How did you come across the Seth material?

[Bumblebee]

This question was asked in my Canadian Seth group and the answers were very interesting. Funny how people stumble upon it.

For my part, in April of this year I was in the middle of huge life changes and using this period to work on myself. I talked to a friend about how I realized that the intention weighed way more than the actual action. She automatically told me to read the Seth book. I started with The Nature of Personal Reality too. I just eat up the stuff ever since!

Those of you who were with me in class may remember my post about a previous dream just before being introduced to the Seth books.  I had a very vivid dream of being in an elevator with a white bearded man. I was going to my new apartment on the 12th or 16th floor. When the doors of the elevator opened, we were on top of a hill way over the city. There was an apartment building there. I lived on the first floor. The man turned to me and said 'Remember, when you are ready, you can come and visit me. I live on the 25th floor.' He smiled and walked to a second elevator. I still recall that dream as if I had lived it 3 minutes ago.

What are your stories?

[Deb]

I remember your elevator story, but for some reason it struck me even more this time. It gave me goose bumps! What a gift of a dream!

This is how I found Seth: I had been introduced to Abraham-Hicks maybe five years ago by an acquaintance. He's the brother of my best friend from junior high. I was going to be visiting NJ after many years of absence, and wanted to find my old friend and hopefully visit with her. Instead I found her brother (on Facebook) and he told me his sister was involved in some religion and had shut herself off from everyone from her past, including her family. But her brother and I would talk on the phone occasionally and he kept quoting "Abraham." I thought he was talking about the bible for the longest time, and then one day I asked him and he said no, it was Esther Hick's Abraham (her version of Seth).

I ended up reading their books and going to a few of the workshops and really grabbed onto the concepts that Abraham talked about. It really made sense to me. Esther and her husband were big fans of Jane Roberts/Seth and read a lot, maybe all of their books. I seriously think they saw Seth as a money maker for them. Esther is a very sharp, smart woman and her Abraham material is mostly Seth concepts presented in a less complicated way. Seth for the masses. Anyway, they had mentioned Seth in a couple of their books and I was curious and finally bought The Seth Material. Once I started reading Seth I saw the basis for the Abraham teachings. Seth's material is so much richer, deeper and detailed than A-H. I had my suspicions about Esther, dropped A-H and started studying the Seth's and Jane's books. Looking back, I see A-H as either an open door to finding Seth, or as virtual training wheels that I no longer need.

Regardless, I love Seth's teachings and was very excited early on to see just how many of their books are published. I remember being very happy to know that it would take me a long time to get through them.

[Pinky]

It's so cool that this forum has Nathalie's brand new perspective on Seth, Lea's study of Seth since the early 1970s, and lots of us in between.

I stumbled onto Seth during an extremely tough time, starting in 1998.  My father had just died and my husband wanted to separate from me.  But that was also when my brother-in-law (Julian's brother) and his wife became involved in a spiritualist church and she in particular had developed the most remarkable intuitive abilities.  Soon, she was channeling.  In particular, my husband's spirit guides – in an utter panic that he was losing his purpose – were furiously coming through her to communicate with him and get him back on track.

I'd never dabbled in New Age or metaphysical things so suddenly I was propelled into a whole new focus. And because of that focus, I was also having exciting tidbits of transcendence.  I loved it, and knew that my husband's crisis was a big part of why it was happening.

So I started reading.  Michael Newton's Journey of Souls, Autobiography of a Yogi, Shakti Gawain, Edgar Cayce, Robert Monroe, and many more, just hungry for knowledge.  During that time I discovered Sunrise Bookshop in Berkeley where the wonderful owner suggested the Seth books, starting me off on The Seth Material.  I ended up returning to buy more Seth books, finding what he was saying so fascinating and supported by so many other voices.

The period of metaphysics passed for all of us.  I kept reading but my focus was dispersed as I worked on healing my relationship with my husband and raising our kids.

