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The Early Sessions: Sessions 1-42 : 11/26/63-4/8/64 (Seth, Seth Book.)

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Review: The Early Sessions

"The Early Sessions: Book 1 of The Seth Material" covers the period from November 1963 through April 1964, during which time Jane Roberts went into trance, while Seth, an "energy essence personality," dictated material that Jane's husband, Robert Butts, recorded.

"The Early Sessions" are the sessions as they were first recorded, beginning with the initial contact with Seth made via ouija board. To the reader, it's like being there. Seth's material is, as always, excellent, thought-provoking, wildly informative and, to some, controversial. In Book I, the Seth personality is most vivid-funnier, saltier, more opinionated, and more free-wheeling than he seemed to be in the earlier volumes.

To those of us who have been reading Seth since the beginning, this book is interesting in that it fleshes the material and also includes much that was given as personal comment to Mr. & Mrs. Butts, but which applies to us all.

The Seth books are unique in that they go into actual explanation and description of the workings of not only the human psyche but our world as we perceive it. He gives us a look the "that man behind the curtain" who creates our particular Oz.

Seth's message is, and always has been, that we are greater than we know, and have access to resources we have barely begun to sense. He offers practical suggestions on how to gain more intimate knowledge of ourselves, and of our cosmic birthright, through the exploration of our own psyche. Seth presents, in simple terms, astounding concepts.

The books are nicely printed with large type-although they do have those soft covers that tend to curl! Anyone who has been reading Seth all along, will relish the detail and will not find the material at all redundant.

In this wonderful little volume, you see Seth, Jane & Rob in a less 'cosmetic' way than you see them in the "Seth Books" per se. For example, Jane used to pace around the room while delivering material from Seth.

The various reincarnational stories Seth gives about people Jane & Rob know (as well as about Jane & Rob themselves) can make for very compelling reading. You may find yourself examining your own life and circumstances (or those of friends and loved ones) looking for the parallels.

There are also fairly detailed "scientific" ideas from Seth on how the physics of reality works. Some readers may want to gloss over these areas.

You will also notice that Seth is a very humorous soul. His affection for Jane & Rob is immense. This volume definitely put a new spin on the Seth books for this reader. Enjoy!

In this and all the Seth works Seth/Jane take all the mystery out of the mystical ranks that for so many seems to be another ego project ("I'm more spiritually advanced than you are because I saw the edge of the transpersonal realm once when I slipped on a bar of soap in the shower and I can speak ambiguous circles around anybody"). Instead of vague descriptions of nirvanic states from other authors you get matter of factly description of the nuts and bolts of reality. Instead of non-specific meditation techniques you get instructions for accessing psychological time and information on what other planes you might access (dream world) with this procedure. You get a detailed description of reincarnation, the subconscious, inner self and inner senses. Those who don't appreciate Seth either haven't read enough Seth or didn't understand it. I've also run into those 'elitist' types who think that their understanding is above the Seth teaching. These types usually have read only a few quotes or a single book and no background in psychology. I initially read "The Nature of Personal Reality" and didn't think much of Seth until I read "The Seth Material". I've read every Seth work at this point and look forward to the rest of this series. As far as the fact that this is a channeled work. DO NOT let your ego discredit this material because of the source, this is the real deal.

Those at all familiar with Jane Roberts' Seth Books will recognize "an old friend". This is the "unvarnished" Seth, a drama of discovery which we are priviledged to witness when Jane and Rob were young. For those unfamiliar, if you are tired of this culture's habit of large questions without adequate answers, if you seek truth with a captial "T", if you really must know "what it's all about, Alfie", read Seth. For those leading-edge physicists who can't understand Bell and Bohm and quantum mechanics, read Seth. This Material is a Great Light to the World -- I do not exaggerate -- which all would benefit from reading. The Truth is that physicality emanates from consciousness and not the other way around. It's the only view that makes any sense, incorporates all the facts. We do not live in a value-free universe, we live in a value-infused universe. Well, check it out. If you MUST KNOW, you'll love this stuff.

