The Psychological Bridge Between Seth and Jane

Seth Early Sessions, Vol 6, Session 241

There are indeed psychological frameworks that operate in communications such as ours, and I shall attempt to explain their function and composition.

I will first discuss our own particular circumstances, and then proceed to a more general discussion.  There is Ruburt’s ego, and his subconscious, as you know.  There are also other areas or levels that are part of his whole personality.  In our case a gestalt personality or a psychological bridge.

This psychological framework obviously must be receptive.  It must also be formed by portions of my own essence, and by portions of Ruburt’s personality.  It can be thought of almost as a psychological protrusion, though this is not precisely the word to explain it.

Bridge perhaps is better.  This psychological framework is in itself capable of growth, in terms of development.  It represents on Ruburt’s part a psychological expansion, and indeed on my own part also.  It is formed partially by abilities inherent within all personalities, psychic abilities, and it is composed of energy.  It is not a secondary personality, for it exists in quite a different dimension than secondary personalities.

This psychological framework is the medium through which we can communicate.  It is purely a psychic organization that telepathically transmits concepts from me to Ruburt.  We have always preferred the light trance state over a deeper trance for several reasons.

I am interested mainly in education, and with Ruburt’s training by me through our present methods, the processes themselves are more clearly seen and understood.  Some information comes to Ruburt fairly automatically, in that he speaks for me without having to consciously translate for me.

At the same time, because of the methods we use, some translation is often necessary.  In many cases this translation is done by the intervening psychological framework, which is simply the psychological point closest to the meeting of Ruburt’s personality and my own, for he does not fade out as a personality.  He extends himself in an expansion.  The psychological expansion on his end, and the psychological expansion on my end, form the gestalt, the psychological bridge, of which I have spoken.

As he is learning it is, however, often up to him to interpret the images that I send him.  The psychological bridge can transmit, you see, and to some extent translate, but not interpret.

This psychological gestalt is a connector.  I am dependent in a large measure upon Ruburt’s own knowledge, and lack of it, in that I cannot force for example from him, from his speech mechanism, concepts with which he is entirely unfamiliar.  I must introduce them step by step.

I could not have explained moment points to you, for example, until I had clearly given the idea of the spacious present.  It is not as simple a thing as it might seem, for there is no coercion involved, Ruburt always consenting to let me push concepts at him, which he interprets speech-wise with my assistance.

Often I give him an internal image, or experience, of a whole concept, but unless it could be vocalized it would have no meaning except to him.

… (Seth began talking about moment points in the 149^th-152^nd sessions.  He began on the spacious present in session 44 in Volume 2.)

… Now, in some cases this is what happens.

Ruburt is of course much more familiar with sense impressions than he is with internal data, or with impressions that do not come to him through the physical senses.  Therefore in our experiments, often, I will give him an impression, and he will automatically translate it into visual terms, although his eyes are closed.  And then he is tempted to interpret it literally, as he would an ordinary visual image.

… For simplicity’s sake, I say that I gave him an image, but actually I game him the impression, which he translated into an image, so that he could deal with it in a more familiar way.

As a result in such instances, it is up to him to interpret the image correctly.  The words that you hear are my words and not Ruburt’s.  However, they are representations of my thought, as they are sifted through various layers, first of all of our composite psychological framework, and then through layers of Ruburt’s own personality.

There is often at his end a final tug and pull, so that the vocal mechanism will finally speak the correct interpretation.  Of course Ruburt’s own associations are used by me, with his consent, up to a certain point, to enable me to lead him to the proper subject or image.

Then when we are successful there is a divergence from his associations so that he says the correct word, even though the correct word, for him personally, would be the wrong word as far as his personal associations are concerned.

This point is fairly important, for it shows how the personal associations are utilized up to a certain point, and then sometimes quite suddenly dispensed with, for they have served our purposes.

On Ruburt’s part this can sometimes be disconcerting.  We must always work with psychological organizations however.  The emotions always follow associative lines in this regard.

