“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Today I looked over a Time-Life book on the ancient civilizations of the Americas—the Aztecs, Incas, Mixtecs, etc, and once more was impressed by their amazing abilities as far as architecture, carving, weaving, astronomy, etc., went. I described what I’d read to Jane, and later she looked at some of the material. We discussed the amazing facts that the American civilizations had existed for centuries concurrently with the European and Far Eastern ones, but with each totally isolated from the other. They might as well have existed on different planets.

(I think that at first Jane decided not to have a session tonight, since she asked me if I’d “rather work for an hour.” But she changed her mind, obviously; then at 9:25 she told me she knew what Seth was going to talk about: “The horizontal consciousness.”)

—you have been reading about ancient American civilizations. They were highly sophisticated, well-organized, complete unto themselves. Some were quite extensive in terms of land, and yet each was largely isolated from the other. The same kind of situation occurred upon all of the other continents during various historical periods.

For unnumbered centuries, you had largely self-contained, unique “sophisticated” civilizations, intensified centers, situated in prime natural territories, but completely unknown one to the other, with thousands of miles of wild earth between, that was explored only by the most daring. There are many such remains still buried, and as earth changes occurred, many were hidden completely—and yet may “turn up” once more in the great future, as still other earth transformations happen.

The creation of your particular variety of cultural reality is quite complex and its own unique achievement. Those people had only to deal with their own enclosed civilization, for the conscious mind, in the terms of this discussion, now, could not extend itself to the extent that is now habitual. It could not bear the brunt of communication beyond its own confines. Its focus was sharp and clear, and contained.

Groups of people learned how to get along together. They developed arts and sciences, religions—yet it was as if no other people existed. They had only themselves to take into consideration. The grandeurs and disasters of such civilizations were contained. No great idea would spread from civilization to civilization; no war would leap from land to land. This does not mean that there were not similarities in religious concepts or art forms or whatever, for each level of consciousness has its own characteristics, which will show in all of its works.

In those ancient times, mentioned earlier, one civilization cared not a whit about any other whose existence was known. One did not depend upon the other. It now becomes apparent that a war, or near-war in one country is a threat to all others, and man’s consciousness at the level we are discussing is struggling to attain a planetary concern, a sense of life’s balances.

(“This afternoon I was wondering how Jim Poett was making out—not when the article will be published [in the Village Voice], but what he thinks of what he’s doing.”)

I have one point I forgot to make. In certain terms, Ruburt was in contact with your parents the other afternoon. Their images, however, were creative constructions, but the communication itself was valid. Unfortunately, it was also an example of what happens when the official line of consciousness steps into the dream state, as Ruburt realized your father was dead, and at that level then decided he could not be here.

Poett was quite taken with me (amused)—but the story is not earth-shaking, and for a time others have entered in ahead. The affair involved an education for Poett, as he struggled with many concepts, and as he struggled against portions of himself, for he wants to be a journalist even while he has no use for it at the same time.