“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Many people, of course, feel that death is a new beginning, but most of us still think that we are formed and bound by our physical bodies and environment. Many who believe in an afterlife think that current events are thrust upon us indiscriminately. Still others believe that good or bad events are sent to us as rewards or punishments. But most people take it for granted that we are pretty much at the mercy of events over which we have little control.

These are Seth’s ideas as simply as I can put them. We are not at the mercy of events. We form the events to which we then react. Look at it personally: You are not at the mercy of your childhood environment or background, unless you believe you are. You merely cooperated with your parents in forming it.

“The physical environment is as much a part of you, then, as your body. Your control over it is quite effective, for you create it as you create your fingertip. … Objects are composed of the same pseudo-material that radiates outward from your own physical image, only the higher intensity mass is different. When it is built up enough, you recognize it as an object. At low intensity mass it is not apparent to you.

“In your system of reality you are learning what mental energy is, and how to use it. You do this by constantly transforming your thoughts and emotions into physical form. You are supposed to get a clear picture of your inner development by perceiving the exterior environment. What seems to be a perception, an objective concrete event independent from you, is instead the materialization of your own inner emotions, energy, and mental environment.”

But as you will see, we form our physical reality not only now and after death, but through at least several lifetimes, as we learn to translate energy and idea into experience. We not only form our environment now, but ahead of time we choose our parents and circumstances. Perhaps after reading the next two chapters you’ll see why I finally accepted the idea of reincarnation after having been “dead set” against it.