WORLDVIEWS IN TRANSITION:

APPLYING THREE MODELS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT TO THE SETH TEXTS

by

Joyce Kilmartin

A dissertation submitted

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

in Transpersonal Psychology

Sofia University

Palo Alto, California

July 26, 2012

I certify that I have read and approved the content and presentation of this dissertation:

________________________________________________ __________________
Mark Gonnerman, Ph.D., Committee Chairperson Date

________________________________________________ __________________
Jon Klimo, Ph.D., Committee Member Date

________________________________________________ __________________
Gabriela Mihalache, Ph.D., Committee Member Date
 Copyright

Joyce Kilmartin

2012

All Rights Reserved

Formatted according to the Publication Manual of the

American Psychological Association, 6th Edition

ii
 Abstract

Worldviews in Transition:

Applying Three Models of Human Development to the Seth Texts

by

Joyce Kilmartin

The purpose of this hermeneutical analysis was to study the Seth material, channeled by Jane

Roberts, for revelations about the evolution of consciousness and its impact on emerging

worldviews in America. Three models of human development put forward by Beck and Cowan,

Sri Aurobindo, and Jenny Wade (using their respective texts: Spiral Dynamics: Mastering

Values, Leadership, and Change; The Life Divine; and Changes of Mind: A Holonomic Theory

of the Evolution of Consciousness) were used as lenses with which to analyze the Seth material.

Two qualitative research methods of analysis were combined: Theoretical Hermeneutical

Emergent Analysis (THEA) and intuitive inquiry. Atlas.ti qualitative research software was used

to organize, code, and compare 6 Seth texts: Seth Speaks; The Nature of Personal Reality;

Dreams, Evolution, and Value Fulfillment (Vols.1-2); and The Unknown Reality (Vols. 1-2)

with the developmental theories. Additionally, the author culled from the Seth texts a theory of

probable realities, as described by Seth, to round out the analysis. The results of the study

showed Seths teachings on worldviews to be consistent with Spiral Dynamics in terms of

memes and attractors, the role of god-making and mythmaking in society, and the prediction of

never-ending development. Elements of the perennial philosophy were highlighted in the

Aurobindo/Seth comparison, as were the teleological nature of the universe, and the role of

reincarnation. The Wade/Seth analysis showed strong congruence regarding multidimensional

reality, and the relevance of paranormal data and altered states of consciousness in accessing

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different dimensions. Overall, unique points of difference related to Seths assertions about

probable realities, simultaneous time, and the human role in reality creation. Seth predicted that

latent human abilities will soon surface in a new, probable, holistic worldview. The author

argued for leadership from transpersonal psychology in advancing this emerging worldview.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

Outline................................................................................................................................. 1

Preliminary background on worldviews. ................................................................ 1

Preliminary background on channeling and the Seth material. .............................. 4

Preliminary background on research methods to be used. ...................................... 7

Purpose Statement ............................................................................................................... 8

Research Question .............................................................................................................. 9

Secondary Research Questions ........................................................................................... 9

Method ................................................................................................................................ 9

Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 11

Terminology...................................................................................................................... 11

Organization ...................................................................................................................... 12

Transpersonal Import ........................................................................................................ 13

Emerging Worldviews ...................................................................................................... 14

New age. ............................................................................................................... 16

Rising culture. ....................................................................................................... 18

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 Cultural creatives. ................................................................................................. 20

Global shift............................................................................................................ 21

Trans-modern worldview. ..................................................................................... 23

Closing remarks on worldviews............................................................................ 23

Channeled Teachings ........................................................................................................ 24

Channeling defined. .............................................................................................. 24

Wisdom within channeled teachings. ................................................................... 25

Assessing the authenticity of channeled teachings. .............................................. 26

Channelings main themes. ................................................................................... 27

Criticism of channeling and the Seth material. ..................................................... 33

Developmental Theories ................................................................................................... 45

Selection criteria for developmental theories. ...................................................... 45

Don Beck and Christopher Cowans spiral dynamics. ......................................... 49

Sri Aurobindos spiritual evolution theory. .......................................................... 60

Jenny Wades noetic theory of human development. ........................................... 65

Chapter 3: Method ........................................................................................................................ 69

Preface............................................................................................................................... 69

Research Methods ............................................................................................................. 71

Limitation and Delimitations ............................................................................................ 78

Chapter 4: Results ......................................................................................................................... 80

Data Analysis Overview ................................................................................................... 80

Cycle 1: Clarifying the Research Topic ............................................................................ 81

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 Cycle 2: Developing the Preliminary Interpretive Lenses ................................................ 94

Cycle 3: Collecting Data ................................................................................................... 97

Prerequisite organization. ..................................................................................... 97

Applying Beck and Cowans spiral dynamics lens............................................. 105

Provisional summary of the spiral dynamics analysis. ....................................... 140

Applying Aurobindos spiritual evolution lens................................................... 146

Provisional summary of the Aurobindo analysis. ............................................... 180

Applying Wades noetic development lens. ....................................................... 185

Provisional summary of Wade analysis. ............................................................. 217

Seths theory of probable realities. ..................................................................... 223

Summary of Seth analysis. .................................................................................. 257

Cycle 4: Refining Interpretive Lenses ............................................................................ 264

Cycle 5: Integration of Findings and the Literature Review........................................... 271

References ................................................................................................................................... 282

Appendix A:Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis (THEA) .......................................... 292

Appendix B: Uncoded Data From Study .................................................................................... 295

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 List of Tables

Table Page

1 Preliminary Lenses and Revised Lenses. 268

viii
 List of Figures

Figure Page
1 The hermeneutical circle of intuitive inquiry comprises five sequential cycles.
These are called cycles rather than steps because the researcher may circle
around many times within each one. For example, in analyzing data (Cycle 3),
the researcher studies a source but may return to it again and again to clarify
his or her understanding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

A1 The researcher creates a list of stages and/or key concepts for each theory . . . . 291
A2 Researcher continues to code data until no new themes are emerging. . . . . . . . . 292
A3 Analysis is complete when four theories of human development have been used
to analyze the Seth texts. The fourth model is culled from Seths own words. . . 293

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 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

Outline

This chapter will introduce the reader to emerging American worldviews which are

documented in empirical research. The author will identify a connection between these emerging

worldviews and the content of channeled material, in particular the Seth material. Additionally,

there will be a brief overview of the research methods that will be used to explore this

connection.

Preliminary background on worldviews. Attitudinal surveys of Americans over the

past forty years show a substantial shift in beliefs about the nature of reality among a growing

percentage of the population. According to researchers, these attitudinal shifts reflect the

emergence of new worldviews. Wolman (as cited in Koltko-Rivera, 2004) describes worldviews

this way

Worldviews are sets of beliefs and assumptions that describe reality. A given worldview
encompasses assumptions about a heterogeneous variety of topics, including human
nature, the meaning and nature of life, and the composition of the universe itself, to name
but a few issues. The term worldview comes from the German Weltanschauung, meaning
a view or perspective on the world or the universe used to describe ones total outlook
on life, society and its institutions. (pp. 3-4)

A worldview is a way of seeing the world that is influenced by genetics, culture,

language, and all the conditions of ones life; it combines beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, values,

and ideas to form a comprehensive model of reality (Mandala-Schlitz, Vieten, & Miller, 2010,

p. 19). According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 49% of mainstream Americans

report having transpersonal mystical experiences; roughly 25% identify with new-age beliefs;

and upward of 65% say they believe in or have experienced at least one of these: reincarnation,

spiritual energy in physical things, yoga as a spiritual practice; consulting a psychic, and belief in

astrology (Lugo et al., 2009, pp. 4-5). Considering these substantial and still increasing
 2

percentages, an academic look at the context surrounding their emergence is timely. Changing

worldviews are important to understand because, ultimately, they impact politics, business,

education, religion, culture, and every other sphere of life. The purpose of the study being

described in this proposal is to analyze one source of 21st-century emerging worldviewsthe

Seth material, channeled by Jane Roberts from 1963 to 1984 in over 1,850 sessions, recorded by

Janes husband, Rob Butts (Helfrich, 2010). The method to be employed in analysis will be

Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis (THEA; R. Anderson, personal communication,

May 26, 2011) in which texts are analyzed and compared to multiple developmental theories.

First, some basic background on new worldviews and how they relate to the Seth material is in

order.

Currently, there is no single accepted definition of a new worldview or what is sometimes

called a new paradigm for the 21st century. This paper will review the literature on new

worldviews that are relevant to the topic. As the analysis proceeds, labels given by an author to

describe a discrete worldview will be capitalized. The same will hold true for the terms New Age

and New Age movement, because they have become part of the American lexicon as proper

names. The other labels are New World View (Helfrich, 2000), Global Shift (Bourne, 2008),

New Paradigm (Woodhouse, 1996), Cultural Creatives (Ray & Anderson, 2000), Rising Culture

(Capra, 1982), and Trans-Modern Worldview (Harman, 1998). These labels are not precisely

interchangeable, but they are analogous; members included in the various groups sometimes

identify with more than one group.

In studies of the New Age movement, authors frequently use words like syncretic

(Hanegraaff, 1998), combinative (Albanese, 2007), universalistic (Brown, 1997), amorphous

(Lewis & Melton, 1992) to describe the fact that new concepts and trends continually graft onto
 3

existing concepts over time, changing them and making the boundaries seem vague. Woodhouse

(1996) says that The New Age label functions as a floating reference point (p. 47). The New

Age movement had to accommodate shifting concepts over the years since it was the only

category that had yet been identified to account for some of the emerging new trends. This

mutability made the movement seem very fluid and indefinable. However, The New Age

worldview at its core does seem to comprise a stable group of values. These core values include

a quest for personal transformation, direct spiritual experience, an emphasis on healing, and

ontological positivism (Lewis & Melton, 1992, p. 8). Woodhouse believes that the term New

Age is being assimilated or subsumed into the mainstream, and before long, no label may be

needed at all. There are millions of professionals who may have at one time rejected the New

Age label but who now incorporate many of its ideals and practices in their lives, without

associating them with any particular label (Woodhouse, 1996, p. 51). Recently, researchers

have created different labels, such as those listed above, to help describe different aspects of

emerging worldview perspectives. In Chapter 2, some of these labels conceived between the

1960s and the present time will be defined.

Just how large is the demographic group holding new worldviews? Ray and Anderson

(2000) estimated that the Cultural Creative subculture consisted of about 50 million people in the

United States. Ray believes that number to have grown consistently, and as Tibbs (2011) shows,

Rays ongoing surveys, conducted periodically between 1960 and 2008, evidence an increase in

the number of individuals who identify with Cultural Creative values growing from 4% to 45%

over that period.

The Pew Research Survey on Religion and Spirituality (Lugo et al., 2009), The Institute

of Noetic Sciences Transformation Project Survey (Mandala-Schlitz, Vieten, & Amorok, 2007),
 4

and other research support Rays estimates, as my literature review will show. Harman (1998)

reported that the fraction of the total U.S. adult population involved in a radical reperception

[new worldview] has been variously estimated at from 10 to 40 percent (p. 132). There is no

reason to presume that this trend has plateaued; each of these studies implies that the trend is

ongoing.

Preliminary background on channeling and the Seth material. In the worldview

analyses of the authors covered in this literature review, there was general agreement that the

emergence of these new worldviews began to show up in demographic trends during the 1960s

even though, according to Hanegraaff (1998), the seeds had been planted in the preceding

generation. Social movements, consciousness movements, the incorporation of Eastern wisdom

traditions into Western thinking, and interest in phenomena once considered esoteric, including

channeling, all contributed to fundamental shift in American character (Lewis & Melton, 1992,

p. 93). According to Brown (1997), channeling is considered the frontier outpost (p. 8) of the

New Age movement and the people involved in channeling are a philosophical vanguard for

ideas (p. 9) that make their way into what is more broadly termed New Age spirituality. This

paper focuses specifically on the role of channeling in introducing new ontological,

epistemological and moral perspectives, that is, new worldviews.

This study will focus on one body of channeled materialthat channeled by Jane Roberts

with the note taking help of her husband, Rob Butts, between 1963 and 1984. Jane, who was 34

years old when Seth began speaking through her, was a prolific poet, short story and science

fiction writer, and was undertaking research for an ESP (extrasensory perception) book, when

she and Rob first encountered Seth. Together, Jane and Rob went on to hold over 1800 sessions,

usually twice a week; over the years there were many witnesses to these sessions. Seth described
 5

himself as an energy personality essence (Roberts, 1970, pp. 4-5). Although Jane was

extremely creative by any standard, what happened during Seth-related trances was different,

according to her own assessment:

In a Seth trance. . . . The I that is so filled with excitement in the usual creative state,
steps aside. I open the door and the strange divine animal comes prancing in to perform
all by itself in the creature arena of my mind. (Roberts, 1975/1999, Appendix 4, p. 211)

According to Helfrich (2010), Jane intuited that the Seth persona was a kind of

psychological dramatization into terms she could understand within the limits of her stage of

development. . . . She intuited that Seths native state existed outside of our space-time

framework (p. 11). In my extensive reading on the nature of reality, I found that Seth/Jane has

addressed most of the components of what are now termed emerging worldviews including

consciousness as a causal reality, the interconnectedness of all things and beings, how science

and spirituality are related, divine love as the force that impels all creativity in the universe, and

the existence of multidimensional layers of reality that are accessible through the inner senses, to

name but a few. Seth/Jane molded scientific, psychological, and spiritual themes into one

encompassing body of work which covers topics ranging from the theoretical to the practical.

Channeled teachings, such as the Seth material, provided some of the earliest exposition of New

Age themes for modern generations and, therefore, should be included in any examination of

modern emerging worldviews. Even Charles Upton (2001), who has published a critical analysis

of the Seth material, concedes that the most sophisticated and influential channeled

philosophy of the post-World War II New Age movement, apart from A Course in Miracles, is

undoubtedly the Seth material (p. 169).

 6

Why analyze channeled material or the Seth material in particular? Psychologist Jon

Klimo (1987/1998), who began his survey of the modern era of channeling with the Seth

material, said

It [could] be argued that the publication and widespread distribution of millions of copies
of the assorted Seth books, beginning in the early 1970s, brought channeling to broader
public attention than had anything or anyone in this century until then except for Edgar
Cayce. (p. 22)

Hanegraaff (1988), a professor of Western esotericism who is knowledgeable about the

Seth material, said Seths view of reality is paradigmatic of Generative Source-holism in its

most highly-developed New Age form . . . Seths pivotal role in the development of New Age

thinking has not yet been sufficiently recognized by scholarship (p. 126). Hammer (2004)

claimed that the Seth material played a crucial role in presenting as a whole the ideological

contents of what would become the New Age worldview, thus defining a new discourse (p.

397). The Seth material includes a sophisticated description of the inner world, not unlike

cartographies within psychological development theories or mystical traditions. This study will

explore how Seths descriptions relate to emerging American worldviews.

Many opinion leaders from the New Age movement have stated publicly or on the

testimonial pages of books within the Seth collection that Seth was an important teacher for them

along their spiritual paths. These opinion leaders include Marianne Williamson, Dan Millman,

Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra (Roberts, 1974/1994a), Michael Talbot, Sonaya Roman, Gerald

Jampolsky (Roberts, 1986/1997a), Fred Alan Wolf, Norman Friedman (Roberts, 1977/1997b),

Oprah Winfreys interview of Esther Hicks (Winfrey, 2007), Wayne Dyer (Chopra & Dyer,

1982), and Richard Bach (Roberts, 1972/1994b), to name just a few. As with any influential

material in a persons life, an imprint may remain and may influence future thinking, whether

consciously or unconsciously. This has been my own experience.

 7

Academic research on the Seth material is minimal. Several notable scholars of

esotericism, religion, psychology, and quantum physics refer to the importance of the Seth

material (e.g., Albanese, 2007; Brown, 1997; Friedman, 1990; Hanegraaff, 1998; Hastings, 1991;

Klimo, 1987/1998) and call for further study. To my knowledge, few careful examinations of the

material have been done. One exception is the impressive body of work by Paul Helfrich (2009).

Helfrich has spent 30 years studying and teaching the Seth material. His articles are written for

both scholarly and mainstream audiences, and appeal directly to the students of the Seth material

around the world, who now number in the millions. There have been some scholarly critiques of

channeled material, a few of which mention Seth directly. These will be covered later in this

paper. In this study, I will not make any claims regarding the truth of the Seth material, but

instead argue that, regardless of what one thinks about the source or the message, the impact of

the material on those who do find it credible has been far reaching.

The literature review which follows this introduction summarizes the pertinent theoretical

and empirical research on emerging worldviews and the historical development of channeling,

concentrating primarily on the main themes one finds within channeled teachings. This review

also highlights critics of channeled material, particularly Seths. Finally, this review provides

detailed descriptions of the developmental models which will be used to analyze the Seth

material in the method section.

Preliminary background on research methods to be used. Underlying the idea of

emerging worldviews is an implicit or explicit assumption in change and evolution (Berk, 2007).

Lifespan developmental theories attempt to explain how human beings, organizations, and

societies change and transform; the dozens that have been proposed to date have been based on

biology, neuroscience, psychology, religion, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, noetics, and

 8

recently on integrated theories that encompass multiple disciplines. This study examines the Seth

material through the hermeneutical lenses provided by three models of human development. I

hope to get a richer understanding of humanity in context with its environment. I selected three

complementary and interdisciplinary models of human development, two of which address and

include transpersonal stages of development. I am curious about whether there is any relationship

between the view of reality espoused by Seth and contemporary stages of development as

defined in these theories. Therefore, I will try to identify, through the research, changes in

worldviews that were predicted by Seth and that are already apparent. Additionally, I will

identify other predictions that have not been realized. In terms of the future of humanity, Seth

(Roberts, 1977/1996) hinted provocatively at what it might look like:

You are poised, in your terms, on a threshold from which the race can go many ways. . . .
Your species is in a time of change. There are potentials within the bodys mechanisms,
in your terms, not as yet used. Developed, they can immeasurably enrich the race, and
bring it to levels of spiritual and psychic and physical fulfillment. . . . Mans
unconscious knowledge is becoming more and more consciously apparent. (p. 86)

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis is

1. To explore the Sethian worldview through the lenses of three complementary

developmental theories which address the higher levels of human development: Beck

and Cowans Spiral Dynamics, Sri Aurobindos Spiritual Evolution Theory, and

Jenny Wades Noetic Theory of Human Development.

2. To explore the Sethian worldview regarding ontology, epistemology, axiology, and

ideology.

3. To explore how the Sethian worldview explains, supports, differs from, or informs

emerging American worldviews.

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Research Question

What insights can be gleaned from an examination of the Seth material as it pertains to

human development? How might those insights supplement our understanding of emerging 21st-

century American worldviews?

Secondary Research Questions

Where might the Sethian worldview be situated within the American mythology of our

times? If we can infer from Seths teachings what a hierarchy of consciousness might look like

from his purported vantage point, might it give some clue as to what is likely to emerge next for

humanity? Are Seths ideas attractive only when certain conditions prevail or when individuals

reach a particular stage of development? What might we learn about resistances to emerging

worldviews by those who view things from a different organizing set of principles and values?

Could civil discourse between individuals with competing worldviews be facilitated by a better

understanding of their origin?

Method

In order to answer my research question, I will explore the Seth material using an

approach tentatively called Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis (R. Anderson, personal

communication, May 26, 2011). Using three developmental models as hermeneutical lenses and

using coding of the various stages within each model to analyze the Seth material, I will examine

the Seth material for similarities and differences, contradictions, and refinements. There are

many kinds of developmental theories; the theories in this study would probably be best

described as organismic and contextualistic (Lerner, 2002, p. 17). They are concerned with

biological human development in context with environmental, social, and cultural conditions.

Each also is based on its own philosophical assumptions, which will be explained in the literature
 10

review. The three models I chose are: Spiral Dynamics (Beck & Cowan, 2006), a

biopsychosocial model of human development; Jenny Wades (1996) Noetic Theory of Human

Development; and Sri Aurobindos (1914/1990) Spiritual Evolution Theory.

The criteria I set for the theories I chose were that they must

be meaningful to me.

be theoretically relevant and useful to society in a practical way.

be able to integrate existing facts (research) and to organize them meaningfully.

be framed in such a way that they might accommodate new facts, that is, aid in

transformation over time.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review

Terminology

Before delving into the findings of this literature review, a few definitions, comments,

and a word about its organization are in order. First, for the sake of manageability, the terms

New Age and New Paradigm will often be used in a general sense to describe the movement, the

thinking, or the processes described as emerging worldviews. The term New Age will be used

when the emphasis refers to a personal or inner transformation and the term New Paradigm when

the emphasis refers to societal, systemic, or global transformation. When more specificity is

necessary, the reader will be informed that a particular definition is implied. This is not the ideal

situation, but the plethora of labels and multiple interpretations of each label would cause a great

deal of confusion if they had to be spelled out throughout the paper. No universal judgment

about the sophistication, credibility, or intentions of individuals who hold these worldviews is

posited. There are most likely a wide range of differences among those involved, just as with

groups who support traditional or scientific worldviews.

Another term with the potential to cause confusion is the word transpersonal, which

appears many times in this review and has many definitions. For the purposes of this paper, the

definition settled on by Lajoie and Shapiro (1992) after surveying many dozens of definitions

used by transpersonal psychologists is used. Lajoie and Shapiro stated that the transpersonal is

concerned with the study of humanitys highest potential, and with the recognition,

understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness (p.

91). If a quote used herein contains the word transpersonal, it will not be redefined unless the

authors meaning falls outside of the definition given here.

 12

Another liberty that will be taken for simplicitys sake is to write Seth says or Seth

said and the like when the discarnate entity, Seth, channeled by Jane Roberts, is quoted.

Finally, throughout this paper, only sources written or translated into English are used, and when

there is a reference to things happening in this culture or in society, this is meant to refer to

American culture unless otherwise specified.

Organization

Below is a list of the attitudes and values embraced by individuals with emerging

worldviews, not all of which would be held by all of them; rather, one would find clusters of

these values among different groups:

Social acceptance of transpersonal phenomena.

Convergence of science and mysticism.

Emphasis on wholeness and unity.

Importance of spirituality.

Focus on personal and societal transformation.

Belief in consciousness as a causal reality.

Belief that God/All That Is is both immanent and transcendent.

Progressive/evolutionary view of human development, which some think is

accelerating.

View of the world as a living system.

Belief in a multidimensional, nonlinear reality.

Sacred view of nature.

Anti-dogmatic attitude.

Belief in an awakening or global shift in consciousness.

 13

Integration of the feminine.

Primacy of love.

Respect for intuition and inner knowing.

I acknowledge that there is not a single overarching, meta-, or master-paradigm that anyone has

identified to capture all of these values. However, worldviews in America are changing with

respect to the big questions about ontology and cosmology, and various clusters and currents of

emerging views, each bearing some of the listed attributes, often overlap. Woodhouse (1996)

believes there are family resemblances (p. 56) in these clusters and that they all are informing

21st-century new worldviews.

Once the new worldviews are defined, subsequent sections will cover what channeled

teachings, in particular the Seth material, have to say about the various beliefs and values

accepted by proponents of these new worldviews. There will also be discussion about the

concordances and disparities between the worldview theories and the channeled teachings.

Finally, background information will be provided on the developmental theories which will be

employed in the analysis of the Seth material and why they have been selected.

Transpersonal Import

The descriptions of channeling below should make clear that both the context and content

of channeling are pertinent to transpersonal psychology. As an offshoot of and an expansion of

humanistic psychology, transpersonal psychology concerns itself with maximizing human

potential within a spiritual framework, as does much channeled material. Persuasive arguments

have been made (e.g., Brown, 1997; Hastings, 1991; Klimo, 1987/1998) that channeling provides

evidence of exceptional human experiences, even if the existence of discarnate entities cannot be

proved. The experience of accessing transpersonal knowledge may be the ability of a rare few or
 14

it may be a talent latent within all human beings. Transpersonal psychology has been involved in

the study of these types of phenomena since its inception. The entire process of disseminating

channeled teachings may be viewed as a transpersonal participatory event as Ferrer (2002)

would describe it, that is, as more than an intrasubjective experience, but one which extends

beyond just the channeler, to the readers or listeners who avail themselves of the information and

who may be transformed by it. Just as transpersonal psychologists studied Eastern religions for

the spiritual technologies with which to attain higher states of consciousness and subtle layers of

wisdom, they may be able to mine channeled teachings for the myriad strategies they extol for

transcending the personality or the ego. This literature review will point out any psychospiritual

technologies outlined within the Seth material that specifically address how to access higher

forms of consciousness.

Emerging Worldviews

Scholars from fields as diverse as transpersonal psychology, biology, sociology, systems

science, and physics are writing about emerging worldviews (Beck & Cowan, 2006; Capra,

1982; Combs, 2002; Elgin, 2009; Goswami, 1993; Laszlo, 2007; Pearce, 2002; Russell, 2002;

Talbot, 1991; Woodhouse, 1996). They suggest a fundamental shift in how we view the world,

our place in it, and our relationships with all beings, the environment, and the cosmos. Next is a

brief summary of relevant worldview theories and the trends that these theories associate with

the purported shift. The theories chosen are ones that emphasize development of consciousness,

take into consideration environmental context, and address access to transpersonal phenomena.

The change that these theories speak of involves a transformation, sometimes in the individual

and sometimes more broadly in society. In the 1960s and through the 1970s one of the engines of

new worldviews was the Human Potential Movement, which humanistic psychologist, Abraham
 15

Maslow, is often credited with inciting along with several contemporaries. Humanistic

psychology considers a human being to be open to encounters with his or her fellow humans,

predisposed towards an inner development which is determined by individual choice and

responsibility. The individual is thus assumed to be capable of fulfilling his or her potential

(Karger, 2010, p. 69). The founders of the humanistic movement teamed up with various other

groups throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including transpersonal psychologists, New Agers, self-

esteem and addiction recovery groups, body workers, holistic health organizations, and many

other groups to give the movement which Maslow saw emerging further shape and strength

(Karger, 2010). Maslow (1954/1987) spoke of the future he anticipated in terms that might today

be associated with the New Age movement. Recognizing that the old myths of human

consciousness were giving way, Maslow (1954/1987) observed a new concept,

Slowly developing in the minds of the most advanced thinkers and researchers on the
subject . . . that may fairly be expected to come into flower in the next decade or two,
namely, the concept of the psychologically healthy person . . . who is also in effect the
natural person. (p. 114)

In the decades coinciding with the Human Potential Movement, Rose (2005) says that additional

factors which helped to usher in new worldviews included feminism, interest in paranormal

activities such as channeling, and transpersonal spiritualities.

This paper is organized chronologically, to the extent possible. The order is based on the

time period about which the authors write, not the publication date of the theories. There is a

great deal of overlap, so it is not strictly in order. However, the intention was to arrange the

works being reviewed to best demonstrate how the New Worldview began with certain personal

or individual goals in the fore and gradually came to embrace social, cultural, and global goals.

This study will seek to determine, through the data analysis, whether channeled teachings
 16

provided simply an entre to the initial stages of change or whether the content continues to

speak to present day problems and concerns.

New age. The term New Age can be found today in any standard dictionary and has been

widely used in popular culture for 30 years or more. Sometimes references to the New Age are

derogatory and imply that a person or idea is frivolous, flaky, or misguided (Horowitz, 2010;

Ray & Anderson, 2000; Wilberg, 2003). However, regardless of the stereotypes, the New Age

movement is a huge phenomenon in terms of the content it encompasses (e.g., successful

complementary healthcare strategies), the amount of business done under its aegis, and the

influence it has had on American culture. As Hanegraaff (1998) noted

New Age means very different things to different people . . . Whatever the precise nature
of New Age, its cultural and religious significancein terms of the popularity of ideas
and practices associated with the labelcan not [sic] be doubted. (p. 1)

Hanegraaff (1999) claims that the New Age movement represents . . . a secular type of

religion. . . . New Age spiritualities are manifestations of a radically private symbolism

embedded directly in secular culture (p. 145). As Hanegraaff sees it, the New Age movement

emerged out of several trends which converged during the 1960s: the counterculture (i.e., anti-

war, anti-establishment, drug experimentation, and so forth); the new pluralism of ethnic and

religious groups in this country; the introduction into society of Eastern religious traditions

(when in 1965 the U.S. rescinded the Asian Exclusion Act); and the emergence of new

psychologies (for example, humanist and transpersonal). The main principles that Hanegraaff

(1998) identifies with the New Age movement are

social acceptance of the transpersonal and of alternative healing approaches; convergence

of science and mysticism; harmony of opposites such as the brain hemispheres or the
sexes, etc. with quite general ingredients of a better world. . . Of particular importance
is the oft-recurring emphasis on wholeness which includes diversity and individuality.
(pp. 339-341)
 17

In a more recent book on the New Age movement, Rose (2005) conducted

comprehensive research with an extensive literature review, an ethnographic study entailing

attendance at many New Age events and workshops, and both qualitative and quantitative

surveys (pp. 9-11). For the quantitative component, Rose inserted 5,350 questionnaires into the

widest-selling New Age magazine at the time, Kindred Spirits. These were magazines for which

individuals had at least a 1-year subscription. The questionnaire contained 43 questions, many

with follow-up sub-questions in a combination of open-ended and tick-box-type formats. In all,

908 questionnaires were completed and returned, well over the authors target response level of

200. The excellent response rate allowed for a substantial amount of statistically valid subgroup

analysis to be carried out, according to its author. A qualitative interpretation and coding was

applied to the open-ended questions. Additionally, a random subset of 300 questionnaires was

compiled to assess the extent of the respondents use of key words and phrases. In his resulting

book, Rose (2005) focuses on the fact that the word New in New Age identifies a change from

one way of being or doing to another (p. 16), in other words, a shift in worldview. Rose was

able to identify some core, underlying elements of the New Age, notwithstanding its

unstructured nature and its multitude of disparate manifestations within our culture.

The New Age qualities, elements, and attributes that Roses (2005) research uncovered

include the importance of spirituality, personal transformation, healing, holism, a positive and

optimistic attitude, and the ecology (p. 38). The participants in Roses survey also expressed a

belief in a Divine Energy (p. 39) which involved unconditional love extending to all beings

and things. They claimed that the New Age represented greater awareness, and frequently

expressed in terms of an expansion or transformation of consciousness, both personal and

planetary (Rose, 2005, p. 39). Toward that end, Roses participants were accepting of
 18

transpersonal types of experiences, such as channeling, mystical experiences, out-of-body

experiences, and a belief that consciousness is imperishable.

While Roses analysis is one of the latest on the New Age, it is noteworthy that an earlier

and authoritative review of the New Age by Lewis and Melton (1992) gave comparable general

characteristics of the New Age: emphasis on healing; a desire to be modern and use scientific

language; eclecticism and syncretism; a monistic and impersonal ontology; optimism, success

orientation, a tendency to evolutionary views; and emphasis on psychic powers. Lewis and

Melton are both scholars of major religious traditions, new religions and alternative religions

found in North America. Their research involves first person contacts with leaders, teachers,

lecturers, and observers of the movements they study. One can see that there is substantial

overlap even though more than a decade had passed between the Rose (2005) study and the

Lewis and Melton (1992) study.

Rising culture. Fritjof Capra (1982) spoke of a coming paradigm shiftof a Rising

Culture (p. 419) which would usher in a consciousness shift across the entire spectrum of life,

including the environment, business, politics, culture, and so forth. The nature of the shift he

envisioned comprised a change in our understanding about the world congruent with advances in

quantum physics, dynamic systems sciences, the life sciences, and cosmology. In the new

worldview that Capra predicted, we would understand the world as a living system, a mindful

universe in which everything is holistically interconnected, with all living things (including Earth

itself) participating consciously in the whole system. The intuitive mind would be the preferred

mode of functioning in the new worldview because it would be best suited to the

multidimensional, nonlinear reality which would become widely recognized.

 19

During a 1998 interview with Jeffrey Mishlove of The Intuition Network, speaking about

large institutions like the government, corporations, and establishment structures, Capra (as cited

in Mishlove, 1998) said: I see it as these large institutions getting even larger and more

centralized, but at the same time becoming hollow, and in the end they will somehow

disintegrate, and either change or decentralize or just disappear (p. 5). Capras prescient

remarks seem to have been about 30 years ahead of the times. Capra (1982) spoke of his belief

that the collective consciousness continually goes through phases, and that we are in the midst of

a phase change now with the decline of the mechanistic model of reality. Capra recognizes about

a half dozen great transitions in global history, but claims that the time between shifts is speeding

up.

In 1982, Capra claimed, that a paradigm shift of global proportions was already in

process, with the decline of patriarchy, the end of the fossil-fuel age, and a decline in our sensate

culture for a more idealistic one. This notion of an alternating swing from a more external focus

to a more internal focus in a cyclical fashion was also noted by Graves (as cited in Cowan &

Todorovic, 2005). At the beginning of each new cycle, Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic,

2005) said there would be a new basis for living (p. 184) triggered by the dissonance of an old

system which is no longer able to deal with the problems of existence and new problem

accretion; together these competing processes stimulate or activate changes in an individual or

society so that new coping systems are created. Student and colleague of Graves, Don Beck (as

cited in Roemischer, 2002), agrees with Capra that change is accelerating, but believes that

adaptation is not guaranteed; individuals, organizations, and societies can also spiral backwards

when faced with intense stress and complexity. Beck is hopeful, but not totally convinced, that
 20

humanity will make the leap to a more successful level of existence, that is, one that would be

holistic, inner directed, and systemic.

Cultural creatives. Another extensive worldview study published by Ray and Anderson

(2000), was based first on a national quantitative survey of 1036 respondents which was

conducted in 1995 and sponsored by the Fetzer Institute and the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and

second, it coupled that data with the results of 13 years of qualitative opinion surveys sponsored

by private companies and nonprofit organizations. Together, these instruments gave Ray and

Anderson detailed demographic and psychographic information which could be matched with

the subcultures identified in the national survey. From the values and lifestyle surveys, Ray and

Anderson (2000) were able to identify an emerging demographic in America which the authors

called Cultural Creatives, as a rising new demographic group alongside the other two large

groups, traditionals and moderns (p. 38). Ray and Anderson propose that the term New Age

is no longer appropriate as a defining label to represent these emerging new worldviews because

its meaning is too diffuse. When these new worldviews first showed up in research in the 1960s,

they represented the experimental beginnings (Ray & Anderson, 2000, p. 188) of what was a

truly innovative new movement. Now, however, individuals who experimented with many facets

of the new movement have transitioned into subcategories and have deepened their

understanding of their own consciousness; oftentimes, they have broadened their interests to

social concerns that parallel the personal issues that they have explored.

According to Ray and Anderson (2000), about 20% of the people who entered the New

Age movement got sidetracked into spiritual materialism, that is, self-absorbed in their spiritual

experiences rather than in true spiritual transformation. The vast majority of individuals who

would have been captured within the category description New Age now fall into demographic
 21

groupings known by different names, such as Cultural Creatives or New Paradigm thinkers.

Cultural Creatives are the opinion leaders and strongest voices of the emerging new culture

(Ray & Anderson, 2000, pp. 191-192), and in general hold a sacred view of nature, a belief in the

reality of both psychic and spiritual events, a belief that divinity is both immanent and

transcendent (panentheism), an anti-dogmatic and anti-fundamentalist attitude, a willingness to

combine conventional religious practices with spiritual innovations, and an expansive view of

consciousness. For all Cultural Creatives, spirituality is important; for many, their spiritual and

psychological concerns spill over into environmentalism, social activism, and volunteerism.

Ray and Anderson (2000) further identified the Core Cultural Creatives as the strongest

activist element within the larger group.

The Core group tends to be open to various ways of perceiving and experiencing the
sacred in life . . . 89% of the Core group say that it is very important to develop more
awareness, to not sleepwalk through life, compared with 61% of the general
population. (p. 192)

Although the Cultural Creative terminology is specific to Ray and Andersons study, one can see

the concordance between New Age and Cultural Creatives, notwithstanding Ray and Andersons

view that the New Age was a transitional step toward becoming a Cultural Creative, a step that is

now completed.

Global shift. In the book Global Shift: How a New Worldview is Transforming Humanity

(Bourne, 2008), the author declares that a remarkable change of worldview is taking place that is

part of an even larger shift in the structures of society. Bourne is personally hopeful about the

future, however, he points out that whereas New Age ideas were initially motivated by optimistic

ideas about spiritual growth and development, that New Paradigm thinking is motivated by a fear

that we are headed toward an era of unprecedented crises. Some of the crises he identifies are

global warming, environmental degradation, massive loss of species, dwindling natural

 22

resources, difficulties in switching to sustainable forms of energy, rapidly increasing population,

and widespread poverty, hunger, and disease. Whereas some of the others reviewed here built

their theories from survey data, Bournes framework is a trend analysis of values in American

society. It should be noted that the writing of Bournes book was punctuated by the global

financial crisis of 2008 and his book is one of the only ones reviewed here that was written after

the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

According to Bourne (2008), some of the trends indicating that a paradigm shift is

underway include: the environmental movement, the holistic health movement, the feminist

movement and feminist spirituality, a wider acceptance of paranormal phenomena, the new

physics and its implications for consciousness, and the popularity of metaphysical topics ranging

from reincarnation to channeling, among other trends. While Bournes book explores personal

worldviews within the framework of global structural changes, one can see that Bournes

worldview thesis is analogous, in many respects, to all of the preceding studies. Bournes theory

also agrees with the observation noted in this review that personal transformation is now spilling

over into societal transformation.

Some of the salient themes of the Global Shift worldview include: belief in a conscious

universe, multidimensional reality, interconnection of all minds, complementarity of science and

spirituality, radical empiricism, acceptance of visionary and intuitive forms of knowing,

consciousness as a causal influence, and natural ethics. The values of the individuals who

embrace this worldview include: a reverence for nature, a sense of inclusiveness, compassion,

integration of the feminine, valuing of intuition, voluntary simplicity, respect for being in the

now, and the primacy of unconditional love. Bourne (2008) believes that, under the New

Paradigm, the ability to access knowledge that lies outside of the empirical methods of science
 23

(p. 68) will be essential. Although Bourne trusts that psychic knowing itself is unlikely to be

used as a basis for constructing scientific theories of nature any time soon (p. 69), he speculates

that perhaps charting the inner domain of consciousness could result in a broader science that

utilizes the full range of human experience (p. 69). Such a chart of the inner world is precisely

the focus of the present proposal.

Trans-modern worldview. Willis Harman (1998) succinctly stated the problem that is

responsible for the emergence of new worldviews

The scientific worldview has so effectively led to abilities to predict, control, and devise
new manipulative technologies that it seems unthinkable that it might be found seriously
in error. However, Western science entails a bias that sheds doubt on the completeness of
the reality picture it presents. That bias comes from its omission of consciousness as a
causal factor in the explanations of the phenomena. (p. 160)

In an interview with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Harman (1998) described what he

calls the trans-modern worldview, saying

The emerging trans-modern worldview involves a shift in the locus of authority from
external to inner knowing. It has basically turned away from the older scientific view
that ultimate reality is fundamental particles, and trusts perceptions of the wholeness
and spiritual aspect of organism, ecosystems, Gaia and Cosmos. This implies a spiritual
reality, and ultimate trust in the authority of the Whole. It amounts to a reconciliation of
scientific inquiry with the perennial wisdom at the core of the worlds spiritual
traditions. It continues to involve a confidence in scientific inquiry, but an inquiry whose
metaphysical base has shifted from the reductionist, objectivist, positivist base of 19th-
and 20th-century science to a more holistic and transcendental metaphysical foundation.
(p. 160)

Closing remarks on worldviews. It seems important to conclude this section by

reminding the reader that the emerging worldviews reviewed here, while growing in popularity,

are not the majority view in America. The scientific/materialistic worldview and the

traditional/religious worldview both still command large percentages of the population. The

preceding outline of worldviews was provided as background for the topic of this study. This

proposal is intentionally focused on emerging worldviews which are growing in proportion to the
 24

total. Now we will turn to that topic by examining how channeled teachings, in particular the

Seth material, may have contributed to the emerging new worldviews.

Channeled Teachings

Channeling defined. For the purposes of this paper I will borrow the following

definition of the channeling phenomenon from the frequently quoted source that is regarded as

the definitive book on the subject:

Channeling is the communication of information to or through a physically embodied

human being from a source that is said to exist on some other level or dimension of
reality than the physical as we know it, and that is not from the normal mind (or self)
of the channel. (Klimo, 1987/1998, p. 2)

Jane Roberts is considered one of the preeminent channelers of the 20th century

(Albanese, 2007; Babbie, 1990/2007; Hammer, 2004; Hastings, 1991; Klimo, 1987/1998; Upton,

2001; Wilberg, 2003), and she channeled an entity called Seth for 21 years. Seth said he was

neither male nor female, having reincarnated many times in the form of both genders. For

simplicity only, he, Jane, and Rob refer to Seth as a male. Seth described himself as an energy

personality essence, no longer focused in physical reality (Roberts, 1970, pp. 4-5), and Jane

Roberts had this to say about who she thought Seth might be:

As to who or what Seth is, his term energy essence personality seems as close to the
answer as anyone can get. I dont believe he is a part of my subconscious, as that term
is used by psychologists, or a secondary personality. I do think that we have a
supraconscious that is as far above the normal self as the subconscious is below it,
though Seth maintains there are no real levels to the selfthe terms just make things
simpler. I ascribe ESP abilities to this supraconscious and think that it has access to
information regarding the nature of reality not normally available to the egotistical
portions of the personality. It may be that Seth is the psychological personification of
that supraconscious extension of my normal self. (p. 293)

Janes intuitive understanding of her experience is strikingly similar to what William

James had concluded from his psychical research, as Albanese (2007) reported
 25

He [James] was willing to estimate that In good mediums there is a residuum of

knowledge displayed that can only be called supernormal. And he thought that there was
a cosmic environment of other consciousness of some sort, which was able to work
upon them. He had, he wrote, arrived at one fixed conclusion from his experience
with psychic phenomena. Humans were like islands in the sea, or like trees in the
forest. Whatever their surface connections, the trees joined roots in the darkness
underground, and so did the islands through the oceans bottom. Just so, there
existed a continuum of cosmic consciousness, against which our individuality builds but
accidental fences, and into which our several minds plunge as into a mother-sea or
reservoir. (p. 421)

Whatever definition is used, if one is willing to acknowledge channeling as an authentic

phenomenon, the meaningful information contained in its messages becomes a legitimate source

of wisdom. Because channeling opens the channeler up to ideas outside the conscious part of

mind, it may contain potentially profound wisdom in response to the questions that our egoic

selves have trouble answering. Of course, not all channeled information is profound or even

interesting. A critical analysis of channeling follows this section. For the purposes of this paper,

channeling is discussed as a legitimate phenomenon.

Wisdom within channeled teachings. Nearly all contemporary channeled entities speak

about the transformation that needs to happen in our world. Generally, transformational healing

of self and planet is one of the most common themes in New Age literature, and channeled

entities offer specific practices and solutions with which to effect transformation, both personal

and societal (Lewis & Melton, 1992). In one of a few comprehensive surveys of the New Age

movement, Lewis and Melton point out that

Exponents of the New Age have undergone a personal transformation which changed
their lives . . . and believe it possible that every person can also be transformed. Very real
spiritual energies are available to create change, and numerous techniques function to
harness that energy to produce change. (p. 19)

Such techniques are spelled out within channeled teachings, signaling the potential in

seeking wisdom in these works. In his critical study of Western esotericism, Hanegraaff (1998,
 26

p. 18) lists channeling first in the top-five categories of trends defining the New Age. Arthur

Hastings (1991), whose book on channeling is another of the few scholarly discussions of the

topic, said The best channeled material is worth knowing about for its own sake. Further, it

shows that there are exceptional levels of creativity and wisdom that are accessible to us,

regardless of where we believe they originate (p. xi). A former director of the Institute of Noetic

Sciences, Henry Rolfs (as cited in Hastings, 1991), put it succinctly in the preface to Hastings

book, I believe it is effect that determines the value and usefulness of channeling (p. x). This

idea evokes William Jamess (1907/2000) theory of pragmatism. In the spirit of pragmatism, this

study attempts to evaluate the Seth material for its practical usefulness in addressing questions

about life.

Assessing the authenticity of channeled teachings. Little has been written about how to

judge channeled teachings because, like all beliefs based on faith alone, regardless of tradition,

they are impossible to prove. Discernment is up to the person reading or hearing the information.

It is common within channeled wisdom, as it is with many other spiritual teachings, for the

source entity to insist that its word not be taken unquestioningly. Students should never feel that

their teachers require adoration or blind faith (Lesser, 1999). Seth entreated his readers to learn

for themselves the validity of his words through various techniques and practices, which he

described, including psychological time exercises (a form of meditation), belief work, dream

analysis, and practices to get in touch with ones inner senses. Seth implored readers, Do not

place the words of gurus, ministers, priests, scientists, psychologists, friendsor my word

higher than the feelings of your own being. You can learn much from others, but the deepest

knowledge must come from within yourself (Roberts, 1974/1994a, pp. 433-434).
 27

The authors studied in this review together offered a variety of ways to discern the value

of channeled material. Lewis and Melton (1992) said that the only basis on which to evaluate

channeled entities was for their internal consistency and their ability to resonate with the

audience of seekers after transformation (p. 23). Hastings said that he judges the veridicality of

channeled teachings by their consistency with other alternative spiritualities that are more

established and provide similar information.

Those brand names [Patanjali or Yoga Sutras] have been around for quite a while and
theyve had the time to work some of the kinks out of the system . . . particularly the
esoteric traditions . . . in my opinion, they tend to be a little more accurate about what is
going on in spiritual development. (A. Hastings, personal communication, March 18,
2010)

Babbie (1990/2007) adds the following criteria to the list of potential validation procedures:

elegance, parsimony, empowerment of the recipient, and synchronicity. The advice of Joscelyn

Godwin (2007), a professor of Western esotericism, seems sound: In evaluating channeled

teachings one must rely on ones own reason, learning, and intuition, which is a prudent way to

approach any scriptures that purport to come from a higher source (p. 146).

Channelers and those who follow them have always wondered about the origin of the

material channeled and tried to assess the value of the words, as well as the sources from which

they originate. In a paper presented to a Transpersonal Congress in London, Decuypere (1999)

quoted philosopher Jacob Neddlemans timeless advice: You should be open-minded but not so

open-minded that your brains fall out (p. 202).

Channelings main themes. This study is complex in that it synthesizes data from three

different domains, worldview theory, channeling/paranormal phenomena theory, and

psychological development theory. To delimit the scope of the study, the Seth material is the one

channeled source being extensively analyzed. The following information on the main themes in
 28

channeled material is culled from the prominent published source material on channeling in

general, that is, relative to many different channelers and entities. However, because of my

familiarity with the body of Seths work, I can attest that the themes outlined here that arose

from reading those source materials are consistent with the content of the Seth material.

Gods immanence and transcendence. Many view channeling as a modern expression of

various esoteric traditions and specifically the perennial philosophy. The perennial philosophy is

a name originally coined by Agostino Seuco, a 16th-century biblical scholar, which was later

popularized by Aldous Huxley in his book by the same name. Huxley (1945) described the

perennial philosophy as:

The metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and
lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even
identical with, divine Reality; the ethic and transcendent Ground of all beingthe
thing is immemorial and universal. (p. vii)

Huxley (1945), in describing the perennial philosophy, explained that a human being has a

three-part composition of body, psyche and spiritthe first two elements define selfness

(p. 38) and personality; the third is the spark of the divine Spirit that is the Ground of all being

(p. 38). The goal of the perennial philosophy according to Huxley is for human beings to make

the choices in life that continuously remind them about their connection with the divine Ground

through practices of faith and devotion which prepare them for perceiving the divine Spirit.

Each religious tradition, according to Walsh (1999), uses its own language and

symbolism to express this tenet of the perennial philosophy, each has its own insights, and each

has its own method for achieving those insights. According to some of these traditions, only by

experiencing the transcendental unity spoken about can one really know God; these approaches

(Traditionalist) emphasize that one must die to self or ego to experience the Other. Some of the

other traditions, especially those whose context falls within a paradigm of rationalism (like the
 29

ancient Greeks), focus primarily on knowledge about this transcendental essence (Holman,

2008).

Holism. There is a Oneness in all Gods creations according to the perennial philosophy.

This belief in cosmic holism is described well by Joseph Campbell (1972), in his explanation of

the difference between Eastern religions (more holistic) and traditional Western religions:

In the Orient [East] the guiding ideal is that each should realize that he himself and all
others are of the one substance of that universal Being of beings which is, in fact, the
same Self in all. Hence the typical aim of an Oriental [Eastern] religion is that one should
experience and realize in life ones identity with that Being; whereas in the West . . . the
ideal is rather to become engaged in a relationship with that absolutely other Person who
is ones Maker, apart and out there, in no sense ones innermost Self. (p. 791)

Campbells point about Eastern traditions agrees with Sri Aurobindos explanation of the

psychological meaning ascribed to Agni (the flame of Divine Will or force of consciousness)

which he arrived at through exegesis of the Rig Veda:

Agni . . . is the divine power that builds up the worlds, a power which acts always with
a perfect knowledge, for it is . . . knower of all births . . . it knows all manifestations or
phenomena or it possesses all forms and activities of the divine wisdom. Moreover, it is
repeatedly said that the gods have established Agni as the immortal in mortals, the divine
power in man, the energy of fulfillment through which they do their work in him.
(Aurobindo, 1995/2007, p. 65)

In the Hermetic-wisdom tradition of ancient Egypt, esoteric knowledge or the goal of

true philosophy [is twofold]: First, it teaches techniques and practices for overcoming human

limitations. . . . Second, it studies the cosmic order and seeks to work within it (Godwin, 2007,

p. 10). Similarly, Gnosticism endorses an individual spirituality through an inner knowing

(gnosis) which links initiates to their own inner being and to an entire spiritual world of beings

(Wilberg, 2003). The Theosophists of the early 19th century were also dedicated to helping their

adherents rediscover divine wisdom (Horowitz, 2010, p. 47). In later years, Theosophists and

Spiritualists incorporated an additional element, occultism. Occultism, as defined by Hanegraaff

 30

(1998), included attempts by esotericists to come to terms with a disenchanted world (p. 422);

that is, early attempts to mediate between materialistic science and dogmatic religion with new

symbols of transcendence that foreshadowed the New Age movement. As with Hermeticism and

Gnosticism, Theosophy and Spiritualism combined philosophy with personal and practical

development.

Aligned with these esoteric teachings, and likewise with the New Age movement, is the

theme of holism or interconnectedness among all things, beings, and the entire cosmos.

According to Brown (1997),

The purpose of channelingand by extension, other forms of New Age spirituality

is to bring together elements of life ripped apart by western civilization: science and
religion, body and soul, culture and nature, male and female, reason and intuition,
thought and matter. Where one half of a dichotomy has overpowered the other,
channeling tries to strengthen the weaker partner. (p. 48)

Because of this belief in the comingling of body, mind, and spirit, many so-called New Agers

believe they have a responsibility and the power to heal themselves, the natural world, and our

social institutions. This does not mean that they are all activists; rather they believe that the

practice of inner development will necessarily resolve the problems in the world. Having re-

established contact with ones own higher self, one regains a proper perspective on how ones

separate individuality is related to the greater whole within the larger perspective of evolution

(Hanegraaff, 1998, p. 341).

Anti-dogmatism. According to Brown (1997) the people who are drawn to channeling

have a collective uneasiness about rigid morality and a longstanding American faith in the

power of positive thinking to define our fate (p. 69). The impulse that drives their social and

religious criticisms is dissatisfaction with the ideas and values of Western culture, specifically

Judeo-Christian authoritarian values, as well as the materialistic and reductionistic worldview

 31

implicit in Newtonian physics.

New Age spirituality, according to Hanegraaff (1998), could be thought of as a reaction

to these past frameworks and channeled teachings attempt to put forward an alternate viewpoint.

Hanegraaff notes that this opposition to the values of the past are not emically regarded as new

and unprecedented but as a revival of ancient wisdom traditions (p. 302), which makes sense if

one thinks of the channeled material as a vehicle for expressing the perennial philosophy.

Conscious creation. A common tenet in channeled teachings is the notion that we create

our own reality by virtue of our beliefs, which has come to be called conscious creation

(Madden-Dahl, 1995, p. 29) within the New Age movement. Hanegraaff (1998) attributes two

meanings to this concept. The first meaning is that when we were still pure spiritual beings, we

made the heavens and the earth (Hanegraaff, 1998, p. 230), but since then we have been trying

to find our way back to that knowledge, which we forgot. The second meaning is that we

ourselves are responsible, from moment to moment, for creating our reality (Hanegraaff, 1998,

p. 230).

The entities are careful to point out that this does not mean that on a conscious level

people choose to have the problems or illnesses that they do, but that on a soul level everything

is a choice, all experiences are valuable, and there is no right or wrong experience. Rather than

engendering blame, taking responsibility for ones own creations turns victimhood into personal

power, and there is nothing to prevent those actions from addressing fundamental social change,

solving social problems, or whatever one chooses (Robbins & Anthony, 2007, p. 262). Some

authors are careful to point out that this notion of reality creation has been misunderstood to

apply simply to the material world when, in fact, the original meaning referred to the
 32

materialization in the physical world of potentialities that exist in a different dimension

(Hanegraaff, 1998; Helfrich, 2010; Friedman, 1990).

Multidimensional cosmology. Another unanimous precept is the existence of a

nonphysical domain, usually hierarchical, described by various entities using different

organizational schemes and populated with various types of beings. They can include the

recently dead, spirit guides, ascended masters, extraterrestrials, angels, and others. Hand in hand

with this idea is the notion that the physical world is an illusory one and that we need to evolve

in consciousness in order to perceive reality properly. There are what can be quite elaborate

cartographies of consciousness in channeled material, some of which correspond with the

various maps of the mind developed by psychologists such as Grof and Wilber, or theorists in

other fields such as Gebser (1949/1985) and Teilhard de Chardin (1955/2008). This study used

several existing maps of psychological development as tools with which explore the Seth

material.

Reincarnation. Reincarnation is another common theme in channeled material and there

is a great deal of consistency in how it is described, although Seth provides an unusual twist by

stating that not only do we live multiple lives, but they are all going on simultaneously in the

spacious present (Roberts, 1986/1977, p. 215). Therefore, karma cannot be thought of in terms

of cause and effect, as is often the case. Additionally, Seths explanation of karma is quite

different from that often implied, which is something that is payback for an injury inflicted in an

earlier life. The idea of karma as Seth describes it will be analyzed during this study. In Seths

own words:

The basic idea of karma is not punishment. Karma presents the opportunity for
development; to make use of opportunities that were not taken advantage of, to fill in
gaps of ignorance, to enlarge understanding through experience, to do what should be
 33

done. Free choice is always involved. The purpose is always knowledge and
development, rather than punishment, self-punishment. (Roberts, 2000, p. 157)

Besides multiple earthly lives, the entities also speak of various other modes of existence; for

example, the time/space between lives, the astral plane, and a variety of nonphysical planes or

dimensions that each serves a purpose in creative evolution.

Global transformation/earth changes/the shift. A final important theme to mention is

global transformation or what is sometimes called in the literature earth changes (Robbins &

Anthony, 2007, p. 263; Smoley & Kinney, 2006, p. 291), the shift (Bourne, 2008) or the coming

of a New Age. Within channeled teachings there is a spectrum of opinions about this, ranging

from very optimistic views about the creative potential of the human species to bring about

change through a quantum leap in consciousness to dystopian forms of millennialism

(Hanegraaff, 1998).

Summation of channeled themes. Smoley and Kinney (2006) note that there is a great

deal of thematic consistency in channeled teachings, although the constructs, semantics, and

personalities vary. They identify the main topics within channeled teachings as: divinity

immanent within all creation, the spiritual nature of reality, holism, advice on personal growth

and inner development, and the awakening of human consciousness or the dawning of a New

Age. As one can see, the themes covered in channeled material cover many of the same concepts

which are prevalent in New World Views (see Organization section in Chapter 1).

Criticism of channeling and the Seth material.

Skeptics of channeling. The skeptics and critics of channeling fall into several different

categories. First, there are the dogmatically skeptical. They often presented in arrogant, sarcastic,

or condescending ways. They often exude an air of scientific respectability (e.g., in the scientific

names of their newsletters) but have not necessarily done careful analysis of that which they
 34

criticize; nor do they back up their remarks with analysis or rationale. For example, Karen

Stollznow (2009), newsletter contributor for The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), writes

that spiritualism (para. 2; her word for channeling) frames itself as religion and as science in

different circumstances but that it is actually pseudo-religion or pseudo-science (para. 19)

which New Agers mistake for the real thing. She does not back up these assertions with scientific

evidence. Her article selectively lists features of channeling and then uses the most bizarre or

superficial examples of these characteristics to exemplify them. With selective inclusions and

omissions, she paints a picture that many would find dubious. Consider this quote from

Stollznow (2009)

Science has credibility, and spiritualism can appear to be integrative. Parapsychology

and Postmodernism have a scientific faade. Dr. Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor.
Bruce Lipton aims to bridge science and spirit. Feng Shui is adapted for business,
and there are psychic financial advisors. Homeopathic doses of physics are blended
with hyperdimensional physics and linguistics with Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Astrology aligns itself to astronomy, and birth chart declinations give the semblance of
science. Electromagnetic readers are scientific tools, used irrelevantly for ghost hunting.
Spiritualism does not use the scientific method; its approaches are metaphysical, not
empirical. (p. 3)

In the first place, Stollznow implies that any metaphysically based epistemology is invalid

without feeling any need to explain. Stollznow also claims no empirical studies have been done

to investigate spiritual or metaphysical data. Charles Tart (1997) called this irrational disbelief

(para. 2). In a brief article, he wrote on evidence versus opinion on the paranormal, Tart (1997)

said

Im sorry to say that out of the several dozens of people who are strongly critical of
parapsychological studies that I have read the writings of and/or met, I can only think
of one who has read even a small fraction of the relevant experimental literature, and that
one has a very poor track record of persistently repeating factual mistakes in his
arguments that he has been corrected on and acknowledged (at the time). . . . If you want
us to believe this is the informed opinion of a scientist (or philosopher or rational person),
kindly go out and read and study the experimental literature first. You have about 1500
articles to read. (p. 2)
 35

A more credible approach is presented by Carl Sagan. Sagan notes, with respect to why

channeling is with us: For one thing, a great many of these belief systems address real human

needs that are not being met by our society. There are unsatisfied medical needs, spiritual needs,

and needs for communion with the rest of the human community (Sagan, 1987, para. 7).

However, he reasonably warns that precisely when we do have an emotional vulnerability to

some notion, such as a sincere desire for solutions, that we really have to engage skeptical

scrutiny even more vigilantly. To consider the veridicality of channeling, Sagan suggests that we

investigate channeled claims using archeological and linguistic evidence, rigorously examine

what channels knew or were exposed to before they began channeling, check concordances

among various channeled sources, and apply other similarly sensible ideas. If intelligent, open-

minded, and curious skeptics such as Sagan would put their abilities to a thorough investigation

of channeling, such examinations might be productive. However, Sagan did not carry out any

research on channeling himself.

Glasberg (2009), a professor of religion who has studied the channeling phenomenon,

feels that the credibility of channeling is hurt because the various channeled entities are not

aware of each other and do not reference each other. Wondering about this perceived lack,

Glasberg came up with a solution using the concept of symmetry from physics as a metaphor.

Glasberg calls the lack of communication among entities the channeling problem and describes

it as the lack of coherence of these messages with respect to each other (p. 40). However,

Glasbergs premise is false. Decuypere (1999) noted that Disembodied Intelligences are not

only aware of the information their colleagues have already passed on, but will also tend to

complete the messages of others (p. 198). As a personal confirmation of Decuyperes claim, I

can add that there are references to Seth in the teachings of Elias, channeled by Mary Ennis.
 36

Elias says explicitly that he is continuing and expanding upon the Seth material. He uses some of

the same terminology as Seth did and gives further detail to it. Despite his fundamental mistake,

Glasbergs paper is well thought out in other ways. His stated objective in trying to explain the

channeling problem was actually well intentioned, that is, he hoped to facilitate discourse

between those who affirm the existence of consciousness as that which may exist apart from

material bodies and those who deny that possibility (Glasberg, 2009, p. 37). The channeling

problem is not that entities do not align their messages; it is that everyone has not had the

experience of channeling, and since there is no way to prove that such experiences are credible,

those without the personal experience often remain skeptical and wary.