Pete Nelson Des Moines, WA pnelson7@ix.netcom.com

Jane Roberts revolutionized spiritual exploration and Channeling with her Seth books in the 60's and 70's. I had the good fortune to study with Jane in 1974. By that time her channeling had grown sophisticated and focused on the way we create our reality with our conscious beliefs. The books from that time are the place to begin understanding Seth, i.e. Seth Speaks and The Nature of Personal Reality. Possibly this book and the others with the sessions from the early years would be among the last Seth books I would suggest one read, but they are wonderful. For the real Seth fan, they not only elaborate on and anticipate ideas Seth later explains, they have a certain freshness and they contain hints with useful information about directions Jane chose not to go in.

This gives a better insight on how "Seth" came about. This book shows a steady day by day, on how Seth organized his teachings. It also shows how it took Jane Roberts awhile to let the information come through her while on the Ouji Board. As always rereading her material there is always new insight on learning mankinds natures. No matter what book you read of the Seth collecton you will learn value of life and the reverance to perserve it.

Quantum Mechanics is only now introducing theories Seth describes in simple terms. Seth described Lucid Dreams before Stephen Laberge proved them to the scientific community as fact. Seth is a brilliant light to the human race and a friendly cosmic teacher we are blessed to have. Thank You

"The Early Sessions: Book 1 of The Seth Material" covers the period from November 1963 through April 1964, during which time Jane Roberts went into trance, while Seth, an "energy essence personality," dictated material that Jane's husband, Robert Butts, recorded.

There will eventually be a total of 8 or 10 volumes covering the transcripts of over 500 sessions held in the six-year period between l963 and l970. In l970, Jane Roberts published her first Seth book, "The Seth Material," and went on to hold sessions and publish many books until her death in l984.

"The Early Sessons" are the sessions as they were first recorded, beginning with the initial contact with Seth made via ouija board. To the reader, it's like being there. Seth's material is, as always, excellent, thought-provoking, wildly informative and, to some, controversial. In Book I, the Seth personality is most vivid: funnier, saltier, more opinionated, and more free-wheeling than in the books published since l970-books that were edited, I suspect, to make Seth and his no-nonsense message a bit less unsettling to the reader of the day.

To those of us who have been reading Seth since the beginning, this volume is interesting in that it fleshes the material and also includes much that was edited out as personal comment given to Mr. & Mrs. Butts. I regard it as part of the ore from which the l970 volume of "The Seth Material" was smelted.

In it, Seth has much to tell us about the nature of the human psyche: the entity; what we term as the subconscious; and the ego-and how they relate to each other and, to what Seth calls, our "camouflage" reality (in which no structure is solid and everything is made of the same basic material). He introduces us to the concept of many planes of existence and tantalizes us with descriptions of realities in which time, for instance, does not exist. Fascinating stuff!

Seth's message is, and always has been, that we are greater than we know, and have access to resources we have barely begun to sense. He offers practical suggestions on how to gain more intimate knowledge of ourselves, and of our cosmic birthright, through the exploration of our own psyche. Seth presents, in simple terms, astounding concepts.

As a student of Seth's body of work, I shall, no doubt acquire all the "Early Sessions" volumes as they become available. They are nicely printed with large type-although they do have those annoying soft covers that tend to curl! There is, of course, some overlapping of the l970 volume of "The Seth Material," but I don't consider the "Early Sessions" a substitute. In fact, I ordered a hardover edition of "The Seth Material" as well, since my l970 softcover edition is becoming fragile.

I'm glad to see the publication occurring; I think every scrap of Seth should be in print!

After starting with Seth in the early 80s I have gone thru ALL of Seth's books and multiple times. I have also purchase all the German translations and they are surprisingly good considering the depth of the issues dealt with. This one alhtough certainly 5-star material is not a good "first" - it is for the seasoned Seth reader who knows the story around the human author and her husband and enjoys background info and family stories. I have read this one twice now. But for the novice I would recommend "Seth Speaks".

If you've always wondered where we came from, what happens when we die, what the "flying saucers" some occasionally see could be, or what the heck we are doing on earth, this book MIGHT be for you. It requires a serious and open-minded seeker. I was captivated and plan to read all the Seth books I can get my hands on.