The trick is to allow Ruburt’s associations free reign to a certain point, and then expertly insert the correct data.  This is sometimes difficult.  Ruburt’s associations may go for example from C, D, E, and F, but precisely where he would say G, we must insert X or Y, and do it so smoothly that he is quite unaware.

He consents for me, he consents to let me use his associations in such a manner.  Nevertheless there is a small sense of alienation when the associations do not follow through, but are diverted to the desired end.

Here is a very brief example.  Suppose I am trying to give him the impression of a glass of water.  It is fairly easy to insert the idea of water, but this may lead him personally to think of the Gulf of Mexico, or the ocean off of Marathon, or even of the Atlantic at York Beach.  I will use his associations unit I am certain that he has the concept of the word water, but precisely where he is about to say the ocean for example, and after having made use of his associations to get him to this point, I must suddenly make him say a glass of water.

Precognition and Telepathy

Seth Early Sessions, Vol 6, Session 240

Now.  Sooner or later we are going to have to discuss the ways in which what would appear to be sensual perception is made available to an individual when the physical body, with its senses, perceives an event at which it cannot be said to be present.

Unfortunately this will be somewhat complicated.  More so than is at first apparent.

I have told you that each individual creates physical matter, including objects, that he constructs his own physical image.  Coherence, the illusion of permanency, placement in space, color and mass, all these are arrived at and agreed upon, in ways that I have clearly explained.

(In Volume 2, see the 60^th to 73^rd sessions, given during the summer of 1964, plus many others.)

Telepathic communication is one of the methods by which such agreement is reached.  Long ago, primary and secondary constructions were explained.  I emphasized that each individual only perceives his own physical constructions.

Basically there is no difference between precognition and telepathy.  The apparent difference is the result of an inadequate understanding of the nature of time.  The important fact is, in both cases, that information is received by an individual that does not come through recognized sense systems.

This main issue is frequently overlooked, while emphasis is placed instead upon whether or not the information seems to be perceived from the present or future.  When an individual “clairvoyantly sees” an event, this is what happens.

First of all, he forgets the concept of continual moments, which usually hampers his perception.  His perception changes focus so that he is aware of an event that would otherwise be future for him.  He constructs subconsciously, as always, material objects in line with the data that is available to him.  It goes without saying then that he helps to construct the clairvoyantly perceived physical event, just as he helps to construct any physical event in the present.

The agreement as to physical dimensions and so forth is reached precisely in the same manner that it usually is.  The only unusual issue, to you, should not be that the event has not yet occurred, but that John Jones for example, from his chair, has been sensually aware of a situation that is obviously beyond the reaches of his physical senses.

The self does not remain as permanently attached to the physical body as you imagine, during physical existence.

The ego is much more dependent upon the physical self than are other portions of the personality.  The physical body is more like a home station, from which frequent excursions are made.  The ego is like a guardian who is left at home, as watchdog.

Sense data is not basically dependent upon the physical body.  The individual can receive sensual data in other ways.  The senses are indeed often used by the inner self as a constant method of acquainting it with circumstances pertinent to the survival and interests of the physical body, but the inner self is not entirely dependent on them for its entire data by any means.  The mind can bypass the senses, and receive its data in a more direct manner, translating what it perceives as automatically as it translates sensual data.

Now.  Under so-called usual circumstances, data is received through the physical senses, and is then interpreted by the brain.

When a clairvoyant event is perceived the data is received by the mind and given to the brain, which then interprets it as it does usual data.  The physical body becomes aware of it in other words, but the senses have been bypassed.

The interpretation is made however in the same way as it is usually made.  Otherwise the data would make no sense to the physical organism, and would not register.  Actually much data perceived directly by the mind bypasses the physical organism completely.

The physical organism is not aware of it.  The subconscious does receive the information however, in some of these cases.  In other cases the experience is simply not recorded in any way within the physical organism, but it is recorded to deeper layers of the self that are divorced to a large degree from any physical manipulations.

This physically unrecorded material is available to the subconscious however, if the need for it arises.  Before it can be used by the physical organism it must then be taken from the deeper layers of the self to the brain for interpretation, as if it were new sensual data received through the methods with which you are more familiar.