Psychologist, J. M. Decuypere (1999) makes some interesting points about why some

people dispute channeling, associating todays issues with similar historical reaction to

channeling/mediumship/revelation. He says, The fact that in the Bible mediums were outlawed

illustrates the tension and the struggle between the many capable of channeling and the chosen

few able to monopolize the channeling of the one truth (Decuypere, 1999, p. 194). Like others

who have studied the phenomenon (Brown, 1997; Hanegraaff, 1998; Hastings, 1991), Decuypere

(1999) sees modern channeling as a reaction to the waning influence of traditional religions,

noting: Nowadays, at the close of the 20th century, we find . . . people reaching for a renewed

sense of transcendent meaning (p. 195).

Decuypere (1999) believes that what makes channeling so controversial is that it

challenges our basic assumptions about the nature of reality. . . Both sceptics and believers find

that their preconceptions are largely confirmed by their personal experience and that of those

sharing their views (p. 197). He believes that once you rule out conscious frauds, people with

various psychopathologies, those who are speaking from an ego state or some combination of
 37

ego state and authentic channeling, then the gulf between the sceptics and believers can be

narrowed (Decuypere, 1999, p. 197). Decuypere (1999) acknowledges that channeled messages

are colored by the personality and abilities of the channeler and that distortions can exist, which

seems logical. He also admits that no satisfactory answer yet exists for how channeled messages

come about. He concludes, however, that this everlasting ambiguity should not divert us from

the second, far more interesting, question of whether the information is beneficial (Decuypere,

1999, p. 199). After spending some time talking about the riskiness of channeled information for

unstable people, his ultimate conclusion is that therapists have to be very careful in encouraging

or discouraging patients who have an interest in this material. Discernment is always necessary,

and not everyone is sufficiently level-headed to take this attitude (Decuypere, 1999, p. 200).

The next category of skeptic focuses only on whether the channeler is really contacting a

discarnate entity or instead has a multiple personality disorder (MPD). Dureen Hughes (1992)

interviewed 10 trance channels using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS),

developed by Ross and Heber (1989) to determine the degree of overlap between the complex

of symptoms that characterizes MPD, and the phenomenological experience of the trance

channels (Hughes, 1992, p. 182). The results were compared to the DDIS scores of 20 MPD

participants. Hughes concluded from her research that trance channels cannot be characterized

as suffering from psychogenic amnesia, psychogenic fugue, depersonalization disorder,

somatization disorder, depression, borderline personality disorder, or schizophrenia (p. 187). In

this study, the participants also completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; developed

by Bernstein and Putnam in 1986) in order to measure the frequency and the number of

different types of dissociative experiences among trance channels (Hughes, 1992, p. 183).

Hughes (1992) found that

 38

Trance channels differed from the MPD subjects with regard to both frequency of
dissociative experiences (median DES score), and number of different types of
dissociative experiences (median number of DES items endorsed). There were no
differences between the trance channels and normal subjects with regard to these items.
(p. 187)

Overall, Hughess study (1992) indicated that trance channels differ in highly significant

ways from subjects with multiple personality disorder. Trance channels cannot be presumed to

be multiples despite the fact that both groups exhibit co-consciousness (extreme dissociative

behavior) (p. 191).

Critical analyses of the Seth material. My research found only two authors who

specifically investigated the Seth material in depth for its verisimilitude, although most of the

others mention Seth tangentially. Paul Cunningham (2011), a professor of transpersonal

psychology, conducted an intriguing analysis of the content of the Seth material as an aid in

determining the source of that material. He looked at the outer history of Jane Roberts, as well as

eight explanations for Seths origin in light of the published evidence of the case, including

fraud, cryptomnesia, hypnotic self-suggestion, incipient schizophrenia and dissociative identity

disorder, high creativity, psi functioning, basic source Aspect, and energy personality essence

(Cunningham, 2011, p. 2). Cunningham admitted to limitations in determining Seths origin in

that it is impossible to do empirical studies on Jane Roberts because she is deceased and that as

far as prima facie evidence of discarnate entities, We have no independent knowledge of their

condition (p. 4). Nevertheless, he believes that

Establishing proof of Seths identity is important for determining (a) whether or not
the communications will be valued and judged to be credible, (b) whether or not the
communications have come from its attributed source, and (c) whether or not the
communicator is believed to exist. On the other hand, the content of the Seth material
arguably can and should stand on its merits, regardless of its source. (Cunningham,
2011, pp. 4-5)
 39

Cunningham (2011) analyzed both the content and style of Janes dictation comparing it

to the abilities, knowledge, and milieu of both the person speaking the text (Jane Roberts) and

the person taking the dictation (Robert Butts) (p. 4) to see if Jane and her husband could have

written the material themselves. Cunningham surmised that if he could rule out this possibility,

then fraud would be a highly unlikely possibility. Other means he used included (a) comparing

Janes and Robs personal writings to the writing of Seth as delivered by Jane in trance; (b)

analysis of phenomenological reports by Jane about her channeling of Seth taken from Robs

notes and discussions with Jane, as well as from her voluminous journals; (c) searching the Seth

material for data that Jane and Rob could not have known about; and (d) determining whether the

information Jane produced could be attributed to any known, published data. Considering that

the Internet was not yet available at the time during which the Seth material was produced,

information would have been much more difficult to come by.

This was a thorough study by someone very familiar with the Seth material. Some of the

interesting findings of Cunninghams (2011) study pertaining to Janes abilities include:

The Jane version of Seth could demonstrate penetrating psychological insight that
pinpointed an individuals character, abilities, and liabilities, identify subconscious
conflicts, and uncover therapeutic issues that fit the emotional needs of the personality in
this life (or a previous one) as only the most accomplished psychodynamically-trained
psychologist could. (p. 11)

Cunningham (2011) also found many instances demonstrating Janes psychic abilities:

Changes in Janes mirror image, glowing hands, and the emergence of a new set of fingers
in the 11th session (Roberts, 1997b, pp. 52-57), an apparition of Seth in the 68th session
(Roberts, 1997c, pp. 208-223), an out-of-body episode in the 339th session (Roberts, 2000,
pp. 20-22), and table-tipping in the 374th and 381st sessions (Roberts, 2000, pp. 136-140,
144-159) are a sample of the phenomena associated with physical mediumship exhibited
during some Seth sessions witnessed by independent observers. (p. 12)

With respect to the material that Jane produced on her own, Cunningham (2011)

concluded: Janes own books . . . are objectively different by comparison in manner of

 40

production, mode of thought, tone, and train of ideas from those books dictated by Seth (p. 15).

After going through all of the material, Cunningham (2011) said

Here we have a mass of writings consisting of complex, discursive, internally consistent,

and highly rational narratives, much of it produced in an animated, light trance state of
consciousness (with characteristic dissociation, amnesia, and excursus of the ego) in
which nothing can be discovered regarding the history, education, or environment of Jane
Roberts that suggests any solution to the problem of how she acquired such knowledge or
ability. (p. 28)

Cunningham (2011) feels that it is highly unlikely that Jane would have perpetuated a

fraud by channeling Seth for 21 years, continuing through a pain-filled 18-month hospital stay

culminating in her death. Cunningham quoted physicist, Norman Friedmans (1994) remarks

after visiting Jane and participating in a discussion with Seth to bolster his conclusion:

If Seth is a deception by Roberts, it is a remarkable one, for it would require a grasp of

science and philosophy that would be extremely unusual considering her background as
a poet and novelist. On the other hand, if the Seth material originated at some unknown
level of Roberts unconscious mind, then that level must be a repository of knowledge far
beyond our normal awareness. (Cunningham, 2011, pp. 19-20)

The overall conclusion of Cunninghams (2011) study was that both fraud and

cryptomnesia were unlikely. Likewise, schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder were

improbable considering the intelligibility and rationality of the Seth material. While hypnotic

self-suggestion could account for the Seth trance, it would not explain the depth or breadth of

the materials content. High creativity and psi ability were plausible but could not account for

all aspects of the phenomenon. Therefore, Cunningham left open the possibility that Seth was

who he said he was or, at the very least, was close to what Jane Roberts thought he was, that is,

a personagram, an electromagnetic and psychological structure that exists potentially under

certain conditions. It is a bridge personality, a unique psychological being equipped to operate

between systems of reality, but its source may well be entirely outside of the three-dimensional

system (Roberts, 1975/1999, p. 102). Obviously, like all of the other critiques of channeled
 41

material mentioned here, Cunninghams is informed by his own worldview, in his case a

transpersonal worldview which allows for the possibility of information from a discarnate

entity.

The final critique of the Seth material reviewed for this paper was by Charles Upton

(2001). Upton has written a scholarly book from the esotericist/perennialist viewpoint,

specifically that of the Traditionalist school, which draws on Gunon, Schuon and

Coomaraswamy, among others. Traditionalists believe in the perennial philosophy, but in the

strictly gnostic sense, which calls for personal knowing of the Divine through practice and

experience, not through the rational means alone (Holman, 2008). According to the Traditionalist

school,

Our modern (post-mediaeval) Western culture is non-Traditional and, we might even

recognize, anti-Traditional, differing from virtually all other earlier cultures across the
globe. Modernity has thus seen a degeneration . . . of human civilization into a dark age,
where the light of Tradition has been extinguished, or at best glimmers only faintly.
(Holman, 2008, p. 11)

What makes Uptons (2001) critique so interesting is that he appears to have arrived at his

Traditionalist point of view after decades of exploration through many other forms of spiritual

wisdom, including New Age forms and, at one point, serious engagement with the Seth material.

Upton (2001) said of the Seth material, I myself, as a non-traditional seeker, was very

interested in it at one time (p. 169).

Once Upton (2001) had embraced the Traditionalist view, which rejects the idea of an

evolutionary progression of the Divine, the Seth material became troublesome for him. Schuon,

one of the foremost proponents of Traditionalism, warned against superstition of facts and the

myths of evolution, biologism and psychologism (p. 21) as Shah and Shah (2009) reported. This

would provide at least one explanation for Uptons rejection of Seths teachings which Hammer
 42

(2004) said combines religious, psychologizing, and scientistic terms (p. 347). The

Traditionalists would likely consider Seths teachings to be relativistic, solipsistic, and

subjectivist. However, Upton personally evinces some ambivalence about the Seth material in

that he frequently hedges his criticisms. For example, Upton (2001) throughout his critique made

comments such as, Traces of valid esoteric doctrines can be found in the Seth teachings (p.

169), Seths concept of God, at least according to some texts, is enlightening in many ways (p.

170), and similar statements. Criticizing a statement of Seths equating God to an idea, Upton

(2001) said,

Partly through passages like this in the Seth material, I came to an understanding that
objective Ideas are not abstractions but rather densely-packed, conscious realities, in
relation to which the psychic and material planes are relatively abstract. . . . I am grateful
to Seth for helping me toward this perception; I am not grateful for his association of
such truths with deceptive falsehoods. (p. 171)

Here the deception that Upton (2001) accuses Seth of perpetrating is a diminishment of the

super-essential (p. 171) nature of Divinity. A quirk of Uptons analysis is that he often says

that if one interprets Seth a certain way, then error occurs. Then he goes on to do just what he

cautioned against to prove that Seth is distorting truth. Here is an example of Upton (2001) using

this technique:

As Seth says, I am the power of God manifested. If, however, I ascribe this power to the
limited, ego-bound part of myself, I miss the point: that the ego may be the recipientor
perhaps the thiefbut God is the Source. To put the ego in the place of God is to block
the current of divine vitality and enter the world of shadows. (p. 174)

Seth definitely makes clear over and over throughout his books that the ego stands in the way of

true gnosis, which is exactly what Upton thinks. Upton (2001) identifies passages from the Seth

material where he believes Seth is accurate and useful (p. 177) and where he finds Seths

teachings incomplete (p. 177) or wrong. As, in the example just given, much of the criticism

seemed contorted to produce a problem. Interestingly, unlike Cunningham, mentioned

 43

previously, Upton does not question Seths origin; he clearly accepts Seth as the discarnate entity

Seth claims to be.

Uptons (2001) overall criticism of the Seth material is that it concerns itself mostly with

the psychic realm, rather than the transcendent, and that Seth ascribes too much power to the

limited, ego-bound (p. 174) parts of humanity. This is unsurprising given Uptons

Traditionalist viewpoint, which recognizes three basic dimensions: matter, psyche/

consciousness, and spirit. The world of matter is illusion; the world of consciousness is more

fundamental but still incomplete; only at the level of the spirit, which is completely out of time

(aeviternal), can one experience the real.

Of Jane/Seth, Upton (2001) says, He/she has also proved him/herself to be a highly

skilled clairvoyant. But given that his/her understanding of what transcends the psychic

dimension is radically incomplete and in some cases distorted, its difficult to separate the wheat

from the chaff (p. 177) . The difference between Seths view of the timeless spiritual realm and

Uptons is not very pronounced. In general, what Upton appears afraid of is granting any power

at all to the human ego. He says

The whole question of the dangers of the occult comes down to this: Is our spiritual
knowledge going to take love as its bride, or power? . . . Wherever subtle knowledge
unites with power in order to violate love, we are in the presence of the religion of
Antichrist. (Upton, 2001, p. 142)

Upton could be seen to agree with many of Seths main premises, including multiple

lives, simultaneous time, the hierarchical nature of the universe (although he would have liked

Seth to be more specific); some of Seths precepts that Upton rejects include reincarnation

(apparently because of the way he interprets Seths definition), that we create our own reality,

Janes intolerance of traditional Christianity, and Seths proposition that there is no such thing as

evil (Roberts, 1972/1994a, p. 243). This denial of evil seemed most disturbing to Upton. In a
 44

chapter on the New Age, Upton strongly criticized New Agers for their belief that a shift in

consciousness toward greater spiritual maturity is happening. Upton (2001) said

It is true that there will be, and already are, earth changes, as were predicted by Jesus for
the end of the age, and true that there will be a purification. But the purification will be
apocalyptic, not progressive, and will represent the end of the present humanity. (p. 161)

Upton (2001) seems to make some valid criticisms of the Seth material, such as when he

points out erroneous statements about the Bible. However, on close reading, the quotes which

Seth attributes to biblical characters are not misquotes, per se, but rather words that Seth declares

were actually said but misunderstood at the time and so distorted in the Bible. For example, in

Seth Speaks, Seth said that Christ was not one historical person, but is remembered as such when

actually that memory combines aspects of three different historical persons, John the Baptist,

Jesus, and St. Paul. Seth went on to say that Christ was never physically crucified, but that the

group responsible wanted to make it appear that one particular portion of the Jews had crucified

Christ (Roberts, 1972/1994b, pp. 366-367) so they substituted the dead body of another in the

tomb prepared. Statements such as these are heresy to Upton, as they might be to many.

Wade (1996) said that once individuals get beyond ego development, abstract ideas are

not readily communicated through present language systems (p. 166). This is one of the

inherent difficulties with the Seth material. Seth has to talk around built-in linguistic barriers.

Endless times throughout the material, Seth says in your terms before he tries to explain

something. The main stumbling block is the construct of time. Seth says that there is no past,

present, or future; only the spacious present exists. Yet he describes an evolution of

consciousness. Evolution only takes place in time, not in the aeviternal. We will see later that

Seth explains this in terms of different frameworks of consciousness. Even though Seth explains

this repeatedly, it is easy to forget and seems to have been overlooked by Upton.
 45

Developmental Theories

The study outlined in this proposal uses three theories of human development as tools in

the analysis of the Seth material. There are many developmental theories and, while most of

them are interested in changes in human behavior and consciousness over time, some of them

address the timeless and spaceless as well (typically, those would be the mystical frameworks).

Selection criteria for developmental theories. Before deciding which developmental

theories to use, I set some criteria. First, the theories had to be meaningful to me. They also had

to have some practical usefulness for society since my reason for wanting to study this topic is to

find answers to real-life dilemmas in our current historical time. Just as Daniels (2005) required

of Maslows self-actualization theory, I required the theories for this study to provide an

effective myth and that the myth must be meaningful, useful, and self-fulfilling . . . both

believable and consequential (p. 141). As any good theory should, I wanted to be sure that the

theories I selected would be able to integrate existing facts; to organize them in such a way as to

give them meaning . . . to provide a framework for the generation of new information (Lerner,

2002, p. 7). I studied several developmental theories with these criteria in mind, including:

Clare Gravess (1974) Emergent, Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of Adult

BioPsychoSocial Behavior which subsequently evolved into Beck and Cowanss (2006) Spiral

Dynamics.

Jean Gebsers (1949/1985) Evolution of Consciousness theory.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardins (1955/2008) Evolutionary Cosmology.

Sri Aruobindos (1914/1990) theory of Spiritual Evolution.

Mark Woodhouses (1996) Accelerated Interdimensional Integration theory.

Jenny Wades (1996) Noetic Theory of Human Development.

 46

Ken Wilbers (2006) AQAL theory.

Any of these would have met my requirements. I chose Beck and Cowans Spiral

Dynamics, Wades noetic theory of human development, and Sri Aurobindos Spiritual

Evolution because, besides meeting my original criteria, as a group they seemed to cover

traditional and modern perspectives, Eastern and Western perspectives, a Newtonian-based

model and a non-Newtonian one, a secular model and a spiritual model, and a good balance of

male and female viewpoints. Wade and Aurobindo allow for transpersonal phenomena at certain

stages or throughout the model; Spiral Dynamics less explicitly so, but it is included in the

second tier. The theories I chose have been critiqued extensively and they are well developed so

that I will be able to thoroughly code the themes within each stage. They are all concerned with

how the physical, spatial, and temporal body relates to that which is nonphysical, non-spatial,

and non-temporal, at least at some levels.

In the three theories described in this paper, the approaches the theorists take to discover

and describe change vary considerably. These three theories might all be called evolutionary,

holonic, transpersonal, and integral. All of them are evolutionary in that they describe the

progression of human development from less complex to more complex forms, holonic, in that

the undivided whole comprises parts that each contains complete information about the whole,

and integral in that they attempt to link seemingly divergent worldviews into a unified

framework. These are stage theories that conceive individuals as developing through levels of

ever-greater inner potential with which to handle ever greater outer complexitythe lower

stages subsumed within the higher. Each of the theories to be used here acknowledges not only

horizontal change which implies skill or knowledge development, but also vertical change.

Vertical development describes increases in what we are aware of, or what we can pay attention
 47

to, and therefore, what we can influence and integrate (Cook-Greuter & Soulen, 2007, p. 180).

The theories chosen represent a range of generally accepted theories within the field of

transpersonal psychology and thus deal with changes in consciousness, not just behaviorwith

how people know something, not just what they know.

The results of my analysis will show how the main concepts of the Seth material cohere

with the models encompassed by these theories. The purpose of this endeavor is not just to

situate the Seth material within the context of transpersonal theory, but to require the researcher

to look at what is familiar material to her with new eyes. The expectation is that the Seth material

will align with these theories to a considerable degree; the hope is that new insights will also

occur. Ideally, the Seth material will advance new perspectives on the nature of consciousness,

previously unstudied, that may ultimately prove useful in transpersonal therapeutic interventions

or in new areas of research. Additionally, the Seth material may challenge existing theories in

various ways by bringing in a discarnate perspective, as strange as that may seem. On what basis

is there hope that this study can contribute to the understanding of human nature and

development of consciousness? What does any of this have to do with emerging worldviews?

The worldviews explored for this study unanimously speak about an emerging evolution in

consciousness. The developmental theories posit how consciousness expands and describes the

forms the expansion may take. While the outcome of this analysis is not known, it seems

reasonable to expect at least two outcomes from this effort. First, the historical times in which

the Seth material was dictated should come into clear focus as the backdrop for Seths assertions.

So much of the Seth material was in answer to issues of concern to Jane, Rob, and the many

visitors and students who heard Seth speak. Second, it should also become apparent why some
 48

people find Seths view of human nature credible or fascinating and how the material might be

practically useful for them.

Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) asserted that in the 21st century there

would be need for a model that could represent time and space in a psychological framework not

just in chronological and geographical terms (p. 160). I take that to mean that he envisioned a

coming world in which time had less meaning because, for example, communications would be

instantaneous; likewise, the world would seem smaller space-wise since what was happening on

one side of the world would influence every other part and there would be awareness of that fact.

Approximately 40 years after Graves developed his model, Mandala-Schlitz et al. (2010) seem to

acknowledge the current reality of the world Graves foresaw. They speak about skills that will

help individuals cultivate states of mind with which to enrich their access to untapped

informationsomething that is essential when the amount and speed of information has become

almost impossible to integrate using just methods that served well in the past. Mandala-Schlitz,

et al. (2010) built a model of what worldview transformation in the new interconnected, holistic,

multidimensional 21st century looks like based on qualitative and quantitative studies and

concluded that

Among those skills most essential for success in this new era of global connectivity
will be greater cognitive flexibility, comfort with unfamiliarity, appreciation of diverse
perspectives, agility in the face of rapidly changing circumstances, ability to hold
multiple perspectives simultaneously, and a capacity for discernment that relies equally
on intellect and intuition. These skills dont spring as much from what we know but
instead from how we know it, and how we view the world. (p. 33)

The characteristics just described by Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) and

Mandala-Schlitz et al. (2010) are precisely the kinds of proficiencies that the upper

(transpersonal) stages of the developmental models address. The Seth material has the potential
 49

to elaborate on these burgeoning concepts; it also provides a praxis for their development; and

may portend stages beyond or between those thus far identified. Michael Talbot (1986) predicted

As we learn more about the information picture of the universe, our ability to tap into it
with our minds will improve, and when we set to explore the cosmos we will not do so in
metal ships, but in constructs of pure information. (p 181)

As Seth succinctly put it, You must look inward with as much wonder as you look

outward, and then the two worlds merge (Roberts, 2002, Session 501, p. 395).

Don Beck and Christopher Cowans spiral dynamics. New times demand new

thinking (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 27). This is the underlying assertion behind Spiral

Dynamics, an enhanced version of the human development model first postulated by the late

Clare W. Graves, which Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) called the Emergent,

Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of Adult BioPsychoSocial Behavior (pp. 159-163). For this reason,

a brief summary of Gravess work is foundational to understanding Spiral Dynamics.

Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005), a psychologist at Union College in

Schenectady, New York, began his research by surveying coed undergraduate and graduate

students in both day and evening classes over a 21-year period with respect to their conception of

the psychologically mature, biologically mature human being (p. 44). He assured that these

students gave serious and sufficient thought to the matter by making this assignment the focus of

their 15-week class in Normal Psychology, and basing their grades on their satisfactory

participation. Every year after the first, Graves continued to conduct new surveys while also

following up with the previous years students by interviewing them. Graves subjected the

students to peer criticism and observed the results; he subjected them to the views of perceived

authorities in the field and so forth. In this way, he gained a phenomenological view of their

beliefs as to the nature of psychologically mature human behavior. Since most of the students
 50

took another course with Graves after Normal Psychology, called Abnormal Psychology, and he

was able to administer many standardized tests to them during their study of diagnostic

instruments, this contributed additional information for his study. For his analysis, Graves used

independent judges to help code and classify his data. Finally, Graves did extensive library

research related to his findings, which included the study of anthropology, biology, sociology,

neurology, and psychology.

Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005), through his research, discovered that as

individuals encounter situations in their lives in which their existing values, ways of coping, and

problem-solving skills no longer suffice, new abilities will emerge (concurrent with the

neurological and biochemical mechanisms to support them), or, conversely, they will fixate at or

regress from their current level of development if they are unable to further develop for whatever

reason.

The changes in development that Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005)

observed seemed to him to occur in a way similar to quantum jumps in particle physics (Zukav,

1979) and within a hierarchically structured system. The hierarchical stages which Graves (as

cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) postulated alternate between what he called express self

(p. 56) and sacrifice self (p. 56) stages, and each stage has an entering, nodal, and exiting

phase, which one can visualize by thinking of a normal bell curve. For example, when an

individual is comfortably operating within one of the sacrifice-self stages, he or she believes that

life is the only way it can be and accepts that reward may have to come later (either later in life

or even after death) for things sacrificed now. However, eventually, as an individual nears the

exiting phase of one of the sacrifice-self stages, he or she will grow impatient with the existing

belief system, often deciding that the price to pay for putting off gratification is now too high.
 51

Thus, he or she will become more assertive and self-empowered, exit the old stage, and enter a

new express self stage. This back-and-forth motion, like a pendulum swing, continues through

the stages. As Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) explained

Each variant had a moment of rushing entrance onto the stage of life; each had a moment
of calm, almost total take-over as if it were perceived as the way for the expression of
life; and each had its moment of rigid, reluctant absenting from the scene. (p. 60)

Another aspect of Gravess (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) model is that the

lower stages are subsumed in the higher ones (p. 56). When a new stage emerges, the

previous one does not disappear. Don Beck (as cited in Roemischer, 2002) says they remain on

call (p. 9) to be reactivated as problems of existence change. A point which makes this theory

difficult for some people to understand is that the higher stage vMemes (which stands for value

memes) are not comprehensible to those operating at lower stages, but the opposite is not so

(Wade, 1996, p. 277). In order to clarify a system such as Gravess, each stage must be described

as a reality with its own specific attributes. However, Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic,

2005) was emphatic that Levels are constructs. They are not realities. . . . They are the base

points from which the living, behaving human being varies (p. 477).

In Spiral Dynamics the thesis is that environmental factors (life conditions) awaken

systems of intelligence within people and societies that allow them to deal with their challenges.

This is called the times-thinking sequence (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 27), that is, when times

change then new ways of thinking develop as an adaptation. Biological and neurological

development progresses along an upward moving spiral as problems and solutions become more

complex. Development happens in stages, but the system is open so there is movement up and

down the spiral and the thinking systems of different stages can operate simultaneously within
 52

one individual, depending on what he or she is doing. This concept was developed and

popularized in Ken Wilbers (2000) work pertaining to quadrants, levels, lines, and so forth.

Over the course of more than 30 years, Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005)

was able to identify six levels of existence (stages) that related to subsistence (p. 163) and two

more related to being (p. 163), in this respect resembling Maslows (1943/2011) hierarchy of

needs model which distinguished between ones basic needs for food, shelter, safety, love, and

esteem versus ones need for self-actualization. Over time, Graves (as cited in Cowan &

Todorovic, 2005) came to believe that the seventh and eighth levels were substantively different

than the first six and were, in fact, the beginning of a more complex version of the original series

of six stages, representing a repeat at a different tier of development. Whereas an individual at

stage one of the first tier might ask, What will it take for me to survive? An individual at stage

one of the second tier would ask, What will it take for this planet to survive?

It is important to note that because Graves died in 1986 before his work was completed,

his model and theory have not been totally validated according to academic standards. Yet, the

Graves model, incorporated into Spiral Dynamics, is being applied in business, governmental,

and organizational settings and has proven its usefulness in settings all over the world (Spiral

Dynamics Integral, n.d., para. 1).

Spiral Dynamics (Beck & Cowan, 2006) claims that the times-thinking sequence (p.

27) has happened seven times in known human history, but the time in between stages is

shortening. This idea lines up with Graves (1974) belief that as our species moves up each step

on each ladder of existence, it spends less and less time at each new level (p. 78). The Spiral

Dynamics system describes eight levels of psychological existence, which, unlike Gravess

model, uses a color-coded guide, mainly so that the levels are not mistaken to mean that so-
 53

called higher levels are any better than lower levels. Each stage is contextually determined and

no value judgment is made about it. The color coding was meant to neutralize the hierarchical

implications (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 67). Beck and Cowan made clear that the stages do not

describe types of people or personality traits either, but the choice-making systems within

people. vMemes determine how people think or make decisions in contrast to what they believe

or value (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 42). Spiral Dynamics teachers make it very clear that the

process of change is ongoing and can be considered, as Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic,

2005) characterized it as a never ending quest (p. 4) of humanity. This is in contrast to other

systems such as Sri Aurobindos (1914/1990) in which there is an ultimate stage, rather than

unending development. The Spiral Dynamics model was arrived at by coupling Gravess model

with Dawkinss (1989) concept of memes (Dawkins, 1989, pp. 192-201) Beck (as cited in

Roemischer, 2002) describes the stages as miniature worldviews (p. 9) which are appropriate

for each levels problems of existence. Spiral Dynamics coined the term vMeme (Beck &

Cowan, 2006, p. 31) to represent the organizing system at each level of existence. So the eight

stages can also be thought of as eight worldviews or eight vMemes (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 32).

The eight stages of Spiral Dynamics identified thus far are:

Level 1 (Beige)a natural milieu where humans rely on instincts to stay alive; there is

very little higher-brain reasoning. Most actions are reflexive. This level can be seen in

infants but also historically in early humans. There is no surplus energy to mobilize

into anger or fear, hate, or jealousy. The individual has no real sense of a distinct self.

There is little comprehension of time; the individual lives in the present. The Beige

system is intertwined with nature; individuals living in this system have intuitional

abilities and even remote viewing and out-of-body capacities. Today if an adult is
 54

affected by the Beige system, it is usually regressivea sign of some form of famine,

warfare, poverty, mental illness, or deprivation.

Level 2 (Purple)a magical place alive with spirit beings and mystical signs. The

individual in Purple shows allegiance to elders, custom, and clan; he or she bonds with

others to endure and find safety. Life conditions in purple cause people to seek out

communal bonds. They see magical powers everywhere that connect their world to the

spirit world; their lives are magical and enchanted. This is the first level in which

people deal with forces outside of themselves. They start to form interpersonal rules

and social structures to maintain harmony. It was the added safety created by banding

with others that released enough energy for them to start mythologizing, creating

rituals, art, and so forth. If applied to young children, the Purple phase is where a child

becomes reliant on objects in his or her sphere, for example: a security blankie,

rubber ducky, potty, or Pooh Bear. The Purple level is heavily laden with so-called

right-brain tendencies. Purple thinking is dichotomous. People are here or not here;

in death one may change state to join the ancestors in the spirit realm. Time is more

circular; past, present, and future are often indistinguishable to the Purple mind. The

purple collective memory holds vast wisdom which is often amplified, mystified, and

extended through the folk ways of a people. Like all vMemes, it has healthy and

unhealthy features. The same mindset that attracts mystical symbols and rituals rallied

people to the Heil Hitler cult and the Aryan mythology. Facts do not get in the

way of mystical Purples stronghold on peoples imaginations. Purple is an important

stage in human development, as are all the stages. If children skip through this passage
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too quickly, then the spiral that grows on top is on shaky ground. It is here that some

deep aspects of human bonding occur.

Level 3 (Red)a jungle where the strongest and most cunning survive. Individuals

operating at the Red level see the world as a jungle in which one has to struggle for

limited resources. It is survival of the fittest. Respect and reputation matter more than

life itself; shame is a big factor while guilt is never felt. These people have rejected the

purple communal mores and only want to gratify their own impulses and senses

immediately. They do not worry about future consequences. In a child this might be

where the terrible twos appear and the child resists parental power. The Red vMeme

produces a cauldron of negative emotions such as rage, vengefulness, hatred, and

furious anger when an individual is thwarted. Instead of reverence for nature which

one finds in Purple, the Red vMeme engenders mastery over nature. In Red, strong

individuals take control by force and intimidation or charisma. It is very easy for the

willful individual in Red to exploit the people in Purple. Out of this vMeme comes

war, rape, massacres, pillage, and so forth. In Red, people tend to locate the cause of

difficulties and failures outside self. This vMeme also attracts middle-school aged

children and is responsible for gangs, tough initiation rites, and so forth. Although it

seems terrible, this is a necessary stage in development. Positive reinforcement is the

best way to deal with people at this stage since they do not learn by punishment.

Level 4 (Blue)an ordered existence under the control of the ultimate truth. People

affected by the Blue vMeme look to structure and order provided by an Absolute

Authority to guide their lives. Hierarchies, chains of command, dogmatism, and

parochialism are the watchwords. The move to Blue was the natural next step for those
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exiting the Red stage who had found that they just could not win by egotistically

stepping on other people at every turn. Perhaps they started to let a little guilt slip into

their emotions. In Blue, guilt and fear of punishment is a routine part of living; Good

opposes evil in the battle for dominion, and one better be on the right side. There is no

room for compromise; things are true or false, right or wrong. Those operating from

Blue believe that there is a grand design behind existence and a purpose to everything,

though mere mortals may not comprehend it. Therefore, order, regimentation, tight

structure, and schedules are required to keep people in line. Ones sense of personal

worth largely comes from evaluations by outside authority. Individuals who find their

place in the orderly Blue existence are judgmentally happy with themselves since they

are living the right kind of life. However, some start to question the authoritative

rigidity and think independently, and they begin to yearn for the freedom to be a bit

more individualistic.

Level 5 (Orange)a marketplace full of possibilities and opportunities. Once an

individual gets a taste of autonomy and independence, he or she will (a) seek out the

good life and material abundance; (b) search out the best solutions; (c) turn to science

and technology for innovations to enhance life, enjoy competing, and put more faith in

his or her own experience rather than obediently receiving the word from on high. The

Orange stage is one of opportunities; there is a surging self-centeredness. There can

become in Orange a tendency toward elitism. Although people operating from Orange

are often innovative high achievers, they do not have the patience or focus to stick

with the ideas they come up with. They must rely on others to do that. When firmly

ensconced in nodal Orange, individuals are calculating, accepting of responsibility,

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and anxious to dominate. They are constantly asking for feedback but then reject the

critique if it does not match their preconceptions. As people approach the exiting

phase of Orange, they might begin to feel lonely in their self-centered existence. They

may begin to get depressed if all their dreams have not come to pass. Consciousness of

feelings begins to increase. They do not like giving up control, but they may realize

they need other people. The Orange vMeme has brought liberation of individuals,

technologies, and the willingness to explore ideas. However, it is also the source of the

problematic life conditions that lead many to question whether government is working,

how billions of humans can coexist with a reasonable quality of life, and if the planet

can support the levels of consumption that characterize this age.

Level 6 (Green)a human habitat in which we share lifes experiences. After the

striving of Orange, individuals switch back to valuing a sense of community and unity

in the Green vMeme. Those operating from Green believe that societys resources need

to be shared among all; decisions need to be reached by consensus. They trust that

love and involvement will bring everyone together in a synergistic fashion. With

communal/collective spirituality returning, life begins to revolve around the unending

quest for enlightenment from a metaphysical guide or practitioner of one healing art or

another. However, people can become blocked in this zone, experiencing a series of

ah ha! moments and awakenings that simply become repetitious without real

growth. The Green vMeme is the climax of the first-tier thinking systems. Some of the

values of this worldview include intuition, insight, interpersonal skill, sensitivity,

diversity, cultural awareness, cooperation, and social responsibility. In the Green

v
Meme, gender roles are derigidified and social distinctions are blurred. The downside
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of Green is that people can be susceptible to group think. There is great pressure to

be supportive of collective decisions. The need to fit in and feel accepted may

overwhelm a persons willingness to disagree. Another vulnerability is collective guilt.

Green thinkers are almost as inclined to grandiose self-appraisals of heightened

consciousness as Orange is to its cleverness. As people traverse the Green stage and

come to the exiting phase, they begin to have doubts about the effectiveness of

collectivism and there can be a resurgence of individuality. Questions may arise about

the cost of so much caring, both in terms of economics and human energy. One may

decide that time and resources could be used more effectively if the communal system

were not so entrenched and entitled. The tolerant fluidity of Green thinking can make

change difficult, especially when hard-hitting or fast action is required. Profound

problems, however, are required to push people out of the comfort of the Green nest.

Level 7 (Yellow)a chaotic organism forged by differences and change. The Yellow
v
Meme is the first stage of the second tier of human existence. When perplexing issues

and chaotic events, such as those America has been experiencing in the last decade,

overwhelm institutions and systems, Yellow thinking emerges. It is an entirely new

perspective. There is once again a level of independence valued, but this time it is

concern for the worlds conditions because of the impact they have on the individual

as part of the living system. In this system, the universe is seen as interactive. People

just entering Yellow sense that human living in the first tier has put everything in

jeopardy. New societal priorities and modes of decision making will be required.

Yellow thinking is flexible and pragmatic. It can enter the conceptual worlds of the

first six stages and interact with them on their frequencies, speaking their
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psychological languages. The yellow mind sees the ebb and flow of human systems all

over the planet; they have strong ethical anchors of their own reasoned choosing,

derived from many sources; however, they are not entrapped by rigid rules based in

external dogma or mandates of authority. There is a dropping away of the compulsions

and anxieties from the previous levels. Fear recedes, allowing the quantity and quality

of good ideas and solutions to problems to increase dramatically. Being pragmatic,

Yellow thinkers function singly or in groups, based on the situation and output

required. Yellow is open to learning at any time and from any source; they are adept at

resolving paradoxes, creating abundance, and engineering win/win outcomes. During

the Yellow stage, people rely heavily on the self, trusting their own evaluative

capacities. Much of the time Yellow will stand virtually alone, relying on the power of

knowledge and information, not colleagues, in affirmation of the uniqueness of life. As

the spiral zig zags once again, however, and individuals exit Yellow, the focus once

again turns to community.

Level 8 (Turquoise)an elegantly balanced system of interlocking forces. The

Turquoise vMeme focuses on the good of all living entities as integrated systems.

There is an expanded use of the human brain/mind. Self is seen as part of a larger,

conscious, spiritual whole that also serves self. Whole-spiral networking is seen as

routine. At this level, joint activity across groups, factions, and communities is

necessary to gather enough human energy to find solutions of Turquoise complexity.

A physicist might describe this as a holistic field theory, inferring that the behavior of

any element in a universe immediately impacts all the others. Feelings and emotions

come strongly back into play in Turquoise. Feelings are integrated with knowing;
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people trust intuition and instinct, activating untapped resources within their minds

and brains. At the Turquoise stage people have a much wider range of new

possibilities; they have more expansive thinking and a broader repertoire of behavioral

options. At this stage, people understand the fullness of the spiral and how to use its

layers proactively and holistically. Turquoise views a world of interlinked causes and

effects, interacting fields of energy, and levels of bonding and communicating most of

us have yet to uncover. Collective imperatives and mutual interdependencies reign

supreme. At Turquoise, the planet is seen as a single ecosystem. Individuals are not

separated, neither are national boundaries, ethnic peculiarities, nor elitist privileges

allowed to divide people destructively. At Turquoise, one stands in awe of the cosmic

order, the creative forces that exist from the Big Bang to the smallest molecule. There

is acceptance that one can never know or understand everything. With this acceptance

comes wonder, awe, reverence, humility, unity, and a refreshed value for simplicity.

One of the primary contributions that Turquoise makes to Spiral Dynamics is the

macroor big pictureview that it provides.

The summary of the stages (just presented) was paraphrased from Roemischer (2002, p. 19) and

from Beck and Cowan (2006, pp. 193-292).

Sri Aurobindos spiritual evolution theory. Whereas Spiral Dynamics is a theory that

addresses change and transformation primarily from the perspective of physical reality,

Aurobindos theory of consciousness evolution is theistic and frames human transformation

within a completely spiritual process. Miovic (2005) clarifies that this theory does not demand

any particular belief and, therefore, should not be thought of as a religion. Miller (2010) asserts

that Aurobindos Spiritual Evolution theory is based solely upon Aurobindos own experiential
 61

insights, in tandem with those of his longtime colleague, Mother Mirra (The Mother).

According to Miller (2010), both Aurobindo and the Mother agree that the integral yoga could

only have come about through their mutual cooperation; neither could have done it alone (pp.

16-17). Integral Yoga Psychology (IYP) is the method they developed for achieving spiritual

transformation. Although 13 volumes of the Mothers teachings are now available thanks to her

student and confidant, Satprem (1982), who recorded 23 years worth of conversations with her

after Aurobindos death, this study will use the model of spiritual evolution laid out by Sri

Aurobindo in The Life Divine.

Aurobindos worldview springs from a deep connection with the original Vedanta and

the Upanishads, interpreted with a strong world-affirming viewpoint (Cornelissen, 2004, p.

412). According to Cornelissen (2004) the three main elements of Aurobindos (1914/1990)

writings include

The urge for progress toward ever-greater freedom and perfection, the idea that the forces
at work in the individual are concentrated reflections of similar forces at work in the large
and leisurely movements of Nature, and the notion of consciousness as the fundamental
reality. (p. 408)

In Aurobindos cosmology, consciousness is the True Reality behind every manifestation

in the universe. Vedantic texts describe True Reality as a unity Saccidananda consisting of

existence (Sat), consciousness (Cit), and delight (Ananda) (Cornelissen, 2004, p. 413). This

Divine Consciousness, according to Aurobindo, is both the beginning point and ending point of

what is normally called evolution, but which is more accurately called the process of involution

and evolution (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, pp. 887-888).

Human life, Aurobindo asserts, is Ignorant, full of suffering because it has lost memory

of its Divine essence. In actuality, The two are one: Spirit is the soul and reality of that which

we sense as matter; Matter is a form and body of that which we realize as Spirit (Aurobindo,
 62

1914/1990, p. 256). Aurobindo says that, in a two-step process, Divine Reality/Being first

establishes itself in the plane of Supermind (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, pp. 158-159), and then

second, it begins the downward process of involution, a gradual process by which the Infinite

differentiates itself into all the forms in the universe. This creation myth is described poetically

by Miller (2010); Supermind, having bliss in the awareness of its own existence, wished to

conceal itself so that it could experience the joy of rediscovering itself through actual

manifestation (p . 8).

According to Aurobindo (1914/1990), Supermind has a threefold function:

comprehending, apprehending, and projecting consciousness (pp. 143-153). Chaudhuri

(1951/1973), who was a correspondent with Aurobindo, explains that Divine Consciousness in

its comprehending aspect expanded itself like an all-encompassing ocean of consciousness

(sindhu) into which the spaceless unitary consciousness (bindu) of the supreme spirit has now

been expanded (p. 28). Continuing with the ocean metaphor, Chaudhuri described next the

apprehending aspect of consciousness which appears like infinite waves on the surface of the

ocean implying the self-differentiation of the universal Self into the plurality of finite individual

selves, but each individual self at this stage is perfectly aware of its status as an integral part of

the universal (p. 28).

Finally, Chaudhuri (1951/1973) describes the third, projecting aspect of consciousness by

likening it to an actor in a play in which an element of make-believe is introduced into the

consciousness of individual selves, without any abrogation of the fundamental unity of

existence (p. 29). The actors start to act as if they are separate and individual. All of these three

aspects take place within the plane of Supermind. However, in Aurobindos cosmology there are

independent planes of consciousness descending from the Divine all the way down to
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inconscient matter, each independent unto itself but still open in the sense that their underlying

oneness connects them. As Consciousness compresses and descends into each plane, it loses

more and more memory of itself, until finally it forgets itself so completely that it no longer

even recognizes that anything is lost (Miller, 2010, p. 8). This marks the nadir of the process,

and from that point forward evolution or the upward movement toward reconnection with the

Divine begins. Here are the planes of consciousness in Aurobindos cosmology as spelled out by

Miller (2010, p. 5)

Saccidananda (the transcendent Divine).

Supermind (the self-determining infinite consciousness).

Overmind (cosmic consciousness, plane of the Gods and Goddesses).

Intuitive Mind.

Illumined Mind.

Higher Mind.

Mind (with several layers).

Vital (with higher, middle, and lower subdivisions).

Subtle Physical.

Physical proper (usually refers to the body).

Subconscient (individual and universal unconscious of psychology).

Inconscient (matter proper and existential Non-Being).

In this conception of involution, Supermind is what becomes involved in and transforms

all the other planes of consciousness by descending into and infusing each level with gnostic

Consciousness. Despite the fact that Aurobindo thought it was nearly impossible for any human

to achieve the total transformation of human nature at this time, he predicted that eventually the
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supramental consciousness [would] become as much an intrinsic, natural part of earthly life as

our ordinary mentality is now (Cornelissen, 2004, p. 406). However, the individual has to

prepare himself or herself to receive the supramental gnosis in a gradual process of spiritual

liberation. According to Cornelissens reading of Aurobindo, access to inner worlds is mediated

in a psychological and phenomenological sense through a movement of consciousness that is

experienced in its first steps as a form of going inside (p. 416). The reason this is so is

because, in the Vedantic tradition, the stages of existence are not considered to exist only

subjectively in our mind, but are seen as also having an objective existence (Cornelissen, 2004,

pp. 415-416).

Integral yoga is the system Aurobindo and the Mother developed to break down the veil

between the subliminal and the surface parts of the self, thus remov[ing] what is left of the

nature of the Ignorance, and resulting in a progressive revelation (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, pp.

104-105) of Supermind. This activity is framed within Aurobindos concept of the psychic

being (pp. 104-105). The psychic being is the spark of the Divine which is manifested within

each human being and Chaudhuri (1951/1973) said that by bringing the psychic being to the fore,

the natural evolution of our instrumental being can be brought into line with the mystic flight of

transcendent spiritual experience (pp. 73-74). One might want to think of the psychic being as a

Higher Self which presides over the individuals cycle of birth and rebirth from above

(Chaudhuri, 1951/1973, p. 74). This is fundamental to the idea of reincarnation, which is, in turn,

fundamental to Aurobindos (1914/1990) theory.

Chaudhuri (1951/1973) explained that ordinary individuals are beholden to their lower,

desire-self, which is the surface mind of our expressed evolutionary ego (p. 234), but when the

psychic being is allowed to come forward and direct the self, the realization of Truth (p. 75)
 65

would follow. Integral yoga did not prescribe one fixed path for every individual to achieve this

realization, but was built upon the principle that supramental knowledge . . . is based on a fully

conscious identity with the whole (Cornelissen, 2004, p. 419). There will be more information

on Aurobindos stages of consciousness evolution and how they will be coded for this study in

Chapter 3.

Jenny Wades noetic theory of human development. Jenny Wade (1996) describes her

noetic theory of human development as a synthesis of noetic [pertaining to the mind]

progression that is both grounded in, and congruent with, conventional theories (p. 1), but she

says it is more complete than others only in its different aimtracing the dimensions of

consciousness (p. 271). Wade further explains that her model attempts to integrate the latest

thinking in several areas: psychological development theory, based contextually within the

paradigm of Newtonian physics; neurological developmental theory; phenomenological as well

as empirical studies on altered states; and data on mystical progression, available from both

Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. After combining the contributions from these data, she

expands beyond current psychological theories, by deconstruct[ing] spatiotemporal boundaries

(Wade, 1996, p. 18) and allowing for alleged communication between the implicate and

explicate (p. 8) orders, along the lines of David Bohms (1980) theory.

Wades (1996) book includes considerable information that she says comprises

empirically validated data of human consciousness functioning independent of a physical

substratea source of mind without brain (p. 18). Once allowing for the expanded boundaries,

Wades theory posits that individual consciousness predates birth and extends beyond death.

Wade brings in the findings of New Paradigm studies in biology (Maturana & Varela, 1998),

quantum physics (Bohm, 1980; Capra, 1991), and philosophy (Barfield, 1965; R. Weber, 1981)
 66

to bolster her argument that the nature of consciousness holistically comprises both manifest

and Unmanifest, the whole a seamless totality (Wade, 1996, p. 9), regardless of the

appearance of duality in the explicate universe. Wade (1996) says that the lenses of perception at

the lower stages cause individuals to perceive the material world as the sole reality; at higher

levels, consciousness and reality intersect and lens-less perception (p. 219) perceives the all-

encompassing, timeless, spaceless, reality in its wholeness, implicate and explicate. Interestingly,

this is very similar to Seths statement quoted earlier about the inner and outer worlds merging

when consciousness achieves a certain flexibility.

Wades (1996) theory holds that a transcendent source of awareness and the brain-based

source of awareness coexist. The two sources are bound together from birth and people maintain

a dual-track consciousness over the lifespan, although awareness of the transcendent source is

often drowned out by the ego voice. Regardless of the stage one is at in linear time, there is

always perfect and simultaneous existence within the Ground of All Being. Wade says, and one

can recognize the basic tenet of the perennial philosophy in her words, that every microcosm

(person in whatever stage of development) reflects the macrocosm (p. 262). The brain-based

source of consciousness changes over lifetimes, in line with neurological capacity increases.

While in the body, some people are aware of their access to the transcendent source of

consciousness; this can happen spontaneously or can be learned through disciplined training.

Some of the ways in which access comes to the fore is in near death experiences (NDEs),

advanced meditation, dreaming, and miraculous abilities (Wade, 1996, p. 251). It is not until

individuals reach higher stages of consciousness that they are able to seamlessly integrate

information from the transcendent source. This happens in conjunction with an ego-
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transcending motivation that changes the brains EEGs, entraining both hemispheres and

creating slower, more orderly and harmonic energy patterns (Wade, 1996, p. 251).

In the Newtonian-based stages of development, Wades theory is similar to Spiral

Dynamics (Gravess model was one of the models upon which Wade built her own theory).

Where Wades theory differs substantially is in her claim that a physically transcendent source of

consciousness predates physical life and survives it after death. Wade also maintains that

reincarnation is a possibility as long as the transcendent source of consciousness has attachment

to material existence. According to Wade, although it is difficult to accept reincarnation in terms

of materialism, studies of past life experiences, especially those of children, as well as studies of

perinatal memories, have provided veridical evidence that supports reincarnation. The ultimate

stage in Wades (1996) theory is that of Unity consciousness, when the transcendent and brain-

based streams of consciousness are fully entrained, and in a way disappear altogether (p. 251).

Here are the core assumptions for each stage in Wades theory:

Level 1 (Reactive)I am the world, so my needs are met as they arise.

Level 2 (Nave)The leader and I are one, therefore I am safe.

Level 3 (Egocentric)If I can be tough enough, I will never die.

Level 4 (Conformist)The universe is fair, so I can ensure my security by

being good.

Level 5 (Achievement)I can be master of my fate through my own initiative.

Level 6 (Affiliative) Enough love will conquer any difficulty.

Level 7 (Authentic)I need to be all that I can be to fulfill my purpose in life.

Level 8 (Transcendent)I seek to be one with the Ground of All Being.

Level 9 (Unity)I am What Is.

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The first six levels of Spiral Dynamics and Wades theory line up closely; however, there

is one important difference. Wade (1996) sees Level 5 (Achievement) and Level 6 (Affiliative)

as two aspects of the same stage, the former experienced by more individualistically oriented

individuals, and the latter by more communally oriented individuals. Wades assertion is

disputed by some theorists, including Beck and Wilber (Wilber, 2011, para. 4). Wade, however,

claims that gender makes a substantial difference in how one views the world after the

Conformist stage, which may explain why Beck and Wilber, as males, take issue. Wades stage

sequence and bifurcation at the Conformist stage agrees with an earlier opinion by Flowers and

Heflich (1988) that either stage [Achievement or Affiliative] could come next depending on

physiological, gender, and cultural factors (Wade, 1996, p. 134). More on Wades theory will

follow in Chapter 3.
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Chapter 3: Method

Preface

The impetus for this study is personal. It is motivated by a desire to better understand the

Seth material and the ideas within the material that seem to be working their way into the

contemporary world. Over 30 years, I have read the Seth books three or four times each. Each

time I reread the books, it seems that the texts are freshly written with new material. I have come

to believe that the Seth material is skillfully crafted to reveal information to individuals when

they are able to understand it. I have read in Kingsley (2003) and elsewhere that with Gnostic

teachings an opening up to hermeneutical exploration is only possible or likely for a prepared

student.

My education at Sofia University, which was still called the Institute of Transpersonal

Psychology (ITP) at the time of my studies, prompted this dissertation in several ways. First, ITP

introduced me to the perennial philosophy. As I learned about this recurrent wisdom that spans

many cultures and periods of human history, I felt that the Seth material taught a modern version

of the perennial philosophy and that it might be studied just as other wisdom traditions have been

studied by the field of transpersonal psychology. The ways in which Seth describes these ancient

concepts is unique and will be covered in the analysis section of my dissertation. Seth had this to

say about the concepts:

The ideas themselves are quite ancient, of course. They are expressed by many cultures
and religions, esoteric groups and cults from the past, and continuing into the present.
Their strength, vitality, and worth have been greatly undermined, however, by distortions,
negative ideas, and some sheer nonsense. . . . In other words, these concepts, so natural to
all of creation, have not been practiced by humanity in anything like their pure form. To
that extent they do indeed represent a new way. They run directly counter to much of
your official knowledge and contemporary thought as far as the mainstream of world
culture is concerned. Where such ideas are practiced, they are frequently contaminated
by fanaticism, superstition, and expediency. (Roberts, 1997c, p. 86)
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The second influence stemming from my ITP experience concerns theories of human

development. As I read and studied these theories, I could not help but think that they offered me

a way to better understand the Seth material. First, they seek to describe how human beings

develop, and often do so by outlining a staged process of human development and consciousness.

Seth too, often spoke of evolving changes in consciousness and expanding abilities that are

available to human beings once we learn to access them. I see a possible relationship between

psychospiritual developmental theories and Seths charting of the inner world, but I never

studied the material specifically looking for distinct stages of development, which was one of the

goals of my analysis. I thought that perhaps, I would not be able to find an explicit or an implicit

model, but I had a strong hunch that components of a model might be embedded within the

material. With this study, for the first time, I studied the Seth material in a holistic way trying to

ascertain whether any theoretical notions about human development could be culled from Seths

teachings.

There are many possible outcomes of my analysis. Perhaps I will learn that the Seth

material simply defines one worldview situated within one level of any developmental theory.

Alternatively, I might learn that it is my worldview that causes me to find meaning in the Seth

material and that it may have an entirely different meaning or no meaning at all to others with

different worldviews. Other outcomes one might anticipate are of finding parallels between the

Seth material and various religious and scientific premises, such as Gnosticism or quantum

physics. I may find that Seth has distinct insights to add to existing psychological development

theories that could be useful to Americans shifting into new worldviews like those described in

this paper. Finally, a hermeneutical analysis of the Seth material should provide useful
 71

information about the context of the times in which New Age ideas emerged and the needs that

these new worldviews satisfy.

Research Methods

This study is a theoretical analysis; there are no participants and, therefore, no interviews.

There are two complementary methods being used for this study: an evolving research approach

called Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis (THEA; R. Anderson, personal

communication, May 26, 2011); and, secondarily, certain aspects of intuitive inquiry (Anderson,

1998, 2000, 2004, 2011), both developed by Rosemarie Anderson. THEA evolved as a practical

application of intuitive inquiry. With THEA developmental models can be used as hermeneutical

interpretive lenses with which to study texts. Anderson (personal communication, May 26, 2011)

says the texts can be any combination of writings, research findings, statistical analyses, artwork,

and other input. In this study, the texts will be a representative portion of the Seth material.

Anderson conceived the procedure of using developmental models to analyze texts for a research

class in which students were to identify instances of character transformation in movie scripts.

Through the success of these interpretive analyses, Anderson came to believe that the approach

might provide a good framework for researchers interested in theoretical research, which

previously she had hesitated to support (R. Anderson, personal communication, May 26, 2011).

This study was the first to use THEA as the primary method of investigation for a doctoral

dissertation. Therefore, the chosen steps of the analysis were previously untried. However, few

changes to the analysis steps were actually needed during the course of the study (See Appendix

A a flowchart of THEA procedures).

This study is supported and backed up by intuitive inquiry, a qualitative method which

has been in use for over 15 years. I believe that THEA (Anderson, 2011), used in conjunction
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with intuitive inquiry, has resulted in analysis and interpretation that is creative and expansive,

but nonetheless grounded in focused procedures intended to guide the researcher through the

process of analysis and interpretation. I hope readers will come to the same conclusion. Because

the Seth material is meaningful and familiar to me, potentially biasing my interpretation, and

because there is so much material, I counted on the techniques from intuitive inquiry to help me

circumscribe the project and deal with my preconceptions. Normally, intuitive inquiry would

contain five cycles which guide the researcher through forward and return arcs of the

hermeneutic circle. As Anderson (2011) explains, The forward arc articulates the researchers

understanding of the topic prior to careful examination and reflection on the texts studied while

the return arc involves a process of transforming pre-understanding via the understandings of

others (p. 29). The five cycles of intuitive inquiry look like this:

Cycle 4
Cycle 3
Develop final
Collect and
interpretive
analyze data
lenses

Cycle 2 Cycle 5
Develop Discuss
preliminary theoretical
lenses implications

Cycle 1
Clarify the
research
topic

Figure 1. The hermeneutical circle of intuitive inquiry comprises five sequential cycles. These
are called cycles rather than steps because the researcher may circle around many times within
each one. For example, in analyzing data (Cycle 3), the researcher studies a source but may
return to it again and again to clarify his or her understanding.
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Since my topic was already decided, I began with Cycle 2 of intuitive inquiry to engage

with relevant literature and develop preliminary lenses. I substituted THEA for a more

conventional Cycle 3. I used Cycle 4 to refine and transform the preliminary interpretive lenses

developed in Cycle 2 (Anderson, 2011, p. 53); and I finished with Cycle 5 to help me

reevaluate the theoretical and empirical literature in light of [my] findings (p. 59).

Intuitive inquiry extends from the traditions of hermeneutics or the study of texts and

heuristic research which involves self-search, self-dialogue, and self-discovery (Moustakas,

1990, p. 11). With intuitive inquiry, a rigorous and scholarly approach to research is blended

with creative, intuitive, and otherwise transpersonal epistemologies. As in heuristic research,

intuitive inquiry emphasize[s]the unique and personal voice of the individual researcher and

depend[s] on the experiences and insights of the researcher at every phase of the research

process (Anderson, 1998, p. 75). The intuitive inquirer moves through the hermeneutical circle

via forward and return arcs, using a five-cycle process. During the forward arc the researcher

intentionally acknowledges and states in a set of preliminary lenses his or her assumptions and

beliefs, and on the return arc, the preliminary lenses are modified, after the researcher has

engaged extensively with the research data. To summarize, in this study (a) I followed intuitive

inquirys Cycle 2 at the outset where I used THEA instead of Cycle 3 for analysis, (b) I moved

on to intuitive inquirys Cycle 4 to develop the final interpretive lenses, and (c) I finished with

Cycle 5 to organize and inform the discussion of my final lenses and the theoretical implications

of my study.

As a former ITP student, Diane Rickards (2006) explained in her dissertation that

intuitive inquiry is a practical method because it facilitates the deconstruction of a researchers

personal assumptions, biases, and presumptions (p. 7). This practical aspect of intuitive inquiry
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appealed to me because I entered into this interpretive study with practical goals. My desire was

to garner information that could help American society; a society which I feel may be

transitioning to a different level of consciousness. Lather (1986) spoke about the practical

changes that might be brought about by an interpretation as its catalytic validity, that is, the

degree to which the research process reorients, focuses, and energizes participants toward

knowing reality in order to transform it (p. 272). So called catalytic validity brings to mind the

themes which Hartelius, Caplan, and Rardin (2007) identified as defining transpersonal

psychology: content, context, and catalyst. This study (a) analyzed Seths teachings for their

content, (b) assessed the context in which the teachings were given as well as received, and (c)

explored the catalytic or potentiating quality of their message. In this regard, I hoped for it to be

not just a hermeneutical analysis, but a transpersonal one.

A method such as intuitive inquiry compels one to articulate personal viewpoints and

thus helps protect the credibility and validity of data gathered and analyzed throughout the study.

Additionally, because intuitive inquiry requires deep and iterative engagement with the data, it is

especially well suited for complex questions such as those I explored in this study. Because

intuitive inquiry requires changes of focal depth (Anderson, 1998, pp. 85-86), understood as

alternately seeing the details and then the big picture, the parts and then the whole, each shift

attempts to convey more clarity to the topic. Rickards (2006) also noted that with intuitive

inquiry we risk personal transformation

Through insight we grow, our perspective shifts, and we see our research landscape
differently. With each cycle in intuitive inquiry we enter the intersubjective space
differently (with new learnings gleaned from previous stages) and, therefore, surprise,
awe, and wonderment are constant roadside companions in the intuitive inquiry process.
(p. 34)
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One of the most appealing aspects to me of intuitive inquiry is that it encourages

discernment through meditation, reflection, dreamwork, journaling, and creative expression. I

used all of these practices. I have been meditating regularly for almost 25 years and working

methodically with my dreams for almost as long. My journaling began in the 1970s and

continues to this day, not always consistently, but as a go to practice when I am trying to think

through tough decisions or better understand something confusing in my life. Since I also paint

and play piano, I tried to balance my left-brain modes with the more right-brain processes

throughout my analysis and interpretation. During the dissertation process, I added a twist to all

of these activities. I used techniques for expanding my consciousness and working with my

dreams, which were laid out by Seth. This involved working with my inner senses. Seth

described his exercises this way:

Such exercises aid in the evolution of your consciousness, and will also serve you in
fashions you may not suspect. The acquiescence to your own power will automatically
flow through your experience, activating your dream life as well and providing additional
helpful impetus to your waking reality. You will no longer need to transfer your sense of
power to others. (Roberts, 1974/1994b, p. 342)

Through these practices, I feel I successfully experienced what Anderson (2004) calls intuitive

breakthroughs, those illuminating moments when the data begin to shape themselves before the

researcher (p. 321).

