“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

If you compare the whole self with an ocean, then the topmost wave at any given time would represent the ego. It is not by or of itself a separate thing, but part of the whole, forever changing, to return to the whole and be tumbled under and emerge again in new form.

When it attempts to hold the upper position indefinitely, there is frozen motion and built-up pressures, but there will be the inevitable tumbling under. For the tumbling under is the motion that forms the ego itself, and without it the ego would be meaningless.

Various portions of the self therefore face physical reality at any given time as the ego. The process is constant. An attempt to maintain the status quo is of course natural on the part of the ego, but when this becomes a stubborn effort to maintain dominancy then the difficulties arise. The self throws up those portions of itself that it considers most able to handle the changing physical environment at any given time.

The situations had changed but the ego framework had grown rigid, rigid enough so that it could in a large degree dominate certain normally subconscious processes, bringing forth the physical symptoms. Now there is always an imprinting process within the personality, belonging to past experience. A previous inclination to gluttony had once led him to some slight gout, and in the present case there was a swelling of the feet.

The stability of the whole self is dependent upon the mobility of each portion of the self. When the physical system is in good operating order, then the various portions of the self are operating properly. The fault will not always lie with the conscious or subconscious, however, but in other layers.

(“And a connection with, I believe, the same number of large colored squares or rectangles. Rather brilliant. The color red among others, and yellow.” It seems here that Jane referred to the purpose for which I bought the canvas—to paint on. Some of my recent work has been in the abstract vein, also, and incorporates squares, angles, etc., some of them in brilliant primary colors. Actually I have not painted any pictures on the specific batch of linen which furnished tonight’s envelope object; but I have painted on other canvas of a comparable texture, etc., and which was prepared in the same manner. Association thus could be at work. There could be other connections also.

(“An old date, 18 or 1932.” Possibly a reference to the old brick building which houses the Art Shop, on Elmira’s West Water Street. The location is a few blocks down street from our house address. The building is old, but probably not as old as 1832. Nor is Tom’s car as old as 1932 for instance.

(“A miscellaneous list or group of names or designations. A string of numbers.” These can quite possibly refer to the pencil lists I am in the habit of making up, of materials I need at the Art Shop. I have the habit of making these lists for Jane especially with prices included. I almost always have a list when I go to the Art Shop, and so does Jane. I do not recall whether I had such a list on the day I bought the canvas which furnished tonight’s object, but the chances are that I did have. Very seldom do I make a trip there for just one object.

(Jane thinks the paper reference here could refer to the object being sandwiched between the two pieces of cardboard, or Bristol, inside the double envelope; for when she opened the envelopes she at first thought the canvas was glued to one of the pieces of Bristol—probably because she had seen me working out the gluing problem in the studio in recent weeks. My experiment proved to be quite a task, but was successfully accomplished, with the use of polymer waterproof glue.

(“A design on rectangle.” The object is rectangular; it bears no design, but being canvas is meant to ultimately. A larger interpretation would be that I applied the linen canvas to large rectangular pieces of Masonite, with the idea of painting on these. I made no square panels for instance, not caring for this proportion.

(“and connection with an erratic behavior. Perhaps with a key also.” These may refer, again, to Tom’s episode with his car, when he stripped gears, etc. We cannot be sure without Seth’s help, but this data does fit the events of that evening as described to us by Tom himself and others.