“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

The scientist’s (Truzzi’s) letter had some good results, in crystallizing your attitudes in Ruburt’s poetry, and in passages for his book. [...] He did not want book dictation on the one hand, for that reason. [...] We will of course finish our book in our usual style.

[...] “At least I got that straightened out, about the book sessions....” When I asked her what she meant, Jane said she’d been blue lately, wondering what good the work on Seth’s books could do in the world.)

(Pause.) Our books are read also more often that it seems, for they are borrowed from others, and from libraries, by people who would not buy them in a store—not for financial reasons necessarily. [...]

[...] Our friends wanted to celebrate the publication of her first “psychic” book, her first mention of Seth, but she read poetry at the party and wouldn’t talk about the ESP book — too embarrassed. [...]

[...] But each time a new book came out she got worse. Near tears, she said that she didn’t have to get any worse when a new book comes out — what’s left? [...]

[...] A remark that I’d made, to the effect that her illness has probably cost us at least half a dozen books over the years, elicited a response from her; she brought it up today, in fact. [...]

(The symptoms — and now the hospital — protected her from criticism, eliminated book tours, the whole bit. [...]

[...] If he now uses psycho-cybernetics as applied to his work and to the (Seth) book, and makes a definite effort with those methods to focus all of his energy into the book, the symptoms will simply fall away, and quickly. [...]

[...] It can be an exciting venture, when this book is finished, and now mental preparations can begin for it. [...] He is quite capable now of throwing himself wholeheartedly, with his full passion, into the book, and doing so will automatically release him from the remaining symptoms.

[...] Reverend Crosson has read Jane’s ESP book, helping her publicize it in various ways, contact editors, etc., and we were pleased to meet.

[...] Your present life is like a book that you are writing. [...]

[...] The object is the first half page from the first draft of chapter five of Jane’s dream book, and thus would be something begun or initiated, but not completed. There can be extensions here: Not completed could refer to the whole first draft of chapter five, or to the whole dream book itself. [...] Jane’s idea is that this data refers to the dream book itself being started but not completed.

[...] It is on the back of page 112 of the first draft of chapter five of the dream book. [...] She said it is the only one she made for the dream book; she has the habit of making many notes on her manuscript, but very few diagrams of this kind.

(The TV screen entered the data because Jane used an analogy in the first couple of pages of chapter five of the dream book, involving a TV screen; she mentioned it quite extensively on two pages. [...] It begins on the bottom half of the same page—but not in the first draft of chapter five of the dream book. [...]

[...] The object was a page of manuscript from Jane’s dream book. [...]

You may perhaps argue that the book was manufactured physically, and did not suddenly erupt through Ruburt’s skull, already printed and bound. You in turn had to borrow or purchase the book, so you may think, “Surely, I did not create the book, as I created my words.” But before we are finished we will see that basically speaking, each of you create the book you hold in your hands, and that your entire physical environment comes as naturally out of your inner mind as words come out of your mouths, and that man forms physical objects as unselfconsciously and as automatically as he forms his own breath.

[...] As an object, this book itself is only paper and ink. [...]

[...] You may or may not, as you wish, include the following as a part of the book.

As soon as your friend began reading his book on health foods he received, or presented himself with, an excellent example of the way in which beliefs work. [...]

[...] Before he read the book the idea would not have occurred to him in that context.

He has read a book that discusses massaging the feet in relationship with affecting reflexes in the body. [...]

[...] We are presently working on a book to be called The Way Toward Health, and I hope the material in that book will benefit you in the most personal of terms, and allow you to experience the exuberance, joy, strength and good health that are your heritage. [...]

(4:31 p.m. “Oh,” Jane exclaimed, “we did get the title of the book! He didn’t say anything about me today, but we did get something on the book.” [...]

[...] We will have more to say about such issues later on in the book — for I hope to show you how certain feelings and beliefs do indeed promote health, while others promote an unfortunate extension or exaggeration of perfectly normal bodily processes, or viral activity.

