Jane Roberts

Jane Roberts was an American writer and trance channel who was the forerunner of many contemporary psychic and channeling practices. She is best known for producing a large volume of spiritual work known as the Seth Material. Seth was the entity that Roberts allegedly channeled for more than twenty years. This resulted in a large number of books and recorded sessions, many of which are widely circulated on the internet and elsewhere today.

Jane Roberts first began hearing messages from Seth in 1963, when she and her husband Robert Butts were living in Elmira, New York. She had begun experimenting with an Ouija board, a popular occult game where a weighted object moves about a board to indicate different letters. These letters can spell out messages, allegedly from deceased people or entities from other dimensions. Seth referred to himself as “an entity personality essence, no longer focused in physical reality”. In many of the Seth books, Seth would describe various incarnations as a human, as well as non-physical dimensions of reality.

Seth claimed to have known Jane Roberts in another incarnation, which is why he refers to her as Rupert in the books and transcripts. Roberts and her husband quickly developed a following, and people began to listen to the Seth sessions. These sessions followed a familiar protocol, with Roberts going into a trance while Butts recorded the material, sometimes asking for clarification on various points. Afterward, Roberts would not remember many details of the session and would have to read it over or discuss it with her husband to know what had transpired. Many of the topics covered were on subjects important to many people regarding life and death, the meaning of life, the question of reincarnation, and other such metaphysical inquiries.

Aside from the numerous sessions conducted for individuals and groups, Roberts and Butts produced a series of books, including The Seth Material, Seth Speaks, The Nature of Personal Reality, and many others. The most famous quote that Seth originated and that is frequently repeated today in new age and metaphysical circles is “you create your own reality”.

While this may sound simplistic to some critics, it is actually part of an extremely sophisticated metaphysical belief system, one that has much in common with many traditional mystical teachings. Seth taught that the universe is made of consciousness and that our thoughts and beliefs determine the outcome of our lives.

Another aspect of the Seth teaching that fascinates many people are his views on reincarnation. Since, in Seth’s view, time as we know it does not really exist, everything is actually happening at once. Therefore reincarnation does not occur in a linear fashion, but in a simultaneous way. We all have many parallel lives happening at once, each affecting the others. One implication of this is that what we think of as the past can be changed just as much as the future. As outrageous as these statements may seem to skeptics, they are nevertheless being vigorously explored today in the field of Quantum Physics.

Jane Roberts is considered by many to be one of the foremost pioneers of the new age movement. It cannot be denied that she had a profound influence on the body of teaching that falls under that particular banner, in fact, it is difficult to overestimate the impact she has had on contemporary spirituality. Many of today’s most successful and prominent trance channels and mediums credit Roberts as being an early inspiration for their own careers.

Fortunately, the Seth material and other works by Roberts have been well preserved. There are more than two dozen books, most of which are still in publication. In addition to the Seth sessions, Roberts wrote books of her own, such as How to Develop Your ESP Power, The Oversoul Seven Trilogy, The World View of Rembrandt, and many others.

For more information go to Welcome to SethLearningCenter.org.