“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(I reminded Jane that since she belonged to no religion now [having left the Roman Catholic Church when she was 19 years old], her mystical nature would choose other avenues of expression than religious ones; as in these sessions, for instance. Perhaps, I suggested, it would turn out that one of her main endeavors would be to enlarge the boundaries of “ordinary” mystical experience itself, to show it operating outside of accepted religious frameworks. I added that within those religious boundaries, mystics across the centuries and throughout the world have given voice to the same ideas in almost the same words, and that as an “independent” mystic Jane was in a position to approach the situation from a freer; more individual standpoint: She would be able to add fresh insights to what is certainly one of the species’ all-pervasive, unifying states. For the mystical way surely speaks about our origins. ²

(I asked her about her childhood feelings, in line with Seth’s description of her mystical nature in the 679th session. Jane told me that during those years she’d had no idea that she might be anything so esoteric as a “mystic.” She was simply herself, and her sense of self, with her individual abilities and appreciation of the world she created and reacted to, grew in a very natural manner as she matured. Through her involvement with the Catholic church, she became aware of the quality called “mysticism” in connection with the saints of that church — but still she had no idea of attributing such a quality to herself. Her desire, her drive, was to write.

(The night before I’d been working on these notes, and we talked about mysticism, among other things. Because of our discussion, Jane rose early that morning and produced several pages of material. When I got up I found within her output the paragraphs presented below. They make an excellent ending for this appendix. Although she begins by once again expressing doubts, or at least qualifications, about her mystical status, I think her comprehension that she’s part of the day, of the earth, and of time, is surely a description of her independent pursuit of the mystical way. Jane wrote:)

[...] The child’s mystical nature, while strong, was not strong enough to defy the church framework, to leave it or to rise above its provided symbolism. It [the mysticism] was to be expressed, if curtailed, relatively speaking. [...] That child (in the photo) joined a nunnery, where she learned to regulate mystical experience according to acceptable precepts — but to express it nevertheless with some regularity, continuously, in a way of life that at least recognized its existence.

[...] Mystical experience became acceptable only through poetry or art, where it was accepted as creative, but not real enough to get him into trouble, or to upset the “new” framework. [...] The mind would be harnessed, and art became the acceptable translator of mystical experience, and a cushion between that experience and the self. [...]

The mystical went underground, reappearing as science fiction.⁶ Again, in the social and religious background of the child, unconventional mental or physical actions could bring penalties. For a while the child could interpret mystical experience within the church — but even then, there was always conflict with church authorities.