The Seth Material

«According to what you have been taught, you are composed of physical matter and cannot escape it, and this is not so.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, niega lo enseñado: que se esté compuesto de materia física y no se pueda escapar de ella

«The physical matter will disintegrate, but you will not. Though you cannot find me, know that I am here.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, separa la suerte de la materia de la del que la habita, y declara su propia presencia pese a no ser hallable

«Your own parents seem to disappear before your eyes and vanish into nothingness forever. I can assure you that they will continue to live.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, objeta a la apariencia de que los padres se desvanecen en la nada y asegura que siguen viviendo

«I can assure you that death is another beginning, and that when you are dead, you are not silenced.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, enuncia la muerte como otro comienzo y no como silencio

«For is this voice that you hear now, silence? Is this presence that you sense within this room, death?» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, argumenta por la vía de la pregunta: la voz que se oye y la presencia que se siente no son silencio ni muerte

«I am here to tell you that your joy is not dependent upon your youth, for I am hardly young.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, desliga la alegría de la juventud y lo apoya en su propio caso

«I am here to tell you that your joy is not dependent upon your physical body, for in your terms I have none.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, desliga la alegría del cuerpo físico y declara no tener ninguno en los términos del oyente

«I have what I have always had, the identity that is mine. It is never diminished. It grows and develops.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, enuncia lo que sí conserva: una identidad que no se aminora y que crece

«You are what you are, and you will be more. Do not be afraid of change, for you are change, and you change as you sit before me.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, manda no temer al cambio porque el oyente es cambio y cambia mientras lo escucha

«All action is change, for otherwise there would be a static universe, and then indeed death would be the end.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, deriva de la identidad entre acción y cambio que solo en un universo estático la muerte sería el fin

«What I am is also what you are: individualized consciousness.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, iguala su propia naturaleza con la del oyente bajo el nombre de consciencia individualizada

«Change with the seasons, for you are more than the seasons. You form the seasons. They are the reflections of your inner psychic climate.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, invierte la relación con las estaciones: no las padece quien las forma, y son reflejo del clima psíquico interior

«I came for one purpose this evening: so that you could sense my vitality, and sensing it, know that I speak to you from dimensions beyond those with which you are acquainted.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, declara el propósito de su aparición esa noche: que se sienta su vitalidad y se sepa que habla desde dimensiones ajenas a las conocidas

«The grave is not the end, for such a noisy one as I never spoke with the lips of death.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, niega que la tumba sea el fin, con el argumento de que nunca habló con labios de muerto

«I am in this room, although there is no object within which you can place me. You are as disembodied as I.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, declara estar en la habitación sin objeto que lo contenga y sostiene que el oyente está tan desencarnado como él

«You have a vehicle to use, a body that you call your own, and that is all.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, llama vehículo al cuerpo y lo reduce a eso

«You have lived before and will live again, and when you are done with physical existence, you will still live.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, enuncia la reencarnación y la continuidad después de la existencia física

«I come here as though I appeared through a hole in space and time. There are walks in space and time through which you can travel, and in dreams you have been where I am.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, describe su llegada como por un agujero en el espacio y el tiempo, y sitúa en el sueño el lugar donde el oyente ya ha estado

«In reality you project your own energy out to form the physical world. Therefore, to change your world, it is yourself you must change. You must change what you project.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, formula la tesis operativa: el mundo físico se forma proyectando energía propia, de modo que cambiarlo exige cambiarse

«You always were and you always will be. This is the meaning of existence and joy. The God that is, is within you, for you are a part of all that is.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, cierra la muestra con la eternidad del que escucha y con el Dios que está dentro por ser parte de todo lo que es

«The personality was not mine. Seth’s dry, sardonic humor shone from my eyes. The muscles of my face rearranged themselves into different patterns.» — Jane Roberts sostiene que la personalidad no era la suya y describe el cambio de rostro y de humor

«Seth was enjoying himself in the guise of an old man, shrewd, lively, quite human.» — Jane Roberts describe la figura en que Seth se presentaba: un viejo astuto, vivaz y del todo humano

«Later one of the students, Carol, told me that although she knew the words were coming from my mouth, still she felt that they were coming from all over, from the walls themselves.» — Jane Roberts recoge el testimonio de una alumna, Carol, para quien las palabras salían de las paredes aunque supiera que venían de la boca de Roberts

«If you are to be my stenographer, you must do better than that. You are a mad scribbler.» — Seth, según Roberts, en la sesión espontánea del 29 de febrero de 1968 ante la clase de ESP, bromea con la alumna que tomaba notas; Roberts lo imprime como muestra del humor que le atribuye

«The personality is multidimensional. The individual is basically free of space and time. The fate of each of us is in our own hands. Problems not faced in this life will be faced in another. We cannot blame God, society, or our parents for misfortunes, since before this physical life we chose the circumstances into which we would be born and the challenges that could best bring about our development.» — Jane Roberts resume en su propia voz las tesis del material: personalidad multidimensional, independencia de espacio y tiempo, destino en manos propias, problemas que vuelven en otra vida y circunstancias de nacimiento elegidas de antemano

«We form physical matter as effortlessly and unselfconsciously as we breathe. Telepathically, we are all aware of the mass ideas from which we form our overall conception of physical reality.» — Jane Roberts continúa el resumen: la materia se forma sin esfuerzo ni consciencia, y las ideas de masa se comparten telepáticamente

«Since then, Seth has demonstrated telepathic and clairvoyant abilities on occasions too frequent to mention.» — Jane Roberts atribuye a Seth demostraciones de telepatía y clarividencia demasiado frecuentes para enumerarlas

«Through sessions he has helped friends, strangers, and students, and by following his instructions my husband and I are learning to develop our own psychic potentials.» — Jane Roberts sostiene que las sesiones ayudaron a amigos, extraños y alumnos, y que ella y su marido desarrollan por instrucción de Seth sus propias facultades

«Yet I was not a “born psychic” with a background of paranormal experience. Neither Rob nor I had any knowledge of such matters.» — Jane Roberts niega haber sido psíquica de nacimiento y declara que ni ella ni Rob sabían del asunto

«Even after my first enthusiasm, I didn’t accept these developments without serious self-questioning and intellectual analysis.» — Jane Roberts declara que al entusiasmo siguió el autocuestionamiento serio y el análisis intelectual

«I wanted to keep my experiences on as scientific a basis as possible.» — Jane Roberts enuncia el criterio con que decidió tratar sus experiencias

«“Yes,” I said in effect. “I do speak in trance for a personality who claims to have survived death. Yes, you can develop your own extrasensory abilities. Yes, Seth does insist that reincarnation is a fact. But … but … but.”» — Jane Roberts pone en boca de sí misma la fórmula con que aceptaba los hechos y no las tesis: habla en trance por una personalidad que dice haber sobrevivido a la muerte, y a la vez objeta

«I found the ideas presented in the Seth Material fascinating, but I was not about to accept them as the same kind of solid fact with which I accepted, say, the bacon I eat for breakfast. Now I know they are far more important.» — Jane Roberts consigna el desplazamiento de su propio juicio: de no tomar las ideas por hecho sólido a tenerlas por más importantes que el hecho

«Nowhere in my first book did I say that I thought Seth was exactly what he said he was: “an energy personality essence no longer focused in physical reality.» — Jane Roberts declara que en su primer libro nunca afirmó que Seth fuera lo que él dice ser, y cita la autodefinición: esencia de personalidad energética sin foco físico

«Instead I studied the various explanations for such personalities given by psychologists and parapsychologists on the one hand, and by spiritualists on the other.» — Jane Roberts declara haber estudiado las dos explicaciones disponibles, la de psicólogos y parapsicólogos y la de los espiritualistas

«Nowhere did I find an explanation as logical and consistent as that given in the Seth» — Jane Roberts concluye que ninguna de esas explicaciones le resultó tan lógica y consistente como la del propio material; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con *Material itself*

«I was so used to thinking of myself as a physical creature, bound to space and time, that I almost refused to accept the evidence of my own experience.» — Jane Roberts confiesa que el hábito de pensarse criatura física la llevaba a rechazar la evidencia de su propia experiencia

«While involved in the most intuitive work in the world, I tried to become more and more objective. I tried to step back into a world I had really left forever—a universe in which nothing existed except in physical terms, a world in which communications from any other realities or dimensions were impossible.» — Jane Roberts describe la contradicción en que trabajaba: buscar objetividad dentro de la faena más intuitiva, volviendo a un universo donde toda comunicación de otra dimensión era imposible

«I began to have out-of-body experiences (astral projections) as I sat in the living room, speaking for Seth. Seth described what I saw while my own consciousness was miles away, perceiving locations and events in another town or state.» — Jane Roberts data en ese periodo sus experiencias fuera del cuerpo, que llama entre paréntesis proyecciones astrales, y sostiene que Seth describía lo que ella veía a distancia

«Our files contain statements from two brothers in California, for example, asserting that Seth correctly described their home and neighborhood while I spoke for him in Elmira, New York, some three thousand miles away. I could hardly deny those facts.» — Jane Roberts ofrece como prueba las declaraciones de dos hermanos de California sobre la descripción correcta de su casa a tres mil millas, y dice que no podía negar el hecho

«The people involved didn’t attend the sessions since they lived in other parts of the country, yet they said the advice helped them; information given concerning individual backgrounds was correct.» — Jane Roberts consigna que los consultantes no asistían y aun así declaraban que el consejo les sirvió y que los datos sobre su vida eran correctos

«Seth often explained problems as the result of unresolved stresses in past reincarnational lives, and gave specific advice as to how the individuals could use their abilities now to meet these challenges.» — Jane Roberts resume el modo de diagnóstico de Seth: el problema como tensión no resuelta de vidas reencarnadas, con consejo para usar las facultades presentes

«Before this I had suspected that the reincarnational data was a delightful dish of fantasy cooked up by my own subconscious.» — Jane Roberts declara la sospecha que tuvo antes: que los datos de reencarnación fueran plato de fantasía de su propio subconsciente

«When all this began, in fact, I wasn’t at all sure that we survived death once, much less over and over again.» — Jane Roberts declara que al empezar no tenía por segura ni una sola supervivencia a la muerte

«Rob and I were hardly religious in conventional terms. We haven’t been to a church in years, except to attend weddings or» — Jane Roberts declara que ni ella ni Rob eran religiosos en el sentido corriente; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«I was brought up a Catholic, but as I grew older I found it more and more difficult to accept the God of my ancestors.» — Jane Roberts declara su crianza católica y la dificultad creciente para aceptar al Dios heredado

«Irony whispered that He was as dead as they were.» — Jane Roberts formula su conclusión de entonces con ironía: aquel Dios estaba tan muerto como los antepasados

«The heaven that had sustained me as a child seemed in my teens to be a shallow mockery of meaningful existence.» — Jane Roberts objeta al cielo de su infancia por burla vacía de una existencia con sentido

«Who wanted to sit around singing hymns to a father-God, even if He did exist, and what sort of intelligent God would require such constant adoration? A very insecure, appallingly human kind of God indeed.» — Jane Roberts objeta al Dios padre que requeriría adoración constante y lo califica de inseguro y humano en exceso

«The alternative, that of hellfire, was equally unbelievable. Yet the conventional God of our fathers apparently sat without a qualm with the blessed in heaven, while the devil tortured the rest of the unlucky dead.» — Jane Roberts rechaza también el infierno y describe el reparto que se le enseñaba entre los bienaventurados y los torturados

«That God, I decided, was out. I would not tolerate Him as a friend. For that matter He didn’t treat His son too well either, as the story goes. But Christ you could at least respect, I thought. He’d been here; he knew how it was.» — Jane Roberts declara haber descartado a ese Dios y separa de él a Cristo, a quien dice poder respetar por haber estado aquí

«Before I was twenty, then, I’d left behind me that archaic God, the Virgin, and the communion of saints. Heaven and hell, angels and devils, were dismissed.» — Jane Roberts fecha antes de los veinte años el abandono del Dios arcaico, la Virgen, la comunión de los santos, el cielo, el infierno, los ángeles y los demonios

«Rob’s background was different. His parents’ brand of religion was a sort of social Protestantism, rather delightfully innocent of dogma. In general, God loved little boys and girls with starched shirts, acceptable addresses, polished shoes, and fathers who made good money—it also helped if their mothers baked cookies for the PTA.» — Jane Roberts contrasta con ironía la religión social de los padres de Rob, un protestantismo sin dogma donde Dios premiaba camisas almidonadas y buenas direcciones

«I had my poetry; Rob, who is an artist, had his painting. Each of us felt a strong sense of contact with nature.» — Jane Roberts dice qué ocupaba el lugar de la religión en los dos: la poesía, la pintura y el contacto con la naturaleza

«No one was more surprised than I was, then, to find myself quite abruptly speaking for someone who was supposed to have survived death.» — Jane Roberts consigna su propia sorpresa al encontrarse hablando por alguien que se decía sobreviviente de la muerte

«I berated myself at times, thinking that even my Irish grandmother would have found spirits in the living room rather hard to take—and I used to think she was superstitious!» — Jane Roberts mide la distancia con su abuela irlandesa, a quien tenía por supersticiosa y que habría hallado difícil lo que a ella le pasaba

«It took me a while to discover that I was being as prejudiced against the idea of survival as some others were for it.» — Jane Roberts declara haber descubierto en sí el prejuicio en contra de la supervivencia, simétrico del prejuicio a favor

«Now I realize that while I was priding myself on my openmindedness, my mental flexibility extended only to ideas that fit in with my own preconceptions.» — Jane Roberts enmienda su propia apertura mental: se extendía solo a lo que cabía en sus preconcepciones; el troceo parte *open-mindedness* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«Now I know that human personality has a far greater reality than we are usually prepared to give it.» — Jane Roberts enuncia la tesis a la que llegó sobre la realidad mayor de la personalidad humana

«Someone has produced over fifty notebooks of fascinating material, and even at my most skeptical moments I have to accept the reality of the sessions and the material.» — Jane Roberts apoya su aceptación en un hecho contable: más de cincuenta cuadernos producidos, que ni en el momento más escéptico puede negar

«The scope, quality, and theories of the material “hooked” us almost at once.» — Jane Roberts declara qué los enganchó a los dos: alcance, calidad y teorías del material

«Rob and I are both convinced that the Seth Material springs from sources beyond my self, and that it is much less distorted by pat, conventionalized symbolism than are other paranormal scripts we have encountered.» — Jane Roberts declara la convicción compartida con Butts: el material viene de fuentes más allá de su propio yo y está menos distorsionado por simbolismo convencional que otros escritos paranormales

«Seth says this material has been given by himself and others in other times and places, but that it is given again, in new ways, for each succeeding generation through the centuries.» — Jane Roberts recoge de Seth que el mismo material fue dado antes por él y por otros, y se vuelve a dar de modo nuevo a cada generación

«The reader will have to make his own judgments, but personally I do accept his theories as valid and significant.» — Jane Roberts deja el juicio al lector y a la vez declara el suyo: tiene las teorías por válidas y significativas

«Moreover, the riddle of such personalities as Seth—call it “spirit possession,” a “daemon” (as Socrates did)—has concerned mankind through the ages.» — Jane Roberts inscribe el enigma de personalidades como Seth en una serie larga y le da dos nombres corrientes, posesión espiritual y daemon, el segundo por Sócrates

«The Seth Material has completely changed my ideas of the nature of reality, and reinforced my sense of identity.» — Jane Roberts declara el efecto del material sobre ella: cambió sus ideas de la realidad y reforzó su sentido de identidad

«No longer do I feel as I did before, that man is the slave of time, illness, decay, and at the mercy of built-in destructive tendencies over which he has no control.» — Jane Roberts niega la imagen anterior del hombre como esclavo del tiempo, la enfermedad y la decadencia, a merced de tendencias destructivas incontrolables

«I feel in control of my own destiny as never before, and no longer ruled by patterns subconsciously set during my childhood.» — Jane Roberts declara sentirse dueña de su destino y no gobernada por patrones fijados en la infancia

«I don’t mean to imply that I feel myself entirely released from every worry and fear, only that I now know we do have the freedom to change ourselves and our environment, and that in a very basic manner, we ourselves form the environment to which we then react.» — Jane Roberts acota la afirmación anterior en la misma plana: no se declara libre de toda inquietud, sino con libertad para cambiarse y para formar el entorno al que después reacciona

«I believe that we form our own reality—now, and after death.» — Jane Roberts enuncia en una línea la tesis que el libro entero desarrolla

«Though Seth has appeared only once in a physical materialization, Rob has seen him clearly enough to paint a portrait of him that hangs in our living room» — Jane Roberts consigna una sola materialización física de Seth, y que Butts lo vio con claridad bastante para pintarlo

«Yet my own work continues: since the sessions began, I’ve written two books of nonfiction (not counting this one), two of poetry, and a dozen short stories.» — Jane Roberts opone a la cifra anterior su propia producción en el mismo lapso, y de ahí concluye que Seth no le robó energía creativa

«Someone who was familiar with psychic literature and paranormal experiences would have been better prepared for these events than I was, but I would not have missed them for the world.» — Jane Roberts cierra su introducción reconociendo que otra persona habría estado mejor preparada y declarando que no se habría perdido lo vivido

«parcel of the adults’ nonsense I’d thought I’d escaped, thanks to a college education, a quick mind, and a fine dose of native rebelliousness.» — Jane Roberts sitúa el alma sobreviviente entre las tonterías de adultos de las que se creía librada por la universidad y la rebeldía nativa; la frase arranca en la plana anterior con *A surviving soul seemed part and*

«The circumstances leading up to the Seth sessions still surprise me. I wasn’t drifting, looking for a sense of purpose, for example.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, niega el relato de conversión al uso: no andaba a la deriva ni buscando sentido

«My first novel had just been published in paperback, and all my energies were channeled into becoming a good novelist and poet. I considered nonfiction the field of journalists, not creative writers. I thought my life and work were planned, my course set.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, describe en qué estaba: recién publicada su primera novela en rústica y con la vida y el trabajo por planeados

«The year 1963 had been a poor one for us, though. Rob had severe back trouble, and hardly felt well enough to paint when he came home from work. I was having difficulties settling on another book idea. Our old pet dog, Mischa, had died.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, data en 1963 un mal año —la espalda de Rob, la falta de tema de libro, la muerte del perro— sin hacer de eso la causa

«Perhaps these circumstances made me more aware than usual of our human vulnerability, but certainly many people have had difficult years with no resulting emergence of psychic phenomena.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, propone y acota a la vez la explicación por la crisis: muchos tienen años difíciles sin que de ahí salga fenómeno psíquico alguno

«Perhaps, all unknowing, I had reached a crisis and my psychic abilities awoke as the result of inner need.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, deja la hipótesis del despertar por necesidad interior en condicional

«To my knowledge, I’d never had a psychic experience in my life, and I didn’t know anyone who had.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, declara no haber tenido nunca experiencia psíquica ni conocer a nadie que la tuviera

«Nothing in my background prepared me for the astonishing evening of September 9, 1963, yet it was this event, I’m sure, that initiated the sessions and my introduction to Seth.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, fecha el 9 de septiembre de 1963 el suceso que da inicio a las sesiones

«What happened next was like a “trip” without drugs. If someone had slipped me an LSD cube on the sly, the experience couldn’t have been more bizarre.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, compara la experiencia con un viaje de droga sin droga

«Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force, as if my skull were some sort of receiving station, turned up to unbearable volume.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, describe la irrupción como avalancha de ideas con el cráneo por estación receptora

«Not only ideas came through this channel, but sensations, intensified and pulsating. I was tuned in, turned on—whatever you want to call it—connected to some incredible sorce of energy.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, añade sensaciones al canal y se declara conectada a una fuente de energía; la capa de texto imprime *sorce*

«It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was suddenly flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, figura el mundo físico como papel de seda que esconde dimensiones infinitas y por el que ella fue lanzada con un desgarro

«My body sat at the table, my hands furiously scribbling down the words and ideas that flashed through my head. Yet I seemed to be somewhere else, at the same time, traveling through things. I went plummeting through a leaf, to find a whole universe open up; and then out again, drawn into new perspectives.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, declara la escisión: el cuerpo escribiendo en la mesa y ella viajando a través de las cosas, atravesando una hoja y hallando un universo

«I felt as if knowledge was being implanted in the very cells of my body so that I couldn’t forget it—a gut knowing, a biological spirituality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, llama a lo recibido saber de las entrañas y espiritualidad biológica, implantado en las células

«At the same time I remembered having a dream the night before, which I had forgotten, in which this same sort of experience had occurred. And I knew the two were connected.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, enlaza el episodio con un sueño olvidado de la noche anterior

«When I came to, I found myself scrawling what was obviously meant as the title of that odd batch of notes: The Physical Universe As Idea Construction.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, da el título que se encontró escrito al volver en sí, y que sería el manuscrito de partida del material

«In one of the early sessions Seth said that this had been his first attempt to contact me.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, recoge de una sesión temprana que Seth adjudicó a ese episodio su primer intento de contacto

«I only know that if I’d begun speaking for Seth that night, I would have been terrified.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, sostiene que hablar por Seth aquella noche la habría aterrado

«The word “revelation” came to mind and I tried to dismiss it, yet the word was apt. I was simply afraid of the term with its mystical implications.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna que el término revelación le vino y le pareció apto, y que le temía por sus implicaciones místicas

«I was familiar with inspiration in my own work, but this was as different from ordinary inspiration as a bird is from a worm!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, separa aquello de la inspiración que ya conocía en su oficio

«That morning and each morning until that time, I’d been sure of one thing: you could trust physical reality. You might not like it at times, but you could depend on it. You could change your ideas toward it if you chose, but this would in no way change what reality was.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, enuncia la certeza que traía y que el episodio le quitó: que se puede cambiar la idea de la realidad sin cambiar la realidad

«During that experience I knew that we formed physical matter, not the other way around;» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, enuncia la primera de las cosas que dice haber sabido allí: que la materia física la formamos nosotros

«that our senses showed us only one three-dimensional reality out of an infinite number that we couldn’t ordinarily perceive; that we could trust our senses only so far and only so long as we did not ask questions that were beyond their limited scope of knowledge.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, añade que los sentidos muestran una sola realidad tridimensional de un número infinito, y solo son de fiar dentro de su alcance

«But more: I just didn’t know, for example, that everything had its own consciousness. Now I suddenly felt the fantastic vitality present even in things I’d previously considered inanimate. A nail was sticking in the windowsill, and I experienced ever so briefly the consciousness of the atoms and molecules that composed it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, declara haber sentido la consciencia de los átomos de un clavo del alféizar, y de ahí que todo tenga consciencia propia

«Despite all my previous ideas and common sense, I knew that time wasn’t a series of moments one before the other, each one like a clothespin stuck on a line, but that all experience existed in some kind of eternal now.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, enuncia el tiempo como ahora eterno y no como serie de momentos tendidos como pinzas en una cuerda

«We are individualized portions of energy, materialized within physical existence, to learn to form ideas from energy, and make them physical (this is idea construction). We project ideas into an object, so that we can deal with it. But the object is the thought, materialized. This physical representation of idea permits us to learn the difference between the ‘I’ who thinks and the thought. Idea construction teaches the ‘I’ what it is, by showing it its own products in a physical manner. We learn by viewing our own creations, in other words. We learn the power and effects of ideas by changing them into physical realities; and we learn responsibility in the use of creative energy.» — Jane Roberts cita su propio manuscrito de 1963: somos porciones individualizadas de energía que aprenden a hacer físicas las ideas, y que al ver sus productos aprenden qué es el yo y qué responsabilidad trae la energía creativa

«The entity is the basic self, immortal, nonphysical. It communicates on an energy level with other entities, and has an almost inexhaustible supply of energy at its command. The individual is the portion of the whole self that we manage to express physically.» — el manuscrito citado por Roberts define la *entity* como el yo básico, inmortal y no físico, y al individuo como la porción del yo entero que se expresa físicamente

«The eye projects and focuses the inner image (idea) onto the physical world in the same manner that a motion-picture camera transfers an image onto a screen. The mouth creates words. The ears create sound. The difficulty in understanding this principle is due to the fact that we’ve taken it for granted that the image and sound already exist for the senses to interpret. Actually the senses are the channels of creation by which idea is projected into material expression.» — el mismo manuscrito compara el ojo con una cámara que proyecta la idea sobre el mundo, y hace de los sentidos canales de creación y no de interpretación

«The basic idea is that the senses are developed, not to permit awareness of an already existing material world, but to create it.» — el manuscrito enuncia la tesis en su forma más corta: los sentidos se desarrollaron para crear el mundo material, no para percibir uno ya hecho

«The subconscious is the threshold of idea’s emergence into the individual conscious mind. It connects the entity and the individual. … The physical body is the material construction of the entity’s idea of itself under the properties of matter.» — el manuscrito redefine términos viejos: el subconsciente como umbral por donde la idea emerge, y el cuerpo como construcción material de la idea que la entidad tiene de sí

«Instinct is the minimum ability for idea construction necessary for physical survival. … The present is the apparent point of any idea’s emergence into physical matter.» — el manuscrito cierra sus definiciones con el instinto como mínimo de construcción de ideas para sobrevivir y el presente como punto aparente de emergencia

«I think that this experience and the manuscript were extensions of the creative subconscious processes that are behind each creative act: normal creativity suddenly “turned on” or stepped up to an almost incredible degree.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, explica el episodio como creatividad normal subida de golpe a un grado casi increíble

«For this reason I believe such experiences to be of utmost importance psychologically. I’m certain that the affair set off the emergence of my own unsuspected “psychic” abilities and acted as a trigger for the production of the Seth Material.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, sostiene que ese episodio disparó sus facultades psíquicas y sirvió de gatillo al material entero

«Because of my early training as a writer, they emerged through words, rather than, say, visions, and in an experience that wouldn’t frighten me too much.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, atribuye a su oficio de escritora que las facultades le salieran por palabras y no por visiones

«I’d also like to mention here that I believe psychic ability itself is an outcropping or extension of creative abilities, inherent in each of us, and therefore normal rather than supranormal.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, enuncia su tesis sobre la facultad psíquica: brote de la creatividad que todos tienen, y por tanto normal y no supranormal

«As you’ll see later, however, I do think that these abilities are attributes of another portion of our personalities with which we’re relatively unfamiliar. I think, then, that normal creative abilities, stepped up, tune us into other dimensions of reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, acota esa tesis en la misma plana: son atributos de otra porción de la personalidad, poco familiar, y la creatividad subida sintoniza otras dimensiones

«Following this episode, even my ordinary subjective experiences began to change. Very shortly afterward I began to recall my dreams—suddenly, and for no apparent reason. It was like discovering a second life.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, data en los días siguientes el recuerdo súbito de sus sueños, que llama descubrir una segunda vida

«Not only that, but in the next two months I had two vivid precognitive dreams, the first, to my knowledge, that I ever had.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, cuenta dos sueños precognitivos en los dos meses siguientes, los primeros que se conoce

«Rob picked up the book and said jokingly, “Why don’t you do a do-it-yourself book on ESP?”» — Robert Butts, según el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, propone en broma el libro de ESP que acabaría llevando a las sesiones

«But you’re interested in dreams, certainly after those two particular ones you had. And what do you call that experience you had last month? Besides, the books we’ve seen have dealt only with well-known mediums. But what about ordinary people? What if everyone has those abilities?” I stared at him. He’d turned quite serious. “Couldn’t you work out a series of experiments and try them out? Use yourself as a guinea pig.» — Butts, según Roberts, propone el giro que distingue el libro: no los médiums célebres sino la gente común, y ella misma de conejillo de indias

«Within a week I’d developed a group of experiments designed to discover whether or not the ordinary person could develop extrasensory abilities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, cifra en una semana el diseño de los experimentos con que probaría si una persona común desarrolla facultades extrasensoriales

«We’d never been to a medium. We’d never had a telepathic experience in our lives, never even seen a Ouija board.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, declara el punto de partida de los dos: ni médium, ni telepatía, ni tablero visto nunca

«We settled on the Ouija board first, because it seemed the least complicated of our various experiments. Our landlady found a board in the attic and we borrowed it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, cuenta por qué empezaron por el tablero Ouija y de dónde salió: el desván de la casera

«Actually both of us were a little embarrassed the first few times we tried the board. My attitude was, “Well, let’s get this out of the way so we can really get down to the things we’re interested in, like telepathy and clairvoyance.” No wonder our first attempts were failures.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna la vergüenza de los dos y la actitud con que empezó, y adjudica a eso el fracaso de los primeros intentos

«The third time we tried it, the little pointer finally began to move beneath our fingertips. It spelled out messages supposedly coming from a Frank Withers (not the real name) who had lived in Elmira and died during the 1940’s.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, data en el tercer intento el movimiento del puntero y el nombre que dio, Frank Withers, que ella declara cambiado

«We were surprised that the board worked for us. I thought it was a riot, two adults watching the pointer go scurrying across the board, and we didn’t take it too seriously. For one thing, of course, neither of us particularly believed in life after death— certainly not conscious life, capable of communicating.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna la sorpresa y la incredulidad de los dos, que no creían en vida consciente después de la muerte

«Later on, we did learn that a man with the communicator’s name was known to have lived in Elmira, and died in the 1940’s—that took me back a bit.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna la comprobación posterior —alguien con ese nombre vivió y murió en Elmira— y su propio efecto, sin sacar conclusión

«But we were much more interested in finding out what made the pointer move than in the messages it gave.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, declara que al principio les interesaba el mecanismo del puntero y no el contenido

«Then, on December 8, 1963, we sat at the board again, wondering whether or not it would work. It was a comfortable evening, warm in the room. Snow fell past the windows. Then suddenly the pointer began to move so quickly that we could hardly keep up with it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, fecha el 8 de diciembre de 1963 la sesión en que el puntero se aceleró

«Frank Withers had given simple one- or two-word responses in previous sessions. Now the answers became longer, and their character seemed to change. The atmosphere of the room was somehow different.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna el cambio: de respuestas de una o dos palabras a respuestas largas, con el carácter y la atmósfera cambiados

«CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE A FLOWER WITH MANY PETALS, replied the pointer.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, da su primera formulación doctrinal con una imagen: la consciencia como flor de muchos pétalos

«THEY ARE WHAT I AM, BUT I WILL BE MORE. PUN: THE WHOLE IS THE SUM OF ITS HEARTS.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, responde sobre sus reencarnaciones que son lo que él es y que será más, y marca el juego de palabras entre *parts* y *hearts*

«SUBCONSCIOUS IS A CORRIDOR. WHAT DIFERENCE DOES IT MAKE WHICH DOOR YOU TRAVEL THROUGH?» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, contesta a la pregunta de Butts sobre si todo es el subconsciente de Jane con un corredor de puertas; la capa de texto imprime *DIFERENCE*

«YES. I PREFER NOT TO BE CALLED FRANK WITHERS. THAT PERSONALITY WAS RATHER COLORLESS.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, retira el nombre de Frank Withers y lo califica de personalidad descolorida

«TO GOD, ALL NAMES ARE HIS NAME, the pointer spelled.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, elude la pregunta por su nombre con una fórmula sobre los nombres de Dios

«YOU MAY CALL ME WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE. I CALL MYSELF SETH. IT FITS THE ME OF ME, THE PERSONALITY MORE CLEARLY APPROXIMATING THE WHOLE SELF I AM, OR AM TRYING TO BE. JOSEPH IS YOUR WHOLE SELF, MORE OR LESS, THE IMAGE OF THE SUM OF YOUR VARIOUS PERSONALITIES IN THE PAST AND FUTURE.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, se da el nombre de Seth por ajustarse al yo entero que es o trata de ser, y da a Butts el nombre de Joseph por su yo entero; es el pasaje donde nace el nombre que da título al libro

«All this was spelled out so quickly that we could hardly keep our hands on the pointer. Despite myself, I leaned closer. The back of my neck prickled. What was going on?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, consigna su propia reacción física ante la velocidad del puntero

«RUBURT. We looked at each other again. I grimaced. “Would you clear that up a bit?” Rob said. WHAT’S TO CLEAR?» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, da a Roberts el nombre de Ruburt y se niega a explicarlo

«VERTEBRA 1 DIDN’T CHANNEL VITAL FORCE THROUGH ORGANISM. RESTRAINED BY FEARS PINCHING NERVES. EXPANSION OF SPIRIT ALLOWS PHYSICAL ORGANISM TO EXPAND, RELEASES PRESSURES.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, diagnostica el dolor de espalda de Butts como fuerza vital no canalizada por la primera vértebra, con los nervios pinzados por miedos

«(A few weeks later, though, Rob had some more difficulty with his back and went to a chiropractor who told him that his first vertebra was out of alignment.)» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, añade entre paréntesis la comprobación posterior del quiropráctico sobre la primera vértebra, y la consigna sin declararla prueba

«Maybe he’s a part of both of our subconscious minds in a way we don’t understand,” I said. “Maybe,” Rob said, then added with a grin, “Maybe he actually is someone who survived death.”» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, reproduce el desacuerdo de la noche: ella propone el subconsciente compartido y Butts, en broma, la supervivencia

«If there are spirits, they must have better things to do than going around moving Ouija boards.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, objeta con sorna al espiritismo: si hay espíritus, tendrán mejor cosa que hacer que mover tableros

«The next two were much the same, except for one bewildering element: I began to anticipate the board’s replies.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, data el fenómeno que rompió la rutina: empezó a anticipar las respuestas del tablero

«SHE IS CONCERNED BECAUSE SHE RECEIVES MY MESSAGES BEFORE THEY ARE SPELLED OUT. IT WOULD MAKE YOU CAUTIOUS, TOO.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, explica la reserva de Roberts por la recepción anticipada de los mensajes; la capa de texto espacía la línea

«A BOARD IS NEUTRAL. MESSAGES IN THE MIND ARE NOT.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, traza la diferencia que inquietaba a Roberts entre tablero y mente: el tablero es neutral y el mensaje en la mente no

«A FRAGMENT OF HIS OWN ENTITY, A PAST PERSONALITY REGAINING MOMENTARY INDEPENDENCE ON VISUAL PLANE. SOMETIMES A LAPSE OCCURS OF THIS TYPE.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, explica la aparición que vio el amigo Bill Macdonell como fragmento de la propia entidad de él, una personalidad pasada que recobra independencia momentánea en el plano visual

«IN SOME SUBMERGED MANNER, ALL FRAGMENTS OF A PERSONALITY EXIST WITHIN AN ENTITY, WITH THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL CONSCIOUSNESS» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, sostiene que todos los fragmentos de una personalidad existen dentro de la entidad con consciencia individual propia; el puntero se detuvo ahí y Roberts continuó la frase en voz alta

«I felt as if I were standing, shivering, on the top of a high diving board, trying to make myself jump while all kinds of people were waiting impatiently behind me. Actually it was the words that pushed at me—they seemed to rush through my mind. In some crazy fashion I felt as if they’d back up, piles of nouns and verbs in my head until they closed everything else off if I didn’t speak them. And without really knowing how or why, I opened up my mouth and let them out.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, describe el paso del tablero a la voz como un salto de trampolín, con las palabras apilándose hasta que abrió la boca

«For the first time I began to speak for Seth, continuing the sentences the board had spelled out only a moment before.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, fecha ahí la primera vez que habló por Seth, continuando la frase que el tablero había empezado

«When Bill saw the image and reocgnized its presence, the fragment itself seemed to have a dream. The entity operates its fragments in what you would call a subconscious manner, that is, without conscious direction. The entity gives the fragment independent life, then the entity more or less forgets the fragment. When a momentary lapse of control occurs, they both come face to face. It’s as impossible for the entity to control fragment personalities as for the conscious mind to control the body’s heartbeat.» — Seth, según Roberts que lo dice ya con su propia voz, describe el fragmento como soñando, operado por la entidad sin dirección consciente, y compara el descontrol con el del latido; la capa de texto imprime *reocgnized*

«Could you hear yourself?” he asked. I nodded, bewildered. “Dimly, as if a radio program was going on in my head from some other station.» — Roberts responde a Butts que se oía a sí misma como un programa de radio de otra estación

«Seth, would you verify Jane’s reception of the above message?” Rob asked. YES. IT SHOULD MAKE HER FEEL BETTER.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, da por buena la recepción anticipada de Roberts cuando Butts se lo pregunta al volver al tablero

«OF COURSE. I WILL TRY TO THINK OF A GOOD ANALOGY TO MAKE THE POINT CLEARER. EVEN THOUGHTS, FOR INSTANCE, ARE FRAGMENTS, THOUGH ON A DIFFERENT PLANE» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, responde que sí se puede encontrar en la calle un fragmento de uno mismo, y añade que hasta los pensamientos son fragmentos en otro plano

«They have to be translated into physical reality. Fragments of another sort, called personality fragments, operate independently, though under the auspices of the entity.» — Seth, según Roberts que termina en voz alta el mensaje del tablero, distingue los fragmentos de personalidad, que obran con independencia bajo los auspicios de la entidad

«YES, replied the pointer. IT PERKS HER UP NOT TO HAVE TO WAIT AROUND FOR THE BOARD TO SPELL OUT THE ANSWERS.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, aprueba la respuesta hablada de Roberts y dice que le anima no esperar al deletreo

«NOT VERY GOOD. ANY CONTACTS ON YOUR PART WILL PROBABLY INCLUDE INTERNAL VISUAL DATA. JANE WILL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO RECEIVE ME DIRECT. IN EITHER CASE, CONTACT IS NOT POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES. YOU WOULD FIND THIS MORE EMBARRASSING THAN I WOULD.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, reparte las vías de contacto entre los dos: dato visual interno para Butts y recepción directa para Roberts, y advierte que el contacto no es posible a toda hora

«I don’t know what Rob would have thought then if he’d realized what Seth meant by “internal visual data,” though; and writing this now I just remembered that he was pretty surprised when his first few internal visions appeared with extraordinary vividness.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo uno, anticipa que el *internal visual data* del tablero se cumpliría en las visiones internas de Butts

«“Can you give us the year of your death?” 1942 “Did you know either of us?”» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, fecha su propia muerte en 1942 y niega haber conocido a ninguno de los dos; la serie de preguntas sigue en la plana siguiente

«“Were you married?” YES “Is your wife alive or dead?” DEAD “What was her first name?” URSULA “What was her last name?” ALTERI “What was your nationality?” ENGLISH “What was her nationality?” ITALIAN “In what year were you born?” 1885» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, completa el interrogatorio biográfico de Butts: casado, esposa muerta de nombre Ursula Alteri, él inglés y ella italiana, nacido en 1885

«The next time we tried a few days later, Frank Withers said that he had been a soldier in Turkey during one life, and insisted (through the board) that he had known Rob and me in a city called Triev, in Denmark, in still another life.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas,, bajo el nombre de Frank Withers, declara haber sido soldado en Turquía en una vida y haber conocido a los dos en una ciudad llamada Triev, en Dinamarca, en otra

«locations were given, though it was made clear that Triev no longer exists.» — la voz del tablero, que el volumen imprime en versalitas, da fechas y lugares y a la vez declara que Triev ya no existe; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Almost immediately I heard the words in my head, as before, but I insisted on starting with the board. The pointer moved before either of us said a thing. YES. GOOD EVENING.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna que el puntero se movió antes de que ninguno hablara

«Rob yawned, and the pointer spelled out: I HOPE IT’S NOT THE COMPANY.» — la voz del tablero contesta al bostezo de Butts con una broma; es el primer rasgo de humor que el volumen le atribuye

«But there are different kinds. Personality fragments differ from others in that they can cause other fragments to form from themselves» — Seth, según Roberts,, ya por su boca, distingue los fragmentos de personalidad por poder hacer que otros se formen de ellos

«Rob said it was as if I were reading from some invisible manuscript. My eyes were wide open. At that point I utterly refused to close them, nor would I sit down. Whatever was happening, I was going to be on my feet so I could have a good running start for the door in case I got worried.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, describe cómo hablaba: de pie, con los ojos muy abiertos y negándose a cerrarlos por si había que salir corriendo

«The present individual in any given life could be called a fragment of his entire entity, having all the properties of the original entity, though they remain latent or unused. The image that your friend saw was a personality fragment of his own. It contained all the abilities of your friend, whether latent or not I do not know. This type of personality fragment is of different origin than your friend, who is himself a fragment of his own entity. We call this type a split personality fragment or a personality image fragment. Usually it cannot operate on all levels of your physical plane.» — Seth, según Roberts, define al individuo de cada vida como fragmento de su entidad entera, con las propiedades del original latentes, y llama al de la aparición fragmento escindido o fragmento imagen de personalidad

«An individual may send a personality fragment image into another level of existence entirely, even without his own conscious knowledge. It may gain valuable information on this other level, and then return. Sometimes the individual is not capable of assimilating this knowledge, or even of recognizing his own returning personality image. The type of fragment your friend saw was of this type, but so disconnected from your friend, and so absentmindedly was it sent upon its travels, that its information was probably passed directly to the entity which your friend represents.» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene que un individuo puede enviar un fragmento imagen a otro nivel sin saberlo, y que la información vuelve a veces directamente a la entidad

«Increased concentration of the conscious individual is the trend. Then these split personality fragments or images can be kept under scrutiny without taxing the present ego to distraction. Now, what you would call the subconscious performs this task; not too well, since it was never meant to focus clear attention. Consciousness will expand within your plane. The scope of consciousness will be so broadened that all personality fragments, split personality images, and individual fragments in succeeding incarnations will be held in clear focus without strain. It is toward this that evolution is headed, though of course, at its usual donkey-slow rate.» — Seth, según Roberts, enuncia hacia dónde va la evolución: una consciencia lo bastante ancha para tener a la vista todos los fragmentos sin esfuerzo; la tarea la hace hoy el subconsciente, que no fue hecho para eso

«While speaking I had no idea of the meaning of the words, so it wasn’t until our next rest period that I knew what Seth had been saying.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, declara que al hablar no sabía lo que decía y solo se enteraba en el descanso

«The man and woman in the York Beach dancing establishment … were fragments of your selves, thrown-off materializations of your own negative and aggressive feelings … the images were formed by the culminating energy of your destructive energies at the time. While you did not recognize them consciously, unconsciously you knew them well. Unconsciously you saw the image of your destructive tendencies, and these images themselves roused you to combat them.» — Seth, según Roberts, identifica a la pareja del salón de York Beach como fragmentos de los dos, materializaciones de sus propias energías destructivas, reconocidas inconscientemente

«In late 1963, some months before our sessions began, we’d taken a vacation in York Beach, Maine, hoping that a change of environment would improve Rob’s health. The doctor didn’t know what was wrong with his back and suggested that he spend some time under traction in the hospital. Instead we decided that his reaction to stress was at least partially responsible, hence the trip.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, data el episodio de York Beach a finales de 1963 y explica el viaje por la espalda de Butts

«Then I noticed an older couple sitting across the room from us. They really frightened me by their uncanny resemblance to Rob and myself. Did we look like that—aloof, bitter—only younger?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, describe el parecido inquietante de la pareja mayor con ellos dos

«To my complete amazement Rob stood up, grabbed my arm, and insisted that we dance. A minute earlier, he’d hardly been able to walk.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna lo que ninguno pudo explicar: Butts, que apenas caminaba, se levantó a bailar

«We hadn’t danced together in the eight years of our marriage, and the band was playing a twist, with which we were entirely unfamiliar at the time. Moreover, Rob wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was afraid of making a fool of myself, but Rob dragged me out on the dance floor. We danced for the rest of the evening, and from that point on his physical condition improved remarkably. His whole outlook on life seemed brighter as of that moment.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, declara el efecto: bailaron el resto de la noche y desde entonces la salud y el ánimo de Butts mejoraron

«Looking back, you can say that the effect was therapeutic, but if you had subconsciously accepted the images, it would have marked the beginning of a severe deterioration for you both, personally and creatively. Again, the images marked the critical culmination of your destructive energies. The fact that the images were of yourselves shows that your destructive energies were turned inward, even though materialized in physical form.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el efecto terapéutico con su reverso: aceptar las imágenes habría abierto un deterioro grave, y que fueran de ellos mismos muestra energía destructiva vuelta hacia dentro

«Your dancing represented the first move away from what those images meant, and violent action was the best thing under the circumstances … a subtle transformation could have taken place in which you and Jane transferred the bulk of your personalities into the fragments you had yourselves created … and from their eyes watched yourselves across the room. In this case your present dominant personalities would no longer be dominant.» — Seth, según Roberts, interpreta el baile como el primer paso fuera de aquello, y describe lo que no llegó a pasar: el traslado del grueso de las personalidades a los fragmentos

«Neither of us had ever heard about thought-forms then, and the whole thing sounded incredible to me. And yet, I thought, psychologists talk about projection and transference by which we project our fears outward to another person or object and then react to them.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna que entonces no sabían de formas-pensamiento y acerca la idea a la proyección y la transferencia de los psicólogos

