“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

The spirit is always in a state of becoming, ever-changing, supple, and in your terms without end, as it was and is without a point of beginning. Ruburt said recently that if he was sure of one thing about physical reality, it was [that is was] not anywhere near perfect in these terms. But in the same meaning of the word neither is the spirit, which to fulfill the requirement of perfection would have to be set in some state of completion beyond which no fulfillment or creativity was possible.

[...] Yet for a time, while performance was dulled it was steady. A balance was maintained that suited his purposes.

Aggressive action conveniently forgotten by Augustus was now recalled with exuberant glee by Augustus Two. As a result the chemical nature of the body was instantly revitalized. Muscular tone was greatly improved. [...]

[...] When these built up into felt, violent eruptions, Augustus was only the more convinced of his unacceptable nature. [...] Considerable energy was used to inhibit these portions of his inner experience. [...]

You were mentally wandering through the house, the both of you, and Ruburt caught himself where his mind was—only his physical body was not in the same place. Because this was like a mental doodle, the colors were not complete, the picture was not filled in.

[...] The out-of-body was the result of a change in attitude, and made possible also because of his (Ruburt’s) body’s relaxation. He was exercising his consciousness, allowing himself greater freedom. A certain portion of your mind was drifting at the time.

[...] We estimated that at the proper time I’d just quit painting for the morning and was washing my brushes at the bathroom sink—a routine task I perform each day, and one that could leave a portion of my psyche free to engage in other adventures. Yet, since I’d been awake while she slept, we speculated that those same habitual cleaning chores had also occupied me enough consciously to mask my awareness of what another part of me was up to.)

Your religious ideas have often told you that deformities at birth were the result of the parents’ sins cast upon the children, or that another kind of punishment was involved in terms of “karma.” [...]

[...] The idea of the public image coming through the correspondence, and as it was interpreted by Ruburt, further deepened the feeling of responsibility. [...] Thus, some experimentation was cut out (such as?). He began to think that anything less than this public personality was cowardly. [...]

(I was typing the first portion of last night’s session when I heard President Reagan giving his anxiously awaited first address to Congress; he spoke on economic issues mainly. [...] Jane was relaxed on the couch as usual. [...]

It seemed that this would be thrust upon him, however—that it was expected, and that indeed furthermore he should expect such performance from himself. [...] That idea, however, together with the idea of responsibility, you see, was always in the background. [...]

[...] There were reasons then not (underlined) to go out into the world: it was dangerous, and so forth. Those feelings of fear were reactivated to provide a seemingly reasonable explanation for the earlier natural feelings he was no longer in touch with. [...]

(The idea had come to me intuitively while I was at work at Artistic. [...] The only conscious decision I had made was that I would let such designs remain in the subconscious if they did not spontaneously present themselves.)

(At this moment I then consciously knew what my prophet was saying in the painting; the words came clearly to mind: “My God, my God, what am I?” I was tempted to speak them aloud next chance I had, but did not. [...]

[...] This is one of those instances where Seth was speaking rather rapidly; I was so busy writing that I had no real time to think about the content of the material. [...]

[...] Jane was soon out of trance, but again it had been deep. [...] She said that before the session she didn’t “have the slightest idea of what I was going to talk about tonight.”

In all of this he did not until recently realize, or want to realize, that he was not fully responding to his own life, or even that he was not fully functional, but “responsive” was the word. Also you tossed fears between you like a ball, so that when one was optimistic the other one was down. [...]

[...] The tension in the head area was applied gradually over a period of time. Ruburt was not aware of it, specifically, as he began to limit, say, the range of the eyes’ motions, for that happened inconspicuously enough as the head motions were restricted. In a manner of speaking, everything was in proportion.

[...] For a while anything that was not writing was a distraction.

The picture fit together so well, in fact, that you say it was a smooth overall performance; as stated, those head tensions eventually caused all the other difficulties. [...]

You wanted to help him, to make sure that the birth was accomplished. There were other elements that you have forgotten; a young man who was your younger brother, seen at the age of 12. He was urging you to help your father also. The barrier was not death, but life on the other side of it.

It was a legitimate experience in which you did attempt to find out where your father was going. The barrier was of your own construction, representing two things: the subconscious feeling that a definite barrier exists between one plane and another; and secondly the barrier you felt separated you and your father throughout his life.

(9:40—Jane was out of trance easily, but said that Seth was here strongly tonight, even though her voice and delivery were rather average. [...]

[...] It was almost a nightmare—in fact Jane woke me out of it to prevent this seeming reaction on my part, I was fairly sure the dream concerned my father’s approaching death, but certain elements in it were similar enough to Seth’s suggestions about contacting Dr. Pietra, above, to make me tell Jane about it—on the off chance the dream had been more than it seemed.

