“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now: any disclaimer would not insult me. The entire idea of the disclaimer is a living example of the book’s thematic material. It shows the elements of the society that we have criticized in action. It becomes almost an exterior extension of the book itself. Certainly it shows why the ideas in the book are so important at this time. I consider such a disclaimer as a mildly amusing case in point: a living example—almost as if indeed you had requested one—a proof of the pudding.

(At 8:52: “I sort of feel him around, but I don’t think it will be very long.” Jane had been tempted to pass up the session and continue work on God of Jane, but I reminded her that I could use Seth’s information on the disclaimer in our reply to the legal department at Prentice-Hall. We knew by now that we were resigned to having the disclaimer inserted into Mass Events, but we wanted to have our say—partially out of anger and partially out of self-protection, since we didn’t believe all the legal department had told us; we wanted them to know we understood the subterfuges involved.

In other words, the books are considered to have some social life. (Pause.) You are, or we are, certainly criticizing many of the aspects of your society. In that particular book (Mass Events)—rather powerful honored aspects, and criticism will (underlined) meet criticism. At the same time, as the book’s criticism has a good import, so is the disclaimer in its fashion a creative example, again, of the book’s premise, and also would serve for that matter in a way that may not have been anticipated: with the disclaimer the book may well sell more copies by far than it would otherwise (humorously), for people will be curious about what such a volume might contain that will be dangerous to the public good.

(Long pause.) The disclaimer is also Prentice’s way of allowing itself some freedom thematically, without getting its feet wet in any possible court actions. The company, as stated, is in its fashion a capsule of your society and its present climate. (Long pause.) The disclaimer in no way lessens the power of impact of the book. It only manages to stress many of the pertinent issues, and in its way it would point out the situation quite clearly. No one is seriously concerned about the possibility of a person dying of a disease because they followed any of the advice given in the book. They are afraid to some extent of being sued for such a purpose because they themselves dwell in a mental situation in which threats are everywhere, in which all precautions must be taken.

Now: As I said before, also, when faced with the difficulty, the conventional, rational approach tells you to look at the problem, examine it thoroughly, project it into the future, and imagine its dire consequences — and so, faced with the idea of a disclaimer (for Mass Events), that is what you did to some extent, the two of you. You saw the disclaimer as fact, imagined it in your minds on the pages of our books, projected all of that onto future books, and for fine good measure you both imagined this famous disclaimer published in editions of all the books as well.

[...] I told Jane that I felt the disclaimer planned for one of our books by the publisher could hardly be the end of such thinking. Overreacting, I envisioned disclaimers showing up in all of the books as they were reprinted. [...]

In the deepest of terms it was not reasonable (underlined) to nearly assume that a disclaimer, if used, would therefore be retroactively and then continuously used. It was not a conclusion based upon fact, but a conclusion based upon a reason that applied to one probability only, one series of probable acts — or based upon the probable act of a disclaimer being used to begin with.¹ So again, what we are dealing with is an overall lesson in the way in which the reasoning mind has been taught to react. [...]

[...] Now we have an idea for our own type of “disclaimer” for the frontmatter of Mass Events, based upon a very apt quote from Seth’s material that we found late in the book. [...]

April 12 have a “dream” that a man is talking to me about Mass Events primarily, saying that he’s seen a copy and there is nothing about the disclaimer to anger me, that it’s ok, and then mentioning God of Jane. There was stuff I’ve also forgotten though that made me waken at once, furious; some connection between the two books, also whole bunches of feelings rise to my mind about the disclaimer being like a sign or statement that I’m a liar or that my work isn’t truthful or like, hell, the letter A for adulteress they used to pin on wicked women.... [...]

(Notes: Today Jane called Tam about the continuing hassles over the disclaimer for Mass Events, and learned several important things—among them that the legal department is now “drafting” a letter to us, explaining their position in the matter. [...] According to Tam, we’re not supposed to know anything about much of what he’s been telling us of the fuss over the disclaimer.

