“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

The voice became lighter, almost lilting. “The laws of the inner universe [which had been given to us by Seth] are not laws in some book. They are attempts to explain in words the nature of inner reality. I must disentangle concepts, unravel them, in order to explain them, and much is necessarily lost in the process.

“Each simple law of the inner universe that I have given you is in actuality a small inadequate statement in single-dimensional terms, yet it is more than most are given, and the best approximation that can be made of the basic facts beneath any existence, the best statement that can be made under the circumstances with which we must work. As words would give small hint of the reality of color or sound to someone who did not experience these, so words can only give insight into the nature of reality. I hope through the addition of subjective experiences of various kinds to give you the feel of concepts when possible.

“We taught man to speak before the tongue knew syllables. We adopt whatever personality characteristics seem pertinent, for in our own reality we have a bank of complete inner selves, and we are all Seth. We attempt to translate realities into terms that you can comprehend. We change our face and form, but we are always the one. Many of us have not been born in flesh, as I have not been. In one way we have seeded ourselves through endless universes.

The transition from Seth’s deep voice and lively gestures was very startling to Phil, who hadn’t heard the other personality speak before. Now my body was almost puppetlike, and my face was devoid of expression. Just before the voice began to speak, I felt my consciousness drawn up through the invisible pyramid like a draft up a flue. There was no indication that anything else was about to happen, however.

The voice said: “You are like children with a game, and you think that the game is played by everyone. Physical life is not the rule. Identity and consciousness existed long before your earth was formed. You see physical bodies and suppose that any personality must appear in physical terms. Consciousness is the force behind matter, and it forms many other realities besides the physical one. It is only because your own viewpoint is presently so limited that it seems to you that physical reality is the rule and mode of existence.

“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.”

“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.

“When we make contact, his consciousness and personality in concentrated form make a journey—in your terms, like a speck in space—the consciousness reduced to its essence. And from his experience we let him fall back into the physical system. The children’s blocks then became massive by contrast … this was an experience in concepts.”

I started to feel the microscopic nature of our physical universe, comparatively speaking … this is most difficult to put into words. There was a momentary sense of desolation accompanying this—my own, I think. I’m always aware of the pyramid shape above me just before this personality speaks. Usually I “go up through” it. This time, though, at the narrow end far above me I saw the same giant head, peering down at me and the room as through a microscope. If the room and everything in it was going to shrink as realistically as it had expanded earlier—and it was, I could tell—I just wasn’t ready for the experience.

That session was well over a year ago. Our usual Seth sessions still continue, and only now and then does this other personality speak. We refer to it as Seth Two. Often these sessions involve me in some kind of subjective experience, though now I am learning how to handle myself when this happens. Once during a rest period, for example, Rob wondered what it was like to be nonphysical. When the session resumed, I felt myself seemingly suspended, fully alert and aware—but bodiless—in space. I had no form as far as I knew, but I possessed complete freedom of motion—something like conscious air. This time I wasn’t frightened, realizing that we were getting an answer to Rob’s question. During this experience, the emotionless, lilting, distant voice explained what nonphysical existence was like.

“Know that within your physical atoms now the origins of all consciousness still sing and that all the human characteristics by which you know yourselves still exist. …

“The most minute cell within your brain has been made from patterns of consciousness which we have given you. The entire webwork was initiated by us. We taught you to form the reality that you know.”