Chapter 1 Excerpt from Seth Speaks, the Eternal Validity of the Soul
I do not have a physical body, yet I am writing this book.
You have heard of ghost hunters. I can quite literally be called a ghost writer, though I do not approve of the term “ghost.” It is true that I am usually not seen in physical terms. I do not like the word “spirit,” either; and yet if your definition of that word implies the idea of a personality without a physical body, then I would have to agree that the description fits me.
I address an unseen audience. However, I know that my readers exist, and therefore I shall ask each of them, now, to grant me the same privilege.
I write this book through the auspices of a woman of whom I have become quite fond. To others it seems strange that I address her as “Ruburt,” and “him,” but the fact is that I have known her in other times and places, by other names. She has been both a man and a woman, and the entire identity who has lived these separate lives can be designated by the name of Ruburt.
Names are not important, however. My name is Seth. Names are simply designations, symbols; and yet since you must use them, I shall also. I write this book with the cooperation of Ruburt, who speaks the words for me. In this life Ruburt is called Jane, and her husband, Robert Butts, takes down the words that Jane speaks. I call him Joseph.
My readers may suppose that they are physical creatures, bound within physical bodies, imprisoned within bone, flesh, and skin. If you believe that your existence is dependent upon this corporeal image, then you feel in danger of extinction, for no physical form lasts, and no body, however beautiful in youth, retains the same vigor and enchantment in old age. If you identify with your own youth, or beauty, or intellect, or accomplishments, then there is the constant gnawing knowledge that these attributes can and will vanish.
I am writing this book to assure you that this is not the case. Basically you are no more of a physical being than I am, and I have donned and discarded more bodies than I care to tell. Personalities who do not exist do not write books. I am quite independent of a physical image, and so are you.
Consciousness creates form. It is not the other way around. All personalities are not physical. It is only because you are so busily concerned with daily matters that you do not realize that there is a portion of you who knows that its own powers are far superior to those shown by the ordinary self.
You have each lived other existences, and that knowledge is within you though you are not consciously aware of it. I hope that this book will serve to release the deeply intuitive self within each of my readers, and to bring to the foreground of consciousness whatever particular insights will serve you most.
Session 511, Seth Speaks – The Eternal Validity of the Soul, Copyright © 1972. Channeled by Jane Roberts and recorded by Robert F. Butts. Current copyright holder is Laurel Davies-Butts
What a great introduction to such a complicated subject! In late 1977, we, my wife and I and our two children, Crystal and Evan, lived in San Francisco. Sandra supported us while I served as house husband to our kids. Both children were in early elementary school and even though Sandra and I served on the parent teacher committee and I spent much of my time attempting to understand who we are and what reality is, I felt depressed and frustrated with life in general. At one point I even experienced a panic attack in the Macy’s store at the Stonestown Galleria Shopping Mall, near San Francisco State University.
It happened as we shopped for Christmas gifts in early December, 1977. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and inadequacy as a husband and father came over me. At that moment, all I wanted to do was sit on the floor in the middle of Macy’s and cry. Yikes!
Later, for a Christmas present, Sandra bought me “Seth Speaks, the Eternal Validity of the Soul.” We had just enough money for essentials like food and shelter so I told her I didn’t need anything for Christmas. She insisted on buying me something even if it was only a book. At her suggestion, I composed a list of six books I found interesting at the time. The only one I can remember now is Joseph Chilton Pearce’s book,”Crack in the Cosmic Egg.”
Even though she shopped at two of San Francisco’s largest bookstores at that time, Brentano’s and Books Inc., she couldn’t find one of the popular metaphysical books on my list. As she wondered what to get me, her eyes were drawn to the face of Jane Roberts on the cover of “Seth Speaks – The Eternal Validity of the Soul.” She had never heard of Jane Roberts or Seth before but something made her think I would like it.
I didn’t just like it, I loved it! I couldn’t believe how each line of text was filled with so much meaning and understanding. Reading one idea after another that meant so much to me was like having a series of endless mental orgasms. Until I started reading this book, I had felt like a “Stranger in a Strange Land,” to borrow a resonant book title from the author, Robert Heinlein. Suddenly I began to feel hope and excitement again! Life, with all its judgments, demands, and expectations had deadened me. Now it was okay for me to be me.
Pete – https://realtalkworld.com
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having (creating) a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“How you define yourself and All That Is forms your intent, which, in turn, forms your reality.” – Seth
In other words, we create our experiences from what we believe about ourselves and All That Is.
If we don’t consciously choose our beliefs, we unconsciously absorb them from our surroundings.
If our beliefs, attitudes, values and expectations create our reality, can we afford not to question them?
The more we love, understand and appreciate ourselves, the better we treat ourselves, and the world.
The secrets of the universe lie hidden in the shadows of our experience. Look for them!