In any hermeneutical analysis, the researcher must try to understand the intention of the

author of the texts being studied, as well as bring his or her own present understandings into the

analysis. Gadamer (1975/1989) said that in hermeneutics one would be misguided in attempting

to apply a forced objectivity or neutrality onto textual analysis. Rather, he believed like

Heidegger (1954/1996) that all readers bring a fore-sight to interpretation, and what would

make that interpretation more scientific would be to assure through discipline that one does
 76

not let fore-having, fore-sight, and fore-conception be given to it [the text] by chance ideas and

popular conceptions, but by. . . developing these in terms of the things themselves (Heidegger,

1954/1996, p. 143). Gadamer (1975/1989) argued persuasively that

A person who is trying to understand a text is always projecting. He projects a meaning

for the text as a whole as soon as some initial meaning emerges in the text. Again, the
initial meaning emerges only because he is reading the text with particular expectations
in regard to a certain meaning. Working out this fore-projection, which is constantly
revised in terms of what emerges as he penetrates into the meaning, is understanding
what is there. (p. 269)

Intuitive inquiry builds on Gadamers idea of embracing the text with a clear awareness of ones

own biases before entering the hermeneutic circle. This is why, as Anderson (2000) says,

establishing a point of view, a perspective, is [emphasis added] the forward arc (p. 32). In fact,

Gadamer (1975/1989) says that prejudice actually helps us understand historical texts if we start

by giving the text what he calls expectations of meaning (p. 294), that is, by giving it credit for

being true, at least from the authors viewpoint. We have to remember that the author of the texts

in question and we ourselves have something in common: we are both interested in the subject

matter. When we approach the text and some aspect does not ring true for us, certain questions

may arise. In this way, our own prejudice is properly brought into play by being put at risk

(Gadamer, 1975/1989, pp. 298-299). Gadamer (1975/1989) goes on to say, that only by being

given full play is it [our prejudice] able to experience the others claim to truth and make it

possible for him to have full play himself (p. 299). This way of approaching the material makes

sense to me. When I read my first Seth book I did not even know what channeling was. As

channeling was explained in that book, I thought to myself how bizarre it was to get information

in that way, and I was skeptical. However, I decided to keep on reading because what I was

reading seemed sensible to me. Seths explanations were more satisfying to me than the
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explanations I received from my schools and church. In other words, I gave the material a chance

on its own merit. I accepted Seths claims to truth.

Earl Babbie, who studied channeling and reported his findings in Robbins and Anthony

(1990/2007), was puzzled by the numerous conflicts between scientific and channeling points of

view. He came to a similar conclusion to the one Gadamer articulated by rejecting both his

scientific prejudice and its alternative, blind faith, in what the entities had to say. Instead, he gave

the channeled material its due by embracing the paradox of the irreconcilability of science and

channeling and by finding a vantage point from which the integrity of both science and

channeling [could] be respected, (Babbie, 1990/2007, p. 265) that is, a transparadigmatic view.

I believe that both Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis and aspects of intuitive inquiry

together helped me get to a similar transparadigmatic vantage point. In fact, the emerging

worldviews explored for this study all make room for just such a transparadigmatic view, and the

developmental theories, as well as Seth, claim that at certain stages of development

transparadigmatic thinking is the norm.

Because of the broad scope of my study, the idea of using several complementary

developmental theories to help frame my analysis seemed judicious. The models these theories

propose could provide structured points of view with which to begin my analysis, as well as a

way for me to organize the data. Packer and Addison (1989) argue that

An interpretation is oriented by the researchers effort to come into the hermeneutic circle
in an appropriate manner . . . guided by the fore-structure that is worked out in this
entering. . . .The interpretation articulates possibilities that are laid out in the researchers
preliminary understanding. (p. 278)

Without such a structure, it would have been hard to know where to begin and easy to get lost in

the voluminous teachings involved in this study. As Anderson stated, THEA is structured to
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create theory from texts through a qualitative analysis of texts using theoretical codes that are

relevant to those texts (R. Anderson, personal communication, May 26, 2011).

Limitation and Delimitations

As ITP graduate Steven Sulmeyer (2001) so succinctly stated in his dissertation,

Limitations are restrictions in the research process that are unavoidable. . . . Delimitations are

restrictions in the research process that are chosen by the researcher via a cost/benefit analysis

(pp. 90-91). With respect to my study, the most obvious limitation is that the material is

purported to have been dictated by a discarnate entity whose status as such is impossible to

verify. Additionally, the channeler and the transcriptionist of the material, Jane Roberts and her

husband Rob Butts, are both deceased and cannot be interviewed or evaluated in any way.

Another limitation, as Professor Paul Cunningham (2011) noted is that

Mediums are personalities and they must interpret the information they receive. . . . This
makes it difficult to distinguish between material whose origin is within the medium yet
outside her (his) normal waking consciousness, and material whose origin is a source
external to the mediums own psyche. (p. 4)

On the other hand, unlike many other mystical or revelatory teachings, the Seth material

was not handed down by oral tradition over centuries with the inherent possibility of editorial

changes in the texts. As Helfrich (2010) noted, The main difference between older perennial

translations and Seths is that his ideas are presented in their original form. The Seth Material has

been directly translated into the English language . . . and his ideas still exist in a state of very

low distortion (p. 6). For the purposes of this study, the limitation created by the inability to

verify the nature of the source of the material is acknowledged. However, the content of the

material is what is being studied, not the mediumship of Jane Roberts or the authenticity of the

Seth entity.
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In terms of delimitations, there is the issue of the sheer volume of material dictated by

Seth and how to narrow it down to something manageable. Because the 49 Jane/Seth books are

voluminous and the content is often repetitive, I have selected only four major works (included

in six books) from the full corpus. They are: Seth Speaks; The Nature of Personal Reality; the

two volumes of Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment; and the two volumes of The

Unknown Reality. After Jane Robertss death, her husband, Rob Butts, published all of the

sessions which had not been published previously during Janes lifetime. There are now nine

volumes of what are called The Early Sessions, and I will sparingly supplement the four major

works with information from some of those early sessions when I think it would add something

original.

Seth speaks on many topics in his many books, commenting often on world events,

Janes or Robs lives, readers inquiries, and many other topics. I kept a running list of all major

topics which I decided not to address. I included that list in Appendix B so that readers can see

what was omitted from my analysis. My intention was to focus mainly on concepts that fit into

the categories of ontology, epistemology, and axiology, in line with the developmental theories I

chose. The Seth books also contain Robs notes for every single session, which comprise perhaps

as much as 30% of the content in some books. Although Robs and occasionally Janes notes add

context and richness to the books, for this study, I limited my analysis mainly to Seths words,

with an occasional note of Robs when it was appropriate.

Finally, the fact that only three developmental theories were used for analysis delimits the

study. The rationale for my choices was explained previously.

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Chapter 4: Results

Data Analysis Overview

There are many types of developmental theories that attempt to explain and predict

human behavior, thought, and development. The developmental theories that were used in this

study (Beck & Cowanss Spiral Dynamics, Sri Aurobindos spiritual evolution, and Wades

noetic theory of human development) are stage theories. A staged progression is spelled out in

detail within each model. Because I knew there would be a lot of repetition of steps as I related

the Seth material to each of the developmental theories, there was a high risk of procedural and

record-keeping confusion. Therefore, I used Atlas.ti qualitative research software (Version

6.2.27) to help me stay organized. This software allowed me to enter a text or a portion of text to

the system and then link that text to as many different theories, codes, or concepts that I wished.

I was also able to write memos that applied to one or more of the codes or quotes, and I was able

to create themes, subthemes, and families of themes that I applied to some codes, all the while

maintaining invisible divisions between the theories so that I could go back and comment on the

results as they related to each discrete theory. Creswell (2007) describes the process that I used

as a spiral in which the researcher moves from the reading and memoing loop to the

describing, classifying, and interpreting loop (p. 151). While looping through the data, I

developed themes, classified concepts, and made iterative attempts at interpretation.

The software does not perform analysis; the researcher does. Qualitative data analysis

software is simply a tool with which to achieve better organization and efficiency. I was able to

query my database to pull up relevant quotes, access memos, visualize patterns among themes,

and use other helpful features. Only the researcher, however, can make sense of the data.

Thankfully, the software made it possible for me to keep track of my changing perceptions
 81

chronologically. I could see for myself, through the software features, how I grew to understand

the Seth texts better and better as time went by. Besides correlating the Seth texts to the chosen

developmental theories, I also created a fourth container in which I captured those Seths ideas

which related to development, acting on my intuition that a full theory would be embedded in

Seths texts. This last step was akin to grounded theory in that I examine[d] the text . . . for

salient categories of information supported by the text (Creswell, 2007, p. 160).

As I went through the Seth texts, I accumulated data that supported each category until I

found more examples than I needed. I developed my own coding paradigm as in grounded theory

only for this fourth container (as described previously) because the developmental theories

represent their own paradigms. Ultimately, I learned as much as I could about the Seth material

so that I could apply that knowledge to emerging American worldview theories, and in doing so I

was able to determine what relationships existed.

Data analysis turned out to be extremely tedious but extremely fruitful. In my previous

limited experience with THEA, the final interpretation for that much smaller project turned out

to be fairly easy and straightforward. THEA forces the researcher to do the heavy lifting during

the coding and matching process. Because this method is so structured, the final step flowed

directly out of the preceding steps. In certain ways, the analysis cannot do otherwise. I had the

same experience this time. The two methods combined exceeded my expectations in terms of

efficacy.

Cycle 1: Clarifying the Research Topic

Although Cycle 1 of intuitive inquiry is where one identifies and clarifies his or her

research topic, I feel that I identified my topic even before selecting my research method or

writing my proposal. I say this because the idea that became the topic was incipient within me
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for several years. The budding idea was a two-pronged affair. It began with my long-time

interest in the Seth material and crystallized when I discovered the developmental theory called

Spiral Dynamics. If there were any one event that might have been responsible for sparking this

dissertation, it would have to be a class that I took on Spiral Dynamics taught by Don Beck,

which I found eye opening. Some context might be helpful. With a career background in

marketing and strategic planning, I had spent a lot of time trying to understand what motivated

people as well as reading consumer trends. Parallel to my business interests, I had a similar

curiosity about personal motivations behind spiritual, political, and social activities and often

thought about how people made meaning in their lives.

I was introduced to the Seth material at a time when I felt mired in the rat race of the

business world and disconnected from my authentic self on many levels. Over many years, I

worked with the concepts offered by Seth and tried applying them to different aspects of my life.

They served me very well. I gradually restructured my life to make it more happy and fulfilling

and, in fact, very little remained the same other than my immediate family relationships. People

started to notice and ask me for advice about changing their own lives.

After I decided to leave my business career, I was sometimes asked to speak to business

groups, especially womens groups, about balanced living, following ones dreams, spirituality,

and so forth. I did not bring up the Seth material on these occasions, but listeners seemed to infer

that I had some secret knowledge. While various individuals sought me out as a mentor, most of

them barely took note if I mentioned how the Seth material had inspired me. They wanted a

quick fix to their problems, not an approach that required alternative thinking, more conscious

decision making, or substantial behavior modification. If that were not enough, there was the

awkward issue of Seths status as a discarnate entity. Although I knew the Seth material made
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for rather difficult reading, Seths suggestions were easy to apply and anyone could try them and

make his or her own judgment about how well they worked. I wondered for a long time why it

was that some people found information like the Seth material worth considering, but others

refused to even look at it. Conversely, some of the things people gave credence to, that made

much less sense to me, were hard for me to fathom.

The notion of worldviews and vMemes put forward in Spiral Dynamics gave me my first

satisfying explanation for these observations. In order to understand a vMeme, however, basic

memes must first be understood. According to Richard Dawkins (1989) who coined the term,

memes work in the culture the same way DNA works in biologyas a kind of replicator; he

called memes units of imitation and units of transmission (p. 192). As Dawkins explained,

memes developed as a new method of replication simply because they could, that is, humanity

and human culture developed the capacity. While DNA had been the only form of replication for

millions of years, changes in culture and communications made this new kind of copying

mechanism plausible. For example, the printing press, worldwide travel, intercontinental

communications, television, and so forth all made meme replication possible in ways that were

previously unavailable. The features that make replicators successful, according to Dawkins, are

(a) longevity, (b) fecundity, and (c) copying fidelity.

One of the problems with meme transmission is that memes mutate as they are passed on.

For example, each time someone repeats a story, sings a tune, or wears a certain style of clothing

the replicated version may be different than the one it mimics; something could get lost or

changed in translation. I wonder if social media networks of our times are creating an even more

advanced form of meme, since when something goes viral on, for example, YouTube, it is

transmitted in its original form, undiluted, to potentially millions of people, almost instantly.
 84

This would seem to obviate Dawkinss concern about mutation. Another problem with memes,

that Dawkins identified, was that people have limited brain space for remembering every meme

they could potentially come in contact with. This too, seems to be a thing of the past, since now

with the Internet, Wikipedia, cloud computing, and so forth, the amount of space for collecting

memories has expanded beyond our physical brains. Even myths, cultural practices, art forms,

and business models can hold memories outside of our minds and yet allow us to use them all the

time.

Ogle (2007), in his book about networks of ideas that exist outside of peoples minds

called these idea spaces (p. 13). An idea space is a domain or world viewed from the

perspective of the intelligence embedded in it (Ogle, 2007, p. 13). According to Ogle, idea

spaces can be worldviews, paradigms, and so forth embodied in publicly shared forms. Just as

we find in Spiral Dynamics, Ogle noted that idea spaces can both reveal and conceal; for

example, they would conceal by limiting the scope of our thinking, unbeknownst to us.

Dawkins thought of memes almost like life forms, which could be either symbiotic or

parasitic with respect to their hosts; they always act in ways that are advantageous to themselves

without regard for the host. Therefore, memes can cause individuals to make decisions based on

conditioning or unchallenged beliefs, which has the perceived benefit of allowing them to

expend the least amount of psychic energy in decision making. For example, if parents taught a

specific right way of doing something, their offspring could go on replicating that method

without ever questioning whether there might be a better way to proceed.

Beck and Cowan (2006) expanded the notion of memes using a quantum physics

analogy; they described memes as particle-like and juxtaposed them to vMemes, which they

claimed had a wave-like function (p. 31). Behavioral instructions could be passed across
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generations like an intellectual virus (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 31). According to quantum

physicist, David Bohm, (as cited in Friedman, 1990, pp. 41-49) the universe is completely

permeated with quantum potential or a field of hidden information that guides what we perceive

as particles in our three-dimensional world. In Bohms theory of the implicate and explicate

orders, he places the quantum potential in the implicate orderan unseen level of reality that is

independent of space and time. Information that is outside our space and time is said to be

nonlocal. While in the Newtonian scheme of the world, a wave carries force, in quantum field

theory, a wave carries information. Information, then, infuses every particle or group of particles

in our universe with a form of consciousness and this is what connects everything in our world.

According to physicist, Norman Friedman (1990)

Any event happening anywhere is immediately available everywhere as information.

Each portion of space contains information about all portions of space. The reason the
classical world appears to us as separate and distinct objects is because the quantum
potential at the macro level is negligible. . . . We are left with a three-dimensional
projection from a multidimensional ground. (p. 54)

In Spiral Dynamics, the term vMeme can be used interchangeably with the term

worldview. In the Spiral Dynamics model, each level or stage of development is defined by
v
Memes or worldviews, acting like attractor (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 31) which serve to

organize and structure ways of thinking at each respective level. Once again, Beck and Cowan

(2006) are using a scientific term from general systems theory to describe the structure and

behavior of vMemes. In systems theory, an attractor is a state or pattern of activity toward which

a system tends to slide of its own accord (Combs, 2002, p. 16). Examples pertinent to Spiral

Dynamics can be found at every level of the spiral. For example, at the lowest level of

development, the Beige or subsistence level, the vMeme is one of survival. The individual at this

level just wants to stay alive and relies on the most primitive habits, instincts, and survival skills
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to find food, water, sex, and safety (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 45). Hunger, for example, would be

an attractor at the Beige level. While the Beige worldview is usually attributed to the first

humans, individuals can spiral backwards to earlier worldviews as well as forward. All of ones

previous worldviews persist within and may be reactivated by life conditions.

Beck (as cited in Roemischer, 2002) said higher-order priorities suddenly vanish in the

midst of personal tragedy, extreme suffering, or deprivation (p. 10). Seth once said, in

discussing frames of reference, that [Ones] goals are conceptualized desires, and once formed

they act in a fashion like magnets, drawing from those vast fields of interrelatedness the kinds of

conditions best suited to their fulfillment (Butts, 1995, pp. 53-54). Combs (2002) said he was

inclined to think of states of consciousness as chaotic attractors which pulled people forward

from stage to stage (he was speaking of spiritual evolution at the time). It is impossible to know

if Seths frames of reference and Combss states of consciousness refer to the exact same thing,

but they seem to refer to similar processes.

While learning about the Spiral Dynamics model, I wondered which worldview Seths

teachings fell into and which vMeme was most influential to me and my thinking. I began to get

a sense of how people on different levels of the spiral might react to channeled material and their

content. I also wondered about the individuals who developed theories and how their own

worldviews affected their thought and research. I began noticing worldviews everywherein

relationships, culture, politics, religion, society, and so forth. For a decade or more I had sensed,

with my marketers intuition, that a new emerging worldview was migrating from the fringes of

society to the mainstream in America and I began to notice that many of its components were

ideas I was familiar with from reading the Seth material.

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As I read about biopsychosocial development in Spiral Dynamics theory, I was intrigued

by the historical tracking of vMemes through known civilizations. Beck and Cowan (2006) had

mapped the spiral stages onto 100,000 years of human history. I was most curious about the in-

between times, the liminal periods. A germ of an idea was forming in me about these transitional

times when information is revealed that may have previously lain dormant. I wondered whether

the mechanism for revelation was a function of the worldviews of the people closest to the cusp

of change, that is, whether there were bellwethers in that regardequivalent to what in the

marketing sphere are called innovators or early adopters. Since I saw the Seth material as a

modern form of wisdom literature, one of the questions that obsessed me was: From what

circumstances, sources, and needs does wisdom literature emanate? I kept this question in mind

as I proceeded through my doctoral program with faith that one day I would be able to answer

this question.

In describing Cycle I of intuitive inquiry, Anderson (2011) recounts leading a class of her

doctoral students through an experiential exercise to help them identify and select a text for

study. Anderson encouraged her students to use various modalities and approaches to delve into

their texts, such as journaling, art making, immersion in nature, dream analysis, and

daydreaming. According to Anderson (2011), by repeatedly engaging with a potential text in

this dialectic process, impressions and insights converge into a focused research topic (p. 36). In

my case, I believe I went through this process over a longer time period instead of one intensive

5- or 6-week period.

At the outset of my doctoral studies I recall being in a group in which each member of

our cohort described and discussed ideas related to potential dissertation topics. Instructors

listened and interjected reactions, questions we might ask ourselves, cautions, and
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encouragement. In that meeting, I inarticulately explained that I wanted to study Seths

assertions about reality and how comparable ideas seemed to me to be surfacing now in the U.S.

I recounted how I increasingly noticed Seths ideas showing up in various areas of our culture

and said that I wanted to explore that phenomenon. I was told that the topic was too broad, that

there was probably nothing I could prove, and that I would not be taken seriouslyat the very

least, the Seth material was likely to be viewed skeptically as a topic for scholarly study. I was

dissuaded from continuing in that direction. Although I understood how all of those critiques

could pose potential problems, I felt that the real problem at that time was that I neither had the

skill to be able to conceive a proper study nor the experience to articulate my goals.

Subsequently, I prayed, incubated dreams from pointed questions to my inner self, asked for

signs from nature, drew and painted to stimulate my creativity, journaled, and meditated with

intention every day. Over many months, I immersed myself in the kinds of experiential activities

that Anderson recommended. Here are several journal entries from this period:

2/26/2010: Extra-long meditation today. Tried to get in touch with my highest guides, my
highest self. Took a long time to let go. Trying too hard. One thing is for sureI feel that
every single thing that has happened in my life has led me to this moment. There are no
accidents. Everything I need to know is either in me or at my fingertips. Now the
question is, How do I put it all together?

3/1/2010: I am very curious to know how movements/ideas/worldviews catch on and

spread.

3/2/2010: I had an amazing thought while showering; Want to get this idea down before
I lose it. Its that perhaps what I want to look at is the relationship between the form
of the source of wisdom and the level of human development of the intended audience
(Spiral Dynamics levels?). For example, in ancient times, the wise man or wise woman
might be consulted about where to find water or foodthat would have been at a time
when people were still at a subsistence level. Both the messenger and the audience might
need to see the source as something/someone they could relate toa bear, the sun, etc.
This may be typical. I think of the abundance literature that began coming out in the
1980s about creating your dream life which seems to be a version readymade for the
Orange Spiral Dynamics levelbased on materialistic values, technological acumen, and
self-determination. Then, thinking back to the Hebrew prophets, their sources were
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thought to be absolute and authoritarian, attractive to people operating from the Blue
v
Meme. Maybe there is something here . . .
Maybe one just cannot understand a level completely until one transcends it.
Maybe that is why different religions and philosophies prevail at different times
because, neurologically, the majority of people are not able to understand a more
complex explanation of the nature of reality. They have not developed enough to move
beyond their present level. That seems like it has potential as a study.

3/10/2010: [after meditating] I wonder if I should look at whether fundamentalist

religious people are turning to their comfort zone for the same reason that people like me
turn to different kinds of wisdom (like Seth). How could that be explored? Also, what is
the relationship between channeled wisdom and what Karen Armstrong calls god-
making?

Almost a year later, coinciding with the time when I was working on my miniproposal (a

short-form, practice proposal), I was still unclear about how to make a study out of what I

wanted to do. Everyone seemed to be moving ahead except me. Here is the fourth dream in a

series of dreams I had in 1 week:

Dream upon waking, exactly as I recorded it on 2/12/11: Woke up with another dream
same theme. I was checking in at school (college?) and was assigned a dorm room on
the 10th floor (I think it reminded me of McVinney where I lived on the 10th floor during
my senior year in college). On the way up I took the stairs. At one floor, the stairway
went straight through the corner of a girls room. She was in there setting up. I was
startled that I was right in her neat little room and apologized. She said, Oh, dont worry.
Thats okay, which I thought was weird. It was clearly not okay.
My room had a window that looked over the ocean. It almost seemed that the
building was standing in the water, thats how close it seemed. I had a roommate who
was already there setting up. I dont remember seeing her, but I spoke with her. I looked
out the window and there was a big storm. It was raining and very windy. There were
huge waves crashing into the building. Suddenly, we heard a creaking noise and then a
distinct, downward shift. The room had moved or dropped an inch or two. I said to my
roommate, We cant stay here; its not safe.
I went back downstairs to tell someone and to make other arrangements. At some
point I realized that I had left my pocketbook up in that room and Id have to go back up
there to get it.
This time I think I took the elevatordid not go back through that girls room
again. Downstairs, I was in a side room off the dining room/breakfast room. Slightly
ahead of where I was, was some kind of hall or reception area. I was heading towards
there. It was busy and crowded where I was standing. A couple of people came out of the
breakfast room. One was an old guy and he surreptitiously passed me a few coins or
tokens from his pocket as he walked by. He was proud of himself, seemed very pleased
with himselflike he had done some great deed. The coins were a pittance, but I didnt
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say anything. He was an older man and I figured he didnt realize it wasnt really such a
big deal.
I remember seeing a male administrator (like a priest at P.C.) in the hall and
telling him about my unsafe room. He seemed tired and frazzled and just said, Dont
worry; its really fine and safe.
Now, same dream kind of a different part: I was now outside and there were again
a lot of people around. They seemed to be new arrivals, like me. There were some people
in buffet lines getting food and some others were at other stands. I dont know what they
were for.
Paul [my husband] seemed to be with me but not right beside mehe was
lagging, talking to people. I was looking for a table. At this time, I noticed my
pocketbook was now hanging on my shoulder.
I found an empty table way on the edge of the crowd. I rolled it even further away
and pulled up a few chairs. I wanted to put my purse down to hold it, but didnt want to
leave it there unattended. I could see Paul, but he was still a distance away. I started
walking toward the food [I think] but I looked back and saw that three or four guys were
just sitting down at my table. I went right over, and said I just rolled this table over here
for me and my husband. They got right up and said okay [not mad or apologetic either],
but they did what I wanted.
Now I could see Paul in the food line, but I couldnt really go there because I had
to hold the table. It was a bit frustratingbut, Id say that the overall feeling (or word I
would use to describe the dream) was UNRESOLVED. Thats it. I woke up.

As my dream reveals, my dissertation process at that time was making me feel alone, un-

nourished, frustrated, anxious, and emotional, among other feelings. I wanted to move on and not

to identify with the girl who was happy to let strangers walk right through her room. I interpret

that to mean having others define my topic for me. There were obviously power issues surfacing

that had the feel of old, out-of-touch patriarchal power structures that I was familiar with. I could

feel that it was time to call on my animus energy to get things moving.

During the following year, I skirted all around the topic, writing my doctoral qualifying

paper on the esoteric wisdom contained in channeled material. This, I think, was in response to

all the skeptical feedback I received about the origin of the Seth material. If I could show how it

was similar to revelatory information from various ages and cultures, it would have to be taken

seriously, would it not? I also contemplated a quantitative survey about how many of Seths

ideas were evident in mainstream beliefs, and I researched the possibility of qualitative
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interviews with some of the original students who met weekly when Jane Roberts channeled Seth

back in the 1960s and 1970s. I feel that all of the exploration and work that I did during that time

was beneficial. I needed the background in esoteric wisdom traditions to better understand the

Seth material and to put it into historical context; drafting questions for a quantitative survey

helped me verbalize my own questions; and networking with Seth students both in the U.S. and

abroad introduced me to many knowledgeable people who have since volunteered to read my

work for validation purposes as I proceed. Yet, I was not satisfied that any of these potential

directions addressed my basic desire to get at new worldviews and Seths connection to them.

As time was running out for me to begin my proposal, I enrolled in a class with

Rosemarie Anderson called Advanced Topics in Human Development. In this class, we engaged

in character analysis of some of the archetypal characters from blockbuster movies using an

assortment of developmental theories as the framework for our study. I chose to use Spiral

Dynamics (Beck & Cowan, 2006) and Andersons Body Map (R. Anderson, personal

communications, January 16, 2011). This class and this method of analysis struck me like a

lightning bolt. Almost immediately after applying the method, I felt sure that I could use the

same one to analyze the Seth material. I asked my professor about it and, although she was

hesitant at first, she later agreed that it might make my dissertation topic more manageable and

researchable. It seemed like a lucky coincidence that I took this class just when I needed it but I

do not believe in luck or coincidence.

My new topic Worldviews in Transition, approached from the framework of

developmental theory, met all of my goals and desires. Some might see this as just the natural

evolution of an idea from inception to full development; Seth, on the other hand, would describe

it as conscious reality creation brought about by the intensity of my beliefs and desires.
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During this process that I am calling Cycle I, the way that I knew that I was on the right

path or the wrong path was the way I typically make that judgment: by following my intuition,

noticing synchronicities, observing when my efforts were met with too much resistance or when

things fell easily into place, and by my level of motivation. These ways have served me well for

nearly 40 years and I have come to trust them, even if I still occasionally overrule themto

my detriment.

Throughout the year 2011, I experienced a great many synchronicities relative to my

proposal and dissertation. For example, I would be contemplating something I did not quite

understand, would get in the car and turn on the radio only to hear an expert discussing the very

topic I had just been pondering. This happened more than once. A few times I happened to be

dusting my bookshelves at home and my attention fell on an old book I had not noticed for years.

Scanning the jacket cover I would realize that the book contained just the information I needed at

the precise moment when I was confused about a topic. There are far too many examples to list

them all, but here are some entries from my synchronicity and dream journals as well as from my

daily diary. The first one involves a nature walk I took at a time when I had to decide whether to

start over with my dissertation proposal because I felt ready to go back to the original topic on

worldviews rather than my newer topic on esoteric wisdom traditions. In my journal, I used

embodied writing to help me get in touch with nature and seek some answers:

2/18/11: Well, this was the first outdoor walk in many weeks because of wintervery
cold this year with three blizzards in 6 weeks. Today, however it is about 55 degrees,
sunny, with a gentle wind.
Dressed with only two thin layers and an outer vest, I headed out after setting a
conscious intention to be open to guidance about my proposal. Leaving my driveway and
heading up the slope of the road to the main road, I immediately questioned whether I
was dressed too warmly. The sun on my head and my back penetrated instantly. I
warmed as quickly as I once did from hot flashes! But I stopped, turned my attention to
the wind, which is always a big factor in our weather here by the ocean, and decided I
was good to go.
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Before I even reached Nayatt Rd., I was aware of all the birdsongmourning
doves mostly, but geese and sea birds too. As I walked past the hedge of lilac bushes, dry
and packed with dead autumn leaves at their bases, I startled a dove and she, me. The
sudden movement as she flew off made me jump. As I turned onto the main road, I
checked in with myself to see if I was present so that I wouldnt miss any signs coming
my way.
The first thing I noticed was a limp and crumpled red velvet bow on the Hallss
street lampa leftover from Christmas, which seems a long time ago. It looked pathetic
on this spring-like day.
For a while my attention was distracted by the many puddles and potholes, where
the winter had done the worst damage to the road. I sized up my odds of being splashed
and decided I would be okay; but if I got a little wet, I didnt care. I could feel the pieces
of broken gravel and ruts underfoot as I walked carefully. The sun sparkled on the
waterthis is the best time of day to see the water in this spot. I took it all in with
gratitude, saying a little thank you prayer to the Universe. It was a lot cooler as I turned
the next corner and headed north.
I questioned myself, What do you notice? Melting popped into my head. The
snow and ice is melting everywhere. I can see it, but especially I can hear it, little streams
running down the sides of the road, crackling noises under the heaps of ice, and persistent
drips from within the branches of shrubs and overgrowth.
Everything is changing form. A sign. Yes. My proposal is changing form. The
hardened formations are breaking down. They have tothey can no longer be sustained.
To confirm my insight, I see huge branches down on the ground where theyve fallen
under the heavy weight of snow. Looking sadly at them, I see that some of them looked
fine on the outside, but their cores are rottedthe inner life of them had left long before
the snows came.
On I walked, now contemplating the emergence of springnew life, new ideas,
mating birds, fertilityThe precursor to summer when nature will be at her peak.
I am in a natural cycle. Like the patience required of pregnancy, my goals cant be
rushed. They will develop in their own time with my help and love.

9/11/11: Had an insight about developmental theories as they relate to my dissertation.

Allan Combs in his article on Evolutionary Transpersonal Psychology of
Consciousness talked about that Spiral Dynamics concept of swings from individuation
to community mindedness. I had commented in my literature review how some New
Agers have evolved into New Paradigm thinkersthat is, they transmuted their focus
from self-improvement/development to other centered social consciousness. This must
be an indication that the attractors (memes) must be different now for those with new
worldviews. Just as a meme shift happened in the 1960s prompting individuation, this
now may be its inverse. What are the conditions influencing worldviews now?

9/13/11: I have to write again how I am strongly sensing that everything is falling
together perfectly. This terms courses are perfectly timed to my needs. I am learning
exactly what I need to know now to complete my proposal and dissertation. It is really
quite amazing.
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9/26/11: Funny thing happened. I worked like crazy over the weekend to make the final
changes [to my proposal]. Raced to get to the post office on Saturday before it closed.
Got there 5 minutes too late; I could still see the clerks inside closing out their tills.
But, it was a good thing because when I went home, I reread the whole thing and
found the document I had printed out was missing five pages. Not only that, I found at
least a dozen typos! So today, I corrected everything and got it in the mail. Thank you to
all my helpers. I know you are watching out for me and protecting me.

Cycle 2: Developing the Preliminary Interpretive Lenses

In Cycle 2, the researcher familiarizes herself with historical, empirical, theoretical, and

other materials relevant to her topic and narrows her focus to a limited but especially relevant

few. Thereafter, she spends weeks or months engaging in dialogue with these texts and records

insights and understandings of the material in her journal. Before I began my doctoral program, I

spent decades reading all about metaphysics, philosophy, ethics, religion, quantum physics, and

spirituality because these are topics that I find very interesting. My extensive personal library is

filled with books whose margins are replete with annotations, including many mentions of how

the content agrees with concepts from the Seth material. There definitely seemed to me to be a

positive trend showing more related information in the more recently published books. I felt that

somehow these ideas were propagating, but only a very small percentage of the authors ever

made mention of Jane Roberts or Seth.

Before I conducted my literature review for this dissertation, I did not know that

worldview theory was a discrete field of study. When I began to research the topic of

worldviews, I found a great deal of information on the scientific worldview versus the religious

worldview. However, I was more interested in a different and more recent worldview, one that

seemed to bridge these two older modes and indeed to transcend them. The works of several

authors were mentioned repeatedly in all of the articles I read. I purchased their books and

studied them enthusiastically. Some of the authors also had online video presentations available;
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I was able to listen to radio interviews they had given over the years; and a few had courses

available on CDs or DVDs which I bought and watched or listened to. It was no chore to

immerse myself in this material. I found the material so engaging that I had to tear myself away

from it to attend to the rest of life; even my coursework seemed like a distraction from my

intense focus on worldviews. Several of these authors are transpersonal psychologists and I

noticed many connections between my class material and the books I was studying. The primary

works that I engaged with during Cycle 2 were by Willis Harman, Allan Combs, Fritjof Capra,

Stuart Rose, Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson, Edmund J. Bourne, Wouter J. Hanegraaff,

Catherine Albanese, Mark Woodhouse, and Marilyn Mandala Schlitz. They all wrote about

emerging worldviews and some of them coined names for the worldviews they observed; some

based their books on quantitative or qualitative studies, others conducted meta-analyses of

others research and identified overarching patterns and themes.

Throughout the period of engagement with these texts the classes I was taking for my

doctoral program all required one or more papers to be written. Somehow, I managed to bring

worldviews into most of the papers I wrote during an entire year or more. I believe this was all

part of the dialectical process that is intuitive inquiry. The academic papers gave me an

opportunity to try out my preliminary lenses even as I was attempting to articulate them. Part of

what motivated me to apply to ITP in the first place was my feeling that new ideas and solutions

(many of the ones contained in the emerging worldviews that are the focus of this study) were

sorely needed in the world. I thought that qualities and skills such as wholeness, synthesis,

cooperation, wisdom, intuition, detachment, and so forth might be able to help us address the

prevalent problems of our day. My preliminary lenses, which follow next, represent my

worldview as well as what I think about my topic. My preliminary interpretive lenses reveal what
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I believe about the nature of reality, how I construct meaning, and the values that ground my

actions in the world:

1. What one believes to be the true nature of reality affects everything that one believes

possible or impossible in life; it colors all thoughts, actions, motivations, and so forth.

2. People desire to understand their world and always have, resulting in our

philosophies, religions, sciences, and the foundation for all worldviews.

3. What people aspire to in this life is happiness or as the classical philosophers might

say the good, the true, and the beautiful.

4. While some people concern themselves with what comes after this lifetime, no one

can ignore the here and now completely.

5. Worldviews contain both theoretical and practical values.

6. Wisdom can develop with experience, reflection, self-awareness, compassion, and

humilitymost of all with practice.

7. If people believed they were equipped to successfully handle the world with all of its

challenges, they would have less fear and anxiety, and consequently be less angry,

aggressive, jealous, hopeless, and so forth.

8. When one surrenders to the universe, that is, stops fighting against it and instead uses

the flow of universal energy positively and consciously, great results are possible and

less effort is required.

9. Everything in the universe is connected in a living web, communicating through an

unseen network of a nonlocal character.

10. When a person attempts to buck the prevailing paradigm, he or she is often faced with

obstacles, ridicule, scorn, alienation, and jealousy.

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11. If one is able to overcome the forces of negativity, the result can be a liberating and

motivating feeling of personal power.

12. Every person comes into this life with a motivating impulse to create a life that

fulfills his or her personal and unique values.

13. Wisdom entails maximizing ones own potential, but never at the expense of another.

14. Using wisdom pragmatically can improve relationships, increase problem-solving

abilities, help potentiate all people, and make life more efficacious and enjoyable.

15. Wisdom represents a high state of consciousness and lies at the leading edge of

evolutionary development. It is an aspect of the life force creating and expanding.

As I moved on and worked with my data, studying the chosen Seth texts using three

developmental theories as tools for analysis, my preliminary lenses changed. My revised lenses

are spelled out in Cycle 4.

Cycle 3: Collecting Data

Prerequisite organization. In writing the Method section of this dissertation, I had to

make assumptions about how the data collection and analysis would flow. Until I began,

however, there was no way of knowing just what would work or the exact steps I would need to

follow. This is the first time that anyone is using this method so I could not turn to the experience

of others to learn what had been tried, what had worked or failed to work.

I made the strategic decision to formally enter the hermeneutic circle by rereading the six

Seth books that I had selected as my texts for study. Because I know how voluminous the Seth

material ishow the topics recur in many different places throughout the corpus, sometimes in a

single sentence here or thereand how repetitious the material isalthough subtlety is built up

over timeI decided to organize the Seth material as a first step and used Atlas.ti to do so. As I
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read sentences and paragraphs (my meaning units), I noted keywords that could identify the

sections and linked all textual units on the same topic by keyword; at this stage I did not try to

analyze or interpret anything.

Hermeneutics demands that a researcher approach the reading of texts as a reflective

process of repeated re-readings (Packer & Addison, 1989, p. 6). I knew I would be going back

to read these texts many times in the months ahead. I felt that as I began to read the Seth material

against the backdrop of each developmental theory, that I would want to be able to look at

everything Seth said on a topic at one time and that I would need to be able to find all those

mentions in whatever book they occurred. I determined that it would be inefficient and

confusingmost likely impossibleto begin without this kind of preliminary organization.

Another strategic decision I made prior to beginning my analysis was to identify the components

of a worldview and to cull only quotations from the Seth material related to worldviews. I had

said in the Method section that I would only use relevant portions of the Seth material, but at that

time had not thought hard about what would make a portion of text relevant or how I would

recognize it. I had also promised in my proposal to keep track of the textual content that I was

choosing not to use. Using this preliminary keyword organizational strategy, I was able to mark

all aspects of the text which I chose not to use with the term uncoded.

In order to be sure that I understood all the components of worldviews I had to

supplement my previous literature review with additional study of worldview theory whereas

previously I was learning only about specific worldviews. What I found was that while

discussion of worldviews is widespread across many disciplines, there is not a lot of theoretical

scholarship on the topic. One thing that Koltko-Rivera (2004) made explicit in his meta-analysis

of worldview theory was that there are two major approaches to worldviews: categorical and
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dimensional. Categorical schemes categorize individuals into groups, whereas dimensional

models differentiate individuals with respect to degree or level of the target construct (Koltko-

Rivera, 2004, p. 5). This is an important distinction. All three of the developmental models used

in this analysis are dimensional; that is, they describe systems not people. Beck in a 2002

EnlightenNext article (as cited in Roemischer, 2002) said about Spiral Dynamics vMemes:

Since memes [sic] are not types of people but forms of adaptive intelligences in people
. . . Different people possess different fragments, or components, or even versions, and
this makes the formation of what I would call creative brain syndicates with insightful
interactions and dialogues even more important. (p. 24)

This feature applies to the all three theories in this study. Although they are beyond the

scope of this paper and limits are always necessary, some of the alternative worldview theories

that exist provide interesting outlooks that could have added even more depth to this study. Some

of these include ideas about motivation and world outlook (Maslow, 1970), philosophies of

human nature (Wrightsman, 1964), the approaches to knowledge of reality model (Royce, 1964),

and the mystical worldview (Stace, 1960), among others. Nevertheless, I was able to find

common components among the dimensional models and I decided to use these as reference

points in my analysis. These seven dimensions of worldviews (or some combination of them)

were included in the dimensional worldview theories that I studied:

1. Ontologybeliefs about the nature of reality.

2. Epistemologybeliefs about how knowledge is attained and how meaning is made.

3. Agencybeliefs about ones ability to control and influence life and the world.

4. Axiologybeliefs about values, aesthetics, and ethics.

5. Praxeologyrelating to practice or behavior.

6. Teleologybeliefs about the design or purpose of the universe.

7. Ideologythe body of doctrine, myth, and symbols within a stage, group, or class.
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All of these data included in this study fall into one of these categories. The reason I

made this decision was to ensure that I would be able to answer my research question when the

analysis was completed. Again, my research question was: What insights can be gleaned from an

examination of the Seth material as it pertains to human development and how might those

insights supplement our understanding of emerging 21st-century American worldviews? There is

a circular quality to this analysis beyond the hermeneutic circle. First, worldviews are an

essential aspect of development theory, especially stage theories. Second, developmental models

are used here as the lenses for studying worldviews. There is a chicken-versus-egg quality to the

analysis. What complicates this study even further is that I am examining not only Seths

worldview but 21st century emerging American worldviews as well. For this reason, being clear

about exactly what worldviews encompass seemed critical.

As to the sequence of my analysis, that is, my decision to reread the Seth material before

taking up the developmental theories, it is important to note that I had, prior to beginning the

study, already studied these developmental theories. They were not new to me. I came upon Sri

Aurobindos work several years ago in articles on spiritual development and, over the course of 2

years, read his master work, The Life Divine (1914/1990) as well as his Secret of the Veda

(1995). When I read Aurobindo, I was startled by the similarities, in certain particulars, between

his teachings and Seths. It struck me as incongruous that there should be similarities since

Aurobindos theory emphasized theism and mysticism so strongly, while I had always thought of

Seth's teachings as secular. I knew I needed to delve deeper to understand how and why they

seemed related. I read Jenny Wades book on her noetic theory of the human development for a

class in my doctoral program prior to writing my proposal, as well. I was surprised to find when I

read Wades theory that topics like a transcendent source of awareness, reincarnation, psi
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phenomena, and mysticism were addressed. These are all concepts discussed in the Seth material

and, once again, I felt that there was something to be learned from studying her theory and the

Seth material together, even if my ideas were inchoate at that time. I have already made clear my

multiyear involvement with Spiral Dynamics.

Finally, as mentioned previously, I have been reading and rereading the Seth material for

decades. Yet in the past I read those books, not as a scholar, but as a casual, albeit interested,

reader. I had always wanted to study the texts more deeply, but in all honesty, did not know how

to do that. The doctoral program taught me how to critically study, analyze, and interpret

information. Combined with the discovery of organizational software Atlas.ti, my goal at last

seemed achievable. Suddenly, I had the tools to fulfill this longtime dream and all the

experiences of my life and education came together to afford me the opportunity. As my

preliminary lenses in Cycle 2 reveal, in my belief system, this occurrence is not a lucky

coincidence. I believe that everything is connected at some level, that the present is pulled

forward from the future and influences ones choices and decisions in each present moment.

My life interests and career both have centered on emerging ideas. I have been called a

possibility thinker, always inquisitive about what lies over the horizon. My career took me into

marketing, where I practiced understanding and using human motivation to creatively market

products and services. Later, I became involved with strategic planning for businesses and

nonprofits. This demanded taking a wide-angle view, reading trends, assessing the environment

or value climate of an industry and its constituencies. Worldview is a big part of this kind of

work, although that term was not popular in the business world or business literature at the time

when I was practicing.

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Once I had organized the Seth material, it was time to delve into each developmental

theory. I knew that I would have to understand intimately the various stages and the rationale for

each of them. Further, I needed to consider the overarching assumptions each theory comprised,

identify the boundaries each set up, and familiarize myself with the language and terminology

each used, because they each approached development from a different perspective.

Just as I had done with the Seth material, I reread the main developmental texts, and did a

preliminary coding of the key components. Along, the way I also wrote comments and memos as

questions were raised in my mind. Sometimes I did not clearly understand something and I had

to go to back and forth between the original source material and some secondary expert sources

to get additional perspective. This was especially an issue with the Aurobindo material. I had

heard and read that one could spend a lifetime studying Aurobindo, it is that complex. This is

undoubtedly true. There are, however, some Aurobindo experts who have done just that and their

books and articles were helpful to me (e.g., Chauduri, 1951/1973; Cornlissen, 2004; Kleinman,

2006; and Miovic, 2005). All of this took several months. Before I could apply these theories to

the Seth texts, I felt I had to understand them more fully than I had at the proposal stage. I

decided to try to understand them from the worldview that they represented. This was confusing,

since stage theories define the stages in terms of worldviews. I found myself wondering over and

over again how someone could propose a theory unless he or she was at the highest level the

theory recognized (or close to the highest, where they might be able to get occasional glimpses

of the higher levels intelligence systems). I read in many different books and articles that

operating from a lower stage prevents one from understanding higher ones, but assures

understanding of all the lower levels. Wade (1996) said, Higher stages of consciousness

comprehend lower stages, but the reverse is not true (p. 267). A long time would go by before I
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could find a satisfactory way to assimilate this quirk of developmental theory. Here from Beck

and Cowan (2006) is one explanation of how the stratification of intelligence operates:

Recognize that you will think about this Spiral intelligence through the vMemes that are
presently active in your own mind, and that will produce the metaphors and perspectives
that fit for you. Someone else will see aspects of the model differently. (p. 50)

This seems to mean that one can read about a developmental stage that one has not internalized

yet, but will not interpret what one reads in the same way as someone who has attained that

intelligence/value system.

While I was working on these reading and organizational activities, I was simultaneously

engaged in working toward the other goal of my dissertation: to use Seths Inner Senses

Exercises while working on my analysis. Synchronistically, within a day or two of the last day

of classes in early January, 2012, I received an e-mail inviting me to enroll in a Seth Intensive

Study Class which would be an immersion in the experiential exercises (R. Stack, personal

communication, January 5, 2012) offered throughout the Seth material. I joined the class along

with about 50 others and entered into what I can only describe as a multidimensional journey

through reality. Working with these other Seth students, being able to share experiences, discuss

reactions and meanings, and to tap the instructor for more information, gave me a far better

experience than I could ever have had on my own. The instructor was one of Jane Robertss

students who had attended more than 100 live sessions with Seth. He had tape recordings of

these sessions and we listened to several sessions with Seth speaking through Jane. They

provided a sense of Seths personality that I never fully realized from the books alone. One of the

techniques we experimented with, although not technically one of Seths exercises, was an

alternate sleep schedule, which Seth strongly advocated. Seth recommended sleeping 6 hours or

fewer per night with two short daytime naps. This practice, together with a form of meditation
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which Jane and Rob called psy-time, often left me in a dreamy/fluid state while awake and

improved my nighttime dream recall during the experiment. In addition, our class did many

exercises on belief work which involves identifying core beliefs, observing thoughts all

throughout the day, noticing the connection between thoughts and beliefs, noticing limiting

beliefs, and finally supplanting limiting beliefs with more productive ones. The total class

experience was exceptional, and I plan to keep practicing with these techniques even though the

class ended.

My intention in adding the experiential piece to my dissertation process was to get me in

touch with non-ordinary or transpersonal ways of knowing, using what Seth called the inner

senses. In fact, I experienced many insights during or immediately after practicing psy-time each

day. I kept a journal beside me while I meditated and captured thoughts as they arose. An entire

outline for this section came to me in a single, effortless burst of writing done immediately upon

rousing myself from a psy-time meditation. There was literally no effort involved, even though I

had been laboring over the question of how to organize this exposition for several days

beforehand.

One last decision I wish to explain is that throughout this four-part analysis section I have

purposely chosen to use extensive quotes from each of the theorists, including Seth, to show

exactly how I came to my conclusions about similarities and differences, contradictions and

distinctions among them. I felt it was very important for the reader to see the theorists own

words, to reassure that I am not reading things into my interpretation that are not there.
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Applying Beck and Cowans spiral dynamics lens.

Overall frame of reference. In order to put the theory of Spiral Dynamics in context, one

must look back to Clare Gravess Emergent, Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of Adult Human

Biopsychosocial Systems (E-C) theory on which Spiral Dynamics is based. The posthumously

edited records and notes from Gravess research show that Graves (as cited in Cowan &

Todorovic, 2005) saw his theory as a multidisciplinary approach to human nature and

behavior, (p. vi) drawing from psychology, sociology, biology, education, systems theory,

anthropology, history, and brain sciences. Graves was able to perceive relationships among all of

these disciplines that he felt others could not necessarily see and he hoped that his theory would

bridge these various fields and perspectives. Graves described his theory as biopsychosocial

because it takes into account the biological, psychological and sociological and cultural factors

that drive human emergence. Despite the purported integrality of Gravess theory, it nevertheless

evidences a materialist and positivist worldview for the most part. Graves did not by intention

bring intuitional or introspective ways of attaining knowledge into the development of his model,

unlike Aurobindo whose model was perceived and developed through his own experience of his

spiritual nature and through mystical revelation.

In Roemischer (2002) we learn that Don Beck, after a time working in the field with

Clare Gravess model, began adding spiritual to the biopsychosocial modifier when referring to

Spiral Dynamics. Beck (as cited in Roemischer, 2002) said

I believe that the eighth meme codeTURQUOISEwill rise in conjunction with the
seventh, YELLOW. You could think of YELLOW as left brain with feelings and
TURQUOISE as right brain with data. TURQUOISE will focus on the larger waves
and energy flows and will work on behalf of the Life Force itself, in its many
manifestations in life-forms on the planet. The Second Tier thought structures will
combine elements of YELLOW and TURQUOISE in searching for the quality and depth
of thinking that can deal with complex problems. And with this is the recognition that the
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whole spiral itself is spiritual and that were on this upward ladder of human emergence.
Thats spirituality. (p. 24)

Nevertheless, Beck did not change the stance from which the model was created. So, even

though the idea of information being received from a physically transcendent source appears in

the Turquoise stage, that kind of information was not influential in development of the overall

model. As we will see, Jenny Wade (1996) generally refers to this type of model which is based

on empirical observations as Newtonian paradigm-based (p. 2). I dont believe that is quite

right in this case, however, because Clare Graves himself (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005)

wrote that

We continue to take one set of assumed general principles, those of classical physics, and
continue to generalize them to develop most psychologies of man. We do this though it
may be that some other set of general principles is more appropriate to the task. . . . Now,
however, we are beginning to see . . . the need to look at personality in a more extensive
way. . . . And we have started to see that a different set of general principles, possibly
those of General Systems Theory, are more appropriate than those of classical physics.
(p. 150)

So it appears Graves was sensing the inadequacy of the prevailing scientific paradigm of his

times, open to new thinking resulting from scientific discoveries of the 20th century, including

quantum physics and general systems theory, but he did not yet know the extent of the

ramifications new levels of development were revealing about knowledge and so could not

incorporate them into his model. Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) presciently

remarked,

New types of contact with the cosmos will be released and new ethical concepts will be
formulated. New insights across academic disciplines will emerge and some old barriers
to interdisciplinary study will disappear. . . .The future course of adult personality
research, within this new and developing point of view, will not follow a continuation of
the methods borrowed from physics, physiology or the older psychologies. But, it will not
view the older methods as outmoded. Rather it will see them as more narrow, the newer
as the more encompassing. (p. 152)
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It is very important to distinguish between the worldview of the theorists who develop

these models and the worldviews that pertain to the various levels within their models. In Spiral

Dynamics it is physical reality that is being described throughout the entire model; this is not a

metaphysical model. In fact, Cowan and Todorovic (n.d.) said that Graves paid relatively little

attention to the realm of mysticism and spirituality, religion or religiosity, because he viewed the

expression of those aspects of human nature as sub-components of our psychology, not driving

forces in themselves (SD and spirituality, para. 40). All evidence for Gravess theory is

gathered using the five physical senses. Other than for those who knew Graves personally, it is

impossible to say categorically what he, as the original theorist, thought about the purpose of the

universe, how he perceived his own agency, or what his personal values or spiritual leanings

were. Yet, it is probably safe to make certain assumptions. Graves, Beck, and Cowan could all be

described as adept at dealing with complex and abstract concepts and able to take big-picture

views; they argued that all levels have value and are important to the health of the ever-emerging

spiral. As the stages of development are defined in the next section, it will become clear that

these are second-tier characteristics. This was one of the pieces of data I processed as I continued

to think about whether the theorist had to be at one of the highest levels of his or her theory.

Another feature of Spiral Dynamics is that it does not espouse any set of beliefs,

practices, or values overall, other than achievement of health along the whole spiral. The ways in

which this is accomplished are both practical and nonjudgmental. Beck and Cowan (2006) speak

of spiral wizards (p. 107) as change agents who are able to understand all of the levels of the

spiral and who know how to facilitate appropriate movement of individuals either horizontally

from unhealthy to healthy activities or vertically from one level to the next through

transformative change. Spiral wizards do want to help people move to more complex ways of
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thinking when appropriate, but only if their Life Conditions and neurological programming have

prepared them for that change. People can be very happy and content at any level on the spiral.

Here is Beck and Cowans (2006) explanation of healthy and unhealthy vMemes
v
Memes themselves are neither good nor bad, healthy nor unhealthy, positive nor
negative. . . . Healthy vMemes are those that allow or even facilitate the positive
expression of other vMemes on the evolving Spiral, even though they may be in
competition for influence. (p. 42)

This quote seems a bit contradictory but, in its broadest context, it means that this

hierarchical system acknowledges higher levels of complexity at each successive level of the

spiral, but does not judge the preceding levels as being inferior. He or she has adapted to

different circumstances and from above can see the previous levels in their entirety.

At this point it seems prudent to caution the reader, as well as to remind myself, that

Spiral Dynamics is a theoretical model. Clare Graves himself said that these levels are merely

constructs and do not actually exist as independent things. There is fluidity within the system as

life conditions change and people move up and down the spiral. Sudden stress can cause old

patterns to rise to the surface automatically. The organization of someones life may be mixed,

rather than pure; in certain areas of life someone might use highly complex thinking, for example

in a job function; but the same person might function at a lower level of complexity in terms of

personal relationships. Many people remain predominantly at one level for their entire lives.

This system is a way of thinking about human development, but not the only way. It is a

tool, not the truth. I keep reminding myself that the people promoting the model as a product

in the marketplace are using it in a different fashion than the original conceiver, Clare Graves,

thought about when he did the original research. In this analysis, Spiral Dynamics is being used

as a tool of perception, just as the other theories are and I, as well as everyone else who uses it,

cannot help but put an individual interpretation upon it.

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The first tier.

The beige stage. Spiral Dynamics begins tracking humanity at Level 1, Beige, which runs

from the time of the earliest human-type species through 100,000 years ago and may even

include some modern indigenous tribes that have been mainly untouched by outsiders. On an

individual level, Beige is also operative in infancy. An obvious caveat to this levels description

is that the theory has been projected onto that time based on what is theorized about early

humans, since there are not records from the time periods in question. According to Beck and

Cowan (206),

A healthy Beige system intertwines with nature and can access senses that most of us
have lost. . . . Although modern science does not understand it, the Beige vMeme seems
to have intuitions about impending events (better access to the Time dimension, perhaps)
and to possess a unique spatial awareness. . . . Might a remote viewing,
out-of-body capacity be part of our deep brain repertoire of survival skills covered
over by several thousand years of rational thought? (p. 200)

While Spiral Dynamics speculates about the features of the Beige intelligence system and

the reasons behind them, Seth gives a specific and unique account of this systems nature and

how it came to be. According to Seth, the physical world that we are familiar with existed prior

to emergence into three-dimensional reality in an inner realm, a nonphysical state that also

included every other possible or probable reality. This realm is called by Seth the spacious

present (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 886, p. 56). According to Seth, All That Is was created all

at once in an unimaginable burst of creativity, all of the progeny that would ever appear in three-

dimensional reality as well as in every other type of reality. Phylogenesis in Seths terms is not to

be equated with evolution the way it is currently understood. Seth said that:

The world came into being in the same way that any idea does. The physical world
expands in the same way that any idea does. . . . There was no evolution in linear terms,
but vast explosions of consciousness, expansions of capacities, unfoldings on the parts of
all species, and these still continue. They are the inner manipulations with which
consciousness presents itself. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 887, pp. 160-161)
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Seths full creation story will be covered in the Aurobindo section. Once Divine

Creativity dreamed into existence all possible manifestations of itself, that which was created

was consciousness units (CUs)the smallest building blocks of reality, which, in Seths

explanation, are able to transform themselves into all the facets of nature and every living

species. According to Seth:

Metaphysically, they [CUs] can be thought of as the point at which All That Is acts to
form [your] worldthe immediate contact of a never-ending creative inspiration, coming
into mental focus, the metamorphosis of certainly divine origin that brings the physical
world into existence from the greater reality of divine fact. Scientifically, again, the units
can be thought of as building blocks of matter. Ethically, the CUs represent the
spectacular foundations of the world in value fulfillment, for each unit of consciousness
is related to each other, a part of the other, each participating in the entire gestalt of
mortal experience. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889, p. 170)

CUs have the quality of both a particle and a wave. In their wavelike aspect they move

faster than the speed of light and can be in all places at once. Those CUs that would eventually

become human consciousness as we know it existed first in a kind of pseudo form which Seth

called a dream body. The kind of reality that these consciousnesses existed in could best be

understood as a dream world that was itself formed by consciousness; Seth said that, in the

beginning, the CUs gradually became awake within physical reality, but still rest[ed] often

within [their] ancient divine heritage (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 883, p. 131).

Seth called these pre-humans Sleepwalkers because their main concentration was still

in the dream world even though they were beginning to experiment with physical reality. In fact,

Seth said that humans learned to walk while in this stage and thus the name Sleepwalkers. The

kind of consciousness experienced in the dream body is totally subjective. According to Seth, the

Sleepwalkers had bodies some of which looked like ours but they operated perfectly and

effortlessly, were not diseased or defective in any way, and had some abilities that surpassed

ours. They were as agile as animals, their purpose simply to be (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session
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883, p. 133). Although they had dream bodies or pseudo forms, their focus was elsewhere. Seth

said that they began to learn through experience and to become aware of themselves and to

discover time, or to create it (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 883, p. 133).

Their experience of time was entirely different [from ours], and in the beginning the
entire earth operated in a kind of dream time. In your terms, this meant that time could
be quickened, or lengthened. It was a kind of psychological time. (Roberts, 1986/1997,
Session 887, p. 160)

We all know what it feels like to experience our dream states as chaotic, shadowy, or mixed up.

Seth said that for the Sleepwalkers that is how physical reality at first seemed to them.

Spiral Dynamics suggests that Beige level humans had precognitive or telepathic abilities

because they were somehow connected to or intertwined with nature. Seth said that the CUs that

made up the Sleepwalkers:

Left fragments of themselves in trance, so to speak, that form the rocks and hills, the
mountains, the air and the water, and all of the elements that exist on the face of the
Earth. Those entities are in trance, in those terms, but their potency is not diminished,
and there is constant communication among them always. There is also constant
communication between them and you at other levels than those you recognize, so that
there is an unending interplay between each species and its environment. (Roberts,
1986/1997, Session 892, p. 188)

On an individual development level, this time is equivalent to what Piaget called the sensori-

motor stage in which babies learn by interacting with their environment in order to know it

(Berk, 2007, p. 153). In a similar respect, the Sleepwalkers were learning about the world they

were creating in dreams by intermittently practicing in it.

In addition to this deep connection with the natural world, Seth said that in the dream

world the Sleepwalkers could clairvoyantly view the entire land. If one recalls our quantum

physics analogy, this was because, in dreams, the Sleepwalkers consciousness operated as a

wave and had access to all the information contained in the inner realm. In dreams, these early
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forms of humans could communicate their locations to each other, point out where herds of

animals were located, tell each other about tools they had invented, and so forth.

The Sleepwalkers did not age anywhere near as quickly as we do and did not need to

procreate; gender was not important and these beings had what we would call both male and

female qualities. In Seths recounting,

While men had their dream bodies alone they enjoyed a remarkable freedom . . . for their
bodies did not have to be fed or clothed. They did not have to operate under the law of
gravity. . . . They did not yet identify themselves to any great degree as being themselves
separate from either the environment or other creatures. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session
899, p. 222)

To go along with the subjective consciousness of the Sleepwalkers, matter was

impermanent. Seth said it pulsated in and out of existence. This will be covered extensively in

section four of this analysis. Beck and Cowan (2006) posited that the earliest humans may have

been able to travel out of body. Seth would say that this was because their main focus of

experience was outside the body.