«“Maybe Seth means a symbolic creation?” I said. But soon the words started coming again, and it became obvious that Seth was insisting upon a literal materialization.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, propone la lectura simbólica y consigna que Seth insistía en una materialización literal; el desacuerdo queda dentro del libro

«The projected fragments disappeared. They stood up, walked across the floor, and disappeared in the crowd. They had no power to leave the place where they were born unless you gave it to them. Remember that they did exist … by the same token your triumph reinforced the healthy aspects of your present egos.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a Butts que los fragmentos se disolvieron entre la gente, que no podían salir del lugar donde nacieron sin permiso de sus autores, y que el triunfo reforzó los egos presentes

«Seth’s explanation of the York Beach affair made intuitive sense to us. Certainly something significant had happened that night, but had we actually materialized the physical images of our hidden fears? Did people do this often? If so, the implications were staggering. Or was the explanation psychologically and symbolically valid, but practically a lot of nonsense?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, deja en preguntas su propio juicio sobre la explicación: intuitivamente atinada, y sin decidir si la materialización fue literal o solo válida como símbolo

«Seth gave us a detailed account of two past lives and began a reincarnational history of Rob’s family. The material contained some excellent psychological insights; using them, we found ourselves getting along much better with our relatives.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna el contenido de la sesión siguiente: dos vidas pasadas y una historia reencarnatoria de la familia de Butts, que a ellos les sirvió con los parientes

«But I didn’t like this insistence upon reincarnation at all. “The psychological insights are great,” I said to Rob at break. “But the reincarnational part is probably fantasy. Delightful, but fantasy.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, separa lo que acepta de lo que no: los hallazgos psicológicos sí, la parte reencarnatoria la tiene por fantasía

«“You don’t have to make your mind up one way or the other tonight, do you?” Rob asked. “What’s the rush? See what else he has to say. Besides, I’ve learned as much about my family tonight as I have all my life. That’s worth something.» — Robert Butts, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, propone aplazar el juicio y se queda con lo aprendido sobre su familia

«The images represented a culmination of many years’ experience of a negative trend. If you had accepted them, you would have ended up as replicas as you transferred into the images. Yet, what creativity and constructiveness you possessed would have softened the faces. You would be recognizable to friends but changes would be noted. The remark would be made that perhaps you didn’t seem the same, and with good reason.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a Butts qué habría pasado de aceptar las imágenes: acabarían por réplicas, con los rostros suavizados por lo que tuvieran de creativo y reconocibles con cambios

«There was an afternoon in a small park when you were a child about eleven. You thought you were alone. It was close to five, September 17, on a day when there was no school. Another boy appeared. You had not seen him approach and took it for granted that he came by way of a walk that wound around a bandstand. He had jacks in his hand. You looked at each other and were about to speak, when a squirrel ran up a nearby tree. “You turned to watch and when you turned back, the boy was gone. For a short time you wondered, and then the incident was forgotten. As a matter of fact, at the same time your brother, Loren, was looking out the window of your father’s shop [across the way] and saw nothing.» — Seth, según Roberts, data un episodio de infancia de Butts con hora, fecha y testigo negativo: el hermano Loren mirando por la ventana del taller del padre no vio nada

«Occasionally a personality will astound itself by such an image production. Usually this type vanishes by the time the personality reaches adulthood. In childhood, however, such instances are frequent. Often when a child cries about a bogeyman, what he has seen is such an image production or fibrous projection, formed by vivid desire on the part of the subconscious.» — Seth, según Roberts, generaliza el caso a la infancia y adjudica a esa producción de imágenes lo que el niño llama el coco

«“But reincarnation—and kids forming fragment personalities or whatever as playmates?” I frowned. “Still, it’s fascinating as the dickens. And think what it means if it’s true!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna su propia oscilación entre el rechazo y la fascinación

«And think of the people we’ve known who suddenly seem entirely different than they used to be, in ways we can’t fathom,” Rob said. “If Seth’s right, they actually became the destructive images they had of themselves.» — Butts, según Roberts, saca de la tesis una consecuencia sobre los conocidos que cambian sin que se sepa por qué

«In the same way that the body’s proteins and chemicals can be used to form various kinds of images, they may also be utilized to form an ulcer, goiter, or to affect other changes [in the body itself]. Here particular emotions are denied, dissociated. The individual does not want to accept them as a part of the self. Instead of projecting them outward as you did in the York Beach images, they are directed to a specific area of the body, or in other cases allowed to wander, traveling troublemakers, so to speak, through the body’s physical system.» — Seth, según Roberts, extiende el mismo mecanismo a la enfermedad: la emoción negada se dirige a un área del cuerpo y hace la úlcera o el bocio, o vaga por el sistema

«Then, however, all of this was new to us. For all I knew, Seth was a secondary personality himself, and at this point we could have dropped the sessions. Though we found them intriguing, we certainly weren’t convinced that Seth was someone who had survived death. Most likely, we thought, he was a very lively portion of my own subconscious.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dos, consigna que en ese punto tenían a Seth por personalidad secundaria o porción viva de su propio subconsciente, y no por un sobreviviente de la muerte

«IN A SENSE, ALL THINGS COULD BE CALLED FRAGMENTS» — la voz del tablero responde a Butts, que pregunta si las plantas y los árboles son fragmentos, que en cierto sentido todo puede llamarse así

«It was a personality fragment of your own. You were wishing for a playmate, and were jealous because your brother stayed so long with your father. Quite without knowing it, you materialized a personality fragment as a playmate.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el compañero de juegos de la infancia de Butts como fragmento de personalidad materializado por el deseo y por los celos del hermano

«give any permanence to the image. “Occasionally a personality will astound itself by such an image production. Usually this type vanishes by the time the personality reaches adulthood. In childhood, however, such instances are frequent.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota que el niño no puede dar permanencia a la imagen y que el caso es frecuente en la infancia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Now as to the York Beach images. Here aggressive and» — Seth, según Roberts,, en una sesión tres años posterior que Roberts intercala, vuelve sobre las imágenes de York Beach; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«destructive energies were unconsciously projected outward, given a pseudo-reality and temporary physical validity. The emotional charge provides the pattern and impetus for such creations. According to the extent of physical reality to be achieved, the physical body of the originator transfers or transposes portions of its own chemical structure. Proteins are used, and there is a high carbohydrate loss.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el mecanismo de la proyección: carga emocional que da patrón e impulso, y transposición de la estructura química del propio cuerpo, con proteínas usadas y pérdida alta de carbohidratos

«In his discussions on health, Seth has always maintained that illness is often the result of dissociated and inhibited emotions. The psyche attempts to get rid of them by projecting them into a specific area of the body; in the case of ulcers, the diverted energy goes into the actual production of the ulcer itself.» — Jane Roberts resume la doctrina de salud del material: la enfermedad como resultado de emociones disociadas e inhibidas que la psique proyecta a un área del cuerpo

«If really large areas of the self are inhibited, a secondary personality can be formed, grouped about those qualities distrusted and denied by the primary ego, and usually opposed to it. In other instances, the inhibited emotions can be projected outward into other persons, or as in the case of the York Beach images, very charged repressed energy can actually form pseudophysical images which present the personality with the physically materialized image of his fears.» — Roberts continúa el resumen: con áreas grandes inhibidas se forma una personalidad secundaria opuesta al yo primario, y en casos como el de York Beach imágenes pseudofísicas del propio miedo

«Seth made no demands of any kind upon either of us.» — Roberts añade el segundo rasgo que no encaja con la personalidad secundaria: Seth no les exigía nada

«By now we’d done enough reading to worry about the secondary personality angle. There was no evidence of excessive emotionalism in the material,» — Jane Roberts mide a Seth contra el patrón de la personalidad secundaria y señala que no hay en el material emocionalismo excesivo; la enumeración sigue en la plana siguiente con *no repressed hates, prejudices, or desires*

«An experimental séance was the next on the list of experiments for my book. We had only the foggiest idea of what a séance was, never having attended one.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, declara que la sesión de espiritismo era un experimento de su libro y que no habían asistido nunca a una

«Bill dropped by on the evening of January 2, 1964, and on the spur of the moment I suggested that the three of us give it a try.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, fecha la sesión el 2 de enero de 1964 y nombra al tercero, Bill Macdonell

«Watch the mound,’ Seth said, with more than a little satisfaction. ‘See the color change and the shadows in the palm disappear? If you want a demonstration, then you shall have it, silly as it is» — Seth, según Roberts, pide mirar el monte de la palma y califica de tonta la demostración que él mismo ofrece

«‘For a first attempt, I’m doing beautifully,’ Seth said. ‘What do you think of that? Take a good look.» — Seth, según Roberts, se felicita por el resultado de su primer intento y pide que se mire bien

«Now the hand changes again,’ Seth said. ‘It becomes a stubby fat one. Frank Withers had a hand like that, just like that. Frank Withers was a fathead,’ he said, with great satisfaction, even though Frank was, according to Seth, a personality fragment of his own entity.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la mano la de Frank Withers y lo llama cabeza hueca, aunque según él mismo Withers sea fragmento de personalidad de su propia entidad

«Now,’ Seth said to me, ‘very carefully reach out and touch the hand. I want you to touch it, so that you can feel what it is like.» — Seth, según Roberts, invita a Butts a tocar la mano para que compruebe por el tacto

«Now the three of you see your reflections clearly in the mirror, just as you should. Watch, for I’ll change Jane’s image and replace it with another,’ Seth said.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia por adelantado que cambiará la imagen de Jane en el espejo

«During the séance I hadn’t been a bit nervous or frightened. Toward the end, though, I was shocked to see such a difference between my mirror image and myself. I think that I was momentarily afraid that I really looked like that. After all, that’s a normal enough reaction—usually when you look into a mirror, it gives a faithful reproduction, and no woman is going to be pleased to see a weird-looking apparition staring back.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, retoma su propia voz y explica su sobresalto ante el reflejo por la expectativa corriente de que el espejo reproduzca con fidelidad

«When Seth took over, his confidence knocked all other ideas or doubts from my mind. Yet my eyes were open all the while. I could examine the differences between my hands, for example, and see the other set of fingers, and the white glow that ran up to the edge of my rolled-up sweater. I seemed to “click out” when Seth spoke, yet a tremendous sense of energy rushed through me as he did so. Except for the mirror image at the end, nothing bothered me.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, describe su estado durante el trance: ojos abiertos, capacidad de examinar sus manos, sensación de desconectarse y a la vez de energía atravesándola

«But as soon as the séance was over, I was appalled. Instead of being encouraged by Seth’s part in the events, we were upset. We all knew what we had seen. Rob had even touched the hand at one time, and Seth had given us many occasions to check effects as they occurred. We couldn’t accept the evidence of our senses, nor could we really deny such obvious evidence. Though we were trying the experiment for the book, we thought that seances were kooky, somehow unrespectable. We didn’t want Seth involved, and specifically had made a point of not asking for him.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, consigna el efecto contrario al esperado: en vez de aliento, disgusto, y la imposibilidad de aceptar o negar la evidencia de los sentidos; declara que tenían las sesiones de espiritismo por poco respetables y que a propósito no habían pedido a Seth

«My intellectual skepticism was aroused simply because the affair had been so successful. We argued back and forth as to whether or not suggestion could have been responsible, but we knew that this could not explain half of what happened. It could hardly explain the bumpy quality Rob had felt in my hand, or the second set of fingers, though we decided that it could perhaps have accounted for the odd mirror image.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, reparte lo que la sugestión podría y no podría explicar: no la textura grumosa ni el segundo juego de dedos, quizá sí el reflejo

«Actually, for the first time in our lives we found ourselves experiencing events that we couldn’t explain, and doubting the obvious evidence of our senses—an uncomfortable spot for anyone. The affair had such an effect upon us that I wouldn’t try that kind of a séance again for three years.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, declara el efecto duradero: tres años sin repetir una sesión de ese tipo

«From then on, we always kept lights on for easier checking of any effects that might appear.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, consigna el cambio de protocolo que sacaron de aquello: luz encendida siempre

«Later work has convinced me that psychic phenomena do not simply appear because we want them to, or as the result of suggestion alone. Other, later effects happened in full light, in a few of my ESP classes, for example. The Seth apparition also appeared in full light. I’ve also known incidents since, when groups of highly suggestible people with little critical sense have gathered in dark rooms expecting all kinds of apparitions—and nothing happened at all.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, objeta a la explicación por sugestión con dos datos propios: efectos en plena luz y grupos sugestionables en cuartos oscuros donde no pasó nada

«I think Rob and I were angry at being brought up short, forced to face issues we weren’t ready to face. Everything was happening so fast. It hadn’t been a month yet since we began with the Ouija board. Our ideas of what was possible were being turned topsy-turvy.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, atribuye el enfado de los dos a verse forzados a encarar asuntos para los que no estaban listos

«For the first time Seth really “came through” as a definite other personality, laughing and joking. Rob just couldn’t believe that he was speaking to me, in any ordinary terms.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, data en esa sesión la primera vez que Seth se presentó como personalidad definida y distinta

«For nearly three hours I spoke for Seth, striding up and down the room, joking, pausing now and then for Rob to catch up with his notes, and delivering this monologue, using gestures and facial expressions, verbal expressions and inflections, entirely different from my own. I spoke steadily, without hesitation, breaking up serious philosophical material with jovial comments, much like a professor at a small seminar.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, describe cómo hablaba por Seth: tres horas de pie, con gestos e inflexiones ajenos a los suyos y aire de profesor en seminario

«Again think in terms of your plane, bounded by its small spindly set of wires, and my plane on the other side. These, as I have said, have boundless solidarity and depth, yet to one side, the other is transparent. You cannot see through, but the two planes move through each other constantly. I hope you see what I have done here. I have initiated the idea of motion, for true transparency is not the ability to see through, but to move through.» — Seth, según Roberts, define la transparencia no como poder ver a través sino como poder moverse a través, y ahí introduce el movimiento

«So real are the wall constructions of your room that you would freeze in winter without them, yet there is no room and there are no walls. So, in a like manner, the wires that we constructed are real, though there are no wires. The walls of your room are transparent to me, though I am not sure I would perform, dear Joseph and Ruburt, for a party demonstration.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara los alambres con las paredes del cuarto: reales para quien se congelaría sin ellas y transparentes para él, aunque se niega a hacer la demostración de salón

«Nevertheless, those walls are transparent. So are the wires, but for practical purposes we must behave as if both were there. … Again if you will consider our maze of wires, I will ask you to imagine them filling up everything that is, with your plane and my plane like two small bird’s nests in the nestlike fabric of some gigantic tree.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide imaginar la red llenándolo todo, con los dos planos como nidos en el tejido de un árbol enorme

«Consider that these wires are mobile, constantly trembling, and also alive in that they not only carry the stuff of the universe but are themselves projections of it, and you will see how difficult this is to explain. Nor can I blame you for growing tired, when after asking you to imagine this strange structure, I then insist that you tear it apart, for it is no more to be actually seen or touched than is the buzzing of a million invisible bees.» — Seth, según Roberts, añade que los alambres están vivos y son proyecciones de la materia del universo, y reconoce la dificultad de explicar algo que pide construir y desarmar a la vez

«At one time or another, all of us on my plane give such lessons, but psychic bonds between teacher and pupils are necessary, which means that we must wait until personalities on your plane have progressed sufficiently for lessons to begin. Lessons then are conducted with those psychically bound to us.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que en su plano todos dan lecciones así, y que hacen falta lazos psíquicos entre maestro y discípulo, de modo que hay que esperar a que la personalidad del otro plano progrese

«There is nothing wrong and perhaps much to be gained,” he said, “in trying whatever experiments you want on your own. Call it homework if you like. Perhaps I’ll even give you a Gold Star, although if I know you, you will probably insist that the teacher give the proverbial apple to the pupils instead of the other way around.» — Seth, según Roberts, autoriza a experimentar por cuenta propia, lo llama tarea y bromea con la estrella dorada y la manzana del maestro

«It is a matter of formality in that it renews contact in a familiar manner, and also, I have always been partial to formality to some extent. The board gives us a breathing spell and is a method of saying good day or good evening, or tipping one’s hat. I’m also of the opinion that small ritual tends to emphasize data in the mind, and set it off to advantage, in the same way that good cuisine is set off by fine dishes. … At the end of a session it would be most cordial to touch your hands briefly to the board. You’re lucky that I don’t request you to wear fulldress clothing.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el uso ritual del tablero para abrir y cerrar la sesión: formalidad que renueva el contacto y rito pequeño que realza el dato como la vajilla fina realza la cocina; el troceo parte *full-dress* en el salto de renglón y la extracción la devuelve fundida

«Seth’s personality impressed Rob to such an extent that he, at least, was convinced that Seth was a completely independent personality. He knows me so well, of course, in almost every mood, that he’s in an excellent position to judge the differences and similarities between my personality and Seth’s.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, consigna la conclusión de Butts —Seth como personalidad del todo independiente— y el argumento de que él está en posición de juzgar por conocerla a ella

«I was already beginning to study my own psychological behavior, though, and the question of Seth’s independent reality came more and more into my mind. Since I “become” Seth in some fashion, I’m never able to see myself as Seth in the way that Rob can, or that my students can in a class session, but I do know that he makes a definite impression on others. Who or what was he? I questioned Rob constantly. How did I look? How did he know someone else was speaking? What was there about Seth that so convinced him that Seth was more than a dissociated part of my own subconscious?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, formula la pregunta que el libro no cierra: quién o qué era Seth, y qué convencía a Butts de que era más que una parte disociada del subconsciente de ella

«Far from looking for Seth in every corner, I guarded my mental integrity with all the determination of my nature. Then I felt silly, because Seth made absolutely no attempt to “invade” my normal working day. Worse, I felt that he was amused but understanding, and felt that my efforts, if basically unnecessary, were still important for my peace of mind.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, declara haber guardado su integridad mental y haberse sentido tonta al ver que Seth no invadía su jornada

«The first session with Frank Withers had been held on December 2, 1963. In the fourteenth session, January 8, I was ready to speak for Seth, deep masculinelike tones and all. We had traveled some way in little over a month. Beyond doubt those thirty-odd days were filled with the most intense psychological activity, excitement, and speculation that we had ever encountered. It would be at least three years and after my book appeared before we even began to understand what had happened.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo tres, fecha la primera sesión con Frank Withers el 2 de diciembre de 1963 y la decimocuarta el 8 de enero, cuando ya hablaba con los tonos graves, y declara que tardaron tres años en empezar a entenderlo

«And if you consider the wires as forming cubes —this is for you, Joseph, with your love of images—then the cubes could also fit one within the other, without disturbing the inhabitants of either cube one iota. And these cubes are themselves within cubes, and I am speaking now only of the small particle of space taken up by your plane and mine.» — Seth, según Roberts, añade los cubos, que caben unos dentro de otros sin molestar a los habitantes de ninguno, y aclara que habla solo de la porción de espacio de los dos planos

«We construct images consistent with the senses we happen to have. We merely construct imaginary lines to walk upon.» — Seth, según Roberts, generaliza: las imágenes se construyen a la medida de los sentidos que uno tenga, y se trazan líneas imaginarias por donde caminar

«What you call emotion or feeling is the connective between us, and it is the connective that most clearly represents the life force on any plane, under any circumstances.» — Seth, según Roberts, identifica la emoción o el sentimiento con el conectivo entre planos y con lo que mejor representa la fuerza vital en cualquiera de ellos

«After having Rob describe the session, and after reading the notes, my attitude was one of simple astonishment. Rob and I are very informal; our friends are informal.» — Jane Roberts declara su reacción al leer las notas de la sesión: simple asombro, y marca el contraste social con la informalidad de la casa

«I found Seth delightful, whoever or whatever he was. Who else did we know, so “old school” who’d even speak of tipping one’s hat, or refer to food as “good cuisine?” Anyway he certainly didn’t sound frightening, and the fifth-dimensional monologue was really provocative.» — Roberts describe a Seth como deleitable y de escuela antigua sin decidir quién ni qué era, y suspende el juicio en esa misma fórmula

«Consider a network of wires, a maze of interlocking wires endlessly constructed so that looking through them there would seem to be no beginning or end. Your plane could be likened to a small position between four very spindly wires, and my plane could be likened to the small position in the neighboring wires on the other side. Not only are we on different sides of the same wires, but we are at the same time above or below, according to your viewpoint.» — Seth, según Roberts, figura los planos como posiciones vecinas dentro de una red de alambres entrelazados sin principio ni fin, separadas por el mismo alambre y a la vez encima o debajo según el punto de vista

«This is what I mean by fifth dimension. Now, remove the structure of the wires and cubes. Things behave as if the wires» — Seth, según Roberts, llama quinta dimensión a ese moverse a través, y acto seguido pide retirar la estructura de alambres y cubos; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«and cubes existed, but these were only constructions necessary even to those on my plane.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que los alambres y los cubos eran construcciones necesarias también en su propio plano; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«all material of your world and mine.”» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la tesis de la emoción como conectivo: de ella se teje el material de los dos mundos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior con *From it is woven*

«All during this time I was working at the local art gallery in the afternoons. Mornings I spent on my ESP book, writing up the results of our experiments. We still hadn’t told anyone what we were doing, except our friend, Bill. In fact few of our friends even knew what we were up to until the book was out. Now I wonder why we were so secretive, but at the time it seemed much better to keep the world with all of its questions out. We had enough of our own to consider.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, consigna el secreto en que llevaron las sesiones y su propia extrañeza posterior ante esa reserva

«In those days I was always afraid that I’d go into trance, open my mouth, and— nothing! Or worse, gibberish.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, declara el miedo de entonces: abrir la boca en trance y que no saliera nada, o saliera galimatías

«We began sessions at 9 P.M. Five minutes before nine, I’d get that feeling again, that I was going to leap from a high diving board into a deep pool—and without knowing for sure whether or not I could swim.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, describe la señal con que sabía que Seth venía, cinco minutos antes de las nueve, con la figura del trampolín

«Everything on your plane is the materialization of something that exists independently of your plane. Therefore, within your senses there are other senses that perceive inward. Your regular senses perceive an outer world. The senses within the recognizable senses perceive and create an inner world» — Seth, según Roberts, deriva los sentidos internos de una premisa: todo lo del plano físico materializa algo independiente de él, y por eso dentro de los sentidos hay sentidos que perciben hacia dentro y crean un mundo interior

«once you exist on a particular plane you must necessarily be attuned to it while blocking out many other perceptions. It is a sort of psychic focus, a concentration of awareness along certain lines.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el bloqueo de esas percepciones como foco psíquico: existir en un plano obliga a sintonizarlo y a cerrar lo demás

«As your ability grows in relation to the environment then you can afford to look around, use the Inner Senses, and enlarge your scope of activity. This is only natural. Survival on a particular plane depends upon your concentration within it. When survival is more or less satisfied through attention, then you can afford to perceive other realities.» — Seth, según Roberts, condiciona el uso de los sentidos internos a la supervivencia ya resuelta en el propio plano

«I did not intend to make you work so hard this evening, Joseph. If your hand is working as quickly as Ruburt’s mouth, you must be exhausted. Would you like to take a break, or end the session? I am always thinking of your convenience, at least when I am not concerned with your education,» — Seth, según Roberts, se dirige a Butts por el nombre que le dio, Joseph, y bromea con su propia consideración por la comodidad ajena

«Time has no meaning without barriers. To put it another way, time has no meaning without the necessity to counteract against other actions. Basically, this is a gem of a description, if I do say so myself. The sad part is that you probably won’t be able to understand it yet. It all takes time! As I try to counteract your ignorance, I couldn’t resist. I mean it kindly, for you have no idea of the difficulties involved in explaining time to someone who must take time to understand the explanation.» — Seth, según Roberts, define el tiempo por la necesidad de contraactuar contra otras acciones, se felicita por la definición y bromea con la dificultad de explicar el tiempo a quien necesita tiempo para entenderla

«The study of time will teach you much about the nature of fifth dimension also. Our imaginary wires composed of solidified vitality are fluid, I hope you understand this, even while they are solidified. For solidity is illusion.» — Seth, según Roberts, enlaza el tiempo con la quinta dimensión y declara fluidos los alambres de vitalidad solidificada, porque la solidez es ilusión

«Here, as Seth, I pounded on the desk for emphasis, and suddenly began speaking in a stronger voice. At the same time the hoarseness disappeared. Word by word the voice grew deeper, more formal, louder.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, data ahí la emergencia de la voz grave, palabra por palabra y con la ronquera desaparecida

«The motion of the apparently solidified vitality gives the illusion of time. The counteraction involved in this case is counteraction within the core of vitality itself, in much the same manner that we spoke of a closed mental enclosure earlier. … The action and counteraction is the time trigger. On some other planes motion is simultaneous and time unknown.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del movimiento de la vitalidad solidificada la ilusión del tiempo, y declara que en otros planos el movimiento es simultáneo y no hay tiempo

«To me your time can be manipulated; it is one of the several vehicles by which I can enter your awareness.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara manipulable el tiempo del oyente y lo cuenta entre los vehículos por los que entra en su consciencia

«Now, as an example of my good intentions, I will end this session. I would continue if I did not have your physical limitations to contend with. I am able to come through very well this evening, and when this happens I like to take advantage of it. After all, do you blame me? … In any case I shall say good night. You should know that I too enjoy a moment of social discourse, or I would not keep you so long. I regret the necessity to keep Joseph so occupied [with notes]. Good night, dear friends.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la sesión alegando las limitaciones físicas del otro, declara disfrutar el trato social y lamenta tener a Butts ocupado tomando notas

«Despite Seth’s parting words, I could “feel” him still present, along with a tremendous sense of vitality and goodwill. Rob told me about the heavy masculine voice with its astonishing volume, and all around me I felt this high energy and great humor as if an invisible Seth were sitting there, smiling, ready to start a friendly chat.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, consigna que sentía a Seth todavía presente después de la despedida

«As soon as we decided to continue, that deep voice boomed out of me again, and as Seth, I began walking about the room, pausing to speak directly to Rob or to look out the window. I really felt that someone else was settling down inside my body, getting used to moving it about and glowing with satisfaction at the achievement.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, describe la sensación de que alguien más se acomodaba dentro de su cuerpo y se complacía en moverlo

«I enjoy speaking with you for a few moments of what you might be pleased to call normal conversation. Friends do not always talk of high and weighty matters. … Previously we have been too concerned with other matters for any emotional interchange. And if Ruburt’s voice sounds rather dreary in this transitional phase, I myself am in a very playful, you might say, frisky mood. By all means, ask any questions you have in mind.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide conversación llana y se declara de humor juguetón, con una objeción de paso al timbre de la voz en fase de transición

«Uh, do you have friendships on your plane as we do here?” “I have friendships, of course. The one thing about your plane that makes it such a tempting field of endeavor for us here is that some of us still have ties of an emotional kind, and we attempt, though often clumsily, to make contact with old friends. As you write letters to friends in strange countries and do not forget them, so we do not forget.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a Butts que sí hay amistades en su plano, y da los lazos emocionales con viejos amigos como motivo para intentar el contacto, con la figura de las cartas a países extraños

«Ruburt’s voice is an experiment. The immediacy of our sessions would be enhanced if more of my personality could come through. I could go on happily, you might say blithely, for hours, but I shall not. I am not some old fogy. Now and then old Frank Withers comes through simply because he was the latest independent materialization and is used to taking things upon himself. I have not assimilated him completely, but you can believe me, I intend to.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara la voz un experimento para que pase más de su personalidad, niega ser un carcamal y dice no haber asimilado aún a Frank Withers

«I’m afraid I haven’t learned humility yet. On the other hand, you knew me before I knew Frank Withers, and my vanity then was astounding. You were quite vain yourself, and as a woman, you certainly put your present wife to shame as far as vanity is concerned.» — Seth, según Roberts, admite no haber aprendido humildad y apela a un dato reencarnatorio: que Butts fue mujer y muy vanidosa

«Eventually we learned that Seth, Rob, and I were part of an ancient entity; this will be discussed in chapters 14 and 15. Seth was also to say later that this past relationship was partially responsible for our communications.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, adelanta la tesis que el libro desarrolla en los capítulos catorce y quince: que Seth, Butts y ella son parte de una entidad antigua, y que ese parentesco explica en parte la comunicación

«The impression Rob got from the voice, gestures, and manner was that of an energetic, educated gentleman of the “old school,” in his sixties perhaps, extraordinarily intelligent but aware of his own foibles—a man with a highly developed yet old-fashioned sense of humor.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, recoge el retrato que Butts se hizo de Seth: caballero educado de escuela antigua, de unos sesenta años, inteligente y consciente de sus propias flaquezas

«I fear that as a man’s voice, Jane will sound rather unmelodious. I do not have the voice of an angel by any means, but neither do I sound like an asexual eunuch, which is all I’ve been able to make her sound like tonight … and Ruburt, if you want a cigarette, get one. She’s been walking around with a match in her hand for the last ten minutes.» — Seth, según Roberts, bromea con el timbre que consigue sacarle a Roberts y le manda encender el cigarro que trae en la mano

«If I could have a glass of wine with you and enjoy it, I would. If you want to talk for a few moments without the necessity of taking notes, do so. I’ll certainly last as long as Ruburt will, and a lot longer. And if ever your wife’s features change some night as we talk, I suggest you do not mention it to her until the end of the session.» — Seth, según Roberts, lamenta no poder compartir el vino y advierte a Butts que si los rasgos de su mujer cambian alguna noche, no se lo diga hasta el final

«When the session was over, my own voice was still fresh and clear, with no trace of the earlier difficulties. I wasn’t even tired.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, consigna la ausencia de secuelas tras una sesión que pasó de medianoche

«We didn’t realize either that the emergence of the Seth voice completed the psychic structure through which we would receive the Seth Material, and through which Seth’s personality would express itself.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, sostiene que con la voz quedó completa la estructura psíquica por la que llegaría el material

«Much later, Seth told us that this psychic energy can be translated into sound like this, or it can be used for other purposes. Now when Seth gives clairvoyant material, for example, the voice is seldom loud. The energy is used to gather the data instead.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, recoge de Seth que la energía psíquica se traduce en sonido o se emplea en otra cosa, y observa que en el material clarividente la voz baja porque la energía va al dato

«When the voice is deep and booming, I feel very small and surrounded by terrific energy. From what we have learned, the voice was a sort of indication of the amount of energy available;» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, lee el volumen de la voz como indicador de la energía disponible y describe su propia sensación de pequeñez

«Actually, the structure provided continuity and stability, but also was flexible enough to nurture latent developments of which we were then completely unaware. Within it my own training as a medium would take place safely.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, adjudica a la estructura de las sesiones la continuidad y la flexibilidad en que se dio su formación como médium

«At this point, there were several courses we could have taken. We could have told no one what was happening, we could have contacted a spiritualist group or we could have informed the parapsychologists. We definitely decided not to tell any of our friends or relatives, at least for the time being. The spiritualist groups would have been out in any case, because of my views at» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, enumera los caminos que tenían y descarta el de los grupos espiritualistas por sus propias ideas religiosas de entonces; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«Besides, there was that pressing question: Was Seth part of my subconscious?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, formula la pregunta que los llevó a buscar a un parapsicólogo

«I guess I’d do the same thing if I had it to do over. But I’m not sure.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cuatro, deja en duda, desde el presente de la escritura, si volvería a hacer lo mismo

«I’d like to mention here that by now we had read several books on extrasensory perception, but still hadn’t come across anything about voice communication. We’d read about the Patience Worth case, where a Mrs. Curren produced novels and poetry through the Ouija board and automatic» — Jane Roberts declara el estado de su información al llegar el cambio de voz: habían leído sobre el caso de Patience Worth, donde una señora Curren producía novelas y poesía por tablero; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con *writing*

«writing, but we were completely unfamiliar with the idea of anyone’s speaking for another personality. It had never occurred to either of us that my voice might change in any way.» — Roberts declara que la idea de hablar por otra personalidad les era del todo ajena y que nunca se les había ocurrido que su voz cambiara; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I have also said that this feeling of vitality—and I prefer that term, vitality—is moving and itself a part of the living stuff of the universe.» — Seth, según Roberts, prefiere el término vitalidad y la declara en movimiento y parte de la materia viva del universo

«Now as these wires pass seemingly from plane to» — Seth, según Roberts, empieza a decir qué hacen los alambres al pasar de plano a plano; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«plane, they actually form the boundaries of each plane and become subject to the particular laws within each. Therefore, they become subject to time within your particular three-dimensional system.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de los alambres los propios límites de cada plano, sujetos a las leyes de cada uno y por eso al tiempo del sistema tridimensional; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I like Jane’s plant. Green things are a touchstone of your existence. You notice that earlier I used the term ‘plane’ rather than ‘planet,’ because you do not have» — Seth, según Roberts, explica por qué dice plano y no planeta y llama a lo verde piedra de toque de la existencia; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *the whole kettle to yourself*

«In early February, Rob wrote to Dr. Ian Stevenson, who was connected with the Department of Neurology and Psychology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Stevenson was interested in reincarnation, and we had just read about his work. Rob also sent him copies of a few sessions, including some of the information we had been given about our own past lives. According to this, we lived several existences in the very distant past, including one in Denmark three centuries ago when Rob and I were father and son and Seth a mutual friend. Our last lives were in Boston in the nineteenth century.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, cuenta que Butts escribió al doctor Ian Stevenson, del Departamento de Neurología y Psicología de la Universidad de Virginia, y le mandó sesiones con los datos de vidas pasadas: Dinamarca hace tres siglos, con Butts y ella padre e hijo y Seth amigo común, y las últimas vidas en Boston en el siglo XIX

«I was unhappy with the reincarnational material simply because I still didn’t want to accept the idea—it just seemed too far out. I didn’t exactly encourage Rob to ask Seth to enlarge on this information or to fill in on the details he’d given. But it was a part of the material—I could hardly deny that.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, declara su rechazo al material reencarnatorio y a la vez que no podía negar que formaba parte del material

«But Dr. Stevenson’s well-meaning warning did throw me for somewhat of a loop, even though we had read the same cautions ourselves in some of our psychic books.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, consigna el efecto de la advertencia sobre ella, pese a haber leído las mismas cautelas

«According to him, Seth answered each of his questions in turn as Phil formed them in his mind. Phil wrote and signed a statement to this effect.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, consigna el primer indicio de telepatía: según Phil, Seth respondió a cada pregunta según él la formaba en la mente, y firmó una declaración al respecto

«I took Phil at his word, but I also thought that coincidence could have explained the episode.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, acepta la palabra del testigo y a la vez deja abierta la coincidencia como explicación

«His intentions were of the best, but I suppose that I must now feel obligated—and I do—to go into the matter of mental and emotional stability and any dangers to such stability that might be involved here.» — Seth, según Roberts, concede la buena intención de Stevenson y se declara obligado a tratar la cuestión de la estabilidad mental y sus riesgos

«As far as Ruburt is concerned, there is no danger. For one thing I am a sensitive but disciplined and sensible—if somewhat irascible—gentleman. None of the communications from me are in any way conducive to instability. I may make bold to remark that I am more stable than you or Ruburt or the fine psychologist.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega el peligro, se describe como caballero sensible, disciplinado y algo irascible, y se declara más estable que los tres

«I feel a strong responsibility for you and for any results coming from our communications. If anything, the personal advice I have given you both should add to your mental and emotional balance and result in a stronger relationship with the outside world.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara su responsabilidad por los resultados y sostiene que el consejo personal que les dio debería sumar equilibrio y trato con el mundo

«I do depend upon Ruburt’s willingness to dissociate. There is no doubt that he is unaware at times of his surroundings during sessions. It is a phenomenon in which he gives consent, and he could, at any time, return his conscious attention to his physical environment.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace depender la sesión del consentimiento de Roberts a disociarse y sostiene que puede volver a su entorno cuando quiera

«There is no danger of dissociation grabbing hold of him like some black vague and furry monster, carrying him away to the nether-lands of hysteria, schizophrenia, or insanity. I have consistently advised contacts with the world at large, and told you both to use your abilities to meet outside challenges. Withdrawal into dissociation as a hiding place from the world could be dangerous, and many have fallen prey here. With Ruburt this is not the case.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la disociación arrastre a la histeria, la esquizofrenia o la locura, y a la vez concede que el repliegue como escondite sí puede ser peligroso y que muchos cayeron ahí

«For one thing, Ruburt’s ego is extremely strong. His intuition is the gateway that relaxes an otherwise stubborn and domineering ego.” At this, Rob looked up and laughed. “The intuitive qualities, however, are not frivolous and the personality is well integrated.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe a Roberts con un ego fuerte y dominante que la intuición relaja, y declara bien integrada la personalidad

«It is true,” he said, “that a state of dissociation is necessary. But because you open a door, this does not mean that you cannot close it, nor does it mean that you cannot have two doors open at once, and this is my point. You can have two doors open at once, and you can listen to two channels at once. In the meantime you must turn down the volume of the first channel while you learn to attune your attention to the second. This process you call dissociation.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica la disociación con la figura de dos puertas abiertas y dos canales, con el volumen del primero bajado mientras se aprende a atender al segundo

«We have gone into this before,” Seth said, “and I have no doubt that we will on endless occasions; and if I succeed in convincing you of my reality as a separate personality, I will have done exceedingly well. It should be apparent that my communications come through Ruburt’s subconscious. But as a fish swims through water, but the fish is not the water, I am not Ruburt’s subconscious.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la pregunta de Butts sobre la tesis de Stevenson: concede que sus comunicaciones pasan por el subconsciente de Roberts y niega ser ese subconsciente, con la figura del pez que no es el agua

«The slight evidence of telepathy I gave you had a purpose. I wanted to show you that telepathy did exist, and I wanted to show Ruburt that more than his own subconscious as he knows it was involved. … Now Ruburt assembles me or allows me to assemble myself in a way that will be recognizable to you, but regardless of this, I exist in an independent manner.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara deliberada la muestra de telepatía ante Phil y sostiene que Roberts lo ensambla o le deja ensamblarse de un modo reconocible, sin que eso toque su existencia independiente

«Sometime between now and twenty-five years of laying your doubts at rest, I would like to go into some other matters that I have been trying to tackle for several sessions. But take your rest, pussies.» — Seth, según Roberts, bromea con los veinticinco años que llevará aquietar las dudas de los dos y manda descansar

«I used to envy Rob his viewpoint of the sessions. He could see and hear me as Seth and I couldn’t. Now during break I questioned him again. I hated to have to depend on someone else to tell me what was going on, but I had learned one thing: I couldn’t be Jane and Seth at once.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, declara el límite de su propia posición: envidiaba el punto de vista de Butts y aprendió que no podía ser Jane y Seth a la vez

«A certain reassembly of myself is necessary. This is done partially by me and partially by the combined subconscious efforts of you and Ruburt. Will this satisfy you for now?» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el reensamblado de sí mismo como obra en parte suya y en parte del esfuerzo subconsciente conjunto de los dos

«Please be frank, as I do not like this hanging over our heads,» — Seth, según Roberts, pide franqueza a Butts sobre las dudas

«Individual life, or rather the life of any present individual, could be legitimately compared to the dream of an entity. While the individual enjoys his given number of years, these are but a flash to the entity. The entity is concerned with these years in somewhat the same manner with which you are concerned with your dreams. As you give inner purpose and organization to your dreams, and obtain insight and satisfaction from them though they involve only a part of your life, so the entity to some extent directs and gives purpose and organization to his personalities.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara la vida de un individuo con el sueño de una entidad: un destello para ella, al que da propósito y organización como uno se los da a sus sueños

«Infinities of diversity and opportunity are given to the personalities by the entity. … Your own dreams are fragments, even as in a larger sense you are fragments of your entity.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la analogía: los sueños de uno son fragmentos como uno es fragmento de su entidad

«Of course, Seth said that everything was okay,” I said. “What else could we expect him to say?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, objeta a la tranquilización del propio Seth con el argumento más obvio: qué otra cosa cabía esperar que dijera

«For a while I think I spent half the time trying to psychoanalyze Seth and the other half trying to analyze myself. Caution is one thing, but sometimes I went overboard.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, declara haber pasado la mitad del tiempo psicoanalizando a Seth y la otra mitad a sí misma, y haberse pasado de cautelosa

«Even so, Seth said that my strong ego was an asset to our work when I didn’t overdo it, since it kept my whole personality on an even keel and allowed me the psychological strength to handle and develop my abilities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, recoge de Seth que su ego fuerte es un activo mientras no se exceda, por mantenerla en equilibrio

«In early spring Rob came down with several annoying gumboils and one night he asked Seth how he might get rid of them. Seth immediately launched into a rather hilarious discussion of the unsanitary aspects of a refrigerator in the bathroom. He made a few kindly but definite statements to the effect that we should know better, and suggested that the appliance be moved into the kitchen, where it would hold all our refrigerated food. If so, he assured Rob his gumboils would disappear.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, cuenta el episodio del refrigerador en el baño: Seth lo trata de insalubre y condiciona la desaparición de los flemones de Butts a moverlo a la cocina

«No control personality or whatever is going to tell me how to run the house,” I said. “This is one of those suspicious signs that we’ve read about. The control personality starts throwing its weight around and trying to dominate the medium’s normal personality. Remember what Dr. Stevenson said? Besides, there’s no room in the kitchen for the big refrigerator.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, reacciona leyendo el consejo por el patrón que había leído: la personalidad de control que empieza a mandar sobre el médium, con la advertencia de Stevenson a mano

«Besides,” Rob said, “Seth didn’t order you to do anything. I asked him a question, and he answered it.» — Robert Butts, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, enmienda esa lectura: no hubo orden, hubo respuesta a una pregunta suya

«The next day we moved the big refrigerator. To save my pride or whatever, I put the little refrigerator in the bathroom and turned it into a towel chest. The big refrigerator is still in the kitchen. I got rid of the small one long ago. Oh, yes—Rob’s gumboils cleared up in two days, and never returned.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, cuenta el desenlace del episodio y consigna que los flemones se fueron en dos días

«In other words, I used to watch Seth like a hawk, particularly during the first year or so, but he always behaved intelligently, with dignity and humor. As soon as I began judging him by his actions and his effect on us, I dropped this habit. He won my trust. He has given us excellent, psychologically sound advice, but he never tried to give us orders.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, declara el criterio con que dejó de vigilarlo: juzgarlo por sus actos y por su efecto, y consigna que nunca les dio órdenes

«In 1964 we went househunting, for example. Seth suggested we purchase a particular house. We liked it very much but it was in poor condition. Seth might very well be right, we thought—and we might be happier if we bought the house—but we just weren’t willing to take the chance.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, da el caso contrario, un consejo que no siguieron: la casa que Seth propuso comprar y que estaba en mal estado

«About a year and a half ago, Seth suggested that I leave my job at the art gallery and give psychic classes. He even told me how many students I would have within three months’ time. I followed his advice, though I didn’t really think there would be much response in this area. Seth was correct: I’ve enjoyed the classes, learned a great deal from them, and enlarged my own abilities as a result, in ways I didn’t know were possible.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, cuenta el consejo que sí siguió —dejar la galería y dar clases psíquicas— y da por acertada la cifra de alumnos que Seth predijo

«During the first six months or so of the sessions, our cat, Willie, began behaving in a most unsociable manner. A few times he began to hiss and spit quite madly just before sessions. One night he really startled us. We were getting ready to begin, and Willie was sleeping in the bedroom closet. Suddenly he ran out of the closet, fur on end, bolted through the living room, and hid behind the curtains. Once he nipped at my ankles as I was speaking for Seth, and in trance I dragged him half across the room while he hung on to the bottom of my slacks. Rob had to shut him in the studio.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, consigna la conducta del gato Willie antes de las sesiones: bufidos, huida y una dentellada al tobillo durante el trance

«Finally, Rob asked Seth if he knew what was wrong. The reply was that Willie’s very acute senses picked up Seth’s presence just before session time. He told us that the cat’s behavior would change as Willie became more accustomed to the situation.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica la conducta del gato a sus sentidos agudos, que captaban su presencia antes de la hora, y predice que se acostumbraría

«A month or so later, Willie became himself again. Now he pays no attention to the sessions, and even occasionally jumps into my lap when I’m in trance.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, consigna que el gato volvió a lo suyo y ahora se le sube al regazo en trance

«During this time Rob had a recurrence of back trouble, though far less severe than before. Seth devoted several long sessions to an analysis of Rob’s condition and explained the reasons for the symptoms. They disappeared without medication, and we think that the knowledge Rob gained through these sessions was responsible.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, consigna la recaída de espalda de Butts y adjudica la mejoría sin medicación al saber que él sacó de las sesiones

