“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.

“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.”

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.

“The ego maintains much of its stability by looking backward into a ‘past’ and finding something of itself there. The portions of the self that deal in probabilities do not have experience with a ‘past’ to give them a sense of identity or continuity. Permanence, as the ego thinks of it, would be an alien concept to these portions of the self, and highly distasteful, adding up to rigidity.

“Flexibility is the key word here, a voluntary changing of the self as it is allowed to explore each probability. Experience is of a plastic nature. The basic sense of identity here is carried by what you could compare to the subconscious that you know. In other words, it is this portion of the psychological structure that carries the burden of identity, and it is the ego whose experiences are of a dreamlike nature.”

“Some events will be perceived by all layers of the self, however, though in their own fashion, and experienced as a unit. There are few of these but they are very vivid and they serve—as do the family’s joint experiences—to reinforce the identity of the entire psychological structure.

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.