The purple stage. According to Spiral Dynamics, the Purple level came about because the

major threats to survival in the Beige level had been somewhat managed and enough energy was

freed up for those humans to become more curious about the physical world. There were many

threats yet to be dealt with and social needs to be filled, so those in the Purple vMeme turned

their attention toward forming small bands to work together. Beck and Cowan (2006) said

Emerging culture put more demands on neurological capacities to analyze, understand,

retain collective memories, and even plan for the future. A set of dynamic, if still
relatively simple, world views emerged to produce the first cosmic pictures and models
of reality. (p. 204)

In an individual, this stage would mark the beginning of symbolic thinking. While Purple

thinking all by itself is pre-literate, the intelligence system is able to create legends, fables, and

myths to capture the collective memory of the tribe. Beck and Cowan (2006) said Purple
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thinking is animistic, shamanistic, and mystical: Dream walking, visits with the spirit realm and

out-of-body travels are attached to this vMeme (p. 209). In the Purple vMeme, people often seek

out a shaman, medicine man/woman, oracle or some other mystical person to find answers to

questions about the world they know and the spirit realm or to effectuate various healings.

Seth describes ancient humans using strikingly similar language to that used by Beck and

Cowan (although we can never know for certain whether they are at the level Spiral Dynamics

describes as Purple). Seth said that sequentially following the Sleepwalkers in evolution,

(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 881, p. 114) there were what he called Ancient Dreamers

(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 893, p. 192). According to Seth, developmental changes took place

over eons which provided the dream body with a physical body consciousness which could help

it operate automatically in the physical world, thus, the Ancient Dreamers could spend more time

in physical reality and less in the dream world. The kind of functions the body consciousness

performed were, for example, letting the body know how to run without having to think about

which muscles to flex or how respiration should be altered. At this time the basic structures of a

self were being formed. According to Seth, the knowledge to create these structures came from

an inner self dwelling in a psychic dimension, but simultaneously required a new body

consciousness that had to be aware of information coming from its inner self without losing its

focus in the outer world. Additionally, per Seths story, an outer ego consciousness was the third

component of this three-part structure, and its duty was to clearly focus in physical reality.

Explaining this balancing act in an analogy, Seth said:

The best analogy I can think of is that up to that time the self was like a psychological
rubber band, snapping inward and outward with great force and vitality, but without any
kind of rigid-enough psychological framework to maintain a physical stance. The inner
self still related to dream reality, while the body's orientation and the body consciousness
attained, as was intended, a great sense of physical adventure, curiosity, speculation,
wonder-and so once again the inner self put a portion of its consciousness in a different
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parcel, so to speak. As once it had formed the body consciousness, now it formed a
physically attuned consciousness, a self whose desires and intents would be oriented in a
way that, alone, the inner self could not be. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 894, p. 199)

Seth said that

the knowledge men gained was imprinted on the brain. . . . All of [the] highly intricate
activities were learned and practiced in the dream state as the CUs translated their inner
knowledge through the state of dreaming into the physical form. (Roberts, 1986/1997,
Session 893, p. 193)

The Ancient Dreamers slept long hours . . . awakening, so to speak, to exercise their
bodies, obtain sustenance, and later, to mate. . . . Dreaming imaginations played
rambunctiously with all the probabilities entailed in this new venture: imaging the various
forms of language and communication possible, spinning great dream tales of future
civilizations replete with their own built-in historiesbuilding, because they were now
allied with time, mental edifices that automatically created pasts as well as futures.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 893, p. 192)

Interestingly, Seth said There is a great underlying unity in all of mans so-called early

culturescave drawings and religionsbecause they were all fed by that common source, as

man tried to transpose inner knowledge into physical actuality (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session

893, p. 194).

In the Spiral Dynamics description of Purple, being part of a family, clan, or tribe

improved chances for individual survival and therefore became critical to developing humans.

The clans occasionally bumped into other clans and interpersonal rules were needed to maintain

harmony. Myths, stories and magical fables were developed to explain the world, nature, and the

spirits, and rituals became a way to appease the spirits and protect ones own kind. Spiral

Dynamics says that Purple thinkers are not able to think linearly; for them time is more circular.

Purple thinkers nonlinear thinking and lack of time perception was probably tied to how they

thought of spirits. If ones ancestors died, had they really gone anywhere, and where would they

have gone? Judging by what Seth had to say about the Ancient Dreamers, he could answer those

questions about the ancestors this way:

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While being independent individuals their [the tribes] members also identified with their
ancestors to some extent, accepting them as portions of their selfhoods. . . . A completely
different kind of focus was presented, in which the ancestors were understood to
contribute to the new experience of the living; one in which the physically focused
consciousness clearly saw itself as perceiving the world for itself, but also for all of those
who had gone beforewhile realizing that in those terms he or she would contribute as
well as the generations past. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 731, p. 536)

Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005) said that, just as people in every other

stage, a Purple thinker projects his or her ideas of a spirit, god, or force onto the world.

He thinks in terms of an indwelling spirit of life in all things. . . . He thinks in terms

of there being a transmutable spirit in self, in others selves, in animals, floods, stones,
earthquakes, etc., and uses such to invoke continuance of what is, to ward-off harm,
bring about favor, or control the unexpected. (p. 216)

Seth spoke frequently about the activity of god-making. To some extent the development of

consciousness as you understand it follows the development of the gods through the ages; and in

those stories appear the guises that man might have taken, as well as those that he did (Roberts,

1977/1996a, Session 689, p. 105). In expanding on this concept, Seth explained that every

species has what amounts to a blueprint for its development. The god(s) that people recognize

represents the content of that blueprint projected out as an ideal. Thereafter, the content that

those same people create will follow the blueprints instructions. The god concept reflects the

state of consciousness at any moment, even as it points toward a desirable state in the future.

According to Seth, then, the gods served as stimulators of development:

The emerging consciousness had to have, latently at least, the capacity to become aware
of world conditions. When man knew no more than a simple tribal life, his brain already
had the capacity to learn anything it must, for one day it would be responsible for the life
of a planet. . . . It [the developing consciousness] would not be programmed any more
than necessary by instinct. It was, however, biologically locked into earthly existence,
and so meant to understand its natural heritage. It could not separate itself too much, then,
or become overly arrogant. Its survival was so linked to the rest of nature that it would of
necessity always have to return to that base. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 689, p. 107)
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Spiral Dynamics says that in the exiting phase of Purple, people are beginning to

understand through experience that some of their superstitions are unfounded. Their safety and

security needs are being met, and certain individuals feel a need to break out on their own to

compete for riches or personal power. I believe that Seth would say it begins with the

consciousness of humans fully awakening into physical experience for the first time. This marks

the onset of Level 3 of Spiral Dynamics, the Red stage.

The red stage. Spiral Dynamics explains the Red stage very carefully because it tends to

be seen only in a negative light. The Red needs include breaking loose from the clan, exerting

independent control, and testing the self against others to establish dominion (Beck & Cowan,

2006, p. 220). While it is easy to see in a sociological sense how this could be a problem, it is

easier to see the benefits if one looks at child development. If parents have been overprotective

or unwilling to discipline their children, those children never learn how to assert themselves in

socially appropriate ways. They never learn how to deal with the world and its various powers

that they will at times have to submit to. Although Red can be seen as wild and impulsive, it is

also creative and liberating.

When Seth spoke about ego consciousness or conscious mind fully awakening into

physical reality, he attributed it to something he called natural aggression (Roberts, 1994a,

Session 634, p. 137). In its truest sense, aggression, at least according to Seth, is the power of

energy directed into material action (Roberts, 1994a, Session 634, p. 137). In that sense, even

birth is a form of aggression and probably the most forceful level of aggression in our world.

Seth says that when true aggression/creativity is impaired, explosive pseudo-aggression takes its

place and can cause wars, neuroses, and all kinds of violence. If we think of Red as breaking

away from the clans of Purple in search of power and freedom, it is easy to imagine that there
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would be pressure to curtail that aggression and power struggles would ensue. Seth does not

equate violence with aggression and, in fact, in an original interpretation, declared that violence

was not aggressive, but rather a passive surrender to emotion which is not understood or

evaluated, only feared and at the same time sought. . . . In all violence there is a great deal of

suicidal emotion, the antithesis of creativity (Roberts, 1994a, Session 642, p. 202).

Beck and Cowan (2006) argued that when properly handled, this raw self-assertive

power contributes to a positive sense of control, lets the group break from constraining pro forma

traditions, and energizes a society to reach for the very ends of the Earth (p. 216). Seth would

seem to agree. One of the characteristics of the Red intelligence is the absence of guilt. Red has

no problem exploiting others, especially the communal-loving Purple. This is an excellent

illustration of how the vMemes operate together and, in fact, rely on each other. Because of the

lack of guilt, punishment is an ineffective deterrent with Red individuals. There is a tendency in

Red to disregard potentially negative outcomes to bad behavior; thinking is non-consequential.

Spiral Dynamics says it is a time when hormones, as well as adrenaline, are raging. While both

females and males pass through the Red stage, often the vMeme is associated with the raw

predatory power associated with males, both villains and heroes. Feminine tendencies in the

society would tend to be quashed when the Red vMeme is dominant. Speaking about what seems

an equivalent stage, Seth said,

The male-female tendencies at that time became psychically alienated from each other.
The differences were exaggerated . . . the male, purposely forgetting the great natural
aggressive thrust of birth, took physical aggression and force as his prerogativefor this
came to represent the quality of ego consciousness in its need to physically manipulate its
environment. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 690, p. 112).

All of the Red impulsiveness and domineering behavior is a direct outgrowth of the outer

ego finding itself alone for the first time. Seth said that when humans stabilized in physicality
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and were no longer feeling connected to the dream world, the separation was almost shattering.

He sees himself, in a leap of comprehension, as existing for the first time not only apart from

the environment, but apart from all of Earths other creatures (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889,

p. 224). According to Seth, this early human could recall feelings of the dream reality and

understood that he/she had somehow been severed from that comfort zone. Actions now took

place within a linear time scheme, and that meant having to choose between one action and

another; the decisions could mean life or death. Seth described this time in human evolution,

saying that a new god concept:

Brought about a direct conflict between the so-called forces of good and the so-called
forces of evil by largely cutting out all of the intermediary gods, and therefore destroying
the subtle psychological give-and-take that occurred between themamong themand
polarizing mans own view of his inner reality. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 921, p. 400)

Where before instinct alone had provided what was needed, now freedom of choice was

involved. Early humans figured out which kinds of actions resulted in feeling good and which

did not. They translated these into ideas of good and evil. Red thinkers judge everything by

whether it is good for them; there is no altruism in the Red vMeme. Tying good and evil back to

the idea of natural aggression, we can see how distortion may have occurred:

Love is propelled by all of the elements of natural aggression, and it is powerful; yet
because you have made such divisions between good and evil, love appears to be weak
and violence strong. This is reflected in many levels of your activities. The devil
becomes a powerful evil figure, for example. [Emphatically] Hate is seen as far more
efficient than love. The male in your society is taught to personify aggressiveness with all
of those antisocial attitudes that he cannot normally demonstrate. The criminal mind
expresses these for him, hence the ambiguous attitudes on the part of society, in which
renegades are often romanticized. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 663, p. 339)

To develop a sense of specialization in physical reality, ego consciousness had to

somewhat forget the great cooperative venture it had entered into on the Earth. Seth says that,

although an exterior separation occurred at a certain stage of development, humanity remains

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flexible because its CUs retain memory of the whole wave-like inner reality from which they

have sprung. Because of this flexibility great changes in outlook can happen and when they do

the values at one stage can feel almost antithetical to those of the previous or subsequent stage. It

seems that it is almost impossible to move forward without rejecting the past to some degree.

As with all of the vMemes, there are the entering, peak or nodal, and exiting phases. In

the entering phase, the previous vMeme still has some sway; in the nodal (peak) there is

equilibriuma time in which people feel that the world makes sense as they know it and must

always stay just as it is; and in the exiting phase, the pull of the next vMeme already can be felt.

As the Red values are waning, guilt is starting to enter into the picture, and the individual now

feels that there is something more important than himself or herself; however, he or she still

craves Red action. Seth said something that makes me equate it with the exiting Red phase:

Many people do indeed equate a certain kind of suffering with excitement . . . and find
the very intensity of certain kinds of pain pleasurable. You might say they like to live
dangerously. Some sects have believed that spiritual understanding came as the result of
bodily agony, and their self-inflicted pain became their versions of pleasure. (Roberts,
1994a, Session 911, p. 324)

This description seems to be congruent with an individual at the stage where he or she opens to

religion for the first time but who is still mainly driven by Red values. All that will change in the

Blue stage.

The blue stage. Graves (1974) said that those entering Blue seek peace from the

unbridled lusts and the threatening universe (p. 5) experienced in Red. These people are

looking for something greater than themselves to provide structure to life. Spiral Dynamics says

that one would find militancy, protesting activists, and other people willing to die for a just cause

at this level. Seth acknowledged that people carried these beliefs at one time, but explained why

they were erroneous:

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Regardless of what you have been told, there is no merit in self-sacrifice. For one thing
it is impossible. The self grows and develops. It cannot be annihilated. Usually, self-
sacrifice means throwing the burden of yourself upon someone else and making it
their responsibility. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 674, p. 411)
During the peak phase of the Blue vMeme, people within this intelligence system believe

there is a higher power which watches over and regulates human existence. Beck and Cowan

(2006) described peak Blue this way: Blue movements, whether religious, cultural, or

nationalistic, are forged from conditions of chaos, deprivation, and suffering. . . . When the
v
Meme arrives, people gladly accept authoritarianism to clean things up (p. 231). During the

peak phase of Blue, order and structure are sought; right and wrong are defined for the common

good; people are willing, in fact eager, to give their obeisance to a higher authority.

Once in this intelligence system, many people become true believers and allow no

room for compromise. They believe it is their duty to sacrifice in the present for some future

reward, that there is only one right way, and that they must speak out against evil doers. In

Graves (as cited in Cowan & Todorovic, 2005), Graves described this levels thinkers as

believ[ing] that in order for existence to continue there must be control of ones impulse
life. . . that they must learn the rules for control. . . .Typical values are denial, deference,
piety, modesty, self-sacrifice, and [sic] harsh self-discipline and no self-indulgence.
(p. 255)

Seth acknowledged this stage in his sequence of evolution, but explained some of the

ramifications:

Philosophies that teach denial of the flesh must ultimately end up preaching a denial of
the self and building a contempt for it, because even though the soul is couched in muscle
and bone it is meant to experience that reality, not to refute it.
All such dogmas use artificial guilt, and natural guilt is distorted to serve those
ends. In whatever terms, the devotee is told that there is something wrong with earthly
experience. You are, therefore, considered evil as a self in flesh by virtue of your very
existence.
This alone will cause adverse experience, making you reject the very basis of your
own framework of experience. You will consider the body as a thing, a fine vehicle but
not in itself the natural living expression of your being in material form. Many such
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Eastern schools also stress-as do numerous spiritualistic schoolsthe importance of the

unconscious levels of the self, and teach you to mistrust the conscious mind.
The concept of nirvana and the idea of heaven are two versions of the same
picture, the former being one in which individuality is lost in the bliss of undifferentiated
consciousness, and the latter one in which still-conscious individuals perform mindless
adoration. Neither theory contains an understanding of the functions of the conscious
mind, or the evolution of consciousnessor, for that matter, certain aspects of greater
physics. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 647, pp. 235-236)

When Seth speaks of natural guilt he means the kind of guilt that prevents violation in the

animal kingdom; it is an instinctual sense of justice and integrity. An animal would kill another

animal out of hunger, to protect its young, and so forth, but never for the kind of reasons that

humans so often injure one another, for example, out of jealousy, hatred, anger, or selfishness.

According to Seth, evolutionarily speaking, the emergence of memory was closely tied to natural

guilt. Once humans had the neurological equipment to distinguish past, present, and future, they

could assess situations in light of previous experience, for example, and prevent a bad outcome

or attempt to replicate a good one. The conscious options that opened as man's mental world

enlarged made it impossible to allow sufficient freedom, and yet necessary control, on a

biological level alone (Roberts, 1994a, Session 635, p. 145). Religions that emphasized evil,

sin, guilt, and punishment were humanitys attempt to regulate themselves without natural guilt.

Being able to use memory opened up the consciousness of humanity.

Beck and Cowan (2006) described the perception of time in Blue as sequenced along a

single track (monochromic), one thing following another. . . . Ultimate judgment awaits us all at

the end (pp. 233-234). This is very similar to how Seth described the Christian worldview: he

said that with the Ascension of Christ, progress is viewed one wayup toward heaven. On the

other hand, punishment takes place in hell, at the bottom of existence. However, Seth argues that

there is a more accurate view; the people at Blue intelligence, however, cannot grasp it:
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The inner reality of the message was told in terms that man at the time could understand,
in line with his root assumptions. Development unfolds in all directions. The soul is not
ascending a series of stairs, each one representing a new and higher point of
development. Instead, the soul stands at the center of itself, exploring, extending its
capacities in all directions at once, involved in issues of creativity, each one highly
legitimate. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 568, pp. 237-238)

As previously mentioned, Seth argued that god concepts all through our evolution went hand in

hand with the development of consciousness:

Religious ideas served as social organization, much needed . . . and brought forth
communities and descendants who were protected. . . . Psychic and religious ideas, then,
despite many drawbacks, served as a method of species organization. They are far more
important in terms of evolution than is recognized. Religious concepts from the
beginning kept tribes together, provided social structures, and insured physical survival
and the protection that made descendants most probable. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session
690, p. 113)

Beck and Cowan (2006) explained, Everything in Blue has a purpose, a place, and a

reason (p. 2330). Most of the reasons are written down in a book or some other symbolic

container, whether it is the Bible, the Quran, the Constitution, and so forth. According to Spiral

Dynamics written language is part of this vMemes intelligence, just as oral storytelling was in

Purple.

In the exiting phase of Blue, Spiral Dynamics says that individuals begin to allow that

there may be different versions of truth rather than one universal standard. They still believe that

there version is correct, but there is now room for doubt. Beck and Cowan (2006) say, The

person does what authority wants, but begins to think about doing it in his/her own way,

particularly when authority is not watching (p. 238). A tiny streak of independence may be

forming that allows one to think that perfectibility is possible outside authoritys purview, that is,

in the real world.

The orange stage. Spiral Dynamics identifies the time coincident with the Enlightenment

as the period when the Orange vMeme surfaced. This is obviously a Western view which is built
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into this model. However, Spiral Dynamics theory does not deny that at other times and in other

places this same emergence has taken place. Beck and Cowan (2006) claim that five forces were

responsible: (a) a market economy, (b) utilitarian political philosophy, (c) the narrowing of

science (as conceptualized in the objective, positivist scientific method), (d) popularization of

technology, and (e) the rise of the individual (p. 245).

Like all of the stages before and after this one (with the exception of the first, Beige),

Orange is a result of all the intelligences that have gone before coupled with the Life Conditions

of the time. During the entering phase of Orange, the respect for authority that surfaced in Blue

is still operative, but the individual may start to question it from time to time. People feel that

they can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and by dint of their own efforts solve problems

and improve their lives. They have remnants of the self-confidence of the Red stage but it is

tempered by Blue preference for order. Hierarchy begins to break down because people do not

feel that they need the permission of any elite group when they are perfectly capable of being

autonomous. Curiosity, innovation, and competition come to the fore. The healthy versions of

Orange have provided culture with a better quality of life or at least a higher standard of living.

Individuals at Orange level intelligence are nonconformists (except for wanting to be included in

their own in group); they can see many ways to accomplish goals, and believe one is bound to

be the best. They would use empirical data to determine what that best way was, not dogma

handed down from any preordained authority. Orange is all about opportunity and pragmatism.

Beck and Cowan (2006) said, Orange is equipped for independent operation (p. 255). Seth

says that ideas about selfhood are chosen and projected outward; the self then experiences the

reality it has created and biologically and neurologically changes in response. In Seths words,

Recognized concepts of the self are the egos interpretation of selfhood. They are
projected into concepts of God and the universe. . . . They meet with a certain biological
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validity. . . whereby only one series of neurological pulses is accepted-and upon these
rides the reality of the egotistical self. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 686, p. 73)

With the onset of the Orange vMeme, selfhood focuses on individual agency; Orange is

the seat of the scientific method, optimism, and self-determination. Clare Graves reasoned that

the Orange stage began at the time of the Industrial Revolution with the questioning of authority

and the arising ability to see multiple solutions to problems. According to Graves (as cited in

Cowan & Todorovic, 2005),

The Industrial Revolution was a result of the failure of the more medieval forms of life
to solve the problems of existence. When that occurred, the human had to develop a
different way of thinking. . . . People who made this move began to switch from the
absolutistic way of thinking to what we call the multiplistic existential state. (p. 308)

Seth used artistic ability as an example to show how thinking changed at a certain stage,

which I believe to be synonymous with exiting Blue/entering Orange:

While the Roman Catholic Church gave him [man] a powerful, cohesive belief system,
for many reasons those beliefs shifted so that the division between man and God became
too great. Man the sinner took over from man the child of God. As a result, one you see
in art particularly, man became a heroic figure, then a natural one. The curiosity that had
been directed toward divinity became directed toward nature. Mans sense of inquiry led
him, then, to begin to paint more natural portraits and images. He turned to landscapes
also. . . . Art largely ended upin those terms nowas the handmaiden of technology:
engineering plans, mathematical diagrams, and so forth. . . . Mans use of perspective in
painting was a turning point, in that it foreshadowed the turning of art away from its
imaginative colorations toward a more specific physical rendering. . . . All of this
involved the triggering of innate abilities at certain points in time by the species at large,
and on the parts of certain individuals, as their purposes and those of the species merged.
(Roberts, 1994a, Session 913, p. 341)

The Orange intelligence systems ties development to evolution in the Darwinian sense

survival of the fittest and competition for scarce resources. Whereas, with the religious

worldview of Blue, a person might believe that God sent illness as punishment, in the Orange

view, science and medicine are expected to be able to figure out what causes illness so that it can

be eradicated. Science has concentrated on breaking things down further and further into
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component parts, with the hope of being able to get at their essence. This may include such

things as research on animals for what it might reveal about the human biological system. Seth

said,

You cannot understand what makes things live when you must first rob their life. And so
when man learned to categorize, number and dissect nature, he lost its living quality and
no longer felt a part of it. . . . . While concentrating upon natures exterior aspects in a
very conscious manner, he still ended up denying the conscious powers of his own mind.
He became blind to the connection between his thoughts and his physical environment
and experience. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 621, p. 70)

From Seths perspective, it was somewhat unfortunate that creativity became relegated

only to certain limited acceptable channels as the scientific worldview emerged; it meant that

people began to believe that the answers to lifes questions could only come from the conscious

mind and the intellect. On the other hand, this particular stage of development as it occurs has a

purpose, as Seth explains:

You reason out your position. Otherwise your free will would have no meaning in a
physical framework, for the number of choices available would be so multitudinous that
you could not make up your mind to act within time: With all the opportunities of
creativity, and with your own greater knowledge instantly available, you would be
swamped by so many stimuli that you literally could not physically respond, and so
your particular kinds of civilization and science and art could not have been
accomplishedand regardless of their flaws they are magnificent accomplishments,
unique products of the reasoning mind. . . . You have, however, become so specialized
in its use, so prejudiced in its favor, that your tendency is to examine all other kinds
of consciousness using the reasoning mind as the only yardstick by which to judge
intelligent life. You are surrounded everywhere by other kinds of consciousness whose
validity you have largely ignored. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 907, p. 272)

According to Spiral Dynamics, it is precisely when an individual starts to become aware

and interested in these other kinds of consciousness that the exiting of the Orange phase begins.

In Roemischer (2002), Beck says that in the exiting Orange phase, people become aware of the

gaps and inequities brought about by all the progress and success. It can take the form of

haves and have nots socioeconomically, but also destruction of the planet. They may notice
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that acquiring more and more material things does not make them happy anymore. In some

cases, people seriously begin to question what the worth of all that effort was if life still has no

meaning. Guilt begins to reappear and the stage is set for a shift back to a communitarian focus

from the highly individualized focus of Orange.

The green stage. In Spiral Dynamics the Green stage is associated with relativistic

thinking. After the absolute certainty and self-centeredness of the Orange stage wanes,

individuals look for the enticing way of life (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 261). People begin

getting involved in groups, often ones with social responsibility agendas. Intuition, insight, and

feelings become important again. Those in the Green intelligence system are able to see many

possibilities; every opinion is probably valid for different people at different times; everyone is

entitled to be heard. In their search for inner peace, individuals in Green open or reopen their

lives to spirituality and there is an unending quest for enlightenment from a metaphysical guide

or practitioner of one healing art or another (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 263).

In this stage, spirituality is non-denominational, non-dogmatic, sometimes nature-based,

but not superstitious. This appears to be where New Age ideas or some versions of them arise.

Beck and Cowan warn that it is here that some people can get lost in their quest for non-ordinary

experiences. This is a criticism within the transpersonal community as well, as Ferrer (2002)

noted in discussing the problem of spiritual narcissism. In my experience, it seems that the

transpersonal field primarily favors Green values. In Spiral Dynamics terms, being stuck on the

spiral could explain behaviors such as repeated experimentation with drug-induces altered states

or hop-scotching from guru to guru.

In its healthy expression Green puts empathy into human relations at home and at work;

it also enhances awareness of ecological systems. This is a communitarian, egalitarian, and

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consensual (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 264) system. In its unhealthy expression, Green can be

very judgmental of anyone or anything that does not meet its own new value system. It is subject

to group-think because there is an abhorrence of non-supportive behavior. Beck and Cowan

(2006) say that Like all of the First Tier vMemes, Green can be quite dismissive of (or blind to)

the rest of the Spiral in the belief that its way is the way, not a way (p. 266).

Here is another instance in which Spiral Dynamics and Seth agree. In discussing the two

worldviews that I believe ostensibly correspond with Orange and Green, Seth said:

One [worldview] believes that the conscious mind and the intellect have all the answers,
but to this school this means that the conscious mind is analytical above all, and that it
can find all the answers through reason alone. The other school believes that the answers
are in feelings and emotions. Both are wrong. Intellect and feeling together make up your
existence, but the fallacy is particularly in the belief that the aware mind must be
analytical above all, as opposed to, for example, the understanding or assimilation of
intuitive psychic knowledge. Neither school understands the flexibility and the
possibilities that are inherent within the conscious mind, and mankind has barely begun
to use its potentials. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 638, p. 171)

I believe that Seth is saying here that within every worldview, people are inflexible about their

beliefs: dogmatism for Blue, rationalism for Orange and perhaps communitarianism or Green all

operate in a similar way and add meaning to life for people at the various stages.

Beck and Cowan (2006) argue that people at the Green stage can be nave. In their desire

to improve lives for everyone, they often simply want to redistribute wealth and resources to

those in need without raising people up to be able to contribute in their own right to the resource

pool. When the resources start to dwindle and people realize that it is very costly to care for

people using only this approach, that is when the exiting phase begins. Another downside to the

Green vMeme is that all the group process, sharing of feelings, leveling of hierarchy, and so

forth, can make goal accomplishment very slow and cumbersome.

The beginning of the end of this vMemes dominance is when the person begins (again)
to get things done, and done well, all alone. The collective process just does not match up
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to the complexity of the Life Condition issues because it consumes too much time and
energy. The price of keeping everybody happy is untenably high; the cost of harmony
sometimes too steep. (Beck & Cowan, 2006, p. 273)

Graves (1974) colorfully explains the problem of Green: While he [man] was focusing on the

inner self to the exclusion of the external world, his outer world has gone to pot (p. 5). This

situation will be what sets off the next trek up and around the spiral towards Yellow.

So back and forth humanity swings between an I focus and a We focus as it spirals

through development. It is critically important to point out a distinction between Seths teachings

and Spiral Dynamics, notwithstanding the many points upon which they seem to cohere. In

Spiral Dynamics people encounter life conditions that propel neurological change that equips

them to problem solve in new ways. In Seths view of reality, people do not encounter reality,

they create reality. There will be a great deal of information on this throughout this dissertation,

as it is probably the most emphasized teaching within the Seth material. The reason that there

still are so many instances of congruence, as this section catalogs, is that the world that Spiral

Dynamics addresses is enveloped within a broader, mostly unknown realityat least this is what

Seth would say. The changes, development, or evolution that Spiral Dynamics explain happen

horizontally, if you will. Seth discusses this same horizontal development, but places it within a

larger picture that has verticality which comes from different levels of reality. That is why in

Dreams, Evolution, and Value Fulfillment, Seth specifically indicated that the word

evolution should be within quotation marks. Nevertheless, Seth does not disparage the kind of

development which Spiral Dynamics explores; rather, he provides a broader explanation:

You not only form the structure of your civilizations and social institutions through the
transference of beliefs, thoughts and feelings; but in this natural exchange you also help
on quite intimate levels in the psychic manufacture of the physical environment itself,
with all of its great sweeping variety, and yet seasonal stability. (Roberts, 1994a, Session
664, p. 346)
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When Seth speaks about the beliefs and values associated with the Spiral Dynamics

Green vMeme, he seems to imply that it is the emerging worldview (at the time when Jane was

channeling, i.e., 1963-1984). In fact, having spoken to several members of the ESP class that

studied with Jane, Rob, and Seth, I believe that many of them would fall into the Green vMeme,

as would many of those who bought their books at that time: they included anti-war protesters

(Vietnam), drug experimenters, dabblers in Eastern mysticism, and so forth. Seth was talking

specifically to this vMeme when he said:

The problem of war will sooner or later teach you that when you kill another man,
basically you will end up killing yourself. The over-population problem will teach you
that if you do not have a loving concern for the environment in which you dwell, it will
no longer sustain youyou will not be worthy of it. . . .
You have set up the problem for yourselves within the framework of your
reference. You will not understand your part within the framework of nature until you
actually see yourselves in danger of tearing it apart. You will not destroy consciousness.
You will not annihilate the consciousness of even one leaf, but in your context, if the
problem were not solved, these would fade from your experience. (Roberts, 1972/1994b,
Session 550, p. 178)

In Roemischer (2002), Don Beck said that the terrorist attack on the United States on

9/11/2001 was a wake-up call (p. 17) to many in the Green vMeme. Perhaps we are still too

close, historically speaking, to that event to understand its true impact in context with everything

else happening at that time; it was a very emotional event for many, but especially Americans. I

think, however, that all mass events of that scale have impact, and in the ensuing years, there

have been other mass events that could not help but affect every operative intelligence system to

realize that problems are much more complex than previously supposed. The systems and

structures which have been in place, as well as the individual people in places of decision-

making authority, seem less than capable of handling todays problems. Forty years ago, Seth

remarked on changes coming in our existence that seemed to foretell the current state of affairs,

with respect to fanaticism/terrorism, haves/have nots, and transparency-creating technology:

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Your country faces the results of its own policiesits greed as well as its good intent, but
it is out in the open in a new way. The world will be seen as one, but there may be
changes in the overall tax assessments along the way, as those who have not paid much,
pay more.
The results of fanaticism are also out in the open. Never before, in your terms has
the private person been able to see a picture of the mass world in such a way, or been
forced to identify with the policies of his or her government. That in itself is a creative
achievement, and means that man is not closing his eyes to the inequities of his world.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889, p. 174)

You can see by Seths words that whatever development takes place, he is not judgmental about

it. To the contrary, Seth teaches that we create all of these situations on an unconscious level to

propel the species to move in new directions.

In the Roemischer (2002) overview of Spiral Dynamics, Beck noted that it was when the

doubts about our ability to handle complexity surface that many people became interested in the

work of his theory. Beck believes that we are at a tipping point now, a critical time in which

there will either be an upsurge to a more complex system or a downshift to a less complex one

(Roemischer, 2002, p. 21).

The second tier.

The yellow stage. It is very important to note that Clare Graves (1974) described the

movement from the sixth stage of the first tier, Green, to the first stage of the second tier,

Yellow, as a chasm of unbelievable depth of meaning (p. 6). According to Graves, the

difference between the two tiers is equivalent to the difference between humans and other

animals. The type of knowledge and understanding that will be needed at this level to solve

world problems, rather than just individual problems, will bring humanity to a new level of

cognition, according to both Graves and Spiral Dynamics. In Gravess theory as well as in Spiral

Dynamics, three possibilities exist at the cusp of change between first and second tier:
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1. Most gruesome is the chance that we might fail to stabilize our world and, through

successive catastrophes regress as far back as the [Purple stage].

2. Only slightly less frightening is the vision of fixation in the [Blue-Orange-Green]

societal complex. This might resemble George Orwells 1984 (1949/1977) with its

tyrannical, manipulative government glossed over by a veneer of humanitarian

sounding doublethink and moralistic rationalizations.

3. The last possibility is that we could emerge into the [Yellow] level and proceed

toward stabilizing our world so that all life can continue (Graves, 1974, p. 13).

The purpose of people at the second tier will be to bring the earth back to equilibrium

again, to learn how to use technology for the good of humanity, and to overcome prejudice and

bigotry; basically, it is a systems approach that acknowledges the interconnectedness of all life

forms with each other and with the environment. As mentioned earlier, when a shift to a new

stage happens, the previous stages value system is often questioned, and sometimes almost

reversed. This is how Graves (1974) expressed it: Take anything man has strongly valued in the

first ladder of existence, reverse it, put it in higher order form and you have the key to what this

theory says (p. 15). That is why Yellow thinkers are an enigma to people from previous stages,

according to Beck.

Something very unusual happens when one reaches the Yellow system. Like all of the

other vMemes Yellow has assimilated all the previous levels intelligence systems. What makes

Yellow different, however, is that what it values is being able to flow through the spiral, using

whichever value system is most appropriate for the challenge at hand. Whereas a Blue thinker

might think strict enforcement of laws is the solution for most every problem, Yellow will accept

that premise in certain circumstances but, when more appropriate, reject it outrightjust as it
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would with solutions grounded in other stages values. Beck and Cowan (2006) expressed it

beautifully: For Yellow thinkers, Life is a mosaic of tiles without cement which can be

rearranged to make the most appropriate picture of existence, at a given time (p. 280). Seth talks

about the intelligence system at the leading edge right now in similar terms:

As your world becomes more complicated . . . you increase the number of probable
actions practically available. The number of decisions multiplies. . . . As space becomes
smaller, your probabilities grow in complexity. Your consciousness handles far more
space data (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 741, p. 631)

By space data, Seth means that now we are able to know in real time what is happening

in different parts of the globe. Although I have been able to find many instances where Spiral

Dynamics seems to illuminate the Seth material and vice versa, there are major differences, as

well. For example, in the above quotation, when Seth talks about the increasing complexity and

the emerging consciousness being able to handle more data, he is not talking simply about

empirical data and greater cognitive skill. In the session that was quoted, Seth makes clear that

up until now, most people used only their outer senses to collect information which they then

used for decision-making. Seth calls the ego-consciousness that made those decisions the

official you and that kind of consciousness the official line of consciousness (R. Stack,

personal communication, January 5, 2012). However, Seth says that people now have the ability,

if not yet the full awareness of that ability, to bring in data from other probable realities

(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 711, p. 332). In Seths view of reality, for every decision one

makes, there are many that are not made, and yet in other probable realities they have been made

and the probable selves in those realities believe they are experiencing the one and only reality

just as we do. Seth says that the ability to gain knowledge from these other probable realities is

unrecognized but latent within all of uspart of our biological and spiritual heritage. According

to Seth, when these abilities finally do become recognized,

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Human capabilities will be seen as what they are, and a great new period of development
will occur, in which all concepts of selfhood and reality will be literally seen as
primitive superstition. The species will actually move into a new kind of selfhood.
Theories of probabilities will be seen as practical, workable, psychological facts, giving
leeway and freedom to the individual, who will no longer feel at the mercy of external
eventsbut will realize instead that he (or she) is their initiator. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 742, p. 638)

Although we are not talking about multidimensionality in the exact same way, per se,

with Spiral Dynamics, it does say that when the Yellow stage is reached conceptual space opens

up; Yellow thinkers are able to get more done in less time, not simply because they are more

efficient, but because they are able to use their brains in ways that were not available in previous

stages. Beck and Cowan (2006) defended this assertion saying,

Though it may sound like we are describing a new breed of human . . . the Yellow
v
Meme is latent in every normal brain. The point is that its power is awakened in only a
few of us at this stage in our history because life conditions do not yet seem that sharp.
Once outside the First Tier, ideas become multidimensional. (p. 276)

It seems possible that the Spiral Dynamics theory predicts a momentous change but is not

sure exactly what that change will look like. Beck and Cowans book is now 16 years old and

life conditions have changed substantially since it was written. There have been major changes,

notably, the worldwide financial crisis; many incidences of extreme weather events including

tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and earthquakes; Middle East political and social

upheaval; and many other globally disruptive situations. At the time their book was written, Beck

and Cowan said that only 1% of the population had reached the Yellow stage. Perhaps now a

greater percentage has made the leap to second tier because of the complex problems that need to

be solved.

One businesses research firm called The Shelton Group found, through their consumer

segmentation research, the results of which were published in 2011, that what they called Gold

(equivalent of Spiral Dynamics Yellow) could be assigned to 18% of the market. This seems
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doubtful, but the actual percentage is probably somewhere between these two. As I look out on

the American landscape, I see many of the regressive behaviors that Graves warned about; I also

see counter trends that belie regression. Many authors have spoken about periods of regression in

stages of evolution. David Schacker (2001) tracked worldview changes or what he called

revolutions over centuries and observed a four-part social transformation trajectory, the second

step of which has always been a conservative backlash (p. 4) before evolutionary change (he is

not using the word conservative in strictly a political sense).

Seth also spoke about latent abilities ready to be activated at this stage of existence. As

mentioned earlier, Seth says that natural guiltthat mechanism which humans developed along

with memory and the ability to reflect on past and futurehas much to do with the coming

change: By taking advantage if it [natural guilt] you leap still further through unknown

frontiers, and break through into dimensions of awareness that were always latent since the birth

of the conscious mind (Roberts, 1994a, Session 635, p. 148). I believe Seth is referring here to

an acceptance of responsibility for our part in the total Earth ecosystem and our brotherhood

[sic] as Seth puts it with all other species (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 697, p. 166). Just as

Beck, Cowan, and Graves saw civilization now at a bifurcation point, so did Seth. He spelled out

an either/or scenario very similar to Gravess:

You are in a position where your private experience of yourself does not correlate with
what you are told by your societies, churches, sciences, archaeologies, or other
disciplines. Mans unconscious knowledge is becoming more and more consciously
apparent. This will be done under and with the direction of an enlightened and expanding
egotistical awarenessor it will be done at the expense of the reasoning intellect, leading
to a rebirth of superstition, chaos, and the unnecessary war between reason and intuitive
knowledge.
When at this point now, of mankinds development, his emerging unconscious
knowledge is denied by his institutions, then it will rise up despite those institutions and
annihilate them. Cult after cult will emerge, each unrestrained by the use of reason,
because reason will have denied the existence of rampant unconscious knowledge,
disorganized and feeling only its own ancient force.
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If this happens, all kinds of old and new religious denominations will war, and all
kinds of ideologies surface. This need not take place, for the conscious mindbasically,
nowhaving learned to focus in physical terms, is meant to expand, to accept
unconscious intuitions and knowledge, and to organize these deeply creative principles
into cultural patterns. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 687, pp. 85-86)

What Seth is saying here is that humanity needs to listen to inner guidance at this time, rather

than relying only on old, established ways of knowing.

According to Spiral Dynamics, a major factor in Yellows thinking which will make it

possible for a leap to a new level of awareness is the dropping away of fear. The quality of good

ideas increases because the Yellow thinker is in touch with his or her core beliefs and bases

decisions confidently on that reference point rather than on the opinions of others. Beck and

Cowan say that the high self-esteem of Yellow thinkers is founded on both information and

emotion, which seems comparable to Seths claim that the emerging worldview will balance

intellect and imagination or intuition.

The imagination, of course, deals with the implied universe, those vast areas of reality
that are not physically manifest, while reason usually deals with the evidence of the
world that is before it. That statement is generally true, but specifically, of course, any
act of the imagination involves reasoning, and any [act] of reason involves the
imagination. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 917, p. 365)

The Yellow vMeme, according to Beck and Cowan (2006) is awakening and its objective

is to find means of supplying adequacy so that other living systems do not suffer, so humanity

does not suffer as a consequence, and so the individual can retain freedom to be as he or she

chooses (p. 281). The Yellow thinking system is individualistic, like all the warm-colored

systems. The self is relied on to gather information appropriate to a challenge and to act on it. In

the exiting phase of Yellow, once again, individuals begin to question whether a lone person can

actually solve anything; ideas of collective competency reappear, but this time on a global level.

Beck and Cowan (2006) say that spirituality creeps back in among the likes of astrophysicists,
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advanced philosopher-thinkers, and high-order mathematicians (p. 284). Once again there is a

search for universal causality and Yellow thinkers consider whether it might be consciousness

itself that is the primary causal agent.

The turquoise stage. Turquoise is the last stage that Graves uncovered in his research, so

very little is known about how it will manifest in our present culture. It is once again a

collective-minded vMeme, just as all of the cool-colored vMemes are. The problems at the

Turquoise level of life conditions are not only complex, but expansive. No one will be able to

solve them acting alone. There is still a concern for the self, but the self is seen as integral with

the whole, so the good of the whole is also primary. In Spiral Dynamics the Turquoise thinking

system is described as purpose driven. Where Yellow thinkers may have gathered all the

knowledge available to understand a problem, they may not have wanted to sacrifice so much of

their own time and energy to solve the problems. At Turquoise level, groups work together, often

in conceptual spaces, rather than physical ones, realizing that they have a common cause.

Beck and Cowan (2006) explain how very different Turquoise is from Green, although on

the surface they can seem to be similar. This is particularly true in terms of Greens interest in

things that seem mystical. I believe this is one reasonable explanation why a portion of New Age

people seem to dabble endlessly in fads related to spirituality and mysticism. The Green system

is open-minded, interested in mystical topics, and concerned about the natural world. All of these

attributes would incline them toward much channeled material, including Seths. With respect to

the topic of this dissertation, I would place the first people who found interest in the Seth

material mainly in the Green vMeme. In speaking to Paul Helfrich (personal communication,

March 4, 2010) who facilitated a Seth discussion board on the Internet for 10 years, many of the

people he spoke with were not serious about developing themselves via the inner senses or belief
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exercises that Seth prescribed, but more interested in the mystical quality of the channeling

phenomenon itself or the seeming simplicity of Seths You create your own reality slogan.

Personally, I think that the worldview that Seth advocates is most closely aligned with

Turquoise, even though it was mainly Green thinkers who first popularized the Seth material. In

contrast to Green, a Turquoise thinker, being at the second tier, is actually involved in living the

concepts, not just reading about them or exploring them on the surface.

Wilber (2006) makes an analogy which happens to use Spiral Dynamics to clarify just

this point. He says to imagine that a person has taken a course on Spiral Dynamics at a

university. The person taking the course is at stage four, Blue, but dutifully studies all eight

levels and is able to write about the characteristics of all the stages on his final exam. He would

pass with flying colors. However, Wilber says that if the test required the person to take an oral

exam in which he had to explain the experience of Turquoise, for example, as it is directly felt,

he could not do it. Wilber described the first way of knowing as only knowledge of the exterior

of reality. According to Wilber (2006), when people have an experience that is not typical for

their stage of development but is typical for a higher stage they will interpret that experience

with the only equipment they have, namely, the tools of the stage of development they are at

(p. 91).

According to Beck and Cowan (2006), at the peak phase of Turquoise, a person

Views a world of interlinked causes and effects, interacting fields of energy, and levels of
bonding and communicating most of us have yet to uncover. . . . Seeing-everything-at-
once before doing anything specific dominates the thinking process. Collective
imperatives and mutual interdependencies reign supreme. (p. 289)

Beck and Cowan claimed that Yellow operates using more left-brained thinking, while

Turquoise uses more right-brained thinking. Elsewhere, Beck (as cited in Roemischer, 2002)

speculated I believe that the eighth meme codeTurquoisewill rise in conjunction with the
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seventh, Yellow. You could think of Yellow as left brain with feelings and Turquoise as right

brain with data (p. 24). Although Beck and Cowan in 1996 believed that only one-tenth of one

percent of the population could be associated with the Turquoise vMeme, once again, I believe

that figure may be higher now. Seth hinted at this combination of reason and emotion working

together, saying,

There are . . . groups of people together, once again, [in] search of intellectual reasons to
back up their innate emotional knowledge that life has meaning. These groups represent
the beginnings of new journeys quite as important to the species as any sea voyage ever
was as man searched for new lands. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 914, p. 347)

Elsewhere, Seth associated this faculty with a psychic migration on which humanity

would be setting out. In terms similar to Becks and Cowans, Seth said that humanity would at

the time of this shifting of consciousness appear to have a brand new faculty that so far lies

latent. He said we would end up with a new illuminated consciousness, an idea that carries great

importance in Sri Aurobindos view of development, which will be addressed next in this

analysis. One very important concept behind the Seth materials development story that nowhere

appears in Spiral Dynamics has to do with love. Seth said that there are loving values of a

limitless nature that exist behind/underneath the entire physical world and which propel all of the

processes we have spoken about. Seth said hundreds of times that value fulfillment is what

insures existence in the first place; value fulfillment is what gives each and every consciousness

unit (CU) a purpose in being. There will be more information on this most important concept in

the Seth material later in this paper. For now, Seths words below should provide a good idea of

how value fulfillment ties into evolution and development as has been described relative to

Spiral Dynamics:

Our vitality wants to express itself. The whole world of nature is an irrepressible,
expressible area of expansion. Old ideas of the survival of the fittest, conventional
evolutionary processes, gods and goddesses, cannot hope to explain the mystery of the
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universebut when we use our own abilities gladly and freely, we come so close to
being what we are that sometimes we come close to being what the universe is. Then
even our most unfortunate escapades, our most sorrowful ventures, are not deadended,
but serve as doorways into a deeper comprehension and a more meaningful relationship
with the universe of which we are such a vital part. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Essay #1, p. 44)

To sum up why I feel Turquoise most closely corresponds to Seths teachings, I have

paraphrased Beck and Cowan (2006, pp. 286-292) description of this level:

A unifying force and set of guiding principles sets the course of the universe and

gives the appearance of consciousness.

The gaps between science and metaphysics close.

People trust intuition and instinct, allowing the mind to process with both the

conscious and unconscious selves as coparticipants.

A wider range of new possibilities, more expansiveness in thinking, and a broader

repertoire of behavioral options.

Everything is seen at once, as one interlinked whole.

Energy fields are perceptible all around us.

More converts to the Gaia view of the environment.

Everything is connected to everything else; the one merges with the many.

Sensory awareness is heightened and people have an increased alertness to multiple

dimensions of time and space.

Each person is a participant-observer.

When I read this list, I note many points that agree with Seths teachings, including:

A prediction of a high intellect in the emerging worldview, one that balances

reasoning with imagination and intuition.

Emphasis on development of the inner senses as a valid epistemology.

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Assertion of latent abilities that are part of our genetic heritage.

Obvious connections between quantum physics and Seths remarks.

Predictions about the acceleration of evolution, compressing of time and space, and

the experience of simultaneity.

The notion of value fulfillment and cooperation as guiding principles for humanity

(the self seeks fulfillment, but never at the expense of others).

The participant-observer notion is related to the reality creation as an innate ability of

humanity.

Provisional summary of the spiral dynamics analysis. Following is a summary of the

findings of my analysis. I thought of this summary as provisional because I wanted to leave open

the possibility that I would understand things differently after completing the analysis using the

other two developmental theories which followed. In fact, I did decide to include a final

summary of the entire THEA analysis in addition to the individual summaries for each theory.

After the final summary I was able to refine the statement of my interpretive lens. This

provisional summary addresses the similarities, differences, and contradictions I found between

Spiral Dynamics and the Seth material. It concludes with new insights gained that affected my

way of thinking about the Seth material.

Similarities. There were striking similarities between Spiral Dynamics and the Seth

material in the description of evolution as we know it, that is, non-metaphysical evolution. As

my analysis showed, there was a surprising degree of stage by stage congruence between the two

explanations of human evolution. In addition, the entire idea of worldviews or vMemes was taken

up by Seth using similar terminology to describe how attractors work; Seth said that the ideas

held at every level or worldview actually have electromagnetic reality which give them a
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magnetic quality: Ideas generate emotion. Like attracts like, so similar ideas group about each

other and you accept those that fit in with your particular system of ideas (Roberts, 1994a,

Session 616, p. 37). Both theories describe a joint process involving evolution of consciousness

as well as physical evolution of the species. Both describe how perception is totally subjective in

the beginning, gradually became more objective as intelligence adapts and complexifies, and

now seems to be moving toward a renewed subjectivity at todays leading edge of evolution

only this time balanced with objectivity and reason. Both theories posit that latent abilities lie

within humanity to be activated at each new stage of development; and the incidents that trigger

the recrudescence of these dormant potentials are similar, that is, life conditions and problems

that need to be solved with more advanced intelligence systems. A final similarity is in the role

god-making is assigned in both theories. Spiral Dynamics shows that there are many ways of

viewing spirituality or religion, in fact, each stage has its own ways. As was explained earlier,

each vMeme is a container for beliefs, values, ideas, and ideologies that help to give meaning to

life at the various stratified levels of existence. Throughout this analysis we have seen how

various peoples have embraced god-concepts which supported their worldviews. Seths

explanation does not seem to contradict the Spiral Dynamics viewpoint:

When, in historic terms, the race was in the process of adopting a necessary artificial
separation of itself from the rest of nature; when it needed to be assured of its abilities to
do so; when it took upon itself the task of a particular kind of specialization and
individual focus, it needed a religion that would assure it of its abilities. . . . I am telling
you that so-called evolution and religion are closely connected. (Roberts, 1977/1996a,
Session 690, p. 112)

Perhaps the greatest area of similarity between Seths teachings and Spiral Dynamics is

the idea that development is forever emerging. Seth likewise says that the universe, and

consciousness, along with it (since the universe is made up of consciousness) is endlessly

expanding. As far as Spiral Dynamics is concerned, there is nothing in the model that would
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predict an end point. Seth places this discussion within the context of creativity; he says, This

energy [which is imbued at the time of ones creation] comes from the core of BEING, from All

That Is, and represents the source of never-ending vitality (Roberts, 1994a, Session 613, p. 13).

Differences. For all of the similarities between Spiral Dynamics and the Seth material,

there are major difference having to do with time perception, species survival, purpose of

existence, and so forth. Seth says that all types of empirical knowledge is really only revealing

information about the surface structure of reality, not its underlying and essential nature. While

most human development theories say that evolution happens because people outgrow old

systems or face enormous environmental or social challenges and must change in order to

survive, Seth goes further. According to Seths teachings, humanity belongs to a system of

reality (one of many) in which our species chooses its evolutionary pathways. You are involved

in a learning process in which all elements inherent in the situation will be explored (Roberts,

1994a, Session 663, p. 342). We have not yet looked in depth at Seths ideas about reincarnation,

but will so do in the next section. Let it suffice for now to say that Seth claims that we keep

reincarnating to experience every aspect of the co-creation that is physical reality. Seths

teachings, further, say that besides reincarnational lives, there are also probable livesall of

which contribute to humanitys total experience. There will be much more on probable realities

in the fourth section of this analysis. According to Seth, Evolution, as you think of it and as it is

categorized by your scientists, represents but one probable line of evolution the one in which,

again, you are presently immersed (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 559, p. 201). Besides that

difference, there is another significant one involving how events out there in the world are

interpreted and how they affect evolution. Because Seth instructs that all species and the entire

reality we know is constructed of one thing, CUs, our universe is holistically connected; Earth
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itself is a gestalt consciousness. Even land changes, weather conditions, social upheavals, and so

forth, are intimately working in harmony to help consciousness expand. According to Seth

Land changes and alterations of species are conditions brought about in line with overall
patterns that involve all species, or land and water masses, at any given time. There is a
great organization of consciousness involved on such occasionssometimes creative
cataclysms, in which, again from its own precognitive information, nature brings about
those situations best suited to its needs. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 690, p. 110)

Contrary to the way Spiral Dynamics explains it, it is not that life conditions just happen

to come about to which humankind then reacts; instead, Seth asserts that life conditions are

created in order to bring about changes in consciousness development. Seth alleges that:

Consciousness forms the environment. . . . When they [CUs] form living creatures they
become a physical basis for species alteration. The bodys adaptability is not simply an
adjusting mechanism or quality. The cells have inner capabilities that you have not
discovered. They contain within themselves memory of all the previous forms they
have been a part of. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 705, p. 287)

Contradictions and distinctions. I did not find any major contradictions between Spiral

Dynamics and the Seth material. However, the Seth material, as Wilber would say, transcends

and includes the realm of reality that Spiral Dynamics addresses. This in no way diminishes the

value or postulates of Spiral Dynamics. Beck and Cowan (1996), when discussing the practical

application of their model in the world, spoke of Spiral Wizards as individuals who would

recognize the importance of every level along the spiral, encouraging people to develop

horizontally within their level of development, and keeping the spiral healthy throughout so that

vertical development could also occur when appropriate. These Spiral Wizards do not have a

feeling of superiority, for there is quality and value at every level. Nevertheless, Spiral Dynamics

is a hierarchical system from the point of view of increasing complexity at higher levels on the

spiral. Seth was concerned about acknowledging levels and hierarchies and, in fact, said there

really were no such things as levels from his perspective, only from ours. Seth said that
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discussion of levels and hierarchies are based upon your idea of one-personhood, consecutive

time, and limited versions of the soul (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 683, p. 51). He encouraged

his readers not to feel small when taking into account the broader reality that he was describing

in his books:

This material should not make you feel unimportant or insignificant. The framework is so
woven that each particle [of consciousness] is dependent upon every other. The strength
of one adds to the strength of all. The weakness of one weakens the whole. The energy of
one recreates the whole. The striving of one increases the potentiality of everything that
is, and this places great responsibility upon every consciousness.
I would even advise a double reading of the above sentence, for it is a keystone,
and a vital one. Rising to challenges is a basis for existence in every aspect of existence.
It is the developer of all abilities, and at the risk of being trite, it is the responsibility of
even the most minute particle of consciousness to use its own abilities, and all of its
abilities, to the utmost. Upon the degree to which this is done rests the power and
coherence of everything that is. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 681, p. 35)

The sentiment just expressed is one that I believe a Spiral Wizard would also embrace.

One of the most difficult concepts in the Seth material and one which seems at odds with

the entire Spiral Dynamics theory is simultaneous time. While Seth laid out development

sequentially in time as we know it, as I have explained previously, he also said many times that

he did so because that is how we view things from within our own framework of reality. The

explosion of divine subjectivity into objectivity that was described previously, however, means

that each unit of consciousness is continuously being created by All That Is in one grand

framework called the spacious present (Roberts, 1986/1997, Essay #7, p. 67). With

simultaneous time, past, present, and future, are all happening at once. Additionally, there are

many realities, from reincarnational to probable, and another besides, in which counterparts of

our current selves exist in the same time and space framework as we do, yet in a different

personality. For example, the reader may have a counterpart living nearby or on the other side of
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the world in a different personality from his or her own, yet still be intimately connected on an

inner level with that counterpart. Seth described it like this:

So can the human self appear in several places at once, each such appearance subtly
altering the human particle, so that each appearance is a version of an original self
that as itself never appears in those terms. When you look at an electronfiguratively
speakingyou are observing a trace or a track of something else entirely, and that
appearance is termed an electron. So the self that you know is a physical trace or
intrusion into space and time of an original self that never appears. In a way, then,
you are as ghostly as an electron.
The unknown self, the original self, straddles realities, dipping in and out of
them in creative versions of itself, taking on the properties of the system in which it
appears, and the characteristics native to that environment. Waves and particles are
versions of other kinds of behavior taken by energy. Using that analogy, you flow in
wavelike fashion into the physical particleized versions that you call corporal existences.
(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 722, p. 452)

Conclusion. As I finish this aspect of my analysis, I have an idea in mind that answers

the questionWhy channeled material? It appears that every stage has people acting as

messengers, so to speak, of the emerging values in society. We do not know who those people

might have been for the very earliest stages of unrecorded history, but Beck and Cowan (2006)

identify people who helped propagate the values for more recently emergent vMemes. For

example, Ayn Rand espoused Orange values, John Lennons lyrics inspired Green values,

Deepak Chopra advocates on behalf of Yellow values, and David Bohm and Pierre Teilhard de

Chardin both developed concepts that inspire Turquoise values. In this group, we have an

atheist/novelist, a singer/song-writer, a doctor/contemporary guru, and a paleontologist/

philosopher. Is there something about the roles these people have that make them suited to speak

for the levels of consciousness they address themselves to? I am so curious to understand

whether these are simply people who happened to embrace the worldviews they came to be

associated with or whether they or others like them actually triggered the worldviews emergence.

Where did they get their ideas from?

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There is one concept in the Seth material that intrigues me and seems somehow related to

my question. It has to do with the present being influenced by the future. Before I close out this

section, here is one more statement from Seth that explains the concept I refer to. In it Seth is

using a flower that grows from a bulb in an analogy:

All consciousness, in all of its forms, exists at once. It is difficult, without appearing to
contradict myself, to explain. Go back to our bulb and flower. In basic terms they exist at
once. In your terms, however, it is as if the flower to be, from its future calls back to
the bulb and tells it how to make the flower. Memory operates backward and forward in
time. The flower calling back to the bulb, urging it ahead and reminding it of its
(probable future) developmentis like a future self in your terms, or a more highly
advanced self, who has the answers and can indeed be quite practically relied upon.
(Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 683, p. 52)

I cannot help wonder what future self is urging me and my contemporaries forward right now

and in what direction. Seth said there were people in every time period who took on the precise

role I am curious about. He called them Speakers and described their roles in the various plays of

life like this:

There are those who appear within these plays fully aware. These personalities willingly
take roles, knowing that they are roles, in order to lead the others toward the necessary
realization and development. They lead the actors to see beyond the selves and settings
they have created. These personalities from other levels of existence oversee the play, so
to speak, and appear among the actors. Their purpose is to open up within the three-
dimensional selves those psychological doorways that will release the three-dimensional
self for further development in another system of reality. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session
522, p. 54)

Who will be the Speakers for our future selves in coming days? Perhaps there will be some clue

provided in the next section.

Applying Aurobindos spiritual evolution lens.

Overall frame of reference. In the previous section I explained that Spiral Dynamics is

based on a materialist or reductionist worldview which describes solely the physical side of

things, even if in a holistic scheme; it is based on traditional methods of scientific inquiry. Leicht
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(2006) called this kind of theory supraterrestrial (p. 9); it does not take into account any kind

of occult information that might speak to reality beyond the physical; reality is here, in our

universe. Sri Aurobindos theory, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with a hidden reality

that is not knowable via the physical senses. Aurobindo did not, however, discount the idea of

material evolution (e.g., Darwinism); he accepted that it described the adaptation of organisms to

the physical universe well enough. However, Aurobindo (1914/1990) believed that Divine

consciousness manifested the material world so the material world was a subset of a much larger

reality:

A theory of spiritual evolution is not identical with a scientific theory of form . . . it may
accept the scientific account of physical evolution as a support or an element, but the
support is not indispensable. The scientific theory is concerned only with the outward and
visible machinery and process . . . but that will not affect the self-evident fact of a
spiritual evolution, an evolution of Consciousness, a progression of the souls
manifestation in material existence. (p. 868)

Leicht (2006) called Aurobindos theory cosmic terrestrial and explained the cosmic

terrestrial like this:

This material cosmic creation is true, but there are other worlds, more permanent and
eternal in their duration and it is they that form the link between the reality above and the
reality here. There is also the claim of immortality of the soul. Death is not the end. Man
dies, but he does not cease to exist. He lives in other worlds. His soul continues its life on
other planes. And the true home of man is beyond. The world is a preparatory stage, the
destination is there. (p. 10)

With respect to these last two pointsa hidden world beyond the physical and the

continuation of the soul beyond deathAurobindos spiritual evolution theory would appear to

be very much like the Seth material; a closer analysis will reveal how closely the two theories

actually align. Here may also be a good place to mention that Aurobindo capitalizes many terms

in his books and I have followed his lead when I write about the concepts to which those terms
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apply. He also uses dashes and commas in unusual ways, which I do not correct in his

quotations, but which I am not going to flag as errors either.

