| Jane Roberts | |
|---|---|
Jane Roberts |
|
| Born | May 8, 1929 Saratoga Springs, New York, USA |
| Died | September 5, 1984 (aged 55) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Skidmore College |
| Genres | Paranormal |
| Literary movement | New Age |
| Notable work(s) | The Seth Material, The Oversoul Seven Trilogy |
Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, psychic and spirit medium, who said she had "channeled" a personality she called "Seth". Her publication of the Seth texts, known as the "Seth Material", established her as one of the preeminent figures in the world of paranormal phenomena.[1][2] The Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives maintains a collection entitled Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090), which documents the career and personal life of Jane Roberts, including journals, poetry, correspondence, audio and video recordings and other materials donated after her death by Roberts' husband and other individuals and organizations.[3]
Contents |
Roberts was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. After attending public schools, she attended Skidmore College.[3][4]
She wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children’s literature, nonfiction, science fiction and fantasy and novels. When she was in her 30s, she and her husband began to record what she said were messages from a personality named "Seth", and she wrote several books about the experience.
In late 1963, Roberts and her husband, Robert F. Butts, experimented with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for a book on extra-sensory perception.[5] According to Roberts and Butts, on December 2, 1963 they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality who eventually identified himself as Seth. Soon after, Roberts reported that she was hearing the messages in her head. She began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board, and she eventually abandoned the board.
Roberts described the process of writing the Seth books as entering a trance state. She said Seth would assume control of her body and speak through her, while her husband wrote down the words she spoke. They referred to such episodes as "readings" or "sessions".[6]
Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people,[1] including the philosopher William James[7] and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne,[1][8] through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically."[9][10][11]
For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held regular trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth.[12] Butts served as stenographer, taking the messages down in home-made shorthand, and recording some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published under the collective title Seth Material.
The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the material of the channeling sessions. Beginning in January 1970, Roberts wrote books which she described as dictated by Seth. Roberts claimed no authorship of these books beyond her role as medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Robert Butts contributed notes and comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them.
According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical reality", who was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality.[1] As Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial or professorial. "He" frequently assumed a distinct, although not identifiable, accent. Unlike the psychic Edgar Cayce, whose syntax when speaking in trance was antiquated and convoluted, Roberts' syntax and sentence structures were modern and clear when speaking as Seth.
Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers was profound. The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book" published in 1994 (Amber-Allen/New World Library) contains testimonials from some of the most notable thinkers and writers within the movement. Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain, Dan Millman, Louise Hays, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening. In words similar to Williamson's they state: "Seth was one of my first metaphysical teachers. He remains a constant source of knowledge and inspiration in my life." Catherine L. Albanese, professor of religious history at the University of Chicago, stated that in the 1970s the Seth Material "launched an era of nationwide awareness" of the channeling trend. She believes it contributed to the "self-identity of an emergent New Age movement and also augment[ed] its ranks."[13]
John P. Newport, in his study of the impact of New Age beliefs on contemporary culture, described the central focus of the Seth material as the idea that, for each individual: "you create your own reality". He wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material".[14] Historian Robert C. Fuller, a professor of religious studies at Bradley University, wrote that Seth filled the role of guide for what Fuller called "unchurched American spirituality", related to concepts of reincarnation, karma, free will, ancient metaphysical wisdom, and "Christ consciousness".[15]
Some writers noted, "Husband Robert Butts stated that similarities exist between Seth's ideas and those of various religious, philosophical, and mystical doctrines from the Near, Middle, or Far East.... and we've done a little reading on Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, for example, not to mention subjects like shamanism, voodooism, and obeah."[16]
The late amateur physicist Michael Talbot wrote, "To my great surprise--and slight annoyance--I found that Seth eloquently and lucidly articulated a view of reality that I had arrived at only after great effort and an extensive study of both paranormal phenomena and quantum physics."[17]
Roberts and the Seth Material have attracted critiques from outside the paranormal community. The poet Charles Upton, in his collection of essays titled The System of Antichrist, posited that Roberts multiplied the self due to a fear of death. His opinion was that the Seth texts are based on a misunderstanding of both Christianity and of Eastern religions.[18]
Professor of psychology and noted critic of parapsychology James E. Alcock opined, "In light of all this, the Seth materials must surely be viewed as less than ordinary. There certainly was the time and talent for fraud to play a role, but we cannot discriminate between that possibility and the possibility of unconscious production— At any rate, given these circumstances, there seems little need to consider the involvement of any supernatural agency."[16]
Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth.[15] In the introduction to Seth's first dictated book, Seth Speaks, "he" says, "communications will come exclusively through Ruburt [Seth's name for Jane] at all times, to protect the integrity of the material". In The Seth Material, Jane Roberts wrote: "Several people have told me that Seth communicated with them through automatic writing, but Seth denies any such contacts." At least one person has claimed to channel Roberts.[19]
Roberts and Butts donated their manuscripts, notes and recordings to the Yale Library.[3]
Seth-related works from other authors: