“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

As in Seth Speaks and Personal Reality, the usual notes are presented at break times, but I’ve indicated the points of origin of what would ordinarily be footnotes by using consecutive (superscription) numbers within the text of each session; then I’ve grouped the actual notes at the end of the session for quick reference. For consistency’s sake, these notes are printed in the same smaller type throughout both volumes. Footnotes will be found “in place” only when they refer to a specific appendix in the same book. So for the most part, these approaches keep the body of each session free of interruptions between breaks.

The appendix idea worked well in both The Seth Material and Seth Speaks. Here in “Unknown” Reality the individual excerpt or session in an appendix, with whatever notes it may have, is usually pretty complete in itself. These pieces can be read at any time, but I prefer that the reader go over each one when it’s first mentioned in a footnote, just as he or she ought to check out all other reference material in order throughout both volumes.

I’ve noted the time every so often during each session to show how long it takes Jane to deliver a particular passage (and shortly I’ll explore further the time elements involved with the production of “Unknown” Reality). For obvious reasons I’ve deleted most of Seth’s instructions for punctuating his material, beyond leaving a few examples in place at the start of his Preface, or in an occasional session. But Seth is far short of overdoing such directions. Once in a while Jane or I recast his sentence structure for clarity’s sake, or we eliminate a repetitive phrase — for all of this is verbal work as opposed to prose work, which can be easily revised on the spot. Except for such changes the material is presented as received throughout both of these volumes. Whenever anything is deleted from a session — personal information, say — it’s always indicated; occasionally such material is summarized.

We’d intended to publish Volume 1 before Politics, but since Jane finished her book before I could complete the notes for the two Seth books (I found it necessary to do many of the notes for both volumes together), we decided to publish Politics first instead. Our move to the hill house also cost me considerable working time on the manuscripts. So it’s obvious, then, that Politics jumps ahead of “Unknown” Reality as far as a strictly correct publishing chronology is concerned.

I think it important to periodically remind the reader of certain of Seth’s basic ideas throughout both volumes of “Unknown” Reality. As an example, I’ll continue with the subject of time — but Seth’s time now — and couple it with his notions of a durability that is at the same time spontaneous and simultaneous, as he’s explained to us more than once. The durability is achieved through constant expansion in terms of value fulfillment. Part of my paragraph of commentary following the 724th session, in Volume 2, fits in here: “As he [Seth] quite humorously commented in the 14th session for January 8, 1964, ‘… for you have no idea of the difficulties involved in explaining time to someone who must take time to understand the explanation.’ Yet Seth’s simultaneous time isn’t an absolute, for, as he also told us in that session: ‘While I am not affected by time on your plane, I am affected by something resembling time on my plane … To me time can be manipulated, used at leisure and examined. To me your time is a vehicle, one of several by which I can enter your awareness. It is therefore still a reality of some kind to me [my emphasis]. Otherwise I could not utilize it in any way whatsoever.’”

Once before (in January, 1973), Seth dictated a letter for us to send to those who wrote, and it can be found in the 633rd session in Chapter 8 of Personal Reality. Many people liked that letter (they still do) — and some wrote back in response to it! Because of this, Jane and I suggest that Seth’s earlier letter be read in conjunction with the one below, for as Jane says, the two complement and reinforce each other. We feel that both messages from Seth reflect much of the essence of his material, and our own circumstances and attitudes surrounding its production. Certainly we think that presenting Seth’s new letter here makes an ideal way to conclude these notes. (Seth refers to Jane by her male entity name, Ruburt; and to me as Joseph, for the same reason.)