“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

If we could remove these blind spots and enlarge the focus of our attention, I think that we would become aware of these other events, and that telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance would be normal, practical methods of obtaining information. In other words, I think that ESP abilities are natural ones that we have denied because they seem to contradict our ideas of reality.

As to who or what Seth is, his term “energy essence personality” seems as close to the answer as anyone can get. I don’t believe he is a part of my subconscious, as that term is used by psychologists, or a secondary personality. I do think that we have a supraconscious that is as far “above” the normal self as the subconscious is “below” it, though Seth maintains there are no real levels to the self—the terms just make things simpler. I ascribe ESP abilities to this supraconscious and think that it has access to information regarding the nature of reality not normally available to the egotistical portions of the personality. It may be that Seth is the psychological personification of that supraconscious extension of my normal self.

“I am, however, automatically a part of the message that I bring to you. At times I am ‘here’ more completely than in other sessions. These reasons often have to do with circumstances usually beyond normal control: electromagnetic conditions, psychological circumstances. These could be considered as atmospheric conditions through which I must travel.

Seth goes on to give examples of the various kinds of distortion that can occur in normal and extrasensory perception. “Now, Ruburt, or any individual in a low mood, might misinterpret information, overstating pessimistic elements. Persons given to the need for self-punishment will consistently misinterpret any perception in this manner.”

As Seth continues to explain the nature of perception, it becomes obvious that physical perception itself shapes reality into certain forms. Even extrasensory perception must be translated into physical terms, if we are to be consciously aware of it. The Seth Material reveals what is beneath the normal reality that we know, but the very translation into words must necessarily distort the meaning.