much recently, although in the early sessions both Jane and I experienced such effects often. It is, briefly, a rich tingling or thrilling that is very pleasant. It can appear in any limb or part of the body, remain localized or sweep the whole organism. Deeper stages of this are what Jane has called ecstasy in her psychological time experiments.

In the dream state you smell odors that are not in your room. The memory of the odors is imprinted and registered by the physical body as faithfully and realistically as any—quote—“real”—end of quote—odor is in the waking state.