[...] Why didn’t it sell—did readers avoid it because it was Jane’s own book, or poetry, or both? I said that I thought the implications here, that Jane’s “own” books didn’t do well, were pretty poor for anyone trying to build a career. I was angry that our readers weren’t helping out by buying the book.

Our books, all of them, make immeasurably greater impact upon the world than many books that are best-sellers—for many of them are read and forgotten.

Many are indistinguishable from others in people’s minds, but our books literally do change people’s realities, and ultimately their lives and all of the people with whom they come in contact. In that regard the books are powerful, and their impact cannot be ascertained in mundane ways. [...]

[...] It is a book telling of interior events. [...]

(Today Jane received word from F. Fell, Inc., that they would like to schedule her book, Hidden Powers Within You; How to Make ESP Work, for publication in the spring of 1966. Jane has the book partially written. One of the experiments she listed in the book for the reader to try led, of course, to the development of the Seth material in her own case. Thus the material will be an integral part of the ESP book.

(In the 92nd session, of September 28, 1964, Seth predicted the sale of this specific book by name. [...]

(Seth has predicted sale of the ESP book, and of the material itself many times. [...]

[...] He will find that work on his book will go very well, smoothly. [...]

(Today Jane got the idea for her next book, following the dream book, just completed. [...] It should be noted here that the dream book was rejected last week by the first publisher to see it, Doubleday; but oddly enough Jane feels the idea was at least partly sparked, for the new book, by this rejection.)

[...] The book was his spiritual and intellectual battleground (the dream book), and this was paralleled by the physical symptoms; the physical battlefield. [...] The new book represents a sign of victory.

It has to do with Ruburt’s book idea, and I hope to give you hints that you can follow.

There will be an uneven display, a gyration you see back and forth as you turn your attention to his poetry, and then to his books. [...]

He encounters the invisible organization of my books, say, the effect of those books upon others. [...]

Public interviews involve him, therefore, in far more than the selling of books, you see, connected with the tours of people who are merely writers. [...] If he simply did not want to make any public statements outside of the books themselves, there would be no problems there. [...]

(So here again, we have a reference to Jane’s possible feelings about Seth and what he does, regardless of whether his labors may be eventually published as “a Seth book.” [...]

[...] What it means in the context of tonight’s discussion is that he feels there is no established framework that he will accept to explain our relationship in, say, the public arena outside of the books, which allow him to make considered statements, and provide room for reasoned thought. [...]

[...] They were based upon his discussion of the Cézanne book, and our changed attitudes, as demonstrated by our sending the books out. [...]

(2. Did Cézanne “himself” have any sense of awareness, or of completion, connected with Jane’s book and the New York City show happening at the same time? Seth had said that William James did, in connection with Jane’s book about him, and his interest in gifted mediums. [...]

[...] Ruburt, you see, does not say “I must have a certain new book next week.” He is so sure of his ability that he produces far more books in any given time than the majority of writers. [...]

The Cézanne book, the show, your own interest in Cézanne, and your own painting abilities are also connected in Framework 2, along with the fact that Cézanne himself had a secondary interest in writing, that fell by the board, so to speak. Your own art interests have always attracted artists to our books in general, through Framework 2’s constant communication. [...]

[...] Now, and you all have the beginnings of a good text book, and I am going to ask you questions. You had better read it thoroughly, and if you will read some of the material again that is in the book, you will see what I mean. [...]

Now, read some of the material in the back of the book on plant life. [...]

[...] There are many books and there are many teachers and there are many ways. [...]

[...] And I want to thank you for the questions that you asked in class and that Ruburt used in the book for those sessions will help others more than you know, and the questions that you ask will be asked by others, and they will be looking for answers, so in your way you have done your thing and the doubts and questions that you have, have helped others. [...]

(Actually, the affair is a perfect example of much of the material Seth has been going into in his latest book on the mass culture and mind. [...] The tragedy, if one wants to call it that, would make an excellent book in itself, and many probably will be written about it. [...] We also think that these books-to-come will not manage to penetrate the forces behind the phenomenon nearly as well as Seth could, but that Seth won’t be carrying out such a project, either.