In the dream state you smell odors that are not in your room.  The memory of the odors is imprinted and registered by the physical body as faithfully and realistically as any “real” odor is in the waking state.

The odor experience becomes a part of memory and can be recalled through hypnosis.  Sometimes it will arise spontaneously, as any memory may.  The odor is as legitimate to the physical organism as any odor smelled in the waking condition.  This is fairly important.

It makes no difference basically, whether or not the sense data is real in your terms or not.  If it is recorded and registered by the physical organism it becomes a part of, and an equal part of, memory.  In the case of the odor smelled in a dream, the mind experiences, and then the experience is interpreted precisely as if the senses had been used to perceive it.  It is then incorporated with other experience by the physical organism.

Inverted Time and Associative Processes of Mind

Seth Early Sessions, Vol 5 Session 239

There are some additions, Joseph, that I would like to make concerning our inverted time system. An understanding of this system will serve to explain to the psychologists certain things that are not now plain lo them.

For one thing, association is not clearly understood by any means. It cannot be clearly understood simply because at present psychologists believe that association works only in connection with past events.

They also underestimate dream events, for many associations in your present are the result of events which have occurred in the dream state. The mind is hardly shut off when you dream. It continues to use its associative processes. Therefore any given personal association may originate from a dream event as well as from a past waking event.

Psychologists, generally speaking, have not accepted the latest theories of your own physicists, however. They continue to consider time as a series of moments, one following the other.

The inverted time system recognizes the actual nature of time, however. There is room in this system for a rather complete explanation of the mind's associative processes.

Now. The mind as opposed to the brain, perceives time in terms of the spacious present. It is true that the mind works on associative principles. Therefore these associations are drawn not only from the past, but also from the future.

Take an example here. Frederick Y. becomes ill whenever he smells a certain perfume. He does not know the reason. A psychologist would explain this reaction by presuming some kind of unpleasant event occurred in the past. An event that was connected with his sensual perception of this particular perfume.

The explanation is a good possible one. However, it is the only one that your psychologists would consider, and at least two other possible explanations exist. Frederick may be reacting to an unpleasant event experienced within the dream state, where in the dream the upsetting situation was accompanied by the odor of a particular perfume.

Frederick however could also be reacting to the same sort of event that has not yet occurred, however, to his perception—that is, to an event in the future. For the mind does not divide time into a series of moments. This is done by the physical brain and the physical senses.

The ego is not as a rule aware of this broader time experience. The subconscious however is so aware, and the associative processes of the mind can, and do, react to a future event, while the ego is closed off to it. Therefore it is possible for Frederick, this year, to become ill at the smell of a particular perfume because subconsciously he knows that in 1980 his mother will be wearing that perfume when she dies.

The associative processes work both backwards and forwards. An understanding of this will help in a study of the associative processes in general.

Inverted Time and Causality

Seth Early Sessions, Vol 5, Session 237

When the inverted time system is understood clearly, then the inadequacy of the cause and effect theory will be clear. If your psychologists and scientists would begin a study of their own dreams, they would learn much through personal experience.

They would tackle realities that cannot be measured with physical instruments. Since psychologists deal with psychological activity, it is all the more amazing that they have not concentrated upon psychological activity, observing it first hand as it exists in their own various stages of consciousness.

If such a study is conducted however with preconceived ideas, then each experimenter will find only what he has been looking for, for all else will appear meaningless to him.

But the dreaming state presents any experimenter with original and varied material, and the opportunities involved are tremendous. The inverted time system will appear plainly, if any examination is made as to the relationship between time and the dream state.

This may not be the time to make this remark, but quite literally, tomorrow’s dream can change yesterday. All of the experiments that you are conducting are in themselves beneficial simply because of the training involved, and the expansion of consciousness.

I am not de-emphasizing consciousness. I am trying to teach you to focus your consciousness in many directions, even to carry a portion of egotistical consciousness into the dream state.

