Posted By Ina Woolcott
Jane Roberts 08-05-1929 – 05-09-1984, was an American author, psychic and trance medium or spirit medium who channelled a personality named Seth. The subsequent publication of the Seth texts established her as one of the pre-eminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena. She also authored novels, short stories, children’s literature and various philosophical texts.
In late 1963, Jane Roberts and her husband, Robert Butts 20-06-1919 – 26-05-2008 experimented with a Ouija board as part of Roberts’ research for a book on extra sensory perception. According to Roberts and Butts, on 2nd December 1963 they started to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Jane Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. She began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board, eventually stopping the use of it. For 21 years until her death in 1984 – with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness – Roberts held regular sessions in which she went into a trance speaking on behalf of the ‘personality essence’ called Seth. Her husband Robert served as stenographer, taking the messages down in homemade shorthand, although some sessions were recorded.- I HAVE HEARD SOME OF THESE SESSIONS ON TAPE, AND I OWN AND HAVE READ MANY OF SETHS/JANES/ROBERTS BOOKS AND I MUST SAY THEY OFFER SOME OF THE BEST MATERIAL EVER ON THE NATURE OF PHYSICAL REALITY, THE PSYCHE, THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE, THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION, THE CHRIST STORY, THE NATURE OF GOD, THE PURPOSE FO LIFE AND MUCH MUCH MORE ETC. A MUST MUST MUST READ!!
The messages from Seth, consisting mostly of monologues on a very wide variety of topics, are collectively known as the Seth Material. Beginning with the 511th session in January 1970 Seth began to dictate his own books. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as medium. According to Roberts and Butts, these books were published verbatim with only minor editorial corrections. This series of “Seth books” eventually totalled 10 volumes, although the last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts’ illness. Robert Butts contributed notes and comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them.
The Seth personality described himself as an “energy personality essence no longer focused in physical reality”, who was independent of Roberts’ subconscious, although Roberts herself expressed scepticism as to Seth’s origins. The Seth personality said that he had completed his earthly reincarnations and that he was speaking from an adjacent plane of existence – or “system of reality” or “universe”, all terms which Seth used. He described himself as an educator whose task was to impart the principles set forth in the Seth Material to the current generation of human beings.
The Seth personality’s demeanour was notably different from Roberts’, as reported by witnesses who included Butts, friends, acquaintances and students. He could be stern, jovial or professorial, frequently assuming a distinct accent which was not identifiable. Roberts’ syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth. Sessions were held at regular intervals, usually 2 weekly. For many years Roberts conducted one, and then two, ESP classes in addition to the regular sessions. With the exception of these ESP classes, Roberts gave few readings to the public and was mostly focused on publishing the Material in printed form.
I strongly recommend anyone who is ready for these books to purchase them. They are first class, amazing, informative reading….