«We quickly learned that Seth regarded physical symptoms as the outward materialization of inner dis-ease. He emphasized the importance of suggestion and the dangers of self-pity. He did tell us then that when one of us was ill, the other was not to offer excessive consolation and thereby reinforce the idea of sickness.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo cinco, resume la doctrina temprana de salud: el síntoma como materialización externa de un malestar interior, con la importancia de la sugestión, el peligro de la autocompasión y la instrucción de no consolar en exceso al enfermo

«evening,” he began. “The exasperation comes because your good psychologist almost undermined the confidence I managed to give Ruburt in our session with your friend, Phillip. I tried to build Ruburt’s confidence, and some stranger tore it down.» — Seth, según Roberts, abre la sesión con exasperación declarada y acusa al psicólogo de haber socavado la confianza que él había levantado en Roberts; el saludo empieza en la plana anterior con *A fond and exasperated good*

«After break Seth said, “Again, I am not Ruburt’s subconscious, though I speak through it. It is the atmosphere through which I can come to you, as the air is the atmosphere through which a bird flies.» — Seth, según Roberts, repite la negación con otra figura: el subconsciente como atmósfera por la que viene, como el aire por el que vuela un pájaro; la sección ilustrada reimprime este mismo pasaje como cartel en la plana 217

«Seth also said that an inner part of each personality was aware of its relationship with its entity—and that this portion did man’s» — Jane Roberts recoge de Seth que una parte interior de cada personalidad conoce su vínculo con la entidad; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«breathing for him and controlled those bodily processes that we consider involuntary.» — Roberts completa la frase: esa parte hace la respiración y gobierna los procesos que se tienen por involuntarios; arranca en la plana anterior

«But the experiments did release my abilities,” I protested to Rob. “That proves the point, doesn’t it?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, objeta a esa lectura: los experimentos soltaron sus facultades, y eso probaría justamente la premisa

«We cleared our minds of objective thoughts and wrote down whatever came into our heads, trying to predict the day’s events. The trick was to give the intuitional self freedom and not to intellectualize.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, describe el experimento diario de predicción: vaciar la mente y escribir lo que viniera, dando libertad a lo intuitivo

«Results surprised us, and convinced us that most people have more knowledge of the future than they realize. We discovered, among other things, that we would often foresee different portions of one event.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, sostiene que la gente sabe del futuro más de lo que cree, y consigna el hallazgo de que cada uno preveía porciones distintas del mismo suceso

«Since in all of these experiments Seth was helping us through actual suggestions and explanations as to how we perceive such information, I simply couldn’t minimize his importance just to get the ESP book published. To us, Seth and the Seth Material was making everything else possible.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, explica por qué no aceptó la condición del editor: Seth hacía posible lo demás

«As a result, I played around with the idea of publishing some of Seth’s ideas as my own and hiding their origin. This seemed dishonest, though, and I decided against it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, declara haber considerado publicar las ideas de Seth como suyas y haberlo descartado por deshonesto

«I don’t know what I expected from Dr. Osis, but I sure as the devil wasn’t ready to see what Seth could or could not do. Seth offered to carry out the experiment, but I held back. I don’t know if I was more afraid that Seth could or couldn’t follow through.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, declara su propio miedo y lo deja sin resolver: no sabe si temía más que Seth pudiera o que no pudiera

«Yet even to Rob I couldn’t voice my fears. Suppose Seth couldn’t? Wouldn’t that mean that everything else was some kind of subconscious fraud? Why had Seth agreed when he knew, whoever he was, that I was scared stiff?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, formula el temor que no dijo en voz alta: que un fracaso volviera fraude subconsciente todo lo demás

«You’re afraid of putting this stuff to the test,” Rob said. “But that’s all right at this stage of the game. I’d rather you didn’t push it.» — Robert Butts, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, le concede el miedo y prefiere que no fuerce la prueba

«I can make mistakes and that’s okay,” I said, trying to explain. “But suppose Seth makes them, too? Suppose he tries to do what’s asked of him and fails?” “Is he supposed to be omnipotent?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, distingue su propio error del de Seth, y Butts le devuelve la pregunta de si se le supone omnipotente

«I still wasn’t at all sure that I believed in the survival of personality after death, and if we didn’t survive, then from whom was I getting these messages?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, enlaza la duda sobre la supervivencia con la pregunta por el emisor de los mensajes

«While I used that explanation as a handy whipping boy at times, I didn’t really believe that either: my subconscious was getting enough expression in my short stories and poetry—and without adopting other personality characteristics.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, objeta a su propia explicación por el subconsciente: ese ya se expresaba en sus cuentos y sus poemas sin adoptar personalidad ajena

«A secondary personality? Perhaps, but Seth didn’t fit the picture of any of the case histories we’d read—and neither did I.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, mide a Seth y a sí misma contra las historias clínicas de personalidad secundaria y dice que ninguno de los dos encaja

«So I sulked: If he didn’t express interest in the material, which I thought was terrific, then he could just go find someone else to go looking through his walls!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna su propio enfado como tal, sin justificarlo

«I just wasn’t ready, apparently, to put Seth or myself under any kind of test. I was afraid that Seth’s claim to clairvoyance might be subconscious bluff—his or mine—and I didn’t know if I had enough courage to call the bluff or not. And suppose it wasn’t bluff? I wasn’t ready to face that either! I just hadn’t come to terms with my experience yet. I thought of “testing” Seth in a highly rigid, uncompromising manner. Seth had to be right or wrong. The idea of hits and misses in ESP investigations was unknown to me. I had little notion of the inner mechanics involved in mediumship, and most likely my attitude effectively blocked any consistent demonstrations at that time.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, reconstruye su bloqueo: temía que la clarividencia fuera farol, pensaba la prueba en términos rígidos de acierto o error y desconocía la noción de aciertos y fallos en ESP

«I was angry at Dr. Osis for looking for signs or wonders (my interpretation, then, of his letter). Yet I knew that I was going to demand the same sort of thing when I got up enough nerve to put Seth, or myself, on the spot.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna la contradicción de enfadarse por una exigencia que ella misma pensaba hacer

«For the first year I paced the room constantly, while speaking for Seth. My eyes were open, the pupils dilated and much darker than usual. But in the 116th session, December of 1964, I sat down and closed my eyes for the first time. Rob wisely said nothing until the session was over. Seth told us that this was an experimental procedure and would not continue unless I gave full consent.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, data en la sesión 116, de diciembre de 1964, el primer cambio de su conducta en trance: sentarse y cerrar los ojos, que Seth declara experimental y sujeto a su consentimiento

«It was also during this time that Seth started removing my glasses just before he began to speak.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, data ahí la costumbre de Seth de quitarle los anteojos antes de hablar

«(It would be January 1966 before the next change in my trance behavior. After having sessions for a year with my eyes closed, I suddenly began opening them again, though the trance was even deeper than before. There was quite a noticeable alteration of muscle pattern and facial gestures—an overall personality change. The expression in the eyes was not only un-Jane-like. It definitely belonged to Seth. To all intents and purposes, Seth was comfortably ensconced in my physical body. This is our current procedure also, and apparently it gives Seth a certain freedom of expression. He often looks directly at Rob, for example, or at anyone else to whom he is speaking.)» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, data en enero de 1966 el segundo cambio: ojos abiertos con trance más hondo, alteración del patrón muscular y una expresión que ella atribuye a Seth y no a sí misma

«By now we’d experimented with hypnosis in some ageregression and reincarnational work. In these I acted as hypnotist, with Rob as subject. We had never used hypnosis to induce a trance in Seth sessions, however, and we had no experience with hypnosis when the sessions began.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, deslinda la hipnosis de las sesiones: la habían usado en regresión con Butts de sujeto, nunca para inducir el trance de Seth; el troceo parte *age-regression* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«Now, after reading about the hypnotic testing undergone by Mrs. Eileen Garrett, the famous medium, I know I’d never stand for it myself. (Self-hypnosis is something else—I use it now to give myself general good-health suggestions.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, declara que hoy no se prestaría a pruebas bajo hipnosis y separa de eso la autohipnosis, que sí usa para sugestiones de salud

«We had a Seth session, the first in which I went in and out of trance so quickly that both Seth and I could take part in a normal conversation.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, data ahí la primera sesión en que entraba y salía del trance con bastante rapidez para que Seth y ella participaran de una misma conversación

«My field is education, and my particular interest is that these [seemingly paranormal] abilities of human personality be understood and investigated, for they are not unnatural, but inherent. … I am indeed aware of the difficulties which shall be encountered.» — Seth, según Roberts, se presenta ante el psicólogo declarando su campo, la educación, y su interés en que las facultades se entiendan como inherentes y no como sobrenaturales

«I have said this often—I am no misty-eyed ghostly spirit, materializing in the middle of the night. I am simply an intelligent personality no longer bound by your physical laws.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega la figura del espíritu de medianoche y se declara personalidad inteligente ya no atada a las leyes físicas

«I have some difficulties with Ruburt’s own stubborn attitude at times; but we must also take this into consideration, and so we shall … I will seriously endeavor to do what I can do, within our circumstances. My cooperation can be counted upon. It goes without saying that all of this cannot happen overnight, but we shall begin. In a regular session I will discuss what can be done. We can do much. Much we cannot do. But since we understand both the potentialities and limitations, then we can make the most of what we have.» — Seth, según Roberts, acepta las pruebas de ESP, declara dificultades con la terquedad de Roberts y acota de antemano el alcance: hay mucho que pueden hacer y mucho que no

«Seth called Dr. Instream by his first name, and the two of them sounded as if they were old cronies. I was a bit appalled. After all, Dr. Instream was a distinguished elderly gentleman. Rob took all the notes he could, scribbling furiously.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna el tuteo de Seth con el psicólogo y su propio apuro ante un caballero de edad

«Spontaneity must be allowed for. Then the sort of evidence with which you are concerned can be obtained. If we are overly concerned for effects, then the spontaneity disappears. The ego comes in, and we are lost.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la espontaneidad como condición de la evidencia y objeta que el afán de efecto la disuelve y deja entrar al ego

«It is our doorway,” Seth said. “If any evidence is to come through, it comes through that doorway» — Seth, según Roberts, insiste ante el reparo metodológico del psicólogo: la puerta de la evidencia es la espontaneidad

«It would be of great benefit if you and others understood that these limitations exist only because you accept them.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta a las limitaciones humanas que invoca el psicólogo: existen porque se las acepta

«Human personality is not innately limited. The waking state, as I have often said, is as much a trance state as any other. Here [in sessions] we merely switch the focus of attention to other channels. Consider all types of awareness as trance states. Consciousness is the direction in which the self looks.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la personalidad sea limitada por naturaleza, declara el estado de vigilia tan trance como cualquier otro y define la consciencia como la dirección en que mira el yo

«We have many fields of common interest, you and I. The personality must always be considered in an elemental way as patterns of action. When you attempt to tamper with various levels, you change them. When you crack an egg to discover what is inside, you ruin the egg. There are other ways to go about it. We do not need a hammer to crack the eggshell. … I am an egghead, but do not need a hammer to be cracked.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta al método que rompe lo que examina, con la figura del huevo que se arruina al partirlo, y remata con un chiste sobre sí mismo

«Your attitude may allow you to get some. But those who have a closed mind will not get any evidence that will satisfy them.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la petición de prueba del psicólogo acotándola: quien tenga la mente cerrada no hallará evidencia que le satisfaga

«This is one of the reasons that we have not tended toward a séance atmosphere … and also why I have largely avoided displays» — Seth, según Roberts, declara por qué las sesiones no toman aire de sesión de espiritismo y por qué evita los despliegues; es el pasaje donde el volumen se separa por dentro de esa práctica

«There may be a time lag as I build up Ruburt’s acceptability in these directions,” Seth said, “but I anticipate no difficulties.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia un retraso mientras trabaja la disposición de Roberts

«It was no good. Whenever I tried to say something in my own behalf, he’d yell triumphantly. “See? See? You feel the need to defend yourself, don’t you?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, describe la estructura cerrada del argumento: toda defensa suya contaba como confirmación

«Never had I been so filled with self-doubts. The psychologist had spoken aloud the most exaggerated of my own inner fears.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna que aquel dictamen dijo en voz alta sus propios temores

«But suppose he’s right? I wouldn’t know it—that’s the awful part. Neither of us would know it or want to admit it!” “But anyone that emotionally damaged would show symptoms in normal daily living.” “But the sessions,” I cried. “The sessions that I think offer such a contribution … the material I’m so sure offers insights into the nature of reality! Suppose the whole thing is just a symptom of mental disorder instead?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, formula la duda en su forma más aguda: que el material que tiene por aporte fuera síntoma de trastorno

«But the affair bothered me. It was to be some time before I completely trusted myself and my own reactions again. I also felt that I could no longer drag my feet: I had to find out what Seth could or couldn’t do.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna el efecto duradero del episodio y la decisión que sacó de él

«It’s put up or shut up time. That’s what it amounts to,” I said» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, reproduce cómo le planteó el asunto a Butts; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con *tearfully to Rob*

«tearfully to Rob. “If this isn’t a lot of bunk, then let’s see you or Seth walk through walls!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, completa el reto: si aquello no era paja, que Seth atravesara paredes; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I decided that I wasn’t going to be hypnotized, but I lowered my eyes so as not to be conspicuous. When it became apparent that most of the audience had dutifully gone under—sitting there and reminding me somehow of pigeons with wings neatly folded —I looked up cautiously to see what Dr. Instream was doing. He was looking back. Rob was grinning, watching both of us.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna que ni ella ni el doctor Instream se dejaron hipnotizar, y que Butts los vio a los dos

«Later, we were in a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Oswego talking with the good doctor when I abruptly felt Seth about. We’d never had a session away from home.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, data en un restaurante de Oswego la primera vez que sintió a Seth cerca fuera de casa

«Dr. Instream treated Seth with deference, great deference— and I admit that I found this somewhat suspicious at the time. I wasn’t sure myself as to who or what Seth was, and the thought crossed my mind more than once» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo seis, consigna la deferencia del psicólogo hacia Seth y su propia sospecha ante ella

«that the doctor’s attitude was simply a device to gain my» — Jane Roberts nombra su sospecha sobre la deferencia del psicólogo: un recurso para ganarse su confianza; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con la comparación del clínico que finge creer en el delirio del paciente

«We were in the middle of a Seth session and Seth was giving his impressions of the Gallaghers’ trip. As I sat in my favorite rocker speaking as Seth, suddenly I found myself in the back seat of a cab. The next instant the cab took such a sharp turn to the right that I was shoved over into the corner of the seat. For a minute I was really frightened. I wasn’t used to being comfortably seated in the living room one minute and in the back seat of a swiftly moving cab the next!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, data ahí su primera experiencia fuera del cuerpo dentro de una sesión: se encontró en el asiento trasero de un taxi mientras hablaba por Seth

«I had just enough time to see the cab driver’s neck from the rear—it was thick and stubby. I didn’t see his face. While this was going on, I lost all contact with my body in the living room. My subjective sensations were those of someone suddenly thrown off-balance by the sickening swerve of the car’s turn. Yet while this was happening, my physical body sat upright in the rocker, speaking without pause as Seth:» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, deslinda las dos posiciones simultáneas: su consciencia desequilibrada por el giro del taxi y su cuerpo erguido en la mecedora hablando sin pausa

«A cab ride. Our cat lover laughs [Seth’s nickname for Peg, who dislikes cats]. A three-dollar fare which seems too much. An old, rather than young, cab driver with a stubby neck. A destination that is mainly to the right after one turn.» — Seth, según Roberts, da las impresiones del viaje: la carrera de tres dólares que parece cara, el taxista de cuello corto y grueso y el destino a la derecha tras un giro; el corchete con el mote de la amiga es de Roberts

«I saw just what I could have been expected to see had I been in the cab physically. Peg and Bill were never aware of my presence.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, declara el alcance de lo percibido y el límite del testimonio: los viajeros nunca notaron su presencia

«The incident had several intriguing implications. I was definitely the one who was “out,” yet Seth described what I saw. His voice and personality were in control of my physical system, while my consciousness was someplace else—and a good many miles away. I didn’t have to tell Seth what happened—he described it immediately.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, señala el reparto que la desconcierta: ella era la que estaba fuera y Seth describía lo que ella veía sin que se lo dijera

«And consider this puzzler: Granted my consciousness traveled from Elmira to San Juan in space, what about time? The session was held on Monday, October 25, 1965, but the incident happened to the Gallaghers one week earlier, on Monday, October 17. Yet I lived that experience just as vividly as though it transpired at that moment in Puerto Rico.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, plantea el problema del tiempo: la sesión fue el 25 de octubre de 1965 y el suceso había ocurrido el 17, y aun así lo vivió como presente

«So one morning that same week I lay down, closed my eyes, and gave myself the suggestion that I would find Peg and Bill.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe el segundo experimento, hecho por su cuenta con la sugestión de encontrar a los amigos

«Suddenly, without transition, I found myself descending through the air to land on a long narrow porch that was surrounded by a low railing. I knew that my body was in bed, but lost all contact with it. Regardless of where it was, I was someplace else entirely. Looking around I saw that I stood on the veranda of an oddly constructed double-story motel.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe el descenso a la galería de un motel de dos plantas de construcción rara

«The building was raised up from the ground in a manner different from the usual. Over the railing, a small body of water was visible, and beyond this there was a much larger body of water, an ocean, I thought. Was this Puerto Rico? I had no idea.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, consigna lo que veía y lo que no sabía: dos masas de agua y ninguna certeza del lugar

«Doors opened off the veranda, which extended the full length of the motel. I wondered if this was where the Gallaghers were staying. Instantly I knew that it was, and that the center door led to their room.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe el modo del saber en esa condición: supo al instante que era el sitio y cuál era la puerta

«My consciousness returned so quickly to my body that my physical head was swimming. I sat up in dismay—couldn’t I find out more? Couldn’t I see a sign, or get a more definite idea of the location?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, consigna el regreso brusco por el despertador y su propio fastidio por no haber sacado más

«I didn’t know if it would work or not, but I reset the alarm for thirty minutes later, then I lay back down and told myself I would return to the same place. Brief but definite traveling sensations followed. Mountains and skies swept by. Then I found myself hovering in the air above the same motel.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, cuenta el segundo intento con la orden de volver al mismo sitio, con sensaciones de viaje y montañas pasando

«I was too high to make out details, so I willed myself to move down closer. Without any difficulty I changed position and came down, though still not to the ground. A man was directly beneath me, and slightly ahead of me. He wore a business suit and hat, and carried a briefcase. As I watched, he crossed a blacktop expanse to a sidewalk, and entered a large building on the other side of the motel.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe cómo cambió de posición por voluntad y al hombre de traje y portafolios que cruzaba hacia un edificio

«Immediately I drew a diagram of the motel and surrounding area. I couldn’t wait for the Gallaghers to return, so I could check this and the Seth impressions. I asked Peg to draw a diagram of their motel and its nearby neighborhood. Peg’s diagram matched mine!» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe el cotejo: pidió a la amiga que dibujara el plano del motel y los dos coincidieron

«My description of the motel was correct, including the center door that led to their room. The motel was on St. Thomas, an island near Puerto Rico. Peg and Bill were there the day of my experiment» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, consigna lo que salió comprobado, incluida la puerta central, y que el motel estaba en Saint Thomas y no en Puerto Rico

«Not only that, but the man I saw was one Bill noticed on both mornings, specifically because he wore business clothes. The man was a native—another reason Bill noticed him. I didn’t know this, having seen him from the rear. The building he’d entered had been the post office.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, consigna el cotejo del hombre de traje, que el amigo había notado por la ropa, y añade el dato que ella no podía saber de espaldas: era del lugar

«In the cab episode in the Seth session, Seth had described everything while I saw it. This time I had to wait until I got back to my body to write down what had happened, and draw my diagram.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, compara los dos episodios por la vía del registro: en el primero Seth describía en el momento, en el segundo ella tuvo que volver al cuerpo para anotar

«These first instances greatly increased my confidence in Seth’s abilities and my own.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, declara el efecto de los dos episodios sobre su confianza

«Like most people with no background in psychic work, I expected things to be pure and simple. If Seth was what he said he was, then he should be able to look into time and space and closed envelopes as easily as you and I can see the objects in a room.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, declara la expectativa con que entró: que si Seth era lo que decía, vería dentro de un sobre como quien mira un cuarto

«I didn’t realize how much depended on the depth of my trance and on my willingness to give him freedom—I had to learn not to “block” information that came through.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, enmienda esa expectativa con lo que aprendió: la hondura del trance y su propia disposición a no bloquear pesaban en el resultado

«I didn’t realize either that little is known about normal perception, much less extrasensory perception, or that no medium is expected to be 100 percent correct. The impressions had to come through me, and as the old saying goes, to err is human.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, añade el segundo límite: de la percepción normal se sabe poco, a ningún médium se le pide acertar siempre, y las impresiones pasaban por ella

«I thought that anything less than a perfect performance cast doubts on Seth’s independent nature.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, declara el patrón con que se juzgaba entonces: cualquier cosa menos que la perfección ponía en duda la independencia de Seth

«As Seth varied the trance depths, I became aware of two lines of consciousness, his and my own, and to understand at least to some degree when my own personal associations were an aid and when they were a detriment. In a very deep trance, the inner processes are hidden even from the medium. With most mediums the mechanics are so automatic that little can be learned about the inner psychological actions involved in such work. Seth maintained that our situation would work to our advantage in this respect.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, sostiene que en un trance muy hondo los procesos quedan ocultos también para el médium, y recoge de Seth que su situación menos automática les venía bien

«In the data he would often differentiate between his impressions and any of mine that had slipped in, connect mine to their source in personal associations, and tell us whether or not they were legitimate.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe la práctica de Seth de separar sus impresiones de las de ella y remitir las de ella a su fuente en asociaciones personales

«I am seldom so “blacked out” as to feel as if I were sleeping. Usually I know what is going on, although I may almost instantly forget what has happened. On occasion Seth and I can take turns talking so that I can go in and out of trance in seconds. Sometimes it seems I merge with Seth, feeling his emotions and reactions completely, rather than my own. In this case the Jane-self is far in the background, dozing but dimly conscious. Other times, though less seldom, I am in the foreground and Seth advises me as to what to say.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, describe los grados de su propio trance: raras veces borrada del todo, a veces fundida con Seth sintiendo sus emociones, y otras en primer plano con él aconsejándole qué decir

«Seth has often spoken about the necessary distortions that must occur in any such communications, and he is most concerned that the material be as little contaminated by distortions as possible.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, recoge que Seth insiste en las distorsiones inevitables de toda comunicación así y en reducirlas

«When Peg and Bill returned, we found out that these impressions were quite legitimate. They had paid a three-dollar cab fare to go to the motel from the airport. Peg was quite angry about this, since the same ride two years earlier had cost less than two dollars. Their cab took a very sharp turn to the right. Peg and Bill remembered this vividly, not only because of the sudden turn, but also because this happened right after the driver had run through a traffic light. The turn had been so sharp that it upset them considerably.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, coteja las impresiones con lo que contaron los Gallagher: la tarifa de tres dólares que a la amiga le pareció cara y el giro brusco a la derecha tras saltarse un semáforo

«But the cab driver was not “old, rather than young.” Interestingly enough, Peg said, he did look old from the rear, though, because his neck had a peculiar rough, mottled look. It was also thick and stubby.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, consigna también lo que no acertó: el taxista no era mayor, solo lo parecía de espaldas por el cuello moteado, grueso y corto

«He didn’t mention my sensations when I was thrown into the» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, deja en preguntas por qué Seth no mencionó sus sensaciones dentro del taxi; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente

«corner of the cab, though. Was this because he didn’t feel them? Or because I was certain to remember these myself?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, formula las dos hipótesis y no elige: que Seth no las sintiera o que ella fuera a recordarlas de todos modos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Yet Seth managed to use the tests to demonstrate his own clairvoyant ability, further my education, and instruct us on the processes involved. He varied the depth of my trances during tests so I could get the feel of various stages of consciousness, and also showed me how to let him use my own personal associations in order to get certain data.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo siete, sostiene que Seth usó las pruebas también como enseñanza, variando la hondura del trance y mostrándole cómo se sirve de sus asociaciones personales

«He used the tests to demonstrate ESP; but more, he gave me constant practice in» — Jane Roberts distingue lo que Seth demostraba de lo que le enseñaba: más que la ESP, la práctica constante; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *changing my subjective focus*

«changing my subjective focus, explaining the whole thing as he went along.» — Roberts nombra en qué consistía esa práctica: cambiar el foco subjetivo con la explicación al lado; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Although my confidence had risen with the two out-of-body episodes, I felt that I was putting Seth and myself on the line with each test session. I never knew whether or not we would have an envelope test. Often I was afraid of having a session for fear we’d have an envelope test and the results just would not apply. (This never happened, incidentally, though the impressions given were not always as specific as we would have liked.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara el miedo con que entraba a cada sesión de prueba y acota entre paréntesis que nunca ocurrió lo que temía, aunque las impresiones no siempre fueran tan precisas

«Actually I didn’t care what was in the envelopes—I just wanted to know if Seth could tell us, and I wanted him to be absolutely right each time.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara lo que de verdad quería de las pruebas y el patrón que imponía: acierto absoluto cada vez

«My attitude was bound to have an effect. Now I wonder that Seth was able to do anything with me at all in those days, but most of the time he managed to do very well indeed.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, atribuye efecto a su propia actitud sobre los resultados

«A paper item, rougher rather than smooth background.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la primera impresión del objeto del sobre: un artículo de papel de fondo áspero

«Liberal giving.” (The words “liberal discounts” appear on the object.» — Seth, según Roberts, da una impresión que Roberts empareja con las palabras impresas en el recorte

«Something identical to something else … two or two of a kind.” (The word “twin” appears on the object, referring to the size of a blanket on sale. I had the strong subjective impression, however, that this was a reference to the fact that the envelope object was a part of a similar object.» — Seth, según Roberts, da una impresión de duplicidad que Roberts lee de dos maneras y no arbitra entre ellas

«A method of disposal … Something in the vernacular … Gubatorial.» — Seth, según Roberts, da tres impresiones seguidas de la página entera, no del recorte; Roberts anota que buscaba *gubernatorial* y que Butts transcribió la palabra como ella la pronunció en trance

«Wow,” I said. “A method of disposal—that must be sales! But what a crazy way to put it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, resuelve la impresión y a la vez objeta el rodeo con que llegó

«Listen,” Rob said, laughing, “we have to go along with the way the data comes through and try to learn from it.» — Robert Butts, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, propone el criterio contrario: aceptar el modo en que llega el dato y aprender de él

«Now I think that this is an excellent example of the way extrasensory perceptions are sometimes received. Sales are a method of disposal, yet verbally the final connection isn’t as concise as we would like. There’s more than just the idea of conciseness involved, though: such answers are also just different—unexpectedly so, and they make us consider old objects or ideas in new and equally valid ways.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, sostiene que la imprecisión verbal de esas respuestas no es solo falta de concisión: hacen ver lo viejo de un modo nuevo y igual de válido

«A mission with unforeseen consequences … 1943 … Illia, and perhaps an F and R … Something happening all over again, as a commemoration … A connection with something green, as a meadow … a child … Januarious.» — Seth, según Roberts, da una serie de impresiones sobre un artículo que no estaba en el sobre

«The “Januarious” connection doesn’t seem to be related, yet it is highly important because for me personally it had a strong religious connotation: one of my favorite grade-school teachers was a nun, Sister Januarious.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara sin resolver una de las impresiones y la remite a una asociación personal suya, una monja de la escuela primaria

«Seth also gave some other impressions of the page from which the envelope item was taken, besides those dealing with the articles. “A date above … Buttons … some figures and a distant connection with skull shapes … the colors, blue and purple and green … and other round shapes.» — Seth, según Roberts, da impresiones de la página completa: fecha arriba, botones, figuras, formas de cráneo, colores y formas redondas

«A portion is always connected to the whole of which it is part,” he said. “From the torn section, then, to me the whole [page] was present, and from portions of the whole, the whole can be read. With enough freedom on the one hand, and training on the other, Ruburt, speaking for me, could give you the entire copy of The New York Times from a torn corner.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde con un principio: la parte está siempre unida al todo, y desde la parte el todo se lee; añade que con libertad y entrenamiento bastantes se leería el diario entero desde una esquina rota

«This does not involve projection.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega expresamente que en eso haya proyección

«Now it is true, generally speaking, that material of an emotional nature actually has a stronger vitality and is easier to perceive. Beyond this, however, Ruburt has no love for detail” (Seth smiled) “and will always use it as a clue to see where it leads him.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara más fácil de percibir el material de carga emocional, y adjudica a Roberts una falta de gusto por el detalle que ella usa como pista

«He would not be content simply to give the details on the snatch of paper. This is a fairly automatic tendency of his mental life. We use it, I hope to advantage, in our sessions in other ways. … In the tests, however, we tried to utilize this characteristic, since we could not deny it. Ruburt’s abilities are what I have to work with and through—besides, of course, my own. So we used this tendency here to enlarge the picture and bring in further details that gave you rather respectable data … and in a way that was fairly natural to Rubert.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que aprovechó esa inclinación de Roberts en vez de negarla, y que por ahí salieron los datos de la página entera; la capa de texto imprime *Rubert* por Ruburt

«There are many areas of knowledge in which any given individual is uninterested. He will not bother to use [even] normal perception to obtain it. I give Ruburt access to large fields of focus. I help him change the energy that he uses in perception into other directions, to turn it inward. I make information available to him. Then, according to his basic characteristics, he uses the information.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe su propio papel en las pruebas: dar acceso a campos de foco, volver hacia dentro la energía de percepción y poner la información a disposición

«An earlier test was extremely illuminating from a different standpoint, convincing us that the original extrasensory perception is general, like an overall view of a large area. Somewhere a narrowing-down process must occur to give it a more specific focus.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, saca de otra prueba la tesis de que la percepción extrasensorial es primero general y luego se estrecha

«This test was funny, really, because Seth was doing beautifully on his own. Then he threw the ball to me, and I nearly fell flat on my face.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, cuenta la prueba en que Seth le dejó a ella completar las impresiones y ella no pudo

«Four square, or four and four square.” (We thought this was very good. Rob had the two pieces of Masonite cut in half so they’d fit into our car. This gave him four pieces, each four-foot square.» — Seth, según Roberts, da una impresión numérica que Roberts empareja con las cuatro piezas cuadradas en que se cortó el material

«An oval shape or eye shape, that is, this kind of an eye, inside of a rectangle or triangle, you see.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la impresión del ojo dentro de un rectángulo; Butts anota que Roberts se señalaba uno de sus propios ojos cerrados

«Connection with transportation and with water.” (A rather unique way of referring to a ten-mile car trip to Wellsburg. The name of the town appears on the bill. So, incidentally, does the word “carload” on the back.» — Seth, según Roberts, da una impresión que Roberts empareja con el viaje de diez millas a Wellsburg, cuyo nombre figura en la factura

«A word beginning with m, and another M, this time the initial of a name.” (Rob had purchased Masonite, by its brand name, but the salesman listed it as “Presdwood” on the bill. A capital M appears in the bill’s heading: Glenn M. Schuyler.» — Seth, según Roberts, da dos emes que Roberts empareja con la marca del material y con la inicial del nombre en el membrete

«The feeling of something hanging over, threatening or overhanging, on the upper half of the object, and dark.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la impresión que dejó a Roberts para que la concretara ella

«As I spoke these words for Seth, a rift seemed to open up—a doubt as to the information’s interpretation. I knew that Seth wanted me to narrow this down myself, and that this was part of my training.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, describe el momento en que se abre una grieta de duda dentro del trance y reconoce en ello parte de su instrucción

«I had the feeling of something very heavy hanging over me. Was this to be translated into an object like, say, a heavy roof over my head, or to an emotional feeling that “hung over me”? I didn’t know—and at that point I couldn’t figure it out. The correct specific connection wasn’t made.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara el fallo sin atenuarlo: no supo si traducir la sensación a objeto o a estado de ánimo, y no hizo la conexión

«Yet Seth was trying to lead me to the word “roofing.” It was in the heading of the bill, on the upper half. See how correct and yet ambiguous that unfinished impression was—“the feeling of something hanging over, threatening or overhanging, on the upper half of the object, and dark.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, da la solución que no alcanzó y señala lo correcto y lo ambiguo de la impresión a la vez

«Here Seth’s impressions had been quite literal, as if the words on the bill were coming to life and being described as objects instead of as words describing objects.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, describe el modo de esas impresiones: las palabras de la factura tratadas como objetos

«This test made us suspect that all impressions, extrasensory or otherwise, are initially nonverbal and nonvisual, more like pure feeling that is only later interpreted in sense terms.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, enuncia la tesis que sacó de la prueba: toda impresión es de origen no verbal y no visual, más sentimiento puro que después se traduce a términos de los sentidos

«A connection with a family record, as a page, for example, from a book … connected also with a turbulent event or unpleasantness … four numbers in a row, and other numbers, the initial M, a connection with another city.» — Seth, según Roberts, da las impresiones de un sobre traído sin aviso por una visitante, del que ni Butts ni Roberts sabían nada

«I bet Dr. Instream would throw out the results of that hand-print test because we both worked on palmistry the week before,» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, objeta a su propio resultado más lucido: que el psicólogo lo descartaría porque habían estado leyendo quiromancia esa semana

«He might,” Rob admitted. “But the fact is, we’ve received plenty of letters that I could have used since then. We also did work in handwriting analysis; I could have used one of those samples. I could have used something older than you are—as I’ve done before. I could have used anything. No matter what we use, Seth still has to describe a particular item. And those impressions weren’t general; they could only refer to that specific hand print.» — Robert Butts responde a esa objeción enumerando lo que también pudo haber usado y señalando que las impresiones no eran generales

«For one year, twice a week, Seth gave his impressions as to Dr. Instream’s activities. These included specific references as to names, initials, dates, and places. Some of this data could be easily checked out. Dr. Instream wanted Seth to concentrate on naming a particular object, though, upon which he would be concentrating in the distant town in which he lived. It became obvious that emotional elements were more important; that activities of an emotional nature “came through” more clearly than impressions of a more neutral object. Seth did give material pertaining to objects also, but he was more apt to give specific information on Dr. Instream’s daily life.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, resume el resultado de las pruebas con el psicólogo: Seth daba más y mejor sobre la vida diaria de él que sobre el objeto en que se concentraba, y de ahí que lo emocional llegara más claro

«Seth hadn’t first given impressions of the envelope object itself, then neatly moved on to deal with the entire page; he had shifted back and forth between the two, as if viewing both at once. And why had he not confined his data just to the envelope object?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, añade la tercera: las impresiones iban y venían entre recorte y página, como si viera las dos a la vez

«I was teaching him, and I went along with his natural interests and inclinations. The antagonism he had for testing came not from the idea itself, as» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que enseñaba a Roberts siguiendo sus inclinaciones naturales y empieza a deslindar el origen de su rechazo a las pruebas; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«much as from the idea of focusing upon detail for detail’s sake. Only when you had that kind of a test did he become antagonistic. In extrasensory perception—as in so-called normal perception—the natural inclinations of the personality dictate the kind of information that will be sought from any available field of data.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata el deslinde: el rechazo venía de fijarse en el detalle por el detalle, y las inclinaciones de la personalidad dictan qué información se busca, también en la percepción llamada normal; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«This test brought several questions to mind at once, though. How had Seth picked up the information about the entire page,» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, formula la primera pregunta que el resultado le abrió: cómo llegó Seth a la información de la página entera; la frase cruza de plana

«when only a small section of it was in the test envelope? Had some kind of projection on my part been involved, back to the studio bookcase?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, completa la pregunta y plantea la segunda hipótesis, que hubiera habido proyección suya hasta el librero del estudio; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«But now I felt that I really had to have a session each Monday and Wednesday evening, come hell or high water. And even when we were alone, which we usually were, I felt that the sessions were no longer private—that an invisible Dr. Instream was an audience.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, consigna el efecto del protocolo sobre las sesiones: dejaron de sentirse privadas, con el psicólogo como público invisible

«I didn’t feel this way in the beginning, but I was really furious that he didn’t tell us the results of the tests; all those hours seemed to be going down the drain.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara su enfado por no recibir resultados y la sensación de horas perdidas

«He was obsessed with statistical proof for the existence of telepathy and clairvoyance, and hoped that we could produce it. At first it seemed tremendously exciting to me to be a part of such an endeavor. But as we continued to read everything we could get our hands on, excitement turned to bewilderment.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, describe el empeño del psicólogo en la prueba estadística y cómo el entusiasmo de ella se volvió desconcierto

«Seth told Dr. Instream that he would be moving to a Midwestern university by the end of the year, for example. I have no idea if Dr. Instream had any indication of this ahead of time, but he did move when Seth said he would, and to a Midwestern university. We never learned how many correct impressions even of this sort checked out. Enough of them would have added up to something. So would a high enough percentage of hits on specific names and dates and so forth, statistics or no.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, da el caso del traslado del psicólogo a una universidad del medio oeste, anunciado por Seth y cumplido, y objeta que nunca se les dijo cuántos aciertos así hubo

«A building with a long narrow section; a roof supported by posts. The roof is long and narrow also. With a floor of stone or cement, sand-colored. A veranda outside their door, and a large bucket filled with sand. There are rocks beneath the veranda, and beyond that, the ocean or bay. Right at the shore, down and ahead, is a scooped-out circular indentation where there is a swift current because of the rocks. And at this particular point, by this indentation, there is no beach, though there is a beach to» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el hotel del segundo viaje de los amigos, a Nassau, con la ensenada de corriente rápida y las playas a los lados; el pasaje sigue en la plana siguiente

«Seth seemed to pick up things that had particular emotional meaning for Peg and Bill. For instance, he included among other impressions, “a commemoration of a murder … a statue …” It developed that the Gallaghers had passed a statue, a memorial to Sir Harry Oakes who had been murdered in a sensational, well-publicized case in 1943. Peg was so curious about this that she even questioned a cab driver on his knowledge of the murder events.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, sostiene que Seth captaba lo que tenía carga emocional para los viajeros, y da el caso de la estatua conmemorativa de un asesinato de 1943

«Then, strangely, Seth gave a very specific description of a place Peg and Bill visited, but with one distortion, apparently of wording. “A fountain with steps leading up to it; a circular formation surrounded by flowers, with closely crowded, old, two-story structures to the left of the street and very close to it, in rows.” Everything was correct, except that there was a water tower rather than a fountain.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, consigna un acierto con una distorsión de palabra: donde Seth dijo fuente había una torre de agua

«I’m not temperamentally suited to putting myself under fire twice a week, which is what I was doing with the attitude I had at the time. Emotionally I disliked the tests; intellectually I thought them necessary. Seth didn’t seem to mind them at all, but I forced myself to go along because I thought I should.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, separa su reacción emocional de su juicio intelectual sobre las pruebas y dice que Seth no parecía molesto

«The fact remains that in our sessions the best instances of ESP have occurred spontaneously or in response to someone’s need, and not when we were trying to prove anything.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, enuncia lo que tiene por hallazgo del año: los mejores casos salieron espontáneos o ante una necesidad ajena, no al querer probar

«I knew I was disappointed not to get some sort of “certificate of legitimacy” from Dr. Instream. On the other hand, we didn’t ask for one; we were too burned up not to have reports on the results.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, declara su decepción por no obtener un certificado de legitimidad y a la vez que no lo pidieron

«Very shortly after the sessions began, Rob started to see visions or images. Some were subjective, but others were objectified—three-dimensional, or nearly so. Some were of people, and Rob began to use them as models for his paintings.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, data poco después del comienzo las visiones de Butts, unas subjetivas y otras tridimensionales, que él empezó a usar de modelo

«Seth has said that some depict ourselves in past lives. One, used in this book, is a portrait of Seth in the form in which he chose to appear to Rob. (Since then, a student and a friend of ours have both seen Seth as he appears in this picture.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, consigna el retrato de Seth en la forma en que él eligió aparecerse a Butts, y que otras dos personas lo han visto así

«Rob has a strong visual memory. Once he sees such an image, he retains it and can refer back to it at will. My visual memory is poor, in contrast, and so is my eyesight (I have no depth perception» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, contrasta la memoria visual de Butts con la suya y declara no tener percepción de profundidad

«Yet in sessions, Seth has given Rob excellent advice and information on the techniques and philosophy of art. This strikes us as really funny, since I paint as a hobby, with a stubborn lack of perspective. Rob used to try to teach me perspective, but the lessons just wouldn’t take. I’ve never studied art, and my paintings are rather childish in execution, done with raw color. Yet Seth told Rob how to mix and use certain pigments, and Rob has added the information to his repertoire. Seth says that he has no artistic ability either, but questions artists who have entered his own field of reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, señala la paradoja: el consejo técnico de pintura llega por boca de quien pinta sin perspectiva, y recoge que Seth declara no tener él mismo habilidad artística y preguntar a artistas de su propio ámbito

«In a portrait,” Seth said, “do the same exercise as given earlier: [that is], imagine the individual as the center of all life, so that when the painting is completed, it automatically suggests the whole universe of which the individual is part. Nothing exists in isolation, and this is the secret that the old masters knew so well.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el ejercicio para el retrato: imaginar al individuo como centro de toda vida, de modo que el cuadro sugiera el universo entero, porque nada existe aislado

«In the smallest detail they managed to suggest the reality of the spiritual universe of which that detail was a part and through which the energy of the universe spoke. Use your talents—and they are considerable—to this end. You can do no less.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a los viejos maestros el haber sugerido en el detalle mínimo el universo espiritual, y manda a Butts usar su talento a ese fin

«Now, oils suggest the earth. Let that medium stand for the physical appearance of permanency in any object, the physical continuity of any given human form in a painting. Let the transparent oil colors represent the constant renewal of energy that always escapes the form.» — Seth, según Roberts, reparte los medios: el óleo para la apariencia de permanencia y los colores transparentes para la renovación de energía que se escapa de la forma

«Now, this information is from an artist who always used sienas for initial flesh tones, with a suggestion, very lightly, of violets. These were then very cleverly built up with a transparent ocher which he had, and a particular green, muted. The top complexion tone lay on this lightly, as if a wind could blow it away.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye la receta de color a un artista que no es él: sienas con violetas muy leves, luego ocre transparente y un verde apagado, con el tono de tez encima como si el viento se lo llevara

«After the session Rob told me he was quite certain that I didn’t consciously possess such knowledge—that my mind “didn’t work that way.” Rob had never tried this particular method of building up color tones in portrait work, and it is this technique he used in the painting idea that “came to him” a few days after this session.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, recoge el juicio de Butts sobre esa receta: que ella no la poseía conscientemente y que su mente no funcionaba así

«Seth has dropped some hints as to the identity of the artist who is passing on this data to him. According to what he’s said so far, the artist was a fourteenth-century Dane or Norwegian, and was known for his domestic scenes and still lifes.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, consigna lo que Seth ha dicho del artista que pasa esos datos: danés o noruego del siglo catorce, conocido por escenas domésticas y bodegones, con el nombre aplazado a sesiones futuras

«Later one of my students, George, picked out the painting as a portrait of a personality called Bega, who communicates with him through automatic writing. Seth corroborated this, and said that Bega is one of his own students in another level of reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo ocho, cuenta el caso del retrato que un alumno reconoció como Bega, personalidad que le escribe por escritura automática, y que Seth declara alumno suyo en otro nivel

«As far as we could tell, the existence of telepathy and clairvoyance had been scientifically proven time and time again by Dr. J. B. Rhine at Duke University, and demonstrated by others such as Croisset, a psychic, working with Professor Wilem Tenhaeff at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The work of Harold Sherman and other psychics certainly added circumstantial evidence at the very least.» — Jane Roberts enumera lo que a su juicio ya estaba probado: Rhine en Duke, Croisset con Tenhaeff en Utrecht y Sherman como evidencia circunstancial

«Was Instream throwing out all of these results and countless other evidence» — Roberts pregunta si el psicólogo descartaba todo eso; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *gained in parapsychology laboratories throughout the world*

«One of the attractions of your portrait of me is that it automatically suggests an unseen audience to whom I appear to» — Seth, según Roberts, comenta su propio retrato: lo que lo sostiene es el público no visto que sugiere; la frase cruza de plana

«be speaking. Not a formal audience, but unseen listeners who represent humanity at large. The unseen is there. The figure manages to suggest the universe of men and the world that holds them, yet nowhere do these appear.» — Seth, según Roberts, completa el comentario: oyentes no formales que representan a la humanidad, y un mundo que la figura sugiere sin que aparezca; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«it is no joke. It is a means for the Whole to know Itself.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde al psicólogo, que había llamado a la existencia una broma colosal, que es el medio por el que el Todo se conoce a sí mismo

