“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Sometimes, though, I find it quite a challenge to excerpt a number of sessions to illuminate a particular one. I want the passages chosen to make sense on their own, out of context, and to focus clearly on the subject; at the same time, I don’t want to include too many or too few of my own notes. But in this appendix, at least, I discovered that it wasn’t always possible to achieve both of those goals just as I wanted to — not in connection with each point mentioned. It also became inevitable that at least some elements of Seth’s own “separate-but-connected” reality would have to be considered. In addition to those concerns, on occasion I found myself rearranging the quoted discussions a bit — although really to a minor degree — for even greater brevity and clarity. So here’s how it all worked out:

(I finally decided that the best way to present the variety of material desired, whether from Seth, Jane, or myself, was in chronological order, letting a composite picture emerge as the work progresses. This system automatically makes room for any references in Volume 1. In actuality the chronology begins long before “Unknown” Reality was started, and continues well beyond the date of its ending, in April 1975. Since the excerpts are still more representative than complete, however, due to the accumulated mass of information available, my own choices enter in: ESP class data are quoted a number of times; included is material summarizing Jane’s own theories about the Seth phenomena, as she worked them out in her recently completed Adventures in Consciousness; but reincarnation, while mentioned often, isn’t stressed in terms of particulars — that is, I refer to Seth’s statements that he, Jane and I led closely involved lives in Denmark in the 1600’s, but those lives aren’t studied per se. Within our ordinary context of linear time I think of reincarnation, even though in Seth’s terms it’s really a simultaneous phenomenon, as being further away, or more removed, from us physical creatures than the more “immediate” psychic connections and mechanics I want to show as linking Seth, Jane, and myself. And also because of that sense of removal, Seth Two¹ is hardly mentioned at all.

(Now I’ll refer the reader to Chapter 20 of Jane’s The Seth Material. She called the chapter “Personal Evaluations — Who or What is Seth?” In it she made a number of excellent points concerning her relationship with Seth and Seth Two; for example: “If physical life evolves [in ordinary terms], why not consciousness itself?” The questions we had at the time can be found throughout the chapter. Indeed, we still have many of them — or, I should note, we’re still intrigued by the latest versions of those “old” questions, for like consciousness itself they’re endless in their ramifications. But here I want to call attention mainly to the excerpt in Chapter 20 that Jane presented from the 458th session for January 20, 1969. Seth discussed the psychological bridge Jane and he have created between themselves for purposes of communication; yet most of his material came through in response to my question about his availability to us. “We [Rob and I] both know that some sessions seem more ‘immediate’ than others, and now as Seth continued we saw why,” Jane wrote in Chapter 20. Seth, briefly, from the 458th session:)

“Individual life, or the life of the present individual, could be legitimately compared to the dream of an entity. While the individual suffers and enjoys his [or her] given number of years, these are but a flash to the entity. The entity is concerned with such years in the same manner that you are concerned with your own dreams … And as your dreams originate with you, arise from you, attain a seeming independence and have their ending with you, so an entity’s personalities arise from it, attain various degrees of independence, and return to it while never leaving it for an instant.

36. Many passages in Appendix 12, and in its notes, could be quoted to illuminate Seth’s comments here. Notes 13 and 20 are examples, and their superscription numbers can be used as references to the appropriate paragraphs in the appendix itself. In general, I suggest reviewing the last few pages of Appendix 12, beginning with my own material: “My position after writing this appendix is …”

38. Apropos of his quotations from Seth Speaks, here’s what Seth had to say in a later personal session: “There are rhythms that exist over a period of time, as I have mentioned before, and had you the leisure to check your records you would see that overall we have about the same number of sessions each year. There are many cycles involved — some connected with the two of you, with myself, or with other conditions quite apart.