Clues as to the existence of inverted time appear also in the waking condition however, and soon I shall have much to say on this matter. It is the existence of inverted time that is mainly responsible for clairvoyance.

Self-Conscious Portions of the Self

Session 235

If you would have some idea of what the probable universe system is like, then examine your own dreams, looking for those events which do not have any strong resemblance to physical events in your own conscious, existence. Look for dream individuals with whom you are not acquainted in your waking life. Look for landscapes that appear bizarre or alien, for all of these exist somewhere.

You have perceived them. They do not exist in the space which you know, but neither are they nonexistent, merely imaginative toys of the dreaming mind, without substance.

You may not be able to make sense from what appears to be a chaotic jumble of disconnected images and actions. The main reason for your confusion is your inability as an egotistical identity to perceive an order that is not based upon continuity of moments.

The order within the probable system is based upon something that could be compared to subjective associations, or intuitive flashes of insight, that can combine elements that would appear to the ego as quite disconnected, into whole and integrated patterns of action.

Now. In reality the possible system does not achieve its order through subjective association, but the term, subjective association, is the nearest that I can come in approximating the basic causes for this order.

The word subjective, to you, implies immediately that which is not objective. However the events and actions of the probable system are indeed objective and concrete within their own field of reality. Your own physical system, you should remember, is only real and concrete within its own field. It is for this reason mainly that the physical system is so little perceived by you when you sleep.

You withdraw yourself to a large extent from the physical field of actuality, but you do not only withdraw from the physical system. You enter other fields of actuality. Sleep is far from a negative state. In the sleep state there are, as you know, several stages. Some of these you call dream states, because the ego is aware upon awakening that some kind of mental activity has occurred.

But there are other states which the ego does not recall, states of activity that are presently beyond the reach of current scientific endeavors, and these states we shall discuss rather thoroughly.

First of all, some of these states of activity take place so far beneath the ego or the subconscious that you simply do not know of them.

Some of these states take place above the ego or the subconscious, although I am using the terms above or below simply for your convenience. You think of the ego as the center of the self, therefore I am forced to use these terms. You think the other portions of the personality revolve about the ego.

The ego is only one layer of the self that has self-consciousness. Being self-conscious, the ego attempts to be conscious only of itself. Self-consciousness results in an intense, but necessarily limited focus. It necessitates boundaries. It depends upon some sort of inner psychological decision as to what will be considered self, and therefore accepted by consciousness, and that which will be considered notself, and not accepted by consciousness.

Now, my dear friends, your self-consciousness is the self-consciousness of the ego which you know, and which you consider your self. But where this self-conscious self ends, another self-conscious self begins. The two selves, being self-conscious selves, cannot be aware of any reality but their own.

They cannot be consciously aware of each other. Now the ego interprets all it perceives mainly in terms of its self. Other portions of the self, also self-conscious, interpret what they perceive in terms of themselves.

Each layer, or each area of the whole self, imagines that it is the center of awareness, and that the whole self revolves about it. So far you have had little experience with these other "centers" but before too long we shall give you some ideas so that you may become at least slightly acquainted. Initially this will be done through suggestion on a subconscious level.

Now. You have become somewhat aware of the subconscious. This means that your ego has enlarged its conception of the self, of itself, to include certain activities of which it is now aware. Progress in the development of personality in the long run will be determined by the ability of the whole self to recognize and become aware of all of its self-conscious portions.

The subconscious is a self-conscious portion of the whole self. It is called subconscious because the ego as a rule is not conscious of it.

The subconscious, so-called, is aware to some extent of the ego, regarding it as an extension of itself, over which it does not have as much control as it would like. This is precisely however the way the ego views the subconscious, as a rule. These two self-conscious portions of the self simply happen to coincide or to coexist with some proximity, psychologically speaking.

There are other self-conscious portions of the self however, with which the ego is not at all familiar, but of which the subconscious has intuitive knowledge. These self-conscious portions of the self exist in different reality systems. … let me remind you however that there is a whole self, composed of these various self-conscious selves, and that a portion of the self is indeed aware of the unity that exists to form the whole psychological gestalt.