«The ‘joke’ is highly relevant. If you realized thoroughly that your physical world was an illusion, you would not be experiencing sense data.» — Seth, según Roberts, enmienda de inmediato: la broma es pertinente, y quien tuviera por ilusión el mundo físico a fondo dejaría de recibir datos de los sentidos

«You can experience the illusion, but when you experience the illusion as an illusion, you no longer experience it. You are running ahead of yourself.» — Seth, según Roberts, distingue experimentar la ilusión de experimentarla como ilusión, que es dejar de experimentarla

«You do not know it. You think it. You will not be where you are.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta al *no hay adónde ir* del psicólogo separando saberlo de pensarlo

«You do not know it now. When that point is reached, you will be able, if you prefer, to experience any ‘reality … illusion’ at your will, but the self who experiences these ‘reality … illusions’ will know itself as reality. There is no place for it to go, because it is the only reality, and will create its own environment.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el punto al que apunta: poder experimentar cualquier realidad-ilusión a voluntad, con el yo que las experimenta sabiéndose realidad y creando su propio entorno

«We have come full circle. I am one with what reality I create. There is nowhere to go,” Gene said.» — Eugene Barnard, el psicólogo que interroga a Seth en la sesión 303 que Roberts reproduce, resume la posición a la que llega el diálogo

«You must still be able to experience any one of these illusions, knowing they are illusory, with full knowledge of their nature, and still know that the basic reality is yourself. There is no place to go because you are the place—and all places—in those terms. But the ‘joke’ is relevant. The most important thing I have said this evening is that the joke is relevant. You must be free enough to explore the nature and experience of each living thing within your own system, knowing that it is yourself, and then leave your system. These must be direct experiences.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la condición: conocer cada cosa viva del propio sistema sabiendo que es uno mismo, y después dejar el sistema, y todo por experiencia directa

«I am using terms of continuity now simply for explanation. First there must be a period, and then it has passed, when you are completely immersed in a given system as if no other existed; value fulfillment as a rule being achieved in this manner. This does not mean that you are not dwelling in other systems simultaneously. The illusion must be probed to its depth.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que habla en términos de continuidad solo para explicar, y describe la inmersión completa en un sistema como vía del cumplimiento de valor

«The probing is necessary. Some games are necessary and always relevant.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la objeción del psicólogo, que da el sondeo por innecesario, declarando necesarios y pertinentes algunos juegos

«Yes. You are not granting the diversity that exists.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta al monismo que el psicólogo propone: le reprocha no conceder la diversidad que existe

«But these distortions are part of the game that Shiva plays.” “I would prefer to call it a loving endeavor.” “Of course,” Gene said. “Think of the classical statue of Shiva standing on the crushed baby—a loving participation in the illusion of tragedy. Even in the illusion of self-delusion.» — Eugene Barnard, el psicólogo que interroga a Seth en la sesión 303 que Roberts reproduce, introduce a Shiva y la estatua clásica sobre el niño aplastado como participación amorosa en la ilusión de la tragedia; Seth prefiere llamarlo empeño amoroso

«Yes. That was the comment to Siddhartha.» — Eugene Barnard, el psicólogo que interroga a Seth en la sesión 303 que Roberts reproduce, remite esa acotación a lo que se le dijo a Siddhartha

«These are tender children we lay to rest. We must mourn them though they be [words lost]. … We must feel for them though they be cow dung,» — Seth, según Roberts, responde con una imagen de duelo por lo que se deja atrás; el volumen marca con corchetes que ahí se perdieron palabras en la toma de notas

«You cannot do less,” said Seth. “You can hardly do more.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde al *debemos amarlos porque son nosotros mismos* del psicólogo con una fórmula que no concede ni niega

«You are indeed playing a game with yourself, but it is not relevant, and it may be irrelevant. But you had better play it reverently.» — Seth, según Roberts, admite el juego y pone la condición de jugarlo con reverencia hacia el yo

«There is a holy irreverence and a flighty irreverence. You are playing a game. They are both one. But you had better be certain that you know this thoroughly.» — Seth, según Roberts, distingue una irreverencia santa de una frívola, las declara una sola cosa y exige saberlo a fondo

«Our session, the 339th, started shortly afterward, and almost immediately I left my body, though I had little sensation of doing so. I just found myself hovering in midair, looking down on a particular neighborhood that was obviously someplace in Southern California. Back in the living room, Seth was describing what I was seeing, but I was only distantly aware of his voice.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, data en la sesión 339 su salida del cuerpo sobre un barrio del sur de California, con la voz de Seth oída como desde muy lejos

«I had no idea how to tell Rob that I was out of my body, as Seth was carrying on as usual. My body, I knew, would be animated, as Seth talked. Once I laughed to myself and thought: “I’ll have to send him a telegram.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna el problema práctico de avisar que estaba fuera, ya que su cuerpo seguía animado

«Now there is a small yard with lemons for the brothers; a pink stucco house, two bedrooms to the rear, not a new house. They used the Ouija board in the kitchen. They are near the right corner of the block, but not at the corner. They are not far from water. There is high grass for a while, and some wooden posts and wires.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la casa de los dos hermanos: patio con limones, estuco rosa, dos recámaras al fondo, el tablero usado en la cocina y postes de madera cerca del agua

«To some degree. There are sand dunes of a sort. There, I’ve changed my position. Now I am facing the house. The directions have changed somewhat due to my position. A garagelike structure to my right now, and behind it other structures leading to the water. Beyond, a dune area and a beach. The tide is in.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a Butts, que pregunta si hay proyección, que en cierto grado, y describe el cambio de posición desde el que mira

«Now in here, I was changing my position in the air. As far as I can figure out, I was the one at the location, not Seth.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, deslinda lo que ella entiende del reparto: la que estaba en el sitio era ella, no Seth

«Early evening. There are fairly thin wooden posts, not round, rectangular at the top, you see, perhaps hip-level.» — Seth, según Roberts, precisa la forma de los postes con un gesto; Roberts anota que ella, flotando encima, no entendía para qué servían

«The brothers lived in Chula Vista, a place I’d never visited. They lived in a pink stucco house with two bedrooms to the rear. The corner was two houses to the right. The house itself was half a mile from San Diego Bay. Numerous sand dunes were nearby and wooden posts, exactly as described, were scattered along the dunes.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, detalla los aciertos: Chula Vista, la casa de estuco rosa, la esquina a dos casas, la media milla hasta la bahía de San Diego y los postes en las dunas

«The family had come from Australia and hoped to return. Several other impressions, not mentioned here, were also right, others wrong: For example, Seth said that the mother was dead. Actually she was quite alive, though the family had cut her off emotionally and she did not always live at home.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna también el error: Seth dio por muerta a la madre, que vivía aunque la familia la hubiera cortado

«Again, this experience suggested all kinds of questions concerning Seth’s and my relationship in an out-of-body episode. Presumably he stays in my body, while I go out of it, but this is a simplification, I’m sure.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, declara provisional la explicación más simple de qué pasa con los dos durante una salida del cuerpo

«How did Seth help me do this? How could he record my perceptions when my consciousness was across the continent?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, formula las preguntas que el episodio deja abiertas sobre el registro de sus percepciones a distancia

«One thing I knew: He was pretty tricky—sending me “out” without my prior conscious knowledge of what he was planning. I do much better that way, because I don’t feel that I’m being tested, and I don’t have time to fret about results.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, explica por qué le funcionaba mejor salir sin aviso: no se sentía examinada ni tenía tiempo de inquietarse

«While Seth insists that help comes from within, he did offer excellent advice to a few, along with correct clairvoyant impressions of their environments—probably to let me know we had the right person more than anything else.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna la posición de Seth ante quien pide ayuda: que la ayuda viene de dentro, con impresiones clarividentes usadas sobre todo como comprobación de identidad

«Seth doesn’t make a habit of giving advice in sessions, though: he insists that people make their own decisions.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, acota el papel de Seth como consejero: insiste en que cada quien decida

«The voice was male, was it not?” Seth asked. “Yes,” Phil said. “And you did not recognize it? Then I shall not tell you. I shall not indeed.» — Seth, según Roberts, se niega a identificar la voz que el asistente oyó en un bar, ya que él no la reconoció

«Seth admitted that he was the one who spoke to Phil. After our break he said, “The woman is grasping in a way that is disastrous to those with whom she comes in contact.” He added that the woman “would have used you as a buffer between herself and another male, and as a bargaining point, exaggerating your slightest interest. An unpleasant situation would have resulted. Because you listened to me, the probable future was changed.» — Seth, según Roberts, reconoce haber sido él la voz y explica qué habría pasado, con la conclusión de que por haberle hecho caso cambió el futuro probable

«Then he gave considerable background information, saying that the woman had a child and was involved with another man. “The male involved with her has something to do with mechanics.” He also said that she was a Catholic, and that her problem concerned a legal paper.» — Seth, según Roberts, da datos sobre la mujer que el asistente no tenía: un hijo, otro hombre ligado a la mecánica, la religión y un papel legal

«She lives in … the third or fourth house in the middle of a dead-end street, in the northeastern section of town, but west of the establishment in which you met her.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el domicilio por posición relativa y no por dirección

«Since he was to be in town the next day, Phil went back to the bar and started asking questions. He found out the woman’s address from the bartender and drove down the street to discover that Seth knew what he was talking about. She lived in the third house before the end of a dead-end street, in the northeastern section of town, but west of the bar. She was Catholic and had a child and a male friend who was a car salesman rather than a mechanic.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna el cotejo del propio interesado y separa el acierto del error: vendedor de autos y no mecánico

«Rob and I didn’t know what to make of the affair. It certainly seemed to give some kind of evidence for Seth’s independent nature, unless Phil hallucinated the voice and Seth took advantage of the fact and claimed it as his own. If so (and I doubt it), then Seth certainly had information about the woman and the affair that Phil didn’t have.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, deja el caso sin arbitrar y formula la alternativa: o evidencia de independencia, o una voz alucinada de la que Seth se apropió, y aun así con datos que el testigo no tenía

«At no time are events predestined. With every moment you change, and every action changes every other action. I am able to look from a different perspective, but still see only probabilities. On that particular evening I saw a probability that was not attractive. You and I changed it.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega la predestinación: cada momento cambia y él solo ve probabilidades, no hechos

«One night as I lay in bed I had a spontaneous out-of-body experience in which I seemed to be in a crowded room speaking urgently to Bill Macdonnel (our artist friend). I shook his shoulder none too gently and instantly snapped back to my body. I hadn’t been in bed ten minutes yet and I got up immediately, wrote down what happened, and told Rob.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, data una salida del cuerpo espontánea en que creyó sacudir el hombro del amigo pintor, anotada esa misma noche

«Bill told me that exactly a week before he had been awakened suddenly. Seth stood by his bed, fully three-dimensional, looking just like Rob’s painting of him. He shook Bill’s shoulder and disappeared. Bill told his mother at breakfast the next morning, and wrote a report out for us.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, coteja con el testimonio del amigo: Seth junto a la cama, tridimensional y como en el retrato, sacudiéndole el hombro, lo mismo que ella había anotado una semana antes

«First of all, I thought I had been in a crowded room in my out-of-body experience, but Bill was obviously in his room, alone. Another thing, he saw Seth smoking a cigarette; I smoke. Did Bill hallucinate Seth’s three-dimensional image? If so, he did this at the same time that I felt I was with him. And he felt Seth shake his shoulder while in my experience I shook it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna las discrepancias entre los dos testimonios —el cuarto lleno, el cigarro— y no las armoniza

«Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts, saying that his communications will be limited to his work with me, in order that the integrity of the Seth Material be preserved. According to his statements, however, he has “looked in on” friends occasionally.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna que Seth niega comunicarse por escritura automática con otros, para preservar la integridad del material, y que admite haberse asomado alguna vez

«Mrs. Brian had a terrific headache while reading the article; suddenly she thought she felt Seth’s presence. An inner voice, presumably Seth’s, told her that she had been feeling sorry for herself, that she must stop brooding over her health at once, get up, and go out for a walk. If so, she would improve at once.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, cuenta el caso de una antigua alumna que, con dolor de cabeza, sintió la presencia de Seth y oyó una voz interior que le mandó dejar de compadecerse y salir a caminar

«Considerably startled, she did as she was told. In that instant the headache vanished. By the next day she felt better than she had in six months. She began to take walks again and felt rejuvenated. When she told me the story, I just nodded and smiled. Quite frankly, I didn’t know what else to do.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna el desenlace y su propia reacción, que no es ni afirmación ni negación

«In this case, he said, Mrs. Brian had used him as a symbol of her inner self, or supraconsciousness, to deliver help and healing influences as well as advice. The experience helped the woman to use her own abilities, and the idea of Seth enabled her to activate her» — Seth, según Roberts, explica ese caso sin adjudicárselo: la mujer lo usó como símbolo de su propio yo interior para activar sus fuerzas de curación; la frase cruza de plana

«He absolutely refuses to let people use him as a crutch—this goes for me, too—and maintains that the Seth Material itself provides a means by which people can understand themselves better, reevaluate their reality, and change it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna la negativa de Seth a servir de muleta, ella incluida, y repite el propósito declarado del material

«We are far more interested in the Seth Material than in demonstrations of ESP, and we always were. We think it offers excellent explanations as to how ESP or any perception works, and to us this is far more important. We also accept Seth’s statements as meaningful, significant explanations of the nature of reality and mankind’s position within it. His theories as to the multidimensional personality are not only intellectually provocative but emotionally challenging. They offer each individual the opportunity to enlarge his own sense of identity and purpose.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, declara el orden de prioridades de los dos: el material por encima de las demostraciones de ESP, por lo que explica de la realidad y de la personalidad multidimensional

«Demonstrations of ESP in sessions have always had a purpose: either to help increase my confidence or train my abilities, to illustrate a point made in the material, or to offer information to someone in need.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, enumera los tres propósitos que atribuye a las demostraciones de ESP dentro de las sesiones

«It’s easy for me to forget my earlier feelings that Seth should prove himself; easy for me to forget that I, too, insisted on my “wonders,” and on several occasions even denied the evidence of my own senses out of the mistaken belief that I was somehow being more scientific that way.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, reconoce que ella exigió prodigios y que llegó a negar la evidencia de sus sentidos creyendo ser más científica así

«Since we had read little psychic literature when the sessions began, everything was new to us. It wasn’t until much later that we discovered that some of Seth’s concepts had appeared in esoteric manuscripts dating back thousands of years.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, consigna que solo después supieron que algunos conceptos de Seth figuran en manuscritos esotéricos de hace milenios

«For one thing, Seth does not agree on the existence of one historical Christ, though he grants the legitimacy of the Christ spirit» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, nombra el primer punto de deslinde: Seth no concede un solo Cristo histórico y sí la legitimidad del espíritu de Cristo

«While he sees reincarnation as a fact, he places it in an entirely different time context, and reconciles the theory with the idea of “simultaneous” time. Perhaps more important, he describes reincarnation as only a small part of our entire development. Other equally important existences occur in other non-physical dimensions.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, nombra el segundo: la reencarnación como hecho pero en tiempo simultáneo y como parte pequeña del desarrollo, con otras existencias en dimensiones no físicas

«All of this is interwound with the idea that personality is composed of action. Seth’s description of the three creative dilemmas upon which identity rests is thought-provoking and original. His ideas on God are a natural and fascinating extension of these theories.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, enlaza esas tesis con la personalidad entendida como acción y con los tres dilemas creativos sobre los que descansa la identidad

«To our knowledge at least, the inverted time theory and the system of probabilities are entirely original with the Seth Material. Seth’s idea of the nature of pain is also quite divorced, I believe, from current metaphysical thought. He views suffering as simply an attribute of consciousness and an indication of vitality, considered alarming only by those areas of identity that still fear death as an end.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo nueve, declara originales del material la teoría del tiempo invertido y el sistema de probabilidades, y separa su idea del dolor: atributo de la consciencia e indicio de vitalidad

«You create your reality according to your beliefs and expectations, therefore it behooves you to examine them carefully. If you do not like your world, then examine your own expectations. Every thought in one way or another is constructed by you in physical terms.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 329 dictada en marzo de 1967 para un grupo de bachillerato, enuncia la tesis central: la realidad se crea según creencias y expectativas, y de ahí el mandato de examinarlas

«Your world is formed in faithful replica of your own thoughts. … Certain telepathic conditions exist that we call root assumptions, of which each individual is subconsciously aware. Using these, you form a physical environment cohesive enough so that there is general agreement as to objects and their placement and dimension. It is all hallucinatory in one respect, and yet it is your reality, and you must manipulate within it.» — Seth, según Roberts, introduce las *root assumptions*, condiciones telepáticas de las que cada uno es subconscientemente consciente y que dan el acuerdo general sobre los objetos; concede que todo es alucinatorio en un aspecto y a la vez la realidad en que hay que obrar

«The world in which your parents live existed first in thought. It existed once in the stuff of dreams, and they spawned their universe from this, and from this they made their world.» — Seth, según Roberts, aplica la tesis a la generación anterior: su mundo existió primero en el pensamiento y se engendró de la materia de los sueños

«If you sell yourselves short, you will say, ‘I am a physical organism and I live within the boundaries cast upon me by space and time. I am at the mercy of my environment.’ If you do not sell yourselves short, you will say, ‘I am an individual. I form my physical environment. I change and make my world. I am free of space and time. I am a part of all that is. There is no place within me that creativity does not exist.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra esa sesión con las dos fórmulas opuestas que ofrece a los adolescentes, la del que se malvende y la del que no

«You are trying to cut out many steps for yourself.” “But there aren’t any steps, are there?” “For you, now, there are steps.” “Aren’t they illusory?” “They are indeed,” said Seth.» — Seth, según Roberts, reprocha al psicólogo querer saltarse pasos y concede que esos pasos son ilusorios

«Theoretically it is so indeed. Practically it would behoove you to watch your footing.» — Seth, según Roberts, concede en teoría que las barreras propias pueden retirarse y acota en la práctica: conviene mirar dónde se pisa; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«As our own knowledge increased, however, we found that in some critical» — Jane Roberts declara el deslinde con la literatura espiritualista y metafísica corriente; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *areas Seth's ideas departed*

«areas Seth’s ideas departed from those generally accepted in much spiritualist and metaphysical literature.» — Roberts completa el deslinde: en puntos críticos las ideas de Seth se apartan de lo aceptado en la literatura espiritualista y metafísica; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«What do you think this physical universe is? You may not have thought of the question consciously, but each of us has an opinion and we guide our daily actions by it whether we realize it or not. By physical universe I mean everything with which we come into contact in any way at all—stars, chairs, events, rocks, flowers—our entire physical experience. What you really believe about these things causes much of your behavior. You’ll feel safe or panic-stricken, happy or sorrowful, secure or insecure, according to your private view of reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, abre el capítulo con la pregunta por lo que sea el universo físico y sostiene que la opinión privada de cada quien gobierna su conducta

«Some people think that we are stuck in physical reality like flies in flypaper or victims in quicksand, so that each motion we make only worsens our predicament and hastens our extinction. Others see the universe as a sort of theater into which we are thrust at birth and from which we depart forever at death. In the backs of their minds people with either attitude will see a built-in threat in each new day; even joy will be suspect because it, too, must end in the body’s eventual death.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, enumera las dos imágenes corrientes que combate: el mundo como papel matamoscas y como teatro del que se sale para siempre

«I used to feel this way. When I fell in love with Rob, my joy served to double the underlying sense of tragedy I felt, as if death mocked me all the more by making life twice as precious. I saw each day bringing me closer to a total extinction that I could hardly imagine, but which I resented with growing vehemence.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, declara haber sentido eso ella misma: la dicha doblando el sentido de tragedia porque la muerte encarecía la vida

«Seth says that we form the physical universe as unselfconsciously as we breathe. We aren’t to think of it as a prison from which we will one day escape, or as an execution chamber from which all escape is impossible. Instead we form matter in order to operate in three-dimensional reality, develop our abilities and help others. Physical matter is like plastic that we use and mold to our own desire, not like concrete into which our consciousness has been poured. Without realizing it we project our ideas outward to form physical reality. Our bodies are the materialization of what we think we are. We are all creators, then, and this world is our joint creation.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, resume la tesis de Seth en sus propios términos: la materia como plástico que se moldea y no como concreto donde se vació la consciencia, y el mundo como creación conjunta; la capa de texto espacía la línea

«We are not at the mercy of events. We form the events to which we then react. Look at it personally: You are not at the mercy of your childhood environment or background, unless you believe you are. You merely cooperated with your parents in forming it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, lleva la tesis al caso personal: nadie está a merced de su infancia salvo que lo crea, porque cooperó con sus padres en formarla

«This simple statement alone liberated Rob and me from all kinds of preconceptions that had inhibited our daily lives.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, declara el efecto práctico de esa sola frase sobre la vida de los dos

«Seth says that not only do we form our own reality now, but we will continue to do so after physical death, so it is of the utmost importance that we understand the connection between thought and reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, extiende la tesis más allá de la muerte y de ahí deriva la urgencia de entender el nexo entre pensamiento y realidad

«Was Seth saying that we created tables and chairs as well as events? And when we were ill, were we creating our own disease? If we create reality to begin with, then can we change it for the better?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, formula las preguntas que la tesis abre, incluida la de si al enfermar se crea la propia enfermedad

«Chemicals themselves will not give rise to consciousness or life. Your scientists will have to face the fact that consciousness comes first and evolves its own form. … All the cells in the body have a separate consciousness. There is a conscious cooperation between the cells in all the organs, and between the organs themselves.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte el orden que atribuye a la ciencia: la consciencia va primero y desarrolla su propia forma, y las células tienen consciencia separada que coopera

«Molecules and atoms and even smaller particles have a condensed consciousness. They form into cells and form an individual cellular consciousness. This combination results in a consciousness that is capable of much more experience and fulfillment than would be possible for the isolated atom or molecule alone. This goes on ad infinitum … to form the physical body mechanism. Even the lowest particle retains its individuality and its abilities [through this cooperation] are multiplied a millionfold.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe una consciencia condensada en moléculas y átomos que al agruparse multiplica la capacidad de experiencia sin que la partícula pierda su individualidad

«Matter is a medium for the manipulation and transformation of psychic energy into aspects that can then be used as building blocks. … Matter is only cohesive enough to give the appearance or relative permanence to the senses that perceive it.» — Seth, según Roberts, define la materia como medio para transformar energía psíquica en bloques de construcción, y su cohesión como suficiente solo para dar apariencia de permanencia

«Matter is continually created, but no particular object is in itself continuous. There is not, for example, one physical object that deteriorates with age.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que un objeto se deteriore con la edad: no hay objeto continuo, sino creación continua de energía psíquica en un patrón de apariencia rígida

«No particular object “exists long enough” as an indivisible, rigid, or identical thing to change with age. The energy behind it weakens. The physical pattern therefore blurs. After a certain point each re-creation becomes less perfect from your standpoint. After many such re-creations that have been unperceived by you, then you notice a difference and assume that a change … has occurred. The actual material that seems to make up the object has completely disappeared many times, and the pattern has been completely filled again with new matter.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el envejecimiento aparente por el debilitamiento de la energía detrás del patrón y por recreaciones sucesivas que no se perciben

«Physical matter makes consciousness effective within three-dimensional reality. As individualized energy approaches your particular field, it expresses itself to the best of its ability within it. As energy approaches, it creates matter, first of all in an almost plastic fashion. But the creation is continuous like a beam or endless series of beams, at first weak as they are far off, then stronger, then weak again as they pass away.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la aproximación de la energía individualizada al campo físico como una serie de haces, débiles al principio, fuertes y débiles otra vez al pasar

«Matter of itself, however, is no more continuous, no more given to growth or age than is, say, the color yellow.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata la tesis con una comparación: la materia no es más continua ni más sujeta a crecer o envejecer que el color amarillo

«None of you sees the glass that the others see. … Each of the three of you creates your own glass, in your own personal perspective. Therefore you have three different physical glasses here, but each one exists in an entirely different space continuum.» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene, con el vaso en la mano de Roberts, que cada uno de los tres crea su propio vaso en su propio continuo de espacio

«Now, Mark, you cannot see Joseph’s glass, nor can he see yours,” Seth said. “This can be proven mathematically, and scientists are already working with the problem, though they do not understand the principles behind it. Now there is an infinitesimal point where Mark’s perspective and Ruburt’s overlap. Again, theoretically, if you could perceive that point, you could actually each see the other two physical glasses.» — Seth, según Roberts, afirma que eso se puede probar matemáticamente y postula un punto infinitesimal de solape desde el que se verían los otros dos vasos

«Physical objects cannot exist unless they exist in a definite perspective and space continuum. But each individual creates his own space continuum … I want to tie this in with the differences you seem to see in one particular object. Each individual actually creates an entirely different object, which his own physical senses then perceive.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del continuo de espacio condición de existencia del objeto y adjudica a cada individuo la creación del objeto que después percibe

«You and Ruburt perceive Mark, and yet neither of you sees Mark’s Mark. As he sits in his chair, he is constantly creating his own physical image, using his own psychic energy, and using particular atoms and molecules for the construction of his body. So far we have here, then, one Mark, constructed by himself, and before the evening is out you will be amazed at how many Marks we end up with.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe al invitado creando de continuo su propia imagen física con energía propia, y anuncia cuántos habrá antes de acabar la noche

«While Mark creates his own physical image, you do not see it. At this time, there are three entirely different Marks in this room.» — Seth, según Roberts, enuncia la consecuencia de su tesis para los presentes: tres invitados distintos en el mismo cuarto

«There is the Mark which Mark has created, an actual physical construction. There is another, created by you, Joseph. There are two more physical Marks, one created by Ruburt, and one by your cat. If another person entered the room, there would be still another physical Mark. “In this room, then, there are four physical Ruburts, four physical Josephs, and four physical cats. There are indeed four rooms.» — Seth, según Roberts, suma al gato a la cuenta y llega a cuatro de cada uno y cuatro cuartos

«Your friend Mark, to digress, is an excellent witness in one way because he is sensitive to constructions that appear within the physical realm from other planes. His span of attention is short. I did indeed stand momentarily in the doorway, though if I do say so» — Seth, según Roberts, declara al invitado buen testigo por su sensibilidad a construcciones de otros planos, y admite haber estado en el vano; la frase se corta ahí en el volumen

«I am a much more cheerful-looking fellow than here portrayed. You missed a certain cast along the cheekbones. And if you watch the image closer now, I may be able to make it clearer.» — Seth, según Roberts, enmienda el dibujo de su propia aparición y ofrece hacerla más clara

«There is a smugness about the lips, very good, that I am rather pleased with. The construction is being created by myself. Just to appear within your plane, any construction, whether perceived by you or not, must be composed of atoms or molecules.» — Seth, según Roberts, se declara autor de la construcción y sostiene que toda construcción que aparezca en el plano físico se compone de átomos o moléculas

«The motion and speed varies from regular constructions. I am in this particular instance speaking through Ruburt while I have also stood by in the construction and watched him speak. At a later date I may be able to speak from my own construction.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara la situación doble en que está: hablando por Roberts mientras observa desde la construcción del vano, y aplaza a otra fecha el hablar desde ella

«It is true that in some ways I am no beauty in your terms, yet you must attest that I am not altogether ugly. I will let you take your break. And I wish to thank Mark. When I said that he would join me in a demonstration, I meant that he would join me in a demonstration.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la escena con una broma sobre su propio aspecto y desvela el doble sentido de lo que había anunciado

«Because I say that you create physical matter by use of the inner vitality of the universe, in the same way that you form a pattern with your breath on a glass pane, I do not mean that you are the creators of the universe. I am saying that you are the creators of the physical world as you know it.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota su propia tesis en la misma frase en que la enuncia: quien forma la materia con la vitalidad interior del universo, como el aliento forma un dibujo en el vidrio, no es por eso creador del universo; la sección ilustrada reimprime este pasaje en la plana 226 con una variante, *by use of the inner sense*, que no se armoniza

«I suggest your break. And mark my words, Mark: You are» — Seth, según Roberts, juega con el nombre del invitado al mandar el descanso; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *more than you know*

«more than you know. Incidentally, I would like particular attention paid to this session, as the material will be of great value.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide atención particular a esa sesión por el valor que le atribuye; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«This is the first time that I have attempted to approach in this manner during a session. I am pleased that I have been perceived, and I have been watching you from my own vantage point. The image in the doorway is indeed my own, though there is bound to be a distortion in Mark’s perception of me. It is through the Inner Senses that he perceives me» — Seth, según Roberts, declara primera esa tentativa de aproximarse así, admite distorsión inevitable en la percepción del testigo y la explica por los sentidos internos

«and this data he then attempts to transform into information that can be» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el último tramo de esa percepción: el dato traducido a información; la frase cruza de plana

«Bill swore up and down that he had seen the apparition for nearly an hour. It was not as solid as an ordinary body, but it was far from transparent.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, consigna el testimonio del invitado sobre la duración y la consistencia de la aparición, y que ni ella ni Butts vieron nada

«Bill, you didn’t see a thing, I bet.” I said. “You just want us to agree that we saw something, and then you’ll break up laughing and tell us you made it up» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, reproduce su propia acusación al testigo y consigna que se arrepintió enseguida

«I’ve got as good an imagination as anybody, but I don’t normally go around seeing stuff like this» — Bill Macdonnel, el invitado, responde a la objeción por imaginación

«This picture represents an outward transformation as Mark attempted to construct an accurate replica of material that he sensed with the Inner Senses, and as such it is a reconstruction of what I am.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el dibujo del testigo una reconstrucción de lo que él es, hecha desde datos captados por los sentidos internos

«I would not be surprised if you wondered about the part that suggestion might play in such a demonstration. … Generally speaking, however, no physical object can be constructed, and no action can occur, without what you are pleased to call suggestion. No action and no material object can be perceived without inner consent and willingness. Behind every action and every construction there is indeed suggestion.» — Seth, según Roberts, se adelanta a la objeción por sugestión y la generaliza: no hay objeto ni acción sin consentimiento interior, y detrás de toda construcción hay sugestión

«Suggestion is no more and no less than an inner willingness and consent to allow a particular action to occur; and this consent is the trigger which sets off the subconscious mechanisms that allow you to construct inner data into physical reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, define la sugestión como consentimiento interior que dispara los mecanismos subconscientes de construcción

«There is no more truth and no more falsehood in saying that my appearance in the doorway was caused by suggestion than to say that this room and everything in it is caused by suggestion. … You will understand that it is erroneous to think in terms of one physical universe. You now exist in four different ones at this moment.» — Seth, según Roberts, iguala el estatuto de la aparición y el del cuarto entero ante la objeción por sugestión, y niega que haya un solo universo físico

«Seth explained that the apparition’s appearance was distorted by Bill’s own ideas, though. The high forehead represented Bill’s interpretation of great intelligence, for example. Bill interpreted the available data in his own way: this was the Seth that Bill saw, regardless of Seth’s own appearance.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, consigna la distorsión declarada por el propio Seth: la frente alta era la interpretación del testigo para la inteligencia grande

«Seth then continued, in a rather amusing fashion, giving “advance information” to Bill concerning a vacation trip he was going to take the following week. He described people and events that checked out perfectly on Bill’s return.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, consigna la información anticipada sobre un viaje del invitado, que ella da por comprobada al regreso

«Seth told us that we had opened the door ourselves, using psychic energy to do so, and that this was just one instance of mind influencing matter.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica a los dos la puerta abierta de la casa que iban a comprar, como caso de mente que obra sobre la materia; Roberts consigna que no supo qué pensar

«The session simply astonished me. We had so many questions to ask, we didn’t know where to begin. Exactly how do we form events from mental energy? How do we form objects? How do we agree on what we see?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, enumera las preguntas que la sesión les dejó abiertas

«I’d better mention at this point that Seth says that telepathy operates constantly, providing inner communications to back up all sense data.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, recoge de Seth que la telepatía obra sin cesar como respaldo de todo dato sensorial

«The objective world is the end result of inner action. You can indeed manipulate the objective world from within, for this is the means and definition of true manipulation.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 302 del 21 de noviembre de 1966, hace del mundo objetivo el resultado final de la acción interior

«Thoughts and images are formed into physical reality and become physical fact. They are propelled chemically. A thought is energy. It begins to produce itself physically at the moment of its conception.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara al pensamiento energía que empieza a producirse físicamente al concebirse, y lo dice propulsado químicamente

«Mental enzymes are connected with the pineal gland. As you know them, body chemicals are physical, but they are the propellants of this thought-energy, containing all the codified data necessary for translating any thought or image into physical actuality. They cause the body to reproduce the inner image. They are sparks, so to speak, initiating the transformation.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa las enzimas mentales en relación con la glándula pineal y hace de los químicos del cuerpo los propulsores que llevan los datos codificados para traducir el pensamiento en hecho

«Chemicals are released through the skin and pore systems, in an invisible but definite pseudophysical formation. The intensity of a thought or image largely determines the immediacy of its physical materialization. There is no object about you that you have not created. There is nothing about your own physical image that you have not made.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe una emisión química por la piel y los poros en formación pseudofísica, y hace de la intensidad del pensamiento la medida de la prontitud de su materialización

«The initial thought or image exists within the mental enclosure [as explained in earlier sessions]. It is not yet physical. Then it is sparked into physical materialization by the mental enzymes.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el pensamiento inicial dentro del recinto mental, todavía no físico, hasta que las enzimas mentales lo encienden

«This is the general procedure. All such images or thoughts are not completely materialized in your terms, however. The intensity may be too weak. The chemical reaction sparks certain electrical charges, some within the layers of the skin. There are radiations then through the skin to the exterior world, containing highly codified instructions and information.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el procedimiento: no todo se materializa por completo, la intensidad puede ser débil, y hay radiaciones por la piel con instrucciones codificadas

«The physical environment is as much a part of you, then, as your body. Your control over it is quite effective, for you create it as you create your fingertip. … Objects are composed of the same pseudo-material that radiates outward from your own physical image, only the higher intensity mass is different. When it is built up enough, you recognize it as an object. At low intensity mass it is not apparent to you.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del entorno físico parte del cuerpo y explica el objeto como la misma materia pseudofísica a mayor intensidad de masa

«Every nerve and fiber within the body has an inner purpose that is not seen, and that serves to connect the inner self with physical reality, that allows the inner self to create physical reality. In one respect, the body and physical objects go flying out in all directions from the inner core of the whole self.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a cada nervio y fibra un propósito interior que conecta el yo interior con la realidad física

«Nerve impulses travel outward from the body, invisibly along these nerve pathways in much the same manner that they travel within the body. The pathways are carriers of telepathic thoughts, impulses, and desires that travel outward from any given self, altering seemingly objective events.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la pregunta de Butts por las otras partes del cuerpo implicadas: vías nerviosas que salen del cuerpo y llevan pensamientos telepáticos, alterando lo que parece objetivo

«In a very real manner, events or objects are actually focal points where highly charged psychic impulses are transformed into something that can be physically perceived: a breakthrough into matter. When such highly charged impulses intersect or coincide, matter is formed. The reality behind such an explosion into matter is independent of the matter itself. An identical or nearly identical pattern may reemerge ‘at any time’ again and again, if the proper coordinates exist for activation.» — Seth, según Roberts, define el objeto y el suceso como puntos focales donde impulsos psíquicos cargados se cruzan y rompen hacia la materia, con la realidad de detrás independiente de la materia

«In your system of reality you are learning what mental energy is, and how to use it. You do this by constantly transforming your thoughts and emotions into physical form. You are supposed to get a clear picture of your inner development by perceiving the exterior environment. What seems to be a perception, an objective concrete event independent from you, is instead the materialization of your own inner emotions, energy, and mental environment.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la pregunta por el sentido de todo eso: aprender qué es la energía mental usándola, y leer el desarrollo interior en el entorno exterior

«But as you will see, we form our physical reality not only now and after death, but through at least several lifetimes, as we learn to translate energy and idea into experience. We not only form our environment now, but ahead of time we choose our parents and circumstances. Perhaps after reading the next two chapters you’ll see why I finally accepted the idea of reincarnation after having been “dead set” against it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diez, anuncia los dos capítulos de reencarnación y declara que las circunstancias y los padres se eligen de antemano

«It represents the appearance that these abilities of mine take on when closely connected with the physical plane. This does» — Seth, según Roberts, acota qué representa el dibujo del testigo: el aspecto que sus facultades toman al acercarse al plano físico; la frase cruza de plana

«not necessarily mean that in all planes I have the same image. It is the first such representation of me, and I am quite fond of it.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que esa imagen valga para todos los planos y declara aprecio por la primera representación de sí mismo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Have you lived before, and will you live again? According to Seth all of us have been reincarnated, and when we are finished living our series of earthly lives, we will continue to exist in other systems of reality. In each life we experience conditions that we have chosen beforehand, circumstances and challenges tailored to fit our own needs and develop our own abilities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, resume la doctrina de reencarnación del material: series de vidas terrenas seguidas de otros sistemas, con condiciones elegidas de antemano a la medida de lo que hay que desarrollar

«Think about it: Some of us are born brilliant and some mad, some with bodies swift and elegant, others missing vital organs or whole limbs. Some of us are born so blessed with riches that we live in a world hardly imaginable to the majority of men, and others grow old and die in dark pockets of poverty, equally incomprehensible. Why? Only reincarnation weaves these seemingly disparate conditions into a framework that makes sense. According to Seth these situations are not thrust upon us, but chosen.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, presenta la reencarnación como la única trama que da sentido al reparto desigual de dones, cuerpos y fortunas

«Why would anyone choose a life of illness or poverty? And what about children who die young, or servicemen killed in war? All of these questions came into our minds when Seth began speaking about reincarnation. As I mentioned earlier, when the sessions started I didn’t believe that we survived death once, much less many times. If we lived before, I thought, and if we can’t remember, then what good does it do? “Besides,” I said to Rob, “Seth says that we live in the ‘Spacious Present,’ and that there really isn’t any past, present, and future. So how can we live one life ‘before’ another?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, formula las objeciones que ella misma puso, incluida la del presente espacioso: si no hay pasado ni futuro, cómo se vive una vida antes que otra

«I don’t believe that there can be any single answer or blanket explanation, but we have had two readings involving such children, and I can give you the explanations offered in these specific instances.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, niega que haya respuesta única a por qué mueren niños dotados y limita lo que ofrece a dos casos

«During the proceedings I felt that I was the deceased woman, reliving an argument she once had with her husband. As the woman, I banged my fist up and down so hard on our table that Rob was afraid I’d break my hand. The argument was a violent one. The other personality took over rather completely, and Rob was actually concerned for my physical safety.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, cuenta el episodio que la volvió cautelosa: sintió ser la difunta y revivió una discusión violenta, con Butts temiendo por su cuerpo

«My student was convinced that her mother-in-law had expressed herself through me, because I used her gestures and her language—including some pet phrases that were pretty purple.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna la convicción de la alumna por los gestos y el lenguaje, incluidas frases subidas de tono

«Yet most of the names and dates I had given that day had checked out, and one point in particular —unknown to my student—was later corroborated by a relative.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna que nombres y fechas de aquel día se comprobaron y que un punto lo corroboró después un pariente

«If it was subconscious role-taking on my part, then it was a darned good job, and if telepathy was involved, then it was a darned good job too, because my student had to check some of the facts with others.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, plantea las dos explicaciones del episodio —representación subconsciente o telepatía— y no arbitra: las dos exigirían un trabajo notable

«I’m pretty choosy as to whom I let in my house, and living or dead, people like that weren’t going to find a welcome mat here.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara la regla que sacó de ahí, dicha de los vivos y de los muertos a la vez

«The boy was briefly with you for his own reasons. He was to enlighten you, and so he did. You have known him in past lives. At one time, he was his present father’s uncle.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a los padres del niño muerto a los tres años declarando que la estancia fue breve y por razones propias del niño, y que en una vida pasada fue tío del que ahora es su padre

«He wanted to give you an impetus, and his effect was far stronger than had he lived, and he knew this. He had a horror of living to young malehood for he did not want to meet a young woman, become attracted, and continue with another physical life.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el efecto buscado y le atribuye al niño horror a llegar a la juventud y quedar atado a otra vida física

«He was a light to you, and the light is not extinguished. It will lead you into knowledge that you would not have known otherwise, for you would not have sought it so vigorously. He is well aware of this, and wanted you to begin the pilgrimage; but the pilgrimage is within yourselves.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el consuelo que da: la peregrinación a la que empuja el hijo es dentro de los padres

«He was involved in scientific endeavors both in Atlantis and Egypt, but he had no desire to continue those pursuits now. He had gone quite beyond them. You [Jim] were also involved with him in two past lives in the same relationship, and as priests you both were interested in the inner workings of the universe.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa las vidas pasadas del niño en la Atlántida y en Egipto y hace del padre su compañero de sacerdocio en dos de ellas

«It is not time for you to run willy-nilly, looking for truth in any treetop. The truth is inside yourself. Your son is not a threeyear-old any longer. He is an entity older than you, and he has tried to point out the way to you. … He was not a child taken before his promise was achieved, but a personality who left you when his own reincarnations were finished. He will not return, but go on now to another reality in which his abilities can be used to more advantage.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que el niño fuera tomado antes de cumplir su promesa y lo declara entidad más vieja que el padre, que no volverá; el troceo parte *three-year* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«Now, I have lived and died many times, and you can sense my vitality. And I tell you that the boy’s vitality exists in as vital terms. It would have been almost a penance for him to have stayed longer. You helped him ‘save his soul’ at one time [in a past life] and he was returning the favor. At one time he was tempted to use his abilities to gain power, and to use the priesthood for gain. On that occasion you stopped him.» — Seth, según Roberts, se pone a sí mismo de prueba de la vitalidad que atribuye al niño, y declara una deuda pasada entre los dos

«No one can tell you what road to follow. You have the answers within you. Beware of those who give you ready answers. I am speaking in terms of probabilities, for the future is plastic.» — Seth, según Roberts, advierte contra quien da respuestas hechas y declara plástico el futuro, de modo que lo que dice son probabilidades

«I am giving you what I believe is the most important information, whether you can check it out or not. … Your inner selves digest what I have said, and this is more important than ten pages of notes and dates that you cannot check, since these lives were so long ago.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara qué prefiere dar y por qué: lo que el yo interior digiere vale más que páginas de fechas que no se pueden comprobar

«It is natural that you come to others for help in your situation, and in my way I hope I have helped you. There is a difference between being told things and knowing them, however. And knowing comes from within. When you know, you do not need to be told, and you can have that kind of knowing. I will be glad to help you find it, but no one can find it for you.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la lectura separando el ser dicho del saber, y declara que el saber viene de dentro y que nadie lo halla por otro

«Suddenly impressions came into my own mind. Many of these checked out at once, on the spot. I told Ann, for instance, that her brother used several names and wore a toupee, and this was correct, along with many other statements.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna que en el descanso las impresiones le vinieron a ella misma y se comprobaron en el acto

«There was an episode with toenails and shoes too small,” I said. “This put pressure on the right big toe which affected an artery up the right leg. A bruise that damages function always occurs in such a case, though the bruise may be small.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, reproduce una de esas impresiones suyas sobre los síntomas del niño

«Though they hadn’t anything to do with reincarnation, these impressions did have a lot to do with demonstrating to Jim and Ann that we do have the ability to receive knowledge other than through the physical senses.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara para qué sirvieron esas impresiones: mostrar a los padres que se puede saber por otra vía que los sentidos

«Since this information was correct, there is no reason to suppose that the impressions concerning the disease’s causes were wrong, though they are unknown. By the same token, there is no reason to suppose the reincarnational material was any less correct, though we can’t check it because of the long time periods involved. (Some reincarnational data is much more recent and can be checked to some extent if the people involved have the time and want to make the effort.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, formula el argumento con que traslada la credibilidad de lo comprobable a lo no comprobable, y lo deja como suposición

«So far we have run across very few priests, and no one else who lived in Atlantis.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna con ironía lo poco frecuentes que resultan en sus lecturas los sacerdotes y los atlantes

«I felt pretty humble when the whole thing was over. Jim and Ann were almost transformed, and before the session, I had been so dubious that I hesitated. (The thing is, when I consciously think in such a limited fashion, my intuitive inner self rises up and shows me that much more is involved than the ego. Actually I think that these abilities flow through us as the wind flows through the branches.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara su propia figura de cómo obran esas facultades: como el viento por las ramas, con el yo intuitivo desmintiendo al ego que la limita

«More and more I have seen how reincarnation makes sense out of such apparently senseless tragedies, and provides an inner structure to situations that would otherwise seem chaotic and unjust. I was so pleased to be able to help Ann and Jim; and that session and others like it have helped me also by showing me the value of ideas that originally I could not accept.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara el desplazamiento de su juicio sobre la reencarnación por vía del uso y no del argumento

