“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Seth began the session, our 406th, by telling Rob the direction the material would take in following years. “You have been given a sketchy outline, but we have time to fill it in,” he said, smiling. “For that matter, the outline itself is scarcely completed. … We want to deal with the nature of reality as it exists within your camouflage system and within other systems, and to study the overall characteristics that pertain to it, regardless of any given materialization.

I couldn’t tell Rob what I was experiencing, of course, but he began to suspect that something was happening. Seth became very emphatic, watching Rob closely for one thing. For another, Seth began to stress each word.

“If you keep these channels open and free, you will get material that is as undistorted as possible,” he said. “Ruburt’s range is an excellent one, and the plane of reality in which I have my existence is far beyond those to which persons in the physical system usually have access. … You and he must see to it that Ruburt does not color his experiences through reading material that is distorted. This [kind of material] has its purposes, and it does do some good, explaining reality in terms that people can understand, for the props and fantasies are familiar ones. There is no necessity for them here, however.” He continued, suggesting that I stay away from books that “deal exclusively with conventional religious subjects, interpreting reality in those limited terms.”

At this point, Rob became aware of the new and rather odd energy in Seth’s voice as his delivery grew more powerful. My open eyes were very dark. Rob began to look up whenever he could snatch a moment from note-taking.

“Yes,” Rob said, but he spoke almost automatically; the delivery had quickened, and he was having trouble keeping up with the notes. Later we were to read that above paragraph over many times when—as you’ll see shortly—I found myself almost “in over my head.”

Rob nodded. “Yes,” he said again.

The voice became even more powerful. Rob thought of asking Seth to slow down, but he wasn’t sure what was happening, and thought it best not to interrupt.

“There is a peculiar corner within Ruburt’s personality, also deflected into your own, that allows him rather clear access to informational channels most difficult to reach from your system. During this session, and at this moment, the contact is particularly good. There is also access to energy far beyond that which is usually experienced. Ruburt sensed this in the past, and feared to open these channels until he felt himself suitably ready.

Rob called me several times, getting no response. Then he touched my shoulder and I jumped rather violently. This interrupted the trance state. I didn’t know what was going on either. The powerful energy kept flowing through me. If I stood up I felt as if I’d go flying through the wall, propelled by this force. My head felt huge, as if my ears were out several feet. This last sensation wasn’t new; I’d had it in some Psy-Time experiences. But trying to contain that energy was something else.

“Some material he can present to you more clearly than I.” Rob looked up sharply this time. If Seth wasn’t speaking, who was?

“You may rest. Seth will always be an element in these sessions as you know him. He is the connective between us, and he has been a part of me that I have sent out to you. He has participated willingly.”

“I have done my best to give you an understanding as a basis for future sessions. Seth as you knew him will also be Seth as you know him, for whether or not I speak as myself or through him, he is still the intermediary and the connection between us. More, he will still appear as you have known him. There are necessary emotional elements that are uniquely his own.

“The source and power of your present consciousness has never been physical, and where I am, many are not even aware that such a physical system exists. The physical system is an illusion, but you must accept it and from its viewpoint try to understand the realities that exist beyond it. The illusions are real since they exist. Your [reality] is simply not one that I have pursued, and one of the purposes of my participation in these sessions is to acquaint the one called Ruburt with inner travel. He must leave the physical system, and in so doing set up habits and paths that can be used to advantage.”

When the personality compared physical reality with children’s blocks, he made a remark about individuals returning in our future to peer into physical reality like giants squinting down to watch children play with blocks upon the floor. (As the voice spoke, my eyes were closed, of course, and I don’t remember what the voice said, but have checked Rob’s verbatim notes of the session.) In here someplace, suddenly I saw a giant’s face peer into our living room, its face filling up the entire window.

“I’m on my way up to the other guy” she said. “I just passed Seth and he joked with me, something about a massive experience.”

“The blocks of physical reality appear very real to you when you dwell within their perspective. Your Ruburt experienced a transmigration of systems. It was not meant to be unpleasant. This was his subjective interpretation. First he was involved in a microscopic adventure. Consciousness does not take up space—you must understand this. Then he reentered your own system of physical blocks, and by contrast that system then appeared huge and monstrous.

Very startling though, the whole thing. If a psychologist wants to say simply that the whole thing was hallucination, then he would have to admit that it was hardly random, but well directed, to a point and for a purpose. The merging of myself with the action in the expansion episode was frightening at first. All in all I guess I reacted well enough and brought the thing to an end in the second episode when I decided I’d had enough for one night. I wasn’t just tossed willy-nilly the second time, and I broke the trance in anticipation of the experiences I knew were coming. So I did learn from the first episode.