But I kept the Seth books close, dabbling in them.  When my husband received his cancer diagnosis in 2009, all attention was placed on him – and it was a period of helping him complete his life before ending this incarnation with me and our children.

He died in 2012.  When I came up for air after close to 2 years of drowning in grief, I knew that I had to find a way to transition to a new life.  All I wanted was spiritual growth.  That's when the Seth materials started looming large.  I picked up The Nature of Personal Reality again.  I read amazon reviews of Seth books just to know that there were others out there who were on this path.  I googled Seth, and there was Rick Stack's organization.  And the Seth Intensive course.

Here I am today, grateful to my soul for patiently getting me to this moment and for quietly guiding me to this focus.  Got lots of work to do.  I'm game.

[John Sorensen]

Walked into a second hand book store one day and picked up Seth Speaks and Seth Material (1970's editions) for a couple of bucks.

Devoured them. Then found Nature of Personal Reality perhaps within a year or so. I read all three multiple times, then a big gap of perhaps five years or more and along came online shopping and the internet, at which point I found out there were a whole heap of other Seth books (that I had no previous knowledge of) and I started buying about 2 books a year.

I would have loved to buy them all at once, but it costs a fortune to get books posted from the US to here in the magical land of OZ. Assuming winged monkeys don't fly off with them before they reach your mail box.

Anyhow, thanks to the Amber-Allen editions with Rob's art on the covers available from the seth site that sells the books I was able to buy the other core SETH books. Have not read the Jane books yet, nor the early sessions, deleted sessions or whatever they are called.

Have two volumes of them on my bookself, but found them a bit boring and went back to rereading the other books. Then a few months back started a Seth blog after I kept having dreams about Seth stuff and I was like "really, shut up already, I already have 20 books on various topics planned, and 4-5 other blogs already".

So yeah it was a psychic hunch or whatever. What's that saying? If you want something done, give it to a busy person.

I love writing, but I like talking more, and really I would like to do a podcast on Seth Material, as I would cover topics a lot faster than writing about them, and there are things I can better express while talking than writing which is so s-l-o-w and tedious.
But yeah, the podcast format is awesome, but works better with a co-host, as me talking for a long time by myself is just tedious to listen to.

[Deb]

I love writing, but I like talking more, and really I would like to do a podcast on Seth Material, as I would cover topics a lot faster than writing about them, and there are things I can better express while talking than writing which is so s-l-o-w and tedious.
But yeah, the podcast format is awesome, but works better with a co-host, as me talking for a long time by myself is just tedious to listen to.

Yep, I recognize those books. I love buying used books, they come with other people's notes and energy. Dare I ask, what's that hairy thing in the foreground of your picture? A hat or a pet? My son used to have pet rats and I ended up making a business because of them.

I think the podcast is a great idea, I've known people that have had them, their own "radio" shows and the co-hosts could be located anywhere really. They would also bring guests on, again located anywhere. So if you want to do it, you will! 

[John Sorensen]

I love writing, but I like talking more, and really I would like to do a podcast on Seth Material, as I would cover topics a lot faster than writing about them, and there are things I can better express while talking than writing which is so s-l-o-w and tedious.
But yeah, the podcast format is awesome, but works better with a co-host, as me talking for a long time by myself is just tedious to listen to.

Yep, I recognize those books. I love buying used books, they come with other people's notes and energy. Dare I ask, what's that hairy thing in the foreground of your picture? A hat or a pet? My son used to have pet rats and I ended up making a business because of them.

I think the podcast is a great idea, I've known people that have had them, their own "radio" shows and the co-hosts could be located anywhere really. They would also bring guests on, again located anywhere. So if you want to do it, you will! 

A query easily remedied. It is a monster from my homeland that eats innocent children after dark!

I assume you were referring to the nocturnal Kiwi bird, and not Groundskeeper Willy who is equally hairy.

