To understand the self, one must understand the whole self.
Back in the early days of Jane Roberts and Robert Butts psychic exploration into consciousness there was a book of research findings called “The three faces of Eve”. The book documented a person known as eve that appeared to be more than one distinctive individual personality sharing the same body with each of the different personal identities dominant at various times.
Personal Identity
We generally believe we understand ourselves and people often adamantly defend any confrontation or affront that tries to express we are anything other than what we know and identify as our self.
However, there is much more to our personal self than that portion we usually identify with in waking consciousness. Seth tells us the waking self we usually identify with is comprised of a gestalt of individual conscious personalities and an inner-ego very similar to the outer-ego sense of identity we are familiar.
“I have mentioned to you that endless personalities, in terms of value fulfillment, exist inherent in each of your physical atoms, molecules and smaller particles. So, also, each entity contains within itself almost endless possibilities in terms of value fulfillment.”
—ES2 Session 54 May 18, 1964
ES2 Session 50 May 4, 1964
- Here in a simple manner is a case in point. The molecules and atoms and even smaller particles, all contain their separate consciousness. They form into cells. Now, although the cells maintain individuality and do not lose any of their abilities, in this formation into cells there is actually a pooling of individual consciousness of atoms and molecules into, and to form, an individual cellular consciousness. Here the consciousness of each individual molecule or atom, by this psychic gestalt, gains immeasurably. The combination of individual consciousness into a combination forms a new, enlarged, more powerful cellular consciousness that is capable of much more experience and fulfillment than would be possible for the isolated atom or molecule.
- It would seem, therefore, that what you call consciousness might be the result of this combination. That is, it would seem that self-consciousness was the result of this combination. Each cell, however, has its own consciousness, and when I speak of consciousness as being an attribute of cellular life, I speak only for convenience, since actually cellular life is an attribute of consciousness.
- The physical body is therefore an attribute of consciousness. The atoms and molecules possess a self-consciousness to some degree, as well as a generalized consciousness. The self-awareness of a human being is partially composed of the combination of self-aware individual atoms and molecules that compose it. The generalized consciousness which you call the subconscious, is composed of the combination of generalized consciousness from the individual cells and molecules, but now we come down to the source of the self-aware conscious individual behind or within each molecule. Where did it come from to begin with?
- You end up with organs composed of literally unnumbered individual cells, in which case the same combination with its resulting benefits for the individual, also results in the formation of a larger consciousness.
- The physical body is truly a more wondrous phenomenon than is supposed, but here I hope I do not push you too far, for this combination of consciousness continues, and its results can be seen in the consciousness of the physical brain.
- Its own knowledge is put into condensed form, and the molecules are therefore able to combine and recombine, according to the material properties inherent in your universe.
- You will see why, although the conscious human being may seem to be the result of this combination and recombination, he is, nevertheless, more than that result.
In Seth ES-2 Session 55:
The cells and molecules, forming their psychic gestalt into a particular human physical structure, are separated from what you might call the outer environment, and yet they are also connected to the outer environment more than they are separated from it. It is the inner ego, and the inner vitality and the inner ego’s determination, along with the cooperation of all the cells that compose the physical body, that enables such a particular structure as the human body to exist as a separate construction, and to maintain the necessary sense of identity.
In actuality, since all atoms and molecules possess the potentiality to form in so many varieties, and since the atoms and molecules possess their own generalized consciousness, there is basically a strong inner cohesion and relationship between all cells and molecules, regardless of their patterned structural formation, and the human structure is connected to all other such psychio-physical constructions.
Without the determination of the inner ego, cohesion of identity would be impossible. The self as you know it is many things, and contains many more vestibules and rooms than you now imagine. Even the outer ego contains multitudinous chambers and interconnections of which you are unaware.
The important point here is that identity cohesion is projected upon the human physical structure from within, that is, from the inner ego by way of the inner senses. This of course includes the consciousness also, that is inherent in the separate molecules and atoms that compose the cells. …
The boundaries, limitations, extent and vistas of the self are merely arbitrary. In a very true sense each self is infinite, unbounded, connected in a most intimate way to all other things in the universe on your plane; and through the inner senses and the inner ego connected also in a most intimate way to the unknown and unseen inner universe.