«He did not mean to stay within physical reality. He only came to show you what was possible, and to bring you both to an understanding of inner reality. He chose his illness. It was not thrust upon him. He did not manufacture sufficient blood,» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica al propio niño la elección de la enfermedad y niega que le fuera impuesta; la frase cruza de plana

«for he did not want to be physical beyond the time he had allotted.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la razón que atribuye al niño para no fabricar sangre suficiente: no quería seguir siendo físico más allá del tiempo asignado; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth said in a session that the boy had been a sailor in several past lives and still regarded death by water as preferable to dying on land. The boy had been related to his foster mother in another life, and also returned to help her gain needed inner development. He died early so that his death would make her question, and search for answers. She had been running from medium to medium, trying to contact the boy. In no uncertain terms, Seth told her to stop this practice and to work for inner development instead.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en el caso del hijo adoptivo ahogado, adjudica al muchacho vidas de marinero y una muerte temprana para hacer preguntar a la madre, y le manda dejar de ir de médium en médium

«According to Seth, we choose our illnesses and the circumstances of our birth and death. This applies to every illness, whether it is a broken leg suffered from an accident, or an ulcer. This doesn’t mean that we consciously make a choice in the way we’re used to; we don’t sit down and say, “Well, I think I’ll get a broken leg this afternoon at three in front of Rand’s drugstore.” Some part of us is upset and chooses an illness or accident as a way of expressing this inner situation.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, extiende la elección a toda enfermedad y accidente, y acota de inmediato el sentido de *elegir*: no una decisión consciente ni deliberada

«To begin with, Seth does not use the word “punishment.” We are not “punished” in one life for the “transgressions” of a past one. Nor do we choose illness per se as a given life situation, even though we may utilize such an illness as a part of a larger plan, as a method of teaching ourselves some important truth or as a means of developing certain abilities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, deslinda la doctrina del castigo: no se paga en una vida lo de otra, ni se elige la enfermedad por sí misma, sino como método dentro de un plan mayor

«Suppose—just suppose—Seth held a session and suggested treatments or medicine that made Sally worse? I was Jane Roberts, not Edgar Cayce.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara el temor que le daba el caso de la enferma: que un consejo de Seth la empeorara, y se separa de Edgar Cayce

«Even if Sally can’t be cured, perhaps he could explain things so that her illness would make some kind of sense. Why Sally? She’s never hurt anyone in her life.» — el marido de la enferma, en la llamada que Roberts reproduce, pide no una cura sino un sentido, y formula la objeción clásica: por qué ella

«Then again I managed to remember that the inner I was so much stronger than the Jane-I, and that Seth knew much more than either of us. So I agreed.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, declara qué la decidió: que el yo interior sabe más que el yo llamado Jane

«The mental attitude of everyone involved should be altered to one that is more hopeful. The woman is picking up and reacting to the negative thoughts of those who believe her recovery is impossible.» — Seth, según Roberts, empieza por el entorno y no por la enferma: sostiene que ella recoge y devuelve el pensamiento negativo de quienes la dan por perdida

«The disease cannot be reversed physically. A physical improvement will be the result of a spiritual change. All those surrounding her must refrain from attitudes of hopelessness and negative suggestions, whether implied or spoken. … This in itself will enable her to improve to some degree.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota lo que promete: la enfermedad no se revierte físicamente y la mejoría sería resultado de un cambio espiritual

«Do not manufacture hollow false assurances, but honestly and persistently remind yourself that the physical matter of your wife’s image is filled with and formed by universal energy. A block has been preventing her from using this energy with normal effectiveness. You can partially make up for this by your own attitude and the exercises I have given you. This itself will give her a breathing spell, when the disease will cease its progression. If my instructions are followed completely, then some improvement should take place shortly.» — Seth, según Roberts, advierte contra el consuelo falso y describe un bloqueo que impide a la enferma usar esa energía, con el efecto esperado acotado a una tregua

«If the instructions concerning a beneficial change in her mental environment are not taken, then no other advice or medicine will be of help.» — Seth, según Roberts, condiciona toda la prescripción a que se cambie primero el entorno mental

«He recommended that Sally’s limbs be rubbed with peanut oil, and that iron be added to her diet. He emphasized that she would be happier in another room and said: “I believe you have a fairly small sunny parlor. This room has beneficial connotations for her. Let her be moved there.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, recoge las indicaciones concretas de Seth: aceite de cacahuate en los miembros, hierro en la dieta y el traslado a una salita soleada que él describe sin haberla visto

«Notice that Seth did not mention other topics until he gave the above advice—and that it was for the husband and those caring for the patient rather than for the patient herself.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, señala el orden del consejo y su destinatario: primero el entorno, y dirigido a quien cuida y no a la enferma

«There are past life connections operating. Right now it is not as important for you to know these as it is to take the steps I am outlining.» — Seth, según Roberts, pospone las conexiones de vidas pasadas a los pasos prácticos

«The woman was a male, Italian, in a hill village. He lost his wife and was left with a highly neurotic crippled daughter for whom he cared for many years. As a man, Sally was called Nicolo Vanguardi [Rob’s phonetic interpretation] and the daughter was named Rosalina. He resented the girl, and while he cared for her, he did not do so kindly.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la vida pasada de la enferma: un hombre italiano de aldea de monte con una hija coja a la que cuidó sin bondad; Roberts marca entre corchetes que el nombre es la transcripción fonética de Butts

«The father [Sally in the past life] was thoroughly embittered. The daughter had left too late; he was too old; no one would have him, and now he had no one even to talk to. He hated his daughter the more and railed that she had forsaken him in his old age, after he had cared for her.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el resentimiento final del padre de aquella vida; el corchete que identifica al personaje con la enferma es de Roberts

«Here the personality was born only fifty miles away, and as the wife of a wealthy landowner, she often drove through the very land where the small house [of her former life] still stood with its farm. This in a town badly bombed in the Second World War.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa la vida intermedia a cincuenta millas de la anterior, con la misma personalidad pasando en coche por la tierra de su vida previa

«This time the personality is being cared for rather than caring for—being physically dependent. The personality in the earlier existence would not and could not try to understand the circumstances and position of the crippled daughter. Not for a moment then could the personality bear to contemplate the inner reality in personal terms.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica la enfermedad presente como inversión de papeles: la misma personalidad cuidada en vez de cuidadora, para entender desde dentro lo que no quiso contemplar

«This time Sally plays that part, and is completely immersed in it. Jon was the man with whom the daughter left in the past life. Now Sally loves him, and has learned to see the good points of his personality.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica al marido el papel del hombre que se llevó a la hija en aquella vida

«He went on to say that the name of the original Italian town was something like Ventura, was located in southeastern Italy, and that a tragic train wreck occurred in the area just after the 1930’s.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna los datos comprobables que Seth dio del lugar: el nombre aproximado, el sureste de Italia y un accidente de tren posterior a los años treinta

«While such situations as Sally’s illness are chosen by the personality, the individual is always left to work out its own solution. Complete recovery, illness, or early death are not preordained on the part of the entity [or whole self]. The general situation is set up in response to deep inner involvements.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el determinismo de su propia doctrina: la situación se elige, el desenlace no está preordenado

«The problem is a challenge set up by the entity for one of its own personalities, but the outcome is up to the personality involved. This was the last major stumbling block for this personality. … One does not choose illness per se for a lifetime situation. In this case, in order for the personality to see its own past activities clearly, it felt that it must develop a position of complete dependency.» — Seth, según Roberts, repite que no se elige la enfermedad por sí misma, sino una posición de dependencia completa como modo de ver el propio pasado

«The inner self, as distinguished from the more accessible subconscious, is aware of the situation and finds release through frequent inner communications where successes are remembered and reexperienced. The dream state becomes an extremely vivid time, for such experiences assure the personality of its larger nature. It knows it is more than the self that it has for a time chosen to be.» — Seth, según Roberts, distingue el yo interior del subconsciente accesible y hace del estado de sueño el sitio donde la personalidad se reasegura de ser más que lo que eligió ser

«This is characteristic of that entity, an impatience and yet a daring, because the situation represented such a challenge. All the weak points are intensified, hence the gravity of the physical situation. The entity preferred this, rather than a series of smaller difficulties. In this, Jon subconsciously acquiesced, to learn patience and forbearing—to take what he considered his medicine all in one dose, so to speak.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a por qué no una dolencia menor: atribuye a la entidad impaciencia y osadía, y una preferencia por la dificultad concentrada

«Such a situation allows the personality to telescope experience needed into one life situation, to delve deeply and face at once problems that could otherwise take several lifetimes. Only a bold and courageous personality would attempt this.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el rendimiento de esa concentración: telescopar en una vida lo que llevaría varias

«Now, over two years later, Sally is still alive but in poor condition. Seth said that she had solved the challenges she had set for herself, but in so doing had damaged her physical body to such an extent that she had decided to discard it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo once, consigna el estado de la enferma al escribir el libro y la lectura que Seth le da: retos resueltos y cuerpo dañado hasta el punto de descartarlo

«The husband should follow this exercise three times a day: He should imagine the energy and vitality of the universe filling» — Seth, según Roberts, prescribe al marido un ejercicio tres veces al día; la frase cruza de plana

«his wife’s form with health. This should not be a wishfulthinking sort of thing, but a definite effort to understand that her form is composed of this energy, and in this way he can help her use it to advantage. If possible, he should touch her during this exercise, and it should be done morning, evening, and night.» — Seth, según Roberts, precisa el ejercicio: no desear sino entender que la forma de ella se compone de esa energía, con contacto físico y tres veces al día; la frase arranca en la plana anterior; el troceo parte *wishful-thinking* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«Seth began by saying that Karma does not involve punishment. “Karma presents the opportunity for development. It enables the individual to enlarge understanding through experience, to fill in gaps of ignorance, to do what should be done. Free will is always involved.» — Seth, según Roberts, define el karma como oportunidad de desarrollo y no como castigo, con el libre albedrío siempre implicado; la sección ilustrada reimprime este pasaje como cartel en la plana 223

«He wanted to remarry, but no one would have him because of the daughter. When she could, she defied him. She was a» — Seth, según Roberts, continúa el relato de la vida pasada: nadie lo quería por la hija, y ella lo desafiaba cuando podía; la frase cruza de plana

«handsome-looking young woman, crippled but not deformed. When she was in her thirties, she was more youthful appearing than many women much younger who had to work in the fields. They had a small farm, and itinerant help. A widowed man with no children came from a nearby village to help out on the farm. He fell in love with her, and despite her condition, took her to his home village.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe a la hija y al viudo que llega a ayudar en la granja y se la lleva a su aldea; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Through the change of roles, Sally now gains insight on past failures, and also helps her present husband to become more contemplative and to seek answers to questions that he would» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el doble rendimiento del arreglo: ella gana perspectiva sobre sus fallos pasados y él es empujado a preguntar; la frase cruza de plana

«not have asked otherwise. She is adding to his development and also working out serious flaws that existed in her own personality.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata: ella suma al desarrollo de él mientras trabaja fallos serios de su propia personalidad; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth had often told us that when we’re finished with our lives here, we’re actually anxious to leave this existence. When the body is worn out, we really want to get rid of it. The instinct for survival is served quite well, because the inner self knows that it lives beyond death.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, resume la posición de Seth sobre el final de la vida: el deseo de dejarla cuando el cuerpo está gastado, con el instinto de supervivencia servido porque el yo interior sabe que sigue

«Her whole reality is far greater, and she is endeavoring to put these memories in place, as you would put furniture into a new house. Time as you think of it has little meaning for her.» — Seth, según Roberts,, sobre la enferma en coma, compara los recuerdos con muebles que ella acomoda en una casa nueva, con el tiempo ya sin peso

«There have been guides to help her. She will hardly notice that she has entirely moved in, for she will feel so at home. In her case, she has been forming memory pictures of her childhood, of days before her physical illness, and entering into them. She is learning that events that seem to be in the past can be re-created. “This does not mean she thinks that she is a child. She is enjoying the freedom of reexperiencing events. This is a sort of spiritual therapy in her case, so that she loses the identification with illness and does not carry it with her.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe lo que atribuye a la enferma en coma: revivir recuerdos de infancia como terapia espiritual para soltar la identificación con la enfermedad

«She sees herself supported in a religious sense by conventional figures from the Bible. These personalities will explain the nature of reality to her in vocabulary that will make sense to her. Again, she has solved the problems that she set, and brought forth in her husband compassion and understanding, qualities that greatly help in his own development.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica a la enferma figuras bíblicas convencionales como apoyo, que le explicarán la realidad en el vocabulario que ella entiende

«I have appeared to her as a very gentle John of the Disciples, and spoken with her. This is not trickery, but a method of helping that she can accept. It is not unusual for those trying to help to assume such comforting forms and images.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara haberse presentado a la enferma bajo la figura de Juan, y niega que eso sea engaño: lo llama método de ayuda

«Now the new body is, of course, not a new one at all, but simply a body not physical in your terms, one that you use in astral projections, one that gives the vitality and strength to the physical body that you know.» — Seth, según Roberts, identifica el cuerpo de después de la muerte con el de la proyección astral, que da vitalidad al físico

«Your flesh is embedded in it now. When you leave the physical body, the other body is quite real to you and seems as physical, although it has many more freedoms. … Sally is delighted with this body, comparing it with the [sick] physical one. She is trying to cut off all identification with her physical body, whether it is alive or dead in your terms.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara la carne embebida en ese otro cuerpo y describe a la enferma cortando toda identificación con el suyo

«And I thought you were on your good behavior because I was here! I will have to learn to be a reverend rock drummer, and I will keep the beat with you.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde con una broma a la visita de un ministro retirado en una clase

«You go where you want to go,” Seth said. “Now, when your ordinary, waking, conscious mind is lulled in the sleep state, you travel in other dimensions. You are already having experiences in these other dimensions then. You are preparing your own way. When you die you go into those ways that you have prepared. There are various periods of training that vary according to the individual.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde al ministro que a dónde se va después de la muerte: a donde uno quiera y a lo que ya preparó en el estado de sueño

«You. If you are very tired, then you rest. If you are wise, you take time to digest your knowledge and plan your next life, even as a writer plans his next book. If you have too many ties with this reality or if you are too impatient, or if you have not learned sufficiently, then you may return too quickly. It is always up to the individual. There is no predestination. The answers are within yourself then, as the answers are within you now.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a qué determina el tiempo entre reencarnaciones: el propio interesado, y niega la predestinación

«There was death by fire on two occassions.» — Seth, según Roberts, añade dos muertes por fuego; la capa de texto imprime *occassions*

«A small town twenty-five meters from Charterous—the nearest approximation here, Charterous or Charteris [Chartres?]. The last name then was Manupelt. Or Man Aupault. A. Curia. Some connection here with the first historical personality we have run across: a very distant connection to Joan of Arc, on the mystic’s father’s side, twice removed. And that name, approximately as given, in some records … in an old cathedral. The family name, the town, and the name of the» — Seth, según Roberts, da nombres y lugares con las aproximaciones marcadas por Butts entre corchetes, y declara una conexión distante con Juana de Arco; el pasaje sigue en la plana siguiente

«When Seth was done, for a minute, Jean wouldn’t say a thing. Then she really blushed and told us that she’d always been terrified of fire, and that her nickname in high school had been Joan of Arc or The Witch.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna el cotejo de esa alumna: terror al fuego desde siempre y el apodo de bachillerato

«He gave reincarnational material for another student, Connie, and mentioned in particular a life in Denmark when she had died as a small boy of diphtheria. And that really did it! Connie surprised everyone, particularly the other college girls, by saying that since she was a small child she’d been frightened of getting diphtheria, and that she could never understand why.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna el tercer cotejo: una muerte por difteria en Dinamarca y el miedo inexplicado de la alumna a esa enfermedad

«So along with the reincarnational histories Seth had given each girl a point of information, highly significant, and unknown to anyone in the room except for the person for whom it was intended. And this bit of information tied in beautifully with some small unexplainable attitudes that had previously puzzled them.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, señala el patrón de los tres casos: un dato conocido solo por la interesada y encajado con una actitud sin explicar

«Your idea of time is false. Time as you experience it is an illusion caused by your own physical senses. They force you to perceive action in certain terms, but this is not the nature of action. The physical senses can only perceive reality a little bit at a time, and so it seems to you that one moment exists and is gone forever, and the next moment comes and like the one before also disappears.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la objeción de una alumna sobre el tiempo simultáneo declarando ilusoria la experiencia del tiempo, causada por los sentidos físicos

«But everything in the universe exists at one time, simultaneously. The first words ever spoken still ring through the universe, and in your terms, the last words ever spoken have already been said, for there is no beginning. It is only your perception that is limited.» — Seth, según Roberts, enuncia la simultaneidad: las primeras palabras dichas siguen sonando y las últimas ya se dijeron, porque no hay principio

«There is no past, present, and future. These only appear to those who exist within three-dimensional reality. Since I am no longer in it, I can perceive what you do not. There is also a part of you that is not imprisoned within physical reality, and that part of you knows that there is only an Eternal Now. The part of you who knows this is the whole self.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el pasado, el presente y el futuro apariencias de la realidad tridimensional, y llama yo entero a la parte que sabe del Ahora Eterno

«Pretend that you have several dreams, and you know that you are dreaming. Within each dream, one hundred earthly years may pass, but to you, the dreamer, no time has passed, for you are free of the dimension in which time exists. The time you seem to spend within the dream—or within each life—is only an illusion, and to the inner self no time has passed because there is no time.» — Seth, según Roberts, ilustra la simultaneidad con el sueño: cien años dentro del sueño y ningún tiempo para el que sueña

«The various reincarnational selves can be superficially regarded as portions of a crossword puzzle, for they are all portions of the whole, and yet they can exist separately.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara los yoes reencarnatorios con las piezas de un crucigrama; Roberts cita por la plana 3600 de las sesiones propias, no por el libro

«Because you are obsessed with the idea of past, present, and future, you are forced to think of reincarnations as strung out one before the other. Indeed we speak of past lives because you are used to the time sequence concept. What you have instead is something like the developments narrated in The Three Faces of Eve. You have dominant egos, all a part of an inner identity, dominant in various existences. But the separate existences exist simultaneously. Only the egos involved make the time distinction. 145 B.C., A.D. 145, a thousand years in your past, and a thousand years in your future—all exist now.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 256, compara la reencarnación con el caso de personalidades múltiples de The Three Faces of Eve: egos dominantes de una misma identidad, todos existentes a la vez

«It is interesting that the personalities [in Three Faces of Eve] did alternate, and all were in existence at once, so to speak, even though only one was dominant at any given time. In the same way, so-called past personalities are present in you now but not dominant.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata la comparación: las personalidades del caso alternaban y existían a la vez, y así están presentes y no dominantes las del pasado

«As far as we know, this reconciliation of reincarnation and simultaneous time is original with Seth. Most other theories of reincarnation take the time sequence for granted.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, declara original de Seth la conciliación entre reencarnación y tiempo simultáneo frente a las otras teorías

«Since all events occur at once in actuality, there is little to be gained by saying that a past event causes a present one. Past experience does not cause present experience. You are forming past, present, and future—simultaneously. Since events appear to you in sequence, this is difficult to explain.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde por la causalidad: la experiencia pasada no causa la presente, y pasado, presente y futuro se forman a la vez

«When it is said that certain characteristics from a past life influence or cause present patterns of behavior, such statements —and I have made some of them—are highly simplified to make certain points clear.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara simplificadas sus propias afirmaciones sobre la influencia de vidas pasadas, y se las atribuye

«The whole self is aware of all of the experiences of all of its egos, and since one identity forms them, there are bound to be similarities between them and shared characteristics. The material I have given you on reincarnation is quite valid, particularly for working purposes, but it is a simplified version of what actually occurs.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota su propio material: válido para trabajar y versión simplificada de lo que ocurre

«But all problems are not the result of such “past life” influences. In one case, a friend’s hang-ups in the present originated right in this life, though her boyfriend’s were left over from the past.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, acota el alcance de la doctrina con un caso: los problemas de una amiga nacían en esta vida y los del novio no

«In your dimension it is as if remembered events were like pieces of furniture, all arranged in one room, in a given order. Living in that room, you can find your way between the various pieces easily. “You then move out into a larger and different kind of room, and here the furniture may be arranged in any fashion, arranged and rearranged to your heart’s content. You may form different combinations from it and use it for different purposes.» — Seth, según Roberts, extiende la figura de los muebles: el cuarto donde están fijos y el cuarto mayor donde se recombinan a voluntad

«So Sally is rearranging the furniture of her mind. And as you might visit a new residence and move some of your belongings there before you officially make it your own, so she has been examining the new environment. She is in the process of transferring herself to the new location.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el traslado de la enferma al nuevo entorno como quien lleva sus cosas antes de mudarse

«Shortly, training periods will begin. It will be her turn now to help others and be their source of strength. She has already begun a new life, therefore» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia periodos de instrucción y un papel de auxilio a otros; la frase cruza de plana

«being monitored to some degree by guides.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota que la experiencia de la enferma la vigilan guías; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Jon must tell her that she is free to leave, and that he joyfully gives her her freedom, so that even after death she does» — Seth, según Roberts, da al marido una instrucción práctica: decirle que es libre de irse; la frase cruza de plana

«not feel she must stay close to him. She knows they will be reunited … and realizes he is not as aware of this as she is.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la razón: que ella no se sienta obligada a quedarse cerca, sabiendo ya lo que él aún no sabe; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«You must understand the nature of reality before you can manipulate within it well. In physical reality you are learning that your thoughts have reality, and that you create the reality that you know.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone como condición entender la naturaleza de la realidad antes de manipularla, y declara qué se aprende en la realidad física

«When you leave this dimension, then you concentrate upon the knowledge you have gained. If you still do not realize that you create your own reality, then you return, and again you learn to manipulate, and again and again you see the results of your own inner reality as you meet it objectified. You teach yourself the lesson until you have learned it; then you begin to learn how to handle the consciousness that is yours, intelligently and well. Then you can form images for the benefit of others, and lead and guide them.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la repetición como método: quien no reconoce que crea su realidad vuelve y vuelve a verla objetivada hasta aprenderlo, y solo entonces puede guiar a otros

«Well, I don’t know what to say, but I’ll tell you this. The crazy thing is that I spent my childhood in Bangor, Maine, and when we moved to New York State I wouldn’t give New York as my home. I always felt that I belonged in Maine. And Seth said that» — la alumna, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, coteja los datos con su propia infancia en Bangor, Maine

«She lived in Mesopotamia before it was known by that name. Here we find abilities shown, ignored, and misused through a succession of lives; a rather classic example of the ‘progress’ followed by many psychically endowed, but in poor control of their personalities and abilities.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la serie de vidas de otra alumna como ejemplo clásico de facultades psíquicas mal gobernadas

«China and Egypt. Lives in various religious capacities, but without the necessary sense of responsibility; unfortunately taking advantage of the fortunes made available to the ruling classes through the ages. For this reason, the abilities have not come to fruition. Only in this present existence is there finally some understanding, and sense of responsibility. In the past the psychic abilities were used for the wrong purposes; therefore, they did not fully develop and the personality was at a standstill.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica a esas vidas religiosas la falta de responsabilidad que impidió el fruto de las facultades

«You will reincarnate whether or not you believe that you will,” Seth began, smiling. “It is much easier if your theories fit reality, but if they do not, then you do not change the nature of reincarnation one iota.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a una alumna que no cree en la reencarnación que la creencia no cambia el hecho, aunque facilite las cosas; la sección ilustrada reimprime el pasaje como cartel en la plana 222 con una variante, *you will not change*, que no se armoniza

«read her notes. Then she said excitedly, “Seth said that a Miranda Charbeau from the French side of my family in that» — la alumna añade el segundo cotejo, un apellido de la rama francesa de su familia en aquella vida; la frase cruza de plana

«past life married into the Franklin Bacon family of Boston. Again, it’s crazy, it really is, because my family this time is connected with the Roger Bacon family from Boston.» — la alumna cierra el cotejo con el apellido Bacon de Boston y lo deja como coincidencia, sin sacar conclusión; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Your feelings toward me are connected with other attitudes deeply ingrained within you. You have been afraid of your father since infancy. Now you think of me as an old but wise, extremely powerful male adult, as you thought of your father when you were a child. This attitude overshadows your relationship with the males with whom you come into contact.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el miedo que una amiga le tiene a él mismo por la figura paterna que ella proyecta, y extiende esa proyección a los hombres que trata

«You see the male in terms inspired in you in this childhood. You felt that your father had godlike qualities and attempt to project these onto the men you meet. Therefore they disappoint you, but this also serves your needs. Because while you see the male as godlike, you also see him as one who gives out punishment, and as unreasoning and cruel. So you are afraid to ‘come under a man’s thumb’ or domination. Because you were a male in past lives, you resent this all the more.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la imagen doble que atribuye a esa proyección —el varón divino y el que castiga— y la agrava con vidas pasadas en que ella fue hombre

«Therefore you consistently choose men in whom you see feminine characteristics, hoping that these more gentle qualities will protect you against the other feared masculine traits that you have exaggerated.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica la elección repetida de hombres con rasgos que ella lee como femeninos

«Now, now, do not sniffle. I am not your father giving you an arithmetic lesson. I put myself out to help you, and for this I get tears. I usually do not have that effect on people.» — Seth, según Roberts, corta el llanto de la consultante con una broma sobre sí mismo

«He was a woman. His present parents were his brothers in the American Revolutionary period in the same geographical area as now. His brothers were involved as spies. Your Frank, as their sister, disclosed their hiding place in a cellar beneath an old inn. She was captured when she went out for supplies, gave away the location, and could not warn the brothers. She felt she had abandoned and betrayed them.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la vida pasada del hombre por el que pregunta la consultante: mujer en la guerra de independencia, hermana de dos espías cuya ubicación delató bajo captura

«Now he rationalizes his desire not to leave home. The brothers never held him responsible … they knew the girl had been terrified and spoken out of fear with no intent to betray them. There is no punishment involved. He has chosen in this life to be of service to them and to help others. His secrecy [he was very tight-lipped] is the result of these past experiences. Once he feels he spoke too much and betrayed too much. Now he is secretive about matters he considers important.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega expresamente que haya castigo en ese arreglo y explica el sigilo presente del hombre por la delación pasada

«He gave Frank’s name in a past life as Achman incidentally, and much later Doris learned that his present family has an Achman branch.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna un cotejo posterior: el apellido dado como de la vida pasada existe en la familia presente

«But it is an oversimplificaton to say that all present problems are the result of past life difficulties. We are not “stuck” with our problems, whether they come from this life or another. We don’t have to drag them along with us. They can be solved, and while reincarnational influences certainly operate, they don’t operate in a vacuum.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, acota la doctrina reencarnatoria en su propio libro: no todo problema presente viene de una vida pasada y esas influencias no obran en el vacío; la capa de texto imprime *oversimplificaton*

«Some people are better able to utilize past life experience, I think, while others insulate themselves rather closely in each life, closing themselves off as much as possible from such influences. Some people’s lives seem to make no sense, for instance, unless you know their “previous” ones. Our fifty- or sixty- or seventy-year life-spans are like self-contained novels, well plotted and executed.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, propone que hay quien se aísla de esas influencias y quien las usa, con la figura de la vida como novela autónoma

«There has been a sense of a void to be filled,” Seth began. “A fear of identity escaping and running outward. My cup runneth over, and there will be none of me left —you see? On the other hand it has always been natural for the personality to turn outward in an easy manner and with exuberance.» — Seth, según Roberts, abre la lectura de un editor visitante con la imagen de la identidad que se le escapa por derramarse hacia fuera

«So we find two lives devoted to the nurture of others. But in both cases the personality was filled with an inner dread, to some extent resenting those he helped. If he were out helping others, then who would mind the store? He was afraid his stock would be gone.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe dos vidas de servicio con resentimiento hacia los servidos, con la figura de la tienda desatendida

«In two other lives, there was instead the development of inner abilities to the exclusion of others, a closing down of windows and barring of doors. He would not look out, and no one dared look in. He would make horrible funny faces at the window of his soul to frighten others away. Yet through all of this, the inner abilities did grow. He ‘added to his stock.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe dos vidas opuestas, de puertas cerradas, en que las facultades interiores sí crecieron

«Now he has begun to synthesize these inner and outer conditions. He realizes that the inner self need not be so heavily guarded, that his identity will not escape from him like a dog who leaves the leash. … Now, you see that I am a friendly chap, indeed, like an old dog with a long leash» — Seth, según Roberts, declara la síntesis presente de las dos series y remata con una broma sobre su propia correa larga

«You were a member of a monastic group who classified and collected various kinds of seeds. The group worked on manuscripts officially, but our friend here and several others were bootleg seed finders, believing against currently held theories that questions concerning nature could be answered by examining nature. “They investigated the ideas, folklore, and officially held knowledge concerning botany and seed reproduction, and began behind the monastery their forbidden garden. They were trying to discover the secret of heredity within plant life.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la vida pasada que declara más significativa: un monje que cultivaba un huerto prohibido de semillas contra las teorías del momento, buscando el secreto de la herencia vegetal

«This was near Bordeaux. The order had to do with St. John. There was a crest, belonging either to the order or to our friend’s family: a four-tonged fork with a serpent above the upper portion of the handle in the foreground, and in the background either a castle or monastery. “The monks were routed out … [of] the order … in the 1400’s. The name of the monk in the order seems to have been Aerofranz Marie [Rob’s phonetic interpretation].» — Seth, según Roberts, da lugar, orden, escudo, fecha y nombre; el corchete que marca la transcripción fonética es de Butts

«At this point, as Seth talked I seemed to be looking down on the scene he described. I watched the monk from some point behind and above, as he wandered away from the monastery and through the fields.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna que mientras Seth narraba ella veía la escena desde arriba y por detrás

«Do not use your intellect like a shiny banner to wave from your windows. You are using it like a gaudy plaything that belongs to you. You wind it up like a fine toy, but you are careful of the directions in which you let it run. Your intellect is a fine one, but you have allowed yourself to be fascinated by its sparkling quality, and not used it thoroughly as a tool.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta al consultante el uso de su inteligencia como estandarte y como juguete, en vez de como herramienta

«Matt, for instance, was astonished by the character analysis which he said pegged him to a T. More, the crest mentioned by Seth was highly similiar, he told us, to his own private doodle that he sketched while on the phone or in odd moments. Another interesting point: a few years earlier the editor had written two plays—one featuring a monk who lived on the seacoast near Bordeaux, and the other also set in France in the thirteenth century. These facts, of course, were unknown to us.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna los cotejos del editor: el escudo parecido a su garabato habitual y dos obras suyas sobre un monje de la costa cerca de Burdeos

«Quite simply, we live as many physical existences as we feel we must in order to develop our abilities and prepare ourselves to enter other dimensions of reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, responde por cuántas vidas se viven: tantas como haga falta para desarrollar las facultades y entrar en otras dimensiones

«As a rule, each entity is born so that three roles are experienced—that of mother, father, and child. Two lives would be sufficient to give you the three roles, but in some cases the personality does not function to adulthood. The most important issue, however, is the fullest use of potential.» — Seth, según Roberts, fija un mínimo: tres papeles —madre, padre e hijo—, que bastarían dos vidas para cubrir, con el uso pleno del potencial por encima de la cuenta

«Seth also told us that some personalities do not develop well in the physical environment, but fulfill themselves in other realities. In other words, the “last” reincarnation is not the end.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo doce, consigna que para Seth hay personalidades que se cumplen en otras realidades y que la última reencarnación no es el final

«In the materialization of personality through various reincarnations, only the ego and the layers of personal subconscious adopt new characteristics. The other layers of the self retain their past experiences, identity, and knowledge.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 233, reparte lo que cambia y lo que no de una vida a otra: ego y subconsciente personal adoptan rasgos nuevos, las demás capas retienen

«Learning to some extent is passed on through the genes, biochemically, but this is a physical materialization of inner knowledge achieved and retained from past lives. … The human being does not … erupt into existence at birth and laboriously then begin its first attempt to gain experience. If this were the case, you would still be back in the Stone Age.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la herencia genética una materialización física de saber retenido de vidas pasadas, y arguye por reducción: sin eso se seguiría en la Edad de Piedra

«There are waves of energy, and waves of reincarnational patterns, for there have been many Stone Ages on your planet, where new identities did begin their ‘first’ experience with physical existence, and changed the face of the earth as they progressed.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara muchas Edades de Piedra en el mismo planeta, con identidades nuevas empezando su primera experiencia física

«Each part of the self, while independent to some considerable degree, is nevertheless responsible to every other portion of the self; and each whole self [entity] is responsible to all others, while it is largely independent as to activity and decision.» — Seth, según Roberts, reparte la responsabilidad: cada parte del yo responde ante las demás y cada yo entero ante todos los otros, sin perder independencia de decisión

«For as many layers of the self compose the whole self [entity], so many entities form a gestalt of which you know relatively little and of which I am not as yet prepared to tell you.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia una gestalt de entidades y declara no estar preparado para hablar de ella; Roberts anota entre paréntesis que de ahí saldrían las sesiones sobre el concepto de Dios

«this because it makes sense to you now. You live all of your reincarnations at once, but you find this difficult to understand within the context of three-dimensional reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que habla de vidas pasadas por acomodo al oyente: se viven todas a la vez; el cartel de la plana 225 reimprime el pasaje sin la cláusula final y con *reincarnatons*, y las dos formas se consignan sin armonizar

«Three villagers were hunting on monastery ground. You yelled out to tell them that they trespassed, and tripped on a rock. You were knocked unconscious, and the townspeople ran. You came to at night, and wandered through the fields on the» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la pregunta del editor por su propia muerte en aquella vida: el tropiezo, la huida de los aldeanos y el despertar de noche; la frase cruza de plana

«far side of the monastery, and came to a body of water. You knelt and began to pray and lost your balance. You grabbed hold of an overhanging branch, but it gave way, and you drowned.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata el relato de esa muerte: la rama que cede mientras rezaba junto al agua; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«In fact, the ego receives much of its [relative] stability because of this subconscious retention. Were it not for past experiences in other lives on the part of deeper layers of the» — Seth, según Roberts, hace descansar en la retención de las capas profundas la estabilidad relativa del ego; los corchetes son de Roberts y la frase cruza de plana

«self, the ego would find it almost impossible to relate to other individuals, and the cohesiveness of society would not exist.» — Seth, según Roberts, deriva de esa retención la posibilidad misma del trato con otros y la cohesión de la sociedad; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«in this life. We form our day-to-day reality. We formed our past lives, and we form this one. And by solving problems now, we can make things vastly easier for our “past” and “future” selves.» — Roberts remata con la consecuencia práctica: resolver los problemas ahora facilita las cosas a los yoes pasados y futuros; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Whether or not you understand or accept your reincarnational» — Jane Roberts cierra el capítulo poniendo por encima del saber reencarnatorio la vida cuerda y equilibrada de ahora; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *in this life*

«Even though we realized that she was literally making herself sick, we had no idea that she was “sick to death.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, consigna que ni con esa lectura previeron la muerte

«You must watch the pictures that you paint with your imagination,” he said, “for you allow your imagination too full a reign. If you read our early material, you will see that your environment and the conditions of your life at any given time are the direct result of your own inner expectations. You form physical materializations of these realities within your own mind.» — Seth, según Roberts, previene contra las imágenes de la propia imaginación y hace del entorno y de las condiciones de vida un resultado directo de la expectativa interior

«If you imagine dire circumstances, ill health, or desperate loneliness, these will be automatically materialized, for these thoughts themselves bring about the conditions that will give them reality in physical terms. If you would have good health, then you must imagine this as vividly as in fear you imagine the opposite.» — Seth, según Roberts, enuncia la regla en positivo: imaginar la salud con la misma viveza con que se imagina el mal

«You create your own difficulties. This is true for each individual. The inner psychological state is projected outward, gaining physical reality—and this regardless of the nature of the psychological state. … The rules apply to everyone. You can use them for your own benefit and change your own conditions once you realize what they are.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara universal la regla y a la vez la ofrece como herramienta: conocidas, sirven para cambiar las condiciones

«If, on the other hand, under the same circumstances, you stop yourself and say gently to yourself, ‘He will begin to feel better now, or his drinking is temporary, and there is indeed hope here,’ then you have given him aid, for the suggestions will at least represent some small telepathic ammunition to help fight off the war of despondency.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la contrapartida práctica: la sugestión benévola callada como munición telepática de ayuda

«There are obviously ways in which you mold your own conditions, protect yourself from your own negative suggestions and those of others. You must learn to erase a negative thought or picture by replacing it with its opposite.» — Seth, según Roberts, enuncia el método: borrar el pensamiento negativo sustituyéndolo por su contrario

«If you think, ‘I have a headache,’ and if you do not replace this suggestion by a positive one, then you are automatically suggesting that the body set up those conditions that will result in the continuation of the malady. I will give you a commercial that is better than your Excedrin, you see, the short headache. I will tell you how to have none at all.» — Seth, según Roberts, aplica el método al dolor de cabeza y bromea con la publicidad de un analgésico

«Now, you are not speaking of basic issues,” he said. “You are flying paper dragons to be punctured, but these are not the real dragons. You must learn to listen to the voice of the inner self. It is hardly to be feared. You have allowed the ego to become a counterfeit self, and you take its word because you will not hear the muffled voice that is within it.» — Seth, según Roberts, corta la queja de la consultante contra su amigo llamándola dragón de papel y le manda oír la voz del yo interior bajo un ego vuelto falsificación

«You have been examining others, rather than yourself. What you see in others is the materialization—the projection of what you think you are—not necessarily, however, of what you are. For example, if others seem deceitful to you, it is because you deceive yourself, and then project this outward upon others.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte el examen: lo que se ve en otros es proyección de lo que uno cree ser, no necesariamente de lo que es

«Another example: A very industrious individual thinks the majority of men are lazy and good for nothing. No one would ever think of calling him lazy or good for nothing, yet this may be precisely his own subconscious picture of himself, against which he drives himself constantly. And all of this without his realizing his basic concept of himself, and without recognizing that he projects his feared weaknesses outward unto others.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el caso del muy laborioso que tiene a todos por holgazanes y que lleva dentro esa imagen de sí

«True self-knowledge is indispensable for health or vitality. The recognition of the truth about the self simply means that you must first discover what you think about yourself, subconsciously. If it is a good image, build upon it. If it is a poor one, recognize it as only the opinion you have held of yourself and not as an absolute state.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el autoconocimiento que pide: la imagen mala se reconoce como opinión y no como estado absoluto

«You should tell yourself frequently, ‘I will only react to constructive suggestions,’ for this gives you some protection against your own negative thoughts and those of others. A negative thought if not erased will almost certainly result in a negative condition: a momentary despondency, a headache, according to the intensity of the thought.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la fórmula de protección contra las sugestiones propias y ajenas

«Now, if you find yourself with a headache, say immediately, ‘That is in the past. Now in this new moment, this new present, I am already beginning to feel better.’ Then immediately turn your attention away from the physical condition. Concentrate upon something pleasant, or begin another task. “In this way you are no longer suggesting that the body reproduce the headache conditions. The exercise may be repeated.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el ejercicio concreto: declarar el dolor pasado, afirmar el presente nuevo y desviar la atención

«It does not do to repress negative thoughts, such as fears, angers, or resentments. In other sessions Seth makes it clear that these should be recognized and faced and then replaced.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, acota la doctrina contra la lectura que ella misma hizo al principio: no se trata de reprimir

«Repression has been one of my own habits, particularly after I learned how destructive negative thoughts can be. At first I went overboard, or tried to. I’d catch myself thinking a resentful thought about a particular person or situation and I’d almost recoil, “Wow, that’s a terrible thing to think,» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, declara su propio error: al saber lo destructivo del pensamiento negativo empezó a reprimirlo

«Ruburt should remember to recognize resentment when he feels it, and then to realize that resentment can be dismissed. The initial recognition must be made, however. Then have him imagine plucking out the resentment by the roots and replacing it with a positive feeling. But he must imagine the plucking-out process.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el procedimiento contra el resentimiento: reconocerlo, imaginar que se arranca de raíz y poner en su lugar un sentimiento positivo

«This is the difference between repression and positive action. In repression the resentment is shoved beneath and ignored. With our method it is recognized, imaginatively plucked out as being undesirable, and replaced by the thought of peace and constructive energy.» — Seth, según Roberts, deslinda su método de la represión: ahí se entierra y se ignora, aquí se reconoce y se sustituye

«Seth always says that life is abundant, vigorous, and strong. Each of us has our own defenses against negative suggestions, and we should trust in our own immunity. People react to negative suggestions only when their own frame of mind is negative. Then we close ourselves off from the constructive energies we need.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, resume la defensa que el material atribuye a cada quien contra la sugestión negativa: solo prende en un ánimo ya negativo

«Again, Seth is not suggesting we repress emotion. Spontaneity, above all, is the rule. If we were truly spontaneous, Seth says, we wouldn’t need to worry about positive suggestions because our health would be normally maintained.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, pone la espontaneidad por encima de la sugestión positiva: con ella bastaría

«Emotions flow through you like storm clouds or blue skies, and you should be open to them and react to them,” Seth said. “You are not your emotions. They flow through you. You feel them. And then they disappear. When you attempt to hold them back, you build them up like mountains. I have told our Dean that spontaneity knows its own discipline. Your nervous system knows how to react. It reacts spontaneously when you allow it to. It is only when you try to deny your emotions that they become dangerous.» — Seth, según Roberts, separa al que siente de lo sentido: las emociones pasan por uno y se vuelven peligrosas solo al negarlas

«You are not your body. You are not your emotions. You have emotions. You have thoughts as you have eggs for breakfast, but you are not the eggs, and you are not your emotions. You are as independent of your thoughts and emotions as you are of the bacon and eggs. You use the bacon and eggs in your physical composition, and you use your thoughts and emotions in your mental composition. Surely you do not identify with a piece of bacon? Then do not identify with your thoughts and emotions. When you set up barriers and doors, then you enclose emotions within you ... as if you stored up tons of bacon in your refrigerator and then wondered why there was room for nothing else.» — Seth, según Roberts, usa el desayuno como figura: uno no se identifica con el tocino y tampoco debería identificarse con sus pensamientos y emociones

«And who, I ask you, would listen? For in the miraculous spontaneity of the sun, there is discipline that utterly escapes you, and a knowledge beyond any that we know. And in the spontaneous playing of the bees from flower to flower, there is a discipline beyond any that you know, and laws that follow their own knowledge, and joy that is beyond command. For true discipline, you see, is found only in spontaneity. Spontaneity knows its own order.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la parábola declarando que la disciplina verdadera solo se halla en la espontaneidad

«In the spontaneous working of your nervous system, what do we find? We see here the head of ‘the Dean’ that rests upon his shoulders, and the intellect that demands discipline. And yet all of this rests upon the spontaneous workings of the inner self, and the nervous system of which the intellect knows little. And without that spontaneous discipline, there would be no ego to sit upon the shoulders and demand discipline.» — Seth, según Roberts, lleva el argumento al propio cuerpo del objetante: el intelecto que exige disciplina descansa en el trabajo espontáneo del sistema nervioso

«Now, the seasons come each year as they have come for centuries upon your planet, and they come with a magnificent spontaneity and with a creativity that bursts upon the world. And yet they come within a highly ritualized and disciplined manner. For spring does not come in December. And there is a merging of spontaneity and discipline truly marvelous to behold. And you do not fear the coming of the seasons.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata con las estaciones: espontaneidad y ritual a la vez, y la primavera que no llega en diciembre

«Each of you in your way contribute. For you can consider the body of the earth and all that you know . . . the trees, the seasons, and the skies, to some extent as your own contribution . . . the combination of spontaneity and discipline that gives» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la tierra, los árboles, las estaciones y el cielo contribución propia de cada quien; la frase cruza de plana

«All illness is momentarily accepted by the personality as a part of the self, and here lies its danger. It is not just symbolically accepted, and I am not speaking in symbolic terms. An impeding action such as an illness is quite literally accepted by the personality structure, and once this occurs, a conflict develops. The self does not want to give up a portion of itself, even while that portion may be painful or disadvantageous. There are many reasons behind this.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el peligro de la enfermedad en que la personalidad la acepta literalmente como parte de sí, y desde ahí no quiere soltarla

«For one thing, while pain is unpleasant, it is also a method of familiarizing the self against the edges of quickened consciousness. Any heightened sensation, pleasant or not, has a stimulating effect upon consciousness to some degree. Even when the stimulus may be humiliatingly unpleasant, certain portions of the psychological structure accept it indiscriminately because it is a sensation, and a vivid one.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica esa retención por la vía de la sensación: hasta el estímulo humillante estimula la consciencia y por eso se acepta

