“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

A good part of night or so it seems. [...] (Also I’d lately seen a show on Jack the Ripper and I think the women were so convinced of their “evil” ways at those levels that they broadcast their need for punishment.) Finally awaken—sleep off and on but sore. [...]

[...] And there was a tremendous effort involved individually to get spring going—to get the buds out...that the good things that we do that we don’t realize...you know we think of war—and we see all the evil we do; and that the good things we do, we often don’t realize—and that we actually form the seasons—the spring, the other seasons; and that the earth itself, the physical earth, is like the Garden of Eden in our subconscious. That is, it’s a result of the good things that we do that we maintain—that we create and maintain this fantastic planet that we get our sustenance and food from—and everything else. [...]

[...] There is no good within it in which you do not participate—and there is no evil within it in which you do not participate—and in which you have no part. [...]

[...] I can see, however, that my hardheaded lecture did some good as it was intended to do particularly in one area to my right (Florence). [...]

The term “morality” is a poor one, yet in the simplest of terms men are born with the knowledge of their own basic goodness—so in the simplest of terms they seek good actions. It is when dogmas distort the natural goodness that trouble develops. [...]

[...] Science, if it bothered, might label him a fool, but fundamental religion could label him as evil, or claim his work was inspired by the devil in Christian terms, and so the old beliefs in the Sinful Self or evil self were activated. [...]

[...] By 3:30 Jane had had a series of three or four dreams—very pleasant in the main, containing “a prognosis, as though I’d made a good decision. [...]

[...] If you believe that the body is somehow evil, you may punish it by nearly starving to death, even though your diet might be considered normal by usual standards. [...] If you believe that the body is evil, the purest health-food diet will or may do you little good at all, while if you have a healthy desire and respect for your physical body, a diet of TV dinners, and even of fast foods, may well keep you healthy and nourished.

Now I bid you another most fond good afternoon.

(“Good afternoon, Seth.”)

[...] As James said in Ruburt’s book,¹ “The universe is of good intent.” It is automatically predisposed, again, toward the creation of “good” events. I put the word “good” in quotes for now because of your misconceptions about the nature of good and evil, which we will discuss somewhat later.²

2. Jane and I are really looking forward to Seth’s material on man’s “misconceptions about the nature of good and evil.” [...]

[...] He is very active now on other levels, and is putting our material to good use. A fond good evening.

[...] The Catholic Church judged evil thoughts as evil deeds, and to some extent this is valid. [...]

Good evening.

(“Good evening, Seth.”)

Good evening.

(“Good evening, Seth.”)

It might be a good idea to examine that statement, for in the truest sense of human motivation, the fact is that despite all appearances to the contrary, the imagination and the will are never in conflict.

Now: Your beliefs about what is desirable and what is not, what is good and what is evil, cannot be divorced from the condition of your body. Your own ideas of values can help you achieve good health or bring about disease, can bring into your experience success or failure, happiness or sadness. [...] You will have definite ideas about what success or failure means, or what good or evil is.

[...] If you think, “Aha, then from now on I will only think good thoughts — and therefore be healthy, and inhibit my ‘bad’ thoughts, or do anything at all with them but think them,” then in your own way you are doing what Augustus did. He began by believing that some of his thoughts were so evil that they must somehow be made nonexistent. [...]

HEALTH, GOOD AND BAD THOUGHTS, AND THE BIRTH OF “DEMONS”

(Jane has been following the material in recent private sessions about trusting her impulses and spontaneity, with good results.

End of session, and a hearty good evening.

[...] Good night.”

(3:20.) One portion may believe that sex is natural and good, while the other portion believes vehemently that sex is evil and depraved. [...] Joe A may be an excellent husband, bread-winner, and father, a church-goer who believes in the beauty and goodness of sex. Joe B may hold the opposite viewpoint most intently — that sex is at least evil, perhaps sent by the devil, and below or beneath the dignity of a good man.

Now I bid you another most fond good afternoon —

(“Good afternoon, Seth.”)

[...] It does not bother thinking in your terms of good and evil. [...]

