“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The following Seth material is from the 933rd session.

(One event concerned the telegram from attorney Thomas Bernier in Roseburg, Oregon. It arrived late this morning. When Jane called him the lawyer told Jane that his client was a 27-year-old schizophrenic who’d confessed to killing a certain woman he’d met in a Seth class both attended some years ago. He had confessed to her death several times, but no one believed him—until the last time, evidently. Now he was on trial. Jane didn’t ask for details on the case, but instead explained to the lawyer something of Seth’s ideas so that the attorney could use that material in his defense, making it clear that above all Seth was not for violence, even though the prosecuting attorney was evidently trying to make the defendant sound as though it was okay to kill because reincarnation was a fact: Since we all lived other lives, no one could really kill anyone. I sent Bernier a book list. Interestingly, in the small town of Roseburg he’d been able to buy James and Cézanne and ESP Power, but no other Seth books.

(The other event concerned a medium in Hollywood, California, who claims to be speaking for Seth, and who gave a well-advertised seminar at a Holiday Inn there. He’s been doing such speaking in trance since the early 1970’s. The literature a fan sent us last week made it seem that the medium claimed to be speaking for Jane’s Seth. More arrived today from the same fan—and the quotes given seemed like copycat material of Seth’s, down to calling himself an “energy-essence,” and so forth.

(Jane was angered by this material [the second batch; I’d already sent Tam the first communication, asking for his help], and decided to call the medium, Thomas Massari, since a number was listed. She thought I didn’t want her to call, but I told her to do as she pleased. Jane talked to Carole, the medium’s wife who works with him, and stated clearly that she didn’t want others claiming to speak for her Seth—who, incidentally, had told us years ago that he spoke through no one else but Jane. [It would be interesting to get material from you-know-who on this whole question of others claiming to speak for Seth.] No shouting or anger was involved in the call. I’d been concerned lest Jane become involved in an unpleasant situation that would have repercussions via symptoms —the idea of publicity, of public display, which she doesn’t want—just when we were trying to learn more about the subject as she reacted to it.

(It turned out that the wife claimed her husband was not trying to capitalize on Seth, that they both respected highly the Seth material, and that as we had suspected he had written Jane several years ago telling her about his Seth. Jane had told him then that he wasn’t speaking for her Seth. Jane told Carole that it was okay to use the Seth name as long as claims weren’t made that the two Seths were one and the same, especially the Seth who was producing the Seth books. Jane was reassured that no such claims were being made.

(Jane hung up seemingly satisfied, but I still wonder. We did agree that there must be a least unconscious cheating going on, on the medium’s part, else why keep the Seth name all these years and speak so cleverly in imitation of Seth, who has garnered at least some sort of reputation, thus making the road easier for any other Seth? See the attached material. Jane plans to call Tam tomorrow to tell him what she’s learned, and to ask him to return the first material concerning the Massaris. [She’d also called Tam today before contacting the lawyer and the medium’s wife.]

(Sometimes I’m slow, and other times even slower. I discussed these notes with Jane when I wrote them—Thursday, July 30—and our individual attitudes toward the mail in general, which is steadily increasing in volume. Then it came to me: The two events described here certainly did speak well for some kind of accomplishment on Jane’s part—and one greater than any she’d given herself credit for. For both events obviously involved effects her work was having in that outside world we shied away from: Seth, it seemed, had even managed to make his way into a court of law, the very fabric of our society; and regardless of whether he was praised or knocked, his ideas were “officially” discussed. And the medium, Thomas Massari, was basically spreading Seth’s ideas among the so-called leaders of at least segments of our society: M.D.’s, psychotherapists, and others in the medical field. Even if, as we thought likely, all was not strictly honest on the medium’s part.

(August 7, 1981. Last night Jane was faced with a little dilemma: She felt Seth around after supper, but also had the idea that we go to bed at 8:30 and get up at 4 AM to “work.” I agreed. We started out with the best intentions, but ended up sidetracked—for Jane was so restless she couldn’t sleep at all. I got her up at 11 PM, made her something to eat and drink, got her situated in the writing room, and went back to bed. She wheeled herself back into the bedroom at about 4 AM, and went to bed with my help. I got up at 7 to paint and she slept until 10:30. She’d enjoyed her nighttime hours alone, though.

(Then, not long before the session this evening, I mentioned to Jane my question about the Sinful Self’s reaction to our latest efforts. We haven’t seen the kind of physical response we want yet, and I wanted to know if our efforts were prompting the Sinful Self to step up its own protective behavior to keep Jane “under control.” I explained to Jane that my own idea of why Seth’s statements over the years, that she was on the way to recovery, were always negated was that these very statements alerted the Sinful Self to redouble its efforts to prevent Jane’s recovery because of its own fears. I added that when I used the term Sinful Self, I only meant certain blocks of ideas that we’ve personified for convenience’s sake.

(Jane’s idea this evening was to have a session on book material, so I asked her for a few words on my question also. She said she didn’t want more private material that would make her “feel more stupid.” I’d mentioned a little earlier an idea for a book she could develop on Seth and the magical approach [she’s had the magical-approach idea for some time], and she wanted material on that. See my notes on the book idea prefacing the regular portion of this session.

(“Thank you, Seth.”

(9:25 PM. Jane had done well this evening, I told her. Seth’s material above is certainly excellent—the latest version of what he’s been telling us for years. I for one will try to reassure myself that “things aren’t that bad yet.” What can one lose? For little else seems to work.

(Lest some hypothetical readers of this material in the future regard Jane and me as idiots, incapable of learning, I’d like to note in our own defense that we’ve made many efforts to put the symptom situation out of mind as much as we’re capable of, yet it doesn’t leave us. My own idea about holding off on Seth’s latest book, Dreams, is not that it will force any solution, but merely, hopefully, prevent things from getting worse. As I asked Jane the other day when she talked of resuming work on that project: “Can you stand any more complications?” I meant of course, that after 17 books, we’re at our present situation, so I have difficulty understanding how doing another book will suddenly, magically, turn anything around for us as long as we stay on the same old course.