“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

CHAPTER
TEN:

The Nature of Physical Reality

What do you think this physical universe is? You may not have thought of the question consciously, but each of us has an opinion and we guide our daily actions by it whether we realize it or not. By physical universe I mean everything with which we come into contact in any way at all—stars, chairs, events, rocks, flowers—our entire physical experience. What you really believe about these things causes much of your behavior. You’ll feel safe or panic-stricken, happy or sorrowful, secure or insecure, according to your private view of reality.

Some people think that we are stuck in physical reality like flies in flypaper or victims in quicksand, so that each motion we make only worsens our predicament and hastens our extinction. Others see the universe as a sort of theater into which we are thrust at birth and from which we depart forever at death. In the backs of their minds people with either attitude will see a built-in threat in each new day; even joy will be suspect because it, too, must end in the body’s eventual death.

I’m dealing with this subject, the nature of physical matter, first, because it is basic to any understanding of Seth’s theories. Seth says that we form the physical universe as unselfconsciously as we breathe. We aren’t to think of it as a prison from which we will one day escape, or as an execution chamber from which all escape is impossible. Instead we form matter in order to operate in three-dimensional reality, develop our abilities and help others. Physical matter is like plastic that we use and mold to our own desire, not like concrete into which our consciousness has been poured. Without realizing it we project our ideas outward to form physical reality. Our bodies are the materialization of what we think we are. We are all creators, then, and this world is our joint creation.

Seth says that not only do we form our own reality now, but we will continue to do so after physical death, so it is of the utmost importance that we understand the connection between thought and reality.

Seth explains exactly how we translate thoughts into physical reality. To our knowledge, this explanation is original with the Seth Material To say the least, the supposition that we actually create matter gives rise to all kinds of questions, and Rob and I have considered many of them at one time or another. Was Seth saying that we created tables and chairs as well as events? And when we were ill, were we creating our own disease? If we create reality to begin with, then can we change it for the better?

Seth answers these questions and many we hadn’t even considered. I thought that the whole subject was fascinating when he began, but I didn’t expect a demonstration in the middle of our living room, which is exactly what happened in the 68th session (July 6, 1964). Seth was describing the intimate connection between expectation and perception—what we see and observe—to Bill Macdonnel, when the incident took place. It was a session none of us would ever forget. Before I give you the high points of that episode, however, here are a few excerpts from immediately previous material:

“Physical matter makes consciousness effective within three-dimensional reality. As individualized energy approaches your particular field, it expresses itself to the best of its ability within it. As energy approaches, it creates matter, first of all in an almost plastic fashion. But the creation is continuous like a beam or endless series of beams, at first weak as they are far off, then stronger, then weak again as they pass away.

At the time, no one thought anything in particular about Seth’s last sentence. For one thing, Rob was so busy taking notes that he didn’t really pay much attention to what was being said, beyond making sure he took Seth’s words down accurately. As far as I remember, I wasn’t even aware of speaking them.

As soon as break arrived, Bill announced that he had seen an image in the bathroom doorway. This is what he had been staring at the whole time. He asked for a sheet of paper and immediately set to work on a sketch of what he had seen. He is an artist and schoolteacher.

Seth-Jane ended the monologue with a laugh at Bill. Now I asked Bill exactly what he had seen. He said that the dark open bathroom doorway turned a foggy white. He then saw the form of Seth’s apparition stand out against this lighter background. The form was mainly a silhouette, Bill said, without strong detail, and yet during the first monologue he got a good look at the face. The effect was rather like that of a photographic negative. Bill added that the face of the apparition was about six feet above floor level. A copy of his sketch is included in the notes [see illustrated section].

Suddenly I saw Bill’s and Rob’s expressions change. They’d been standing in the middle of the room, laughing at me. Now Rob whitened. Bill’s mouth dropped down. “What’s wrong?” I said.

At our request, Jane remained standing where she was. There was no doubt about what we saw. The effect lasted for perhaps a minute or two. The room was well lighted. The change in Jane’s features seemed to take place on a plane an inch or so in front of Jane’s actual physical features. The new set of features might have been suspended on a clear screen of some kind. As I watched them I saw or sensed behind them—or through them—Jane’s real features as I knew them.

When the session resumed, as Seth I picked up Bill’s second sketch and said, “This picture represents an outward transformation as Mark attempted to construct an accurate replica of material that he sensed with the Inner Senses, and as such it is a reconstruction of what I am.

“I would not be surprised if you wondered about the part that suggestion might play in such a demonstration. … Generally speaking, however, no physical object can be constructed, and no action can occur, without what you are pleased to call suggestion. No action and no material object can be perceived without inner consent and willingness. Behind every action and every construction there is indeed suggestion.

“Suggestion is no more and no less than an inner willingness and consent to allow a particular action to occur; and this consent is the trigger which sets off the subconscious mechanisms that allow you to construct inner data into physical reality.

I didn’t know what to think. When he was finished with the discussion, Seth began joking with Rob and Bill and showed such high spirits and vitality that Rob had trouble taking notes—he was laughing so hard.

The session simply astonished me. We had so many questions to ask, we didn’t know where to begin. Exactly how do we form events from mental energy? How do we form objects? How do we agree on what we see?

“Thoughts and images are formed into physical reality and become physical fact. They are propelled chemically. A thought is energy. It begins to produce itself physically at the moment of its conception.

“Every nerve and fiber within the body has an inner purpose that is not seen, and that serves to connect the inner self with physical reality, that allows the inner self to create physical reality. In one respect, the body and physical objects go flying out in all directions from the inner core of the whole self.”

This material was given while we were still having the Instream tests. Later, when we had dispensed with these, Seth had more time to answer our questions. Rob wanted to know what other parts of the body were responsible for this creation of material—if any. Here is part of the answer we received:

“In a very real manner, events or objects are actually focal points where highly charged psychic impulses are transformed into something that can be physically perceived: a breakthrough into matter. When such highly charged impulses intersect or coincide, matter is formed. The reality behind such an explosion into matter is independent of the matter itself. An identical or nearly identical pattern may reemerge ‘at any time’ again and again, if the proper coordinates exist for activation.”

Throughout the centuries many people have recognized that mind and matter were related, but the Seth Material specifically gives the ways and means by which mind is translated into the reality that we know. Exactly what force is beneath the smallest units of matter, for example? How does the breakthrough into matter occur? In order to do justice to these questions, I deal with them separately in the Appendix.

And what is the point of all this? Seth says:

“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.