Then from Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul (A Seth Book) Session 526:
This is not nearly as mysterious as it might sound. Each of my readers plays a game in which the egotistical conscious self pretends not to know what the whole self definitely does know. Since the ego is definitely a part of the whole self, then it must necessarily be basically aware of such knowledge. In its intense focus in physical reality, however, it pretends not to know, until it feels able to utilize the information in physical terms. You do have access to the inner self, therefore. You are hardly cut off from your own soul or entity. The ego prefers to consider itself the captain at the helm, so to speak, since it is the ego who most directly deals with the sometimes tumultuous seas of physical reality, and it does not want to be distracted from this task.
Back to ES2 Session 55:
Any particular self theoretically could expand his consciousness to contain the universe and everything in it. The closed-in, solitary, isolated self of which you are so proud is, as I have said, an arbitrary formation, containing the core of identity; and you seem to prefer psychically speaking, to stay at home.
Because of the basic simplicity of the elements in your universe, and for other reasons already mentioned, there is no real boundary neither chemical, electrical or even psychic, between the self and what is usually considered not self.
Chemically in particular, the dependence of the physical body and the self to the planetary environment is obvious. It is known to your scientists that the chemical relationship between the personal physical self, and the chemical environment of the not-self is intimately connected.
In the same manner that you are dependent upon, say, green plants for your very physical survival, so the interdependence and connections continue in all other fields. The physical construction of your universe, as I have said, is carried on by all life, not just human life. Each psychio-physical pattern of existence does its part in continuing the maintenance, and renewing construction, of the physical universe.
Man, staying within the core of his arbitrarily designated selfhood, can in truth be compared to early physical man, cowering within his cave. You have learned to venture forth into the physical universe. You have not learned to venture forth from an arbitrarily designated self hood, into an extended environment that knows no space or time. Such a possibility, such a future development in no way involves a denial of self: a dissolving or sweeping away of self, an annihilation of self Many cavemen doubtlessly feared for their personal survival when they ventured forth upon the earth in daylight.
They feared that their selves would be annihilated. Such a development as we are considering involves instead an expansion or extension; in the same manner that the expanding universe takes up no space, but expands in terms of value fulfillment, so the expanding consciousness would take up no space, but would also expand in terms of value fulfillment. This is your new frontier, your new challenge.
The new frontier and new horizon is all about value fulfillment.
This arbitrary limitation set upon the individual self is put upon it by its reliance upon the outer senses, as a method of perceiving reality. The outer senses are excellent tools of perception for limited circumstances. …
I have mentioned that the individual cells and molecules, atoms and other basic structures, definitely gain in their formation into the gestalt of a more complicated structure, being able to participate in experiences and value fulfillments that would otherwise not be possible for them in their own simpler isolated form. This is of prime importance.
The expanding self, ideally, would reach out beyond the arbitrary boundaries it has placed upon itself. Again, there just is not any particular boundary between what is self and what is not self. There are gradations, and that is all.
The isolated self, as you know it, can indeed be well compared to man’s early caves. In terms of value fulfillment the species expanded its potential tremendously when it left the caves; and so will man also experience the fulfillment of still unglimpsed potentialities when he walks forth from the cave of the arbitrarily limited self. …
When you realize that the self has no boundaries, then you can begin to make progress. Since consciousness to begin with does not exist in space, then there is no reason why the consciousness cannot so expand beyond its set limitations, and theoretically continue to do so. …
The self will truly utilize the atoms and molecules; the consciousness will travel by this method. The particular physical body will then be known for what it is: a cooperative psychic gestalt, a psychio-physical structure formed together by the inner ego, utilizing atoms and molecules that are in themselves living and conscious. …
I want to make these points to lead up to the main one. Consciousness comes first, and forms the physical body in ways that I have described. Nevertheless there are no real boundaries that separate self from non-self. …
And in the following from Seth continuing to quote from ES2-55; I feel the next couple of paragraphs, if one contemplates to understand them, will push one to realize a very important perspective, one that reveals incredible insight into the role the ego plays in complying with rather than controlling YCYOR.
Now. Space travel, when it occurs, will utilize expansion of self. Your idea of death is based upon your dependence upon the outer senses. You will learn that it is possible, through no physical act (and underline that, through no physical act), to relinquish the physical body, expand the self, using atoms and molecules as stepping stones to a given destination, and reforming the physical body at the other end. …
Now. Since the identity-consciousness is composed of the combined and cooperating generalized consciousness of all the body’s atoms and molecules, and the consciousness of the inner ego, these molecular consciousnesses that once or initially found expression in forming their physical construction, no longer do so; but are competent to do so again when the self-consciousness so demands.
