“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Why would anyone choose a life of illness or poverty? And what about children who die young, or servicemen killed in war? All of these questions came into our minds when Seth began speaking about reincarnation. As I mentioned earlier, when the sessions started I didn’t believe that we survived death once, much less many times. If we lived before, I thought, and if we can’t remember, then what good does it do? “Besides,” I said to Rob, “Seth says that we live in the ‘Spacious Present,’ and that there really isn’t any past, present, and future. So how can we live one life ‘before’ another?”

The first episode involved a couple I will call Jim and Ann Linden. Ann, a complete stranger, called me on the phone one morning. Since she dialed me directly, there was no indication that this was a long-distance call, and I thought she was calling from town, particularly since she mentioned having relatives in Elmira. She told me that her son, Peter, had died a few months ago at the age of three. She and her husband were distraught, she said, and a friend of theirs, Ray Van Over, a parapsychologist in New York, had suggested she call me.

“Yes, he did,” Ann said. “But he thought that you might make an exception. He said you did sometimes, in cases like these.” She paused.

“Brooklyn?” I nearly dropped the phone. “I thought you meant that your husband was in New York for the day, but that you lived here—”

“Oh no,” Ann said, “but Jim got home early in the afternoon, and we thought it only took a few hours to get to Elmira.”

What can you say in a situation like that? I wanted to help. I felt their terrific need, but I also realized that it was well-nigh impossible to prove life after death. Suppose I contacted the boy, or thought I had? How would this help? Instead of making them face the facts of his separation, couldn’t such an incident simply make things worse? And my own doubts rose: if subconscious playacting were involved …

Rob must have read my thoughts. “Relax, hon,” he said. I told the Lindens my attitude, and Ann smiled. “Ray said you were one of the most objective mediums he knew.”

“The mental attitude of everyone involved should be altered to one that is more hopeful. The woman is picking up and reacting to the negative thoughts of those who believe her recovery is impossible.