«This acquiescence to even painful stimuli is a basic part of the nature of consciousness. Action does not differentiate between pleasant, painful, or joyful stimuli. These distinctions come much later, and on another level» — Seth, según Roberts, declara básica esa aquiescencia y sostiene que la acción no distingue entre estímulo placentero y doloroso; el corchete que aclara el término es de Roberts

«Action accepts all stimuli in an affirmative manner. It is only when it becomes compartmented, so to speak, in the highly differentiated consciousness that such refinements occur. I am not saying that unpleasant stimuli will not be felt as unpleasant and reacted against in less self-conscious organisms. I am saying that they will rejoice even in their automatic reaction, because any stimuli and reaction represents sensation, and sensation is a method by which consciousness knows itself.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota lo que no dice: que el estímulo desagradable no se sienta como tal, y sostiene que toda sensación es método por el que la consciencia se conoce

«The complicated human personality with its physical structure has evolved, along with some other structures, a highly differentiated ‘I’ consciousness [the ego, in other words], whose very nature is such that it attempts to preserve the apparent boundaries of identity. To do so it chooses between actions. But beneath this sophisticated gestalt are the simpler foundations of its being, and indeed the very acceptance of all stimuli without which identity would be impossible.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica al yo diferenciado la tarea de preservar los límites de la identidad eligiendo entre acciones, sobre un fondo que acepta todo estímulo

«Without this acquiescence to even painful stimuli, the structure would never maintain itself, for the atoms and molecules within it constantly accept such stimuli, and joyfully suffer even their own destruction. Being aware of their identity within all action, and not having the complicated ‘I’ structure, there is no reason for them to fear destruction. They are aware of themselves as a part of action.» — Seth, según Roberts, lleva la tesis hasta átomos y moléculas, que según él sufren con alegría su propia destrucción por no tener la estructura del yo

«Now all of this is basic knowledge if you would understand why the personality accepts even an impeding action such as illness despite the ego’s resistence to pain.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara todo eso saber básico para entender que la personalidad acepte la enfermedad pese a la resistencia del ego; la capa de texto imprime *resistence*

«Remember what I said earlier, that we form physical reality as a replica of our inner ideas. This is a major premise of the Seth Material. Joan literally disliked everyone with few exceptions. She was convinced, furthermore, that she was unliked and unlikable. She felt persecuted, sure that people were talking or gossiping about her when her back was turned—because this was precisely what she did.» — Jane Roberts aplica la premisa mayor del material al caso de una vecina muerta joven: se creía odiada y sentía que hablaban de ella a sus espaldas, que era lo que ella hacía

«Daily life contained all kinds of threats for her, and she kept her nervous system in a constant state of stress. Her body defenses were lowered. She was tired of the constant battle, never realizing that much of the war was one-sided and unwarranted. She projected her ideas of reality outward, and they literally led her to destruction.» — Roberts remata el caso: el sistema nervioso en tensión constante, las defensas bajas y una guerra en buena parte unilateral

«You cannot escape your own attitudes, for they will form the nature of what you see. Quite literally you see what you want to see; and you see your own thoughts and emotional attitudes» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene que uno ve lo que quiere ver y ve materializadas sus propias actitudes; la frase cruza de plana

«materialized in physical form. If changes are to occur, they must be mental and psychic changes. These will be reflected in your environment. Negative, distrustful, fearful, or degrading attitudes toward anyone work against the self.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que todo cambio ha de ser primero mental y psíquico, y que la actitud negativa hacia cualquiera obra contra uno mismo; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«You must understand something else,” Seth said. “Telepathy operates constantly. If you continually expect an individual to behave in a particular manner, then you are constantly sending him telepathic suggestions that he will do so. Each individual reacts to suggestion. According to the specific conditions existing at the time, such an individual will to some extent or another act according to the mass suggestions he receives.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la consultante, que culpa de su estado a la bebida de su amigo, con la telepatía en marcha constante: esperar una conducta es sugerírsela

«These mass suggestions include not only those given to him by others, both verbally and telepathically, but also those he has given to himself, both in the waking and dream states. If an individual is in a state of despondency, this is because he has already become prey to negative suggestions of his own and others. Now if you see him and think that he looks miserable”— Seth looked at Joan sharply—“or that he is an incurable drunk, then these suggestions are picked up by him subconsciously, though you have not spoken a word. And in his already weakened condition they will be accepted and acted upon.» — Seth, según Roberts, incluye entre esas sugestiones las que uno se da a sí mismo despierto y soñando, y describe cómo prenden en quien ya está abatido

«These are examples, now. If an individual sees only evil and desolation in the physical world, it is because he is obsessed with evil and desolation and projects them outward, and closes his eyes to all else.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el caso del que solo ve mal y desolación y lo explica por proyección

«If desire for health leads instead to an emphasis upon symptoms to be overcome, you would be better off to avoid all thoughts of health or illness and» — Seth, según Roberts, acota su propio método: si el deseo de salud lleva a fijarse en los síntomas, mejor evitar el asunto; la frase cruza de plana

«concentrate in other directions, such as work. Such an emphasis can lead to a focus upon obstacles that stand in the way, and this reinforces the negative condition.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata la acotación: fijarse en los obstáculos refuerza la condición negativa; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«have been drastically maligned this evening, and so I come to show our new friend here that I am a jolly fellow. That, at least, was my initial intention. Now it has changed. For I must tell you again that the inner self, acting spontaneously, automatically shows the discipline that you do not as yet understand.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde con una broma al alumno que lo llama severo y repite que el yo interior espontáneo muestra una disciplina todavía no entendida

«That is indeed your interpretation,” Seth said, “and this is because you set demands. Now I ask you, how far do you think a flower would get if in the morning it turned its face toward the sky and said, ‘I demand the sun. And now I need rain. So I demand it. And I demand bees to come and take my pollen. I demand, therefore, that the sun shall shine for a certain number of hours, and that the rain shall pour for a certain number of hours . . . and that the bees come— bees A, B, C, D, and E, for I shall accept no other bees to come. I demand that discipline operate, and that the soil shall follow my command.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde al alumno que iguala libertad con irresponsabilidad con la parábola de la flor que exige sol, lluvia y abejas nominales

«If you want to know what you think of» — Seth, según Roberts, empieza la prueba práctica del autoconocimiento; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *yourself, then ask yourself what you think of others*

«yourself, then ask yourself what you think of others, and you will find your answer.» — Seth, según Roberts, completa la prueba: para saber qué piensa uno de sí, preguntarse qué piensa de los demás; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«not allow the soil any spontaneity of its own. And I do not allow the sun any spontaneity of its own. And I do not agree that the sun knows what it is doing. I demand that all these things follow my ideas of discipline’?» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la parábola con la flor negando toda espontaneidad al suelo y al sol; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«understood by the personality that the illness is a hardship on the part of the whole structure, and . . . not basic to the original personality.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la condición para que la enfermedad se resuelva: que la personalidad la entienda como carga y no como parte suya originaria

«The whole focus of the personality can shift from constructive areas to a concentration of main energies in the area of the impeding action, or illness. In such a case, the illness actually represents a new unifying system. Now, if the old unifying system of the personality is broken down, the illness serving as a makeshift temporary emergency measure may hold the integrity of the personality intact until a new, constructive unifying principle replaces the original.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la enfermedad como sistema unificador de emergencia que sostiene la integridad de la personalidad mientras no hay otro

«Unifying principles are groups of actions about which the personality forms itself at any given time. These usually change in a relatively smooth fashion when action is allowed to flow unimpeded. [See how this ties in with Seth’s advice to the students on the value of spontaneity and the difficulties of repression.] These impediments [illnesses] may sometimes then preserve the integrity of the whole psychological system and point out the existence of inner psychic problems. Illness is a portion of the action of which personality is composed and therefore it is purposeful, and cannot be considered as an alien force that invades personality from without.» — Seth, según Roberts, define los principios unificadores y niega que la enfermedad sea fuerza ajena que invade: la declara porción de la acción de que la personalidad se compone; los corchetes son de Roberts

«Illness could not be called an impeding action unless it persisted long after its purpose was served. Even then you could make no judgment without knowing all the facts . . . for the illness could still serve by giving the personality a sense of security, being kept on hand as an ever-present emergency device in case the new unifying system should fail.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota cuándo la enfermedad estorba y añade que puede conservarse como dispositivo de emergencia

«In other words, an action cannot be judged as impeding without a thorough knowledge of the actions that result in the makeup of any given personality. This is extremely important. To overlook this point is to risk the adoption of a more severe illness.» — Seth, según Roberts, advierte contra el juicio apresurado sobre una enfermedad: pasarlo por alto arriesga una peor

«All illness is almost always the result of another action that cannot be followed through. When the lines to the original action are released and the channels opened, the illness will vanish. However, the thwarted action may be one with disastrous consequences which the illness may prevent. The personality has its own logic.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la enfermedad el resultado de una acción que no se pudo seguir, y acota que a veces impide consecuencias peores

«He compares the body in one session to a sculpture “never really completed, the inner self trying out various techniques on its test piece. The results are not always of the best, but the sculptor is independent of his product and knows there will be others.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara el cuerpo con una escultura nunca terminada en que el yo interior ensaya técnicas, y al escultor con quien sabe que habrá otras

«Do not forget that you are a part of the inner self. It is not using you. You are the portion of it that experiences physical reality. Now, physical illnesses that are not critical but observable—that do not involve, say, loss of a limb or organ— generally represent problems that are in the process of being solved, problems that are “out in the open.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que el yo interior use a la persona y lee la enfermedad visible y no crítica como problema ya en vías de resolverse

«Such illnesses are the end product of a process of discovery. Inner problems are literally brought out where they can be faced, recognized, and conquered, using the symptoms as measuring points of progress. A trial-and-error system is involved, but the inner processes are reflected rather quickly by the physical condition.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del síntoma un punto de medida del avance en un sistema de ensayo y error

«In cases where the symptom itself is interior, as in ulcers, this is a sign that the personality is not yet willing to face the problem, and the symptom itself is shielded from physical sight —quite rightly, symbolically speaking. The relative observability of a symptom is, therefore, a clue to the personality’s attitude toward its problem.» — Seth, según Roberts, lee la úlcera como síntoma escondido a la vista y hace de la visibilidad del síntoma una clave de la actitud de la personalidad

«Many problems are never materialized. They remain as blank spots, uncultivated and unproductive areas within the psyche, areas in which there are no problems because no experience is permitted. . . . There is then a mental, psychic, or emotional lack of sight and a complete blockage. Such a denial of experience is far more detrimental than a specific problem, for there is an inability on the part of the personality to express itself at all in that area.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara peor que el problema con síntoma la zona en blanco donde no hay experiencia y por eso no hay problema

«One night I found myself out of my own body in a strange house—strange because while it was extremely old-fashioned, somehow it looked brand-new. Miss C was just going out the door as I arrived. She was very distracted. Suddenly I “knew” that the house was an hallucination she had created, a replica of her childhood home, and I knew that she did not realize she was dead.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, cuenta su encuentro fuera del cuerpo con una vecina muerta, en una casa que ella declara alucinación de la difunta

«Miss C, you don’t have to worry anymore about dying. It’s already happened. Your mind can be perfectly clear now. It’s all right.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, reproduce lo que dijo a la difunta, y consigna que otra persona vino a relevarla

«I’d read about such instances, but I have to admit that I thought they were highly imaginative accounts until I found myself guiding Miss C. The point is that she was so frightened of death, she didn’t realize it was all over. Since her physical body was quite dead, she was in her astral body; yet she was acting confused, and her mind was still unclear, as if she still had hardening of the arteries.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, declara que tenía esos relatos por imaginativos hasta que le pasó, y consigna que la difunta seguía confusa como con su enfermedad

«This realization can cure even illnesses that are related to past lives. Since Seth says these existences are actually lived spontaneously, then these “parallel” selves exist in us now, and we can reach them through therapy.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, deriva de la simultaneidad una consecuencia terapéutica: los yoes paralelos existen ahora y se llega a ellos por terapia

«You have not accepted life on life’s terms,” he said. “You are demanding that it behave in certain ways and take courses that you have consciously decided upon. You are refusing to accept life gladly, as its own reason and cause within you.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la consultante que ha intentado matarse varias veces con una acusación directa: no aceptar la vida en sus términos

«The idea that you must find a man that will love you is a cover to hide this deeper refusal to accept life on life’s terms. … You are saying, ‘Unless existence meets my terms, I will not exist,’ and no one has the right to so set themselves against their own innate vitality.» — Seth, según Roberts, lee la búsqueda de un hombre como tapadera de esa negativa y nombra la condición que ella pone a su propia existencia

«Once you wholeheartedly accept life on life’s terms, then you may indeed get what you are after, but not while you insist upon it as a condition for continued existence. … Your own purpose will make life a daily joy when you let your conditions go. You forget what you do have—health and vitality. You forget your intellect and intuitions. You forget what blessings are yours.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte el orden: se obtiene lo buscado al dejar la condición, no al imponerla

«You cannot pervert them by trying to force them to serve purposes that you have set up as a condition of existence. You must live in the faith that your purpose is, and will be fulfilled, is being fulfilled. You must live in the faith that you have such a purpose and meaning, or you would not be here.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide vivir en la fe de un propósito que se cumple, y lo funda en el hecho de estar aquí

«The uniqueness that is your own personality is to be cherished. The particular purposes of your present personality can only be met in the present circumstances in the way that is best overall. The challenges can be met at another time and in another life, this is true. But the particular people that you can help now, and the particular good that you can do now, can never be done in precisely the same way.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota la doctrina de las vidas sucesivas contra su uso como aplazamiento: los retos se podrán cumplir en otra vida, el bien particular de ahora no

«You should desire good health because it is a natural state of your being. You should trust in the innate intelligence of your own being. Health is its natural state. Through your physical image the energy of the universe expresses itself. You, as an individual, as individualized consciousness, are a part of this, and you cannot express yourself fully, nor fulfill your purpose as an identity if you are not in good health. For the effects of the body are felt in the mind, and the mind’s effects are felt in the body.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde al alumno que pregunta qué es la buena salud declarándola estado natural del ser, con el cuerpo como expresión de la energía del universo

«If you are in poor physical shape, this does not mean that you are an evil person. Let us clear that up. It means that you have a block in that particular area in which you are unable to utilize energy constructively. … Theoretically, if you are using energy the way you should, you would be in excellent health and filled with abundance. Various kinds of lacks can show up in many ways, however.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota de inmediato su propia tesis: la mala salud no hace malvado a nadie, es un bloqueo en un área

«I do not want you to have the attitude that health or status, for example, is automatically an indication of spiritual wealth. … Some of you do well in certain areas and are blocked in others. The ideal is to use all of your abilities, and in doing this you will help others and the race of which you are part automatically.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la salud o la posición sean señal de riqueza espiritual y pone como ideal el uso de todas las facultades

«If the inner problems are not discovered, we will simply exchange one set of symptoms for another.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo trece, consigna la advertencia: sin el problema interior a la vista, los síntomas se cambian por otros

«When action is allowed to flow freely, then neurotic» — Seth, según Roberts, empieza la frase que adjudica la enfermedad innecesaria al rechazo neurótico; termina en la plana siguiente

«rejections will not occur. And it is neurotic rejection that causes unnecessary illness.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata: el rechazo neurótico es lo que causa la enfermedad innecesaria; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«According to Seth, each case of senility is different, but generally speaking, the personality transfers the vital parts of consciousness into the next area of existence, and is often fully aware there, and functioning. Gradually the personality’s mental focus leaves this life and begins to operate entirely on another level.» — Jane Roberts resume la lectura de la senilidad que Seth da a propósito del padre de Butts: traslado gradual de la consciencia a otro ámbito, donde la personalidad funciona

«The physical disease—the hardening of the arteries—is caused by the personality’s gradual refusal to accept new physical stimuli, thus avoiding physical experience (either purposefully or through error). People who are terrified of physical death might take this path, since when physical death occurs, consciousness is already acquainted with its new environment and the organism’s death is relatively meaningless. In any case, the individual’s inner decision causes the physical symptoms, not the other way around.» — Roberts completa el resumen: la negativa a aceptar estímulo físico nuevo como causa del endurecimiento arterial, y la decisión interior por delante del síntoma

«Men and women have joyfully honored the evening and the dawn and listened to the heart pulse within them with a blessing and a joy, who have not had one hundredth of your blessings or one-third the reason to look forward to another day,» — Seth, según Roberts, contrasta a quienes tuvieron mucho menos y honraron el día; la frase cruza de plana

«and they have fulfilled themselves and brought joy to others. They accepted life on its terms, and in so accepting they were filled with a grace … that comes from giving life all that you have.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata llamando gracia a lo que resulta de aceptar la vida en sus términos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth suggests that self-hypnosis and light trance states be used as ways to uncover inner problems that are causing us difficulty.» — Roberts recoge las dos vías que Seth propone para hallar el problema interior: autohipnosis y estados de trance ligero; la frase cruza de plana

«He also suggests that we simply ask the inner self to make the answer available on a conscious basis.» — Roberts añade la tercera vía: pedir al yo interior que ponga la respuesta a disposición de la consciencia; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The human being does not erupt into existence at birth and laboriously then begin its first attempt to gain experience. If this were the case, you would still be back in the Stone Age.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, niega que el ser humano empiece de cero al nacer; el pasaje viene de la sesión 233, fichada en la plana 191

«There is never any justification for violence, for hatred, for murder. Those who indulge in violence for whatever reason are themselves changed, and the purity of their purpose adulterated.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, niega toda justificación de la violencia y del odio, y sostiene que quien los ejerce queda cambiado y con el propósito adulterado

«You will reincarnate whether or not you believe that you will. It is much easier if your theories fit reality, but if they do not, you will not change the nature of reincarnation one iota.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, enuncia que la creencia no cambia el hecho de la reencarnación; el cuerpo trae la misma frase en la plana 178 con *then you do not change*, y las dos formas se consignan sin armonizar

«Because I say that you create physical matter by use of the inner sense, I do not mean that you are the creators of the universe. I am saying that you are the creators of the physical world as you know it.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, acota que crear la materia física no es crear el universo; el cuerpo trae el mismo pasaje en la plana 142 con *by use of the inner vitality of the universe*, y la divergencia no se armoniza

«Now, I have made my friend Ruburt sit fairly quietly for some time, so out of the goodness of my heart I will now end our session; though I may indeed drop in a word now and then.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, cierra una sesión declarando que ha tenido a Roberts sentada bastante rato, con la reserva de volver a meter baza

«Jung enlarged on some of his concepts shortly before he died. He has changed a good many of them since then.» — Seth, según Roberts, en un cartel de la sección ilustrada, declara que Jung amplió sus conceptos poco antes de morir y que los ha cambiado bastante desde entonces; la sesión del apéndice, en la plana 376, trae la misma frase con una acotación escénica de Butts entre paréntesis

«reincarnatons at once, but you find this difficult to understand.» — Seth, según Roberts, en el cartel de la sección ilustrada: el cuerpo imprime *reincarnations* y aquí *reincarnatons*, y el cartel corta la cláusula sobre la realidad tridimensional que la plana 181 sí trae; las dos formas se consignan sin armonizar

«One night I had a frightening dream that seemed very real. I found myself in our bedroom, out of my body, and suddenly I realized that someone or something was directly above me. The next minute I was pushed down to the foot of the bed, off into the air, and then down to the dark corner of the bedroom floor. Above me was what I can only describe as a big black thing like a bloated, blurred human form, but larger and very solid.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe la aparición que la atacó fuera del cuerpo como una cosa negra, forma humana hinchada y muy sólida

«It sounds ridiculous, but I knew that this thing was “out to get me.” I knew that I was out of my body, and I was overwhelmed with astonishment, as well as very frightened. Although I’d read of people being attacked by demons or the like while they were “projecting,” I just didn’t believe in demons.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, consigna que había leído de proyectores atacados por demonios y que ella no creía en demonios

«So what was it? I didn’t have time to wonder, because it bit me several times on the hand. It was amazingly oppressive, and kept up its efforts to drag me farther away from my body into the bedroom closet.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe la mordida y el peso de la cosa, que la arrastraba lejos del cuerpo

«In dismay, I heard Rob snoring. In any case, I wasn’t in my physical body, and he probably wouldn’t know anything was wrong anyhow. And where was Seth? Where were all those “guides” who were supposed to come running to your aid when you got in predicaments like this? All these thoughts went scurrying through my mind as I tried to fight this thing off. I was very conscious of the creature’s weight, which was really amazing, and its intent—which was to maul me up as much as possible, if not to kill me outright.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, consigna la ausencia de los guías que se supone acuden, y la intención que atribuía a la cosa

«This time I thought, “To hell with not panicking,” and I started to yell my head off. I knew it wasn’t my physical head, but I hoped that my shout would either frighten the creature away or attract some kind of help.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, cuenta cómo se defendió, con el grito que no era físico

«The thing pulled back for an instant, much like a huge startled animal, and I slipped from beneath it and shot fast as a rocket for my body, with it after me. In other words, I beat a fast cowardly retreat. I hit my body so quickly that my physical head was spinning, but no matter. My body never felt so welcome.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe la retirada con la misma franqueza con que describió el miedo: una huida cobarde

«Now that I was safe I was more than a little ashamed of myself for being such a coward, but I wasn’t so complacent that I felt like going right back to sleep, either! So I got up, drank a glass of milk, and thought of all the things I should have done— like saying grandly: “Get thou behind me, Satan,” or some such. The least I could have done, I thought, was bite back.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, consigna la vergüenza posterior y lo que se le ocurrió después que debió hacer

«I’d been depressed for several days before the incident, brooding (though I should know better) on the negative attitudes that sometimes seem to surround us. Worse, I recognized many of them in myself: resentments, fears, and anger.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, da el contexto del episodio: días de ánimo bajo y actitudes negativas reconocidas en sí misma

«Our friend [meaning me] attempted to choose a different battlefield last night. He decided to think of all negative feelings as enemies, and to give them form in another plane of reality where he could do battle with them. This was not an astral plane, but a lower one.» — Seth, según Roberts, lee el episodio como un cambio de campo de batalla: dar forma a los sentimientos negativos en otro plano para pelear con ellos

«The energy behind his ‘black thing’ was the energy of hidden fears, but such a thing could be formed by anyone, since there are fears in any man. Ruburt tried to isolate them, give them form, and fight them all at once. The thing was actually a rather clumsy lower-dimensional animal, a provoked dumb dog of other dimensions who then attacked him, symbolically enough, by biting. Any ‘thing’ so created entirely of fears would be frightened and particularly angry at its creator. It could do nothing but attack to protect whatever reality it had, for it knew Ruburt created it only to slay it, if possible.» — Seth, según Roberts, llama a la cosa animal torpe de dimensión inferior, formado de miedos, y explica su ataque por la defensa de la realidad que tenía

«It did have reality, therefore. Ruburt leapt back to safety and normal consciousness. The thing then dissipated [as far as Ruburt was concerned]. For when Ruburt ‘ran home’ he automatically withdrew the energy [of his attention] from it. … Ruburt tried to separate from himself all those elements he considers negative, and fight them at once, almost as if in so doing he could remove evil from the universe.» — Seth, según Roberts, concede realidad a la cosa y explica su disipación por la retirada de la atención; los corchetes son de Roberts

«He tried to destroy the ‘animal of evil,’ and it bit him back. Now, evil does not exist in those terms, and even illness or fear are not necessarily enemies, as much as aids to understanding and means to a greater end.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que el mal exista en esos términos y que la enfermedad o el miedo sean enemigos

«The evil that Ruburt imagined he was projecting outward does not exist, but because he believed it did, he formed the materialization from his fears. It was the shape of his recent depression. In larger terms, there is no evil, only your own lack of perception, but I know this is difficult for you to accept.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que el mal no existe y a la vez que la creencia en él bastó para formar la materialización; añade que sabe que eso cuesta aceptarlo

«This episode was an out-of-body experience from the dream state, though, and it will serve to make one point: dream reality is as valid and real as waking reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, enuncia la tesis del capítulo: la realidad del sueño es tan válida y real como la de la vigilia

«Psychoanalysts use dreams to delve into subconscious motivations, but few people know how to utilize dreams creatively: to improve health, gain inspiration, restore vitality, solve problems, and enrich family relationships.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, separa el uso analítico del sueño del uso creativo que propone el material

«The personality is composed of energy gestalts. As the personality is changed by any experience, it is changed by its dreams; and as an individual is molded by his physical environment to some extent, so is he molded by the dreams which he himself creates. … The self is limitless. When your perceptions fail, it seems to you that boundaries appear.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de los sueños un molde de la personalidad tanto como el entorno físico, y adjudica los límites aparentes al fallo de la percepción

«For example, it seems to you that dreams cease when you are no longer aware of them. This is not so.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que los sueños cesen cuando se deja de percibirlos

«Consider, for example, a situation in which a personality needs to express dependency, but feels such expression inappropriate. If he is able to form a dream in which he plays a dependent part, then the problem may be solved within the dream state. In many instances, this is precisely what happens. The individual may never recall such a dream, but the experience would be valid and the dependency expressed.» — Seth, según Roberts, da el caso de la dependencia expresada en sueños sin que el soñante lo recuerde, y declara válida la experiencia igual

«Much work has been done to interpret dreams, but little to control the direction of activity within them. Upon proper suggestion, this can be an excellent method of therapy. Negative dreams tend to reinforce the negative aspects of the personality, helping to form vicious circles of unfortunate complications. Dream actions can be turned toward fulfilling constructive expectations, which can themselves effect a change for the better.» — Seth, según Roberts, señala el hueco que propone llenar: dirigir la actividad del sueño y no solo interpretarla

«Many illnesses could largely be avoided through such dream therapy. Rather harmlessly, aggressive tendencies could be given freedom within the dream state. Suggestions would be given that the individual involved would experience, say, aggressiveness, within a dream. It would also be suggested to him that he learn to understand his aggressions by watching himself while he was dreaming [watching the dream as he would a play]. If I may indulge in a fantasy, theoretically you could imagine a massive experiment in dream therapy where wars were fought by sleeping, not waking, nations.» — Seth, según Roberts, propone dar salida a la agresividad dentro del sueño y mirar el propio sueño como quien mira una obra, y cierra con la fantasía de guerras libradas por naciones dormidas

«There are other considerations that must be understood. … When aggressiveness is the problem, for example, the preliminary dream suggestion should include a statement that the aggression will not be directed against a particular person. In all cases, it is the intangible element [aggressiveness, here] that is the problem, and not the person against whom the individual may want to vent it.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la condición que impide el uso fácil del método: la sugestión no debe dirigir la agresión contra una persona, porque el problema es lo intangible

«We do not want an individual to suggest that he dream of harming another. There are several reasons for this, including telepathic realities that you do not yet understand, and guilt patterns which would be unavoidable. We are not talking about substituting dream action for physical action. We are discussing particular problems that need treatment.» — Seth, según Roberts, da las razones de esa condición —realidades telepáticas y patrones de culpa— y niega que se trate de sustituir la acción física por la onírica

«But Seth suggests the following exercise as a dream therapy: before sleep, suggest to yourself that you will have a pleasant or joyful dream that will completely restore your good spirits and vitality. Unless the depression is very deep-seated, it will be broken or greatly weakened when you awaken.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, da el ejercicio de terapia onírica: sugerirse antes de dormir un sueño que restaure el ánimo

«I’ve used this method often, with excellent results. Sometimes I’ve remembered the dreams, sometimes not, but I’ve always awakened refreshed and renewed, and the effects last. The dreams I’ve recalled during such instances have been inspirational: strong enough not only to conquer a period of the blues but to restore me to exceptionally good spirits.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, declara el resultado de ese ejercicio en su propia práctica

«Each dream begins with psychic energy which the individual transforms not into physical matter, but into a reality every bit as functional and real. He forms the idea into a dream object or event with amazing discrimination, so that the dream object itself gains existence and exists in numerous dimensions.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 92, hace del objeto onírico una realidad tan funcional como la física, existente en numerosas dimensiones

«Although the dreamer creates his dreams for his own purposes, selecting only those symbols which have meaning to him, he projects them outward in a value fulfillment and psychic expansion. The expansion occurs as the dream is acted out. A contraction occurs as the dreamer is finished with the dream events, but energy cannot be taken back.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la expansión y la contracción del sueño y declara que la energía no se recupera

«Seth calls dream-created personalities (such as my “black thing”), dual-hybrid constructions. In my case, the “expansion” he’s speaking of occurred as I formed it with my own psychic energy. The “contraction” took place as I withdrew the main energy of my attention from it; but I could not take back the energy that I had given it that resulted in its existence. The creature continued to exist, but not in my dimension; it was set free on its own.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, aplica esa doctrina a su propio caso: la criatura siguió existiendo fuera de su dimensión

«Energy projected into any kind of construction, psychic or physical, cannot be recalled, but must follow the laws of the particular form into which it has been for the moment molded. Therefore, when the dreamer contracts his multi-realistic objects backward, ending for himself the dream he has constructed, he ends it for himself only. The reality of the dream continues.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que el soñante termina el sueño solo para sí y que la realidad del sueño continúa

«First of all,” Seth said, “the physical universe itself is a conglomeration of diverse individualistic symbols, none of which means precisely the same thing to any two individuals, and in which even so-called basic qualities like color and placement in space cannot be relied upon. You merely focus upon the similarities. Telepathy could be called the glue that holds the physical universe in precarious position, so that you can agree on the existence and properties of objects.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a la objeción por la falta de acuerdo en el mundo onírico igualando el universo físico a un conjunto de símbolos individuales sobre el que la telepatía hace de pegamento

«So when you consider the dream world, you have the same sort of universe, only one constructed within a field that you cannot physically perceive. But it has more continuity than the world you know, and there are similarities within it that are amazing to behold.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara al mundo onírico más continuo que el físico

«For one thing … those who know existence on the physical level now, have, because of certain cycles, lived before at approximately the same historical periods. They possess an inner familiarity, a cohesiveness that belonged to a more or less specific period and to periods before, where they inhabited the same sort of reality. Their dream experiences, then, are not so diverse as you might suppose. Certain symbols are constructed into realities in the dream system, then, in much the same manner that ideas are constructed into matter in the physical system.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica esa continuidad por ciclos históricos compartidos entre quienes viven hoy, con símbolos construidos en realidades como las ideas se construyen en materia

«He would wonder what collective madness permitted man to select from a virtual infinity of chaos a mere handful of similarities and make of it a universe. So do you, viewing the seeming chaos of dream reality, wonder how I can say that it contains cohesiveness, actuality, and comparative permanence.» — Seth, según Roberts, llama locura colectiva al recorte de semejanzas con que se hace un universo, y devuelve la objeción a quien duda de la cohesión del sueño

«One reason, I think, that dreams seem so chaotic and meaningless at times is simply that we only remember dim fragments of them and forget the unifying factors. Another reason is that dreams have an intuitive, associative “logic” that has to be interpreted, and in which time, as we know it, has little meaning.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, propone dos causas del desorden aparente del sueño: el recuerdo fragmentario y una lógica asociativa en que el tiempo cuenta poco

«Each dream object is actually double- or triple-decked, a symbol for other, deeper data. A dream involving reincarnational information, for example, may also serve to help us face a present-day problem by reminding us of other unused abilities inherent in our personalities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe el objeto onírico como de dos o tres pisos, símbolo de datos más hondos

«I dreamed that I was an old woman in a very poor hospital ward of some kind. I was dying of cancer and knew it, but wasn’t a bit frightened. An old man beside me was also about to die. I told him not to worry, that I would be there to help him. Then I died, but there seemed to be no break in consciousness. I helped the old man out of his body and kept telling him that everything was all right.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, cuenta un sueño reencarnatorio en que moría de cáncer sin miedo y ayudaba a otro moribundo a salir del cuerpo

«On Seth’s suggestion, I told myself before sleep that I would have a dream that would give me further information about my own reincarnational past. At this time I really didn’t believe in reincarnation, but I said to Rob, “Well, what have I got to lose? I’ll try it.” Then I gave myself the suggestion several times and fell asleep.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, declara haber probado la sugestión reencarnatoria sin creer en la reencarnación

«In this dream Rob and I were both men in our late twenties and partners in the episode. I knew very well that we would “later” end up as Rob and Jane in this life, even though there was no physical resemblance. Rob, for example, was dark and swarthy, although now his skin and hair are both light. We wore long billowing trousers, bound tightly at the ankles, Turkishstyle. I do not remember our names.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe el sueño de la vida turca, con los dos como hombres jóvenes y sin parecido físico con los actuales; el troceo parte *Turkish-style* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«I knew all of the men from a previous life in which I had been their leader, dying very young. These men had grown old, while I had been reborn. Now I had come back to fulfill a promise I had made to return. I was well aware that they would not recognize me in this body in which they had not known me.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, narra la prueba de identidad que el sueño le plantea: volver a un grupo que la conoció con otro cuerpo

«Their spokesman told me that their dead leader had promised them that on his return he would perform one particular feat for which he was known to prove his identity. He asked me, then, to show by my actions that I was this personality, ready to take over his rightful position.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, nombra la prueba: repetir la hazaña por la que el jefe muerto era conocido

«I took several light bouncing footsteps that were somehow ceremonial, and then left my physical body. It slumped down to the floor, and my partner gently moved it to the side.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe la salida del cuerpo dentro del sueño, con el compañero apartando el cuerpo caído

«Then, in my astral body I went flying through the hall, which had a high-domed ceiling. Laughing at what I considered a great practical joke, I swung low above each man in turn and whisked off his turban. My partner handed me a feather—apparently he could see me clearly, and I could manipulate physical objects. Waving the feather through the air, I flew back and forth again several times so that, watching the feather, the men could follow my progress above them.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, describe la hazaña: quitar los turbantes en vuelo y hacerse seguir con una pluma, lo que implicaba manipular objetos físicos

«Early in our sessions, Seth said that he once had a Turkish existence, but we have no information on one for us.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, consigna que Seth declaró una existencia turca propia y que de la de ellos no hay dato en el material

«But this fact is Ruburt’s safeguard in his out-of-body travels —as long as he remembers it. The words ‘May peace be with you’ will get him through any difficulty in other layers of reality —for as he formed that image, others also form images and he could encounter them. To wish them peace will give them some comfort, for they do have a kind of reality. To fear them is to put yourself into their realm of reality, and then you are forced» — Seth, según Roberts, da la fórmula de protección —desear la paz al que aparezca— y advierte que temerlo es aceptar su terreno; la frase cruza de plana

«to fight on their terms. There is no need for this.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata: peleando en los términos del otro no hay necesidad; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«On one level the personality attempts to solve problems» — Seth, según Roberts, empieza a describir el sueño como vía de solución de problemas; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«through dream constructions … and often gives freedom to actions that cannot be adequately expressed within the confines of waking life. If the attempt fails, then the problem or action [as we’ve seen before] may materialize as an illness.» — Seth, según Roberts, enlaza el sueño con el capítulo de salud: lo que no se resuelve ahí puede materializarse como enfermedad; los corchetes son de Roberts y la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The same sort of psychic agreement holds the dream system together as holds the physical system together. If a man could actually focus upon those unrecognized elements in the physical universe upon which no agreements can be reached, if he could focus upon the dissimilarities rather than the similarities, then» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte el argumento de la objeción: quien se fijara en las desemejanzas del mundo físico y no en las semejanzas; la frase cruza de plana

«he would wonder what gave anyone the idea that there was even one physical object upon which man could agree.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata la inversión: dudaría de que haya un solo objeto físico en que la gente concuerde; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth told me that it referred to my death as a medium in Boston in the last century. He had given us some information about this life in previous sessions, and now he told me that I wouldn’t again die of cancer (a mistake in tactics on his part, since he had long ago told me to give up cigarettes, and I haven’t complied.» — Jane Roberts recoge la lectura de Seth del sueño —su muerte como médium en Boston el siglo anterior— y consigna, entre paréntesis, que él le dijo que no volvería a morir de cáncer, dato que ella llama error de táctica porque no ha dejado el cigarro

«never tried to bully me into giving up the habit, merely saying that it didn’t help my overall health or development).» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, acota la conducta de Seth con el cigarro: no la ha forzado a dejarlo y solo dice que no ayuda; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth insists that many people have dreams that give them information about past lives, but often they do not remember them simply because they do not realize the importance of dreams in general.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, recoge de Seth que los sueños dan datos de vidas pasadas y que se olvidan por no tenerlos en cuenta

«You think that you are conscious only when you are awake. You assume yourselves to be unconscious when you sleep. The dice are indeed loaded on the side of the waking mind. But pretend for a moment that you are looking at this situation from the other side. “Pretend that you are in the dream state and concerned with the problem of waking consciousness and existence. From that viewpoint, the picture is entirely different, for you are indeed conscious while you sleep.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte el punto de vista: visto desde el estado de sueño, el cuadro es otro y se está consciente al dormir

«The locations that you visit while dreaming are as real to you then as physical locations are to you now. Let us speak no more of a conscious or unconscious self. There is one self and it focuses its attention in various dimensions. In the waking state it focuses in physical reality. In the dream state it is focused within a different dimension.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega la pareja consciente e inconsciente: hay un solo yo que enfoca su atención en dimensiones distintas

«If you have little memory of dream locations when you are awake, you have little memory of ‘physical’ locations when you are in the dream state. When the physical body lies in bed, it is separated by a vast distance from the dream location in which the dreaming self may dwell. But this distance has nothing to do with space, for the dream location can exist simultaneously with the room in which the body sleeps.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace simétrico el olvido entre los dos estados y declara que la distancia entre cuerpo y lugar del sueño no es espacial

«In some dream states you form from these same atoms and molecules the environment in which you will operate. While dreaming you cannot find the bed or chest or chair; and awake you cannot find the dream location which was there only moments before.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica por qué no se hallan los objetos del otro estado: se forman de la misma materia para dimensiones distintas

«I mentioned the Crucifixion, saying once that it was an actuality and a reality, although it did not take place in your [physical] time. It took place in the same sort of time in which a dream occurs and its reality was felt by generations. Not being a physical reality, it influenced the world of physical matter in a way that no purely physical event could.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara la Crucifixión actualidad y realidad ocurrida en un tiempo como el del sueño, con efecto sobre el mundo físico mayor que el de un hecho físico

«The Crucifixion was one of the realities that enriched both the universe of dreams and the universe of matter, and it originated in the universe of dreams. It was a main contribution of that system to your own, and could be physically compared to the emergence of a new planet within the physical universe.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara la aportación de la Crucifixión al mundo físico con la aparición de un planeta nuevo

«The Ascension [of Christ] did not occur in time as you know it. It is also a contribution of the universe of dreams to your physical system, representing the knowledge that man is independent of physical matter.» — Seth, según Roberts, da la Ascensión como otra aportación del universo de los sueños y la lee como saber de la independencia del hombre respecto de la materia; el corchete es de Roberts

«Many concepts and practical inventions simply wait in the dream system in abeyance until some man accepts them as possibilities within the physical frame of reality. … Imagination is waking man’s connection with the dream system. Imagination often reinstates dream data and applies it to particular circumstances or problems within daily life.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la imaginación la conexión del hombre despierto con el sistema de los sueños, donde inventos y conceptos esperan a ser aceptados como posibles

«I should think not. Where you live, you haven’t written them yet,” the young man said.» — un dependiente de aquella librería, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, le explica la discrepancia por el sitio desde donde ella viene

«Go ahead,” he said, “memorize the titles. I’m sorry, but it won’t do you any good. You won’t remember.» — el mismo dependiente le advierte que memorizar los títulos no le servirá

«There is form within dream reality,” he said, “but form is first of all potential existing within psychic energy. The potential form exists long before its physical materialization. The house that you may live in within five years may not yet exist in your terms. It may not have been built yet, therefore physically you would not perceive it. Still, such a house does have form, and does exist within the Spacious Present.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa la forma potencial antes de su materialización, con el ejemplo de la casa que aún no se ha construido y ya existe en el Presente Espacioso

«Now in certain levels of dream reality, forms such as this can be perceived. Within dream reality you can come into contact with many other kinds of phenomena with which usually you do not have to deal. With the projection experiments you have in mind, this information becomes highly practical. I would like to give you some idea, you see, of what to expect.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia que dará idea de lo que cabe esperar en los experimentos de proyección

«When you are manipulating within physical reality, you have a fairly simple set of rules to serve you. Within dream reality there is greater freedom. The ego is not present. The waking consciousness, dear friends, is not the ego. The ego is only that portion of waking consciousness that deals with physical manipulation.» — Seth, según Roberts, deslinda el ego de la consciencia de vigilia: el ego es solo la porción que maneja lo físico

«It is quite possible for a dreamer to visit other planetary systems, of the past, present, or future in your terms. Such visits are usually fragmentary and spontaneous. It is best that they remain so. Take advantage of them when they occur, but do not attempt such endeavors yet, however, as many difficulties are involved.» — Seth, según Roberts, concede la visita a otros sistemas planetarios y a la vez desaconseja buscarla

«Seth says that he has personally assisted me in some of my own projection experiments, but that I have not been aware of his assistance.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, consigna que Seth declara haberla asistido en proyecciones sin que ella lo notara

«I’ve often awakened, fully alert, in the middle of the night, suddenly conscious that I’ve been giving a kind of Seth session. I can hear Seth’s words going through my head like signals. It’s as if I’m tuning in on a radio broadcast that I’m not supposed to be hearing, because when I start to listen there is a clicking sound in my head, and the “station” turns off. On two occasions I heard enough to know what was being said and to whom the sessions were directed. Later the people involved told me that they dreamed that Seth was speaking to them through me on the same nights as my experiences. I had said nothing to them; they volunteered the information.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, cuenta las sesiones que dice oír dentro de la cabeza al despertar, y el cotejo con dos personas que soñaron esas mismas noches con Seth hablándoles

«In certain areas of mass, shared dreams, collective mankind deals with problems of his political and social structure. The solutions he reaches within dream reality are not always the same as those he accepts in the physical world.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 254, atribuye a sueños compartidos de masa el tratamiento de los problemas políticos y sociales

«When you dream of others, they know it. When they dream of you, you know it. There would be nothing to be gained, however, in conscious awareness of these conditions at this time.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara mutuo el saber del sueño ajeno y a la vez niega que convenga tenerlo consciente

«As you know, many people dreamed of Jack Kennedy’s death in advance. On one level the knowledge was available to the man himself. This does not mean that the death had to occur. It was a vivid possibility. It was also one of many solutions to several problems. While it was not the most suitable solution, it was the closest man could come at that particular time in physical reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que el saber de esa muerte estuvo disponible en algún nivel también para el propio interesado, y la llama posibilidad vívida y una de varias soluciones, no la más adecuada

«dream individually and collectively of changing it. They act out in their dreams the various ways in which changeabouts could occur. These dreams actually help bring about the resulting change that will then happen. The very energy and direction of the dreams will help change the situation.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica a los sueños individuales y colectivos un papel en el cambio histórico del conflicto racial

«Through our dreams we change physical reality, and our physical daily experience alters our dream experience. There is constant interaction. Our consciousness is simply directed in a different kind of reality when we dream, a reality as vivid as waking life. We may forget our dreams, but they are always a part of us, even though we may not be aware of their entire reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, enuncia la interacción constante entre sueño y vigilia como tesis del material

«According to Seth there are many other systems of reality in which we operate, all unknown to the waking ego. Not only are there universal systems composed of matter and antimatter, but there are an infinite variety of realities in between. Apparently there are also “probable realities,” in which we follow paths we may have taken, but did not, in physical life.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo catorce, enumera los otros sistemas que el material declara: materia y antimateria, variedades intermedias y realidades probables

«The dream experience is felt directly by the inner self. Dreams have an electric actuality, as I told you. In this [electric actuality] they not only exist independently of the dreamer, but they have what you might call tangible form, though not in the form of matter as you are familiar with it.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a los sueños una actualidad eléctrica que los hace existir con independencia del soñante

«A man’s thoughts and dreams are far more reaching than he knows. They exist in more dimensions; they affect worlds of which he is unaware. They are as concrete, in effect, as any building. They appear in many guises within many systems, and once created cannot be withdrawn.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara los pensamientos y los sueños tan concretos como un edificio y ya no retirables

«Each individual from birth forms his own counterpart from built-up, individual, continuous electrical signals that include his dreams, thoughts, desires, and experiences. At physical death his personality then exists detached from its physical form.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que cada quien forma desde el nacimiento su contraparte eléctrica, que a la muerte queda desprendida de la forma física

«Dream locations are not superimposed upon, say, the bed and chest and chair. They exist composed of the very same atoms and molecules that in the waking state you perceive as bed and chest and chair. Objects, remember, are the results of» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene que el lugar del sueño se compone de los mismos átomos que en vigilia se perciben como cama, cómoda y silla; la frase cruza de plana