The combined molecular consciousnesses, retaining identity, form a gestalt consciousness that is the ego, the outer ego, that is in turn utilized by the consciousness of the inner ego. The inner ego being unhampered by the laws of your plane, once having entered your plane at physical birth, can therefore leave the physical body and then reconstruct it.
Since the conscious ego is composed of the gestalt molecular consciousness, then when it leaves the physical body it takes the molecular consciousness with it, and this molecular consciousness is therefore present to aid in future-construction.” Ibid; Session 55 pg.107.
Then continuing in Session 56 we find that there are many constructions within our personally constructed realities that are in fact outside of the psychic centralized control of personal identity and therefore outside of identifiable control.
ES2-Session 56:
Your weather indeed can be with some truth compared to loosely formed, mainly unconstructed energy, in many ways unbridled and uncontrolled by strong centralization of either subconscious or conscious control. The individual, for example, can to some extent for the purposes of our discussion be considered as elements or energy under psychic centralized control. On your plane you are in closed space, so to speak, physical elements formed into a purposeful gestalt. Much other energy however, while observing certain inner rules, is not so directed and can be brought under the dominance therefore of purposeful directed gestalts. This of course occurs nevertheless on a subconscious level, representing a spilling over of emotional and psychic energy from self into what is usually considered notself; and there are, constantly, effects that happen, a flowing back and forth of energy in this way.
Just when we think we have a handle on YCYOR, then we find this oddity, that energy flows to and from gestalt members sources manifesting weather effects within our creations when self identity (centralized subconscious or conscious) or non-self (cells and molecular) sources are emotionally drained:
… when the molecular structures of so-called space are relatively emptied of emotional energy, by a process of psychic osmosis so to speak, they will tap the human source. And not only the human source but other animal sources as well.
When you understand that basically all are one, and that in actuality there are no limitations between self and notself, then these facts will not bother you. It also of course works the other way, so that when an individual feels energy depleted, he does subconsciously, and by the same sort of process, drain off reserves from non identity molecular sources.
And later in Session 84 we find the subject elaborated upon. ES2 SESSION 84 pg 329
There are as you know barriers, boundaries and various dimensions through which you must travel in this type of inner exploration. Through training you will learn the various depths within which you travel, and to some extent gauge your own progress.
Psychological time is indeed the only medium, or framework, within which exploration of the inner self can be carried on. Again, you should both find yourselves coming within a sphere of activity in your experiments, with the coming of autumn. For reasons that I will discuss later, the shift of seasons always gives rise to added bursts of psychic energy, though indeed the added bursts of psychic energy are in main responsible for the shift of seasons.
I believe that you will find during such times that you achieve higher plateaus of success at these times, and the natural aspects of the season’s change will themselves trigger such inner activity, if only you allow it. Here we have a combination of forces psychic showing themselves in chemical and electrical manifestations. The seasons as you know represent the physical construction of the inner psychic climate. As particular portions of matter are transformed, as the inner self, through the inner senses creates a simple material object that is picked up by the outer senses clearly as, say, a table, so are these other constructions that closely mirror inner reality that are perceived by the outer senses as effects.
These constructions cannot be easily pointed to. You can point here (Jane tapped on the table.) -and say this is a table, and nearly all will agree. But the seasons are automatic constructions along the lines of alterations, happening to matter already constructed.
You cannot for example see autumn, but only its effects upon matter already constructed. The seasons represent indeed a more or less regular inner sweep and rhythm that finds expression through altering what psychic energy has already created.
There are, then, constructions that are known only through their effects. These constructions are those which most closely approximate inner reality, in that they are not as completely imprisoned in form or matter, but in themselves change form or matter.
Including more on the energy effects this cells and molecule generating weather:
Continuing Session 84: You will find new abundances of energy, as I told you, and you can use this to better your physical constructions, and to enrich psychological time experiments.
Then Seth began to introduce the idea of an emotional bond involved in contacts and working with or letting the subconscious mind work:
“not because of their logical cohesion, but events or situations which the emotional bond makes significant”.
This material will be handy in your interpretation of such data. Even when clairvoyantly-perceived situations appear independent of personal emotional content, it will be found that an intuitional sympathy has been established. The emotions are the extensions of the inner senses, as I have told you (Here jane’s voice deepened and boomed out.) -and therefore they are the pathways to clairvoyance. When no personal emotional bonds are seen to be present, there will be nevertheless an inner psychic sympathy.
We’ll pickup with this Intuitional sympathy in a later post.
We need only believeit 2 realizeit.