By way of background, Chaudhuri (1973), in a brief profile of Sri Aurobindo, described

how Aurobindo spent a good portion of his life in yogic practice, during which time, by all

accounts, he became a seer of exceptional ability. Prior to this spiritual turn, however,

Aurobindos personal history would not necessarily have foretold very well the future direction

of his life. Aurobindo was born in Calcutta and lived the first 7 years of his life in India. His

parents wanted their children to be Western educated so they entrusted Aurobindo to an English

family while he studied at St. Pauls School in London and then at Kings College, Cambridge

where he excelled. At the age of 21, Aurobindo returned to India where he worked as an

educator and also became involved in political activism against what he viewed as the British

governments exploitation of India. Aurobindo claims to have had visions of Indias

independence and he ultimately was arrested and jailed for promoting revolutionary and

seditious ideas while a leader of the Nationalist Party. It was while Aurobindo was incarcerated

for a year that he conducted an intensive study of the ancient Vedic texts, the Bhagavad-Gita and

the Upanishads, and he concurrently spent a great deal of his time in intensive meditation and

yogic practice. There he experienced cosmic consciousness and realization of the Divine in its

cosmic all-pervasiveness, according to Chaudhuri (1973, p. 11). From then on, Aurobindo had

further experiences of increasing spiritual profundity which convinced him that it was possible

for the material world to be transformed into Divine Life on Earth. According to Aurobindo

expert, Cornelissen (2004), Aurobindo had phenomenological access to a range of conscious

experiences through mystic visions, lucid dreams, and a state of clear consciousness that arises

during deep sleep and which is beyond dreams. Aurobindo was released from prison as a
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transformed man. He dropped out of politics and visualized his own life mission as the task of

dynamizing the vast spiritual heritage of India (Chaudhuri, 1973, p. 7). Aurobindo believed that

it was Indias destiny to live for the fulfillment of the Divine Will in the world and for the

collective good of humanity. Her supreme task is to function effectively as an instrument of the

creative force of human evolution (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 9). With that goal, Aurobindo

went on to write his magnum opus, The Life Divine, upon which the following analysis was

conducted.

In terms of organization, the previous section on Spiral Dynamics was organized

according to the stages of development in the theory. As you will recall, each stage represented a

worldview on the spiral of evolutionary development. Aurobindos theory is based on the

evolution of consciousness, not physical evolution. Aurobindos model reflects a two-part

process that he calls involution and evolution. I will begin explaining this central thesis of

spiritual evolution and thereafter follow the general outline of The Life Divine. Rather than

organizing this section by stage, I will roughly follow the outline that Aurobindo uses for his

own book. I will attempt to simplify and condense key information from pertinent chapters for

the reader who is not familiar with this lengthy volume. As in the previous section, I will

juxtapose Seths model to Aurobindos as I go, pointing out similarities, differences and other

important distinctions.

Involution and evolution. Central to understanding involution and evolution in

Aurobindos theory is his explanation of how the universe came into being. Aurobindo teaches

that beyond the appearances of physical matter there is one consciousness, a non-Being. Out of

that non-Being all reality was created. These are two aspects or states of the one Reality:

We start, then, with the conception of an omnipresent Reality of which neither the Non-
Being at the one end nor the universe at the other are negations that annul; they are rather
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different states of the Reality, obverse and reverse affirmations. (Aurobindo, 1914/1990,
p. 43)

In its state of eternal Existence, Reality is infinite in nature and undivided; it exists in a state of

total bliss. However, this original, Divine Consciousness spreads a portion of itself out (via a

Force-Consciousness) to become the entire universe, endowing all forms of mind, life, and

matter with its own Divine nature. Aurobindo (1914/1990) says that Mind is the nodus of the

great Ignorance, because it is that which originally divides and distributes (p. 177). Once

consciousness becomes exclusively focused at the level of Mind (which refers to the human

mentality level), according to Aurobindo, it views everything from its own standpoint and

ignores all other viewpoints; this is what Aurobindos term the Ignorance refers to, and it will

be described next. Nevertheless, everything we know has within its essence a spark of the Divine

and, therefore, shares in Realitys bliss:

Just as its force of consciousness is capable of throwing itself into forms infinitely and
with an endless variation, so also its self-delight is capable of movement, of variation, of
reveling in that infinite flux and mutability of itself represented by numberless teeming
universes. (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, pp. 98-99)

This Pure Existent Reality Aurobindo calls Sachchidananda but he uses many other

words to describe it as well. One expression that Aurobindo uses to describe Divine Reality is

all that is and this is exactly the term that Seth uses for the One Reality, although Seth

requested that it be capitalized as All That Is. Seths description of nonbeing (as he spells it) is

very like Aurobindos and includes his own explanation as to why All That Is manifested into

infinite forms. As a disclaimer let it be said that Seth points out that he is telling what he knows

and he admits there is much he does not know.

In Seths view, nonbeing is not a state of nothingness, but a state in which probabilities

and possibilities are known and anticipated but blocked from expression (The Seth Material,
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1970, p. 264). For All That Is, this state was experienced as an agonized search for expression

which became unbearable:

All That Is, then, became aware of a kind of creative tumult as each of its superlative
thoughts and dreams, moods and feelings, strained at the very edges of their beings,
looking for some then-unknown, undiscovered, as of then unthought-of release. . . .
What door could open to let physical reality emerge from such an inner realm? When
All That Is, in your terms, put all of those conditions together it saw, of course, in a flash,
the mental creation of those objective worlds that would be neededand as it imagined
those worlds, in your terms, they were physically created. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session
883, p. 129)

Purportedly, All That Is remembers that state of agony, as does every speck of creation in every

form, and it is for that reason that all forms of consciousness have a built-in impetus toward

survival, change, development, and creativity. This impulse Seth called value fulfillment

(Roberts, 1986/1997, Essay #1, p. 20). It is the extension of the Divine Love of All That Is built

into every unit of consciousness. The urge for value fulfillment is what gives humans and all

other forms of consciousness their purpose in being. It helps humanity to understand the

qualities of love and creativity, to intellectually and psychically understand the sources of [their]

being, and to lovingly create other dimensions of reality . . . worlds which will in their turn grow

into consciousness (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 901, p. 239). Although it is a difficult concept

to define, basically, value fulfillment is best understood as the love that is infused into every CU;

upon value fulfillment, the great cooperation of the universe is based:

Each portion of energy is endowed with an inbuilt reach of creativity that seeks to fulfill
its own potentials in all possible variationsand in such a way that such a development
also furthers the creative potentials of each other portion of reality. (Roberts, 1986/1997,
Session 884, p. 138)

Aurobindo speaks of Human Aspiration comparably to the way Seth speaks of value

fulfillment. He says,

The earliest preoccupation of man in his awakened thoughts and, as it seems, his
inevitable and ultimate preoccupationfor it survives the longest periods of skepticism
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and returns after every banishmentalso the highest which his thought can envisage.
It manifests itself in the divination of Godhead, the impulse towards perfection, the
search after pure Truth and unmixed Bliss, the sense of secret immortality.
(Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 5)

How does one attempt to realize value fulfillment or to fulfill human aspiration? Aurobindo

(1914/1990) describes Consciousness-Force as the vehicle by which all phenomenal existence

resolves itself into . . . a movement of energy that . . . is the seed of a universe (p. 89). For

Aurobindo, consciousness is primary and causal, unlike its role in materialistic science where

consciousness is believed to be an epiphenomenon of the brain. From a technical point of view,

Aurobindo (1914/1990) explains that Consciousness-Force is a state of which the peculiar

property is vibration typified to us by the phenomenon of sound (p. 89). He says that there is a

contraction and expansion of vibrations in this state that is the first step in matter formation.

Forces act upon other forces and start a process by which first unstable forms emanate, followed

eventually, after a series of steps, by stable forms being built up. This process appears to me to

provide a plausible explanation for Seths Dream world, Sleepwalkers, and Ancient Dreamers,

that were described in the Spiral Dynamics section. Those concepts were spoken about in terms

of pulsations, unstable matter, and forms fluctuating between the inner world and the outer world

before finally stabilizing in physical reality. Seth also spoke of sound and light qualities (he

called them sound and light values) as the basis for materialization of matter, just as Aurobindo

did. According to Seth, sound and light values:

Preceded the emergence of the physical body. They also exist after the body's death.
While the condition of the body is directed by the conscious mind in life, then, the idea
or mental pattern for the body existed before the conscious mind's connection with the
physical brain.
The genes and chromosomes do not just happen to have within them the precisely
definite coded information that will be needed. The data is [sic] impressed upon them
from within. The identity exists before the form. You could say that the identity, existing
in another dimension entirely, plants the seed into the medium of physical reality from
which its own material existence will spring. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 626, p. 97)
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Seth explains the confusion that can arise when trying to understand the relationship between

consciousness flowing from inner vibrational activity and the physical brain:

The seeming division in the self occurs, for in physical life the conscious mind must be
connected with the brain, and in terms of time that organ itself must grow and develop.
So all of your consciousness cannot be physically aware. The portion that must wait for
the brain's development is the part you call in life the conscious mind.
The other portions can be called the inner self. Now all of this inner self cannot
become expressed even with its connection with the brain, since the brain must sift
perception through the physical apparatus. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 626, p. 100)

Aurobindo (1914/1990) says almost the identical thing about the subjectivity of consciousness

and the objectivity of physical reality:

Supraphysical realities by their very nature cannot be referred to the judgment of the
physical or sense mind except when they project themselves into the physical, and even
then that judgment is often incompetent . . . they can only be verified by other senses and
by a method of scrutiny and affirmation which is applicable to their own reality, their
own nature. . . . There are different orders of reality. (p. 677)

Aurobindo (1914/1990) emphasized the delight of existence in his explanation of

creations purpose, saying To loose forth and enjoy this infinite movement and variation of its

self-delight is the object of its extensive or creative play of Force (pp. 98-99). Seth likewise said

that each consciousness of every minute degree rejoices in sensation and creativity. Using words

strikingly similar to Aurobindo, Seth said:

In a fashion, creative play is your human version of far greater characteristics from which
your universe itself was formed. . . . The universe is the natural extension of divine
creativity and intent, lovingly formed from the inside outso there was consciousness
before there was matter, and not the other way around. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 886,
p. 147)

The Force that Aurobindo described is the second in a three-part process of creation. The

first part, just described, is the manifestation of infinite delight into form (unmanifested); the

second part is the transition of that creative idea into a Consciousness-Force; the third and final

part is the actual expression of the form. These three steps together are the steps of involution,
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that is, the descent of Divinity into physical existence. According to Aurobindo, once involution

effectuates itself all the way down into inconscient matter, the reverse processevolution

begins. Using that same force described above, consciousness slowly impels itself to grow and

develop step by step. The steps begin at inconscient matter and ascend through living being

(animals), thinking being (humans), and finally there is A release of the formed thinking being

into the free realization of itself as the One (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 124). Because Aurobindo

sometimes uses the term Absolute as an alternative to Divine Being, I originally had the sense

that the Absolute was a fixed or static type of existence and that evolution just brought a being

exactly back to the point from which it had started. It seemed to me that involution and evolution

might be describing a closed loop. Upon closer consideration, however, it seems possible that

Aurobindo believed that Pure Existence is neither static nor in flux, but paradoxically both at

once. As Aurobindo (1914/1990) explained:

Therefore we say that the pure existence is an Absolute and in itself unknowable by our
thought although we can go back to it in a supreme identity that transcends the terms of
knowledge. The movement, on the contrary, is the field of the relative and yet by the very
definition of the relative all things in the movement contain, are contained in and are the
Absolute. (p. 85)

Therefore, both the being and becoming are truths of the absolute Reality. Seths words were not

as difficult for me to understand; he stressed repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that the

creativity of consciousness that burst into objectivity extended the experience and immense

existence of All That Is (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 894, p. 201). Describing All That Is as a

process (p. 215) and also a state of relatedness (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 897, p. 215),

Seth explained that All That Is is both completed and uncompleted, and that from our point of

view seems to grow:

All That Is creates its reality as it goes along. Each world has its own impetus, yet all are
ultimately connected. The true dimensions of a divine creativity would be unendurable
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for any one consciousness of whatever import, and so that splendor is infinitely
dimensionalized, worlds spiraling outward with each moment of a cosmic breath . . .
growing at such a rate that All That Is multiplies itself at microseconds . . . with no
individual consciousness, however minute, ever lost. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 933,
Note 1, p. 464)

In the end, I still feel uncertain whether I understand Aurobindos claim about consciousness

returning to the Spirit. At the very end of The Life Divine, in a section explaining the end point of

evolution, Aurobindo (1914/1990) says that it is the bliss of existence (Ananda) that carries

back the soul in its return to the status of the Spirit (p. 1028). This, I think, may imply that the

souls return is not a literal return but a return in quality or characteristic.

Both Aurobindo and Seth put a positive and optimistic slant on a concept that is primary

to the perennial philosophy, that is, Gods transcendence and immanence. Aurobindo uses word

like delight and bliss, Seth words like love, joyousness, and creativity. Both theories are world

affirming rather than world negating. Although both say that physical reality is veiled so that

physical beings have a false view of Truth, they both say that there are latent abilities existent

that will allow humanity to lift the veil, rise from ignorance, and evolve toward Truth. This is the

subject of the next section.

Ignorance, evil, and evolution. Why and how did God/All That Is allow itself to plunge

into ignorance and where did suffering and evil come from? Aurobindo posits two possibilities

for why God would have done this: (a) by creating a sense of separation between the Divine

Subjectivity and the manifest objectivity and then overcoming it, the intense joy of reunion could

be experienced; (b) by descending step by step from Mind, to Life, and finally to Matter

(inconscience), Sachchidananda is reaffirmed through the illumination of conditions that seem to

be its opposite. This is like contrasting light and dark in art or photography to highlight or set off

certain aspects of a composition. Mohrhoff (2008) speculated that these conditions [might] be
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the very conditions that lend the greatest possible stability and concreteness to its progressive

self-realization, which may go on forever (p. 12). This seems to be the spiritual equivalent of

what Spiral Dynamics called the never-ending quest (Graves, n.d., para. 1) of physical

evolutiona dialectical tension that impels development. Seth, like Mohrhoff, also seems to tie

the so-called forces of evil to evolution:

You imagine that if something is good, there must be a countering force that is evil. Such
is not the case. In greater terms these forces are good. They are protective. They nourish
every living thing. They have been the impetus for what you think of as evolution. . . .
There is a great cooperation, again, between such forces. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session
691, p. 118)

Elsewhere, Seth said that:

There is no evil in basic terms. This does not mean that you do not meet with effects that
appear evil, but as you each move individually through the dimensions of your own
consciousness, you will understand that all seeming opposites are other faces of the one
supreme drive toward creativity. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 648, p. 243)

Aurobindo says that on every plane of consciousness, one builds up acquired knowledge,

memories, judgments, and so forth and these are what one uses to proceed from the unknown to

the known. As new knowledge is acquired it is compared to past knowledge and either rejected

or assimilated. Ones interpretation could be restricted by the limits of ones current plane of

consciousness. Aurobindo (1914/1990) says:

The endeavor to select, to retain from our consciousness and action all that seems to us
good and reject all that seems to us evil and so to re-form our being . . . rests on the sound
idea that our life is a becoming and that there is something which we have to become and
be. But the ideals constructed by the human mind are selective and relative. (p. 651)

Rather poetically, Aurobindo (1914/1990) explained that in the conflict between the yes and the

no of Nature we discover Supreme Natures Truth via a guide within (pp. 655-656) who is a

discerning witness able to separate truth from error, good from evil, as our limited mind alone
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would not be able to do. Eventually, dichotomies such as these would disappear at the highest

levels.

Aurobindo gives a detailed and practical explanation as to how the Knower and the

known became separated and distinct. He said that Consciousness-Force has the power to

project, confront, and apprehend consciousness; in this way, the All is able to observe itself in a

multitude of different aspects. Mohrhoff (2008) said that:

It is in this apprehending poise, in which the many situated selves present themselves to
each other as objects, that the familiar dimensions of spaceviewer-centered depth and
lateral extentcome into being and Sachchidananda effectively differentiates into
consciousness and substance. (p. 14)

Seth too, speaks of the knower as that part of ones greater being that has instant

comprehension of all knowledge belonging to ones greater self. According to Seth

The knower is instantly aware of all your needs, and is the portion of the universe that is
personally disposed in your direction because its energies form your own person. . . . It
forms the very fabric of your individual being. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 922, p. 403)

According to Aurobindo, the all-knowing aspect of Consciousness is capable of multiple

types of concentration in various orders or planes of existence, the physical plane being just one.

But once in the physical plane, consciousness has a singular focus and forgets its knowledge of

the greater Reality. This is nearly identical to the way that Seth describes what happens to make

physical beings forget their Divine heritage:

Since you all have a hand in forming this physical setting, and since you are ensconced
yourself in a physical form, then using the physical senses you will only perceive this
fantastic setting. The reality that exists both within it and beyond it will elude you. . . .
Within him there are methods of perception that allow him to see through the camouflage
settings. . . . In a large manner, the physical senses actually form the physical reality they
seem to only perceive. They are themselves part of the camouflage, but they are like
lenses over your natural inner perceptions that force you to see an available field of
activity as physical matter; and so they can be relied upon only to tell you what is
happening in a superficial manner. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 522, p. 55)
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In Aurobindos theory, when Sachchidananda takes on its multiplicity of forms, it does so

by creating a series of intermediate worlds or planes of consciousness which descend like a

ladder to the lowest level, inconscient matter. These planes, according to Aurobindo

(1914/1990), are discrete and self-supporting:

These other still conscient stages of the involution are indeed organizations of Conscious
Force in which each lives from his own centre, follows out his own possibilities, and the
predominant principle itself, whether Mind, Life or Matter, works out things on its own
independent basis. (p. 302)

Seth in several places discounts this idea of a ladder of higher and lower levels of

consciousness. To the contrary, Seth says:

You have a propensity for wanting to think in terms of hierarchies of consciousness. . . .

The divine gestalt, however, is expressed in such a way that its quality is undiluted. It
cannot be watered down, so that in basic terms one portion of existence is somehow up
or down the scale from another. It is all Grade A [with amusement]. (Roberts, 1986/1997,
Session 886, p. 156)

This is a bit confusing, and it may be that Seth and Aurobindo are actually saying the

same thing using different semantics, since in many parts of his books Seth does actually talk

about stages and levels of consciousness; he says, however, that he speaks in this way because

our ideas are limited by our three-dimensional concepts. When it comes to consciousness, the

explanation that I found most helpful was this:

The soul can change the focus of its consciousness, and uses consciousness as you use
the eyes in your head. . . . But environments are not objective things, conglomerations
of objects that exist independently of you. Instead, you form them and they are quite
literally extensions of yourself; materialized mental acts that extend outward from your
consciousness. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 519, p. 37)

In certain parts of The Life Divine, Aurobindo (1914/1990) describes inconscient matter

as static (p. 937), unconscious (p. 857), in a blind sleep (p. 301), or like an eternal

somnambulist (p. 740). This at first caused me to think that on this point there was a major

difference between Seths theory and Aurobindos, because Seth definitely ascribes
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consciousness to all matter, even rocks and synthetic things. However, deeper reading caused me

to reevaluate my first impression. Aurobindo says:

Life, mind, Supermind are present in the atom, are at work there, but invisible, occult,
latent in a subconscious or apparently unconscious action of the Energy; there is an
informing Spirit, but the outer force and figure of being, what we might call the formal or
form existence as distinguished from the immanent or secretly governing consciousness,
is lost in the physical action, is so absorbed into it as to be fixed in a stereotyped self-
oblivion unaware of what it is and what it is doing. The electron and atom are in this
view eternal somnambulists. (pp. 741-742)

Aurobindo (1914/1990) further stated that even when the point is reached at which

Consciousness-Force seems to separate Consciousness from Force, and the Mind has forgotten

its own source Consciousness has to struggle back to itself. . . . For the Ignorance is still in

reality a knowledge seeking for itself behind the original mask of Inconscience (p. 301).

This seems to me to correspond precisely with Seths version of things, although Seth is

more explicit:

I call your physical reality a camouflage. Yet these camouflages are composed of the
vitality of the universe. The rocks and stones and mountains and earth are living
camouflage, interlocking psychic webs formed by minute consciousnesses that you
cannot perceive as such. The atoms and molecules within them have their own
consciousness, as do the atoms and molecules within your body. (Roberts, 1972/1994b,
Session 522, p. 54)

In Aurobindos theory of spiritual evolution, it is only after Consciousness-Force hits

rock bottom, so to speak, that evolution can begin. However, the state of consciousness at this

lowest level has very little energy or power of its own. Aurobindo says that there is a two-fold

process that takes placea reaching upward from the lower planes of consciousness in response

to a teleological force pulling from above. These two actions cooperate to lift the lower form of

energy up to the next highest plane, but only after the capacities of the previous plane are

developed to their fullest and are compelled to exceed themselves. Aurobindo theorizes that

instances of self-exceeding will be few in the beginning of a transition period. He does not
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suggest anything like the massive shift of human consciousness that has been predicted to

happen in 2012 by so many New Age authors; on this, Seth agrees, suggesting that it would take

almost a century for the emerging consciousness advancement to take hold. Aurobindo

(1914/1990) says:

It must be conceded at once that there is not the least probability or possibility of the
whole human race rising in a block to the supramental level; what is suggested is nothing
so revolutionary and astonishing, but only the capacity in the human mentality, when it
has reached a certain level or a certain point of stress of the evolutionary impetus, to
press towards a higher plane of consciousness and its embodiment in the being (p. 875)

Supermind, overmind, and the psychic being. Aurobindo says that just as there are limits

to what humans can see and hear because some portions of the full spectrums of light and sound

are out of the range of human perception, so too is consciousness limited in range on the various

planes of existence. Yet our ego selves do at times get a sense of the Spirit, through such

phenomena as inspiration, revelation, intuition, mystic visions and other flashes of

enlightenment. Such experiences connect us to a part of reality Aurobindo (1914/1990) calls

Supermind, and he considers it humanitys ultimate resting place (p. 5). Supermind, according

to Aurobindo, is responsible for all of creation and its organization in the cosmos, as well as for

evolution. Aurobindo uses many different names for Supermind, including Truth-Consciousness,

Real-Idea, and the sum of Divine Knowledge and Divine Will. Supermind deploys itself into

space and time without losing awareness of its basic unity, and it is this which assures that divine

delight manifests in the world. Aurobindo (1914/1990) claims that there are two ways to access

the phenomena which give us a taste of Supermindthrough gradual effort such as meditation

and spiritual discipline (ascending in direction); this is the first possibility. Once gaining access

in this way, one finds within oneself an

inner being, a soul, an inner mind, an inner life, an inner subtle-physical entity which is
much larger in its potentialities, more plastic, more powerful, more capable of a manifold
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knowledge and dynamism than our surface mind, life or body. (Aurobindo, 1914/1990,
p. 291)

The inner being has entry upward into domains beyond our present mental level; it stands

between Mind and Supermind, as an intermediary. To clarify, the planes of existence are thought

by Aurobindo to be truly existent, not simply constructs; the psychic being is a dimension of

consciousness within a person which guides him or her through the planes of existence.

The second possibility for accessing Truth, according to Aurobindo (1914/1990) is a

dynamic descent of light, knowledge, power, bliss or other supernormal energies into our self of

silence (p. 292). It is an automatic and spontaneous downpouring of knowledge from a Higher

Mind. This Higher Mind is not yet Supermind, the field of Truth Force, but it is just a step away.

Aurobindo (1914/1990) calls this level Overmind and says it is the occult link between Mind

and Supermind, the power that at once connects and divides the supreme Knowledge and the

cosmic Ignorance (pp. 293-294). Aurobindo divides the planes of consciousness in two

segments, with four transcendent realms above (Sat, Chit, Ananda, and Supermind) and three

physical realms below (Mind, Life, Body)Overmind being the link between. In The Life

Divine, Aurobindo quotes the Isha Upanishad, which says, The face of Truth is hidden by a

Golden Lid (p. 286). This lid is thought to be related to the Overmind plane. According to

Aurobindo, there is an intensely bright boundary between the upper and lower realms; the lid

opens when evolution brings a human being to the furthest reaches of the lower realms.

Kleinman (2006), interpreting Aurobindos Life Divine, said that the opening of the Golden Lid

unite[s] the two hemispheres in a luminous sea of Consciousness. . . . evolution is bringing the

light down into the material darkness in the course of time (p. 212). I wonder if the light

streaming through the opening in the Golden Lid is somehow related to the bright light that

people report seeing during near death experiences.

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As noted previously, Aurobindo (1914/1990) said there was a secret soul hidden in all of

Nature. That soul, Aurobindo called the psychic being (p. 239). It contains the spark of the

Divine which seeds all creation. It is conscious of good, truth, and beauty, and cannot be

polluted, although it does evolve. The psychic being is that which is responsible for the spiritual

transformation of an individual. It is able to work through the instrumentation of the body, life,

and mind by turning ones attention inward, moving body, life, and mind away from the lower

realms in which our nature is not as lofty and towards the higher onesspiritualizing the lower

realms, so to speak. Aurobindo (1914/1990) says that:

The psychic being, the soul-personality in us, does not emerge full-grown and luminous;
it evolves, passes through a slow development and formation. . . . It is too, by the
obscurity of our consciousness, separated from its inner reality, in imperfect
communication with its own source in the depths of the being; for the road is as yet
ill-built, easily obstructed. . . . As the psychic personality grows stronger, it begins to
increase its communion with the psychic entity behind it. . . . It is only when man
awakes to the knowledge of the soul and feels a need to bring it to the front and make
it the master of his life and action that a quicker conscious method of evolution
intervenes and a psychic transformation becomes possible. (pp. 930-931)

So far, I have described how the psychic being can be thought of as the soul within us

which guides us in our spiritual transformation by evolving along with our physical selves and

turning us toward the Truth. Each time we act on a higher or better impulse in ourselves, the

psychic being gains strength. The way Aurobindo describes this process it seems that there is a

psychic personality inside and a psychic entity outside but that the two are aspects of one

structure. This is very similar to Seths contention that you are a part of your soul. It belongs

to you, and you to it (Roberts, 1994a, Session 637, p. 158).

The comparison between Aurobindo and Seth is very difficult on the point of souls

because there are many terms involved and both Aurobindo and Seth use different terms. I have

come, after many readings, to believe that Aurobindos psychic being or soul personality is
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equivalent to what Seth calls the self, the soul, or entity. Seth asks his readers to Think of the

greater youcall it the entity if you want toas forming a psychic structure quite as real as

your physical one, but composed of many selves (Roberts, 1994a, Session 637, p. 156). This

entity is aware of much greater dimensions of activity than our physical self because it exists in

many dimensions at once. In Seths explanation, a group of selves/souls forms an [Oversoul] or

this entity. To clarify, Each self has its own soul within the Oversoul, and the Oversoul is itself

a part of the entitys multidimensional structure (Roberts, 1994a, Session 638, p. 162). Seth

compares the relationship between a self and its entity to that between a cell and the organ to

which it belongs in the body. Like Aurobindo, Seth also believes that the entities are fragments

of All That Is, Divine fragments of power and majesty, containing all of the powers of

consciousness as you think of it, concentrations without substance in your terms (Roberts,

1994a, Session 918, p. 367). Because entities are themselves Divine:

All possible entities that can ever be actualized always exist. They [have] always existed
and they always will exist. All That Is must, by its characteristics, be all that it can ever
be, and so there can be no end to existenceand, in those terms, no beginning. . . . But
[CUs] planted the seeds of your world in a dimension of imaginative power that gave
birth to physical form. In your terms those entities are your ancestorsand yet [they are]
not yours alone, but the ancestors of all the consciousnesses that make up your world.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 893, p. 195)

Seth argued that because we are a part of All That Is, in a way, we have given life to

ourselves and, therefore, the joy of creativity flows through us. Seth used the term feeling tone

(Roberts, 1994a, Session 613, p. 11) to describe the emotional attitudes we have toward

ourselves and life in general. By Seths account, You cannot call these [feeling-tones] negative

or positive. They are instead tones of your being . . . They represent the core from which you

form your experience (Roberts, 1994a, Session 613, p. 11).

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Aurobindo said that we needed to act on the higher impulses that we receive from our

psychic being and Seth would agree; in fact, arguably the most important of all Seths teachings

is that we create our own reality by using our feelings, thoughts, emotions, and expectations to

manifest the physical world. It is from our larger identity (like Aurobindos psychic being) that

we direct the outcome of our lives. Therefore, Seth says, It is up to you to do this with joy and

vigor, clearing your conscious mind so that the deeper knowledge of your greater identity can

form joyous expressions in the world of the flesh (Roberts, 1994a, Session 613, p. 14). This

sounds to me very much like Aurobindos delight of being or delight of existence, which he says

only appears concealed in physical reality, but must assert itself ultimately as Sachchidananda,

the One, the Divine, the All. Returning once again to the cells in the body analogy, Seth says,

You . . . are in the process of expanding your psychic structure, [of] becoming a
conscious participator with the soul, in certain terms, [of] becoming what your soul is.
As cells multiply and growwithin their own nature and the physical frameworkso
do selves evolve in terms of value fulfillment. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 637, p. 158)

I have alluded to Seths notion that many selves make up one entity, but Aurobindo

(1914/1990) also argues that our spiritual entity (soul) is perpetually developing its activities

through successive physical existences (p. 770); he goes on to say:

As our consciousness changes into the height and depth and wideness of the spirit, the
ego can no longer survive there: it is too small and feeble to subsist in that vastness and
dissolves into it; for it exists by its limits and perishes by the loss of its limits. The being
breaks out of its imprisonment in a separated individuality. (p. 770)

In Aurobindos spiritual evolution theory, great emphasis is placed on the descent and the

return; in fact, Aurobindo (1914/1990) claims that the whole goal of life is for Mind to pass

beyond itself into the realms beyond Mind, to a state in which:

The conscious foundation of all the operations of life is laid no longer in the divisions of
body, not in the passions and hungers of the vitality (life), nor in the groupings and the
imperfect harmonies of the mind, nor in a combination of these, but in the unity and
freedom of the Spirit. (p. 220)
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In the Seth material, the focus is not on this aspect of soul. In all of my analysis I only found one

mention of this theme of the ego uniting again, per se, with Spirit:

Entities or souls, in other words, send out portions of themselves to open up avenues of
reality that would not exist otherwise. The three dimensional selves, in existing within
these realities, must focus their attention there completely. An inner awareness gives
them a source of energy and strength. They must, however, come to understand their
roles as actors, finally from their roles, and through another act of comprehension,
return to the entity. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 522, p. 54)

The emphasis in the Seth material is directed at the idea of soul being infinitely creative--in a

state of constant flux or state of learning. In fact, Seth seems to criticize somewhat the idea of

departures and arrivals or the idea of the soul as a finished or static thing, that is, an ending to

that which has been in a state of becoming (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session, 526, p. 71). He says:

Often it seems that the soul is thought of as a precious stone, to be finally presented as
a gift to God. . . . In many philosophies this sort of idea is retainedthe soul being
returned to a primal giver, or being dissolved in a nebulous state somewhere between
being and nonbeing. The soul is, however, first of all creative. . . . The soul or entity is
itself the most highly motivated, most highly energized, and most potent consciousness-
unit known in any universe. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 526, p. 72)

Therefore, whereas Aurobindo says the purpose of life is for Mind to pass into the

transcendent states, Seth says the purpose of life is to create new worldsto use the qualities of

love and creativity to enrich the quality of existence in our roles as incipient gods. Seth sees us as

actively taking part in the future of our species as well as the future of our universe.

In both Aurobindos and Seths theories one life is not enough for the total expansion of

the soul. Aurobindo (1914/1990) explains:

Certainly, if that body, life and consciousness were limited to the possibilities of the gross
body which are all that our physical senses and physical mentality accept, there would be
a very narrow term for this evolution, and the human being could not hope to accomplish
anything essentially greater than his present achievement. (p. 274)
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This brings us to the topic of reincarnation which is primary to both Aurobindos and Seths

theories, an area in which there are many similarities but also some major differences.

Rebirth or reincarnation. Reincarnation is an important aspect of both Aurobindos and

Seths theories and they each spend a considerable amount of time in their respective books

discussing this topic. This paper will highlight only the main points. Aurobindo usually applies

the term rebirth when speaking of reincarnation while Seth, on the other hand, usually refers to

the term multiple lives, so I will try to use the terms that each of them uses as I explain their

beliefs.

As previously explained, Aurobindo believes that it is the psychic being that is reborn,

not the mere Mental being; and it is the psychic being that persists while the physical body

deteriorates. Aurobindo, borrowing from ancient Vedic teachings, says that there are various

degrees of being and that for each of these grades of the soul there is a corresponding sheath in

which the soul resides; as a point of reference, in modern theories such as Wilbers (2006) these

would be called gross, subtle, and causal. Aurobindo says that, although we are not normally

conscious of these other bodies because a veil separates them from their corresponding three-

dimensional aspects, we can become conscious of them, usually by way of psychic or occult

phenomena. At such times, a person becomes certain of his or her greater reality and knows that

he or she lives beyond this world. I suppose that spontaneous past-life memories would fall into

this category.

According to Aurobindo, through the experiences of life, the psychic being expands its

inner and outer nature, finally getting to the point where it must put forward a succession of lives

in order to continue its evolution beyond the planes of matter, life, and mind. It is obvious that

Aurobindos theory of rebirth is tied closely to his involution and evolution, for it is human
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aspiration that calls to the soul, drawing it down toward the world and it is the light of the

Divine infused into the world that is urging evolution of the personality (the teleological

principle).

Seth talks about multiple lives in very different terms than does Aurobindo, and in one

way seems to completely contradict Aurobindo, that is, on the progression of spiritual evolution:

When most people think of reincarnation, they think in terms of a one-line progression in which

the soul perfects itself in each succeeding life. This is a gross simplification (Roberts,

1972/1994b, Session 541, p. 150). On one point Seth and Aurobindo do seem to agree, that is,

that the reincarnating being is the soul or in Seths term the entity. Seth says that ones various

lives grow out of what your inner self is . . . as your consciousness opens up and expresses itself

in as many ways as possible (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 522, p. 53). Before elaborating it is

important to mention that Seth warns repeatedly that most theories of reincarnation are

distortions which are the result of our conscious minds interpreting things in linear terms. Seth

argues that all lives are going on simultaneously, not one after the other, and reincarnational lives

are just one aspect of our multidimensional existence. Besides reincarnational lives, Seth posits

probable lives and counterpart lives. These will all be explained in the fourth section of this

analysis.

Both Aurobindo and Seth agree that reincarnation has been distorted by various

individuals and religions. For Aurobindo, it is the notion that the identical personality keeps

being reborn that he finds a vulgar conception; he attributes this misunderstanding to humanitys

fear of annihilation and desire for immortality. Aurobindo (1914/1990) also takes exception to

the idea of life after death in heaven or hell, which the soul has acquired or incurred by its

merits or demerits in this physical existence (p. 828). Finally, the popular version of karma
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which posits that one is punished and rewarded in the present life for actions in a previous life is

rejected by Aurobindo, although he does acknowledge a Law of Karma. Aurobindos conception

of karma is a law of growth and not [a] divine code of primitive and barbaric justice (p. 839).

Aurobindo (1914/1990) calls the punishment version puerilea crude kind of moral

education; he attributes it to a kind of thinking limited by the inferior stage of evolution from

which it originatesin this case one not past the vital (i.e., the emotion-based) stage.

Like Aurobindo, Seth also finds fault with many of the religious interpretations of

reincarnation. One predictable problem for Seth is the cause and effect nature of karma in most

systems. When one tries to inject cause and effect into a reality of simultaneous time, it makes no

sense. If all time is simultaneous, there can be no cause and effect. Seth says that cause and

effect are simply root assumptions of physical reality, but in greater terms they do not apply. In

fact, Seth claims that

Since all is simultaneous, your present beliefs can alter your past ones, whether from this
life or a previous one. Existences are open-ended. Now with your ideas of progressive
time and the resulting beliefs in cause and effect, I realize this is difficult for you to
understand. Yet within the abilities of your creaturehood, your current beliefs can change
your experience; you can restructure your reincarnational past in the same way that you
can restructure the past in this present life. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 667, p. 374)

Like Aurobindo, Seth states that karma as a form of punishment for past transgressions is

a misunderstanding. Since Seth argues that we create our own reality in all instances, there is no

karma to be paid off as punishment unless you believe that there are crimes for which you must

pay (Roberts, 1994a, Session 636, p. 153). A further result of misunderstanding karma, in

Seths point of view, is when some individuals use the notion of karma to justify beliefs in the

inferiority of some people, groups, or racesrationalizing that those people deserve what they

are getting in this life because of their past misdeeds.

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Perhaps the greatest area of difference in these two versions of reincarnation stems from

Seths insistence that we choose all of our lives. I cannot say with certainty that Aurobindo

disagrees with Seth on this issue; however, according to my research, he does not mention it.

Seth goes one step further, as well, in saying that we not only choose our lives, we create them.

Aurobindo (1914/1990) does not say this, but he does allow that we may create our after-death

environments:

He [a human being] . . . erects his images into a system, a form of actual worlds; he
builds up also desire-worlds of many kinds to which he attaches a strong sense of inner
reality: it is possible that these constructions may be so strong as to create for him an
artificial post-mortal environment in which he may linger. (p. 832)

Even here, it seems that Aurobindo does not see these constructions as real worlds, whereas Seth

does or, at least, he would see them as just as real as the world we live in.

In Aurobindos (1914/1990) theory, in order for a person to survive on a different plane

without an immediate rebirth, there must be an individuation of the psychic person itself

sufficient for it not to depend on its past mind and life formations any more than on its past

body (p. 831). In that way, the psychic being could survive temporarily in a purely psychic

dwelling place until it was ready to be reborn. Unless it was so developed, the psychic being

could be dragged back down into one of the lower planes by the attraction of the earth principles.

This psychic dwelling place or the time one spends there is referred to by Aurobindo

(1914/1990) as the interval between lives, the interregnum between births, or the temporary

dwelling in the supraphysical (pp. 830-831). All of these dwelling places vary in features and

character, according to Aurobindo, and where one ends up corresponds to the level of

development one has achieved in the previous Earthly life. Aurobindo (1914/1990) also

speculates that individual souls may actually create their own annex environments where they

wait for or prepare for their next incarnation:

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It may be also that he may linger for a time in one of those annexes of the other worlds
created by his habitual beliefs or by the type of his aspirations in the mortal body. We
know that he creates images of these superior planes, which are often mental translations
of certain elements in them, and erects his images into a system, a form of actual worlds.
(p. 832)

Seth also talks about an in-between stage, intermediate step, the midplane of

existence between lives, (difficult to understand if one accepts simultaneous time) and the time

of choosing (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 540, p. 49). Seth says, that from that midplane, one

is aware of all ones reincarnational selves; has the chance to examine and learn from ones

previous lives; decides, with other souls, on new life challenges that they may embark on next

together, or simply rests. According to Seth, some souls even leave the reincarnational system

altogether and enter a different system of reality, and that decision is made from the midplane;

but that is not relevant to our current discussion. One thing that Seth teaches that I could not find

in Aurobindo pertains to between-life teachers. Seth claims that there are many teachers, and

they themselves have varying degrees of knowledge depending on their previous experiences, so

that a more highly evolved soul will attract more highly evolved teachers between lives:

There are guides and teachers in this time of choosing and decision, to point out
alternatives and to explain the nature of existence. All personalities are not at the same
level of development. There are therefore advanced teachers and teachers at lower
levels. But this is not a time of confusion, but of great illumination, and unbelievable
challenge. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 541, p. 154)

According to Seth, some people take longer than others to understand the true situation, that is,

those who harbor strong beliefs in heaven may find themselves in a heavenly environment where

a teacher would fit in with expectations and perhaps show up as a saint or God. Gradually,

however, the true nature of reality would be explained to them so that they could then begin

planning for their next existence. Like Aurobindo, Seth says that sometimes people reincarnate

very quickly and Seth attributes this to an obsessive desire to return to physical life (Roberts,
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1972/1994b, Session 546, p. 164). This seems to be equivalent to Aurobindos explanation that

the pull of the physical world is too strong for some less-evolved souls. While Seth says this kind

of immediate rebirth is usually unfortunate, there are exceptions. Sometimes, Seth says, a quick

return happens because a personality who is charged with a great purpose . . . is reborn almost

immediately into a new one [body] to finish an important and necessary project already begun

(Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 546, p. 164).

Aurobindo gives quite a bit of attention to the planes of existence between the polar

opposites of the plane of Ignorance and the plane of Truth-Knowledge, whereas Seth does not

spend much time on gradations of consciousness on discrete planes. He does acknowledge that

they exist, though, saying:

There are, then, stratas [sic] of consciousness existing at once. The ones you are not
aware of yet seem more progressed, developed than your own. You are a part of them
now. You can know them as you begin to stretch your concepts of personhood and
awareness. In terms of time you have many bodies, as you are born and reborn in earth
experience. Your consciousness straddles those existences, and even the atoms and
molecules within your present body contain the coded knowledge of those other (really
simultaneous) forms. These units of consciousness are with all physical matter,
containing their own memories. Both biologically and psychically, then, you are
aware of your multipersonhood. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 683, p. 52)

Elsewhere, Seth explains how one might become more aware of the knowledge that he claims is

available:

There are states of consciousness, one within the other, and yet each connected, of
course, so that genetic systems are really systems of consciousness. They are intertwined
with reincarnational systems of consciousness. These are further entwined with the
consciousness that you recognize. The present is the point of power. Given the genetic
makeup that you now have, your conscious intents and purposes act as the triggers that
activate whatever genetic or reincarnational aspects that you need. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 911, p. 326)

This is a complicated paragraph, but it makes an important point about reincarnationone that is

central to the Seth material, that is, that we are multidimensional beings but all action takes place
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in the present. Seth actually suggests that the knowledge of all of our multiple lives is encoded in

our genes, just as potential physical attributes are. From the present, we activate the latent

abilities from all of our existences. This concept is the basis for Seths argument that a

progressive shift in consciousness of amazing proportion is possible depending on the choices

we make.

Both Aurobindo and Seth, agree that the soul is rediscovering its relationship to its

greater entity through its various lives. The experiences of each successive life accumulate and

the psychic being has access to all of that knowledge. Although Aurobindo mentions that we

sometimes get inspirational hits from the Spirit, Seth says that we do not have to wait for

access to this information; it is open to us even in our three-dimensional lives through our deep

dream states, where we are in direct contact with our own reincarnational selves as well as other

souls.

Both Aurobindo and Seth put their positive and life-affirming emphases on each

lifetimes value. Aurobindo says that the soul desires to be born again and again so that it can

manifest the delight of existence and then dwell in it. Kleinman (2006), writing about

Aurobindo, says:

Divine delight has infused itself into matter as the soul, which is meant to evolve in the
world rather than leave it untransformed. The convoluted march toward transcendence is
propelled by cosmic love, the sustaining power of our efforts. This is the souls love of
the universe in which the Divine is manifesting more and more of itself. The link between
them is love because the souls love of the Divine in its multitudinous manifestation is
identical with the Divines delight in its own cosmic form. (p. 217)

Seth also argued that it is love which is behind all lives and all creation:

It is very difficult to try to assign anything like human motivation to All That Is. I can
only say that it is possessed by the need to lovingly create from its own being; to
lovingly transform its own reality in such a way that each most slight probable
consciousness can come to be; and with the need to see that any and all possible
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orchestrations of consciousness have the chance to emerge, to perceive and to love.

(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 883, p. 129)

In trying to convey the feeling of love emanating from All That Is, Seth suggested that we think

of the emotions parents have with respect to the development of their children; in normal

situations, they cannot help but lovingly desire and intend for their children to develop to their

fullest capacities.

The divine life or the coming shift in consciousness. As previously explained,

Supramental nature sees everything from the standpoint of oneness and regards all things . . . in

the light of that oneness (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 1002). Even though it holds all Truth within

itself, it is able to hold back its knowledge until the physical, earth-nature is ready to transform.

According to Aurobindo (1914/1990), when that time comes a freer play of intuition and

sympathy of understanding would enter into human life, a clearer sense of the truth of self and

things and a more enlightened dealing with the opportunities and difficulties of existence (p.

1006). The individual who transmutes into Superman would be someone guided solely by the

Spirit, even while operating amid others who have not yet achieved the transformation; he or she

would be liberated from the forces that bind people to the lower realms, most notably, egoism.

This does not mean that the person would be unable to live in the world or would have to

separate himself or herself from body-consciousness, rather this redemption once effected, the

descent of the spiritual light and force can invade and take up the body also and there can be a

new liberated and sovereign acceptance of material nature (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 1024).

Aurobindo (1914/1990) calls the person who has achieved this spiritual transformation a

Gnostic Being (p. 999) and suggests that he or she would have complete self-mastery, that is

the power and will to be and express his or her True Self. As a pure spiritual being, of course a

Gnostic Being would live in the joy and delight of existence, which is its destiny. The means for
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the gnostic life come from a constant contact with the inner self and the realization of the

subliminal inner beings natural connection with other planes of being (Aurobindo, 1914/1990,

p. 1017). This is a good point to stop and compare Aurobindos vision with Seths.

Seth dedicates two complete books to the Unknown Reality in addition to continual

references to it throughout his entire body of work. From my point of view, what Seth calls the

Unknown Reality is equivalent to Aurobindos upper planes of consciousness. Seth says:

There are lands of the mind. That is, the mind has its own civilizations, its own
personal culture and geography, its own history and inclinations. But the mind is
connected with the physical brain, and so hidden in its [the brains] folds there is an
archaeological memory. To some extent what you know now is dependent upon what will
be known, and what has been known, in your terms. The past races of men live to that
extent within your Now, as do those who will seemingly come after. So, ideally speaking,
the history of your species can be discovered quite clearly within the psyche; and true
archaeological events are found not only by uncovering rocks and relics, but by bringing
to light, so to speak, the memories that dwell within the psyche. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 707, p. 295)

Because everything in Seths terms is simultaneous, the lands of the mind and Aurobindos

planes of consciousness sound related but are not the same. However, I think they are more

than just complementary concepts. Just as Aurobindo said that a Gnostic Being would have

evolved through the planes of consciousness to arrive at Supermind, Seth described how a new

version of humanity would result from an awakening to the previously Unknown Reality. Seth

said:

As egotistical consciousness expands to include hereto largely neglected data, then it

will experience, practically speaking, a new kind of identity; knowing itself differently.
Its concepts of godhood will significantly alter, as will the dimensions of emotion.
Your heritage includes vastly richer veins of love, yet your concepts of self and godhood
have severely limited these. . . . While you were so concerned with protecting what you
thought of as the boundaries and integrity of one selfhood, as a race you actually arrived
at a point where you were beginning to deny your own greater reality. (Roberts,
1977/1996a, Session 686, p. 74)
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In the Spiral Dynamics section, I made a point of emphasizing how closely Seth ties

humanitys concepts of God to its own self-concept. A god, more or less, serves as a model for

our egotistical self, projected outward. Seth says that the time has come when humanity is ready

for a new god concept because the old one is breaking down in effectiveness:

These developments . . . are already triggering changes in mans behavior, and inspiring
him toward further alterations of consciousness. He now needs a more expansive
viewpoint of past and future in order to help him deal with the ramifications of the
present as it has evolved through experience. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 686, p. 73)

This, at first, seems to be a major difference between Seths and Aurobindos theories. While

both Aurobindo and Seth say that consciousness expands and, in doing so, recognizes greater

realities, for Seth the solution is a broadening of awareness of multidimensional existence

(including probable realities), while for Aurobindo the solution is more theistica return to the

Absolute, the One God or One Reality, Brahman. Perhaps they are really similar conceptions

even though Aurobindo does not talk specifically about probable realities. The plane of the

Absolute is doubtlessly the plane of multidimensional awareness. Both Aurobindo and Seth, in

different ways, agree that everything that is needed is already available within humanity.

Aurobindo (1914/1990) says there is something in the nature of Supermind itself that would

make this great result inevitable (p. 1007). Seth is more specific about what the something is,

namely a memory of all knowledge embedded within the cells:

An exterior separation had to occur for a while, in which consciousness forgot,

egotistically speaking, that it was part of nature, and pretended to be apart. . . . It was
known, howeverand unconsciously written in the cells and mind and heartthat this
procedure would only go so far. When mans consciousness was sure of itself it would
not need to be so narrowly focused. Then the true flowering of humanitys consciousness
could begin. Then the ego could expand and become aware of realities it had earlier
ignored. . . . You have put yourselves in a position where your consciousness must now
become aware of the probable pasts and probable futures, in order to form for yourselves
a sane, fulfilling, and creative present. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 687, p. 85)
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What would a Gnostic Being look like, act like, concern himself or herself with? In some

ways, one might envision Aurobindos Gnostic Being to be almost unreal or unnatural; it is hard

to imagine anyone who knows all, understands all, acts always from Truth-Force alone, and so

forth, and yet who still lives in the world. However, Aurobindo is very clear that Gnostic Beings

are human, they will be as diverse in personalities as humans are now, and they will still be

constituted physically just as humans are now. In Aurobindos (1990) lengthy description of the

Gnostic Being he says among other things that

The gnostic individual would be the consummation of the spiritual man, his whole way
of being, thinking, living, acting would be governed by the power of a vast universal
spirituality. . . . He would feel the presence of the Divine in every centre of his
consciousness. . . . All beings would be to him his own selves. . . . His own life and the
world-life would be to him like a perfect work of art . . . fulfilled in the satisfaction of his
growth and self-expression. . . . He would act in a universal awareness and harmony of
his individual self with the total self, of his individual will with the total will, of his
individual action with the total action. . . . He has no ego. (p. 1011)

In Seths view of a coming shift in consciousness, he also envisions a time of greater

psychological synthesis, when the intuitions and reasoning abilities will work together and open

up awareness to the multiple dimensions of being. Seth said, You will end up with . . . a kind of

new illuminated consciousness, an intellect who realizes that the source of its own light is not

itself, but comes from the spontaneous power that provides the fuel for its thoughts (Roberts,

1994a, Session 922, p. 407). I am not able to say that Aurobindos gnostic life plane is the same

as what Seth is talking about here. It seems to me that, because Seth does not focus on gradations

as much, his Unknown Reality is a more composite term equivalent to the totality of

Aurobindos stratified transcendent realms. One reason why I believe that Seth and Aurobindo

may be talking about similar planes (Seth might say Frameworks) is because the instructions that

each gives for accessing these planes are similar. Aurobindo says that inner knowledge requires

the unveiling of all forms of experience, especially the inner range of spiritual experience.
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According to Aurobindo (1914/1990), All religion, all occult knowledge, all supernormal (as

opposed to abnormal) psychological experience, all Yoga, all psychic experience and discipline

are signposts and directions pointing us upon that road of progress of the occult self-unfolding

spirit (p. 753). In fact, Aurobindo says, through subliminal senses we are in direct contact with

othersconsciousness to consciousnessthough we are not aware of it; he claims that

By an essential sense inherent in its own substance, by a direct mental vision, by a

direct feeling of things . . . the inner being achieves an immediate, intimate and accurate
spontaneous knowledge of persons, of objects, of the occult and to us intangible energies
of world-Nature that surround us. (p. 558)

Once we broaden our consciousness to include information from our inner senses, we should be

able to become directly aware of the thoughts and feelings of others, recognize our oneness with

nature, and so forth. However, in addition, Aurobindo (1914/1990) says:

This inner sense can create or present images, scenes, sounds that are symbolic rather
than actual or that represent possibilities in formation, suggestions, thoughts, ideas,
intentions of other beings, image-forms also of powers or potentialities in universal
Nature; there is nothing that it cannot image or visualize or turn into sensory formation.
It is the subliminal in reality and not the outer mind that possesses the powers of
telepathy, clairvoyance, second sight, and other supernormal faculties. (p. 556)

There is so much agreement between Seth and Aurobindo on the inner senses that I find it

rather amazing. Not only do they use the same terms to describe this, but they point out almost

identical characteristics, among them direct cognition, precognition, telepathy, clairvoyance, and

so forth. Like Aurobindo, Seth asserts that physical senses are actually an extension of inner

senses and they both say that these inner senses are operative after death and before birth because

they are associated with the souls perception. Like Aurobindo, Seth says that not only can the

inner senses provide a greater range of awareness of three-dimensional reality, but they put

people in touch with multidimensional reality:

It is the inner perceiver of reality that exists beyond the three-dimensional. It carries
within it the memory of each of your past existences. It looks into subjective dimensions
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that are literally infinite and from these subjective dimensions all objective realities flow.
(Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 512, p. 9)

There is a point of distinction between Seth and Aurobindo on this topic, but once again,

I feel that it is more a difference in emphasis rather than in substance. Every concept in the Seth

material seems to turn back to the number one message, that we create our own reality. Seth ties

the notion of inner senses back to All That Is, saying that the inner senses provide the human

faculties with which All That Is can be known and experienced. The direct communication that

goes on between all the selves/souls beneath the surface structures of physical reality, according

to Seth, serves to stimulate creation; we become co-creators along with All That Is. Seth says:

Your thoughts and emotions . . . go forth from you not only in all physical directions but
in directions that are quite invisible to you, appearing in dimensions that you would not
presently understand. Now you are also the receiver of other such signals coming from
other probabilities that are connected with your own, but you choose which of those
probable actions you want to make real or physical in your system, as others also have
the freedom of choice in their systems. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 566, p. 230)

Finally, both Aurobindo and Seth are optimistic and poetic when speaking of the

potentialities of existence and development. Describing a life that has surpassed the Ignorance of

physical reality, Aurobindo (1914/1990) says:

An entry into the gnostic consciousness would be an entry into the Infinite. It would be
a self-creation bringing out the Infinite infinitely into form of being. . . . The evolution in
the Knowledge would be a more beautiful and glorious manifestation with more vistas
ever unfolding themselves and more intensive in all ways than any evolution could be in
the Ignorance. (pp. 1108-1109)

Likewise, Seth stresses the beauty behind the world of camouflage:

[The] inner psychological universe is a psychic gestalt, propelled, formed, sustained or

driven by value fulfillment, love and desire, by the loving values that have no limit
(intently). The universe does not give up on itself, or on any of its creatures. It is ruled
by a different set of principles, a different set of values, and by inner cooperative
exuberance. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 941, p. 537)
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The dream state: Our link to unknown realities. Before closing out this section, I feel it is

important to mention that both Aurobindo and Seth maintain that the dream state and the dream

world are vital links to the greater reality. Seth repeatedly mentioned it in his books and in the

sessions he gave for Janes classes at her home. Seth provides exercises that help one to access

different dream states and gives suggestions about how to work with dream symbolism as it

relates to different levels of consciousness. In The Life Divine, which is the text used for this

analysis, there is a short chapter on dreams, but overall they are not emphasized anywhere near

to the extent that they are in the Seth texts. I believe that is because The Life Divine is focused on

Aurobindos ontology, not his praxeology. I have not yet read his books on the practice of

Integral Yoga, but I suspect that they will focus much more on dream work, since it is apparent

from the articles I have read, that this is one very important modality with which Aurobindo

himself gained subjective experience of inner worlds. Aurobindo (1914/1990) did say that when

one sleeps and rests the surface mind, the subliminal is at work:

There is maintained in sleep . . . an obscure subconscious element which is a receptacle

or passage for our dream experiences and itself also a dream-builder; but behind it is the
depth and mass of the subliminal, the totality of our concealed inner being and
consciousness which is of quite another order. (p. 440)

Aurobindo (1914/1990) briefly mentions some of the techniques he used to develop his

own awareness, including lucid dreaming; he claims that when practiced regularly one is able to

go back in memory from dream to dream, from state to state, till the whole is once more before

us (p. 444). From there, one can train oneself to recognize symbols . . . the various realms being

perceived by matching up the symbols used within the dream to the level at which they regularly

surface. Although not real themselves, symbols are, according to Aurobindo, transcripts of

reality (p. 446).

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Seth talks in almost identical terms about the dream state and dreaming; it is uncanny.

For Seth, the state of dreaming not only helped shape the consciousness of your species, but

also in those terms served to provide a steady source of information to man about his physical

environment, and served as an inner web of communication among all species (Roberts,

1986/1997, Session 884, Chapter 2, p. 140).

Both Aurobindo and Seth also talk about a deep sleep state beyond dreaming as well.

Seth describes what one can expect beyond the layers of dreams leading up to this pure state:

Beyond this are states in which the symbols themselves begin to fade away, become
indistinct, distant. Here you begin to draw into regions of consciousness in which
symbols become less and less necessary, and it is a largely unpopulated area indeed.
Representations blink off and on, and finally disappear. Consciousness is less and less
physically oriented. In this stage of consciousness the soul finds itself alone with its own
feelings, stripped of symbolism and representations, and begins to perceive the gigantic
reality of its own knowing. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 571, p. 256)

The ultimate goal of dream awareness is equivalent in both Seths and Aurobindos theories; it is

to be able to expand consciousness to a place beyond time and space, to pure Spirit. As Seth puts

it: As you understand time, you will eventually be able to merge your inner comprehension with

your physical self, and form your world on a conscious basis (Roberts, 1994a, Session 663, p.

343). This is the world that Aurobindo and Seth both say that we should aspire toa life of

value fulfillment, a life Divine.

Provisional summary of the Aurobindo analysis. This section which used Aurobindos

The Life Divine as an analytical lens to study the Seth Material was extremely challenging.

Comparing the works of these two verbose philosophers was hard enough in terms of quantity of

material, but compounded by the plethora of specific terms each used to describe aspects of their

theories. There is so much more that could be studied, besides what I have covered here. It would

not be an exaggeration to say it could take years to fully explore what these two important voices
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are trying to reveal. Some of the areas I did not cover include lengthy expositions on the

construction of the human psyche, problems with the scientific worldview, thoughts on good and

evil and the concept of original sin, the role of memory in self-experience, and much more.

However, I tried and believe I have succeeded in culling the most important sections from the

texts.

Similarities. The similarities that I found between Aurobindo and Seth astounded me.

Their theories corresponded to a much greater extent than I expected, not only in the over-

arching themes, but in small details. I found myself wondering if Jane and Rob had read

Aurobindo or if Aurobindo had read the Seth material. However, I ruled the second possibility

out since Aurobindo died before the Seth material was published. I spoke with the woman who

has been organizing all of Janes and Robs notes and journals at the Sterling Memorial Library

at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Mary Dillman told me that Jane and Rob made

many notes about the books and articles they were reading throughout their lives and she has

compiled a list; Aurobindo is not on the list (M. Dillman, personal communication, June 13,

2011). At least for now, I choose to accept that Aurobindo, a psychically gifted individual,

achieved his knowledge of spiritual evolution the way he said he did, through contemplative and

mystical experience, and that Seth spoke through Jane Roberts in the way that she said he did,

while she was in a trance state. Aurobindo is describing what he learned; Seth is describing what

he knows from the other side. If anything, I think Aurobindos credibility adds credence to the

verisimilitude of Seths teachings.

The similarities between Aurobindo and Seth fall mainly into the category of ideas

related to the perennial philosophy: a hidden world beyond the realm of the physical that is

spiritual, not material, and which is the source of all creation; the One Reality encompassing dual
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aspects of being and becoming; interpenetrating, hierarchical levels of consciousness (although

Seth is less hierarchical); the energetic makeup of all existence operationalized through light and

sound values; the essential force of the universe being love; the multidimensional makeup of the

inner being/psychic being/soul; rebirth or multiple lives as a form of growth and development.

Besides these similarities, Seth and Aurobindo agree on the teleological nature of the universe;

their life affirming and positive views of what life can be for humanity; their descriptions of the

forgetting of humanitys essential nature which Aurobindo calls Ignorance and Seth calls

camouflage; their belief that latent abilities exist within humankind that can be activated when

needed; that the smallest molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles have their own level of

consciousness; the nature and purpose of the period between lives; the importance of the dream

world as a means of access to transcendental realms; the importance of occult phenomena as an

area for subjective research; the qualities of the inner sense; and that the next step of evolution

will involve a synthesis of body, mind, and spirit.

Differences. As I noted throughout this section, the differences in these two authors

theories of reality were more semantic and contextual than substantive. The most important

difference is really more an omission from Aurobindos theory of probable realities, which is

primary in Seths theory. The other difference is in their emphasis on hierarchyAurobindo sees

the graded levels of existence as real in their own right and the mental constructions that humans

can create as simply thatconstructions. This seems to me to be antithetical to Seths

assertion that we create our own reality. Yes, the reality we create is a mental construction, but it

is as real as anything else we ever experience. The following two points, the first by Aurobindo

and the second by Seth are examples that cause me think as I do about this:

Mind is indeed a potent agency . . . it can make formations which effectuate themselves
in our own or others consciousness and lives and even have an effect on inconscient
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Matter; but an entirely original creation in the void is beyond its possibilities. What we
can rather hazard is that as it grows, mans mind enters into relation with new ranges of
being and consciousness not at all created by him, new to him, already pre-existent in the
All-Existence. . . . He does create images, symbol-forms, reflective shapes of them with
which his mind can deal; in this sense only he creates the Divine Image that he worships,
creates the forms of the gods, creates new planes and worlds within him. . . . But all this
is not a creation of the higher worlds of being; it is a revelation of them to the
consciousness of the soul on the material plane. (Aurobindo, 1914/1990, p. 810)

Seth on the same topic says:

We go back to our fundamentals: you create reality through your feelings, thoughts,
and mental actions. Some of these are physically materialized, others are actualized in
probable systems. You are presented with an endless series of choices, it seems, at any
point, some more or less favorable than others.
You must understand that each mental act is a reality for which you are
responsible. That is what you are in this particular system of reality for. (Roberts,
1972/1994b, Session 568, p. 238)

Even at this late stage in the analysis, I am still not sure that I understand this properly. It

seems to me that Seth says we create realities while Aurobindo says we discover realities; these

seem like two different experiences. However, this may relate to simultaneous time, something

which Aurobindo does not mention. If everything happens in a spacious present then nothing

can really be created. As we experience certain events in a temporal framework, we create the

reality we experience insofar as we choose to perceive and experience certain choices and

consequent probable realities. In that sense, these probable realities are discovered as they

already exist in simultaneous time.