(After the session Jane asked me what country ancient Persia was now. At first, although I was certain I knew the answer, I said Afghanistan. [...] [Actually, according to the dictionary, the present country of Afghanistan was part of the ancient Persian Empire.]

[...] I tried to do mail, but was too sleepy. [...] She said that now that everyone was through coming in, she’d like to have a short session.)

[...] At 11:00 this morning I’d about decided the hill was too dangerous to drive; I thought of calling the nursing station at A-3. Then the sand truck came. [...]

[...] On top of all that, the cake itself was very good. [...]

(As the session began Jane’s voice was at once loud and quite a bit deeper than usual. This wasn’t her really strong voice by any means, yet it echoed from the living room walls; this effect I believe was accentuated because we had taken the rug up from the floor for the summer. But the voice was a good one, the best in many sessions. [...]

(It was 9:29. [...] Her delivery was by now very animated and her eyes had begun opening often. The voice was just as strong as before, showing no signs of fatigue. [...]

(She knew, she said, at once that the voice was strong and loud. From the moment the session began she was “within the voice,” as though wrapped in a cocoon. [...] She felt a sense of strangeness at break time because she didn’t leave trance, but was not worried, nor did she try to get out of trance. [...]

(Jane’s pace was average, her eyes closed. She was also smoking, and her eyes, exceptionally dark, began to open after a few paragraphs. [...]

This was a warning given by the personality himself. [...] He was dilly-dallying where he did not belong, and he was getting into realities that did not concern him. He was like a truant so he caused the hallucination so that he would return to his body. Now the nature of the hallucination was his own doing. [...] He was not discriminate. He was not using his common sense. He knew it was time to return to the body, and he decided to stay out of it despite the nature of inclination to return, and so he made a nightmare for himself to frighten himself home like the errant boy that he was. [...]

(To Sue:) Your dream was quite legitimate. Mathilda was a very nice person in many ways, despite the family relationships. [...]

[...] Your system can be likened to a probability system that was latent always within our own capabilities but was not actualized within our experience. [...]

[...] The consciousness that was the cat is far freer now than it was. [...]

He was not walking properly by a long shot, but he wanted to get up, and he walked as well barefooted as with shoes. [...] He began to write notes for his book as soon as breakfast was over, and before the table was cleared. [...]

[...] It was obvious to you both that he did not want to get up then, and the question “Why not?” was difficult to ignore. [...]

Your mother felt that his creativity was a threat to stability, so maintaining your own creativity stubbornly, you still felt to some degree that it was a threat, that it would not pay off, and so you tried to clothe it in the garb of work, effort, regular hours, and stability, and to deny or play down its playful aspects.

[...] I was going to read the session to Jane, but she said, several times, that she was getting more material on me. [...]

At one time he was highly interested, and I went along because it was a sort of proof that he found extremely necessary. When it was proven to him, I was satisfied. [...] I was satisfied with the matter of his need for proof. [...]

([Tom D:] “What I was trying to say was, it is easier to influence the kids that are slow learners... [...]

[...] I would like to suggest an experiment and I am suggesting it to you to see your reaction, like I couldn’t. I was really undecided whether to suggest it to Jane or to you, but you see like I’m kind of at an impasse because, like, there are a lot of words and a lot of concepts and philosophies bandied about, but when you make a claim you know such as that in as specific and nonconfusable terms such as that it would be very simple to demonstrate, and what I was wondering is, either now or at some time when Jane would agree to it, for instance, I brought some playing cards with me, ten cards...”)

[...] Had you come here, however, when the sessions had shortly begun, and Ruburt was himself looking for that kind of proof, the answer may have been different. [...] For example, had your attitude been different and your whole emotional atmosphere been different, and had you in a mood of fun and free giving thrown cards upon the table when I was speaking and said, “Seth, what is on the other side of the cards?” you may have gotten an answer. [...]

[...] Jane’s voice had been quite loud throughout, though her pace was rather slow and her eyes were closed most of the time. She said she had the feeling while giving the data that alto was connected somehow with the word “low.” [...]

There was a relationship existing between you and your friend, (pause) in the Oklahoma existence. He was your grandmother.

[...] Three children and a wife who was German. [...]

He was carried along somehow in a national rebellion; a minor character in this, following soldiers, seeking for the scores of ballads.

(“I knew I was going to get something on Idea Construction for the Appendix, though,” she continued. [...] She was very happy about the session. I thought she was sensitive to noise tonight because she didn’t want to be interrupted while getting this particular material. The upstairs apartment was quiet now.

[...] lt was a warm and rainy fall evening, already dark and very pleasant. There was a scattering of wet fallen leaves about.

