“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

In June of 1969 we were really startled when Seth told us that Rob might be visited by one of his “probable selves.” At the time of the session, we didn’t know what probable selves were, though Seth had used the term once or twice in the past. What is a probable self? According to Seth, each of us has counterparts in other systems of reality; not identical selves or twins, but other selves who are part of our entity, developing abilities in a different way than we are here.

In our system, for example, Rob is an artist. A few years ago he did some medical artwork and was amazed at his proficiency at it, and with the medical procedures and terminology, which were quite unfamiliar to him when he began. Each of Rob’s sketches and paintings won prizes for the doctors for whom he did them. In this session, the 487th, Seth told Rob that in another system of reality, Rob has a probable self who is a doctor who paints as a hobby. This is why Rob took to the medical drawings so easily! (To the doctor, of course, Rob is a probable self.)

Seth told us quite a bit about this “man” that night, and described some of the methods he was using in an attempt to contact this reality. Seth said: “There are, in fact, infinite varieties of matter, existing in what you would call one space framework. Using the physical senses, of course, you can never perceive these other systems. Advanced training in the use of the Inner Senses can lead to such explorations, however. Your friend [probable self] is more advanced—his system is more advanced in this respect.

After the session, when Rob told me what Seth had been saying, we just sat looking at each other for a few minutes. “Probably you have a probable self,” I said finally, with a laugh.

“But Seth’s talking about an infinity of them, from what you tell me,” I said. “And it’s one thing to theorize about probable selves, and another to think that one of them might be going to contact you.”

“I’m ready,” Rob said; and he was. Over the next few weeks he did psychological time exercises suggested by Seth, and tried to be intuitively alert to anything out of the ordinary. In the meantime we had another session, and Rob had quite a few questions ready to ask Seth. According to what Seth told us, this probable self is a Dr. Pietra. He is an older man in his system of reality than Rob is in ours, and while he is engrossed in his painting, this interest is subordinated to his medical work.

“He is studying the use of painting in therapy,” Seth said. “Not only working with patients and using art as therapy, but working with the idea that some paintings in themselves have a healing effect.” Seth went on to say that “certain paintings can capture and direct the healing abilities of the viewer. … The painter’s intent is embedded in his medium and in his painting.”

“He knows of your hypothetical existence,” Seth said. “He believes that he has a probable self, and he is endeavoring to visit this probable universe. He has no idea, however, that you might be expecting such a visit, or that you might be planning to meet him. … He has been working on the drug himself, along with two others.

This session was held June 9, 1969. Seth told Rob again that contact could be facilitated by the Psychological Time exercises. (These will be explained in the chapter dealing with the development of psychic abilities.) Rob did these exercises several times that week without making any contact with Dr. Pietra as far as he knew. On June 16 Seth surprised us by saying that near contact had been made twice.

“What happened was a very momentary merging of personality characteristics on deeper than conscious levels,” Seth said. “Neither of you knew how to handle it. You were afraid of blurring your own identities, and rather frightened by some of the similarities within them. It was the similarities, however, that made even that [small] contact possible.”

Rob had been working on portraits and human figures, so this data made sense to him. He didn’t recall any strong inner image of the interior of a body, though; yet he said that he had been thinking of body interiors—something that I didn’t know. Seth went on to say that fuller contact was still possible, “though Dr. Pietra’s focus is not certain, and the intensity of his presence varies.”

Seth also had a little more to say concerning the drugs that Pietra uses in his experiments. Apparently they insure that consciousness will not return to the physical brain too quickly. He also said that there were methods “by which the relative behavior and condition of the traveling consciousness is monitored at the other end. In case of any severe dangers, the consciousness is pulled back, but this is highly dangerous.”

In case anyone is uncertain, this probable system of reality is as “real” as ours, according to Seth. To its inhabitants, it is composed of physical matter, and it is just one of an infinite number of systems or universes between matter and antimatter. The people in Pietra’s system have hypothesized the existence of other probable universes, and Pietra is one of the first explorers, mostly because of his excellent medical background.

Such travel between probable systems is done through projection of consciousness out of the body, as was explained in the excerpts, but this seems to involve a welding of medicine, physics, and other disciplines. In other statements in the past, Seth told us that any far-ranging space travel within our own system would also involve mental rather than physical journeys.

If, as Seth maintains, we have probable selves and if, besides all this, we live various existences on this planet, what happens to the concept of a single soul?

Here I want to include excerpts from three sessions in which Seth explains the difference between a physical event and a probable one, and the relationship between us and probable systems of reality. (Remember, Rob and Dr. Pietra are each individuals. Seth explains this relationship by saying that the two are related, like distant cousins.) He begins with what I think is an excellent description of the whole self or entire identity as it is related to this and other existences.

Seth has given us more material than this, of course, on probable universes and events. He also discusses probabilities in connection with precognition and time. We haven’t been able to make any conscious contact with Dr. Pietra. As I write this now, we are approaching the autumn months when Seth said contact would again be possible.

The thought of such contact is highly intriguing, and we cannot help but wonder what effect it would have, not only on Rob and Dr. Pietra, but on their separate systems of reality. Only Seth’s assurances that contact is possible under certain conditions leads us to even consider it; the chances against such contact seem so high. We both feel that we need much more information and hard work, and look forward to further experiments along these lines through the years.

As you can see, many of the excerpts given in this chapter also throw light on the nature of personality. Because personality is multi-dimensional, it cannot be discussed under one heading alone, and in explaining it, Seth uses a method that is almost multidimensional itself. Not only what is said, but also what happens in sessions is important in this context. Soon I will describe a fairly recent and very significant development that demonstrates, far better than words, perhaps, the multidimensional aspects of personality.

Who or what are you? Do you feel lost in the face of all these ideas of entities and probable selves? Where do you fit in, as you know yourself? In the next chapter, devoted to Seth’s ideas on personality, you will see that your identity as you know it is always retained.