[Deb]

I assume you were referring to the nocturnal Kiwi bird

Yes, the hairy kiwi bird. Not to be confused with the hairy kiwi fruit. I've always been fascinated with animals from Australia and New Zealand. Very unique animals. I love animals! Thanks for clarifying!

[John Sorensen]

I lived in NZ and OZ, so I've seen most of the weird animals etc, some in the wild, but most in zoos etc.

I've seen plenty of kangaroos in the wild, but only seen a Kiwi, platypus and other beautifully odd creatures on animal sanctuaries / zoos.

I've seen echidnas [ee-kid-na] in the wild though, and they are super cute.
And plenty of Wombats and Koalas also in the wild, as I used to live rural Victoria.
Even saw a Koala crossing the road one day, which is rare as they are slow and stay in the treetops like 90% of the time, and only come down to climb another tree.

[SumariDeb]

This is a great thread (kiwis and all)! I never tire of "how I met Seth" stories. Yes, John Sorenson, please make a podcast, and let me know where it is. Have you considered offering yourself up as a guest of an existing podcast to get your feet wet? There are a number of "Law of Attraction" types bouncing around the airwaves that would be open to hearing about Seth stuff.

My Seth story is a long one--probably because I've been kicking around in this incarnation since the mid-fifties. I was always curious about "psychic" things, since late childhood. We kids would talk about these things and play around with Ouija boards and such. The summer I turned twelve I had two dreams that came accurately true. This really piqued my curiosity. What helped too, I suppose, was that I had a dad who had studies buddhism as a child and was also curious about these things. When I was fifteen, my dad took the Silva Mind Control course, and the graduates formed their own study group afterward, wherein they explored what they learned. I joined the classes, and my grandmother attended too. This was during the early seventies, when Jane's classes were in full bloom. It still amazes me that I'd never heard of Seth or Jane at that time, but then we didn't have the internet.

I travelled a lot throughout my life, and during the mid-eighties, this one book kept leaping off of the shelf at me in bookstores--some dead guy who called himself Seth and spoke through some woman. I'd pick it up and look at it and think "naw--that's creepy". It kept showing up. I lived in Hong Kong for six years, and the silly thing was waving at me over there from a bookshelf. I'd visit my sister in Wichita, and it would show up there. Finally, when I was living in Colorado, there it was again in a metaphysical bookstore. (Yes, Deb, this is the second time I've lived in Colorado). By then I was back on my "spiritual quest" and devouring books by Shakti Gawain and other new age authors of the time (early nineties), and I was ripe for this.

I had picked up NOPR, and devoured it. I was in an unhappy marriage, and learning that I was actually the captain of my own ship was empowering. A few year later when I was in the middle of my divorce, NOPR was my best friend. I set out to find the other books. This was the mid nineties, and they had all gone out of print. I was also living in a podunky town in Northern Florida, so what chance did I have? Well, that's the amazing thing. Suddenly I was finding them everywhere--in used book stores and in thrift stores. I was amazed, because where I was living was in the middle of the bible belt, and considered anything outside the bible as witchcraft. That was a big personal lesson for me in creating my own reality--I had almost every book that Jane had written, and never left Pensacola. By the time they were being republished (late nineties), it was more a matter of getting the shiny new versions with the pretty covers than finding ones that didn't have dog-eared pages.

Oh yeah, and I met my new hubs within months of divorcing the previous one. (Blind date, too--LOL) He wasn't into Seth or anything when I met him, but that all came later.

Yikes, this is long-winded. Perhaps I should be doing a blog instead.

[Deb]

My Seth story is a long one

Awesome story Deb, thanks for sharing! I never get tired of hearing how people came across the Seth materials and how things "come together" like they're meant to be, lol. And you lived in Colorado before... I actually moved to San Diego at one point but was back in Colorado in less than 6 months. Although sometimes I'm tempted to move back to Florida, I've lived in Colorado longer than anywhere else so it's "home" to me. But by the end of every January I'm ready to jump ship, lol.