«your perception. From energy you form patterns which you then recognize as objects and use. But the objects are useless unless you are focused within the dimension for which they were specifically formed.» — Seth, según Roberts, remata: los objetos resultan de la percepción y solo sirven dentro de la dimensión para la que se formaron; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«did happen within another reality and emerged into history as an idea rather than a physical event—an idea that changed civilization. (According to Seth, of course, an idea is an event, whether physically materialized or not.)» — Jane Roberts completa la acotación: emergió a la historia como idea y no como hecho físico, y una idea es un acontecimiento; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Then, without any warning, I felt myself pulled away. There» — Jane Roberts consigna el tirón que la devolvió al cuerpo; la frase cruza de plana

«was a terrific whooshing sound and I was back in my body. I really felt tricked. Usually its quite difficult to go right back to the same location, but I was so angry that I willed myself back. Not that it did me much good. I “landed” on the same corner, but the young man was nowhere to be found. Then I set out to find the hotel, and while I swear I walked the block three times and recognized the other buildings, I just couldn’t find the hotel. Finally I returned to my body.» — Jane Roberts consigna el fracaso del segundo intento: volvió a la misma esquina y no halló el hotel pese a reconocer los demás edificios; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Waking consciousness can be taken into the dream state; the ego cannot, as it would falter and cause immediate failure. In your experiments you will meet with various conditions, and until you learn control it may be difficult to distinguish between» — Seth, según Roberts, advierte que el ego no puede llevarse al sueño porque haría fracasar el intento; la frase cruza de plana

«them. Some you can manipulate, some you cannot. Some dream locations will be of your own making, and others will be strange to you. They will belong to other dimensions of reality, but you may blunder into them.» — Seth, según Roberts, reparte los lugares del sueño entre los propios y los ajenos, en los que uno se mete por error; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The dream solutions are held as ideals, however. Without» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que las soluciones del sueño se guardan como ideales; la frase cruza de plana

«mass dreams, for example, your United Nations would not exist. … At this stage of your development it is necessary that selectivity be used. If you were aware of the constant barrage of telepathic communications that do impinge upon you, it would be most difficult for you now to retain a sense of identity.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica a los sueños de masa la existencia de las Naciones Unidas y explica la selectividad por la necesidad de sostener la identidad; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The electric reality of a dream is decoded, so that its effects are experienced not only by the brain, but in the furthest» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la decodificación del sueño con efectos en todo el cuerpo y no solo en el cerebro; la frase cruza de plana

«reaches of the body. Dream experiences, long forgotten consciously, are forever contained as electrically coded data within the cells of the physical organism. … They exist within the cells [along with all an individual’s experience] … The cells form about them. These electrically coded signals form counterparts of complete experience, and the pattern is then independent of physical reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa la experiencia onírica codificada eléctricamente en las células, con el patrón independiente de la realidad física; los corchetes son de Roberts y la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Seth is not saying here that the Crucifixion was “just a» — Jane Roberts acota la tesis en su propia voz y niega que Seth llame sueño a la Crucifixión; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *dream*

«What is a probable self? According to Seth, each of us has counterparts in other systems of reality; not identical selves or twins, but other selves who are part of our entity, developing abilities in a different way than we are here.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, define el yo probable: contraparte en otro sistema de realidad, parte de la misma entidad y no gemelo

«These probable personalities are further removed from us than our reincarnational selves, more like distant relations who bear a family resemblance. According to the information we have so far, some of them have methods of perception different from ours.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, sitúa a los yoes probables más lejos que los reencarnatorios, como parientes lejanos con parecido de familia

«In this session, the 487th, Seth told Rob that in another system of reality, Rob has a probable self who is a doctor who paints as a hobby. This is why Rob took to the medical drawings so easily! (To the doctor, of course, Rob is a probable self.)» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, da el caso que abre el capítulo: un yo probable de Butts que es médico y pinta de afición, y anota que desde el otro lado Butts es el yo probable

«There are, in fact, infinite varieties of matter, existing in what you would call one space framework. Using the physical senses, of course, you can never perceive these other systems. Advanced training in the use of the Inner Senses can lead to such explorations, however.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara infinitas las variedades de materia en un mismo marco de espacio, imperceptibles para los sentidos físicos

«In the same way that thoughts can be sent through space, so individual consciousness can be sent through systems of reality [other dimensions]. As a seed can fly through the air, so individual consciousness can travel through these systems, but it must be protected. Certain drugs can protect it.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el viaje de la consciencia entre sistemas con la figura de la semilla por el aire, y lo declara necesitado de protección farmacológica; los corchetes son de Roberts

«Now these drugs are like time capsules, cutting down stimuli for certain intervals, and then injecting stimulants as destination points are reached. The process is highly involved. The injections are made into the physical being, affecting the brain. Consciousness projects in an out-of-body experience. The physical brain is cushioned against shock, since in this case consciousness travels at such a fast pace that ordinarily contact between it and the body would be severed.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el mecanismo: inyecciones al cerebro físico que lo amortiguan mientras la consciencia viaja a gran velocidad

«Certain injections then given to the brain actually help consciousness outside of the brain and act as nourishment. This is simply one method that is being used, however. The drug allows for regulated periods of highly intensified consciousness, operating at peak levels, with all the mental faculties accelerated. Between these periods, however, there are periods of unconsciousness. These are of a protective nature.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que esas inyecciones nutren a la consciencia fuera del cerebro y alternan periodos de lucidez con periodos de inconsciencia protectora

«In your time, the periods of high conscious activity would run approximately three days, followed by a day and a half to four days of inactivity, according to the circumstances. This involves the transfer of conscious energy from a home system to an alien one, and certain more or less automatic changes must be made from system to system, involving the use of brain waves, certain patterns being normal in different systems.» — Seth, según Roberts, cifra en días los ciclos de actividad e inactividad de ese viajero y habla de patrones de onda cerebral propios de cada sistema

«There are other brain patterns, for example, than those discovered by your scientists. The drugs help in changing these patterns when it is necessary. If these brain patterns were not changed on entering and leaving a system, theoretically at least, the consciousness could become trapped within any given system: acceleration or deacceleration, you see, but mentally.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara patrones cerebrales desconocidos por la ciencia y advierte del riesgo de quedar atrapado en un sistema sin el cambio de patrón

«It’s not really a new idea,” Rob said. “Scientists have theorized about a probable universe.» — Robert Butts, en el diálogo que Roberts reproduce, sitúa la idea del universo probable entre las teorizadas por la ciencia

«According to what Seth told us, this probable self is a Dr. Pietra. He is an older man in his system of reality than Rob is in ours, and while he is engrossed in his painting, this interest is subordinated to his medical work.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, da el nombre con que el material designa a ese yo probable y lo describe mayor que Butts en su propio sistema

«He is studying the use of painting in therapy,” Seth said. “Not only working with patients and using art as therapy, but working with the idea that some paintings in themselves have a healing effect.” Seth went on to say that “certain paintings can capture and direct the healing abilities of the viewer. … The painter’s intent is embedded in his medium and in his painting.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a ese médico la investigación de la pintura como terapia y sostiene que la intención del pintor queda incrustada en el cuadro

«He knows of your hypothetical existence,” Seth said. “He believes that he has a probable self, and he is endeavoring to visit this probable universe. He has no idea, however, that you might be expecting such a visit, or that you might be planning to meet him. … He has been working on the drug himself, along with two others.» — Seth, según Roberts, responde a Butts que el otro conoce su existencia como hipótesis y trabaja él mismo en la droga con otros dos

«He will be able to manipulate in his own system while he is gone. Your state of mind and receptivity will be communicated to him and serve as a beckoning area that he will recognize. The sympathetic aspects of your personalities will serve to open clear channels between you. The passageway, you see, is not physical, of course, and yet molecular structure is to some extent involved.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el pasadizo entre los dos como no físico y a la vez con estructura molecular implicada, con la receptividad de Butts como área de llamada

«You should see him visually—either entirely objectified or in an unusually vivid inner image. But more than this, there should be an inner communication between you of a telepathic nature. He is also visually oriented, you understand. He may be able to show you images from his own system of reality. He may be able to take you there in a projection, and from that point you should be able to look into your own system, and in a series of flashes see your life and Ruburt’s with greater clarity.» — Seth, según Roberts, pronostica lo que Butts podría ver y la comunicación telepática que espera

«I believe that within seven hours he will be within your system, whether or not you perceive him. The drug may have the effect of coloring his image, so do not be surprised at a yellow or purplish tinge. For various reasons we cannot discuss this evening, the experiments are now being conducted over a period of some weeks, and they will not be tried again until your autumn. This has to do with the conductivity of cell structures, and your particular atmosphere during these periods.» — Seth, según Roberts, fija un plazo de siete horas, advierte del posible tinte amarillo o púrpura de la imagen y acota la ventana experimental al otoño siguiente

«Rob did these exercises several times that week without making any contact with Dr. Pietra as far as he knew. On June 16 Seth surprised us by saying that near contact had been made twice.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, consigna el resultado: ningún contacto que Butts notara, y Seth declarando después dos contactos cercanos

«What happened was a very momentary merging of personality characteristics on deeper than conscious levels,” Seth said. “Neither of you knew how to handle it. You were afraid of blurring your own identities, and rather frightened by some of the similarities within them. It was the similarities, however, that made even that [small] contact possible.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica el contacto fallido por miedo de los dos a difuminar la propia identidad, y lo achaca a las semejanzas que a la vez lo hacían posible; el corchete es de Roberts

«At a time when your thoughts veered off on a tangent. I believe you had a mental image of the inside portion of a human body, or a thought having to do with inner organs. This occurred as you picked up, on deeper levels, the presence of Dr. Pietra.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el momento del contacto por una imagen mental de órganos internos

«Apparently they insure that consciousness will not return to the physical brain too quickly. He also said that there were methods “by which the relative behavior and condition of the traveling consciousness is monitored at the other end. In case of any severe dangers, the consciousness is pulled back, but this is highly dangerous.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, resume lo que Seth añade sobre las drogas y el monitoreo del viajero desde su sistema de origen

«In case anyone is uncertain, this probable system of reality is as “real” as ours, according to Seth. To its inhabitants, it is composed of physical matter, and it is just one of an infinite number of systems or universes between matter and antimatter. The people in Pietra’s system have hypothesized the existence of other probable universes, and Pietra is one of the first explorers, mostly because of his excellent medical background.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, declara ese sistema probable tan real como el nuestro y compuesto de materia física para sus habitantes

«In other statements in the past, Seth told us that any far-ranging space travel within our own system would also involve mental rather than physical journeys.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, recoge de Seth que el viaje espacial de largo alcance sería mental y no físico

«If, as Seth maintains, we have probable selves and if, besides all this, we live various existences on this planet, what happens to the concept of a single soul?» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, formula la objeción que el capítulo siguiente contesta: qué queda del alma única

«Imagine the whole self as composed of some master tape. Your recorder has four channels. We will give our recorder numberless channels. Each one represents a portion of the whole self, each existing in a different dimension, yet all a part of the whole self [or tape]. You see it would be ridiculous to say that Mono One on your tape was any more or less valid than Mono Two. Mono One could be compared to your present ego.» — Seth, según Roberts, figura el yo entero como una cinta maestra con canales sin número, cada uno una porción del yo en otra dimensión

«We will now imagine these selves multiplied, for you have selves three, four, five, and six, and so forth. Now on your recorder you have a setting for stereo. This enables you to mix and combine harmoniously the elements of the various channels —simultaneously. I am taking my time here so you get this clearly, because I do not often come through with the pure clarity of stereophonic.» — Seth, según Roberts, lleva la figura al ajuste estéreo, donde los canales se mezclan simultáneamente

«Your stereophonic setting can be compared to what we have termed the inner ego. Each of the selves experiences time in its own manner according to the nature of its perceptions. When the stereophonic channel is turned on, the selves then know their unity. Their various realities merge in the overall perceptions of the whole self.» — Seth, según Roberts, llama ego interior a ese ajuste y declara que ahí los yoes conocen su unidad

«Take, for example, Event X. This probable event will be experienced by the various portions of the self in their own way. When it is experienced by your ego, it is a physical event. When it is perceived by other portions of the self, the ego does not know of it.» — Seth, según Roberts, define el hecho físico como el hecho probable experimentado por el ego, sin que este sepa de los demás

«It is actual all the same and is experienced in variation. The whole self perceives and is affected by probabilities, then, and perceives these as actions whether or not the ego has chosen to accept any given event as physical. The time sequence also varies. Past, present, and future are realities only to your ego.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara reales los hechos probables para el yo entero y limita el pasado, el presente y el futuro al ego

«Now the inner ego, as you know, exists in the Spacious Present. The Spacious Present is the basic ‘time’ in which the whole self exists, but the various portions of the self have their experiences in their own time systems.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa al ego interior en el Presente Espacioso mientras las porciones del yo viven en sistemas de tiempo propios

«Flexibility is the key word here, a voluntary changing of the self as it is allowed to explore each probability. Experience is of a plastic nature. The basic sense of identity here is carried by what you could compare to the subconscious that you know. In other words, it is this portion of the psychological structure that carries the burden of identity, and it is the ego whose experiences are of a dreamlike nature.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte los papeles en ese otro ámbito: ahí el subconsciente carga la identidad y el ego tiene experiencias de índole onírica

«This system of probabilities is quite as real as the physical system, and you exist in it whether or not you realize it. You simply are not focused within it. You may become aware of it [or of one of your probable selves] while in the dream state occasionally. I have told you that dream images have a definite reality. So do probable events. They simply do not appear concrete to you.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 232, declara el sistema de probabilidades tan real como el físico, con el sueño como una vía ocasional de percibirlo

«You may dream of holding an apple, for example, and awaken to find it gone. This does not mean that it did not exist, but in the waking state you do not perceive it. In the same way you do not perceive the actuality of probable events on a conscious basis. A portion of your whole self is quite involved in these probable events, however. The I of your dreams can be legitimately compared to the self that experiences probable events. [That I would consider itself fully conscious and view the waking I as the probable self.]» — Seth, según Roberts, compara la manzana soñada con el hecho probable no percibido; el corchete en que se invierte el punto de vista es de Roberts

«The package of experience upon which you can focus is indeed composed of many small packages, but the whole package of reality is much larger than this. A portion of the self can and does experience events in an entirely different fashion [than the ego does] and this portion goes off on a different tangent. For when your conscious self perceives Event X, this other part of the self branches off, so to speak, into all the other probable events that could have been experienced by the ego. “The ego must choose one event because of its limitations. But this other portion of the self can and does delve into what you could call Event Xl, X2, X3, et cetera.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 227, declara que la porción del yo que se ramifica recorre todos los hechos probables que el ego descartó

«The ego must choose one event because of its limitations. But this other portion of the self can and does delve into what you could call Event Xl, X2, X3, et cetera. It can pursue and experience all of these alternative events in the same amount of physical time that it takes for the ego to experience Event X alone.» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene que esa porción recorre todos los hechos alternativos en el mismo tiempo físico que el ego emplea en uno

«This is not as farfetched as it might seem. The shaking of a hand may be perceived by you as a simple action. You are not aware of the million small acts which make up this seemingly insignificant action. They exist nevertheless. It does not take you time to perceive them one by one. You perceive them in their completed fashion. Now this portion of the self experiences these probable events consciously, with as much rapidity as you subconsciously perceive the million small actions that make up the handshake.» — Seth, según Roberts, apoya esa rapidez en la analogía del apretón de manos, hecho de un millón de actos pequeños percibidos de golpe

«I am trying to make the analogy clearer. The child would fit physically into the office building, you see. Physically speaking, there would be no barrier to keep him out, while admitting the father. The man could also enter the school, but there would be little purpose in such an arrangement.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota la analogía: no hay barrera física, hay falta de propósito

«There is within the family a general realization of the experiences of its members, but these are secondhand except for those events shared by the family as a whole, as a unit. There is also a generalized intuitional knowledge on the part of any portion of the self as to the experiences of the other portions.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a cada porción un saber intuitivo generalizado de lo que viven las demás

«Some events will be perceived by all layers of the self, however, though in their own fashion, and experienced as a unit. There are few of these but they are very vivid and they serve—as do the family’s joint experiences—to reinforce the identity of the entire psychological structure.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara pocos y muy vívidos los hechos que todas las capas del yo perciben, y les da la función de reforzar la identidad del conjunto

«Again: probable events are as real as that one event chosen from them to be a physical experience. Take our Event X again. It is only one of numberless probable events. For its purposes, however, the conscious ego chooses Event X. But until this ego experiences the event, it is only one of all the other probable events, different in no way. It becomes actual in your reality only when it is experienced by the physical self.» — Seth, según Roberts, iguala el hecho probable y el elegido hasta el momento en que el ego lo experimenta

«Only Seth’s assurances that contact is possible under certain conditions leads us to even consider it; the chances against such contact seem so high.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo quince, declara improbable el contacto y dice que solo la garantía de Seth los mantiene en el intento

«Rob had been working on portraits and human figures, so this data made sense to him. He didn’t recall any strong inner image of the interior of a body, though; yet he said that he had been» — Jane Roberts coteja el dato con lo que Butts hacía: retratos y figuras humanas, sin que él recordara la imagen interior; la frase cruza de plana

«thinking of body interiors—something that I didn’t know.» — Roberts consigna que Butts sí venía pensando en interiores del cuerpo y que ella no lo sabía; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Until the whole self is thus able to perceive its own parts simultaneously, then these seemingly separate portions appear» — Seth, según Roberts, declara aisladas entre sí las porciones del yo mientras el yo entero no las perciba a la vez; la frase cruza de plana

«to themselves isolated and alone. There is communication between them, but they are not aware of it. The tape is the element common to all channels. Now the inner ego is the director, but the whole self (or soul) must know itself. It is not enough that the inner ego knows what is going on. Ultimately the inner ego must bring about comprehension on the parts of the simultaneous selves.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la tarea al ego interior: no basta que él sepa, ha de traer comprensión a los yoes simultáneos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The ego maintains much of its stability by looking backward» — Seth, según Roberts, funda la estabilidad del ego en mirar hacia un pasado; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«into a ‘past’ and finding something of itself there. The portions of the self that deal in probabilities do not have experience with a ‘past’ to give them a sense of identity or continuity. Permanence, as the ego thinks of it, would be an alien concept to these portions of the self, and highly distasteful, adding up to rigidity.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara ajena y hasta repugnante la permanencia para las porciones del yo que tratan con probabilidades; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Let us consider the following. An individual finds himself with a choice of three actions. He chooses one and experiences it. The other two actions are experienced also, by the inner ego, but not in physical reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe la elección entre tres acciones: el ego vive una y el ego interior vive las otras dos

«These portions of the self simply operate in a different» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa esas porciones en otra dimensión de realidad; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«dimension of reality, with different fields of activity. In this particular instance, compare the various portions of the whole self to the various members of a family: The man may work in the city. The woman may work at their home in the country. Of three children, each may attend a different school. They are all members of the same family unit and operate out of the same house. There is no basic reason why any of the children could not spend his days at his father’s office, but he would not be able to understand the events or activities there.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara las porciones del yo con los miembros de una familia que salen a lugares distintos desde la misma casa; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«These other probable events become just as ‘real’ within other dimensions. As a sideline, there are some interesting episodes when a severe psychological shock or deep sense of» — Seth, según Roberts, declara igual de reales esos hechos probables en otras dimensiones; la frase cruza de plana

«futility causes a short circuit so that one portion of the self begins to experience one of its other probable realities. I am thinking in particular of some cases of amnesia where the victim ends up suddenly in a different town with another name, occupation, and no memory of his own past. In some instances such an individual is experiencing a probable event, but he must experience it, you see, within his own time system.» — Seth, según Roberts, propone leer algunos casos de amnesia como cortocircuito por el que una porción del yo empieza a vivir otra de sus realidades probables; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The results are then checked by» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que el ego interior comprueba esas acciones probables; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«the inner ego as an aid in other decision-making. The probable actions were definitely experienced, however, and such experience makes up the existence of the ‘probable selves’ just as dream actions make up the experience of the dreaming self. … There is a constant subconscious interchange of information between all layers of the whole self.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara experimentadas las acciones probables, formando la existencia de los yoes probables, con intercambio subconsciente constante entre capas; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The man’s attitude was apparent the minute he came in the door. Personally he wouldn’t touch a medium with a ten-foot pole, but since they did exist and he knew of one, he felt duty-bound to “expose” his students to the phenomenon. And undoubtedly, he patted himself on the back for his broad-mindedness.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, describe la actitud del profesor de psicología que la invitó a hablar a su clase

«He dismissed all of the hits made as coincidence.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, consigna la explicación final del profesor: todos los aciertos por coincidencia

«But he didn’t want to reconsider or evaluate his preconceived ideas of the nature of personality. He missed an opportunity to broaden his outlook, and, perhaps, to find the kind of evidence that would convince him that human personality was far less limited than he supposed.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, declara lo que a su juicio se perdió el profesor, sin acusarlo de mala fe

«Identity is not the same as personality. Personality represents only those aspects of identity that you are able to actualize within three-dimensional existence. … Personality may be molded by circumstances, in your terms, but identity uses the experiences and is not swept willy-nilly.» — Seth, según Roberts, separa identidad de personalidad: la personalidad es lo actualizable en tres dimensiones y la identidad usa las experiencias sin ser arrastrada por ellas

«It is true that there are no limitations to the self, and in one respect you can say that the self reaches out to encompass the environment. Current theories regarding the nature of personality do not take into consideration the existence of telepathy or clairvoyance or the fact of reincarnation. What you have, in effect, is a one-dimensional psychology. Identity operates in many dimensions, however.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta a las teorías corrientes de la personalidad que no cuentan con la telepatía, la clarividencia ni la reencarnación, y las llama psicología de una sola dimensión

«You have here [in the session itself] a provocative demonstration of the nature of personality,” he said. “For my personality is not Ruburt’s, nor is his mine. I am not a secondary personality, for instance. I make no attempt to dominate Ruburt’s life, nor indeed would I expect him to allow it. I do not represent any repressed portions of Ruburt’s own being. As those here know, he is hardly the repressed type on his own!» — Seth, según Roberts, niega ser personalidad secundaria o porción reprimida de Roberts, y se sirve de la sesión misma como demostración; el corchete es de Roberts

«I have helped him, in that his own personality operates more effectively. He is able to use his own abilities more fully. But that is hardly a psychological crime. The facts are, dear psychology class and professor, that all of you are more than you know. Each of you exists in other realities and other dimensions, and the self that you call yourself is but a small portion of your entire identity.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el efecto que reclama sobre Roberts y dice a la clase ausente que cada quien existe en otras realidades

«Now, in dreams you do have contact with other parts of yourself. This communication goes on constantly, but your ego is so focused upon physical reality and survival within it that you do not hear the inner voice. You must realize that what you are cannot be seen in a mirror. What you see in a mirror is but a dim reflection of your true reality.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa en el sueño el contacto con las otras partes del yo y declara que el espejo solo devuelve un reflejo tenue

«You do not see your ego in the mirror. You do not see your subconscious. You do not see the inner self in a mirror. These are but terms to express the part of you that cannot be seen or touched. But within the selves that you know is the prime identity, the whole inner self. This whole self has lived many lives. It has adopted many personalities. It is an energy essence personality, even as I am. The only difference is that I am not materialized within physical matter. You do not suddenly acquire a ‘spirit’ at death. You are one, now.» — Seth, según Roberts, llama al yo interior una esencia de personalidad energética como la suya, y niega que el espíritu se adquiera al morir

«You may, if you wish, call me a subconscious production. I do not particularly enjoy such a designation, since it is not true. But if you do call me a subconscious extension of Ruburt’s own personality, then you must agree that the subconscious is telepathic and clairvoyant, since I have shown telepathic and clairvoyant abilities. So, may I remind you, has Ruburt on his own. … However, unless you are willing to assign to the subconscious those abilities—and most of your colleagues do not—then I cannot be considered to have such a subconscious origin.» — Seth, según Roberts, plantea al profesor un dilema: o el subconsciente es telepático y clarividente, o él no puede tener ese origen

«Personality and identity are not dependent upon physical form. It is only because you think they are that you find this sort of performance so strange. … You adopt a body as a space traveler wears a space suit, and for much the same reason.» — Seth, según Roberts, compara el cuerpo con un traje espacial que se adopta por la misma razón

«One other point: These sessions are scheduled, and therefore operate under certain controlled conditions. Ruburt’s own personality is in no way threatened by them, and his ego has been carefully coddled and protected. It has not been shunted aside. Instead it has been taught new abilities. … I was not artificially ‘brought to birth’ through hypnosis. There was no artificial tampering of personality characteristics here. There was no hysteria. Ruburt allows me to use the nervous system under highly controlled conditions. I am not given a blanket permission to take over when I please, nor would I desire such an arrangement. I have other things to do.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara las condiciones de la sesión: horario fijo, ego de Roberts protegido y no apartado, sin hipnosis ni histeria, y sin permiso general para tomar el cuerpo

«Granted we survive death, what part of us survives? As Seth gave us more material on reincarnation and the inner self, we naturally wondered. Having a whole self may be great, but if my Jane Roberts self is engulfed by it after death, then to me that’s not much of a survival. It’s like saying that the little fish survives when it’s eaten by a bigger one because it becomes part of it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, formula la objeción que a ella misma le importa: qué queda del yo llamado Jane si lo absorbe el yo entero, con la figura del pez comido

«But according to Seth, no individuality is ever lost. It is always in existence. The tricky point here is that the self has no boundaries except those it accepts out of ignorance. Our individual consciousness grows, and out of its experience it forms different “personalities” or fragments of itself. These fragments—Jane Roberts is one of them—are entirely independent as to action and decision, yet the inner psychic components are constantly in communication with the whole self of which they are part. These “fragments” themselves grow, develop, and may form their own entities or “personality gestalts”—or, if you prefer, whole souls.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, resume la respuesta: ninguna individualidad se pierde, los fragmentos son independientes en acción y decisión y pueden formar entidades propias

«Seth says that even in this life, each of us has various egos; we only accept the idea of one ego as a sort of shorthand symbolism. The ego at any given time in this life is simply the part of us that “surfaces”; a group of characteristics that the inner self uses to solve various problems. Even the ego as we think of it changes constantly. For example, the Jane Roberts of now is different from the Jane Roberts of ten years ago, though “I” have not been conscious of any particular change of identity.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, recoge de Seth que hasta en esta vida hay varios egos y que el ego único es taquigrafía, con su propio caso de ejemplo

«Identity may be termed action which is conscious of itself. For the purposes of our discussion, the terms ‘action’ and ‘identity’ must be separated, but basically no such separation exists. An identity is also a dimension of existence, action within action, an unfolding of action upon itself—and through this interweaving of action with itself, through this re-action, an identity is formed.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 138, define la identidad como acción consciente de sí y declara que la separación entre acción e identidad es solo de exposición

«The energy of action, the workings of action within and upon itself, forms identity. Yet though identity is formed from action, action and identity cannot be separated. Identity, then, is action’s effect upon itself. Without identity, action would be meaningless, for there would be nothing upon which action could act. Action must, by its very nature, of itself and its own workings, create identities. This applies from the most simple to the most complex.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la identidad el efecto de la acción sobre sí misma, y de la formación de identidades una necesidad de la acción

«Once more, action is not a force from without that acts upon matter. Action is, instead, the inside vitality of the inner universe—it is the dilemma between inner vitality’s desire and impetus to completely materialize itself, and its inability to completely do so.» — Seth, según Roberts, define la acción como el dilema entre el impulso de la vitalidad interior a materializarse del todo y su incapacidad de hacerlo

«This first dilemma results in action, and from action’s own workings upon itself we have seen that identity was formed, and that these two are inseparable. Action is, therefore, a part of all structure. Action, having of itself and because of its nature formed identity, now also because of its nature would seem to destroy identity, since action must involve change, and any change seems to threaten identity.» — Seth, según Roberts, deriva del primer dilema la identidad, y de la acción la amenaza a la identidad que ella misma formó

«It is a mistaken notion, however, that identity is dependent upon stability. Identity, because of its characteristics, will continually seek stability, while stability is impossible. This is our second dilemma.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la identidad dependa de la estabilidad y declara imposible esa estabilidad que ella busca

«It is this dilemma, between identity’s constant attempts to maintain stability and action’s inherent drive for change, that results in the imbalance, the exquisite creative by-product that is consciousness of self. For consciousness and existence do not result from delicate balances so much as they are made possible by lack of balances, so richly creative that there would be no reality were balance ever maintained.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la consciencia de sí un producto creativo del desequilibrio y niega que exista realidad donde el equilibrio se mantuviera

«We have a series of creative strains. Identity must seek stability while action must seek change; yet identity could not exist without change, for it is the result of action and a part of it. Identities are never constant as you yourselves are not the same consciously or unconsciously from one moment to the next. Every action is a termination, as we discussed earlier. And yet without the termination, identity would cease to exist, for consciousness without action would cease to be conscious.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que toda acción es una terminación y que sin terminación la identidad cesaría

«Consciousness, therefore, is not a ‘thing’ in itself. It is a dimension of action, an almost miraculous state, made possible by what I choose to call a series of creative dilemmas.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la consciencia sea una cosa y la declara dimensión de la acción

«It should be fairly easy to see how the second dilemma evolved from the first. I have said that the second one resulted in—and constantly results in—consciousness of self. This is not ego consciousness. Consciousness of self is still consciousness directly connected with action. Ego consciousness is a state resulting from the third creative dilemma, which happens when consciousness of self attempts to separate itself from action. Since this is obviously impossible, since no consciousness or identity can exist without action, we have the third dilemma.» — Seth, según Roberts, deslinda consciencia de sí y consciencia de ego: la segunda nace del intento imposible de separarse de la acción

«Again: consciousness of self involves a consciousness of self within—and as a part of—action. Ego consciousness, on the other hand, involves a state in which consciousness of self attempts to divorce self from action—an attempt on the part of consciousness to perceive action as an object … and to perceive action as initiated by the ego as a result, rather than as a cause, of ego’s own existence.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el ego como el intento de percibir la acción como objeto y como resultado suyo y no como su causa

«These three dilemmas represent three areas of reality within which inner vitality can experience itself. And here also we have the reason why inner vitality can never achieve complete materialization. The very action involved in vitality’s attempt to materialize itself adds to the inner dimension of vitality itself.» — Seth, según Roberts, da los tres dilemas como las áreas en que la vitalidad interior se experimenta, y explica por qué nunca acaba de materializarse

«Materializing in any form whatsoever, it at once multiplies the possibilities of further materialization. At the same time, because inner vitality is self-generating, only a minute fraction of it is needed to seed a universe.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara autogenerada la vitalidad interior y suficiente una fracción mínima para sembrar un universo; los corchetes son de Roberts

«In line with the statement made earlier that action necessarily changes that which it acts upon [which is basically itself], then it follows that the action involved in our sessions changes the nature of the sessions. I have spoken often of consciousness as the direction in which a self focuses. Action implies infinite possibilities of focus.» — Seth, según Roberts, aplica su propia tesis a las sesiones: la acción de tenerlas cambia su naturaleza

«Ruburt is experiencing action gestalts. Like every other consciousness, he is action; but this evening he is experiencing action, to some small degree, without the ego’s usual attempt to separate itself [from action].» — Seth, según Roberts, explica esa experiencia como gestalts de acción vividas sin el intento habitual del ego de separarse; el corchete es de Roberts

«Carefully—I thought!—I explained that suggestion was very important, and asked the professor to have an objective attitude during the tests. But, as I later discovered through one of his students, his attitude was anything but objective and hardly scientific. He let the class know through his statements and general behavior that he thought such tests were beneath» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, consigna que pidió actitud objetiva al profesor y que él dejó ver ante la clase que tenía las pruebas por indignas; la frase cruza de plana

«serious consideration. Oddly enough, the results weren’t bad at all, but his attitude was so poor that only five girls took part in the experiment. I suggested that he try the experiment too, but he wouldn’t; and his attitude discouraged enough students so that he could say, later, that the low number participating made tests results impossible to evaluate.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, consigna que los resultados no fueron malos y que la actitud del profesor redujo el número de participantes hasta poder invalidarlos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«If you are willing to concede the point, then I have other arguments. My memories are not the memories of a young woman. My mind is not a young woman’s mind. I have been used to many occupations, and Ruburt has no memory of them. I am not a father image of Ruburt’s, nor am I the male figure» — Seth, según Roberts, enumera lo que dice no ser: memoria de mujer joven, mente de mujer joven, figura paterna; la frase cruza de plana

«that lurks in the back of the female mind. Nor does our friend Ruburt have homosexual tendencies. I am simply an energy essence personality, no longer materialized in physical form.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la enumeración negando la figura masculina interior y las tendencias homosexuales, y se declara esencia de personalidad energética; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«My own experiences convince me that I am more than my normal self, the self I refer to as “me.” In getting clairvoyant information, for instance, some part of me knows what the Jane-part ordinarily does not. This portion of me communicates» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, funda la tesis en su propia experiencia clarividente, donde una parte sabe lo que la parte Jane no; la frase cruza de plana

«the knowledge to the Jane ego. I believe that this happens not only in the case of ESP, but also in connection with artistic inspiration: we tune into more knowledgeable portion of our own identities.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, extiende esa lectura a la inspiración artística: sintonizar una porción más sabedora de la propia identidad; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Early in our sessions Seth described what he calls the Inner Senses—inner methods of perception that expand normal consciousness and allow us to become aware of our own multidimensional existence. It was some time before we fully understood what these meant, and how we could use them, and we are still learning to use them more effectively.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, define los sentidos internos como métodos de percepción que dan noticia de la existencia multidimensional, y declara que aún aprenden a usarlos

«As Seth delivered the material you have just read, I had a series of continuing experiences that were new to me. I couldn’t tell Rob about them until our breaks, of course, and indeed, they are nearly impossible to describe.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, declara nuevas y casi indescriptibles las experiencias que tuvo mientras dictaba ese material

«The nearest I can come is to say that as this information was being given verbally to Rob, it was given to me in a different way also. I seemed to be inside “action,” drifting through various dimensions. I felt what Seth was saying, as if the words were translated into subjective experience. It was more like being swept along into something else than being, say, negated. My ego wasn’t lost, but became part of the concepts Seth was talking about. I was inside them, looking out.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, describe esa experiencia: la información llegándole también como vivencia, con el ego no perdido sino vuelto parte de los conceptos

«I mentioned, in our last discussion, that this material would be the basis for future sessions. It is true that another dimension has been added to the sessions, and I hope to instruct Ruburt along the lines of more direct perception as we continue. I told you that such developments could be expected. These are natural unfoldings and will continue according to their own nature and in their own time. I expect that this latest development will involve still another.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia que a las sesiones se ha añadido otra dimensión y que ese desarrollo traerá otro

«Seth says that the physical body and its senses are specialized equipment to allow us to live in physical reality. To perceive other realities, we have to use the Inner Senses—methods of perception that belong to the inner self and operate whether or not we have a physical form. Seth calls the universe as we know it a “camouflage” system, since physical matter is simply the form that vitality—action—takes within it. Other realities are also camouflage systems, and within them consciousness also has specialized equipment tailored to their peculiar characteristics. But the Inner Senses allow us to see beneath the camouflage.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, resume la doctrina del camuflaje: la materia física como forma que la vitalidad toma en este sistema, con los sentidos internos para ver debajo

«there is, after the operating ego, a layer of personal subconscious material. Beneath this is racial material dealing with the species as a whole. Beneath this, undistorted and yours for the asking, is the knowledge inherent in the inner self, pertaining to reality as a whole, its laws, principles, and composition.» — Seth, según Roberts, ordena las capas del yo: ego, subconsciente personal, material racial y, debajo, el saber del yo interior

«What Seth is saying is that each of us can reach the inner self, that the Inner Senses help us to perceive other than three-dimensional reality, and that we can get to this knowledge with determination and training. We start with ourselves and travel through our own subjective experience, working from the ego inward. The physical senses help us to perceive the exterior reality that we know. The Inner Senses let us perceive the inner ones.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, traduce esa doctrina a instrucción: se llega al yo interior desde el ego hacia dentro, con determinación y entrenamiento

«From within its framework you will see that physical time is as dreamlike as you once thought inner time was. You will discover your whole selves, peeping inward and outward at the same ‘time,’ and find that all time is one time, and all divisions, illusions.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el Tiempo Psicológico como marco desde el que el tiempo físico se ve tan onírico como el interior

«When we do “Psy-Time,” as Rob and I call it, our experiences seem to take place outside of the usual time framework. It’s like shifting gears, so that perception happens in a different context. Psy-Time is the “time” I travel in when I’m projecting, for example. When I went to California in the episode mentioned in Chapter 9, over six thousand miles were covered in a half hour. Obviously, in normal time, this would be impossible.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo dieciséis, declara que sus experiencias de Tiempo Psicológico caen fuera del marco temporal corriente y da su viaje a California como caso

«The past exists as a series of electromagnetic connections held in the physical brain and in the nonphysical mind. These electromagnetic connections can be changed.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 224, sitúa el pasado en conexiones electromagnéticas del cerebro y de la mente, y las declara cambiables

«The future consists of a series of electromagnetic connections in the mind and brain also, and this is the only reality that you are justified in giving the present. “In other words, the past and present are real to the same extent. On occasion the past can become more ‘real’ than the present, and in such cases past actions are reacted to in what you call the present.» — Seth, según Roberts, iguala el estatuto del pasado y el del futuro, y concede al pasado poder volverse más real que el presente

«You take it for granted that present action can change the future, but present actions can also change the past.» — Seth, según Roberts, extiende hacia atrás lo que ya se concede hacia adelante: la acción presente cambia el pasado

«The past is no more objective or independent from the perceiver than is the present. These electromagnetic connections that compose the past were largely made by the individual perceiver, and the perceiver is always a participator.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega objetividad al pasado y declara siempre participante al que percibe

«Difficulties arise, in fact, when such alterations do not occur automatically. Severe neurosis is often caused precisely because the individual has not changed his past. Once more, the only reality that can be assigned to the past is that granted to the symbols and associations and images that exist electromagnetically within the physical brain and nonphysical mind.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte la lectura corriente de la neurosis: viene de no haber cambiado el pasado

«Every action changes every other action—we go back to our ABC’s. Therefore, every action in your present affects those actions you call past. Ripples from a thrown stone go out in all directions, and I am going out rather far on the limb myself right here. Remembering what you know of the nature of time, you realize that the apparent boundaries between past, present, and future are only illusions caused by the amount of action you can physically perceive.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara ilusorios los límites entre pasado, presente y futuro y los adjudica al volumen de acción que se puede percibir

«Therefore, it is possible to react in the past to an event that has not yet occurred, to be influenced by your own future. It is also possible for an individual to react in the past to an event in the future which may never occur in your terms.» — Seth, según Roberts, extrae la consecuencia: se puede reaccionar en el pasado a un hecho futuro, incluso a uno que nunca llegue a ocurrir

«Because past, present, and future exist simultaneously, there is no reason why you cannot react to an event whether or not it happens to fall within the small field of reality in which you usually observe and participate.» — Seth, según Roberts, funda esa posibilidad en la simultaneidad de los tres tiempos

«On a subconscious level, you react to many events that have not yet occurred as far as your egotistical awareness is concerned. Such reactions are carefully screened out and not admitted to consciousness. The ego finds such instances distracting and annoying, and when forced to admit their validity, will resort to the most farfetched rationalizations to explain them.» — Seth, según Roberts, adjudica al ego el cribado de esas reacciones y las racionalizaciones con que las explica cuando no puede negarlas

«The inner self can, indeed, perceive events that will occur after physical death. It never was imprisoned by ego time. Its perceptions are merely inhibited by the ego. The inner self can perceive events that will occur to itself after death, and those in which it is not involved.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara al yo interior no preso del tiempo del ego y capaz de percibir hechos posteriores a la muerte física

«In all of these instances, however, there are uncertainties, for probable events can be seen as clearly as events that will physically happen. No event is predestined. Any given event can be changed not only before and during but after its occurrence. Again, I am not speaking symbolically, and I realize that I am leaving myself open to strong criticisms that certainly cannot be answered in this one evening.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota su propia tesis con la incertidumbre de lo probable, niega la predestinación y reconoce dejarse abierto a la crítica

«There are, for example, limitations set here that must be clearly stated, but within these limitations you will find that events can be changed and are constantly changed, regardless of the apparent point of their original happening.» — Seth, según Roberts, reconoce límites que habría que enunciar y sostiene que dentro de ellos los hechos cambian constantemente

«All of this applies unless, of course, an individual is taken completely out of the physical time system. A murdered man will not be returned whole and intact to physical life [though he may return as a ‘spirit,’ believing he is still alive].» — Seth, según Roberts, pone el límite duro: al asesinado no se le devuelve entero a la vida física; el corchete es de Roberts

«In summation: the individual is hardly at the mercy of past events, for he changes them constantly. He is hardly at the mercy of future events, for he changes these not only before but after their happening. “Again: the past is as real as the future, no more or no less. For the past exists only as a pattern of electromagnetic currents within the mind and brain, and these constantly change. … An individual’s future actions are not dependent upon a concrete finished past, for such a past never existed.» — Seth, según Roberts, resume: nadie está a merced del pasado ni del futuro, porque un pasado concreto y acabado nunca existió

«As soon as we resumed, however, I suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy flow through me, so that inside it “I” seemed almost lost and swept away.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, data ahí el desarrollo nuevo: una corriente de energía en la que su propio yo quedaba casi perdido

«If you keep these channels open and free, you will get material that is as undistorted as possible,” he said. “Ruburt’s range is an excellent one, and the plane of reality in which I have my existence is far beyond those to which persons in the physical system usually have access.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la condición de canales abiertos y libres para que el material llegue sin distorsión

«You and he must see to it that Ruburt does not color his experiences through reading material that is distorted. This [kind of material] has its purposes, and it does do some good, explaining reality in terms that people can understand, for the props and fantasies are familiar ones. There is no necessity for them here, however.” He continued, suggesting that I stay away from books that “deal exclusively with conventional religious subjects, interpreting reality in those limited terms.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide a los dos que Roberts no coloree sus experiencias con lecturas distorsionadas, y desaconseja los libros de asunto religioso convencional

«I am the Seth that I say that I am, but I am also more. The Seth personality that is part of me is the portion that can most clearly communicate with you. Do you follow me?» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara ser el Seth que dice ser y a la vez más, con la personalidad Seth como la porción que puede comunicarse con claridad

«The Seth portion of me has been intimately connected with you both, and so, in that respect, have I. This is closely related to the definition of a personality energy essence, from which, of course, all personalities spring.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, liga esa porción a los dos de la casa y remite a la definición de esencia de personalidad energética

«There exists what could almost be compared to a psychological and psychic warp in dimensions, and that corner of Ruburt’s personality is an apex point at which communication and contact can take place.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, llama a eso un alabeo psicológico y psíquico de dimensiones, con ese rincón como vértice

«This evening you have reached somewhat beyond the personality by which I usually make myself known to you. Even if I continue to speak, end the trance.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, manda terminar la sesión declarando que esa noche se ha ido más allá de la personalidad por la que suele darse a conocer

«Rob called me several times, getting no response. Then he touched my shoulder and I jumped rather violently. This interrupted the trance state. I didn’t know what was going on either. The powerful energy kept flowing through me. If I stood up I felt as if I’d go flying through the wall, propelled by this force. My head felt huge, as if my ears were out several feet. This last sensation wasn’t new; I’d had it in some Psy-Time experiences. But trying to contain that energy was something else.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, describe la salida del trance por contacto físico y la energía que seguía corriendo, con la cabeza sentida enorme

«tremendous energy seemed to flow through me, with the definite certainty— thank God—that this was coming from beyond me, and was automatically translated into words at my end. I feel this is as significant a development—almost—as the original Seth session. The sense of contact was undeniably there. The feeling I had was that I really was in touch with some all encompassing reality.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, cita sus propias notas de esa noche: la certeza de que aquello venía de fuera de ella y se traducía en palabras de su lado

«The development in the last session was latent from our first session, but it was a development that could or could not have occurred. Had it not, then many important future developments would have been blocked. The points where the [Seth] voice was loudest and most powerful— these points often represented openings through which the development could occur. For various reasons, however, that method was not used. The energy would have been diverted from the voice in which it had already been built up, you see.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara latente desde la primera sesión ese desarrollo y contingente su ocurrencia, con los momentos de voz más potente como aberturas posibles

«The laws of the inner universe [which had been given to us by Seth] are not laws in some book. They are attempts to explain in words the nature of inner reality. I must disentangle concepts, unravel them, in order to explain them, and much is necessarily lost in the process.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, niega que las leyes del universo interior sean leyes de un libro y declara la pérdida que impone el desenredo en palabras; el corchete es de Roberts