[...] Your mind would have been on the book, and the extractions considered distractions—annoying and to be put aside.

[...] Let Ruburt forget a book for a change, so that creative ideas of all kinds can surface. [...]

I will return to my book at your convenience. [...]

[...] I looked the book over today, but I didn’t expect anything on it before next week. [...] I’ll bet that’s why he didn’t say it was book dictation until the end of the session….”

“I thought it was [book] dictation right away,” I laughed, “but I didn’t ask.” Jane hadn’t sensed any nervousness before the session, as she often does when knowing she’s about to resume work on a book project. [...]

[...] Prentice-Hall will publish the book late next year.

[...] She’d mentioned this morning that Seth might resume work on Dreams, and because of that feeling spent part of the day reviewing sessions for the book. [...]

1. Speaking of books: Even with all of the help Jane has given me lately on Psyche and Volume 2 of “Unknown” Reality (see the opening notes for sessions 821 and 823, respectively), I’m still only too conscious of the work I have to do to finish the notes and other material for both books, and put together their manuscripts for the publisher. [...]

[...] Because of various delays, Jane is still waiting for news of the book’s official acceptance, even though she knows that Tam and other executives there like it very much. Emir, however, is of an in-between length — shorter than a novel, far longer than most children’s books — and she wonders: Is that fact going to complicate Prentice-Hall’s presentation of Emir as a story for “readers of all ages”? [...]

(In this noon’s mail Jane received from her editor, Tam Mossman, an early printer’s proof of the book jacket for The Afterdeath Journal of an American Philosopher: The World View of William James. [...]

[...] As he progressed with the session I began hoping that Seth meant it for Mass Events; finally I decided to insert it in the book even if he didn’t.

4. In this book there are many examples of various kinds of altered states of consciousness on Jane’s part. In addition to Seth’s volume, these sometimes resulted in very creative products of her “own”: Some of the psychic experiences connected with her book of poetry, Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time, which she began in November, 1972, are described in the 639th session in Chapter Ten. [...]

[...] During our drive back to Elmira this morning Jane said, “Somebody’s working on Seth’s book, I can tell you that. [...]

What is necessary is for the reader to closely review Volume 1 before digging into Volume 2. There isn’t any better way to grasp the complex themes of that first book. [...]

First, Seth’s headings for the six chapters of Volume 1 give a broad outline of his material in that book:

Our publishing company had very patiently waited for several years while Jane and I struggled to produce the book; in all that time no one ever exerted pressure upon us to hurry up and finish the job. [...]

[...] Neither of us were ever interested in turning out a series of just “psychic books” per se, devoid of all of those human and intimate details that are piling up during our lifetimes, enriching the moments and the days, the weeks and the years, creating the seamless wholes of our lives. [...]

(Here Seth refers to Jane’s book of poetry, High, Low and Psycho. In a very recent session Seth told Jane to send the manuscript to a publisher beginning with an L or V. The book had already been rejected by Viking, the only V in her index of publishers. [...]

[...] The book you are reading puts things simply enough to be immediately practical. [...]

There are some significant differences here you see, in my knowledge and Maltz’s interpretation as given in his book. [...]

[...] The book will be published.

With the book you are in torment as you contemplate the difference between what seems to be the ideal, and its feared actuality. It literally seems more practical and realistic to you that Prentice will somehow ruin the book, than it does to suppose that they will in any way help in bringing about the ideal.

[...] This is, if you will forgive the term, beautifully and cleverly connected in your mind with “Unknown” Reality—the book. [...]

For there, you envision on the one hand the best possible book, content, production, et cetera; and as if to purposefully torment yourself, you also envision the opposing “gross practical product” that could possibly result—a product that would only mock by contrast the ideal that is also so vividly envisioned.

More than this, again, any money thus acquired in the future, as in the past, would go to promote the continuance of the very system that, left alone, would mutilate our book, and continue idiotic cultural and political policies that are opposed to what you stand for.