[...] Both of us are in conflict between getting the Seth books out, not caring about any disclaimer, and on the other hand saying no to the disclaimer and letting the chips fall where they may, to coin a phrase. [...]

[...] My best guess at the moment is that the disclaimer matters not at all, but the idea of it doesn’t bode well for the future, I’m afraid, and there may be the real rub. [...]

[...] I’d just gotten nicely into that project when the disclaimer business started over Mass Events—it seems like months ago; actually, this may be the third month following the interruption, an incredible gap in creativity, for which I blame Prentice, no doubt about it. [...]

[...] Then on April 14 Ethel Waters calls from Production at Tam’s insistence saying that after Events was delayed till May 14 because of the disclaimer problems; so it would come out the same month as God of Jane.... [...]

Everything I said recently about the disclaimer stands. [...]

[...] The disclaimer itself will be creatively utilized—something else that can escape your notice when you become too shortsighted. [...]

(Today I mailed to those in command at Prentice-Hall eight copies of our letter to the legal department, in response to their letter of November 24 explaining the disclaimer they want to use in Mass Events. [...]

The latest disclaimer issue simply falls into the same pattern, and therefore was added to it, but all of those issues involve his feelings and beliefs about work and creativity. [...]

(While I was Christmas shopping this afternoon Jane called Tam; he’d just received our disclaimer letter. It appears the argument over the medical disclaimer for Mass Events may be on the way to a solution. [...]

[...] And of course the whole lengthy disclaimer bit for Mass Events beautifully sums up the situations: Even our own publisher seeks to protect itself from possible legal action because of the material within the Seth books. [...] And I for one wonder about disclaimers for future books—or even having them added to past works. [...]

(That topic ties in with my idea that I mentioned to her this afternoon, about it hardly being a coincidence that many events in our lives are coming to a head at the same time: Our deep upset about Jane’s condition; the trouble with the disclaimer idea for Mass Events; Prentice-Hall’s reorganization into the General Publishing Division, in which all of their narrative books will be phased out, thus eliminating any real need for Tam and his job; indeed, Tam is looking at other job offers even now. [...] And the irony of the situation is that, even though we detest the idea of the disclaimer for Mass Events, we see it as another means of protection in the public arena.... [...]

(I remarked to Jane today that if I’d known what I think I know now, today, a month ago we could have withdrawn Mass Events from Prentice-Hall, using the disclaimer dispute as an excuse, and delayed its publication for as long as we wanted to. [...]

(See the session for September 22 for our own ideas and feelings, and more of Seth’s material, on the medical/disclaimer situation with Prentice-Hall.)

[...] Among them is Jane’s fear of the controversial nature of Seth’s medical material, which led to Prentice-Hall’s installation of the hated disclaimer.

(Several times during recent weeks I’ve said that I wished we’d withdrawn Mass Events from publication, using the disclaimer controversy as a ready-made excuse. [...]

[...] But we’re still uneasy over the whole Mass Events affair —the disclaimer question, Jane’s reaction to the book itself since Seth started giving it, etc.—and any delay only serves to make us more suspicious, I’m afraid. [...]

[...] Then we were to get together when the blood tests results came, to discuss treatment, even if the vasculitis showed no further appearance, she disclaimed, it very well could invisibly attack the body, affecting internal organs in the most disastrous fashion. [...]

[...] There are a few other issues I will add, including his changing attitudes and yours toward the disclaimer—but that is for another evening. [...]

So in a fashion [Jane’s] physical symptoms became a psychological disclaimer, so that in some court of larger values we could not be “sued” for leading others astray from entrenched beliefs that we were still discarding, while not having any completed structure that would allow easy access or safe passage from one “life raft” to the new one that we were trying to provide….

[...] Therefore the disclaimer was necessary to protect myself and others from any fatal flaw in our work—a flaw that sin’s blindness made invisible….

[...] Publishers don’t put disclaimers on novels or poetry, I said. [...]

(By disclaiming any responsibility, Jane feels that she lets the material come through clearly. [...]