“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.

Basically there is no difference between precognition and telepathy. The apparent difference is the result of an inadequate understanding of the nature of time. The important fact is, in both cases, that information is received by an individual that does not come through recognized sense systems.

The agreement as to physical dimensions and so forth is reached precisely in the same manner that it usually is. The only unusual issue, to you, should not be that the event has not yet occurred, but that John Jones for example, from his chair, has been sensually aware of a situation that is obviously beyond the reaches of his physical senses.

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.

Now. Under so-called usual circumstances, data is received through the physical senses, and is then interpreted by the brain.

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.

The interpretation is made however in the same way as it is usually made. Otherwise the data would make no sense to the physical organism, and would not register. Actually much data perceived directly by the mind bypasses the physical organism completely.

(This time it began in both my feet and moved up my legs to my hips, then manifested itself in the back of my head. It did not interfere with my writing. It was not overwhelming by any means, yet most definite, and lasted in residue until next break. See Volume 1, page 172 for a description of my first experience with this sensation, which was at first frightening to me, and accompanied by visual internal data which was quite vivid. Seth went into the experience in detail in the 24th session, explaining how at times it represented my attempts to perceive him, and at other times my attempts to perceive other data outside the usual sense channels.)

It makes no difference basically, underlined, whether or not the sense data is real in your terms or not. If it is recorded and registered by the physical organism it becomes a part of, and an equal part of, memory. In the case of the odor smelled in a dream, the mind experiences, and then the experience is interpreted precisely as if the senses had been used to perceive it. It is then incorporated with other experience by the physical organism.

Your feelings were quite legitimate. You did sense my presence, and I came through rather strongly earlier.

(The pendulum told me Jane did not feel this way, and after the session she agreed. Nevertheless the pendulum told me I felt some anger at myself on this score, hence the stiff neck. I had not reached any such neat conception as “a pain in the neck” before Jane called me. Jane now said the irritation she felt quite strongly just before the session, was her sensing of my own irritation at myself. As stated on page 2, she was aware of the irritation before the session, but puzzled as to its source. She did not know of my pain in the neck, or that I was using the pendulum.)