[...] She said that the living room seemed “different” this evening, significant; but it was a “nice difference,” she added. [...] Her pace was rather slow, her eyes closed often.)

(Jane’s voice was still relatively quiet as she spoke for Seth, but her delivery was faster and much more intense now, and she used many gestures.)

[...] Carla called for Jane at 9:15, as I was typing this material. She told me that Jane loved me, and that she was having “a better night.” [...] And the fact that my wife is having a better night may mean something, or not … I’d told her this afternoon that I’d been prepared to receive a call from the hospital at any time, telling me to get my ass down there because my wife was failing and the end was near. [...]

[...] I said I thought she’d broken that off because she was afraid it wouldn’t work — although I’d thought it showed signs that it was working. [...] I told her that during the last month I’d given up hope, and that she must have, and that her condition was a perfect mirror of that loss for each of us. [...]

[...] I was surprised that she said she’d have one: “I don’t know whether I can do this, Bob, or how far I’ll get, but I’m going to try …”

(Jane’s Seth voice was average, her delivery good. [...]

[...] Jane’s Seth voice was stronger than usual. [...] I described the effect, and added a drawing of it, in Jane’s Adventures in Consciousness, which was published in 1975. Today’s episode was the first in a long while, triggered I believe by stress, yet it didn’t last long. [...]

(Jane was a bit more comfortable lying on her back today, though not a great deal. [...] I said I was seriously considering giving up answering most of the fan mail, which has increased considerably lately. [...]

[...] I thought that tomorrow we could do something about that, then realized that Jim Baker, our optometrist, was due after 2:00 p.m. to deliver the two new pair of glasses he’d examined Jane for some time ago. That was prime time for us to try free association, yet Jane had to have the glasses.

[...] The food was delicious — until two pieces of chicken became lodged in my throat as I talked. [...] To the Bumbalos’ surprise, I finally was able to finish the meal. [...]

(Jane and I sat for the session as usual on Monday, May 5, but it was not held. Jane at session time was in an extremely relaxed state, and she could not bring Seth through, although we waited until 10 PM.

(Jane said the sensations were “like a loss of tension,” and I thought it was a general release from her symptoms, at least temporarily, plus a dissociated state. [...] She told me that at various times Seth was around during the evening while we waited, but never did come through.

[...] I felt the episode was unnecessary. This is being typed on May 10—three days after it was held. [...]

[...] This was the end of the session. I was not happy, one thing led to another, and we did not resume the session.)

[...] It has appeared in our sessions of late because it was the term Ruburt thought should be used, and on occasion because it was the word most comfortable for his students. [...]

[...] (Now Jane touched the carbon copy of the manuscript of her dream book.) The energy in this book was not wasted. It was not used as wisely as it could have been. [...]

[...] Unfortunately the subject was too tender. [...] It was his problem and he worked it out in his own way. [...]

[...] Since we were somewhat confused as to what course to follow, a session was held this evening.

[...] Jane was dissociated as usual. It might be interesting to note that while Jane was delivering this material, she strolled about the room without a sign of discomfort on this very hot and stuffy, humid night. Her skin was dry and fresh looking. [...]

[...] Jane was dissociated as usual. And again, she was unbothered by the heavy heat while delivering the material. My writing hand was by now somewhat tired, though I hadn’t been overworked this evening by any means.

(It was a very hot and humid evening. [...] Jane was only a little nervous before the session. [...]

[...] Our friend accepted the invitation, with the proviso that he would come to the apartment providing his office was clear of patients by 9 PM. [...]

Selling door to door had to him the subjective advantage in that he was master of the situation, and was indeed the invader. The hapless householder was on the defensive. [...]

[...] She was not nervous. [...] Her voice was quiet, her pace rather slow. [...]

He was certainly encouraged, and by his mother, to pursue the ways of inward intellectual freedoms, up to a point; but he was early inculcated with the expectation that the outside world meant danger at the least, and tragedy more probably.

[...] Jane was dissociated as usual. She said she felt that Seth could have continued indefinitely but was taking it easy on us because we were tired. [...]

The difficulty at the drinking establishment was due mainly to the encounter with the college girl, who is connected with the nursery school. Ruburt was caught unaware. Nursery school was connected in his mind with physical discomfort for the reasons earlier stated.

Now, and no distortion here from our friend (Jane), your mother was from the beginning a fragment, an offshoot actually, from the personality that she was in her last existence. [...]

His part in it was finished early. Her part was not, and she has chosen this road, all without knowing. [...]

[...] In one way, when you were born, she was quite content that your father vanish. She did not want children, yet giving birth gave her a sense of power, the only sense of power she had experienced in this existence, and so she used this power as a weapon when she felt a weapon was needed.