“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Therefore speaking in physical terms only, the self is not bounded. It is not independent nor self-contained. It needs for its survival nutrients that come from outside of the skin. Not only this, but in all cases its own excretions are needed for nourishment of what is notself, or by what seems to be notself.

(By 8:45 no witnesses had appeared. Up from her nap Jane felt both nervous and sleepy. The thought had come to her that Seth would discuss the self and the notself tonight. As session time approached our cat Willy put on one of his performances, persistently diving at Jane’s legs and ankles; as usual he calmed down as soon as the session began.

Ruburt was correct. I was going to speak concerning the self and the so-called notself, so that we can clear up a few matters. It does seem to me however that we have been very sober of late, dealing with weighty concerns. However, I take my chances, getting good material through when the time is right, and we can be more jovial on those evenings when you are too tired to do anything else.

As I have said, there are gentle, imperceptible gradations between what is called self and what is called notself. Your idea, or psychologists’ idea of environment for example, will come close to what I mean. The self indeed however reaches out in many ways to form, mold and construct his own environment, even as it in turn reaches out to affect his core of self.

[...] When I speak of environment I include for simplicity’s sake that which is close to the self in its nebulous form, but which is still called notself.

[...] However, we will speak of it usually as including those rather nebulous gradations that seem to be between self and notself.

[...] This of course occurs nevertheless on a subconscious level, representing a spilling over of emotional and psychic energy from self into what is usually considered notself; and there are, constantly, effects that happen, a flowing back and forth of energy in this way.

When you understand that basically all are one, and that in actuality there are no limitations between self and notself, then these facts will not bother you. [...]

They are considered as notself, dangerous or alien. [...]

As far as self and notself are concerned, the unit of self is organized, as you know, by the inner ego, which directs the whole energy field. [...]

[...] It depends upon some sort of inner psychological decision as to what will be considered self, and therefore accepted by consciousness, and that which will be considered notself, and not accepted by consciousness.