Contradictions and distinctions. As pointed out previously, there are few direct

contradictions in these two theories. If anything, I think there are nuances that I may be

misunderstanding due to my own level of development; both of these authors are clearly

advanced philosophers. What makes these two theories distinct to me is the more religious flavor

to Aurobindos worknot in an institutional sense, but in language used to express things. With
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his grounding in Vedantic tradition, some of the terms Aurobindo uses are unfamiliar to someone

without that background.

Conclusions. In the process of this analysis, I must concede that my understanding of

both Seth and Aurobindo increased greatly. Many times I had to read passages dozens of times,

going back and forth between Aurobindo and Seth, to really be as sure as I could be of the

meaning intended. I had read in many articles about how astounding it was that Aurobindo had

been able to pierce the depths of mystical knowledge. I now truly appreciate, I think, what an

amazing accomplishment his work is. At the end of the Spiral Dynamics section I wondered

about Clare Graves and Don Beck and how their own levels of development informed their

theories. Now, that question resurfaces, only it seems to me the accomplishment of the theorist is

even greater. I believe that Aurobindo may have become the Gnostic Being that he described as

the advance guard of a new humanity. Seth also said something about a new dimension of

selfhood on the horizon that made me think of Aurobindo:

Many of my readers, or their offspring, will be involved in a new dimension of selfhood

in which consciousness is fully explored and the potentials of the soul uncovered, at least
to some extent.
Human capabilities will be seen as what they are, and a great new period of
development will occur, in which all concepts of selfhood and reality will be literally
seen as primitive superstition. The species will actually move into a new kind of
selfhood. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 742, p. 638)

I have come to the conclusion that Aurobindo has provided a glimpse into the future that

is open to humanitya time when new powers of consciousness will become widespread and

when humanity will live in harmony and cooperation. This Divine Life will be a self-creation

brought about when humanity realizes at last that it is infinite and infinitely creative.
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Applying Wades noetic development lens.

Overall frame of reference. Interestingly, it was not my conscious intent when I selected

the developmental theories for this analysis to pick one that was Newtonian paradigm based, one

that was mystically based, and a third that combined the two, but that is how my selection of

theories turned out. Secondly, the sequential order that I chose for analysis was more or less

random. I had the most familiarity with Spiral Dynamics, so I started there; but, as it turns out,

the order I ended up with has proven to be beneficial in several ways. First, and to my mind more

than coincidentally, each of the three theories primarily relates to different portions of the Seth

material. If I had taken the nearly 2000 Seth meaning-units that I coded into 318 different codes

and then split that group into approximately equal thirds, the result would be close to the way the

codes ended up relating to my three theories.

Like Spiral Dynamics and Aurobindo, Wades model employs its own vocabulary. There

are some instances in which Wade uses a word in almost direct contradiction to the way

Aurobindo uses it. For example, Aurobindo used the word Mind to describe the plane of

consciousness on which the mental (human) being operates, while Wade uses mind occasionally

to mean the source behind physical reality or sometimes to mean consciousness itself. I will

point out instances of potential misunderstanding such as this when necessary.

Wade is of the mind that a new paradigm is emerging and she attributes it to discoveries

in scienceespecially the new physicsalong with growing awareness of some ancient and

mystical worldviews (she calls this perennial mysticism). It is precisely the intersection of

these two viewpoints that is the focus of Wades thesis. She categorizes her theory as post-

Newtonian. Some of the characteristics of the new paradigm that Wade (1996) mentions are the
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holistic and unitive nature of reality, the fullness rather than emptiness of space. and the constant

flux of the universe. In Wades conception of the universe, the ultimate reality is a

Holomovement, a term signifying that reality is both dynamic and holographic in nature.
Every portion of the flow contains the entire flow. . . . Each subunit of the universe, such
as a human being, in some sense contains the whole. The universe in turn subsumes each
part. (p. 8)

The essentials of the perennial philosophy are apparent in Wades theory, just as in

Aurobindo and Seth. Seths words are very consistent with Wades assertion about the

holomovement: There are states of consciousness, one within the other, and yet each

connected (Roberts, 1994a, Session 911, p. 326). What we have so far in this paper referred to

as Gods immanence and transcendence, Wade would call, borrowing from Bohm, the implicate

and explicate orders of reality. According to Wade (1996):

The nondualistic structure of the holomovement means that the material order, though
derivative, is not other than the implicate order. The material order is an expression of the
implicate order. In fact, since the universe works like a hologram, both the material and
implicate orders in some sense enfold each other. (p. 9)

Like Aurobindo, Wade is primarily interested in the evolution of individual

consciousness; one can assume that over time broader social evolution would be the result of

aggregate shifts in individual development. Wade (1996) directly addresses the conflict within

the field of psychology about how to handle what she calls supraphenomenal realities, and

argues that current tension in psychology can be eased, and that many problematic phenomena

can be rendered intelligible by placing them in a post-Newtonian framework (p. 4). Wade

specifically mentions transpersonal psychology as a field that has been torn between the two

paradigms that her theory hopes to bridgescience and mysticism. In her book, Wade brings a

broad range of literature and empirical data to bear on her thesis of a noetic human development

(i.e., relating to mind or consciousness). These data encompass insights from quantum physics,
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especially the work of physicist, David Bohm; the stage theories of developmental psychologists,

including Piaget, Maslow, Loevinger, Graves, and others; transpersonal research on such

phenomena as near-death experiences, past-life memories, altered states of consciousness,

prenatal consciousness, and more; and finally neurological and physiological research. Wade

applies the foregoing to her own composite lifespan development model and uses her holonomic,

post-Newtonian paradigm as a perceptual lens.

Wades (1996) main thesis is that consciousness exists in a dual form, Where a

physically transcendent source of awareness and a brain-based source of awareness coexist in a

way that may not be directly causal or physically linked according to the conventional

understanding (p. 249). She claims that these two sources of consciousness progress in tandem,

although the transcendent source predates physical life and survives it after death. This claim is

consistent with Seths explanation of the structure of consciousness, although not identical.

According to Seth,

The physical structure itself contains within it the necessary prerequisites for what you
would call evolutions of consciousnessand even for, within certain limits, the
organization of experience in ways that might seem quite alien to you now. . . .
The peculiarly physically oriented self . . . is more than any analysis of its entirety
would show. It then directs the activity of the body, and is to that extent dependent upon
neurological activity.
The psychic structure of consciousness that organizes that bodily gestalt is,
however, not dependent upon it, and so the you that you experience is only a portion of
this greater identity. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 653, p. 278)

Before getting into the comparison between Wade and the Seth material, a brief summary

of key concepts from David Bohms work seems prudent. The very brief summary which

follows is paraphrased from Friedman (1990). Most educated people by now are aware that

quantum mechanics indicates that the subatomic world is not made up of solid things or what

we would think of as particles, but rather the subatomic world is ruled by probabilities. This is
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caused by the fact that particles also have a wave-like aspect (the Copenhagen Interpretation of

quantum mechanics, see Wilber, 1981, p. 174). Uncertainty exists, therefore, about the exact

position of a particle; while in the wave form, particles have only tendencies to exist, but they do

not appear in one place until an observer enters the picture. Some quantum physicists are not

satisfied with leaving this discussion at the level of mathematical probabilities and they

speculate, instead, that there is a hidden reality which is causal behind or underneath the manifest

reality.

Bohm (1980) is one of those physicists. In his model, the probability wave is not just an

aspect of particle-ness, but has its own reality outside of space and time; the particle and wave

are aspects of a whole new kind of entity. For Bohm, the ground of all reality is a dimension of

undivided wholeness which he calls the holomovement (this is the source of that same term in

Wades theory). Bohm said that the holomovement consists of an infinite spectrum of levels or

orders, one embedded within another, yet all of them connected in one totality. The basic quality

of the holomovement, according to Bohm, is enfolding and unfolding. This idea is reminiscent of

involution and evolution in Aurobindos theory. Bohm (as cited in Friedman, 1990) called the

explicate side of reality the soma and the implicate side the significance. They are two aspects of

one overall reality and each is a way of looking at reality. The relationship between the two

sides, he said, is mediated by consciousness or what he termed meaning (p. 79). Meaning is

actually a feature of consciousness and exists in both the soma and the significance. The

relationship gives rise to activity, some of it actual and some of it virtual. Bohm (1980) spoke of

an unknown reality as the hidden variable (p. 83) of quantum theory and equated with it the

idea of quantum potential (p. 102) an ocean of energy, a force that acts upon a particle from

another dimension. The quantum potential is not a force the way one usually thinks of a force,
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but rather a multidimensional information field. In Bohms theory the wave does not carry

energy, but information; so the effect on a particle has nothing to do with the magnitude of the

wave. Any wave may cause large effects, because its intensity does not fall off with distance.

Bohm (1980) calls such a connection that does not rely on proximity, non-local (p. 137). Seth

too claims that information comes from a nonphysical realm and intersects with the physical self:

A highly focused . . . self . . . could operate efficiently in a space and time scheme that
[is] being formed along with physical creaturesa self, however, that in one way or
another must be supported by realms of information and knowledge of a kind that [is]
basically independent of time and space. . . . That inner information ha[s] to connect
each consciousness on the face of the planet. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 894, p. 197)

In this quote, Seth mentions realms, and Bohm does as well, describing the holomovement as a

hierarchy of meaning. The hierarchy operates in the same way as it did in Spiral Dynamics, that

is, the higher levels transcend and include the lower. This is how Bohm (as cited in Friedman,

1990) described it:

Since the hierarchy is one of subtlety, looking downward, a soma aspect is exhibited;
looking upward, a significance aspect is exhibited. Both are the same substance,
different only in subtlety. . . .
Meanings can be enfolded in each other and in an implicate order of indefinite
extension. . . The meanings at various levels are the activities of the various fields
(significance) at those levels. . . . At this point that meaning is an unending spectrum
of consciousness. (p. 81)

In this short synopsis, one can see several points that coordinate with Seths teachings.

First of all, the hidden, transcendent realm that Bohm calls the implicate order seems to be the

equivalent of Seths Framework 2, which he described as an inner psychological universe,

from which your own emerges (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 900, p. 232). Frameworks also

seem to me to be directly related to the concept of Bohms holomovement. Bohm (as cited in

Friedman, 1990) said, by way of explanation:

If you are primarily focused in the explicate order, your sense of space will be confined
to the spaces between a lot of separate objects. As you go further into the explicate order,
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you begin to see that these objects contain each other and fall into each other. Eventually
you will see them as forms within a much vaster space, and finally, a space in which no
forms are created. I think this corresponds to different stages of consciousness.
(p. 177)

Seth said something very similar, from a slightly different point of view:

Your world, again, is the result of a certain focus of consciousness, without which that
world cannot be perceived. . . . All realities are the result of certain unique focuses taken
by consciousness, therefore. In those terms, there is no outside. The effects of objectivity
are caused as the psyche projects its experience into inner dimensions that it has itself
created. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 711, p. 330)

The system of frameworks (in Seths terms) or the soma-significance (in Bohms terms)

is key to Seths explanation of probable reality because what it says is that our order of reality

(the three-dimensional physical world) is only one selection of significance and there are endless

others. Seth says that all those other probable realities exist but that we just do not allow them

into our perception of reality. There will be a more complete explanation of probable reality in

the final section of this analysis.

Another area of congruence between Seth and Bohm involves the nature of

consciousness. Friedman (1990) says that in Bohms theory the implicate order provides the

commonality for matter, life, and consciousness. It is in the implicate order that matter and

consciousness are basically identical, differing only in subtlety (p. 64). Seth said something

very similar; consciousness is the agent that directs the transformation of energy into form and

of form into energy. All possible visible or invisible particles that you discover or imagine . . .

possess consciousness. They are energized consciousness (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 884, p.

137). You can see that where Einstein had equated matter and energy, Bohm and Seth equate

matter, energy, and consciousness.

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Comparing Bohms description of the quantum potential acting as an information field, to

Seths description of how CUs operate is another area of startling similarity. Here is what Seth

had to say:

These CUs can operate as separate entities, as identities, or they can flow together in a
vast, harmonious wave of activity, as a force. Actually, units of consciousness operate in
both ways all of the time. No identity, once formed, is ever annihilated, for its
existence is indelibly a part of the entire wave of consciousness to which it belongs.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889, pp. 169-170)

Although I have diverted the reader temporarily away from the analysis of Wades

theory, I made a conscious decision to do so since Wade attributes much of her models

conception to Bohms ideas. I have here only scratched the surface of all the connections

between Seth and Bohm. Other connections will continue to surface as Wades theory is

analyzed; here I have simply provided the foundational principles that I judge to be prerequisite

to understanding Wades theory.

In terms of organization, for the remainder of this section, I have decided to look at the

progressive components of noetic development that Wade (1996) identifies in her book, without

precisely lining them up according to individual stages of human development. These main

points provide, in effect, a summary of Wades thesis. In her book, Wade organizes these

concepts based on where they fit into lifespan development. Rather than go through the lifespan

stages one by one in this analysis, I will instead organize according to the main principles of

Wades theory. While doing this, I will incorporate data from her stage analysis and let the

reader know if or when the information pertains only to a particular stage of human

development. For example, there will be a discussion of before-birth/fetal consciousness, which

is essential to Wades whole theory, but I will not have a section titled the pre and perinatal

stage. The reason for this organization is two-fold. First, Seth does not break consciousness into
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stages, and when he does refer to stages, he cautions that they do not really exist, and that he

mentions them only to make it easier for humans to understand. I believe it would be unfruitful

to take the stage-by-stage approach. Second, I covered most of what Seth has to say about

development in the physical world under the stages of Spiral Dynamics. Wades model includes

all of the same stages as Spiral Dynamics, with the addition of before birth and after death,

which will be covered here.

The relationship between the unmanifest and the manifest realities. Like Bohm, Wade

suggests that the physical world is co-created by the consciousness that perceives it. The way she

says this happens is that a human brain receives a frequency from another dimension (what

Bohm would call a realm of meaning or the implicate order and Seth would call Framework 2)

and then holographically projects that information into space and time conventions. Each

projection creates an event in time. Wade (1996) argues that by focusing our attention on the

manifest, memory sustains the illusion of a material reality derived from a set of recurrent and

relatively stable elements that exist independently in three-dimensional space (p. 17). In her

theory, Wade (1996) argues that memory is virtually synonymous with the origins of

awareness (p. 24). It is only because humans can connect discrete present moments of

awareness through memory that consciousness seems to follow in a continuous stream. To

support her assertion, Wade (1996) points to Karl Pribrams theory which suggests that the

brain performs transformations at rapid speeds back and forth between the material reality and

the holographic, implicate order of energy operating outside the boundaries of time, space,

causality, matter, and mind (p. 14). According to Wade (1996), This falling away of thought

occurs so rapidly as to give the illusion of stability and connection (p. 16). These data that

Wade analyzes for her model pertain to the source and location of memory and look at memory
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from three perspectives: local (in the body), nonlocal (associated with the body, but not reducible

to the body), and transcendent (nonphysical). She points out that, while there is a great deal of

research on local memory, the mechanistic paradigm is not able to account for anomalies that

perpetually arise. Some examples include pre and perinatal memories which should be

impossible considering the undeveloped central nervous system of a fetus; as well as nonlocal

transmission of thoughts, dreams, and visions, including precognition, telepathy, and so forth.

Wade deftly weaves results of brain research on the three-part brain, as well as studies on the

chronological sequencing of brain-cell division together and shows convincingly that the

reductionist paradigm will always result in rejection of any findings that imply early fetal

awareness because it looks only through the lens of the Newtonian paradigm. Wade seems to

find the nonlocal explanation more capable of integrating anomalous empirical research findings.

For example, what Wade calls veridical results of prenatal memories, can be accounted for if one

accepts the results of a study that concluded that RNA can be a carrier of memories as well as

genetic information; in other words, the so-called memory is already implanted in the genes of

fetus before any physical experience. This particular study conducted by Candace Pert and

colleagues (Pert, Ruff, Weber, & Herkenham, 1985) suggested that

RNAs ubiquitous cellular presence means that memory is stored all over the body, not
confined to the central nervous system . . . [and] may account for somatic memories . . .
and for detailed information regarding the state of the organism. (p. 25)

This conjecture seems related to Seths explanation of cellular memory, which he talks

about at great length throughout all of his books. He says:

You did not arrive at birth without a history. Your individuality was always latent within
your soul, and the history that is a part of you is written within unconscious memory
that resides not only within your psyche, but is faithfully decoded in your genes and
chromosomes. . . .
Each physical cell is in its way a miniature brain, with memory of all of its
personal experiences and of its relationship with other cells, and with the body as a
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whole. In your terms this means that each cell operates with an innate picture of the
bodys entire historypast, present, and future. . . . Briefly, the picture is shown in the
invisible arena where flesh and spirit meet. This arena is not a place, of course, but an
inner state of gestalt consciousness. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 632, p 124)

There is quite a bit of information in these few paragraphs that coincides with Wades theory.

First of all, Seth seems to endorse the idea that memory is stored throughout the body in the

genetic system and not solely associated with the brain and central nervous system. There is also

confirmation of Wades assertion that the universe is in constant flux. Finally, Seths mention of

an invisible arena coincides with Wades belief that part of consciousness exists outside of

spatiotemporal boundaries.

According to Wade, Bohm, and Pribram, the illusion of continuity is reinforced and

emphasized constantly in our system; it is built into our thoughts and language so that we fail

to see that we are actually constructing the appearance of reality. We even build it into our

theories of human development. This idea that language can actually limit us in a way from

staying in touch with the transcendent source of our being is somewhat supported by Seth.

Contrary to Wade, Seth says that although this circumscription happens, it is not necessary

that it do so. In fact, part of the reason why Seth says he dictated his books is to help people

see their limitations as self-imposed so that they can realize their true identities as

multidimensional beings. In terms of language, Seth insists that:

Man is born with an inbuilt propensity for language, and for the communication of
symbols through pictures and writing. He spoke first in an automatic fashion that began
in his dreams. In a fashion, you could almost say that he used language before he
consciously understood it. It is not just that he learned by doing, but that the doing did the
teaching. . . . You might almost sayalmost that he used the language despite himself.
Therefore, it possessed an almost magical quality, and the word was seen as coming
directly from God. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 901, p. 239)
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So, in other words, Seth does not refute the idea that language can interfere with the

perception of transcendent reality; however, he does say that it does not have to. In fact, Seth

says that

To some extent language does make the unknown known and recognizable. It sets up
signposts that each person in a culture recognizes . . . it latches upon certain significances
and ignores other. . . . To some extent words come between you and your direct
expression. They should and can express that experience instead. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session, 723, p. 459)

It is in the dream state, according to Seth, that the problem of expression is solved:

To some extent in the dream state, you are freed of such cultural leanings [based on
language]. In the most effective of dreams experience is actually more direct, in that it is
less limited by language concepts. Waking . . . your thoughts therefore fall, or flow, into
prefabricated forms. In the dream state . . . they escape the limitations that you often
place upon them. That is why it is frequently difficult to remember your dreams in a
verbal fashion, or squeeze them back in to the expression of usual language. (Roberts,
1979/1996b, Session 723, p. 458)

According to Seth, all human beings have the knowledge of their entire being within, but

just as Wade says, it is not completely operative when they are in the physical state because

consciousness is connected to the physical brain. According to Seth, the dream state provides the

connection between the physical and the transcendent; it is where people access their

multidimensional knowledge. Seth says there are actually psychic warps between systems and

that our consciousness travels back and forth using these channels all the time, most frequently in

the sleeping and dream states. Seth explains,

In a manner of speaking, you travel back and forth each night through atmospheres and
entry points of which you are not aware. . . . Your consciousness as you think of it
transcends these leaps and holds its own sense of continuity. All of this has to do with
pulsations of energy and consciousness, and in one way what you think of as your life is
the apparent length of a light ray seen from another perspective. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 672, p. 398)

Wade does not elaborate on dreams or the dream state in her book, but interestingly she

does mention the function of the dream state as a connective between physical and transcendent
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in two stages of developmentNave consciousness (one of the earliest stages) and Unity

consciousness (the highest physical stage). Both of these stages are characterized by nondual

modes of perception according to Wade, even though she says that the nonduality experienced in

each stage is different. The information that Wade (1996) brings to bear relative to the Nave

stage is from the Australian aboriginal cosmology called The Dreaming (p. 93). Stockton

(2000), a priest from Sydney, Australia, who has written a book on the aboriginal culture,

describes a Dreamtime that existed at the beginning of creation. Not only, according to

Stockton, was The Dreaming responsible for the creation of the land, species, and all the laws

of existence, but it was the period of this activity when this took place in a time outside of

history. He says the aborigines feel it is still going on at all times; they call it The Law and say

it results in the underlying relationship between all humans, other species, and the environment.

Stockton (2000) says, it was during The Dreaming:

When ancestral spirits, in human and animal form, went about shaping the land and its
inhabitants as we now know them. At the end of their labours they were transformed into
animals or natural features. The life force they released at the beginning is still given off
at special places, for Dreaming time still compenetrates [sic] the present. (p. 150)

That sounds strikingly similar to Seths version of the dreamworld that existed at the time

of the Sleepwalkers (described earlier). In any event, it is a concept which points to the notion of

a constant creation, an unending feed of energy pouring into physical beings from a nonphysical

sourcesomething Wade, Bohm, and Seth all agree upon and it also supports the notion of a

holistic reality.

Wades reference to dreamings qualities at the level of Unity consciousness are also

related to the power of an individual to get beyond spatiotemporal boundaries to experience the

oneness of creation. Wade (1996) asserts that One of the most commonly reported instances [of

spatiotemporal transcendence] is precognition, which now [at the Unity stage] occurs during
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both waking and sleeping. Precognitive dreaming at the Unity level (p. 215) is different from

previous monitory ideation. Wade says that, for people at the Unity consciousness level, the line

between waking and sleeping states is transparent. At the Unity level, dreams change

dramatically; perception is immediate and direct. This is something Seth said as well, predicting

that a time will come when people will achieve a balance of intellect and imagination (something

Wade would attribute to entrainment of the right- and left-brain hemispheres). Seth called the

new faculty that will arise as a result the high intellect and said from that vantage point

knowing would be direct and immediate and that individuals would be consciously aware of their

own inner reality at all times. This seems identical to Wades definition of Unity consciousness.

All of the concepts just discussed are very much in keeping with Seths explanation of

reality. Rather than framing awareness solely in terms of memory, Seth says that there are

intervals of perception (Roberts, 1994a, Session 915, p. 353) between the events (p. 353) in

which the inner world and outer world (self and soul) intersect. Seth claims that between the

moments that you know, and neurologically accept, there are other kinds of moments . . . that are

not dependent upon your usual ideas of say growth through time (Roberts, 1994a, Session 915,

p. 354). Further, Seth definitely seems to support the holonomic paradigm as he describes an

infinite series of sequences in the quote that follows:

You are usually conscious of events that are significant neurologically, and that
neurological timing is the end result of an [almost] infinite series of sequences. Those
sequences are areas in which activities happen. Each consciousness within each area is
tuned into its proper sequence. Each area builds on the others. . . .
There are, then different worlds operating with different frequencies at different
intervals. They are conscious in other times, though you are neurologically equipped to
perceive your own interval structures. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 915, p. 353)

As difficult as it is to believe, Seth says that the entire universe that we know is blinking

on and off. In nearly identical words to Wades, Seth asserts that this process . . . continues so
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smoothly that you are not aware of it. The pulses . . . are so short in duration that your

consciousness skips over them (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 535, p. 119). To explain, Seth

says that the subjective experience of any consciousness (including people, animals, plants, and

even things like rocks or nails) is automatically expressed as electromagnetic energy units (EEs).

We are to think of them as incipient particles that unite in gestalt formations and through a

specific process propel into matter. According to Seth:

These EE units also operate as fields, as waves, or as particles. . . . There are literally
numberless steps taken before EE units combine . . . to form the most microscopic
physical particles, and even here the greatest, gentlest sorting-out process takes place
as these units disentangle themselves . . . from their own greater fields of information,
to specialize in the various elements that will allow for the production of atoms and
molecules impeccably suited to your kind of world. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 990,
p. 176)

This concept of pulsating energy, like so many others, dovetails into the idea of probable

realities. According to Seth, it is into probable worlds that ones consciousness goes when it is

temporarily leaves the physical system. All of the mentions of probabilities throughout this

analysis will be finally tied together in the upcoming and final analysis section on Seths theory.

Wade uses research on prenatal memories to support her contention of a dual track

consciousness. She contemplates what phenomenological state could explain prenatal

recollection in adulthood, positingas do other transpersonaliststhat prenatal memories may

be reproduced in altered states of consciousness. According to Wade (1996), these states do not

create the experiences they induce; rather, they activate or amplify the deep unconscious and

make its contents available for conscious processing (p. 30). In the reductionist paradigm,

altered states are considered fantasy, hallucination, or imagination. Wade says that the

reductionist argument does not recognize any distinction between mind and brain and this is

where the problem lies. Seth would agree, as the following statements show:
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The conscious mind exists before material life and after it. In corporeal existence it is
intertwined with the brain, and during physical life your earthly perceptionsyour
precise and steady focus within your particular space and time systemare dependent
upon that fine alliance. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 626, p. 99)

The brain can be called simply the physical counterpart of the mind. By means of the
brain the functions of the soul and intellect are connected with the body. Through the
characteristics of the brain, events that are of nonphysical origin become physically valid.
There is a definite filtering and focusing effect at work, then. (Roberts, 1994a, Session
653, p. 274)

Here we see that Seths comments could account for Wades assertions about fetal

consciousness. However, Seth goes further to explain not only that a fetus has consciousness and

memory, but how the fetus attains it:

Physically the human fetus bears a memory of its past. In your terms, it travels through
the stages of evolution before attaining its human form. It attains that form, however,
because it responds to a future time, a future self not as yet physically created.
The fetus itself, before its conception, responds to a self not yet physically
apparent; and the future, in those terms, draws new life from the past. A reality of
selfhood, an idea not yet materialized in the unformed future, reaches down into the past
and brings that future into realization. The cells are imprinted with physical information
in terms of space and time, but those data came from a reality in which space and time
are formed. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 727, p. 502)

Wade comes to a similar conclusion about fetal consciousness going through stages of

ego development before birth, after which time, the neonate reverts to the beginning stage once

again. Wade (1996) says that the progression of prenatal and traditional infant ego development

models are very much alike. In both, ego formation begins with an undifferentiated state when

the individuals needs are fully met in an oceanic embeddedness with the ground of being (p.

37). Thereafter, both the fetus and the baby at various times experience the environment as a

hostile place and he or she may feel threatened. Whereas, individuation for a baby happens near

age two, for a fetus individuation begins during the second trimester. Wade refers to research by

Grof (1975, 1985), Grof and Bennett (1990), Verny (1987), and Verny and Kelly (1982) to make

the case that individuation is actually in place by birth. According to Wade (1996), it is the
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trauma of birth that causes the neonate to relive these early stages of development. She says that

the extreme anxiety which birth causes to the fetus results in a repression or forgetting and the

infant then returns to the oceanic feeling of embeddedness once more. Wade also references

medical research that posits that oxytocin which is released in the mother during contractions is

thought to cause infantile amnesia. Seth does not say anything about medical causes. However,

he does agree that a fetus has cognition. Here he clarifies:

The ability to conceptualize is present in the fetus, and the fetus does conceptualize.
The precise orientation of that conceptualizing, and the precise orientation of the thinking
patterns, wait for certain physical triggers received from the parents and the environment
after birth, but the processes of conceptualization and of thought are already established.
This establishment takes place in genetic dreams. Infants think long before they can
speak. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 912, p. 330)

Genetic dreams, according to Seth, continue all throughout life. Their purpose is to help and

direct when the species is threatened and to turn individuals and the species as a whole towards

value fulfillment. If one accepts that, in utero, the fetus is in touch with all of its lives both past

and future, as well as all probable lives, it makes sense then that the fetus would already have

some familiarity with cognition and physical manipulation during gestation.

According to Seth, then, one has to think in terms of probable realities to fully understand

pre-birth consciousness. He reminds his readers again and again that there are strata of being

occurring simultaneously. In the case of the fetus, Seth says that a fetus dreams and it is in those

dreams that it is in communication with its future probable selves; he says: The fetus grows into

an adult, not because it is programmed from the past, but because it is to some extent

precognitively aware of its probabilities, and from the future then imprints this information into

the past structure (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 684, p. 61). It seemed to me hard to imagine

how a researcher would ever be able to prove that a fetus dreams, yet I found published research

by Schwab et al., (as cited in Powel, 2009) that physicists had determined that the brain of the
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developing embryo appears to cycle every 20 to 40 minutes between REM sleep, in which brain

activity rivals that of consciousness, and non-REM sleep, in which the brain rests (para. 3). This

research was not available at the time that Wade published her theory. So, indeed, fetuses do

dream. I think it is safe to say that, at present, there is no way to know what a fetus dreams about.

Another type of research that Wade uses as evidence of a double form of awareness

concerns hypnosis and regression, which of course is done not with infants but with older

children and adults as the subjects. According to Wade, transcripts of regressions to the in utero

period elicit two streams of awarenessone inside the womb and the other outside the mother.

This dual awareness seems to bother adults more than children when they experience it during

hypnosis, perhaps because adults are more committed to the official line of consciousness, as

Seth would call it. Yet, both adults and children recognize the awareness as their own. In

regression, Wade (1996) recounts that these participants are aware of experiences related to their

own birth long before any significant brain growth was possible, in some cases before the

embryonic body was even formed (p. 44). In some cases subjects are able to recall visual

memories of their births, such as things that happened in the delivery roominformation that not

even the mothers knew about but that was able to be confirmed years later from secure physician

records that had never been previously shared. Wade presents some very interesting research

results by Helen Wambach (1981). In these data, 89% of participants of regression reported two

separate, simultaneous sources of awareness while in utero. According to Wambachs report:

They did not identify with the growing fetus or its stream of consciousness, although
they accepted that the fetus was theirs. Instead, they identified themselves with the
physically transcendent source of consciousness, and tended not to become involved
with their fetus until six months after conception. (Wade, 1996, p. 52)

Seth also says that the atoms that compose the fetus have their own kind of

consciousness . . . that exists independently of matter (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 557, p.

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194). Seth says that it is unusual for the consciousness of the fetus to attach itself at conception.

Sometimes attachment happens at conception because of strong ties with the parents from past

lives or because the personality is obsessed with earthly existence and wants to get back as soon

as possible. However, according to Seth,

The reincarnating personality enters the new fetus according to its own inclination . . .
There is no rule, then, saying that the reincarnating personality must take over the new
form prepared for it either at the point of conception, in the very earliest months of the
fetus growth, or even at the point of birth. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 557, p. 194)

The final point I wish to cover in this section concerns the nature of transcendent

consciousness and how that compares with pre and perinatal consciousness. Wade attempts to

determine whether the perinatal state is equivalent to the state of enlightenment (i.e., pure

consciousness). Wade (1996) describes how transpersonal psychologists have held that the

experience of the neonate is undifferentiated and whole . . . nondualism is certainly implied

(p. 57) while transcendent consciousness is not even recognized in conventional psychology.

Wade reports that in the conventional literature on this topic pre and perinatal consciousness is

deemed to be dualistic, and therefore different from enlightenment. It is Wades (1996)

contention that initial forms of consciousness, no matter how advanced, do not replicate the

pure, nondualist awareness of enlightenment and she claims that esoteric traditions have never

equated the two (p. 58). According to Wade (1996) even the physically transcendent source of

consciousness does not enter the material plane at conception pure (p. 57). That being the

case, according to Wade, means the more likely it is that the transcendent source of

consciousness is bound and limited by the brain (p. 58). This, I believe is one point of

difference between Wade and Seth. While Wade seems to suggest that consciousness is

somehow diluted by the time it reaches the neonate, Seth disagrees. He says:
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The soul is not a unit that is definable. It is instead an undefinable quality. It cannot
be broken down or built up, destroyed or expanded, yet it can change affiliation and
organization, and its characteristics, while ever remaining itself. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 730, p. 531)

It seems to me that Seth is saying consciousness may change form but is not any less

conscious in those various forms. There is just an infinite variety of ways for All That Is to

express self-awareness:

The physical world as you know it is unique, vital to the importance of the universe
itself. . . . That reality is dependent upon the perceptions of each kind of life that
composes it. It is a creation of consciousness, rising into one unique kind of
expression from that divine gestalt of beingand that divine gestalt of being is
of such unimaginable dimensions that its entire reality cannot appear within any
one of its own realities, its own worlds. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 888,
pp. 164-165)

Despite this one contradiction, it seems that Wade and Seth both agree on the paramount

principle of the perennial philosophytranscendent consciousness as the absolute ground of all

reality and physical manifestations that are fragments of their divine source.

The translation of energy from source to the physical body. In Wades theory, the

progression of consciousness from transcendent source to the physical body requires that it take

on a different form as it interpenetrates with the body. Wade (1996) describes this process as a

sheathing of energy (p. 250). This is reminiscent of the sheaths that Aurobindo mentioned that

Force Consciousness took on as it descended into the Ignorance during involution. Seth,

likewise, said that there are endless varieties of matter between the matter that you recognize

and the anti-matter of physicists theories (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 890, p. 177). Seth

described a concept that I believe may be similar to what Wade is referring to. He said that most

realities have nothing to do with space as we know it, but exist in what he called psychological

time. In order for a personality in physical time to experience another level of reality an
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expansion or contraction of the something called a tissue capsule has to occur; an inner sense

is used to do this:

This sense operates in two ways. It can be an extension or enlargement of the self, a
widening of its boundaries and of conscious comprehension. It can also be a pulling
together of the self into an ever-smaller capsule that enables the self to enter other
systems of reality. The tissue capsule surrounds each consciousness and is actually an
energy field boundary, keeping the inner self's energy from seeping away.
No consciousness exists in any system without this capsule enclosing it. These
capsules have also been called astral bodies. (Roberts, 1970, Chapter 19, p. 285)

Just as Aurobindo equated sheathing with Ignorance, Seth equates the tissue capsule with

camouflage. It seems that the tissue capsule protects an individual by setting up an energy field

boundary. Seth said that:

To some inhabitants of other planes [realities] that have access to your plane, all that can
be seen of you is this capsule, since such inhabitants have had no experience in your
particular type of camouflage [physical] construction. Therefore your camouflage
patterns are invisible to them, but the tissue capsules are not. These capsules can be seen
by you under certain circumstances and have been called astral bodies . . . a term which
does not meet with my pleasure. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Appendix 3, p. 228)

Wade talks throughout her book about the right and left hemispheres of the brain and the

part each plays in increasing or decreasing access to the transcendent realm. Wade (1996) argues

that

As the brains strength in generating its own energy field increases, the subjective
awareness of the transcendent source decreases. This may be due to the interference or
noise of brain wave patterns, and especially to the narrative dominance of the left
hemisphere. (p. 250)

According to Wade, an individual brain develops over the course of time, to mirror

evolutionary brain development, that is, from the reptilian brain, to the limbic brain, and finally

to the neocortical brain. As the brain develops in this additive fashion, consciousness changes

dramatically. During the stage that Wade calls Naive consciousness (normally associated with

toddlerhood), the lower brain is in play. The boundaries of the child are permeable and
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everything seems to take place in the simple present. One could say that perception is nondual.

However, Wade (1996) points out that this type of nonduality is not the same as the feeling of

oneness with others when time is experienced as eternally in the nowwhich are two features of

Unity consciousness (the highest stage in Wades theory except for the After-death stage).

Ego development and the perception of reality. Wade says that the starting point for

virtually all developmental theories is the formation of the ego self. She explains that in the

earliest stages what usually happens is that an individual comes to perceive his or her existence

to be threatened in some way, resulting in an awareness of duality and the fear of death. Most

developmental theories agree the young child begins to differentiate self from other during this

time, even if it is still a confusing time in terms of individuation and boundaries remain

permeable from the childs perspective. Once reaching the point of differentiation, the child

begins to act to maximize pleasure and minimize distress. In Wades theory this level of

Egocentric consciousness begins at about 2 years of age and extends into late childhood or early

adolescence. Wade spends some time describing how the ego is perceived to surface in various

developmental schools, noting the differences. She concludes that despite differences, overall the

stage that she calls Egocentric Consciousness is characterized by cognition of duality

self/other, good/bad, and so forth. Wade notes that there are many adults who are stuck at this

stage, as well, and she equates the incidence of Egocentric-based adults with lower

socioeconomic classes and environments perceived to be dangerous. Because an individual often

feels threatened in this stage, he or she may become aggressive or hostile as a way to adapt for

survival purposes. Seth has a similar perception of fears influence: Fear taken into the various

stages of consciousness acts as a distorting lens (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 573, p. 268).
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Some developmental theorists argue that a result of the appearance of egocentric

consciousness is the perception of historical time, even if at first it is just a slight awareness of

temporality. Wade (1996) says that

Memory becomes polyideistic, so that more than one image can be retained, permitting
comparisons. . . . Perception is likely to be much more vivid. . . . The vividness of these
images makes it difficult for the child to distinguish them from actual external things.
Washburn suggest that this is because the child is still in touch with the nonegoic source
from which these images emerge, unlike many adults who have little access to the
autosymbolic process except during dreams or nonordinary states. (pp. 85-86)

Seth on the topic of ego development and its relationship to time and memory comports

with Wade. He says that humankind, as it developed, experimented along time-specific lines

using mental methods of selectivity and discrimination (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session

686, p. 69). What this means is that on a social level people previously had selectively focused

in the present, blocking out certain data that they could not deal with. With developing

consciousness, people were able to become more selective and to isolate immediate information

from that which was not immediate. For example, Seth said that early humans who were

becoming more focused in physical reality came to the point where they had to kill animals for

food (recall that in the Sleepwalker state Seth said they did not have to eat). Seth explained that

The present animal had to be killed for foodnot the past animal. That animalthe
past oneexisted as surely as the one presently perceived, yet in mans context, physical
action had to be directed to a highly specific area, for physical survival depended upon it.
(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 686, p. 70)

According to Seth, the cells of the body are not dependent upon linear time because they

are connected to what we have been calling the timeless implicate order. In physical existence,

only one series of neurological messages is allowed in by the ego consciousness. As explained

earlier, messages from the inner reality come in the form of energy where it intersects with

present moments. Seth said:

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These pulses or messages became the only official data that, translated into sense
perception, formed physical reality. This selectivity gave an understandable line of
reference from interior to exterior existence. . . . The necessity for immediate conscious
exterior action at a definite point of intersection with events was left to the emerging
ego consciousness. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 686, pp. 70-71)

Not only were past images blocked out to prevent confusion, but future ones were, as

well. Seth attributed it to the fact that you are afraid to consider future lives because then you

have to face the death that must be met first, in your terms (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 727,

p. 507). Wade (1996) also mentions how fear affects neurological programming, using Wilber to

make the case:

Wilber postulates that the simultaneous realization of ego and death creates the
perception of historical time as a way for the ego to envision its continuation by
outstripping the moment. Linear temporality (time extending backwards and forwards)
is a substitute for eternity (the Eternal Now). In other words, the creation of historical
time is another egoic defense, a repression of death. (p. 109)

Seths comments on this topic are in agreement with Wilbers. Speaking in particular about a

time when death is imminent, Seth said: Such a belief in extinction, such a certainty that

identity is about to be blotted out in the next moment, is a severe psychological experience that

in itself can bring about unfortunate reactions (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 534, p. 112).

According to Wade (1996), ego consciousness gets stronger and stronger as it develops

until it finally consolidates during the Conformist consciousness stage. Layers of illusion build

upon each other in reaction to the egos feeling of separation from its source. Wade points out

that for some developmentalists this is the penultimate if not the ultimate stage of development.

She points out that this is also where reports of transcendent events, psychic abilities, and so

forth are the least prevalent. Wade speculates that this is probably because there is social

pressure to conform in this stage and so individuals repress this kind of information. Wades

theory differs from most other stage theories when it comes to the next two stages after
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Conformist consciousness. You will recall that in Spiral Dynamics, the Blue [equivalent to

Wades Conformist] stage is followed first by Orange [equivalent to Wades Achievement] and

then by Green [equivalent to Wades Affiliative]. I will not go into Wades stage descriptions

here, because they are close to Spiral Dynamics, but there is one great distinction to be noted. In

Wades theory, Achievement and Affiliative are two aspects of one level, not separate levels.

Therefore, according to Wade, development would proceed step by step up through the

Conformist stage, then bifurcate into Achievement and Affiliative stages, and afterwards, resume

a single-line, step-by-step progression. This is an interesting and in some quarters controversial

component of Wades theory, but it has no particular relevance to this study.

It is only when an individual reaches the Authentic consciousness stage in Wades model

that ego-defenses diminish. This level would equate to the beginning of the second tier in the

Spiral Dynamics model. According to Wade (1996):

Authentic consciousness . . . is characterized by major changes in psychological

integration. . . . Fear and compulsiveness are reduced to minimal levels, freeing energy
and conceptual space for a new generativity shown through self-determination, self-
actualization, and self-definition. . . . Consciousness at this level is characterized by
paradox, especially on the individual-social dimension. . . . The person pursues what he
desires, but never at the expense of others, and in such a manner that serves the greater
good, not his alone. (pp. 161-163)

This definition of Authentic consciousness seems to equate nicely with Seths notion of

value fulfillment, as the following statement makes clear:

The self, the individual, being its fulfilled self, would automatically function for the good
of itself and for the good of society. The individual's good, therefore, is the societys
good, and represents spiritual and physical fulfillment. This presupposes, however, an
understanding of the inner self and an exploration into the unknown reality of the
individual psyche. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 704, p. 213)

Ways to access transcendent consciousness. It is important to reiterate, that everything

said about human development in Wades theory has to be understood in context. In Wades
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theory, consciousness is enfolded and coexistent in every stage and at all times; the explicate

emanates from the implicate. According to Wade (1996):

No matter at what age or stage a person is in linear time, he exists simultaneously in

Absolute space and time, with infinite free will as a pure expression of the Ground of All
Being. Personal identity in every incarnation at every level of consciousness exists in the
holonomic heterarchy of both manifest and Unmanifest orders. In all ways, each person is
a perfect reflection of What Is, regardless of the expressed stage of development. (p. 261)

Seth said basically the same thing as Wade and implied even more: The physical

structure itself contains within it the necessary prerequisites for what you would call evolutions

of consciousness-and even for, within certain limits, the organization of experience in ways that

might seem quite alien to you now (Roberts, 1994a, Session 653, p. 278). Seth said that he did

not like to use the term to advance in consciousness because it was not technically accurate.

Rather, what we think of as advancement, development, or evolution are really just individual

selves becoming more and more aware of their true identity in the unknown reality

Wade theorizes that because different hemispheres of the brain predominate at different

stages of development, access to transcendent consciousness varies during ones lifetime for

most people, with times of right-brain predominance admitting the greatest access. Wade (1996)

posits, in a similar argument to that in Spiral Dynamics, that motivation swings from stage to

stagefrom inner-directed to outer-directed. The stages on the left side of her model

(Egocentric, Achievement, and even Unity) seem to show more of a left-hemisphere neocortical

contribution to consciousness while stages on the right side (Nave, Affiliative, and

Transcendent) seem inclined to neocortical inputs from the right hemisphere (Wade, 1996, p.

258). Wade admits that for the middle ranges of her model (not from left to right, but vertically),

materialist or positivist approaches are adequate for studying the phenomena in the manifest

order. Seth seems to agree:

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In your terms, you are in a state of evolution as a species. Part of this experience includes
a natural fascination with exterior events. You are developing properties of consciousness
that are in their own way uniquely your own, as your environment is. A strong focus is a
necessary counterpart, since you are involved in a learning process in which all elements
inherent in the situation will be explored. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 663, p. 342)

Therefore, even though it might be desirable to evolve beyond the single-focused fascination

with the physical world, it is necessary and understandable that within different orders of

existence, individuals direct their focus in specific directions.

Wade (1996) believes that some people have a natural proclivity that permits them

certain types of access to transcendent source of consciousness during life, while others can

develop access through disciplined training (p. 250). I interpret this to mean that those who

have or develop this ability have access regardless of which stage of development they operate

from. I think there is a chance that this is due, again, to right-hemisphere dominance. I found

several instances in which Seth was speaking about Janes creative ability and said that it was her

flexibility and open-mindedness that allowed her to contact him as well as to enter various states

and stages of consciousness. Likewise, Seth said many times that great artists and inventors had

access to reservoirs of knowledge from the unknown reality:

Any creative work involves you in a cooperative process in which you learn to dip into
these other streams of consciousness and come up with a perception that has far more
dimensions than one arising from the narrow, usual stream of consciousness that you
know. Great creativity is then multidimensional for this reason. Its origin is not from one
reality, but from many, and it is tinged with the multiplicity of that origin. (Roberts,
1972/1994b, Session 531, p. 92)

Everyone has the latent ability to tap into the greater stream, according to Seth, but has

not consciously realized or developed the ability. Regardless of whether lack of access to the

transcendent source is caused by brain hemisphere dominance, Seth argues that the seeming

division between the inner self and the outer self is not necessary, It is simply caused by your

present stage of development, and it does vary. Many people take excursions into other realities-
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swim, so to speak, through other streams of consciousness as a part of their normal waking lives

(Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 531, p. 94). Of course, as mentioned previously, Seth also insisted

that everyone has access during dream states.

The role of reincarnation in Wades theory. Wades theory postulates, consistent with the

perennial mysticism which her data encompasses, that reincarnation is integral to development

and evolution. She references Hinduism, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, yoga, Buddhism, Kabbalic

traditions, and other mystical traditions to explain how the experience of multiple embodied

lifetimes eventually brings a consciousness to realize or remember its transcendent source.

Having studied these mystical traditions, Wade (1996) reports that they maintain that until

nondualist consciousness becomes the dominant form of awareness, an individual returns to

incarnate life (p. 57). Wade seems to think that rebirth is a necessity for those who have not

liberated themselves from material reality by way of a noetic shift to Unity consciousness (the

final stage of physical human development). Seth also says that once someone has recognized his

or her multidimensional reality completely, then the reincarnational cycle is finished. However, I

noticed a difference in emphasis between the ways Wade and Seth explain the cessation of the

reincarnation cycle. Wade talks in in terms of liberation from rebirth, as though it is something to

overcome. Seth, on the other hand, frames multiple lives in terms of the creativity of All That Is.

He says that the soul or entity is expanded through reincarnations and this is all part of the state

of becoming that characterizes every multidimensional being. Seth enumerates several

important purposes that reincarnation serves, as well:

Its reality [reincarnation], however, serves to generate activity throughout times

framework as you understand it, to unite the species, to reinforce structures of
knowledge, to transmit information, and perhaps most of all to reinforce relationships
involving love, brotherhood, and cooperation between generations of men and women
that would otherwise be quite separate and apart from each other. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 931, p. 431)
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Wade (1996) also leaves open the possibility that reincarnation may involve simultaneous

realities, unlike most explanations of reincarnation which describe them as serial, as she

explains:

In contrast to the conventional Western notion of reincarnation, according to which a

persons consciousness extends in chronological embodiments, a holonomic concept of
reincarnation would involve enfolded realities in which all lifetimes co-exist and may or
may not overlap in historical time. Since all parts are contained in the whole and are
fully interrelated, identification with any individual or collective consciousness in the
array of living beings is theoretically possible. (p. 278)

Wade (1996) contends that until individuals become enlightened to the fact that reality is

non-dualistic, they are born with a dualist grammar, in the style of Chomskys theory, which,

unless it is overcome and deconstructed, perpetuates their cycle of rebirth (p. 222). Seth, on the

role of language, confirms Wades postulate, saying:

[Why] is it, with all of your ideas about reincarnation, there is precious little said about
future lives? The answer is that your language is limited. Your verbal languagefor
your biological communication is quite aware of probable future events, and the body
constantly maintains itself amid a maze of probabilities. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 686, p. 504)

It may sound like Seth is only talking about future lives, but that is just an example he used based

on the fact that many people are willing to entertain the idea of past lives but do not even give

the possibility of future lives a second thought. In the ineffable timelessness of All That Is,

however, all lives in all of their frameworks are connected in one whole, according to Seth.

Not only is Wades description of reincarnation consistent with what Seth says about

multiple lives, it even hints at one of the key concepts in the Seth material, that is, the pivotal

role of the dream state. In addition to providing the link between the inner and outer realities

between one life and anotherSeth says that dreams have an important function in actually

forming our world:

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The dream world is indeed a natural by-product of the relationship between the inner self
and the physical being. Not a reflection, therefore, but a by-product involving not only a
chemical reaction but the transformation of energy from one state to another . . . Without
the peculiar spark set off through the interrelationship existing between the inner self and
the physical being, the dream world would not exist. But conversely, the dream world is a
necessity for the continued existence of the physical individual. (Roberts, 1977/1996a,
Session 698, p. 172)
According to Seth, dreams have a therapeutic effect on a persons entire physical condition by

allowing a person to release harmful chemicals in the body that can cause illness. He also claims

that dreams provide needed hormones to equip people to deal with stress or, conversely, hold

back hormones when necessary to help the person relax. In Seths explanation of dreams, he

claims that individuals work with probabilities in their dreams before they create them

physically; likewise, in the dream state, societies and whole civilizations participate in mass

dreams in which they decide upon the future direction those societies will take.

Wade (1996) concedes that evidence [of enfolded existences] in the Western tradition is

lacking (and may not be paradigmatically possible) (p. 271). Seth, however, said it was

possible: The inner senses open your range of perception, allow you to interpret experience in a

far freer manner and to create new forms and new channels through which you, or any

consciousness, can know itself (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 515, p. 26).

After-death consciousness and the period between lives. Wade does an excellent job of

aggregating evidence of near death experiences (NDEs), out-of-body experiences (OBEs), and

other paranormal phenomena to make her case for a transcendent consciousness that persists

after physical death. She also ably refutes, using her noetic paradigm, the critics of these

experiences, while acknowledging that the materialist paradigm really has no logical way to

account for such experiences. According to Wade, the experience of a transcendent source of

consciousness at the pre-birth level and the post-death level may be equivalent. Wade (1996)

conjectures that:
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The transcendent source of consciousness could be viewed as an aggregate energy field

that is more or less connected to the physical body through either a unilateral or
reciprocal relationship with the central nervous system or other cellular structures. Such
an explanation would account for the dual-track consciousness of the fetus not yet bound
into the body, many states reported by meditators, out-of-body experiences, and the
widely reported sighting of what has been called the spirit body hovering above the
physical body at death. (p. 244)

As has been noted previously, Seth contends that CUs provide the relationship between

the aggregate energy field and the physical body. He reminds his readers frequently:

The body . . . has invisible counterparts composed of the electromagnetic properties

and the interior sound and light qualities.
These invisible structures preceded the emergence of the physical body. They also
exist after the body's death. While the condition of the body is directed by the conscious
mind in life, then, the idea or mental pattern for the body existed before the conscious
mind's connection with the physical brain. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 626, p. 97)

Wade does not provide much detail about what the after-death period between lives

might be like, although some of the mystical traditions which she references, such as Tibetan

Buddhism and others do provide elaborate detail on the after-death/before-birth environment.

Seth, too, provides extensive information on what he calls the mid-plane of existence. Wade

(1996) does mention, referring to the Tibetan Buddhist belief, that heavenly and hellish post-

death experiences are psychic projections of the deceaseds consciousness (p. 246). This, she

speculates, is because of duality-thinking is still featured in a self within the reincarnational

cycle. Based on Seths remarks on this topic, I would have to say he agrees:

The ideas that you have involving the nature of reality will strongly color your
experiences, for you will interpret them in the light of your beliefs, even as now you
interpret daily life according to your ideas of what is possible or not possible. . . . A belief
in hell fires can cause you to hallucinate Hades conditions. A belief in a stereotyped
heaven can result in a hallucination of heavenly conditions. You always form your own
reality according to your ideas and expectations. This is the nature of consciousness in
whatever reality it finds itself. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 535, p. 119)

Both Wade and Seth suggest that the experience of death, once misconceptions are

cleared up in the after-death environment, is not an unpleasant experience. Wade says it can be
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joyous; Seth says it is an incredible time of refreshment, great learning, and planning. Seth tries

to reassure his readers that they are as dead now (in physical life) as they ever will be after

physical life. As described previously, the body, according to Seth, blinks on and off

continuallyresulting in continual infinitesimally small departures from three-dimensionality

that we never recognize. It is explained nicely in the following analogy:

In many ways you can compare your consciousness as you know it now to a firefly, for
while it seems to you that your consciousness is continuous, this is not so. It also flickers
off and on, though as we mentioned earlier, it is never completely extinguished. Its focus
is not nearly as constant as you suppose, however. So as you are alive in the midst of
your own multitudinous small deaths, so though you do not realize it, you are often
dead, even amid the sparkling life of your own consciousness. (Roberts, 1972/1994b,
Session 535, p. 117)

The true nature of reality in Wades theory. Wade (1996) ends the discussion of her

noetic theory of development with a caveat: All realities and their concomitant forms of

consciousness are perfect, even the most unevolved (p. 266). The reason I say this is a caveat

is because she has spent almost the entire book describing development through stages, only to

summarize at the end by saying that everything is perfect and, therefore, there is really no

necessity to develop. The core of the issue, according to Wade (1996), is that the evolution of

consciousness appears to be the evolution of reality (p. 267). However, just as I quoted Seth as

saying earlier, what appears to be reality is actually the focusing of awareness in one direction.

According to Wade, the progression or widening of reality that comes with advanced

abstraction is only an unfolding in awareness replicating the explicate orders derivation from the

implicate order (p. 267). Consciousness itself is not linear. Therefore, according to Wade

(1996):

Development coexists in one mode, with Ultimate Realization in the other. No matter at
what age or stage a person is in linear time, he exists simultaneously in Absolute space
and time, with infinite free will as a pure expression of the Ground of All Being . . . exists
in the holonomic heterarchy of both manifest and Unmanifest orders. In all ways, each
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person is a perfect reflection of What Is, regardless of the expressed stage of

development. (p. 260)

Wade also points out a principle that is virtually unanimous in developmental theory,

namely, that it is impossible to comprehend a higher stage of consciousness from one that is

lower. Friedman (1990) quoted Wilber from The Atman Project, who framed this dilemma by

explaining that each level of consciousness has a deep structure and a surface structure:

The deep structure consists of all the basic limiting principles embedded at that level.
The deep structure is the defining form of a level which embodies all of the potentials and
limitations of that level. Surface structure is simply a particular manifestation of the deep
structure. The surface structure is constrained by the form of the deep structure, but
within that form it is free to select various contents. (p. 187)

Seth said virtually the same thing:

Free will operates in all units of consciousness, regardless of their degreebut it operates
within the framework of that degree. Man possesses free will, but that free will operates
only within mans degree-that is, his free will is somewhat contained by the frameworks
of time and space. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 904, p. 256)

Wade (1996) further claims that Only people at the Authentic level and above recognize

that noetic evolution may not be linear (p. 269). This, Wade (1996) hypothesizes, is because at

the highest levels the right- and left-hemispheres of the brain are entrained and, therefore, people

at this level are able to synergistically blend intuitive, holistic, spatial, and symbolic processing

with linear, rational analysis (p. 166). According to Wade, coordination of both hemispheres

affects the number of solutions available to problems because with entrainment, intuition and

imagination open up a sophisticated new type of cognition. She suggests that phenomenology

and other forms of qualitative research would provide much better means of studying

consciousness. Seth, of course, would agree. In fact, he said imagination is the link between the

inner worlds of reality and the outer world of experience and that the time is now to activate

these abilities:
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All of the probabilities practically possible in human development are therefore present to
some extent or another in each individual. Any biological or spiritual advancement that
you might imagine will of course not come from any outside agency, but from within the
heritage of consciousness made flesh. . . . Man has not driven himself down a blind alley
. . . He has been studying the nature of his consciousnessusing it as if it were apart
from the rest of nature, and therefore seeing nature and the world in a particular light. . . .
He is now discovering that he needs other lights also . . . that he has been relying upon
only a small portion of an entire inner searchlight that can be used in many directions.
(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 708, p. 300)

Wades holonomic paradigm subsumes the Newtonian paradigm. She claims that her

theory is more complete than Western developmental theories to date because it incorporates

more than just empirical data gathered from within the Newtonian paradigm. Wades theory,

with its multidisciplinary research results that bear on consciousness, its inclusion of mystical

data, its acceptance of reincarnation and information from altered states, all together provide a

better, more complete picture of development, in her own estimation.

Provisional summary of Wade analysis. This analysis was the most difficult of the

three for several reasons. First, it encompasses more conceptually than either of the other two,

even though Aurobindo is more verbose. Second, I found virtually no other analyses of Wades

work in the scholarly literature other than brief reviews of her book, so it was impossible to find

out if others were interpreting Wades theory as I was. Third, and most important, by this time in

the overall analysis I had so much aggregate material that at times I was nearly overwhelmed

with information. Wades theory, in general, is the most closely aligned with Seths teachings. I

found it interesting that Wade sees her theory as a bridge between Newtonian-based theories and

mystical theories. Likewise, Norman Friedman (1990) in Bridging Science and Spirit looked at

quantum physics and the perennial philosophy and saw the Seth material as a bridge between the

two; he said that the Seth material was invaluable in clarifying certain relationships between

science and mysticism (p. 17).

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Similarities. There are a great many similarities between Wades theory and the Seth

material. It appears to me that Wade attempts to appeal to her readers using scientific-like

arguments, which is sensible enough if one considers that most people are operating at levels at

which they will expect to be convinced by data that fit within their worldview. However, both

she and Seth say that different ways of knowing are actually required for understanding of

transcendent realms. Seth offers a great deal more detail on the workings of the inner realms, for

obvious reasons. However, on all of the major points of Wades theory there is close agreement.

Wade believes that there are (at least) two forms of consciousnessa physically

transcendent source and a brain-based source. Seth insists that consciousness exists in infinite

levels, all connected in one open system. Both Wade and Seth say that consciousness exists

before birth and after death. Seth, however, insists that any embodied personality is never

annihilated, even with death; the personality will take on a different form still consisting of units

of consciousness. This is not to say that the same exact personality is reborn through

reincarnation; but all of ones incarnations are related. Wade says that informational energy

fields intersect with physical reality and co-create that reality with meaning from the implicate

order. This is exactly what Seth says happens. Seth says that the soul is actually an

electromagnetic energy field and the individual is a part of that field. He says that before a

particle or cell makes its appearance in physical reality it begins as a faster-than-light CU, slows

down and emerges into our system as an electromagnetic energy unit, which propels itself into

physical matter. According to Seth, Identity itself is composed of pure energy. It takes up no

space. It takes up no time (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 725, p. 478). Wade would likely agree

with Seth that identity is spread throughout the hidden reality, implicate order, or holomovement,

whichever term one prefers.

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An important feature of Wades theory is her belief that the predominance of different

brain hemispheres during different stages of development opens up or shuts down access to the

Unmanifest reality. She claims that altered states, creative modes, and sometimes simply

spontaneous occurrences of nonduality link people to their greater selves. Seth concurs, but

stresses that everyone has access through dreams and at other times when alpha states are

achieved, such as in out-of-body experiences. He said: The alpha state is a threshold, a

preliminary state between the physically oriented portions of the personality and the inner self

(Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 573, p. 266). According to Seth, during dreams consciousness

travels away from the body at speeds faster than light, thus putting itself in a different

relationship with time and space. At those times Seth says consciousness actualizes in other

probable realities. Another point that Wade and Seth agree upon is that the inner realm can be

reached through practices such as meditation, lucid dreaming, and other non-ordinary states of

consciousness. Seth spends a great deal of time talking about the inner senses, which he says are

the means to inner world communication.