«I intend to implement this material whenever possible by helping both of you achieve subjective experiences that will fill out the words for you. These will vary according to conditions but are much more possible now, after the sessions’ latest development.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, anuncia experiencias subjetivas que llenen las palabras, ya posibles tras el desarrollo nuevo

«Each simple law of the inner universe that I have given you is in actuality a small inadequate statement in singledimensional terms, yet it is more than most are given, and the best approximation that can be made of the basic facts beneath any existence, the best statement that can be made under the circumstances with which we must work. As words would give small hint of the reality of color or sound to someone who did not experience these, so words can only give insight into the nature of reality.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara cada ley una formulación inadecuada en términos de una sola dimensión, y la mejor aproximación posible en esas circunstancias; el troceo parte *single-dimensional* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«The Inner Senses, to some extent, will allow you to perceive the reality of inner existence, and in this new development Ruburt is using these in a more effective manner than before. There are some changes in the way connections are made. This gives Ruburt a feeling of strangeness.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, atribuye a los sentidos internos la percepción de la existencia interior y consigna la extrañeza que el cambio produce en Roberts

«The Seth personality has been an intermediary and a legitimate one. The information already given to you regarding the nature of personality gestalts should make this development seem a fitting one. Seth is what I am, yet I am more than Seth is. Seth is, however, independent, and continues to develop as I do. In the Spacious Present we both exist.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara a Seth intermediario legítimo, independiente y en desarrollo, y enuncia la fórmula que el capítulo titula: Seth es lo que ella es y ella es más que Seth

«While I was the source of the material [in the last sessions], Seth, as you think of him, was at times a silent partner, helping Ruburt make the proper translations, while stepping aside in a personal manner. Earlier [in previous sessions] Seth interpreted material from me so that Ruburt could receive it. “You may rest. Seth will always be an element in these sessions as you know him. He is the connective between us, and he has been a part of me that I have sent out to you. He has participated willingly.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, reparte los papeles: ella como fuente y Seth como socio silencioso y conectivo enviado, que participa por su voluntad; los corchetes son de Roberts

«You have always been in contact with me, but you were only able to ‘see’ a portion of me. Keep in mind that all names are arbitrary, and we use them merely for your convenience. Basically, Seth’s name or mine isn’t important. Individuality is important and continues in ways you do not suspect.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara arbitrarios los nombres y pone la individualidad por encima de ellos

«In the most important way, and in the only basic way, I am Seth, dispensing with certain characteristics which are mine, which I used to contact you. The Seth personality, again, is legitimate and independent and is a part of my identity. Seth is learning as I am.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, se declara Seth en lo básico, prescindiendo de los rasgos con que se hacía el contacto, y declara a Seth parte legítima e independiente de su identidad

«Simply as an analogy, you could call me a future Seth, Seth in a ‘higher’ stage of development. This is not to be taken literally, however, since both of us are fully independent and exist simultaneously.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, ofrece la analogía que da título al capítulo y la retira en la misma frase: no se ha de tomar literalmente, porque los dos son independientes y simultáneos

«There are reasons why these particular connections have been made. There are events that unite us and that have served as turning points in the development of our various personalities. In some strange manner, what I am now is linked to what you are.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, declara hechos que unen a los implicados y que sirvieron de puntos de giro en el desarrollo de sus personalidades

«There are points of contact having nothing to do with time, as you know it, that are significant to all personalities; origins of new energy that are sometimes brought into existence because of the strong latent psychic capacities within individual selves. At these points, whole conglomerations of new self-units come into being, their origin sparked, as given in the last sentence. They then disperse and go their own ways, but the mutual origin and the strength of that initial psychic birth remain.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, describe puntos de contacto ajenos al tiempo donde nacen conglomerados de unidades de yo que después se dispersan conservando el origen común

«You will find the ways and means by which the inner self, existing in the climate of psychological reality, helps create the various planes of existence, constructs outer senses to project and perceive these, and the ways by which reincarnations take place within various systems. Here you will find your own answers as to how the inner self transforms energy for its own purposes, changes its form, and adopts other realities.» — Seth, según Roberts, añade la construcción de los sentidos externos, el modo de las reencarnaciones y la transformación de energía por el yo interior; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The connections, therefore, can be changed, and such changes are far from uncommon. They happen spontaneously on a subconscious basis. The past is seldom what you remember it to be, for you have already rearranged it from the instant of any given event. The past is being constantly re-created by each individual as attitudes and associations change. This is an actual re-creation, not a symbolic one. The child is indeed still within» — Seth, según Roberts, declara frecuente y espontáneo ese cambio del pasado y lo llama recreación real y no simbólica; la frase cruza de plana

«the man, but he is not the child that ‘was.’ For even the child within the man constantly changes.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que el niño dentro del hombre sea el niño que fue; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Now this couple represented a sort of time-projection, for literally you could have become what they were. This existed in» — Seth, según Roberts, relee las imágenes de York Beach como proyección de tiempo; el corchete de remisión es de Roberts y la frase cruza de plana

«that present as a probability. You perceived that portion of the probable future and reacted to it, and the possible transformation of yourselves into those images did not occur.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara percibida y no cumplida esa probabilidad del futuro; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Some of this material will automatically answer many questions with which you have been concerned—problems with which your scientists have been dealing.» — Seth, según Roberts,, en la sesión 406, anuncia que el material contestará por sí solo preguntas de las que se ocupan los científicos

«We will make an effort in the future to give you» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia experiencias directas de concepto; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«both some direct experience in concepts. These experiments will run along with, and closely follow, the vocalized expression of the concepts involved. They will give you some small glimmering of the unfortunate but necessary loss of meaning that occurs when any concept must be communicated in physical terms. This will be a different kind of in-depth learning, a rather unique and original development that will be as devoid as possible of stereotyped symbols, which are usually almost automatically superimposed on such experiences. Do you understand?» — Seth, según Roberts, describe esas experiencias como aprendizaje en profundidad sin los símbolos estereotipados que suelen superponerse; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«There is a peculiar corner within Ruburt’s personality, also deflected into your own, that allows him rather clear access to informational channels most difficult to reach from your system. During this session, and at this moment, the contact is particularly good. There is also access to energy far beyond that» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el contacto en un rincón de la personalidad de Roberts y declara el canal particularmente bueno esa noche; la frase cruza de plana

«which is usually experienced. Ruburt sensed this in the past, and feared to open these channels until he felt himself suitably ready.» — la voz nueva que el volumen distingue de la de Seth, según Roberts, consigna que Roberts lo había presentido y temía abrir esos canales antes de estar lista; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«cone came down just over my head. I didn’t think that an actual physical cone was there, but the idea of shape was definite. The wide end was about the size of my head, with the narrow part on top like a pyramid.» — Roberts describe el cono sin afirmar que hubiera cono físico: la idea de forma era definida; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«(In here I had visual inner images as of stars being born—an attempt, I thought, to put the data into recognizable visual terms.)» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, consigna las imágenes interiores que acompañaban al dictado y las lee como traducción del dato a términos visuales

«These [personalities] may develop in entirely different fashions and in various dimensions, but a strong sympathetic attraction exists between them. There is a point of contact where knowledge can be communicated from these various dimensions, and for too many reasons to give you now, Ruburt is in proper coordinates for such communication to take place.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara una atracción simpática entre personalidades desarrolladas en dimensiones distintas y sitúa a Roberts en las coordenadas del punto de contacto; el corchete es de Roberts

«This communication, while taking place in your time, is nevertheless responsible in other dimensions for what you would call future developments in your own personalities which you can, in turn, contact. I look back on you as the selves from which I sprang, yet I am more than the sum of what you will be when you are finished with the dimensions and times that I have known.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, enuncia la paradoja del título: mira hacia atrás a los yoes de los que brotó y a la vez es más que la suma de lo que serán

«For I have sprung entirely away from you and would be alien in your terms. That you can even contact me is a most remarkable development. Yet had you not been able to contact me, I would not be what I am.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, se declara ajena en los términos del oyente y a la vez dependiente del contacto para ser lo que es

«I am more, however, than this portion of me that you contact, for it is only one portion of me that experienced that reality. It is highly important, then, that this material not be distorted, for most communications take place on far different levels than this —[levels] so closely connected with your own system that even the most ‘undistorted’ data is highly distorted because the communicators themselves do not realize that they create the realities which they then describe.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, advierte contra las comunicaciones de otros niveles, donde los comunicantes no saben que crean las realidades que después describen

«My personality structure is far different—very rewarding to me but unfamiliar to you. … I do not want you to feel that I have taken away a friend. I am also a friend. In many ways I am the same friend. Other portions of me are concerned elsewhere, for I am aware of my own existence in other dimensions and keep track of them and direct my many selves.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, niega haber quitado a un amigo, se declara amiga también y consciente de su existencia en otras dimensiones

«It’s crazy,” I said. “When we have a usual Seth session, I sort of feel Seth take over, though I don’t like that term. With this personality, though, I go somewhere, out of myself, and seem to make contact with it in some nowhere, leaving my body empty. I don’t know how I get there, wherever it is, or how I get back.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, distingue las dos experiencias por dentro: con Seth siente que la toman, con la otra voz va ella a alguna parte y deja el cuerpo vacío

«Both of us felt almost sad, in one way. I think we were afraid that our regular Seth sessions were over, and that the new ones would take their place.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, consigna la tristeza de los dos ante la posibilidad de que las sesiones con Seth acabaran

«Our entity is composed of multitudinous selves with their own identities, many of whom have worked in this behalf. Their messages will always be basically the same, though the times and circumstances of their communications may differ and be colored accordingly.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, describe la entidad como compuesta de yoes con identidad propia y declara siempre el mismo mensaje, coloreado por tiempos y circunstancias

«We taught man to speak before the tongue knew syllables. We adopt whatever personality characteristics seem pertinent, for in our own reality we have a bank of complete inner selves, and we are all Seth. We attempt to translate realities into terms that you can comprehend. We change our face and form, but we are always the one. Many of us have not been born in flesh, as I have not been. In one way we have seeded ourselves through endless universes.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, reclama haber enseñado a hablar al hombre y declara adoptar los rasgos de personalidad que convengan, siendo siempre uno

«Physically you would find me a mass smaller than a brown nut, for my energy is so highly concentrated. It exists in intensified mass … perhaps like one infinite cell existing in endless dimensions at once and reaching out from its own reality to all others.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, se describe físicamente como una masa menor que una nuez, con la energía concentrada como una célula infinita en dimensiones sin fin

«Yet in such a small mass, these intensities contain memories and experiences electromagnetically coiled one within the other through which I can travel—even as I can travel through other selves which I have known and which are a portion of my identity, and yet which are so beautifully unpredetermined, for you do not exist as completed personalities within my memory, but you grow within my memory.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que los otros no existen como personalidades acabadas en su memoria sino que crecen dentro de ella

«You grow through my memory as a tree grows up through space, and my memory changes as you change. My memory of you includes your probable selves, and all of these coordinates exist simultaneously in a point that takes up no space.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que su memoria cambia conforme cambia el otro, e incluye a sus yoes probables en un punto sin extensión

«I told you that Ruburt’s personality acts like a warp in dimensions. In certain coordinates it exists at particular points that serve as entryways. The personality in general is formed from components existing in many realities and is an apex point. A window cannot see through itself, but you can see through a window. So Ruburt’s personality … is transparent in that respect.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, explica la función de Roberts con la figura de la ventana, que no se ve a sí misma y por la que se ve

«Now my body was almost puppetlike, and my face was devoid of expression. Just before the voice began to speak, I felt my consciousness drawn up through the invisible pyramid like a draft up a flue.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, describe el contraste corporal entre las dos voces y su propia consciencia tirada hacia arriba por el cono

«You are like children with a game, and you think that the game is played by everyone. Physical life is not the rule. Identity and consciousness existed long before your earth was formed. You see physical bodies and suppose that any personality must appear in physical terms. Consciousness is the force behind matter, and it forms many other realities besides the physical one.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, niega que la vida física sea la regla y declara la consciencia anterior a la formación de la tierra y fuerza detrás de la materia

«The source and power of your present consciousness has never been physical, and where I am, many are not even aware that such a physical system exists. The physical system is an illusion, but you must accept it and from its viewpoint try to understand the realities that exist beyond it. The illusions are real since they exist. Your [reality] is simply not one that I have pursued, and one of the purposes of my participation in these sessions is to acquaint the one called Ruburt with inner travel. He must leave the physical system, and in so doing set up habits and paths that can be used to advantage.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara ilusorio el sistema físico y a la vez real por existir, y da como propósito propio enseñar a Roberts el viaje interior

«Now that ‘Big Brother’ has had his say, I will bring our Ruburt back to you.» — Seth, según Roberts, vuelve con una broma sobre la otra voz; el contraste entre las dos personalidades es el dato que Roberts subraya

«The inner portions of your own identity and reality are not known to you, for you cannot objectify them, and therefore you do not perceive them. So much of your energy is used in these physical productions that you cannot afford to perceive any reality but your own. Again, like children playing with blocks, your focus of attention is upon physical blocks.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, compara el foco en lo físico con el del niño que juega con bloques

«Other shapes and forms that you could perceive, you do not. Even in explaining other realities to you, I must use the words ‘shapes’ and ‘forms’ or you would not understand me. You have your mathematics from us; a shadow of true mathematics, for here again you have insisted upon hemming-in realities. Your idea of progress is building larger blocks.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara deudora suya la matemática humana y la llama sombra de la verdadera, con el progreso reducido a hacer bloques mayores

«The blocks of physical reality appear very real to you when you dwell within their perspective. Your Ruburt experienced a transmigration of systems. It was not meant to be unpleasant. This was his subjective interpretation. First he was involved in a microscopic adventure. Consciousness does not take up space— you must understand this. Then he reentered your own system of physical blocks, and by contrast that system then appeared huge and monstrous.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, explica el episodio como transmigración de sistemas y aventura microscópica, y declara la interpretación desagradable como subjetiva de Roberts

«I started to feel the microscopic nature of our physical universe, comparatively speaking … this is most difficult to put into words. There was a momentary sense of desolation accompanying this—my own, I think. I’m always aware of the pyramid shape above me just before this personality speaks. Usually I “go up through” it. This time, though, at the narrow end far above me I saw the same giant head, peering down at me and the room as through a microscope. If the room and everything in it was going to shrink as realistically as it had expanded earlier—and it was, I could tell—I just wasn’t ready for the experience.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, cita sus notas sobre la segunda mitad del episodio: el cono, el rostro de gigante mirando como por un microscopio y la desolación momentánea

«Very startling though, the whole thing. If a psychologist wants to say simply that the whole thing was hallucination, then he would have to admit that it was hardly random, but well directed, to a point and for a purpose. The merging of myself with the action in the expansion episode was frightening at first. All in all I guess I reacted well enough and brought the thing to an end in the second episode when I decided I’d had enough for one night. I wasn’t just tossed willy-nilly the second time, and I broke the trance in anticipation of the experiences I knew were coming. So I did learn from the first episode.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, sale al paso de la explicación por alucinación: la llama nada aleatoria, bien dirigida y con propósito

«Once during a rest period, for example, Rob wondered what it was like to be nonphysical. When the session resumed, I felt myself seemingly suspended, fully alert and aware—but bodiless—in space. I had no form as far as I knew, but I possessed complete freedom of motion—something like conscious air. This time I wasn’t frightened, realizing that we were getting an answer to Rob’s question. During this experience, the emotionless, lilting, distant voice explained what nonphysical existence was like.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, cuenta la experiencia de existencia sin cuerpo, con plena libertad de movimiento, como respuesta a una pregunta de Butts

«I come here, I hope, as an ‘endearing’ personality, with characteristics to which you can relate. “Now, these characteristics are mine, and I am who I say I am. And yet the Seth that you know is but a small portion of my reality … the part that has been physical, and can understand your problems.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara suyos sus rasgos y a la vez se declara porción pequeña de una realidad mayor, la parte que ha sido física

«But beyond that self there is another self and still another self of which I am fully aware. And to that self, physical reality is like a breath of smoke in air … and that self does not need the characteristics that you know and think of as mine.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara conocer ese otro yo, para el que la realidad física es como una voluta de humo

«And that self tells you that there is a reality beyond human reality and experience that cannot be verbal nor translated in human terms.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts,, en su primera aparición en clase, declara una realidad que no cabe en palabras ni se traduce a términos humanos

«Although this type of experience may seem cold to you, it is a clear and crystal-like existence in which no time is needed for experience … in which the inner self condenses all human knowledge that has been received through various existences and reincarnations … for all this has been coded and exists indelibly. You also exist now within this reality.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, concede que su modo pueda parecer frío y lo describe como existencia cristalina donde el saber humano queda codificado indeleblemente

«Know that within your physical atoms now the origins of all consciousness still sing and that all the human characteristics by which you know yourselves still exist.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que en los átomos físicos siguen cantando los orígenes de toda consciencia

«So I am the Seth that is beyond the Seth that you know. And in me the knowledge and vitality of that Seth still rings. In your terms, I am a future Seth, but the terms are meaningless to me.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, repite la fórmula del Seth futuro y la desactiva en la misma frase: los términos no significan nada para ella

«We gave you mental images and upon these images you learned to form the world that you know. We gave you the pattern by which your physical selves are formed. We gave you the patterns, intricate, involved, and blessed, from which you form the reality of each physical thing you know.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, reclama haber dado las imágenes mentales y los patrones con que se forman los cuerpos y las cosas

«The most minute cell within your brain has been made from patterns of consciousness which we have given you. The entire webwork was initiated by us. We taught you to form the reality» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, reclama haber iniciado la trama entera y enseñado a formar la realidad conocida; la frase cruza de plana

«mechanics involved, and much of the material I have given you.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra la lista de lo que se halla en la capa más honda con buena parte del material dictado; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«interrelationship that exists between all systems of reality, including certain points of contact that include them all. These various points can be mathematically deduced, and will, in some future of yours, serve as contact points, taking the place of space travel in some cases.» — Seth, según Roberts, anuncia el estudio de las relaciones entre sistemas y unos puntos de contacto deducibles matemáticamente que sustituirían al viaje espacial; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I have done my best to give you an understanding as a basis for future sessions. Seth as you knew him will also be Seth as» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara haber dado un entendimiento de base para las sesiones futuras; la frase cruza de plana

«you know him, for whether or not I speak as myself or through him, he is still the intermediary and the connection between us. More, he will still appear as you have known him. There are necessary emotional elements that are uniquely his own.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que Seth seguirá de intermediario y conectivo, con elementos emocionales propios de él; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«I have told you who we are. We are Seth, and whenever we have spoken we have been known as Seth. The entity had its beginning before the emergence of your time. It was instrumental, with many other entities, in the early formation of» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, habla en plural y declara a la entidad anterior al tiempo del oyente e instrumental en la primera formación de la energía en forma física; la frase cruza de plana

«energy into physical form. We are not alone in this endeavor, for through your centuries other entities like us have also appeared and spoken.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que otras entidades como ella han aparecido y hablado a lo largo de los siglos; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Later, in your time, all of you will look down into the physical system like giants peering through small windows at the others now in your position and smile. But you will not want to stay, nor crawl through the small enclosures. … We protect such systems. Our basic and ancient knowledge and energy automatically reaches out to nourish all systems that grow» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que un día mirarán el sistema físico desde fuera sin querer volver, y que su saber antiguo nutre los sistemas que crecen; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«When the personality compared physical reality with children’s blocks, he made a remark about individuals returning in our future to peer into physical reality like giants squinting down to watch children play with blocks upon the floor.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, cita sus propias notas de esa noche y remite a la comparación con los bloques de un niño

«In here someplace, suddenly I saw a giant’s face peer into our living room, its face filling up the entire window. The next moment my own body, the room and everything in it began to grow to tremendous size. My body became massive. I could feel the organs inside me grow. At the same time all the furniture—everything—got larger and larger. It seemed as if the room now was huge enough to cover all of the city. Yet everything expanded in proportion, retaining its usual shape.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, describe lo que vio: un rostro de gigante llenando la ventana y el cuarto entero creciendo en proporción

«I didn’t feel as if this were happening. To me it was» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, declara que aquello no le pareció que ocurría; la frase cruza de plana

«happening, literally. I simply panicked and started yelling. It took Rob some minutes to get me out of trance, but by then I was ashamed of myself. I felt like a real coward.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, consigna su pánico, la vergüenza que siguió y el tiempo que costó sacarla del trance; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«When we make contact, his consciousness and personality in concentrated form make a journey—in your terms, like a speck in space—the consciousness reduced to its essence.» — la voz que el volumen acaba llamando Seth Dos, según Roberts, describe el contacto como un viaje de la consciencia reducida a su esencia, como una mota en el espacio

«I tried to find my voice to tell Rob I wanted to end the session, but the other personality was using it. Through all of this I use the word “I,” but “I” was so a part of the action that it was difficult to separate myself from it.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, consigna que no podía usar su voz porque la otra personalidad la ocupaba, y la dificultad de separarse de la acción

«Now, wanting out, I tried again to use my own voice. This time I “found myself,” pulled myself together, and found my vocal chords while the other personality paused for a moment. It was just about here that I saw the giant face peering down through the pyramid above me. In the earlier episode, I’d screamed involuntarily. In the second, I found that there were ways of “finding” my own voice, and ending the experience. With Seth such a question never arose. There was no pressure put upon me by the other personality to continue the experience … but I had to learn how to terminate it myself when I wanted to.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, describe cómo aprendió a terminar la experiencia recuperando su propia voz, y consigna que la otra voz no la presionaba a seguir

«I don’t believe the other personality understood that the experience was unpleasant for me, or for that matter, that such terms had any meaning for it. Information was being given in certain terms —period—as far as it was concerned.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, consigna que a su juicio la otra voz no entendía lo desagradable de la experiencia y solo daba información

«I don’t even know if it was aware of my reactions.» — Jane Roberts, en el capítulo diecisiete, deja abierto si la otra voz reparaba siquiera en sus reacciones; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«though one day you will do so. “Later, in your time, all of you will look down into the physical system like giants peering through small windows at the others now in your position and smile. But you will not want to stay, nor crawl through the small enclosures. … We protect such systems.» — la voz que el volumen llama Seth Dos, según Roberts, declara que un día se dejarán esos juguetes y que ellos protegen los sistemas que crecen; la frase cruza de plana

«There were three books by Jane Roberts on ESP, and at the time of the experience (1967), I’d written only one.» — Jane Roberts cuenta lo que dice haber visto en una librería durante una proyección: tres libros suyos cuando llevaba escrito uno; el año entre paréntesis es del propio libro y no de una nota al pie, y el tramo se releyó entero en el crudo

«This also gave me the opportunity to tell Rob something that happened just before the session started. I got the feeling that a» — Jane Roberts empieza a describir la sensación de cono que le vino justo antes de la sesión; la frase termina en la plana siguiente con *cone came down just over my head*

«He is not human in your terms, though he passed through human stages; and here the Buddhist myth comes closest to approximating reality. He is not one individual, but an energy gestalt.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que Dios sea humano en los términos del oyente y declara que el mito budista es lo que más se aproxima; no es un individuo sino una gestalt de energía

«If you remember what I said about the way in which the universe expands, that it has nothing to do with space, then you may perhaps dimly perceive the existence of a psychic pyramid of interrelated, ever-expanding consciousness that creates, simultaneously and instantaneously, universes and individuals that are given—through the gifts of personal perspective— duration, psychic comprehension, intelligence, and eternal validity.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe una pirámide psíquica de consciencia en expansión que crea universos e individuos simultánea e instantáneamente

«This absolute, ever-expanding, instantaneous psychic gestalt, which you may call God if you prefer, is so secure in its existence that it can constantly break itself down and rebuild itself.» — Seth, según Roberts, ofrece el nombre de Dios como opcional para esa gestalt, tan segura de su existencia que puede deshacerse y rehacerse

«Your idea of space and time is determined by your neurological structure. “The camouflage is so craftily executed and created by the inner self that you must, of necessity, focus your attention in the physical reality which has been created. The psychedelic drugs alter the neurological workings, and therefore can give some slight glimpses into other realities.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del espacio y el tiempo un efecto de la estructura neurológica y concede a las drogas psicodélicas atisbos de otras realidades por alterarla

«These realities exist, of course, whether or not you perceive them. Actually ‘time’ exists as the pulses leap the nerve ends. You must then experience lapses, as this is not a simultaneous procedure. Past, present, and future appear highly convincing and logical when there must be a lapse between each perceived experience.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa el tiempo en el lapso con que los pulsos saltan las terminaciones nerviosas

«There is no such lapse in many other personality structures. Events are simultaneously perceived. Reactions are also nearly instantaneous in your terms. Growth and challenge are provided not in terms of achievement or development in time, but instead in terms of intensities. Such a personality is able not only to react to and appreciate Event A, say, in your present time, but to experience and understand Event A in all of its ramifications and probabilities.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe estructuras de personalidad sin ese lapso, cuyo crecimiento se mide en intensidades y no en tiempo

«Your time—past, present, and future—as you conceive it, would be experienced entirely as present to many of these personalities. However, your past, present, and future would be experienced entirely as past to still other personality structures.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que otros lo experimentarían todo como presente y otros todo como pasado

«Imagine past, present, and future then as a single-line delineation of experience in your terms; the line, however, continuing indefinitely. Other personality structures from other dimensions could then, theoretically, observe it from an infinity of viewpoints. However, there is much more than this. The single line [representing physical experience] is merely the surface thread along which you seem to travel. It is all of the thread that you perceive, so when you envision other dimensions you are forced to think in terms of observers far above the thread, looking down upon it from any given viewpoint.» — Seth, según Roberts, propone la figura del hilo único que se prolonga indefinidamente, observable desde infinitos puntos

«In actuality, following the image through, and strictly as an analogy, there would also be an infinite number of threads both above and below your own, all part of one inconceivably miraculous webwork. Yet each thread would not be one-dimensional but of many dimensions, and conceivably, if you knew how, there would be ways of leapfrogging from one thread to the other. You would not be forced to follow any particular thread in a single-line fashion.» — Seth, según Roberts, amplía la figura a una trama infinita de hilos y propone el salto de uno a otro en vez del recorrido lineal

«There is, however, a self, who has already traveled these routes, of whom the other selves are but part. This self, in dreams and dissociated conditions, communicates with the various ‘ascending’ selves. As this self grows in value fulfillment, he can become aware of these travelers on other threads, who would seem to him to be future selves.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone un yo que ya recorrió todas las rutas y que comunica en sueños con los yoes que ascienden

«All of this sounds complicated, but only because we must deal with words. I hope that intuitively you will be able to understand it. In the ‘meantime,’ the overall self is forming new threads of activity, you see. The frameworks that it leaves ‘behind’ can be used by others.» — Seth, según Roberts, atribuye la dificultad a las palabras y declara que los marcos abandonados por ese yo sirven a otros

«The purpose is, quite simply, being as opposed to nonbeing. I am telling you what I know, and there is much I do not know. I know that help must be given one to the other, and that extension and expansion are aids to being.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el propósito y declara también su propio límite: dice lo que sabe y hay mucho que no sabe

«Now—and this will seem like a contradiction in terms—there is nonbeing. It is a state, not of nothingness, but a state in which probabilities and possibilities are known and anticipated but blocked from expression.» — Seth, según Roberts, define el no-ser no como nada sino como estado en que lo probable se conoce y no puede expresarse

«Dimly, through what you would call history, hardly remembered, there was such a state. It was a state of agony in which the powers of creativity and existence were known, but the ways to produce them were not known.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa ese estado como agonía en que se conocían los poderes de la creación y no el modo de producirlos

«This is the lesson that All That Is had to learn, and that could not be taught. This is the agony from which creativity originally was drawn, and its reflection is still seen.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara esa agonía la lección que Todo Lo Que Es tuvo que aprender sin maestro, y la fuente de la creatividad

«Some of this discussion is bound to be distorted, because I must explain it to you in terms of time as you understand it. So I will speak, for your benefit, of some indescribably distant past in which these events occurred.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara distorsionada de antemano su exposición por tener que hablar en términos de tiempo

«All That Is retains memory of that state, and it serves as a constant impetus—in your terms—toward renewed creativity. Each self, as a part of All That Is, therefore also retains memory of that state. It is for this reason that each minute consciousness is endowed with the impetus toward survival, change, development, and creativity. It is not enough that All That Is, as a primary consciousness gestalt, desires further being, but that each portion of It also carries this determination.» — Seth, según Roberts, funda en la memoria de aquel estado el impulso de supervivencia y creación de cada consciencia

«Yet the agony itself was used as a means, and the agony itself served as an impetus, strong enough so that All That Is initiated within Itself the means to be.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la agonía el medio y el impulso del que salió el ser

«If—and this is impossible—all portions but the most minute last ‘unit’ of All That Is were destroyed, All That Is would continue, for within the smallest portion is the innate knowledge of the whole. All That Is protects Itself, therefore, and all that It has and is and will create.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que en la porción más pequeña está el saber del todo, y de ahí que el todo se proteja

«When I speak of All That Is, you must understand my position within It. All That Is knows no other. This does not mean that there may not be more to know. It does not know whether or not other psychic gestalts like It may exist. It is not aware of them if they do exist. It is constantly searching.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota el alcance de su propio saber: Todo Lo Que Es no conoce otro y no sabe si hay otras gestalts como Él

«So there are answers that I cannot give you, for they are not known anywhere in the system in which we have our existence. We do know that within this system of our All That Is, creation continues and developments are never still. We can deduce that on still other layers of which we are unaware, the same is true.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara sin respuesta ciertas preguntas dentro del sistema en que él existe, y deduce lo mismo para otras capas

«The first state of agonized search for expression may have represented the birth throes of All That Is as we know It. Pretend, then, that you possessed within yourself the knowledge of all the world’s masterpieces in sculpture and art, that they pulsed as realities within you, but that you had no physical apparatus, no knowledge of how to achieve them, that there was neither rock nor pigment nor source of any of these, and you ached with the yearning to produce them. This, on an infinitesimally small scale, will perhaps give you, as an artist [this was addressed to Rob, of course], some idea of the agony and impetus that was felt.» — Seth, según Roberts, ilustra esa agonía con la figura del artista que lleva dentro todas las obras maestras y no tiene ni piedra ni pigmento; el corchete que aclara el destinatario es de Roberts

«Desire, wish, and expectation rule all actions and are the basis for all realities. Within All That Is, therefore, the wish, desire, and expectation of creativity existed before all other actuality. The strength and vitality of these desires and expectations then became in your terms so insupportable that All That Is was driven to find the means to produce them.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace del deseo y la expectativa la base de toda realidad, también en Todo Lo Que Es

«In other words, All That Is existed in a state of being, but without the means to find expression for Its being. This was the state of agony of which I spoke. Yet it is doubtful that without this ‘period’ of contracted yearning, All That Is could concentrate Its energy sufficiently enough to create the realities that existed in probable suspension within It.» — Seth, según Roberts, acota la lectura: sin ese periodo de anhelo contraído acaso no se habría concentrado la energía bastante para crear

«At first, in your terms, all of probable reality existed as nebulous dreams within the consciousness of All That Is. Later, the unspecific nature of these ‘dreams’ grew more particular and vivid. The dreams became recognizable one from the other until they drew the conscious notice of All That Is. And with curiosity and yearning, All That Is paid more attention to Its own dreams.» — Seth, según Roberts, describe el paso de los sueños nebulosos a los distinguibles, que atraen la atención de su soñador

«It then purposely gave them more and more detail, and yearned toward this diversity and grew to love that which was not yet separate from itself. It gave consciousness and imagination to personalities while they still were but within Its dreams. They also yearned to be actual.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que dio consciencia e imaginación a esas personalidades cuando aún eran sueño suyo

«Potential individuals, in your terms, had consciousness before the beginning or any beginning as you know it, then. They clamored to be released into actuality, and All That Is, in unspeakable sympathy, sought within Itself for the means.» — Seth, según Roberts, sitúa la consciencia de los individuos potenciales antes de todo comienzo, clamando por ser actuales

«In Its massive imagination, It understood the cosmic multiplication of consciousness that could not occur within that framework. Actuality was necessary if these probabilities were to be given birth. All That Is saw, then, an infinity of probable, conscious individuals, and foresaw all possible developments, but they were locked within It until It found the means.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara necesaria la actualidad para que esas probabilidades nacieran

«This was in your terms a primary cosmic dilemma, and one with which It wrestled until All That It Was was completely involved and enveloped within that cosmic problem. “Had It not solved it, All That Is would have faced insanity, and there would have been, literally, a reality without reason and a universe run wild.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que sin solución habría venido la locura y un universo sin razón

«All That Is had to let go. While It thought of these individuals as Its creations, It held them as a part of Itself and refused them actuality. “To let them go was to ‘lose’ that portion of Itself that had created them. Already It could scarcely keep up with the myriad probabilities that began to emerge from each separate consciousness. With love and longing It let go that portion of Itself, and they were free. The psychic energy exploded in a flash of creation.» — Seth, según Roberts, narra el desprendimiento: soltar con amor y anhelo la porción propia en que estaban los creados

«All That Is, therefore, ‘lost’ a portion of Itself in that creative endeavor. All That Is loves all that It has created down to the least, for It realizes the dearness and uniqueness of each consciousness which has been wrest from such a state and at such a price. It is triumphant and joyful at each development taken by each consciousness, for this is an added triumph against that first state, and It revels and takes joy in the slightest creative act of each of Its issues.» — Seth, según Roberts, funda en ese precio el amor por lo creado y la alegría ante cada acto creativo

«Yet all individuals remember their source, and now dream of All That Is as All That Is once dreamed of them. And they yearn toward that immense source … and yearn to set It free and give It actuality through their own creations.» — Seth, según Roberts, invierte la relación: los individuos sueñan ahora con su fuente como ella soñó con ellos, y anhelan liberarla por sus propias creaciones

«The motivating force is still All That Is, but individuality is no illusion. Now in the same way do you give freedom to the personality fragments within your own dreams and for the same reason. And you create for the same reason, and within each of you is the memory of that primal agony—that urge to create and free all probable consciousness into actuality.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que la individualidad sea ilusión y hace de la creación humana un eco de aquella agonía primera

«I have been sent to help you, and others have been sent through the centuries of your time, for as you develop you also form new dimensions, and you will help others.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara haber sido enviado y sitúa su envío en una serie

«These connections between you and All That Is can never be severed, and Its awareness is so delicate and focused that Its attention is indeed directed with a prime creator’s love to each consciousness.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara inseverables esas conexiones y dirigida a cada consciencia la atención de Todo Lo Que Es

«This session needs reading many times, for there are implications not at first obvious.» — Seth, según Roberts, pide relectura de esa sesión por implicaciones no evidentes

«All portions of All That Is are constantly changing, enfolding and unfolding. All That Is, seeking to know Itself, constantly creates new versions of Itself. For this seeking Itself is a creative activity and the core of all action.» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la búsqueda de sí mismo por parte de Todo Lo Que Es una actividad creativa y el núcleo de toda acción

«Entities, being action, always shift and change. There is nothing arbitrary about their boundaries. Some personalities can be a part of more than one entity. Like fish, they can swim in other streams. Within them is the knowledge of all of their relationships.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara móviles los límites de las entidades y admite personalidades que pertenecen a más de una

«Any personality can become an entity on its own. This involves a highly developed knowledge of the use of energy and its intensities. As atoms have mobility, so do psychological structures.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que cualquier personalidad puede volverse entidad con conocimiento bastante del uso de la energía

«Consciousness, seeking to know itself, therefore knows you. You, as a consciousness, seek to know yourself and become aware of your self as a distinct individual portion of All That Is. You not only draw upon this overall energy but you do so automatically since your existence is dependent upon It.» — Seth, según Roberts, enlaza el conocerse de la consciencia con el conocerse de cada individuo

«There is no personal God-individual in Christian terms,” Seth says, “and yet you do have access to a portion of All That Is, a portion highly attuned to you. … There is a portion of All That Is directed and focused within each individual, residing within each consciousness. Each consciousness is, therefore, cherished and individually protected. This portion of overall consciousness is individualized within you.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega el Dios individual y personal en términos cristianos y a la vez declara una porción de Todo Lo Que Es dirigida a cada quien

«This portion is also aware of itself as something more than you. This portion that knows itself as you, and as more than you, is the personal God, you see. Again: this gestalt, this portion of All That Is, looks out for your interests and may be called upon in a personal manner.» — Seth, según Roberts, define así el Dios personal: la porción que se sabe uno mismo y a la vez más que uno mismo

«Prayer contains its own answer, and if there is no whitehaired kind old father-God to hear, then there is instead the initial and ever-expanding energy that forms everything that is and of which each human being is a part.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega el padre-Dios de cabellos blancos y pone en su lugar la energía que forma todo lo que hay; el troceo parte *white-haired* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa la devuelve fundida

«This psychic gestalt may sound impersonal to you, but since its energy forms your person, how can this be? “If you prefer to call this supreme psychic gestalt God, then you must not attempt to objectify him, for he is the nuclei of your cells and more intimate than your breath.» — Seth, según Roberts, objeta a la acusación de impersonalidad con el argumento de que esa energía forma la persona misma, y prohíbe objetivarlo

«You are cocreators. What you call God is the sum of all consciousness, and yet the whole is more than the sum of Its parts. God is more than the sum of all personalities, and yet all personalities are what He is.» — Seth, según Roberts, llama cocreadores a los oyentes y declara al todo mayor que la suma de sus partes

«There is constant creation. There is within you a force that knew how to grow you from a fetus to a grown adult. This force is part of the innate knowledge within all consciousness, and it is a part of the God within you.» — Seth, según Roberts, señala en la fuerza que hace crecer al feto una parte del Dios de dentro

«When the race is in deepest stress and faced with great problems, it will call forth someone like Christ. It will seek out and indeed from itself produce the very personalities necessary to give it strength.» — Seth, según Roberts, explica la aparición de figuras como Cristo por la necesidad de la propia especie, que las produce de sí

«There were three men whose lives became confused in history and merged, and whose composite history became known as the life of Christ. … Each was highly gifted psychically, knew of his role, and accepted it willingly. The three men were a part of one entity, gaining physical existence in one time. They were not born on the same date, however. There are reasons why the entity did not return as one person. For one thing, the full consciousness of an entity would be too strong for one physical vehicle. For another, the entity wanted a more diversified environment than could otherwise be provided.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega un solo Cristo histórico y declara tres hombres de una misma entidad cuyas historias se confundieron

«The entity was born once as John the Baptist, and then he was born in two other forms. One of these contained the personality that most stories of Christ refer to. … I will tell you about the other personality at a later time. There was constant communication between these three portions of one entity, though they were born and buried at different dates. The race called up these personalities from its own psychic bank, from the pool of individualized consciousness that was available to it.» — Seth, según Roberts, identifica a uno de los tres con Juan el Bautista y aplaza el tercero; la raza, dice, los llamó de su propio banco psíquico

«When you kill a man, you believe that you kill him forever. Murder is, therefore, a crime and must be dealt with—because you have created it. Death does not exist in those terms.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el asesinato crimen que hay que tratar como tal porque se ha creado, y a la vez niega la muerte en esos términos

«In the dawn of physical existence, in the dawn before history began, men knew that death was merely a change of form. No God created the crime of murder, and no God created sorrow or pain.» — Seth, según Roberts, niega que ningún Dios creara el crimen del asesinato, el dolor ni la pena

«Again, because you believe that you can murder a man and end his consciousness forever, then murder exists within your reality and must be dealt with. … The assassin of Dr. King believes that he has blotted out a living consciousness for all eternity. … But your errors and mistakes, luckily enough, are not real and do not affect reality, for Dr. King still lives.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que el error de creer borrada una consciencia no afecta a la realidad, y dice que el asesinado sigue vivo

«There is never any justification for violence. There is no justification for hatred. There is no justification for murder. Those who indulge in violence for whatever reason are themselves changed, and the purity of their purpose adulterated.» — Seth, según Roberts, interrumpe a una alumna que justificaba la violencia y niega toda justificación de la violencia, el odio y el asesinato; la capa de texto espacía la última línea

«I have told you that if you do not like the state of your world, it is yourselves that you must change, individually and en masse. This is the only way that change will be effected.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone el cambio de uno mismo como única vía del cambio del mundo

«If your generation or any generation effects a change, this is the only way it will be done. What I am telling you has been said before through the centuries. It is up to you [nodding at Sue and Carl] as to whether or not you will listen.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara dicho eso mismo a lo largo de los siglos y deja la decisión a los oyentes; los corchetes son de Roberts

«It is wrong to curse a flower and wrong to curse a man. It is wrong not to hold any man in honor, and it is wrong to ridicule any man. You must honor yourselves and see within yourselves the spirit of eternal vitality. If you do not do this, then you destroy what you touch. And you must honor each other individual also, because in him is the spark of eternal vitality.» — Seth, según Roberts, funda el honor debido a cada hombre en la chispa de vitalidad eterna que le atribuye

«When you curse another, you curse yourselves, and the curse returns to you. When you are violent, the violence returns. … I speak to you because yours is the opportunity [to better world conditions] and yours is the time. Do not fall into the old ways that will lead you precisely into the world that you fear.» — Seth, según Roberts, advierte que la maldición y la violencia vuelven a quien las lanza, y contra caer en los viejos modos

«When every young man refuses to go to war, you will have peace. As long as you fight for gain and greed, there will be no peace. As long as one person commits acts of violence for the sake of peace, you will have war. Unfortunately it is difficult to imagine that all the young men in all of the countries will refuse to go to war at the same time. And so you must work out the violence that violence has wrought. Within the next hundred years that time may come. Remember, you do not defend any idea with violence.» — Seth, según Roberts, pone la negativa universal a ir a la guerra como condición de la paz, concede lo difícil de imaginarla y niega que una idea se defienda con violencia

«There is no man who hates but that that hatred is reflected outward and made physical.» — Seth, según Roberts, cierra el capítulo aplicando su doctrina de la materialización al odio y al amor

«Its energy is so unbelievable that it does indeed form all universes; and because its energy is within and behind all» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que esa energía forma todos los universos y está dentro y detrás de todos ellos; la frase cruza de plana

«universes, systems, and fields, it is indeed aware of each sparrow that falls, for it is each sparrow that falls.» — Seth, según Roberts, recoge la fórmula evangélica del gorrión y la invierte: no que sepa del gorrión que cae, sino que es el gorrión que cae; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Obviously such personalities need far more than the» — Seth, según Roberts, declara insuficiente el sistema neurológico actual para esas personalidades; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«neurological systems with which you are presently equipped. Your own neurological system is physical, but it is based upon your own inner capabilities as of ‘now.’ It is the materialization of an inner psychic framework. Many other personality structures do not need a materialized perceptive framework such as this, but an inner psychic organization is always present.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara el sistema neurológico materialización de un marco psíquico interior, y ese marco siempre presente aunque no se materialice; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«Now, there are personalities developed enough to do this. Each act of leaping, so to speak, forms a new thread. Following through with our analogy, imagine yourself Self A. We will start you off in physical reality on Thread A, though you have already traversed many other threads to get where you are.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que cada salto entre hilos forma un hilo nuevo y sitúa al oyente ya avanzado en el recorrido

«Now on Thread A, Self A would not be aware, in his present, of the ‘future’ selves on the other threads. Only by meeting one of these other selves can he become aware of the nature of this strange structure through which he is traveling.» — Seth, según Roberts, sostiene que solo al encontrar a otro de esos yoes se advierte la estructura por la que se viaja; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«It knows that something else existed before Its own primary dilemma when It» — Seth, según Roberts, declara que Todo Lo Que Es sabe que algo existió antes de su propio dilema primario; la frase cruza de plana

«could not express Itself. “It is conceivable, then, that It has evolved, in your terms, so long ago that It has forgotten Its origin, that It has developed from still another Primary which has—again, in your terms— long since gone Its way.» — Seth, según Roberts, deja abierta la posibilidad de un Primario anterior del que Todo Lo Que Es habría salido y que ya se fue; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The agony and the desire to create represented Its proof of» — Seth, según Roberts, hace de la agonía y del deseo de crear la prueba de la propia realidad; la frase termina en la plana siguiente

«Its own reality. The feelings, in other words, were adequate proof to All That Is that It was.» — Seth, según Roberts, declara los sentimientos prueba bastante para Todo Lo Que Es de que era; la frase arranca en la plana anterior

«The pressure came from two sources: from the conscious but still probable individual selves who found themselves alive in a» — Seth, según Roberts, reparte la presión entre los individuos que se hallaban vivos en el sueño de un Dios y el Dios que anhelaba soltarlos; la frase cruza de plana