NOPR is without a doubt my favorite Seth book. I haven't read them all of course, but that's the one that has really explained things most clearly so far. Can't say I've ever seen a Seth book in any store though, and I've looked, believe me.

[Icarus]

My story is also a long one, haha!
My teenage years were a very dark place for me, and I was depressed, angry, negative and wanted to take it out on the world. I just wasn't a very nice person to be around back then. I had always loved reading Greek and Roman mythology, and after reading the amazing tales there, started comparing them to the tales in the Bible. I started thinking that maybe the Greek and Roman gods were as legit as any others. I started looking for answers and took comparative religions in high school. In the meantime I began to really dislike the person that I was becoming, and decided to start emulating the people who I respected. I kept searching for answers which lead me to read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and the Teachings of Don Juan. I began to have a desire to find a spiritual teacher to help guide me. I ended up moving 4 hours north to a small coastal town, and met a friend who introduced me to her teacher. When he met me he said that he knew that I was coming and wanted to know what had taken me so long! He introduced me to Seth Speaks and Illusions by Bach. That was in '80. There was no turning back from there, and it was the life changer that I had been waiting for. Of all the bibles and philosophies that I had read, Seth was the first time that I felt true resonance, joy, and that my questions had been answered. It was the first thing to make complete sense to me. Its been a long road and lots of hard work with a few relapses here and there, but my life has completely turned around. I stopped looking for answers in books and philosophies because I learned that every answer that I need is within myself, and I need to look there instead of outward. It's funny because for 20 years I thought that Seth Speaks was the only Seth book until I went into a bookstore to get a copy of Seth Speaks for a friend, and was stunned when I saw Unknown Reality there! I have been catching up ever since, and have read them all but The Early Sessions, and I am on book 5 of that now. It's been quite a journey but I'm still enjoying the ride!

[Deb]

Wonderful and interesting story Icarus, thank you for that. Do you still keep in touch with the teacher? Some people waft in and out of our lives, seeming to be there for an immediate purpose and then are gone. Others stay, maybe our (over)soul connections?

It's funny you didn't know about the other Seth books, but I guess that far back the books didn't have the whole list of the others like they do now. When I read my first Seth book or two, and was totally hooked, I was SO excited that there were so many more to read. I figured they would keep me busy for the rest of my life. Of course I still go back and read parts of the ones I've already read, so I'm not progressing too quickly. But each time I get new, deeper understanding or find that something had slipped completely past me. Sometimes I tell myself that I didn't miss something, Seth is still adding to the books. 

[Icarus]

Deb, my teacher was elderly back then and has since passed tho I still feel his presence at times. He was a refugee from the Hungarian revolution of 1956, interesting since that is the year that I was born.

I also re-read a lot, but don't have a lot of reading time in my busy life. I have also found that each time that I read I find new insights that I didn't catch before. I go each morning to Nirvikalpa and get a random Seth quote for a daily reminder of what I have forgotten. I really love the thought that Seth is still adding to the material, thanks for that insight! 

[Deb]

I go each morning to Nirvikalpa and get a random Seth quote for a daily reminder of what I have forgotten.

Okay, I have never heard of Nirvikalpa.
I need to look that up, a daily random Seth quote sounds pretty good to me. I'm subscribed to a Seth group on Facebook right now, Seth Network Australia, and I get several very long book quotes every day. They are sometimes a bit more than I have time for.

Funny, I think I had a dream last night about Seth still adding to his books. 

[SumariDeb]

http://www.nirvikalpa.com/content.php?page=seth

Enjoy. 

[Jackaranda]

I've known of Seth for many years but never got seriously interested until I saw one of Tom Campbell's lectures on You Tube and he was asked about Seth in a Question and Answer period. Tom gave Seth a powerful endorsement and that made an impression. Even then it took a while until I "stumbled upon" some Seth quotes and boom...I was hooked. That was just recently. I'm on my second Seth book now and scanning all over the place for quotes.