“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

There is nothing wrong in trying to perceive tomorrow. (Pause.) It is risky however to live today in such a manner. There are too many errors that can be made when dealing with precognitive elements. You are dealing with a world of probabilities. Now Ferd looked into a possible future, and this was quite legitimate—as a probable future. There is much concerning time that you do not yet understand, and I cannot explain it to you, unfortunately, in an evening. This may sound contradictory, but it is not. It is possible to perceive the future as it will be; on the other hand the future itself is always changing, for you change it in the present. (Pause.) In the precise moment in which you spoke the words, there was a probability, and a good one, that the event would occur as stated.

(This material concerns a certain horse race in late August; Ferd had predicted Steve would win a bet on this race.)

Two days later, the conditions had completely changed. This is too complicated, and you do not have the background now. However, the future event predicted was bound up with a series of events that would have had to occur within that two-day period. Some of these events would have been trivial, but all would have led him toward that predicted big win. There are two men in particular he would have met. These events did not occur, and another group of probabilities now exist.

Had your abilities been developed sufficiently, you could have seen through these probable futures into the actual physical future event that would come to pass. Now there is no great loss here, and take me seriously. Both you and Stephen shall have gained, and better now than later: for you cannot live your physical life in such a fashion. The development of your character and of Stephen’s would be drastically reduced.

There was a hope on Stephen’s part, and you responded to it. Not by any subconscious fakery, far from it. But you perceived the probable future that did exist as such; and I do not mean it only existed symbolically. Your desire to help him led to that perception. You would be the worse off, and your brother, if this were not so. You cannot use your ability in this fashion—purposely, you see.

Your ability will help you in your dealings with physical reality, in very definite ways. But not necessarily in the ways that you would consciously choose.

Some strange connection with him and geese. I do not know here. Perhaps he had a pet goose. I would not want a pet goose. We are speaking of the woman’s husband, or father here. We shall try to clear it as we progress. I do not know if this is our young friend’s grandfather, or the grandfather’s father, you see.

For all of this, a basic fierce loyalty to the family. She has particular disturbances in April and November. These following the patterns set early in her psychological heritage. Iron would be helpful in her diet. (Long pause.)

There is some resentment here, a smoldering one. She would have preferred to have been born a male. This is her first existence as a woman. An episode occurring when she was approximately in a sixth grade (pause) added to an already existing sense of insecurity. (Pause.) There are also other-life connections that enter in here. The family also uses the mother as a way of testing its own strength and unity, and as a method of channeling aggression. Often she picks up the aggression of the family, and then reacts for you all. You can then blame her without facing the fact of the underlying aggression.

All of this exists within the gestalt of the family. The mother has set up patterns of behavior that allow her to use aggressions in this way, and to dissipate the aggressions of others to a large degree. Within your family, no others save perhaps Stephen, could handle aggressions in this manner—that is, dissipate them. Although his way would be different from the mother’s.