“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

“But this fact is Ruburt’s safeguard in his out-of-body travels—as long as he remembers it. The words ‘May peace be with you’ will get him through any difficulty in other layers of reality—for as he formed that image, others also form images and he could encounter them. To wish them peace will give them some comfort, for they do have a kind of reality. To fear them is to put yourself into their realm of reality, and then you are forced to fight on their terms. There is no need for this.”

I’ve used this method often, with excellent results. Sometimes I’ve remembered the dreams, sometimes not, but I’ve always awakened refreshed and renewed, and the effects last. The dreams I’ve recalled during such instances have been inspirational: strong enough not only to conquer a period of the blues but to restore me to exceptionally good spirits.

One reason, I think, that dreams seem so chaotic and meaningless at times is simply that we only remember dim fragments of them and forget the unifying factors. Another reason is that dreams have an intuitive, associative “logic” that has to be interpreted, and in which time, as we know it, has little meaning. According to Seth, some dreams are simple enough, dealing with unresolved present problems or events. Even in these, however, the dream event may also represent events from past lives.

In this dream Rob and I were both men in our late twenties and partners in the episode. I knew very well that we would “later” end up as Rob and Jane in this life, even though there was no physical resemblance. Rob, for example, was dark and swarthy, although now his skin and hair are both light. We wore long billowing trousers, bound tightly at the ankles, Turkish-style. I do not remember our names.

All the while my partner was laughing loudly, and I was having a tremendous time. Finally I returned to my body and stood up to the cries and shouts of recognition. The rest I hardly remember. I know women were brought to us, but, smiling, we waved them away, preferring to talk to our old comrades first. All of us had very dark skin.

The Turkish life was the only colorful past life I’ve had to my present knowledge. The Boston life was ordinary enough, according to what Seth said. I made no big splash as a medium, and gave sittings in order to help others and help pay the rent. I was quite undisciplined, however, and flighty—personality defects that I am trying to correct in this life. This dream, I believe, was to remind me that I had once been in a position of authority, and should not now be afraid of responsibility, or of my abilities. Seth insists that many people have dreams that give them information about past lives, but often they do not remember them simply because they do not realize the importance of dreams in general.

“Dream locations are not superimposed upon, say, the bed and chest and chair. They exist composed of the very same atoms and molecules that in the waking state you perceive as bed and chest and chair. Objects, remember, are the results of your perception. From energy you form patterns which you then recognize as objects and use. But the objects are useless unless you are focused within the dimension for which they were specifically formed.

This does not mean that we do not sometimes leave our bodies and travel in our dream or astral bodies to other physical locations. According to Seth we do so often, whether or not we remember. Some of my students, for example, have frequent out-of-body experiences from both the waking and the dream states, and on several such occasions we seem to have met in my living room.

He told me and said, “But forget it. That is, you won’t remember anyhow.”

The books caught my eye again. “Go ahead,” he said, “memorize the titles. I’m sorry, but it won’t do you any good. You won’t remember.” Now all of them smiled more sympathetically.

No matter what anyone said, I was determined to remember any specific material I could—names, street signs, or route numbers. Finally the clerk offered to take me on a tour, when I told him I was going to explore the place alone in any case. He was very nice. We chatted and he pointed out places of interest in the city even while he warned me that I wouldn’t be able to remember them.