“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(During her mid-morning exercise-and-rest break today, I asked Jane if she had any idea why Seth had come through with the material he’d given us in last Monday evening’s session. At first she said no, rather matter-of-factly. Then: “Well, I don’t tell you everything, but for some time now I’ve known Seth gives what I call ‘fill-in’ sessions, or ‘floating material’— stuff he could give any time. It isn’t private, really, or book work either. They’re like ‘maintenance sessions.’ It’s good material, all right, but. …”

(“October 1/80. There are certain sessions I’ve labelled ‘fill-in’ sessions in my mind for some time now, or thought of them as covering ‘floating material.’ They aren’t book sessions or specifically personal ones. They keep the sessions going over periods of time. Like maintenance sessions, but usually by discussing past material — connecting it with the present [‘connective sessions’ is more like it] — while not necessarily adding new thrust. And not specifically given to one subject.

Now: Comments.

Our friend is now feeling somewhat more ambitious of late. A few weeks ago, he could hardly wait to lie down at the appointed times, like it otherwise or no, simply because he was so uncomfortable.

Now, things have changed somewhat. The sharp discomfort has gone. A few weeks ago he barely considered taking two steps in the kitchen, much less walking twice the length of the living room, or considering walking after dinner.

The fact that he is now thinking of walking after dinner is an obvious advance. His irritability is somewhat natural — but also based on the idea, still, that when he is laying down that is dead time (with amusement), or useless time, enforced inactivity. It would help, of course, if he reminded himself that his creative mind is at work whether or not he is aware of it, and regardless of what he is doing, and that such periods have the potential, at least, of accelerating creativity, if he allows his intellect to go into a kind of free drive at such times. You might have him become more aware of when he actually becomes tired, or uncomfortable, so that he does lay down then.

(Long pause.) You have settled upon a system that seems to be naturally based, the exclusive results of your historic past, one in which your main activities are daytime ones. It seems only natural that early man, for example, carried on all of his main activities in the day, hiding after dark. (Pause.) As a matter of fact, however, early man was a natural night dweller, and early developed the uses of fire for illumination, carrying on many activities after dark, when many natural predators slept. He also hunted very well in the dark, cleverly using all of his senses with high accuracy — the result of learning processes that are now quite lost.

(10:10.) In those times, however, man identified more with his intuitive self, and with his imagination, and these to some extent more than now, directed the uses to which he put his intellect.

This meant, of course, a language (pause) that was in its way more precise than your own, for concepts were routinely expressed that described the vast complexity of subjective as well as objective events. (Pause.) There were myriad relationships, for example, impossible now to describe, between a person and his or her dream selves, and between the dream selves of all the members of the tribe. Particularly in warmer climates, man was naturally nocturnal, and did a good deal of his sleeping and dreaming in the daytime.