According to Wade, at the highest levels of development (Authentic, Transcendent, and

Unity) the two hemispheres of the brain become progressively more entrained, wholeness is

realized, and the illusion of physical reality is recognized. Eventually, she says, there is no

further need for a body. Seth essentially concurs with this premise, saying that when an

individual has fully realized his or her own abilities and true nature, there will be no need to

further reincarnate, unless a person wants to (someone might, for example, want to come back as

a teacher of the true reality).

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In terms of time as we experience it in physical reality, both Wade and Seth say that it is

a construct that is created by the brains perceptual mechanisms. They both agree that because

the mind is intertwined with the brain, time is perceived as a series of moments.

Differences. Wade believes that physical evolution and consciousness evolution go hand

in hand. Seth, agrees, but says that the potential to access the hidden reality is actually latent

within humanity and could conceivably be activated at any level if people could unplug

themselves, so to speak, from the official line of consciousness.

Another area of difference is in the understanding of reincarnational lives. Seth connects

the reincarnational system, his probable system, and our physical system and says that all lives in

all of these systems are happening at the same time. He calls this reality the spacious present.

Wade only alludes to a timeless present, saying that it is a topic virtually unexplored in the

literature, so she cannot say more about it. The next section will address how simultaneous time

is central to Seths entire body of work.

There is some disagreement about how a fetus develops a form of ego consciousness

although both Seth and Wade agree that this process exists. Wade speculates about various

possibilities as to why a fetal brain might give rise to consciousness, including the picking up of

disturbing emotions from the mother, as well as a physically transcendent input. Seth attributes

fetal consciousness to reincarnational and probable selves conveying information about the past

and future to the fetus during genetic dreams.

Contradictions and distinctions. Overall, I have pointed out the main distinctions

between Wades theory and the Seth material. Other than those that I have already mentioned,

the most noteworthy distinction is that simultaneous time, probable realities, and an emphasis on
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reality creation are mostly absent from Wades theory, whereas these are some of the most

important aspects of Seths teachings.

Final summary of THEA analysis. The selection of three distinct but related theories of

development with which to study the Seth material, proved to be fortunate. One seemed to build

upon the next, causing the exposition of the topic to grow from an explanation of material

development and evolution, to spiritual evolution, and finally to a holistic explanation

encompassing both of the others. In using the three different lenses to explore the Seth material, I

was impelled to differentiate between the material world and the metaphysical domain and

between theory and experience. Wades theory caused me to experience paradox; I literally

struggled to reconcile opposing polarities. Stage theorys tenet that one must transcend but

include previous stages to grow in understanding proved itself over the course of my study. It

would have been tempting to just compartmentalize the information revealed through Spiral

Dynamics and keep it forever separate from what was revealed through Aurobindo; however,

Wade forced me to think about how the different dimensions interpenetrate. In the process, I

learned so much more than I previously knew about the Seth material. I thought I had exhausted

the study through my previous readings before the dissertation process began, but I found that I

had not thoroughly understood. I see why some people are intrigued by the Seth material, but do

not stay with it; it is multilayered in meaning and subtletyvery difficult to grasp in its entirety.

Not only did I, probably for the first time, come close to grasping Seths total message, but I also

came to understand better the breadth as well as the limitations of each of the theories I studied. I

have even more respect for the theorists who developed these models than I had at the outset. I

thought it was telling that Clare Graves and Jenny Wade both made a point of remarking that

stages and levels are not real, but constructs; Aurobindo seems to believe that the non-physical
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planes of his model are objective realities in themselves, although he did say that the whole

system was open and interpenetrating. Perhaps because, as a mystic, Aurobindo had direct

experience of these planes, he found it harder to think of them theoretically. On the other hand,

maybe Aurobindo did believe that that the levels were self-made creationsas real, in that

respect, as our physical reality is. That seems to be what Seth was saying. Yes, all of what we

experience is real; we simply have to change our definition of what real means. The true reality

is a mental or psychological process, not a physical thing, according to Seth. We can project our

thoughts and emotions to create infinite varieties of worlds, all of them real to the entity that

creates and experiences them. I believe Aurobindo is saying the same thing, but I cannot be

certain.

This material has a way of making everything seem amorphous. Just when I think I have

grasped a concept, it slips away. Practicing so much meditation, self-hypnosis, alternate sleep

patterns, inner senses exercises, and so forth has put me in a slightly modified state from my

usual one. I can only describe it as dreamy. Although one might think it took a great deal of

focus to go through this analysis, and it did, in some ways I feel less focused, more like my usual

boundaries of consciousness are more permeable.

I mentioned previously that the codes that I had identified in the Seth material had sorted

themselves into approximately equal thirds. This is true, but there were about a dozen codes left

over and these, not surprisingly anymore, are the ones that best describe the main points of

Seths version of development and reality. This will be the topic of the final section of this

analysis.
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Seths theory of probable realities. Seth does not anywhere in the material analyzed

here say that he is putting forward a theory of evolution or development, whether physical or

spiritual. However, he talks at length about developmentboth material and immaterial. Seth

does indeed say that we are in a state of evolution as a species (Roberts, 1994a, Session 663, p.

342). However, it is what he claims to be properties of consciousness (Roberts, 1994a, Session

663, p. 342) that are evolving, not simply our physical bodies. In Seths definition, consciousness

is not a thing, but an attribute or characteristic of identity. The whole point of our existence,

according to Seth, is to expand our consciousness through our creativity and conscious thought.

Expansion or development, in Seths terms, relies on the soul which stands at the center of itself;

from there, development unfolds in all directions. According to Seth, The probable system of

reality opens up the nature of the soul to you (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 568, p. 238).

The paradox is that one of the key components of Seths message is that everything is

happening simultaneously. I put happening in quotations, since Seth would say that things do

not just happen, we subjectively create them or divine consciousness subjectively creates them

(we are just one form of divine consciousness). One has to wonder what possible role there could

be for development if everything happens at once. I think Seth provides an answer and I am

attempting to put Seths answer in the form of a theory. I decided to call the theory that I am

culling from the Seth material, the theory of probable realities because of a note I found written

by Rob Butts. Reading his words, I got an immediate hit that this was what I had been looking

for:

Of course, I thought, in ordinary terms the vast potential of the Seth material is fated
never to be developed. No matter what Jane and I do in our joint reality, this is so. She
could hold sessions 24 hours a day for the rest of her life, and still not exhaust Seths
potential store of information. We've had many indications that his material is
multichanneled, as when Jane has felt him ready to discuss any one of a number of
subjects on any given occasion. I call that feeling, that awareness, a pale indication of
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what Seth means with his theory of probable realitiesfor like probable personalities,
the unspoken channels he has available are certainly real whether or not they're
actualized in our physical reality. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 920, p. 395)

The theory rests on the following key components, which I will elucidate: continuous

creation and the state of grace; multidimensional reality, which includes physical,

reincarnational, and probable realities; simultaneous time; value fulfillment and cooperation;

circular creation, that is, the creator and created in a constant interchange that is unending; and

finally the power of beliefs, thoughts, and emotions in reality creation.

Continuous creation: All that is, CUs, and the state of grace. All That Is has been

mentioned many times throughout this analysis. Seth describes All That Is as a divine process

and purposely does not use the word God because of what he says are the limiting connotations

we place on that word. The reason that there is a process going on is because reality is in a

constant state of change. According to Seth (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 882), our world and

the entire universe that we know (not to mention other worlds and universes) are the result of a

divine psychological awakening (p. 122) that resulted in an out thrusting of all possible

creativity into divine fact (p. 122)a type of form or pattern that is not physical. Therefore,

every possibility or probability that could ever be, as far as we are concerned, already exists

obviating the need to think of any reality as past or future. There is only the spacious present that

is all inclusive; and everything is going on right now in the spacious present. In words

reminiscent of the perennial philosophy, Seth said:

The worlds are all created by that divine content, so that while they are on the one hand
exterior, they are on the other also made of divine stuff, and each hypothetical point in
your universe is in direct contact with All That Is in the most basic terms. The knowledge
of the whole lies within all of its partsand yet All That Is is more than its parts.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 883, p. 130)
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Once All That Is created the divine forms of everything, according to Seth, a way was

needed to contain them. The creative characteristics of All That Is were so fertile and powerful

that Seth had difficulty finding words to describe them. Seth said that the thoughts of All That Is

are multidimensional mental events of a superlative nature (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 884,

p. 139) and they had to be transformed somehow to give them their own space. Seth said:

Those events soon found that a transformation must occur, if they were to journey into
objectivityfor no objectivity of itself could contain the entire reality of subjective
events that existed within divine subjectivity. Only in that context could their relative
perfection be maintained. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 884, Chapter 2, p. 139)

Seths description of how this transformation took place brought to my mind Chinese

fireworks, in which one explosion gives birth to more and more explosions, each planted within

the preceding one so that a cascading effect is realized when they detonate. According to Seth,

All That Is created the series of transformations in order to bring about a different kind of

divine art, in which the creators themselves created, and their creations created, bringing into

actuality existences that were possible precisely because there would seem to be a difference

between the creator and the creations (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 884, Chapter 2, p. 139).

These layers and layers of objectivity comprise physical realities, probable realities, and

reincarnational realities. According to Seth, the universe was seeded (Roberts, 1994a, Session

939, p. 514) in this specific way by means of units of consciousness or CUs, which have been

mentioned frequently throughout this study. The metaphor that Seth used to describe this

occurrence was based on something he called a life cloud or dream cloud (Roberts, 1994a,

Session 939, p. 514):

It [the life cloud] is an evocative reference to the way that All That Is packaged itself in
the formation of its numberless realities. Such life clouds still exist. . . . Each seed of
life, of living, contains within itself its own protective coating, its own placenta of
necessary nourishment and environmental circumstances, its own system and branches
of probabilities.
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Those branches of probabilities act like remote sensors, seeking out those
conditions that will be suited to the seeds best value fulfillment and development. In
the simplest terms, the life clouds will send forth their contents where circumstances
best meet their own requirements. On the other hand, the life clouds can seed their own
worlds completely. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 939, p. 514)

In Seths further description of life clouds, he said that the entire structure of our lives

comprises this life cloud and that it receives an ever-freshening source of creativity from All

That Is; we, in turn, form new life clouds when we dream or think. This again speaks to the

continuous creation which I think of as cascading Chinese fireworks. To be more specific about

the makeup of a life cloud, it is necessary to understand CUs, the most fundamental building

block of consciousness. As mentioned previously, CUs act as both waves and particles; when

they are in their particle aspect, they identify themselves as particular identities with specific

boundaries (everything within the life cloud, as I interpret it). Individual CUs form into gestalts

with other CUs of similar propensities, that is, an inclination toward the formation of selected

experience (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 682, p. 42). They are attracted to each other in a

quest toward value fulfillment. As CUs gather into organizations based on their natures, they

operate within various code systems that help direct particular kinds of focus, bringing in

certain kinds of significances while blocking out the other data (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session

708, p. 299). This is where probable realities come into the picture. The data from the vast

information field (the wave aspect of CUs) that is rejected by one code system can be significant

in a different system. Seth says that other systems can exist right in front of us or in what we

would perceive as the exact same space as our own, but because the beings of those systems

would perceive in ways different than we do (that is, operate with different codes) we do not

even know that they exist and vice versa. However, because of the wave-aspect of CUs, all of the

CUs are constantly in communication with each other. To be more specific, every CU, according
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to Seth, has knowledge of and communication with every other CU. The systems, therefore, are

not closed to each other. The particular string of probable actions that you call your official

experience does not just dangle, then, out in space and timeit interweaves with other such

strands that you do not recognize (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 698, p. 170). All events,

according to Seth, exist at once and, to reiterate, they rise to significance because consciousness

has chosen a certain form of organization. Seth says that No identity, once formed, is ever

annihilated, for its existence is indelibly a part of the entire wave of consciousness to which it

belongs (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889, p. 170). In Seths own words:

In the beginning CUs, then, units of consciousness, existing within a divine psychological
gestalt, endowed with the unimaginable creativity of that sublime identity, began
themselves to create, to explore, and to fulfill those innate values by which they were
characterized . . . directed in part by their own creative restlessness, and directed in part
by the unquenchable creativity of All That Is, they embarked upon the project that
brought time and space and your entire [universe] into being. They were the first entities,
then. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 889, p. 170)

This is the kind of development or evolution that Seths theory speaks toit is

development toward value fulfillment. However, unlike any of the theories analyzed for this

study, Seth puts unique focus on the circularity of creation. Not only do the CUs transform

themselves first into electromagnetic energy, EEs, in a great slowing down process from the

faster-than-light CUs, but ultimately they become all of the inhabitants as well as the

environment that they inhabit. Because of the wave aspect of CUs,

Whatever knowledge man attains, whatever experience any one person accumulates,
whatever arts or sciences you produce, all such information is instantly perceived at other
levels of reality by each of the other units of consciousness that compose physical
realitywhether those units form the shape of a rock, a raindrop, an apple, a cat, a frog
or a shoe. Manufactured products are also composed of atoms and molecules that ride
upon units of consciousness transformed into EE units, and hence into physical elements.
(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 890, p. 178)
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Once a CU or group of CUs takes on a particle form it thenceforth views itself as the

center of consciousness. However, Seth says that there is nothing to prevent us from viewing our

bodies from a standpoint outside of ourselves; it would involve a different kind of perception

than the kind we usually use. CUs in the wave form do not set up any boundaries around their

self-awareness; they literally are in all places at all times, from our point of view. As particles,

CUs take form; as waves they are more like ether. What we think of as empty space, says Seth, is

really teeming with CUs; just like all CUs, they are incipient forms, waiting to take shape when

intention or desire activates them. To be technically accurate, in Seths terms, each CU is

composed of energy that manifests itself with a kind of light that is not physically perceived: a

light that is . . . far more intense than any physical variety, and a light from which all colors

emerge (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 900, pp. 230-231). Seth says that this light is perceivable

if we use our inner senses rather than our outer ones, and it is this light that some people perceive

in near death experiences or sometimes in out-of-body experiences.

These smallest imaginable packages of consciousness that Seth calls CUs are literally

created of soul stuff, and contain infinite properties of expansion, development, and

organization (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 682, p. 39). Because, as I explained, they have

propensities toward certain kinds of growth, they grow out of themselves endlessly by forming

into gestalts. Seth said:

Briefly, certain units would settle upon various kinds of organization, find these

significant, then build upon them and attract others of the same nature. So were various systems

of reality formed. The particular kind of significance settled upon would act both as a directive

for experience and as a method of erecting effective boundaries, within which the selected kind

of behavior would continue. The units can and do intermix, yet because of the propensity for
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selectivity and significance, whole groups of them will repel other whole groups, thus

providing a protective inner system of interaction (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 683, p. 48).

Seth stressed many times that these various levels of reality are not hierarchical and one

is not better than another. In one series of sessions he used an analogy of a flower that grows

from a bulb to make this point. Seth argued that the flower understands its relationship with the

bulb, but it takes time for the bulb to let the stem and leaves and flower emerge. Relating that

concept to human beings, Seth said: It may seem as if there are progressions or consecutive

steps of development, in which more mature comprehensive selves will emerge. You are part of

those selves now, as the petals are of the bulb (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 683, p. 51).

According to Seth, the strata of consciousness exist all at once and it is only the ones that we are

not aware of that we believe must be more advanced.

According to Seth, it is in the present or what he calls the now point or moment point

that our reality emerges. He says that we are perfectly poised between future and past selves and

between all probabilities when we are focused in the present. Therefore, it is precisely in the

present moment that consciousness makes it mark, creating physical reality. While we can

operate in our framework of reality moving forward or backward, Seth said that there is also an

interior reality in which we have a different sort of mobility. This mobility takes place by an

inward and outward thrust of energy in which the CUs flicker in and out of physical existence, as

explained previously. Technically speaking, Seth said this blinking on and off happens through a

mechanism analogous to black and white holes:

The CUs . . . serve as source points or holes through which energy falls into your
system, or is attracted to itand so doing, forms [sic] it. The experience of forward time
and the appearance of physical matter in space and time, and all the phenomenal world,
results. As CUs leave your system, time is broken down . . . CUs are aware of everything
happeningnot only on the top of the moment, but within it in all of its probabilities.
(Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 688, p. 97)
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It is readily apparent that in Seths explanation of reality ego consciousness evolves but,

from a broader perspective, the whole continuum of consciousness actually exists at once. We

simply have to turn our focus in a different direction to recognize a different part of the

spectrum. Therefore, Seth knocks down the idea of an emerging consciousness:

Its [evolutions] impetus comes from within the nature of consciousness itself. It always
has. In some quarters it is fashionable these days to say that mans consciousness is now
an element in a new kind of evolutionbut that new consciousness has always been
inherent. You are only now beginning to recognize its existence. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 705, p. 289)

In order to alter our focus from the usual one, Seth suggests that we can both slow down

or speed up our thoughts and perception. If we learned to do so we could transcend the time

framework that keeps us pigeonholed in just the official line of consciousness.

The final thing to note about CUs is that, as the original entities of which we are made,

they are aware of all of our needs. Seth said

That knower [the inner self or soul] is . . . the portion of the universe that is personally
disposed in your direction, because its energies form your own person. That protection
always couches your existence. It means that you live in a state of grace. (Roberts,
1994a, Session 922, p. 403)

According to Seth, the state of grace is a condition in which all growth is effortless, a

transparent, joyful acquiescence that is a ground requirement of all existence (Roberts, 1994a,

Session 636, p. 150). In terms of the theory of probabilities, the state of grace would be where

there is the greatest poised balance of the conscious mind with other levels of the psyche and

bodya biological and spiritual recognition of the individuals wholeness within himself and his

relationship with the universe at large (Roberts, 1994a, Session 640, p. 185). What Seth is

trying to do through his books and sessions is to help us become more and more aware of these

other materializations of our own identity (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 566, p. 230).
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Multidimensional reality: Physical, reincarnational, and probable realities. As has been

mentioned many times throughout this paper, Seth claims that we are multidimensional beings.

We have identified ourselves with one portion of our total selves to the exclusion of our many

other selves; in fact, our true identity is actually formless. Seth says that our true identity is

nothing but pure energy, taking up no space or time. He claims that biological explanations of

identity are far too limiting:

Your scientists write about heredity, buried and coded in the genes, blueprints for an
identity not yet formed. But there are psychic blueprints, so to speak, wherein each
identity knows of its history; and taking any given line of development, projects that
history. The potential of such an identity is far greater, however, than can ever be
expressed through any physical one-line kind of development.
Identities, then, do send out strands of consciousness into as many realities as
possible, so that all versions of any given identity have the potential to develop in as
many ways as possible. . . . There is not a giant identity and a pygmy one. Each identity is
inviolate. Each also unites with others while maintaining its individuality and developing
its own potential. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 725, p. 480)

According to Seth, entities or souls send out portions of themselves to open new avenues

of creativity; that is their purpose. I read into this that we therefore have a responsibility to be all

we can be because everything we do adds to the quality and nature of overall existence. This is

the nature of development or evolution in Seths theory. It turns out that Seth confirmed my

hunch, which was apparent in these words that Seth said:

The framework [of reality] is so woven that each particle [of consciousness] is dependent
upon every other. The strength of one adds to the strength of all. The weakness of one
weakens the whole. The energy of one recreates the whole. The striving of one increases
the potentiality of everything that is, and this places great responsibility upon every
consciousness. . . .
Rising to challenges is a basis for existence in every aspect of existence. It is the
developer of all abilities, and . . . is the responsibility of even the most minute particle
of consciousness to use its own abilities, and all of its abilities, to the utmost. Upon the
degree to which this is done rests the power and coherence of everything that is.
(Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 681, p. 35)
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When the various planes of reality interact, which Seth says that they constantly do, each

essence is catalyzed to fulfill a larger purpose than the three-dimensional self alone strives to

achieve. We are usually unaware of this. However, Seth says that there are hints that we

sometimes receive when we let our minds soften and accidentally allow in other streams of

consciousness. The same thinga temporary tapping into the greater realityis the cause of

inspiration and great moments of creativity. The flip side of this statement is that the spontaneous

inspiration one might receive, in a different probability, is a thought that was not actualized by

that probable self. Of course, as I have frequently reiterated, Seth insists that the dream state is

also one in which this wall between streams of consciousness regularly breaks down.

To understand how probable reality works one must accept Seths assertion that every

entity has probable, counterpart, and reincarnational selves. The basic premise of probable selves

comes through in Seths words:

Because of your psychological and psychic structure, there is within the rich makeup of
your being a literally endless variety of what you may call probable selves. In one reality
or another all will be experienced. In your present existence however you will utilize only
those psychological characteristics that you believe you possess. (Roberts, 1994a, Session
653, p. 275)

According to Seths teachings, the personality that we each consider to be our own

simply represents one probable state of being; that state is brought about by our beliefs, which

sensory data then mirrors. Once our beliefs put us in the physical framework, then our physical

self becomes the organizer of all sensory data and directs corporeal life accordingly. If we were

to change our beliefs, according to Seth, our experiences would change along with them. Here is

how Seth describes the probable self in action:

In your terms probable events are brought into actuality by utilizing the bodys nerve
structure through certain intensities of will or conscious belief.
These beliefs obviously have another reality beside the one with which you are
familiar. They attract and bring into being certain events instead of others. Therefore,
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they determine the entry of experienced events from an endless variety of probable ones.
You seem to be at the center of your world, because for you your world begins with that
point of intersection where soul and physical consciousness meet. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 653, p. 276)

Seth ties probable reality to All That Is, saying that each essence or entity helps to fulfill

a larger picture than it may be able to perceive and all entities are joined in the context of the one

reality. The context that Seth refers to is one in which all consciousness is involved in the need

and the yearning to love and to know (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 687, p. 84).

One can get a slight sense of probable realities by thinking about the choices we make

routinely while using our conscious awareness. Seth says, however, that just beneath conscious

awareness there are other sets of probabilities that are unconscious because we fail to recognize

them. Nevertheless, every thought or probability seeks its own fulfillment. He asks his readers to

imagine a vast conscious grid of perception and claims that everything that was ever imagined

by All That Is fills in the total grid. Even though there are separate realities, they are all

connected in that one grid. Seth said: No systems are closed . . . so that basically the living grid

of perception that causes one world or reality is also wired into all other such systems. There is

a give-and take between them (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 903, p. 249). This explanation of

the grid of perception caused me to remember an early Seth session in which Seth attempted to

explain how different planes of reality relate to each other. When I looked to see which session it

came from, I found it to be the very first session in which Seth clearly came through to Jane and

Rob. I include it here because I think it provides an unusual way of imagining what in other

theories might be called nested hierarchies. Here, as will be quite obvious, it is explained in a

unique way:

Consider a network of wires, a maze of interlocking wires endlessly constructed so that

looking through them there would seem to be no beginning or end. Your plane could be
likened to a small position between four very spindly wires, and my plane could be
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likened to the small position in the neighboring wires on the other side. Not only are we
on different sides of the same wires, but we are at the same time above or below,
according to your viewpoint. And if you consider the wires as forming cubesthis is for
you, Joseph, with your love of imagesthen the cubes could also fit one within the other,
without disturbing the inhabitants of either cube one iota. And these cubes are themselves
within cubes, and I am speaking now only of the small particle of space taken up by your
plane and mine.
This is what I mean by fifth dimension. Now, remove the structure of the wires
and cubes. Things behave as if the wires and cubes existed, but these were only
constructions necessary even to those on my plane. . . . We construct images consistent
with the senses we happen to have. We merely construct imaginary lines to walk upon.
So real are the wall constructions of your room that you would freeze in winter
without them, yet there is no room and there are no walls. So, in a like manner, the wires
that we constructed are real, though there are no wires. The walls of your room are trans-
parent to me, though I am not sure I would perform, dear Joseph and Ruburt, for a party
demonstration.
Nevertheless, those walls are transparent. So are the wires, but for practical
purposes we must behave as if both were there. . . . Again, if you will consider our maze
of wires, I will ask you to imagine them filling up everything that is, with your plane and
my plane like two small birds nests in the nestlike fabric of some gigantic tree. . . .
Consider that these wires are mobile, constantly trembling, and also alive in that
they not only carry the stuff of the universe but are themselves projections of it, and you
will see how difficult this is to explain. Nor can I blame you for growing tired, when after
asking you to imagine this strange structure, I then insist that you tear it apart, for it is no
more to be actually seen or touched than is the buzzing of a million invisible bees.
(Roberts, 1970, pp. 41-42)

Although this is a very long quote, I thought it was important to include it. It is a very

helpful description of how Seth says that reality is constructed. The part about the cubes being

nested within each other brought to mind theories like Spiral Dynamics. However, in Seths

description, any cube can be thought of as the center of a nested hierarchy; there can be endless

hierarchies; and cubes can be in different relationships with other cubes, depending on which

perspective one views them from. Looking at relationships in this way, there truly is no up or

down, better or worse. I always found the way theorists like Wilber and Beck defended their

hierarchies to be unsatisfying; it was as though they knew it was politically incorrect to call some

more evolved than others, but that is exactly what the theories indicated. I find Seths

explanation to be more persuasive.

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How do reincarnational lives and counterpart lives fit into this scheme of probable lives?

Seth says that the probable system itself did not provide enough differentiation once entities

entered into a time dimension. He says the Garden of Eden story actually is a distorted reference

to what actually happened when humanity realized that it must act in a time context. According

to Seth, the garden story refers to mans sudden realization that he must act within a time

structure. I explored this earlier when I described the people Seth called the Ancient Dreamers

who passed from the Sleepwalking stage into fully physical reality. According to Seth,

This time reference is perhaps the most important within earth experience, and the one
that most influences all creatures. In experience or existence outside of time, there is no
necessity to make certain kinds of judgments. In an out-of-time reference, theoretically
speaking now, an infinite number of directions can be followed at once. . . . Among a
larger variety of possible actions, man was suddenly faced with a need to make choices,
that within that context had not been made before. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 904,
p. 256)

Seth said that while early humans had greater neurological leeway than current ones, the

same neurological pathways that were available then are still open to current beings only they

have become like ghostly signals in the background of neurological activity (Roberts,

1986/1997, Session 904, p. 256). Although free will is a feature of all CUs, that free will is

somewhat contained by the frameworks of time and space (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 904,

p. 256). In our time system, people could never deal with infinite probabilities all at once; they

would become confused and overwhelmed so that no decisions could be made; this could mean

life or death. All of the species within the time and space system have to act from within their

own creaturehood, even though their greater reality is outside of time and space as they know it.

According to Seth, the psyche sends up counterparts of itself with different but related

features into the physical system but in different times and places. These are an individuals

separate lives. Reincarnational lives exist independently, while counterpart lives are those that
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happen within the same time period. So, anyone might have a counterpart living in the same time

period but in a different body in another part of the world. Reincarnational and counterpart lives

are still within the one probable system, but there are also completely different probable systems

besides our own. In most cases, according to Seth, these other systems also contain

reincarnational and counterpart aspects. There are some systems, however, that are completely

different, with no physically based components at all.

This is a difficult concept to grasp. However, Seth used an analogy that can be helpful in

clarifying this idea. He asked his readers to think of the way that the land of our planet changes

through the ages. Land masses disappear and reemerge; bodies of water change form; but the

landscape is still Earth. Seth said,

As the physical properties of the earth distribute themselves in a certain given fashion
about the surface of the planet, so do the properties of the earth-tuned psyche distribute
themselves.
As all physical matter is connected in any particular time, or era, so the individual
consciousness of each being is also connected with every other. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 727, p. 500)

Seth continues the analogy by comparing the self that we know to a mountain in the

landscape, saying that the various rock layers are like past lives. While any one layer is not

equivalent to the mountain it is part of the larger formation, just as all of our lives are part of our

greater self. He goes on to say that just as all the strata of the mountain exist at once, so too do

our lives exist simultaneously. Further, what happens at the top of the mountain affects the lower

levels; vegetation and climate may vary for different parts of the mountain; and because there is

life on the mountain, every layer is constantly changing. Continuing in this vein, Seth declared:

Time periods are natural and creative. They are like the levels of the mountain, bringing
forth fresh life. They do not vanish when you are finished with your growth there, but
serve as a growing media [sic] for other personalities. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 728,
p. 510)
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This, according to Seth, is similar to how our lives work: we are not controlled by any of

our other selves and their activities, but there is an ongoing exchange among all of them. Seth

cautioned, even while making this analogy, not to think we are somehow the pinnacle of the

mountain:

Your vantage point and your focus is such that you cannot turn your head to look higher.
Perhaps you are like a fine sunny cliff on the side of the mountain, jutting out, looking
down to the valley beneath you, not realizing that the mountain itself continues [up]
beyond you. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session, 727, p. 502)

To complete this analogy, Seth explains that we think we cannot see the future, which

would be like looking upwards in the mountain analogy. As long as we believe we cannot look

upwards we will view all reincarnational lives as past lives. However, Seth insists that we

must allow that there are also future livesthey are just as yet not physically created.

To tie this all together, one must think of reincarnational and counterpart lives as ones

that actualize at some point in physical time and space. Probable realities, on the other hand,

constitute the bank of infinite choices available; some are chosen for ones current life, while

others that are not chosen here, appear in different realities. Seth goes into much more detail

about how some probabilities cluster together and how some are more probable than others based

on significance to the entity, but it is not necessary to go into that detail for this analysis.

Simultaneous time and the spacious present. In the scenario just described, which

referred to the Garden of Eden story, awareness had to become focused in time to assure

survival. Seth said that this development caused the illusion of a present containing only what we

perceive in time. However, Seth repeatedly says that future events exist now. His explanation is

that they [the nerve patterns activity] jump over the nerve endings too quickly, and physically

you cannot perceive or experience them as yet (Roberts, 1994a, Session 653, p. 276).

Conversely, Seth also said that the

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Past is still occurring. The drag still leaps the synapses but, again, is not physically
recorded. Past events continue. Consciously you only experience portions of events with
your corporeal structure, yet the structure itself records them. . . . In such a way the cells
retain their memory, though you do not perceive it. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 653, p. 276)

Because our physical framework induces us to think of all events as happening in the present,

with others already completed and behind us and some still yet to happen, time seems to unite

events. This, Seth says, is also why we fail to see ourselves existing before birth and after

deathbecause we do not have use of our physical senses at those times. One way to try to get

sense of times true nature is to think of how time appears in dreams. We dream that time goes

by in a dream and we are there experiencing it, but somehow when we wake up physical time

has not been displaced. Seth said what we experience in our waking state is only the exterior of

time, but that true time operates more like dream time:

Time expands in all directions, and away from any given point. The past is never done
and finished, and the future is never concretely formed. You choose to experience certain
versions of events. You then organize these, nibbling at them, so to speak, a bit at a
time. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 721, p. 442)

Seth says that There is literally an infinity in each moment you recognize (Roberts,

1979/1996b, Session 740, p. 620). If we could identify our own psychological reality using the

interior structure of thoughts and feelings rather than just the exterior, we would realize that; we

would have knowledge of all of our probable, reincarnational, and counterpart realities at once.

To sum up the main concepts covered so far: creation is continuous and reciprocal. That

means that the creativity of consciousness acts to form new realities and that each new

consciousness gestalt also feeds back creative energy to All That Is. Additionally, creation is

spontaneous and simultaneous, and time perception emerges from that spontaneity. There is a

constant source of new energy impinging onto our system at all times and in all places, and

because the system is open, all parts are interpenetrating. A most critical aspect of this whole
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picture is that all of consciousness acts cooperatively on the most basic of levels, even though it

may not appear so on the surface. This is effectuated through value fulfillment.

Value fulfillment: Purpose and cooperation. Seth says that All consciousness has within

it the deep abiding impetus to use its abilities fully, to expand its capacities, to venture joyfully

beyond the seeming barriers of its own experience (Roberts, 1994a, Session 609, pp. xvii-xviii).

This sentence pertains to all species, not just humans; it means that all types of consciousness, in

all their various forms, are united in a cooperative venture that comprises our universe. This

impetus is the original vitality or life force emanating from All That Is that intends to express

itself in every imaginable way. Development in Seths theory lies in creative use of this life

force. According to Seth:

The whole world of nature is an irrepressible, expressible area of expansion. Old ideas
of the survival of the fittest, conventional evolutionary processes, gods and goddesses,
cannot hope to explain the mystery of the universebut when we use our own abilities
gladly and freely, we come so close to being what we are that sometimes we come close
to being what the universe is. Then even our most unfortunate escapades, our most
sorrowful ventures, are not deadended, but serve as doorways into a deeper
comprehension and a more meaningful relationship with the universe of which we
are such a vital part. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Essay #4, p. 44)

In all of my early readings of the Seth material before beginning this dissertation I never

took note of something that jumped out at me very clearly during this project. That something is

Seths emphasis on love as the biological impetus of being. Seth weaves the words love, loving,

lovingly and others like these into sentences so naturally, that I just thought it was part of his

style of writing. Now it seems clear that he meant to say more with those words than I at first

understood. Seth said:

That characteristic of value fulfillment is perhaps the most important element in the being
of All That Is, and it is part of the heritage of all species.
Value fulfillment . . . combines the nature of a loving presencea presence with
the innate knowledge of its own divine complexitywith a creative ability of infinite
proportions that seeks to bring to fulfillment even the slightest, most distant portion of
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its own inverted complexity. Translated into simpler terms, each portion of energy is
endowed with an inbuilt reach of creativity that seeks to fulfill its own potentials in all
possible variationsand in such a way that such a development also furthers the creative
potentials of each other portion of reality. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 884, p. 138)

Seth cautioned that appearances would often belie the loving cooperation that undergirds

all of creation, but said that such a view was a misunderstanding caused by cultural beliefs;

failure to use all of our senses, including the inner senses; and the tendencies to block out

information that does not fit the picture of reality espoused by the science or religion one

accepts. In fact, Seth said that it is easier . . . for nature to flourish than not (Roberts,

1986/1997, Session 901, p. 239). Beyond that, he says No ones fulfillment can be achieved at

the expense of anothers (Roberts, 1994a, Session 922, p. 404). As to why ultimately there will

always be fulfillment, Seth said it is because the spacious present is a psychological dimension:

In which everything that was or is or will be (in your terms) is kept in immediate
attention, poised in a divine context that is characterized by such a brilliant concentration
that the grandest and the lowliest, the largest and the smallest, are equally held in a multi-
loving constant focus. (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 886, p. 155)

It seems that theories of evolution with ideas like survival of the fittest or natural

selection could not possibly fit into Seths theory. Seth says that our belief in such concepts is

built on an erroneous understanding of reality:

The value climate of psychological reality can be likened to an ocean in which all
consciousness has its being. There are multitudinous levels that can be plunged into, with
various life forms, diverse and alien, but nevertheless interconnected and dependent one
upon the other. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Appendix 8, p. 246)

In Seths theory, it seems, one would have to broaden ones awareness to get beyond the duality

which causes misunderstanding, just as with all of the theories we looked at in this analysis.

To summarize, Seth says that we cannot restrain energy; it flows endlessly and always

seeks its own value fulfillment. As cells multiply and growwithin their own nature and the

physical frameworkso do selves evolve in terms of value fulfillment. In a biological sense,

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one would typically think of growth as increase in size or complexity or age; Seths sense of

growth, alternatively, is in terms of what he calls durability or duration. Duration has

nothing to do with time, according to Seth and durability is not based on space. Instead, Seth

says that both are based on the intensity of our thoughts and emotions. He tried to give some

sense to his meaning of duration by asking his readers to think about an event or object that

exists briefly in time but which, for some reason, is very meaningful. That brief incident or short-

lived item may stay in ones memory for a very long time, simply because of the importance one

places upon it. In this example, we would normally say the event or object existed for a short

duration, but Seth is disputing that. He is saying that it has a different kind of existenceone

that goes on in between the moments of reality that we perceive. In terms of durability, Seth

explained that it is achieved through constant expansion in terms of value fulfillment, not

through any other action.

All of what Seth has to say about value fulfillment is tied to probabilities. It is the

structure of the universe with its infinite psychic realms of being that allows consciousness to

fulfill its potential in all possible variations. Seth says that consciousness creates realityand

everything created is a symbol representing an inner reality. In Seths explanation:

The soul continually creates new varieties of inner reality to be explored. Working in the
opposite direction . . . the soul divests itself of all symbols, all representations, and using
its consciousness in a different way learns to probe its own direct experience. Without
symbols to come between it and experience, it perfects itself in a kind of value fulfillment
that you presently cannot understand except symbolically. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session
571, p. 257)

When I consider the pulsations of energy blinking on and off, the inner time and inner

space between the reality that we recognize, the loving cooperation that is woven throughout all

creation, and the constant energy exchange between All that Is and all its manifestations, I get
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the impression of a total system that is engaged in a circular motion. I decided to explore that

idea and found that some of Seths remarks support the idea.

Circular creation: Being and becoming. Throughout the Seth material there are many

ways in which Seth describes what I would call feedback loops. First of all, the entities or CUs

that burst forth from All That Is and entered the probable system of reality are in a constant

feedback loop with their Creator. Contrary to most popular notions of God, Seth describes All

That Is, not as Absolute, but as ever changing.

God, or All That Is, is in the deepest sense completed, and yet uncompleted. I am aware
of the contradiction that seems to be presented to your minds. In a sense, however, a
creative product, say, helps complete an artist, while of course the artist can never be
completed. All That is, or God, in a certain fashion, nowand this is qualifiedlearns
as you learn, and makes adjustments according to your knowledge. (Roberts, 1986/1997,
Session 886, p. 157)

About the soul or the entities, Seth said: They created new psychological entities, opened up an

area of divine creativity that until then had been closed, and therefore to that [degree] extended

the experience and immense existence of All That Is (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 894, p. 201).

The new environments that CUs created Seth called materialized mental acts (Roberts,

1972/1994b, Session 519, p. 39). Seth says that these mental acts add new energy, insights, and

creativity to the entire dimension (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 521, p. 52) of which we are

part. The true nature of consciousness, however, seeks to materialize itself in as many

dimensions as possible . . . In doing so it creates all reality. Reality, therefore, is always in a state

of becoming (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 522, p. 53). In the loop between All That Is and the

CUs it seems that there is a constant two-way interchange.

This same type of movement is spelled out by Seth in other parts of creation, as well. As

Seth repeatedly stated, physical beings are co-creators with the entire universe. For example, in

discussing conscious mind Seth said that it operates in a feedback loop (my words) of sorts: The
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conscious mind is a window through which you look outwardand looking outward, perceive

the fruits of your inner mind (Roberts, 1994a, Session 615, p. 27). Thereafter, the conscious

mind perceiving what the inner mind has created makes judgments about those creations and

modifies its thoughts, emotions, and beliefs as a result. Listening to voices both within and

without, the conscious mind is able to form beliefs that are in league with the selfs knowledge as

received from material and nonmaterial sources (Roberts, 1994a, Session 615, p. 29). This give

and take goes on endlessly. Seth said that there is constant communication between the areas of

consciousness that are connected to the brain and those that are not.

Another area of interchange within creation is between the body (made up of CUs) and

the environment (also composed of CUs). If one recalls Seths contention that cells (via CUs in

their wavelike aspect) have their own memory of all other CUs, then one can understand how

Seth says they are connected. According to Seth,

The body of the earth can be said to have its own soul, or mind (whichever term you
prefer) . . . all natural phenomena spring from the earths soul, as all events and all
manufactured objects appear from the inner mind or soul of mankind. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 610, p. 146)

In Seths view, every CU whether it is in a blade of grass, a molecule in a persons body, or even

an inanimate object like a table, knows its connection with every other. My sense of a feedback

loop seems apparent in these words from Seth:

The world as you see it is a reflection of what you are, a reflection not in glass but in
three dimensional reality. You project your thoughts, feelings, and expectations outward,
then you perceive them as the outside reality. When it seems to you that others are
observing you, you are observing yourself from the standpoint of your own projections.
(Roberts, 1994a, Session 610, p. 4)

Even the weather, Seth says, is created just like everything else, according to thoughts, beliefs,

and emotions. In fact, according to Seth, it is precisely when humankind becomes too disengaged
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from nature that the inner self feels a great need to reassert the energetic connection and conjures

up severe weather like earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods.

I bring up this concept of feedback loops or what I also think of as circularity within

creation because it is related to development and evolution. As humanity comes to broaden its

awareness and accept probable realities, according to Seth, new portions of the brain will be

triggered, unleashing latent abilities that wait for this moment. The probable reality system was

set up as an open system. Seth says that right now can be a time when humankind can learn to

use it: Probable man is emerging now, but also in relationship with his entire natural

environment, in which cooperation is a main force. You are cooperating with nature whether or

not you realize it, for you are a part of it (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 690, p. 115).

Two final aspects of these feedback loops that I want to mention relate to the interplay

between individuals and societies and between individuals and the species of which they are part.

Seth says that The goals of the species do not exist apart from individual goals. As you go about

your life, therefore, you are very effectively taking part in the future, developments of your

species (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 707, p. 293). This is how Seth says the interchange

works:

The information you receive from your culture, from your arts, sciences, fields of
economics, is all translated, decoded, turned into cellular information. Certain genetic
diseases, for example, may be activated or not activated according to the cultural climate
at any given time, as the relative safety or lack of it in that climate is interpreted through
private experience.
In one way or another, the living genetic system has an effect upon your cultural
reality, and the reverse also applies. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 912, p. 332)

I have been struggling as I worked on this entire analysis with the question of whether it

made any sense for one person to try to influence another to try and broaden his or her

awareness. I was beginning to think that it really did not matter; everyone is ultimately going to
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find fulfillmentthat is inevitable, so why would it matter at all, especially considering

simultaneous time? When I read the above quote, however, I had a change of heart. It somewhat

goes back to the idea of responsibility that I spoke of earlier. If the climate of the times affects

the genetic system and can cause things like plagues or famines, then would it not make sense to

do ones best to improve the overall climate of the times? It is true that there could be a reason

why the individuals on the planet at one time may wish to effectuate that result for some learning

purpose, but with free will and infinite probabilities, there might be ways to accomplish the same

learning without harming the species or the environment. This is a tricky question and one I

believe many people who read the Seth material struggle with. One begins to wonder whether

there is any point in doing anything like activism or charity workif the people or other forms

of consciousness have chosen their reality, they say, then who should try to influence that? I do

not see it that way. Another comment of Seths might be influential in clearing this problem up:

Your greatest achievements have been produced by civilizations during those times when man

had the greatest faith in the meaningfulness of life in general, and in the meaningfulness of the

individual within lifes framework (Roberts, 1994a, Session 914, p. 345). I keep returning to the

thought that all of reality is divine. If that is the case, then these swings in the overall climate of

different times are, just as Spiral Dynamics had posited, how evolution comes about. It seems to

me that we create problems in order to learn by solving them. The sooner we learn, the sooner

we can evolve and find meaning. Seth does speak to this in quite a bit of detail:

As the times change you tire of the old ways. Even your dreams begin to reach out into
new avenues. The relationships between nature's natural conservative behavior and
nature's need for innovation are stretched. More and more remarkable events begin to
occur, both in private and mass experience, in physical and mental behavior, in the
events, say, of both stars and man.
People want, then, to throw aside old structures of belief. They yearn, often
without recognizing it, for the remembered knowledge of early childhood, when it seems
that they experienced for a time a dimension of experience in which the unexpected was
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taken for granted, when magical events occurred quite naturally. They begin to look at
the structure of their lives in a different fashion, that attempts to evoke from nature, and
from their own natures, some graceful effortlessness, some freedom nearly forgotten.
They begin to turn toward a more natural and a more magical approach to their own lives.
At such times the conserving elements in nature and in society itself do not seem as
strong as they did before. Surprising events that were earlier covered up or ignored seem
to appear with greater frequency, and everywhere a new sense of quickness and accelera-
tion gradually alters the expectations of people in regard to the events of their own lives,
and to the behavior they expect from others. You are in such times now. (Roberts, 1994a,
Session 936, p. 482)

The surprising events that Seth refers to made me think that perhaps channeling would

fall into this category. From what I have read for this study, many New Agers do feel a sense of

accelerating change in the air. Channelers have proliferatedor at least the ease of access to

their messages has through the Internet. Perhaps, this is one of the ways that people are using to

throw aside old structures of belief (Roberts, 1994a, Session 936, p. 482).

Seths theory of probable realities certainly has the potential to make one feel small. If

every alternate choice that one skips over spins off into its own probable world, what really

matters? It all seems so complicated, for there are not only other probable worlds, but other

probable systems altogether. Even in our own probable system, there are reincarnational selves

and counterpart selves. It is difficult to think multidimensionally from our position in linear

reality. However, what I sense is that it is not right to judge one reality level as better off or

worse off than any other; we should simply do our best to live up to our divine heritage.

According to Seth,

Other [histories of the Earth] go on about you all the time, and other probable selves of
your own experience their histories parallel to yours. In practical terms of sense data,
those worlds do not meet. In deeper terms, they coincide. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session
681, p. 29)

The power of beliefs, thoughts, and emotions in reality creation. I have explained Seths

position that the physical world is composed of symbols reflecting an inner world projected into
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time and space. He called the world a reference point (Roberts, 1994a, Session 609, p. xix), the

appearance of which replicates inner desire. According to Seth, this is more than just a

conceptual notion; he describes it in somewhat scientific terms without the scientific vocabulary

(which Jane did not possess). Basically, Seth said that thoughts and feelings, intention and desire,

all have electromagnetic properties. As most people know, electromagnetic radiation surrounds

us and can behave as both a wave and a particle. Friedman (1990) provides this definition of

electromagnetic energy from a quantum perspective:

Electromagnetic energy is the energy propagated by a vibrating electric and magnetic

field created by a charge. Since the field is vibrating, it has a frequency (cycles per
second). . . . All radiation frequencies travel at the speed of light, a limiting velocity
in our three-dimensional world. (p. 133)

While we can perceive only a small part of what is contained in the total spectrum of

light because of the features of our sense organs, we know that there are other frequencies that

we cannot perceive; a simple example is sound that dogs can hear but humans cannot. Seth

argued that there are faster-than-light particles, and Friedman (1990) speculates that, if Seth is

correct, that would mean that our electromagnetic radiation spectrum is part of a still larger

spectrum (p. 133). Interestingly, in 2011 there was a lot of trepidation in the scientific

community when researchers at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy recorded neutrinos

purportedly moving faster on two occasions than the speed of light. National Geographic

reported early in the story about the findings:

The existence of faster-than-light particles would also wreak havoc on scientific theories
of cause and effect. If things travel faster than the speed of light, A can cause B, [but] B
can also cause A, Parke said. If that happens, the concept of causality becomes
ambiguous, and that would cause a great deal of trouble. (Than, 2011, para. 2)

In the months after the story broke, there was so much heated debate and skepticism that the

leader of the research and another scientist both stepped down. The results, as of yet, have not be
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verified or disproved. If the results are confirmed, they would coincide with Seths description of

EE units, which were described earlier as the step between the conversion of CUs into physical

matter. According to Seth, EE units are in effect light units that intrude into our electromagnetic

spectrum by slowing their velocity to that of our light and become trapped at that velocity

(Friedman, 1990, p. 133).

Returning to beliefs and expectations, here is how Seth described the process:

Your beliefs are your palette, using the analogy of a painting again.
Your thoughts give the general outline of the reality that you physically
experience. Your emotions will fill in the patterns with light. Your imagination will forge
these together.
The sound of your inner thoughts is the medium that you actually use. This is far
more than an analogy, however, for in simple terms it explains quite clearly the way in
which your beliefs form your reality. (Roberts, 1994a, Session 624, pp. 90-91)

While belief-generated thoughts are powerful, according to Seth, that power can be positive or

negative depending on the nature of ones beliefs. Seth explains, Because ideas and beliefs have

this electromagnetic reality, then, constant interplay between [those] strongly contradictory

beliefs can cause great power blocks, impeding the flow of inner energy outward (Roberts,

1994a, Session 627, p. 104). I believe we see such contradictory beliefs and their outcomes at

work all the time. For example, a person may harbor self-doubt about some aspect of himself or

herself and yet be highly successful and confident at work. The blocks that Seth says may result

can take the form of recurrent problems, illnesses, or other events that block overall

development. On the other hand, Seth also cautions us that we should not judge the various

problems and challenges that people have created because, in the bigger picture, they may be

ways that the personality is testing various ideas and learning from them. In that way, according

to Seth, the mind has its own system of checks and balances.
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Seths assertions about the power of beliefs are intertwined with what I am calling his

theory of probable realities. I have discussed how the conscious mind allows in or blocks out

information that fits within its belief structure. Seth says that each belief can be seen as a

powerful station, pulling to it from fields of probabilities only those signals to which it is

attuned, and blocking out all others (Roberts, 1994a, Session 656, p. 290). To complicate things

further, probable selves, reincarnational selves, and counterpart selves are also gaining

experiences based on their own beliefs and these also influence us. In terms of probabilities in

the current lifetime, Seth says that:

Any successes in this life, any abilities, have been worked out through past experience.
They are yours by right. You worked to develop them. If you look about you at your
relatives, friends, acquaintances, and business associates, you will also see what kind of
a person you are, for you are drawn to them as they are drawn to you, through very basic
inner similarities. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 550, p. 172)

Needless to say, mass beliefs and probabilities work the same way as individual ones. When

every aspect of the entire system is considered, it is quite a complex picture. I bring up this

whole topic on beliefs for this study because Seth says that beliefs themselves evolve, as do

emotions. According to Seth, the ground in which this evolution mainly takes place is in the

dream state. This will be the subject of my final section.

In summary, even though we have a gigantic pool of information to draw upon from all

of our probable selves with whom we are in contact on an inner level, our present beliefs

determine our experience in the present. As Seth said many times: The point of power is in the

present (Roberts, 1994a, Session 667, p. 303).

Dreams: The contact point with unknown realities. Seth says that there are several

methods of establishing contact between the interior and exterior worlds, including certain trance

states, out-of-body experiences, several altered states of consciousness, and most importantly,
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dreams. The importance of dreaming cannot be stressed enough for, according to Seth, the

waking state. . . has its source in the dream state, and all of the objects, environment, and

experience that are familiar to you in the waking state also originate in that inner dimension

(Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 898, p. 219). The reason dreams are so important to humans in

Seths description of reality is because the conscious mind of humans is connected to a physical

brain. The brain is just not equipped to handle the totality of multidimensional reality, although

Seth says it can handle far more than we currently allow it to. However, in the dream state the

reasoning mind loosens its hold upon perception and attempts to catch what it can of the

immense volume of data available to it (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 908, p. 279). According to

Seth, dreams provide pathways to wisdom and pleasure. To activate the power of our dreams, we

are to use our beliefs and intentions. Seth says that we should use [our] beliefs like searchlights

in the dream state, looking for other events that fit in with [our] ideas about reality (Roberts,

1994a, Session 672, p. 397). This comment seems consistent with all that Seth said about CUs

forming into gestaltslike attracting like.

On a physical level, I mentioned earlier Seths contention that dreams provide resources

in the way of hormones and other chemicals that are involved with healing the body. This, Seth

says, is an effective short-term way in which dreams are therapeutic. In terms of ones whole

multidimensional purpose, dreams provide a trial framework in which you explore probable

actions and decide upon the ones you want to physically materialize (Roberts, 1994a, Session

640, p. 187). Through dreams, beings communicate with each other about the direction in which

they want to take their worlds and all the aspects of physical expression they intend to make

manifest. Seth called dreams an inner public forum in which each man and woman has his or

her say, and in which each opinion, however unpopular, is taken into consideration (Roberts,
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1994a, Session 933, p. 462). In this global dream network, according to Seth, the entire worlds

knowledge is available to all; it is in this way that sudden remarkable insights appear that later

enable a man or a woman to envision the world in a way that was not earlier predictable

(Roberts, 1994a, Session 936, p. 481). This is also purportedly how the species communicates

when natural disasters separate people and make physical communication impossible. In terms of

evolution, then, Seth says that we are evolving as a species in physical terms. Simultaneously,

we are practicing in the dream state choosing from among all probabilities, those that we wish to

bring to the fore. Eventually, Seth said, our ability to be more consciously aware of the true

nature of reality will mean that we can intentionally merge inner and outer knowledge and

experience. This is the same eventuality that all of the other theories in this analysis also predict.

It seems that the point of the Seth material is to remind people of their true heritage and to teach

them how to trigger activation of latent abilities. Dreamwork has the potential to speed up

evolution as I understand it.

Just like the physical universe, Seth says that the inner psychological universe is a

psychic gestalt, propelled, formed, sustained or driven by value fulfillment, love and desire, by

the loving values that have no limit [intently] (Roberts, 1994a, Session 941, p. 537). The dream

state is an essential component of reality in Seths theory. He says that dreams may not have

bulk, but they do have form:

It is essential that you realize that the dream world is a by-product of your own existence.
And because it is connected to you through chemical reactions, this leaves open the
entryway of interactions, in animals as well as men. Since dreams are a by-product of any
consciousness involved within matter, this leads us to the correct conclusionthat trees
have their dreams, that all physical matter, being formed about individualized units of
consciousness of varying degrees, also participates in the involuntary construction of the
dream universe. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 689, p. 173)
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As I approach the end of this analysis, everything about the Seth material seems to

coalesce in a holistic system. While there are various states of consciousness and levels of

reality, dreaming provides the connecting link between all of them. The scientific explanation

that Seth provides of this process reiterates the importance of the present moment as the

intersection point between inner and outer reality. This is how he explains it:

The energy of an entity is dispersed, striking the space-time continuum at certain angles
and always bouncing back. But the energy is always in contact with itself even while it
impinges into physical existence.
In your terms, the energy springs back in the dream state, but it must always pass
through what you think of as the window of the present. This bouncing back of energy
into itself is the meaning of the dream state, in which experience that is basically
nonphysical is embarked upon, and is then interpreted as a dream through the brain.
(Roberts, 1994a, Session 668, p. 378)

Seth claims that scientists of today are not yet able to detect bizarre brain changes that

take place in certain dream states. In Seths words, these brain changes are an acceleration that

quite literally propels the consciousness out of its usual space-time continuum into those other

realities from which it comes (Roberts, 1994a, Session 668, p. 377). We reach this accelerated

level of dreaming only in deep dream states, which Seth says constitute a depth experience

(Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 528, p. 81). Most of our dreams, especially the ones we can

remember, are not of this kind. However:

In the very deep reaches of sleep experience those, incidentally, not yet touched upon by
scientists in so-called dream laboratoriesyou are in communication with other portions
of your own identity, and with the other realities in which they exist. In this state you also
pursue works and endeavors that may or may not be connected with your interests as you
know them. You are learning, studying, playing, and are anything but asleep (smile) as
you think of the term. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 531, p. 93)

This deep sleep state, says Seth, is in the same dimension in which we have our after-death

experiences. Seth says that at our present state of development we are not able to manipulate

consciously in more than one environment at a time. However, many times throughout the Seth
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material he states that the human species is poised to leap into a new state in which we will be

developing that ability.

According to Seth, the areas in which energy enters and leaves our system serve as points

of unity in which all of the simultaneous selves meet. In case one wonders how a person knows

how to operate in all of these complex systems, as I did, Seth provides an answer. He claims that

there are teachers and helpers throughout the whole system of reality. In the dream state, he talks

specifically about a group he calls the Speakers. The Speakers, Seth says, are personalities from

other levels of reality who have chosen to work with the physical system in order to encourage

development within the three-dimensional framework. They appear to others in the dream state,

forming images and symbolism that dreamers can understand, that begin to introduce them to

different kinds of consciousness. According to Seth:

The Speakers possess an extraordinary vividness of feeling and thought projection.

They can impress others with greater import through their communications. They can
move from inner to outer reality with easy ability. They know instinctively how to use
symbolism. They are highly creative on an unconscious level, constantly forming psychic
frameworks beneath normal consciousness that can be used both by themselves and
others in dream and trance states. . . .
The Speakers are familiar with the rules within many systems. . . . Each individual
in his dreams has access to the information possessed by the Speakers. There are adjacent
states of consciousness that occur within the sleep pattern, that cannot be picked up by
your EEGsadjacent corridors through which your consciousness travels. (Roberts,
1972/1994b, Session 569, pp. 243-246)

These corridors that Seth claims we traverse during sleep are broken into two kinds: one

passive, receiving information; the other active, taking part in actions in order to experience

probabilities. All of this, according to Seth happens in that most protected area of sleep

mentioned above. This state is also where bodies are rejuvenated with the constant energy flow

from our entities. In our world, Seth says many artists, poets, and musicians are Speakers
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probably because what is required is the kind of artistic ability to create new productions, new

expressions of probable realities.

As I read everything that Seth had to say about the dream state, it occurred to me that this

is a fertile area of research for transpersonal psychologists or others who wish to study the

movement of consciousness. In particular, Seth said that there are various conditions of

consciousness that one passes through on the way to the deep, protected dream state. At first, he

says, there is a turn away from physical data as one slides from wakefulness to sleep. Then there

is an undifferentiated area in which one functions quite well as a receiver, passive but open. This

area, according to Seth, allows telepathic and clairvoyant messages to easily enter ones

awareness. Also at this level, one can sometimes feel unusual physical sensations, like a feeling

of growing large or of falling. Seth said that in this undifferentiated level, it is easy to almost

catch oneself in that state, but then physical data interrupts. The sensation of largeness, for

example, is a physical interpretation of the psychic expansion. The feeling of falling is an

interpretation of a sudden return of consciousness to the body (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session

570, p. 250). This stage can last from a few moments to as much as a half-hour. One can also

pass through it and then return to it later during sleep. Suggestions given during this level of

sleep are highly effective, according to Seth. This leads me to believe that it is a stage very much

like a hypnotic state.

Following along through the stages toward deep sleep, the next stage is an active one and

Seth says that a kind of pseudo-dreaming often takes place during this time. According to Seths

account, the mind busies itself with physical concerns that have managed to cling through the

first two stages (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 570, p. 250). This active stage is a very brief

one, and it seems from what Seth said, that one does not necessarily have to stop at this level at
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all. After the stage just described, there is another undifferentiated layer, during which, Seth

says, one may distinctly hear voices or conversations and may see unfamiliar images as well.

The body is deeply asleep and consciousness chooses to follow one of the stands of information

that is vying for attention. The person sleeping forms these impressions into a light dream.

Eventually the dreamer will go into that deeply protected area of sleep at which, according to

Seth, he or she is on the threshold to other layers of reality and probabilities. Time is quite

different than in physical reality at this level. Seth says that the dreamer may experience years

though only minutes have passed (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 570, p. 250).

Finally, at the time when one comes out of the protected sleep state, is when Seth says

REM sleep is experienced. It is when the dreamer is returning in the direction of physicality, and

the dreams created at this time are the dreamers attempt to translate and use the knowledge he or

she has gained in the deep state. In one nights sleep this cycle can repeat itself. Seth claims that

learning more about this dream cycle can be very useful:

You can learn to shift gears, stand aside from your own experience, and examine it
with much better perspective. You can prepare questions or problems, suggesting that
they be solved for you in the sleep state. You can suggest that you will speak with distant
friends, or convey important messages that you cannot convey verbally, perhaps. You can
bring about reconciliations, for example, at another layer of reality though you cannot do
so in this one.
You can direct the healing of your body, telling yourself that this will be
accomplished by you at one of the other levels of sleep consciousness, and you may ask
for the aid of a Speaker to give you any necessary psychological guidance that is needed
to maintain heath. If you have particular conscious goals and if you are reasonably certain
that they are beneficial ones, then you can suggest dreams in which they occur, for the
dreams themselves will hasten their physical reality. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 570,
p. 251)

These outcomes, if true, would be reason enough to invest ones time in dreamwork. But

there are other benefits, as well, according to Seth. The physical body gets rejuvenated and

feelings of joy are natural in dreams. Seth says that one can train oneself to recognize the
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symbolism that occurs at each level and therefore be able to realize which level one has attained;

it would require matching the symbols to the feelings one connects with them at each level.

When moving toward wakefulness, Seth says that it is not atypical for one to imagine great

historical characters like the Buddha, Christ, or the prophets in the dreams; he says, however,

that these are guises for the Speakers, whom one has encountered in the pure dreaming state. For

those who become very adept at holding on to awareness while dreaming, there is knowledge of

the deep state, in which,

Symbols themselves begin to fade away. . . . In this stage of consciousness the soul finds
itself alone with its own feelings, stripped of symbolism and representations, and begins
to perceive the gigantic reality of its own knowing.
It feels direct experience. If we use joy as our example, all mental symbols and
images of it would finally disappear. They had emerged from it, and would fall away
from it, not being the original experience, but by-products. The soul would then begin to
explore the reality of this joy in terms that can hardly be explained and in doing would
learn methods of perception, expression, and actualization that would have been utterly
incomprehensible to it before. (Roberts, 1972/1994b, Session 571, p. 256)

It turns out that Seths descriptions of the dream state entail a complexity equal to his

description of probable reality. Even though Seth lays out, using depth as a reference point, the

various stages of sleep consciousness, he claims that there is more of an open system. Each stage

is broad with adjacent areas to be explored, all available based upon ones interests and desires.