While this may seem like the sheerest Pollyanna, nevertheless there is no evil in basic terms. This does not mean that you do not meet with effects that appear evil, but as you each move individually through the dimensions of your own consciousness, you will understand that all seeming opposites are other faces of the one supreme drive toward creativity.

Now: Good evening.

(“Good. Good night, Seth.”

The overconscientious self is protecting the whole personality against what it considered evil. [...]

[...] He does not feel free to use his full energy until all portions of the personality are convinced of the goodness of his purpose. [...]

(Eddie Albert calls again today telling me he just finished Speaks, asking about world problems, starvation, good and evil, etc. [...]

[...] You do not overeat simply any food, but you surround eating itself with taboos, so that it must be “pure food,” “good food,” to your way of thinking. [...] Some foods are “good,” to your way of thinking, and some foods are “bad.” To you this does not necessarily or alone mean they are good for the body or bad for the body, but in themselves you give them moral characteristics as you would people. So that beneath the whole attitude is the idea: “This is an evil food,” and be shunned as you would shun an evil person, within that framework of thought.

[...] So far, you are denying a good portion of your hearing because sound can be unpleasant, and carrying this a bit further now, it can also be “bad.” You know the three little monkeys who sit: “see no evil” and so forth. Now you have simply hit upon the “hear no evil.” [...]

Ruburt’s class is good for you. It is good for you both, not only because of the particular group here, and the subject matter, but also because it gives you contact with other people under a different context. [...]

(Long pause at 9:25.) Some other civilizations have believed that illness was sent by demons or evil spirits, and that the world was full of good and bad spirits, invisible, intermixed with the elements of nature itself, and that man had to walk a careful line lest he upset the more dangerous or mischievous of those entities. In man’s history there have been all kinds of incantations, meant to mollify the evil spirits that man believed were real in fact and in religious truth.

[...] Tonight’s material, however, adds to our understanding of subjects like free will and choosing, good and evil, sickness and health, and reflects upon many questions people have asked us over the years.

(Whispering:) Good evening.

[...] You do not need to fear that if you allow yourselves freedom you will travel into evil ways. [...] What appears to you as evil is a result of your own ignorance. [...]

[...] To which Seth added.) You can be sure of life—and I bid you good evening. [...]

I will now bid you a fond good evening—and I meant to meet my eyes, not to be downcast. [...]

[...] (Gesturing:) He believed that the individual personality was relatively powerless to understand itself and that it stood precariously alone and undefended, with a chasm of evil beneath and with an unattainable, cold, just, but not compassionate Good (with a capital “G”) above.

Now: There is nothing evil in the nature of Augustus Two. In spiritualistic circles however he would most certainly be interpreted as an evil spirit or guide.

Good evening —

Man is of good intent. When you see evil everywhere in man’s intent — in your own actions and those of others — then you set yourself up against your own existence, and that of your kind. [...] You will not see man’s good intent, or you will do so ironically — for in comparison with your ideals, good in the world appears to be so minute as to be a mockery.

The people who died were idealists — perfectionists of exaggerated quality, whose very desire for the good was tainted and distorted by those beliefs just mentioned. For those beliefs must gradually shut out perception of good from experience.³

Good evening.

[...] It takes a while to understand who and what you are, and while you are learning it is often very handy to have someone else tell you and say you are this and so, you can do this and this and this and this is good and this is bad, as you indeed tell children. And so you do not have to ask yourself questions and you do not, yourself, have to probe the nature of good and evil because you accept what has been told you. [...]

[...] You were like a child with a new toy, and how could it be as good as you supposed and where was the hidden blemish, and so you have been looking for the hidden blemish. [...]

[...] Until you can honor and love yourselves you cannot honor nor love anything else or anyone else, and as long as you see yourselves as guilty, then you will see guilt in every other person you look at, and you will see evil in the nature of reality. [...]

[...] Your ideas of good and evil affect not only your behavior with others, but your activity in a community and in the world at large.

If life is seen as good in this system of belief, then youth is viewed as the crowning glory, from which summit there is no further journey except descent. The old are not granted characteristics of wisdom, but feared as evil, bad, undesirable or frightening. [...]

Good evening.