“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now in the case of an animal who hibernates, the body is in the same state. But in the greater hibernation of your own experience, the body as a whole becomes inoperable. The cells within you obviously die constantly. The body that you have now is not the one that you had 10 years ago; its physical composition has died completely many times since your birth, but, again, your consciousness bridges those gaps (with gestures). They could be accepted instead, in which case it would seem to you that you were, say, a reincarnated self at age 7 (intently), or 14 or 21. The particular sequence of your own awareness follows through, however. In basic terms the body dies often, and as surely as you think it dies but once in the death you recognize. On numerous occasions it physically breaks apart, but your consciousness rides beyond those “deaths.” You do not perceive them. The stuff of your body literally falls into the earth many times, as you think it does only at the “end of your life.”

To one extent or another in your society, you are taught to not trust yourself. There are various schools and religions that try to express the self’s validity, but their distortions have smothered the basic authenticity of the teachings.

In those terms, Ruburt started from scratch as a member of your society who finally threw aside, as you did [Joseph], the current frameworks of belief. For some time he was simply between belief systems, discarding some entirely, accepting portions of others; but mainly he was a pioneer — and this while carrying the largely unrealized, basic belief of society that you cannot trust the self …

While that emotionally invisible belief is carried, then anything the self does must be scrutinized, put to the test; in the meantime beliefs that have sustained others are suspended. The development of Ruburt’s abilities would, therefore, lead him away from comforting structures while he searched for others to sustain him …

[...] The inner self is aware of this integrity of identity, but the ego focused so securely in physical reality cannot afford this luxury.