Seth claims that there is an unending conversation going on throughout the universe. In the

physical world the communication includes those of past and future selves. There is also memory

of all dreams, whether joint or separate, that all your selves have had.

Before leaving this section, a few words about altered states, which Seth says are

additional avenues to the hidden reality. In out-of-body experiences and some trance or hypnotic

states, Seth claims that consciousness puts itself in a different relationship with time and space

(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 709, p. 313). Seth calls this disentanglement from the
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camouflage system and says it occurs by way of changing frequencies or vibrations. In these

states, according to Seth, the inner senses are activated and the outer senses are toned down. Just

as with dreams, one is able to pursue dreamlike dramatizations that involve the evolution of an

emotion or a belief. If I understand Seths teachings correctly, out-of-body travel usually takes

one to that level discussed above, which was described as undifferentiated, not into the pure,

deep, protected dream state.

Again, dream experience seems like it would be loaded with potential for the study of

consciousness. Seth certainly encouraged dreamwork:

Your dream experience represents a pivotal reality, like the center of a wheel. Your
physical world is one spoke. You are united with all of your other simultaneous
existences through the nature of the dream state. The unknown reality is there presented
to your view, and there is no biological, mental, or psychic reason why you cannot learn
to use and understand your own dreaming reality. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 721,
p. 441)

Summary of Seth analysis. In writing this summary I am taking into account both the

theory of probable realities, as I fashioned it, as well as all of the Seth material that was explored

using THEA. I find that my understanding of the Seth material is different now than it was at the

outset of this study. The analysis using developmental theories forced me to delve deeply into

sections of the material that I must have skimmed over in my earlier readings. I did not allow

myself to blithely accept everything Seth said at face value; everything had to stand up to the

scrutiny of rigorous comparison with other theories. In my opinion, the Seth material proved

more comprehensive than all of the other three theories together; it provided answers to

questions that the other theories left ambiguous. None of Seths claims, however, can be proved

using conventional methods. Experimenting with Seths inner senses exercises and hypnosis, I

was able during the last several months to get a sense of the magical universe Seth talks about.
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This review was able to provide me with answers to my primary research question and all of the

secondary ones, as well, which I will spell out below.

There is one more slice of Seth information that was not covered in either the THEA

portion or the theory of probable realities portion of my study and that pertains to worldviews. I

was surprised when I realized how much Seth had to say directly about worldviews. He

comments on religious, scientific, and psychological worldviews at length. Seth even commented

on Platonic thought and the problems inherent in that philosophy, saying:

Platonic thought saw this inner world as perfect. As you think of it, however, perfection
always suggests something done and finished, or beyond surpassing, and this of course
denies the inherent characteristics of creativity, which do indeed always seek to surpass
themselves. The Platonic, idealized inner world would ultimately result in a dead one, for
in it the models for all exteriorizations were seen as already completedfinished and
perfect. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 696, p. 159)

I bring up Seths critique of Plato because it is indicative of the central tenet of the Seth

materialthat humanity itself helps to create the outer world from the knowledge of the inner

world. I will mention some of the thoughts on worldviews that Seth emphasized now, before

concluding with the answers to my research questions.

To understand Seths opinion of the various popular worldviews through the ages, it

helps to recall what I have reported of his remarks about god makinghow human development

has been tied to our god concepts throughout our history. Science, not just religion, according to

Seth, constitutes a type of projection stemming from our opinion and beliefs about ourselves and

about our future possibilities. Seth explains the shortcomings of religious and scientific views

vis--vis the various levels of development that created them. He does so from a nonjudgmental

stance, allowing that those worldviews emerge for a reason and are stepping stones to growth.

Seth claims that individuals choose to develop certain abilities and ignore others. This is done

individually and en masse. According to Seth,

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In its own way, the world at any given time is a unit of individuals with deep psychic
and biological connections. Each of you takes a hand at painting a combined world
picture. Though each version is slightly different, and some appear strange within the
whole context, still a world picture emerges at any given time. (Roberts, 1979/1996b,
Session 724, pp. 469-470)

One highly unusual principle of worldviews that Seth asserts is that every person has a

worldview, whether living or dead. He calls the worldview a living picture that exists despite

time or space and claims that it can be perceived by others who are able to tune in to it. It

should be noted that Jane Roberts wrote two books by tapping into the worldviews of William

James (Roberts & Butts, 2001) and Paul Cezanne (Roberts, 1977/2003). Of worldviews, Seth

said:

Each worldview exists at its own particular frequency, and can only be tuned in to by
those who are more or less within the same range. However, the frequencies themselves
have to be adjusted properly to be brought into focus, and those adjustments necessitate
certain intents and sympathies. It is not possible to move in to such a worldview if you
are basically at odds with it, for example. You simply will not be able to make the proper
adjustments. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 718, p. 406)

In other words, the hidden universe will remain hidden until we change our beliefs about it. Seth

claims, in words reminiscent of Kuhn (1996) on paradigms, that you are so used to your own

private interpretation of reality that when you allow yourselves to stray from it, you immediately

want to interpret your new experience in terms that make sense to your familiar orientation

(Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 718, p. 411). In just that way, according to Seth, scientists shunt

aside data that does not conform to their worldview.

The biggest problem with worldviews to date, Seth says, is that they do not recognize the

primacy of consciousness. While religions teach that God made the universe and science teaches

that physical matter somehow transformed from dead matter into consciousness, Seth says that

the universe is formed by a creative, loving energy force that is ever flowing. Another problem is

that both religious and most scientific worldviews have a distorted view of time. Seth said:
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Whenever science or religion seeks the origin of the universe, they search for it in the past. The

universe is being created now (Roberts, 1986/1997, Session 882, p. 120). Seth adds

psychological worldviews, such as Freuds, to the list of views that are problematic. He said,

Psychology, religion, sciencein one way or another, all of these have added to the confusion

by stripping the conscious mind of its directing qualities, and viewing it as a stepchild of the

self (Roberts, 1994a, Session 642, p. 198). Some of the complaints that Seth makes about early

psychological worldviews are that humanity came to see itself as separate and apart from nature

and that emotions and the unconscious mind became worthy of suspicion. Referring to more

recent trends in psychology and the self-help component of the field, Seth says that they are

something of an overreaction to misunderstandings about the conscious mind:

Because the conscious mind has been so stressed (while stripped of many of its
characteristics), there is now an overreaction occurring in which normal consciousness is
being put down. . . . Emotion and imagination are being considered as far superior. The
displaced powers of consciousness are still being assigned to the unconscious, and great
efforts are being made to reach what seem to be normally inaccessible areas of
awareness. . . . The conscious mind is not some prodigal child or poor relative of the self.
It can quite freely focus into inner reality when you understand that it can. (Roberts,
1994a, Session 621, p. 71)

I believe Seth was trying to say that now is the time for an integration or synthesis of

intellect and imagination. Seth stresses repeatedly, that the mind is flexible; the time has come

when the human species is advanced enough to rise above old and limiting beliefs. In order to

understand the universe, Seth says that we must travel inward:

Your so-called scientific, so-called objective experiments can continue for an eternity,
but they will only probe further and further with camouflage [physical] instruments into a
camouflage universe. . . . The subconscious, it is true, has elements of its own distortions,
but these are easier to escape than the tons of distortive camouflage atmosphere that
weigh your scientific experiments down. (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 702, p. 199)

Seth insists that if humans do not embrace their greater reality, the future of the race is in

jeopardy, but not in the sense that many think. He claims that there have been probable histories
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of our planet in which the race has wiped itself out because it did not show a loving concern for

the environment and it was no longer able to sustain its members. The same thing can happen to

us. Seth says that we set up the problems we have like wars, pollution, overpopulation, nuclear

danger, and so forth to help us see the error of our beliefs. The inner unity and oneness, the

interconnections and cooperation that underlie creation are unchanging; we need only realize it.

Therefore, at a deeper level, Seth says:

You will not be destroying the planet, you see. You will not be destroying the birds or the
flowers, or the grain or the animals. You will not be worthy of them, and they will be
destroying you.
You have set up the problem for yourselves within the framework of your
reference. You will not understand your part within the framework of nature until you
actually see yourselves in danger of tearing it apart. You will not destroy consciousness.
You will not annihilate the consciousness of even one leaf, but in your context, if the
problem were not solved, these would fade from your experience. (Roberts, 1972/1994b,
Session 550, p. 178)

How do we get to the point when we can begin to utilize the full potential of our

consciousness which Seth says is barely-half developed (Roberts, 1977/1996a, Session 687, p.

84)? According to Seth, it would require humanity to free itself of limiting beliefs, to trust in a

safe universe, to realize our connection with all of creation and our ability to communicate with

all aspects of creation to explore our full capacitiesultimately, it would take the recognition of

our divinity. Seth directs us to the dream state again as a learning site. He speaks about dream-

art scientists and mental physicists who will do the work of uncovering the full spectrum of

humanitys capabilities. He claims that the true art of dreaming is a science long forgotten by

your world, but one that can be redeveloped with long-term training and purposeful intent.

According to Seths job description:

A practitioner of this ancient art learns first of all how to become conscious in normal
terms, while in the sleep state. Then he becomes sensitive to the different subjective
alterations that occur when dreams begin, happen, and end. He familiarizes himself with
the symbolism of his own dreams, and sees how these do or do not correlate with the
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exterior symbols that appear in the waking life that he shares with others. (Roberts,
1977/1996a, Session 700, p. 182)

Through these activities, Seth claims, the dream-art scientist will begin to recognize the

levels and kinds of reality and activity going on mostly unnoticed. He or she will learn the laws

that govern various levels and also how the levels interact or not with physical reality. It seems

that this is a lot for any one person to accomplish and it must be very rare. I think people like Sri

Aurobindo and Jane Roberts are two mystics who have seriously attempted such work. Seth says

that it may take many lifetimes for mastery of dream-art science. Nevertheless, he claims that

there have been a few that have acquired this knowledge in different civilizations that have

existed on Earth. He said they used a mental physics to travel the solar system, to develop

technology, and to understand molecular science. According to Seth, the thrust and direction of

your own science has been directly opposed to the development of such inner sciences (Roberts,

1977/1996a, Session 702, p. 196). The entire discussion about dream-art science and mental

physics, in my opinion, could be a blueprint for a new type of transpersonal study. I have, in fact,

learned of one transpersonal psychologist, Arthur Hastings, who, at the time when I spoke with

him, was working with a private client on a dream study designed according to descriptions set

out in the Seth material (A. Hastings, personal communication, March 19, 2010). Seth would call

the kind of work I am describing as true psychology. He says:

As far as a true psychology is concerned, individuals who are made aware of the
existence of probable realities will no longer feel trapped by events. Your consciousness
is at a point where it is beginning to understand the significance of predictive action
and predictive action always involves probabilities.
In certain terms, you are the recognized result of all of the decisions you have
made up to this point in your life. That is the official you. You are in no way diminished
because other quite-as-official selves are offshoots of your own experience, making the
choices you did not make, and choosing, then alternate versions of reality.
You follow the prime series of events that you recognize as your own, yet all of
you are connected. These are not just esoteric statements, but valid clues about the nature
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of your own behavior, meant to give you a sense of your own freedom, and to emphasize
the importance of your choice. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 741, p. 631)

I believe that everything Seth said was trying to get us to realize that we would achieve

the greatest fulfillment if we cooperated with and loved one another. I see great wisdom in these

texts that are in so many ways consistent with parts of the messages of religion and science. It is

as though humanity has been striving to understand something to the best of its ability and was

able to gather bits and pieces of meaning but, without the missing pieces about conscious

creation, probable reality, and simultaneous time, the full meaning could never be grasped. I will

close out this section on worldviews with Seths words:

The species is now entering . . . a period in which it will come more into its own. . . .
Christian theology sees the end of the world in certain terms, with a grand God coming
to reward the good and punish the wicked. This system of belief allows for no other
probability. Some see the end of the world coming as a greater disaster, or envision man
finally ruining his planet. Others see periods of peace and advanceand each probability
will happen somewhere. However, many of my readers, or their offspring, will be
involved in a new dimension of selfhood in which consciousness is fully explored and
the potentials of the soul uncovered, at least to some extent.
Human capabilities will be seen as what they are, and a great new period of
development will occur, in which all concepts of selfhood and reality will be literally
seen as primitive superstition. The species will actually move into a new kind of
selfhood.
Theories of probabilities will be seen as practical, workable, psychological facts,
giving leeway and freedom to the individual, who will no longer feel at the mercy of
external eventsbut will realize instead that he (or she) is the initiator . . .
In this probability of which I speak, the species will begin to encounter the great
challenge inherent in fulfilling the vast untouched potential of the human body and mind.
In that probable reality, to which each of you can belong to some extent, each person will
recognize his or her inherent power of action and decision, and feel an individual sense
of belonging with the physical world that springs up in response to individual desire and
belief. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 742, pp. 638-639)

I have one last thought to express before closing out this section. It is that, based on what

I have learned, I believe that the Seth material is something that calls to us from a probable

future. There will be other Seths in other times with different messages more appropriate to
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those times. I am convinced that consciousness just keeps on expanding and that Speakers will

keep appearing to help us realize our potential.

Cycle 4: Refining Interpretive Lenses

As I engaged with the Seth material during the analysis phase of this study, I concurrently

worked with Seths inner senses exercises, meditated every day, took a Seth intensive class, oil

painted with a group once a week, and worked with a hypnotherapist who taught me to practice

autohypnosisall of these practices aimed at improving my intuitive awareness. From the first

day of writing (not the first day of analysis) to completion of my first full draft took almost

exactly 6 months.

One outcome of this process that I think is worthy of mention is how I personally

perceived what was happening to me during the analysis and writing stages. I got the distinct

feeling during this project that many unseen helpers were guiding me in this dissertation

process. Because, during analysis, the order and the breakdown of codes happened to work out as

they did, my learning seemed to build upon itself in just the right sequence. I found that every

time I started to get anxious about what the final result might be and how I would tie all of this

together with emerging worldviews, my nervousness was short lived. I was able to put it aside

because I was confident that the help I kept receiving would continue. It was almost as if the

complete dissertation was already written in another dimension and what was happening was that

my own consciousness was developing and expanding step by step so that I gained access to the

balance of the dissertation when I was prepared to receive it. I have never experienced this

feeling before, although in my career I have often worked on large, complex, and difficult

projects. I am very grateful for what has happened. I came to trust that this process would work

without being overly willful about the structure.

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During the entire dissertation process, I practiced every day getting in touch with my own

multidimensional self. I studied my thoughts and beliefs as they passed through my mind during

the day for several weeks. I was not surprised to find that my thoughts already reflected the

values of much of what I was reading in the Seth material. The hypnosisincluding past life

regressionand autohypnosis had the greatest impact on me. I met reincarnational selves, both

past and future; I experienced being both an animal and twice an insect, which gave me a whole

new perspective on being connected to animals and the environment; I spoke with my higher self

who gave me advice out loud through my voice; I healed myself of a small but persistent medical

problem that I had experienced for 5 years using one of Seths techniques for healing through an

alternate focus; and I met with my many helpers regarding dissertation questions, experiencing

excellent and synchronistic results. During the last few months of this dissertation process my

father who has dementia from early-stage Alzheimers disease started to decline precipitously.

My siblings and I had to make a very difficult decision to move him to assisted living and to take

his car way. He became very confused and angry because of the change and all it entailed. It was

a trying time during which I was very sad. When I went to my friends home for my weekly

hypnosis session, she regressed me and I experienced four separate lifetimes with personalities

that I recognized as my father from my current life. They were all very different personalities

and lifetimes than this one, but in each we were happy. I found the experience of that session

extremely comforting; it made me less sad to know that my father and I had been together many

times and we will probably be together again. I think this kind of therapy for loved ones of

Alzheimers victims could be very helpful.

Surprisingly, I did not remember a great deal of dreams during the entire dissertation

process as I had anticipated I would. I think I had so much information I was trying to keep in
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mind that I awoke every morning already beyond the hypnopompic state. However, I was

receiving help in other ways. I lost count of how many times I asked one of my helpers to guide

me to a sought after quotation or to reveal the meaning of some confusing passage to me and

they accommodated me. I learned to meet my helpers in a special location in my mind. I could

enter an alpha state of awareness quickly, go to my special locale within a minute or two, feel

such love and support from these beings that I pictured as cloud formations with barely

perceptible face-like features, and upon coming out of meditation walk straight to my desk and

find what I was searching for. It became incredible. I had very little anxiety about this process

once I began the analysis stage and I experienced no mental blocks or writing blocks along the

way. One very strange thing that happened was that, shortly before I started my dissertation (2

years ago), a virus struck my system and affected my eyes, preventing me from wearing my

contact lenses. If I tried to wear my lenses, my eyes would become very red and irritated and

then take days to recover. After a couple of weeks of trying to wear them I gave up and just wore

glasses from then on. Every 2 months or so I would put my lenses in for an hour or two to see if I

had recovered from the virus, but the condition persisted. It came to me in a meditation that my

helpers had done this for me so that I would not sit in front of the computer for hours with

contact lenses in, which could have been damaging to my eyes. They told me that I would be fine

when I was finished with my work. I did see an ophthalmologist in the very first month of this

problem and was told that my eyes were fine. As this project was nearing completion I wondered

if my eyes would be able to tolerate contact lenses again soon. Recently I put them in and left

them for two hours without any negative effect. I am going to gradually resume wearing them as

I taper off of the great volume of reading and computer work I have been doing. I find the timing

of this strange malady to be more than coincidental.

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As an example of how I took note of hunches and synchronicities I am attaching here a

journal entry from April 14, 2012:

Yesterday I completed writing the Spiral Dynamics section. I ended with a question about
Why channeled material? I didn't really answer the question, but put out some
possibilities. For example, maybe the prophets of each worldview have jobs/roles that
have particular relevance to the people at the levels they primarily speak to. I still had a
feeling, though, that there was more to it. I wondered about people whom we think of as
prophets in a mystical sense. They also seem to have existed during all historical times.
The last sentence I wrote was Perhaps there will be some clue provided in the next
section.
I went to bed thinking of this question. Since I was about to start the Aurobindo
section the next day, I took The Life Divine to read in bed. I have read this book, so I had
no intention of starting from the beginning and reading it in order. I was just going to
read my notes in the margins and refresh my memory. Instead, I immediately turned to a
section that I don't recall reading. It is on page 904. Here is what I read: It is possible
indeed that it is the mystic or the incipient occultist who was everywhere the creator of
religion and imposed his secret discoveries in the form of belief, myth and practice on the
mass human mind; for it is always the individual who receives the intuitions of Nature
and takes the step forward dragging or drawing the rest of humanity behind him. But
even if we give the credit of this new creation to the subconscious mass mind, it is the
occultist and mystic element in that mind which created it and it must have found
individuals through whom it could emerge; for a mass experience or discovery or
expression is not the first method of Nature; it is at some one point or a few points that
the fire is lit and spreads from hearth to hearth, from altar to altar.
I thought that it was amazing that I got an answer to my question in the next
section just hours after I wrote the question, without any foreknowledge that this would
happen. Another synchronicity!
This brings me to some of the so called inner work that I have been doing along
with the research and writing for this dissertation. After I finished the Seth class I just so
happened to hear from Bili Mason [a woman I know who channels], who I hadnt
spoken to for about 9 months, I think. She called me on the very day when I was thinking
of her for the first time in a long time. No surprise there. She asked me if I would like to
learn hypnosis with her as instructor and whether I would join her in some research into
unknown realms using both hypnosis and channeling. She, of course, is the channeler, not
me. I jumped at the chance. Since then we have had two sessions and the next scheduled
for Monday, 4/16. We are going to meet once a week.
Part of what she offered to help me with was getting in touch with my higher
selfeven for help with the dissertation. That sounded intriguing. Bili taught me
hypnosis and past-life regression, let me experience it myself. Then I conducted a
hypnosis on her, which went very well. This coming week we are going to try to reach
my higher self through hypnosis. In the meantime, though, I have been doing an auto-
hypnosis every day during/after my meditations. Today, in fact, I had a fantastic one, in
which I met with many of my future selves. They were all giving me encouragement
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and expressing gratitude for what I was contributing to them. It was an emotional
experience. I almost did not want to leave them.
Finally, about the dissertation process itself: things seem to be working well. It is
so difficult, slow, and tedious; but it is also thrilling, interesting, and consuming, in a
good way. I feel, once again, that I am right where I am supposed to be and somehow all
of my life has led me to this point. Maybe it is this me here today that urged forward
those past me's through the zig-zag of experiences that I had that didn't seem necessarily
to be connected. They actually were. This is a mind-altering experience. Every day I pray
for help. I feel surrounded by helpers, but I also feel an obligation to do the best I can. Its
like a great mystery story. I cant put it down, but Im dying to know the ending.

Having now shared some of what I experienced during this process, I hope that

information will provide context for my revised interpretive lenses which follow in Table 1.

Table 1
Preliminary Lenses and Revised Lenses
Preliminary lenses
What one believes to be the true nature of
reality affects everything that one believes
possible or impossible in life; it colors all
thoughts, actions, motivations, and so forth.
People desire to understand their world and
always have, resulting in our philosophies,
religions, sciences, and the foundation for
all worldviews.
What people aspire to in this life is
happiness or as the classical philosophers
might say the good, the true, and the
beautiful.
While some people concern themselves
with what comes after this lifetime, no one
can ignore the here and now completely.
Worldviews contain both theoretical and
practical values.
Wisdom can develop with experience,
reflection, self-awareness, compassion, and
humilitymost of all with practice.
269
Revised lenses
Our worldviews are a result of our beliefs,
both conscious and unconscious. We will
experience the reality that we believe we will.
All beings are endowed with an inbuilt urge
for value fulfillmenta gift from All-That-Is.
We have more than a desire to understand the
world; we are co-creators of our world.
What we desire is to return to our natural state
of gracethe joyous knowledge that we live
in a safe universe; value fulfillment is our
destiny.
This physical existence is an opportunity to
create and learn. It should be embraced
joyously and with intention. We are
significance-making creatures.
Worldviews are a result of ontology,
epistemology, beliefs about agency, axiology,
praxeology, and ideology. They allow people
to make meaning of their existences. As much
as it seems worldviews are created from
culture and even language, they are actually
projected from the inside to the outside.
Everything we experience is chosen from
infinite probabilities by the entity/soul.
Although it is true that wisdom can develop
with experience, reflection, self-awareness,
compassion, and humilitymost of all with
practice, wisdom is actually innate. Our
multidimensional selves are connected to all
the knowledge and wisdom of existence at all
times. We need to turn our awareness within
to tap into it. When we are in the state of
grace, we are living in wisdom and love.
(continued)
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Preliminary lenses Revised lenses

If people believed they were equipped to Knowledge and awareness of probable reality
successfully handle the world with all of its and the ability to manipulate within it would
challenges, they would have less fear and enable people to change their reality if they
anxiety, and consequently be less angry, did not like it. This would obviate the need
aggressive, jealous, hopeless, and so forth. for fear and anxiety. No one would have to
feel trapped by events.
When one surrenders to the universe, that is, No surrender is required; we are not in
stops fighting against it and instead uses the competition with anyone or anything. We are
flow of universal energy positively and the universe; and we are the recipients of an
consciously, great results are possible and unending and loving stream of energy from
less effort is required. the source of our being.
Everything in the universe is connected in a Everything in the universe is connected in a
living web, communicating though an living web, communicating though an unseen
unseen network of a non-local character. network of a non-local character. Energy =
matter = consciousness. All of the universe is
made of CUsthey have the capacity to be in
all places and all times simultaneously, thus
ensuring our connection to all.
When a person attempts to buck the Paradigms or worldviews are based on
prevailing paradigm, he or she is often faced beliefs. When confronted with contradictory
with obstacles, ridicule, scorn, alienation, beliefs, people may react aggressively. It is
and jealousy. better to look for things one can agree on, if
one wishes to get through to another with an
opposing worldview.
If one is able to overcome the forces of Personal power is actually the feeling of
negativity, the result can be a liberating and ones true nature being experienced. There is
motivating feeling of personal power. nothing to overcome; one needs to turn within
and recognize her true self. Thereafter, she
will project that belief outward and will then
encounter the manifestation of her beliefs.
Every person comes into this life with a Every person comes into this life with a
motivating impulse to create a life that motivating impulse to create a life that fulfills
fulfills their personal and unique values. their personal and unique values. Our souls
provide us with a life cloud of protection and
magnetism that helps draw towards us
everything we need to fulfill ourselves. We
have the free will to pull towards us that
which we desire.

(continued)
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Preliminary lenses Revised lenses

Wisdom entails maximizing ones own
potential, but never at the expense of
another.
Using wisdom pragmatically can improve
relationships, increase problem-solving
abilities, help potentiate people, and make
life more efficacious and enjoyable.
Wisdom represents a high state of
consciousness and lies at the leading edge
of evolutionary development. It is an aspect
of the life force creating and expanding.
Wisdom entails using the innate knowledge of
ones multidimensional self. Doing so would
ensure value fulfillment, which is always a
cooperative venture.
Using wisdom pragmatically can improve
relationships, increase problem-solving
abilities, help potentiate people, and make life
more efficacious and enjoyable.
Wisdom/love is our inherent biological and
spiritual endowment, regardless of the stage
of development we have achieved.
Neurologically, we have different hardware
with which to access our genetic endowment
at different developmental levels.

Cycle 5: Integration of Findings and the Literature Review

As I suspected might be the case, using THEA teased out almost everything I needed to

know to answer my questions; supplemented with my Seth theory analysis, the picture was

complete. Seths views on human development are woven throughout this dissertation. Below

are my closing thoughts on my research questions.

1. What insights can be gleaned from an examination of the Seth material as it pertains

to human development and how might those insights supplement our understanding

of emerging 21st-century American worldviews?

With Seths hope-inspiring words in mind, I now have a different perspective on

emerging worldviews. I notice that I do not get as upset when I watch or read the news or when I

listen to political programs on TV or radio. I understand that people who hold differing

worldviews are involved in their own dramatic productions, learning as they go. I do not have to

be drawn into someone elses drama if I do not wish to be and yet interacting with people whose
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thoughts and beliefs are contrary to my own is how I learn too. It is my choice to engage as much

or as little as I wish. I feel myself participating in the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind

in a new way nowwith much more empathy and concern. I think it would be impossible to

delve into this material as I have and not be moved by it. It gives me hope.

As I look back on the list of items reflective of emerging worldviews (see Organization

section in Chapter 1) it is clear why I thought the Seth material might have some connection with

those views. Almost every item on that list has been covered in this analysis as one of the

principles of Seths teachings; the one or two not covered were simply not brought into the

dissertation by me but were covered in the Seth material. I cannot prove, but I have to believe,

that Seth was at least partially instrumental in bringing these ideas into the world. He was not

worried about receiving credit and I am not concerned about that either. Seth said that there are

many teachers, many Speakers, and many helpersall of whom love and care about our creative

experiment as Earth creatures. One way or another we will eventually all learn what we need to;

the form of that learning experience will vary and is really a choice. I now feel that it would be a

mistake to think of development as proceeding in one direction. I like Seths explanation of the

soul as the center of everyones universe and that all development proceeds from that center

outward in every direction. I realize now that the very phrasing of my research questions reflects

a linear bias. An emerging worldview does not have to mean that never-before-existent attributes

develop only after prescribed prior steps have been completed. Seths contention that we only

think certain ideas are more developed than others because we havent focused on them yet

seems plausible to me. It also seems reasonable to think that there are latent abilities within our

bodies and brains that need to be activated. No one that I know of has given a reasonable
 273

explanation as to why so little of our brain capacity is presently utilized; Seths explanation at

least provides a suggestion.

2. Where might the Sethian worldview be situated within the American mythology of

our times?

In terms of the mythology of our day, I have a new way of thinking about that now. If our

myths, like our god concepts, actually relate to the development of consciousness, then the

myth that Seth has told us, like all the other myths, is a stimulator of development. If all of our

myths and god concepts are meant to lead us toward our greater fulfillment, then the Seth

material leads me to believe that a time of cooperation among all species and all of nature is in at

least one probable future of ours. Seth said that: The greatest fairy tales are always those in

which the greatest expectations win out: the elements of the physical world that are unfortunate

can be changed in the twinkling of an eye through great expectations (Roberts, 1986/1997,

Session 891, p. 183). I believe that our innate knowledge is feeling constrained by limiting

constructs that we ourselves have placed upon it. I feel that what the emerging worldviews are

picking up are projections of our own images of probable fulfillment.

3. If we can infer from Seths teachings what a hierarchy of consciousness might look

like from his purported vantage point, might it give some clue as to what is likely to

emerge next for humanity?

I am persuaded by Seths argument that hierarchies are a misconstrual of the nature of

reality. I could never understand how so many stage theorists could describe development as

evolving upward with each level more encompassing than the one below while claiming that

the higher levels are not better than the lower levels. Even if one uses the euphemistic

transcends and includes descriptor of ever-higher levels, they seem to me to be implying that
 274

those poor lower-level thinkers will only understand when they reach a higher level. There is a

lot of talk in the developmental field about holarchies, holism, holistic systems, and so forth, but

none of them are as inclusive as the Seth material, which includes the gaps between space and

time, interior and exterior reality, and probable futures as well as probable presents and pasts. As

to what emerges next, it is really up to us. I believe Seth would say:

As the cells operate with the knowledge of probable actions and still maintain the
physical body in your chosen system, so the psyche, operating in the same way, seeds
itself in many different probabilities. . . . I am speaking of other physical probabilities
alternates, in other words, of the world as you know it. Those alive with you, your
contemporaries, do not all belong to the same probable system. You are at a meeting
ground in that respect, where individuals from many probable realities mix and merge,
agreeing momentarily to accept certain portions of the same space-time environment. . . .
To some extent your reality is picked up by your contemporaries. They accept it or not
according to the particular theme or focus of their lives. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session
729, pp. 519-520)

It seems from this quote that a planet-wide transformation is not likely and not necessary.

All probabilities exist at one; some intersect with others, while others never coincide. Perhaps

there will be a new Earth, such as predicted by some New Age advocates, and some people

will experience it. The ones who do not focus in that direction will not even know the difference

and the ones who do will only know the one way their experience showed them.

4. Are Seths ideas attractive only when certain conditions prevail or when individuals

reach a particular stage of development?

I am not sure how to answer this question. If I think about what kind of people would be

interested in reading the Seth material and might be open-minded about it, I envision one kind of

person. If I think about the kind of people who might relate to some of the concepts like the

affinity between humans and the natural world, the power of beliefs, or reincarnation, then

different types come to mind. Generally speaking, I think that people who are in touch with their

inner selves, who are imaginative, and who think and feel for themselves might be open to Seths
 275

message. I do not believe that any particular level of development needs to have been achieved

to resonate with the concepts; reading the material might be more difficult for some people.

Before conducting this analysis I would have answered differently. I would have thought that

one had to reach Tier 2, in Spiral Dynamics terms, to be inclined toward the Seth material. If, as

Seth has said, that we all have latent abilities that can be triggered into action, then I am now not

sure that one has to be skilled in any particular way. In the Seth intensive class in which I

participated, the instructor, Rick Stack, said that the triggers were:

Understanding emotionally that you create your own reality

Understanding that you are a multidimensional being

Spontaneity, that is, following the voice of your inner self

Affirmation, that is, the loving acceptance of your own unique individualism

(R. Stack, personal communication, March 14, 2012).

If this list is accurate, then presumably anyone could relate to Seths teachings, regardless of

developmental level.

5. What might we learn about resistances to emerging worldviews by those who view

things from a different organizing set of principles and values?

What I have learned is that thoughts, beliefs, and emotions draw like ones to themselves,

forming into gestalts of consciousness. I see this played out in myself as well as others: we like

to surround ourselves with others people, material, and information that support our pre-existing

viewpointsnot always, but frequently. Seth says that when you concentrate on any particular

thought you feed it energy. This would be the case whether you agreed with or disagreed with

the thought. Taken together, these two statements imply that if one argues against or gets

inflamed by anothers worldview, it adds power to that worldview. In a way then, competing
 276

worldviews create each other. This leads me to believe that finding common ground would be a

far better method of resolving conflict than making arguments, regardless of how astute or

forceful.

6. Could civil discourse between individuals with competing worldviews be facilitated

by a better understanding of their origin?

I think that, without question, if people understood that their beliefs cause the reality they

experience, new and better ways to interact with others would be found. Seth said something that

explains this well:

If you believe all men are evil, you simply will not experience the goodness in men. You
will be completely closed to it. They in turn will always show you their worst side. You
will telepathically see to it that others dislike you, and you will project your dislike upon
them. Your experience, in other words, follows your expectations. (Roberts, 1972/1994b,
Session 538, p. 138)

It seems to me that so much distress in our world is caused because of beliefs grounded in

fearfear of not having enough or being good enough or of being alone. If people could

understand that none of that fear is necessary, indeed, that it actually creates what they fear the

most, then think how much more willing they might be to try a new approach. Seth stressed that

we live in a safe universe, which I think is key. The way we choose to live our lives, Seth said, is

our creative artistry at work:

In your mind you creatively envision the ideal-the sanity of some future culture that, you
hope, our work and [that of others] will bring about. If not tomorrow, then sometime.
When you thoroughly understand what is meant by the entire safe-universe
concept, then the physical, cultural climate is seen as a medium through which the ideal
can be expressed. The ideal is meaningless if it is not physically manifest to one degree
or another. The ideal seeks expression. In so doing, it often seems to change or alter in
ways that are not understood. Yet those distortions may be the very openings that allow
others to perceive. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Introduction, p. 281)

I interpret this statement to mean that some paradox will be involved as we strive for

value fulfillment. Sometimes what we create may seem to be quite the opposite of our desires. It
 277

may, however, be the case that by highlighting the reverse, we or others become clearer in our

focus and intent, making the outcome that much better in the long run. This is all part of the

learning process that I envision as part of a shift in our thinking that is built upon conscious

creation.

Some criticisms that I have heard of New Age believers or of people at the Green level of

Spiral Dynamics are that they are too relativisticeverything and anything is acceptable;

nothing really matters as long as people maintain their own values and stay out of other peoples

business. I do not read Seths message to be anything like that. I think he is saying that

everything mattersnot that nothing matters. There is only consciousness, and that

consciousness has infinite freedom to create. Seth spoke of a time before our world was

created, when consciousness was choosing the path it would follow and Seth put the intent of

those conscious entities in the form of a manifesto of sorts that I find illuminating. He said that

the entities involved decided to develop human capabilities and to explore them fully. This was,

according to Seth, their thinking at the time:

We will trust that our creativity will find its own way, and if there are nightmares we will
waken from them. We will even learn from them. We will dare to push aside the
dimensions of being into those realms in which only the gods have gone beforeand
through our utter vulnerability to experience, discover the divinity that gives our
humanity its meaning. And through the compassion that we have learned, we will be able
to understand the divine errors that gave us our birth. Souls and molecules each are
learning, each are forming realities, each are a part of a divinity in which each
counterpart has a part to play. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 733, p. 557)

Please note that the reference to divine errors refers to the fact that all probabilities would be

able to be explored, leaving out none that are physically feasiblegood or bad.

As I near the end of this study, it is very clear to me that I have been engaged in a

personal journey of self-discovery and development, congruent with the study and development

of my thesis. It was my own quest for wisdom and understanding that caused me to consider the
 278

unusual premise of the Seth material in the first place. I thought, if I am not finding satisfactory

answers to my questions from the usual sources, then why not open up my search to more

unconventional ideas?

As mentioned earlier, I considered this exploration a test of the Seth materials pragmatic

benefits, that is, the practical value of the teachings. In the end, the study has proved itself, at

least to me. I hope that I have made a convincing case for more scholarly study of the Seth

material which might benefit others who may be interested in evolving worldviews and the

development of consciousness.

This study also answered for me an important question posed by my dissertation

chairman, namely, If the Seth material offers esoteric knowledge, is not this knowledge by

definition unlikely to influence large-scale social movements? (M. Gonnerman, personal

communication, July 26, 2012). I feel, as counter-intuitive as it seems, that the answer is, No.

Information that at one time was privileged or secreteither because it was deemed powerful

and capable of being misused or because there simply were not enough trained teachers to spread

itis no longer so restrained. Through the Internet, live online conferences, YouTube videos,

digital media of all kinds, social networks that span continents, and so forth, this kind of

information can now be shared widely, rapidly, and in an un-edited form, in many cases. In fact,

many who have sought to control information and thus power are now routinely thwarted by

having transparency requirements imposed upon them from a variety of directions. I also believe

that in our market-oriented culture, information gets packaged according to how it will sell. This

may seem crass, and perhaps instigates the criticism that New Age spirituality is nothing more

than spiritual consumerism. However, in a world saturated with competing information, I am not

ready to castigate such techniques if they actually work to get peoples attentions.
 279

It seems clear to me that several extremely influential mentors of the New Age movement

have taken esoteric ideas, some ancient, and re-fashioned them to make them accessible to the

masses. On one level this is disappointing because, in making these messages broadly accessible,

the concepts are often watered-down and presented in a superficial manner. On further thought,

however, I think changing paradigms must take this route. At first there are trailblazersvery

creative and maverick thinkers who leap out of the accepted worldview after extraordinary

experiences or deep study and effortor both. Thereafter, there is a struggle to convince others

and often a serious backlash. Ultimately, a change in thinking has to start somewhere and so

there is a willingness to take incremental steps to effect large change in the longer term.

William James (1907/2000) concluded as much when contemplating how worldviews

change, noting in a speech he gave in 1879, at first, when an old belief or opinion is about to be

overthrown, it is best if one can come up with an opinion which he [or she] can graft upon the

ancient stock with a minimum of disturbance . . . some idea that mediates between the stock and

the new experience and runs them into one another most felicitously and expediently (p. 31).

James (1907/2000) goes on to say, New truth is always a go-between, a smoother-over of

transitions. It marries old opinion to new fact so as ever to show a minimum of jolt, a maximum

of continuity (p. 31).

If one tries to place oneself back in the mindset of the 1960s, when the Seth sessions

began, a few things seem pertinent. First, cultural change was in the air. The younger generations

were feeling emboldened enough to criticize the status quo in politics, religion, business, and

society in general. They spread their thoughts, dreams, and feelings far and wide through rock

and roll music, mass protests, and even fashion. The old structures were examined and found

lackingmass media helping in that regard.

 280

Having now studied changes in society and consciousness through developmental theory,

it seems evident, in hindsight, that the 1960s decade was one of the liminal periods falling

between a major shift in worldview. I see our present society in a similar disruptive period now.

The collapse of our consumerist economy, geo-political upheaval spanning the globe, climate

change and its consequences, globalism and global terrorism, and many other features of our

existence mean that once again the pendulum seems to be swinging to the need for a new

consciousnessone based on cooperation, creativity, and connection. I firmly believe that a new

mythology is developing, although it has not settled into a stable form as of yet. I believe that

Seths blueprint of reality as he understands it can be helpful as we create our own future.

Many times throughout this dissertation I have mentioned that Seth said we are entering a

time when humans would have use of new capabilities. According to Seth, these capabilities

include the ability to deal with multiple probabilities. Spiral Dynamics teaches that the body,

consciousness, and the physical world evolve in tandem. I cannot help but think that

transpersonal psychology has an important role to play in the expansion of consciousness. I have

tried to show that the New Age movement was focused on a quest for wisdom and understanding

via a holistic view that relied on science and spirit, as well as faith in human potential.

Transpersonal psychology, in my opinion, is one discipline that can keep the New Age

momentum going, even if the New Age moniker disappears. A field that may still presently be at

the fringe of academic psychology, transpersonal psychology has the potential to help society

redefine reality, transcend cultural differences, pragmatically explore probabilities through

experiential learning, and re-spirit humanity.

 281

In conclusion, I think that the Seth material speaks directly to the topic of emerging

worldviews. What he is saying, I believe, is that we can change the course of our history at any

time and in any way we desire. I close with Seths prognosis

When man realizes that he himself creates his personal and universal environment in
concrete terms, then he can begin to create a private and universal environment much
superior to the one that is the result of haphazard and unenlightened constructions.
This is our main message to the world, and this is the next line in mans conceptual
development, which will make itself felt in all fields, and in psychiatry perhaps as much
as any. (Roberts, 1979/1996b, Session 728, Note 2, p. 514)
 282

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Appendix A:Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis (THEA)

Below are the steps associated with the Theoretical Hermeneutic Emergent Analysis

(THEA).

Researcher prepares a priori coding of the stages of the chosen developmental theories

and then enters these codes into the qualitative software database.

Beck & Cowan Sri Aurobindo Jenny Wade

List stages or key concepts
Code stages based on the
biological, psychological,
social, and spiritual aspects
of a human being as they
pertain to worldview.
List stages or key concepts
Code stages based on the
biological, psychological,
social, and spiritual aspects
of a human being as they
pertain to worldview
List stages or key concepts
Code stages based on the
biological, psychological,
social, and spiritual aspects
of a human being as they
pertain to worldview.

Figure A1. The researcher creates a list of stages and/or key concepts for each theory.

Researcher re-reads the entire body of Seth texts selected and looks line by line for

quotes from the Seth texts that dovetail with the stages of the three developmental theories and

associates them, adding self-reflective and analytic memos explaining why she thinks they are

describing like stages. This analysis will likely go in phases:

Overall thematic analysis.

Identifying theme families.

Identifying key words and developing a comparative chart of analogous terms between

the models.
 293

Coding Seths themes.

Comparing, contrasting, and, where appropriate, cross reference Seths themes to those

within the three developmental models.

Researcher keeps a journal within the software and, on a daily basis, documents thought

process, insights, issues, and problems.

Researcher continues to apply data from Seth texts until no new themes are emerging.

Associate with Beck &

Seth texts
Cowan's Spiral Dynamics
stages

Associate with Aurobindo's

Spiritual Evolution stages

Associate with Wade's

Holonomic Theory stages

Figure A2. Researcher continues to code data until no new themes are emerging.

Researcher evaluates the relationship between the Seth texts and the three models to

determine parallels, discontinuities, irregularities, and unique stages between the three models

and the Seth texts. Researcher simultaneously creates a framework to capture stages of

development described by Seth that do not fit into any of the other developmental models and

puts them into a fourth model of Seth-specific categories (in vivo coding). Special attention will

be paid to the ways Seth describes the transformation from stage to stage, if possible.
 294

Beck &
Cowan

Jenny Seth Sri

Wade Aurobindo
texts

New
Model

Figure A3. Analysis is complete when four theories of human development have been used to

analyze the Seth texts. The fourth model is culled from Seths own words.

It may turn out that the range of consciousness transformation that Seth describes nests

only within a few stages of any model. On the other hand, it may turn out that Seth describes

developmental stages that go beyond what the other models describe, or parallels them in some

ways but not in others.

Researcher interprets the data and writes up his or her conclusions. Please note that this

entire THEA process, for the purposes of this study, replaces Cycle 3 of intuitive inquiry. After it

is completed, the researcher moves on to Cycles 4 and 5 of intuitive inquiry to complete the

study.
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Appendix B: Uncoded Data From Study

Below is an Atlas.ti-generated report of all of the uncoded data from my analysis. These

are topics that I chose not to include in my study, usually because they did not pertain to

worldviews. There is, however, some worldview material, such as lengthy information on the

Catholic Churchs influence. I chose not to code these sections because they contained very

specific information that was not relevant to my topic. For example, with respect to the Catholic

Church, there were sections on the apostles, the trinity, and so forth, well beyond the scope of

my research question.

The list is set up with Atlas.ti codes that allow me to find the quotations in question, the

beginning of the first sentence of each section, the line numbers of my primary documents in

which the quotations fall, and a comment by me that simply identifies, in lay terms, where the

material was found and what it was about.

From Dreams, evolution and value fulfillment, Volume 1:

~1:19 Observing the antics of your M.. (1314:1365)

Comment:

Preface by Seth

This large section is on animal consciousness

~1:21 Early artists hoped to underst.. (1427:1451)

Comment:

Preface by Seth
 296

Information on artists, including Jane and Rob

~1:146 For many centuries (pause) the.. (3131:3142)

Comment:

895

Relating to the worldview created by the Catholic Church

~1:147 the scientific framework is ba.. (3148:3154)

Comment:

895

Relating to the scientific worldview

~1:149 There are obviously some condi.. (3164:3184)

Comment:

895

Regarding the scientific worldview

~1:151 I feel sometimes as if I am ex.. (3248:3286)

Comment:

896

Related to why mankind would choose pain

~1:171 In that dream your worries wer.. (3617:3621)

 297

Comment:

900

Re: Dream of Rob's

~1:193 Viruses as part of the body's .. (4188:4208)

Comment:

906

Re: viruses

~1:194 There are all kinds of biologi.. (4226:4248)

Comment:

906

More on viruses

From Dreams, evolution, and value fulfillment, Volume 2:

~2:16 Suffering is a human condition.. (486:505)

Comment:

911

A lot of information on suffering and why someone would choose it

~2:31 In a fashion, those stylized f.. (742:744)

Comment:
 298

913

Regarding: Christian worldview

~2:62 There are phases of relatednes.. (1192:1198)

Comment:

918

Analogy of an orchestra with intervals of perception

This idea of something being true and untrue at the same time, part myth and part real is

reminiscent of what Seth described about the Christ drama

~2:64 There are many other universes.. (1200:1202)

Comment:

918

Re: universes besides our own; encounters with ETs; previous galactic civilizations

~2:66 At times your species has trav.. (1208:1208)

Comment:

918

Re: our species returning to Planet Earth at different epochal times

~2:74 SESSION 920 (1355:1355)

Comment:
 299

920

This whole session was on schizophrenia, and the idea of the magical approach was

introduced near the end

~2:76 SESSION 921-October 8, 1980 (1627:1627)

Comment:

921

From The nature of personal reality:

Another session on schizophrenia, prompted by a man who had contacted Jane and Rob

with the mental condition

~4:52 To understand yourself and wha.. (714:724)

Comment:

614

Regarding: An exercise to help one experience feeling-tone.

~4:72 often psychoanalysis is simply.. (995:995)

Comment:

615

Relating to: psychotherapy/psychoanalysis pros and cons

 300

~4:95 First of all, it within your c.. (1524:1590)

Comment:

619

Related to: private information for Jane and Rob

~4:144 The atoms and molecules that c.. (2237:2267)

Comment:

625

relating to: how muscles and nerves work in the body

~4:145 Consciously you react to the p.. (2269:2273)

Comment:

625

Relating to: inner workings of the body and energy patterns

~4:158 You were faced with what could.. (2481:2491)

Comment:

627-630

Regarding: a person named Augustus (with schizophrenia) who came to visit Jane and

Rob. Seth used his situation to explain some concepts.

 301

~4:163 Thoughts interact with the bod.. (2765:2785)

Comment:

631

Relating to: viruses and the medical system

~4:167 Dear Friend: I appreciate your.. (2941:2961)

Comment:

633

A letter from Seth to correspondents to Jane and Rob with questions for Seth

~4:221 In therapy using massive doses.. (3743:3753)

Comment:

638

Relating to: LSD therapy and other chemical therapies

~4:223 SESSION 639, FEBRUARY 12, 1973.. (3838:3840)

Comment:

639

This whole session was more on LSD use and its effect on the inner self. Very bad!

~4:236 Now: There is one point here t.. (4323:4331)

Comment:

641
 302

Large section on prescription drugs and how they affect the body

~4:237 Even with so-called mental dis.. (4357:4359)

Comment:

641

Section on mental disorders and how they relate to a person's beliefs

~4:252 SESSION 643, FEBRUARY 26, 1973.. (4540:4541)

Comment:

643

Almost this whole session relates to a correspondence from a reader used as an example

of emotions following beliefs.

~4:260 Now: In this particular contex.. (4733:4743)

Comment:

644

Data on beliefs about aging

~4:278 Health and illness are both ev.. (5207:5217)

Comment:

648
 303

Relates to health and balance within animals

~4:294 You equate the color white wit.. (5636:5646)

Comment:

651

Section on beliefs and worldviews related to race

~4:296 Chapter Eight of that book.) The.. (5690:5709)

Comment:

651-652

Relating to: Seth's suggestions for how many hours to sleep and how to break up waking

and sleeping times and why

~4:359 SESSION 659, APRIL 25, 1973, 9.. (6719:6720)

Comment:

659

The first part of this session is examples of natural hypnosis

~4:373 You will often try to project .. (7094:7096)

Comment:

661

Examples of natural hypnosis in real life

 304

~4:376 (Very intently all through her.. (7162:7172)

Comment:

661

Lengthy section on illness/hospitals/doctors' attitudes/drug therapy, etc.

~4:392 5.) From it spring ideas that .. (7481:7493)

Comment:

664

The whole last part of this session is on the meaning of earthquakes and natural disasters

~4:400 (Pause.) As mentioned earlier .. (7583:7596)

Comment:

665

Long section on the flood in Elmira, NY which Jane and Rob lived through.

~4:422 SESSION 669, JUNE 11,1973, 9:4.. (8033:8034)

Comment:

669

Relating to: the 24-hour time period of physical reality and why it serves us. Also

included are exercises on how to use imagination

~4:435 . . your mother is experiencin.. (8343:8355)

Comment:
 305

671

The balance of this session is about Rob's mother.

~4:450 r II to divert the servicemen'.. (8520:8537)

Comment:

673

Relating to: WWII, Korean war, Vietnam war--and their relationship with hate, power,

etc.

~4:462 ") As I mentioned in Seth Spea.. (8746:8758)

Comment:

674

From Seth speaks: The eternal validity of the soul:

relating to: Christ-drama (information about Jesus Christ)

~5:9 The nature of animal conscious.. (399:399)

Comment:

511

Animal consciousness

Inanimate objects have their own type of consciousness, as do animals

 306

~5:20 I can tell you, for example, t.. (489:495)

Comment:

512

~5:28 In these communications, there.. (550:554)

Comment:

513

Relates to how Jane and Seth communicate

~5:36 Now, we can also take several .. (636:636)

Comment:

Intro to Chapter 2, SS

"thought forms"

5:49 we consciously utilize a multi.. (774:774)

~5:182 The same applies to your eatin.. (2153:2153)

Comment:

532

Related to eating habits and their effects on consciousness

~5:186 Learning processes are definit.. (2226:2226)

Comment:

533
 307

Pertains to learning processes and how they affect consciousness

~5:239 Perhaps your life span runs fo.. (2938:2940)

Comment:

539

Referring to one being able to re-experience a past life after death

~5:261 The relationships for the next.. (3109:3117)

Comment:

541

Related to soul groups or families reincarnating together or in patterns

~5:280 When the time of choosing come.. (3415:3421)

Comment:

547

Related to: teachers within the reincarnational cycle

~5:281 Others, finished with reincarn.. (3423:3423)

Comment:

547
 308

Regarding: "Creators"--another "occupation" that helps personalities within the

reincarnational and probably systems.

~5:282 There are also those who choos.. (3449:3459)

Comment:

547

Relating to: healers, creators, and teachers within the reincarnational system

~5:297 Groups of individuals come tog.. (3709:3709)

Comment:

551

Regarding soul groups that reincarnate together

~5:303 Maleness and femaleness are ob.. (3823:3827)

Comment:

555

Regarding: psychological explanations for maleness and femaleness, archetypes relating

to gender, etc.

~5:343 In a manner of speaking, it ca.. (4349:4361)

Comment:
 309

562

Regarding: reincarnational civilizations

~5:366 Now this leads to other advent.. (4732:4744)

Comment:

566

Regarding: probably civilizations, especially related to Christianity

~5:452 Often they are incipient forms.. (5617:5619)

Comment:

575

Regarding: incipient forms/pseudomaterializations that one might create while exploring

levels of consciousness. Turn your attention/focus away to make them disappear

~5:469 The Meaning of Religion (6530:6530)

Comment:

585-

Whole chapter on the meaning of religion.

~5:470 Questions and Answers (5833:5833)

Comment:

578-
 310

Whole chapter of questions and answers from readers

From The unknown reality, Volume 1:

~6:44 The I-structure arises from th.. (1157:1166)

Comment:

relating to: multi-personhood within one physical existence on other systems of reality,

not ours

~6:81 PRACTICE ELEMENT I (1657:1657)

Comment:

686

This is a "practice element" or an exercise that Seth gives to show one how to become

aware of other of your own probable realities. Very interesting

~6:88 PRACTICE ELEMENT 1 (1762:1762)

Comment:

687

More specific directions for practice exercise on becoming aware of one's own probably

past experiences

~6:104 Man's consciousness, and to so.. (2062:2071)

Comment:

688
 311

Pertaining to animal-man and man-animal forms

~6:105 I told you (after 10:26 in thi.. (2073:2086)

Comment:

688

Pertaining to dolphins

~6:122 At one time there were also sp.. (2393:2398)

Comment:

691

Information on species that were on Earth at one time of which we are not aware: giant

birds with high intelligence, etc.

~6:132 New paragraph. Driving through.. (2620:2673)

Comment:

693

Pertains to Rob's mother and how coincidences work

~6:140 PRACTICE ELEMENT 2 (2902:2902)

Comment:

695

This session contains 4 practice exercises to give one a clue into probable realities
 312

~6:157 PRACTICE ELEMENT 7 (3186:3186)

Comment:

697

Another practice element on imagining probable realities

~6:178 Give us a moment. . . While co.. (3564:3565)

Comment:

701

Regarding: Einstein and his intuitive abilities

~6:188 Gadgets will, ultimately, teac.. (3702:3704)

Comment:

702

Relating to "gadget-produced" altered states, such as biofeedback

~6:198 Your medical technology may he.. (3853:3871)

Comment:

703

From The unknown reality: Volume 2:

Regarding: "the complete physician" health and healing

 313

~7:11 PRACTICE ELEMENT 9 (541:541)

Comment:

707

Practice exercise about alternate realities based on choices and decisions

~7:26 To one extent or another in yo.. (767:779)

Comment:

708

Personal info for Jane

~7:50 There are techniques for using.. (1094:1110)

Comment:

710

Analogy of an OBE to a trip to a physical destination

~7:56 For now think of your own psyc.. (1238:1278)

Comment:

711

A great analogy about probable systems of reality using a radio with different channels,

different programs, different personalities, etc.

~7:58 For the sake of imagery, you c.. (1284:1292)

Comment:
 314

711

More of the radio/tv station analogy with probably realities

~7:61 Your experience of yourself ma.. (1302:1322)

Comment:

711

Personal information for Jane and Rob

~7:63 I am Seth in those terms. Ther.. (1356:1358)

Comment:

711

On the meaning of Seth's name

~7:64 About Seth's reference to the .. (1406:1408)

Comment:

711, Note 6

More information on the meaning of Seth's name

~7:65 You believe that you cannot sp.. (1422:1422)

Comment:

711, Note 6

More on Seth's name

 315

~7:75 One part of Ruburt accepted th.. (1512:1524)

Comment:

712

Pertain to how Jane picks up messages from the Unknown reality

~7:81 (Long pause.) It might help he.. (1700:1714)

Comment:

713

More of the tv/radio channel analogy to probable realities

~7:83 Now imagine that the picture o.. (1718:1744)

Comment:

713

Analogy of radio/tv channel continued

~7:85 There are space-time coordinat.. (1734:1752)

Comment:

713

on UFOs

~7:87 Ruburt directed his will in ce.. (1794:1808)

Comment:

713
 316

Personal info for Jane

~7:92 Throughout the ages people hav.. (1950:1968)

Comment:

714

An analogy of a person traveling to a foreign land; compared to visiting probable realities

~7:93 The psychic postcards and trav.. (1978:2002)

Comment:

714

More on traveling to probable realities analogy

~7:114 PRACTICE ELEMENT 11 (2368:2368)

Comment:

716

Practice element on alternate focus

~7:115 PRACTICE ELEMENT 12 (2410:2410)

Comment:

716
 317

Another practice element on alternate focus

~7:123 Ruburt picked up on William Ja.. (2590:2614)

Comment:

718

Re: the worldview of William James

~7:125 Many people working with the O.. (2642:2648)

Comment:

718

Re: psychics who say they are communicating with famous dead people. Jane and Rob

are skeptical and Seth tells them about this

~7:129 PRACTICE ELEMENT 14 (2862:2862)

Comment:

718

Practice element on dream snapshots

~7:131 When you begin to leave your h.. (2796:2798)

Comment:

719

Why the Ouija board seems to work

~7:134 PRACTICE ELEMENT 13 (2818:2818)

 318

Comment:

719

Practice element using the concept of a photograph or snapshot to practice express the

idea of stepping outside the usual framework of consciousness

~7:150 PRACTICE ELEMENT 15 (3162:3162)

Comment:

721

Practice element on experiencing inner space

~7:154 PRACTICE ELEMENT 16 (3206:3206)

Comment:

721

Practice element on the expansion of time in a dream

~7:187 PRACTICE ELEMENT 17 (3572:3572)

Comment:

Practice element

Plays with the idea of language by making up different words for things; trying to get us

to experience directly, not through habitual language

~7:190 Ruburt has been involved with .. (3604:3610)

 319

Comment:

723

Relating to: Sumari

~7:214 A mountain exists. It is compo.. (3920:3936)

Comment:

725

Good analogy using a mountain as an example of a source identity/soul and all the things

that grow on it, change on it, etc. as all our multiple other identities besides the primary gestalt

~7:219 Session 726 (4081:4081)

Comment:

726

This entire session consisted of two things:

1. an analogy using the idea of islands related to each other in proximity and identities of

personalities

2. Information for Jane about her mother.

~7:223 The very climate and vegetatio.. (4318:4342)

Comment:

727
 320

The mountain analogy continued

~7:231 7. Seth's material on trees re.. (4424:4428)

Comment:

727, Note 7

Great information on the consciousness and awareness of trees

~7:232 The consciousness of a tree is.. (4456:4456)

Comment:

727, Note 7

More on tree consciousness

~7:243 You think that the self must b.. (4645:4686)

Comment:

729

Regarding: Astrology

~7:246 You view the heavens and the u.. (4732:4774)

Comment:

729

More on astrology

~7:249 Give us a moment. (Long pause... (4864:4868)

 321

Comment:

730

Regarding: astrology

~7:254 This evening Ruburt read some .. (4892:4900)

Comment:

730

Regarding: dolphins

~7:274 People have written here askin.. (5152:5159)

Comment:

732

Regarding: soul mates

~7:280 Most of the people who come to.. (5203:5250)

Comment:

732

Regarding: Sumari family of consciousness

~7:282 So, generally speaking, your c.. (5252:5274)

Comment:

732
 322

Names of the families of consciousness

~7:296 For example, you are not creat.. (5520:5522)

Comment:

734

Sumari info

~7:297 The Sumari characteristics do .. (5678:5682)

Comment:

735

More on Sumari

~7:304 Tasting those qualities to the.. (5759:5769)

Comment:

735

Regarding: despondency and suicide

~7:308 Generally, the Sumari have the.. (5911:5911)

Comment:

736

Regarding: Sumari

~7:309 I am not, again, going into de.. (5921:5993)

Comment:
 323

736

Descriptions of all of the families of consciousness

~7:310 Session 737 (6023:6023)

Comment:

737

Most of this session is given to describing each of the families of consciousness.

~7:311 Your house hunting serves, how.. (6127:6134)

Comment:

737

From this point to the end of the session is only about Rob and Jane's house hunting.

~7:312 Session 738 (6333:6333)

Comment:

738

This entire session is more on Jane's and Rob's house-hunting and purchase of the "hill

house"

~7:313 Session 739 (6470:6471)

Comment:

739
 324

Most of this session is the final material Jane and Rob's house hunting and move.

~7:314 The proximity of so many trees.. (6524:6534)

Comment:

739

Very interesting information on the consciousness of trees.

~7:315 The giant image of myself, nev.. (6620:6628)

Comment:

740

Seth explaining how he experiences his own reality

~7:321 Imagine a string of different-.. (6714:6734)

Comment:

740

An analogy of Christmas tree lights to describe simultaneous time

~7:325 Take a very simple action: You.. (6879:6895)

Comment:

741

Section which uses examples to show the difference between probable, alternate, and

reincarnational realities and choice or free will

 325

~7:335 Give us a moment . . . (Jane, .. (7062:7072)

Comment:

742

Regarding: Atlantis

~7:337 1. I found it quite difficult .. (7160:7194)

Comment:

742

More info on Atlantis and The Garden of Eden--as two projections from the future onto

the past

~7:343 This book had no chapters [in .. (7309:7315)

Comment:

743

The language here is strikingly similar to that used by Jamie Sam