Jane Roberts

珍·罗伯兹（英语：Dorothy Jane Roberts，1929年5月8日－1984年9月5日）是美国作家、诗人、灵媒，与一个自称“赛斯”的人格通灵。她出版的赛斯书籍以“赛斯资料”之名闻名于世，奠定了她在超常现象领域的领先地位。耶鲁大学图书馆的手稿档案部（Manuscripts and Archives）藏有一份标题为“Jane Roberts Papers (MS 1090)”的档案，记载着罗伯兹的生涯与生平，内含日记、诗集、通信、影音纪录和其他在她死后由其丈夫乃至个人团体捐赠的资料。

早年生活与生涯

罗伯兹出生于纽约奥尔巴尼的一家医院、成长于附近的萨拉托加温泉市。父母戴勒梅尔·胡贝尔·罗伯兹（Delmer Hubbell Roberts）和玛莉·伯多（Marie Burdo）在她两岁的时候就离婚了。年轻的玛莉带着独生女投靠父母，栖身于父母租借多年的房屋。这间位于萨拉托加贫民窟的房子还住着另一个家庭。1932年，玛莉患上早期类风湿性关节炎，但仍尽力工作。与罗伯兹有着共同神秘经验的祖父约瑟夫·伯多无力再照顾两人，因此他们一家人必须依赖公共资源度日。1936年，罗伯兹的祖母死于车祸。翌年，祖父搬离住处。这时玛莉已经开始无以为继，于是福利部（Welfare Department）开始给母女俩提供临时（往往不可靠）帮助。后来玛莉久病在床，珍扛起照顾母亲的责任，包括煮饭、清扫、拿便壶、夜间起床为暖炉添加燃料。忧愤的母亲常告诉珍，她打算在夜间打开瓦斯让全家同归于尽。珍说：“我妈真是贱妇一个，但她是充满活力的贱妇。她第五次自杀便服下了大量安眠药丸，然后就送医了。我去找福利部的女职员说：‘我实在不能再忍受了。我一定要离家出走’。”玛莉不止一次告诉珍，说她不是好女儿，说生女儿让妈妈生病，所以她要跟女儿断绝母女关系。母亲对她持续的精神虐待让小小年纪的她害怕被遗弃。这种情况让珍更没有安全感，但也同时学会了独立，因为她觉得不必再依赖母亲。珍在十岁前一直患有结肠炎。进入青春期后，她又患有甲状腺机能低下的问题。她的视力极差，必须戴一副度数够深的眼镜（但很少戴）。珍于1940年大部分时间和1941年半年时间被收养于纽约特洛伊市一所严格的天主教孤儿院，当时她的母亲则在别的城市治疗关节炎。牧师们定期拜访这个没有父亲的家庭，并给予必要的支持。珍起初因缺乏温馨的养育之家，因而对这类习俗宗教怀着强烈的信心。然而，珍早期某些诗作透露轮回的观念，受到冒犯的牧师则一把火把她的书烧了。她很自然地害怕遗弃感，而她的好奇心和能力都让她得以应付那些观念。在这之前这些“麻烦”的资料都相对不完整。她曾有一段时间周旋于不同信念之中。1945年夏天，16岁的珍开始在一家杂货店工作。这是她的第一份工作。到了秋季，她仍在放学后继续在杂货店打工，偶尔也在星期六上工。在上过几所公立学校后，珍于1947至1950年间就读于斯基德摩尔学院。祖父在她19岁的时候过世，对她打击很大。此时她开始从宗教转向科学。

这时珍开始跟一个叫做沃特（Walt）的男子来往，并相约骑机车前往西岸拜访珍的父亲（他也是来自破碎的家庭）。沃特和珍最后结婚了，仅三年同住。她“后来发现”－－“她为了供爱人沃特读书而在收音机工厂工作－－但镇上每个人都知道他根本没有到学校去。”1954年2月，珍认识了前广告设计师罗伯特·霸兹（Robert F. Butts）（生于1919年6月20日）。他俩在一次派对上第四次见面，而且没有约会。珍“只是看着他说：‘你都看到了，我已离开沃特而去。我要么单身一人，要么跟你同住，告诉我你要选择哪一个。’” 1954年12月7日，珍与罗终于结婚。

她的著作种类繁多，有：诗、短篇故事、儿童文学、非小说、科幻小说、幻想作品和各类小说。30岁时，她与丈夫罗伯特开始纪录从一个叫做“赛斯”的人格传递过来的讯息，并写了很多相关的书籍。

赛斯资料

1963年晚期，住在纽约州埃尔迈拉市的罗伯兹和霸兹开始以通灵板作为研究超感官知觉的工具之一，而罗伯兹则撰写了一本相关书籍。根据罗伯兹和霸兹的说法，他们于1963年12月2日那天开始接收一连串来自一男性人格的讯息，而后者最后则表明自己叫做赛斯。不久之后，罗伯兹说她不断在脑海中听到这些讯息。于是她放弃通灵盘，转而直接将听到的讯息记录下来。

罗伯兹描述，书写赛斯书的过程本身就是一种出神状态（trance state）。她说，赛斯会控制她的身体并透过她说话，而她的丈夫则将她所说的话记录下来。他们说这些纪录是“灵讯”（readings）或“课”（sessions）。

据传罗伯兹也利用打字机进行“自动书写”来与许多已过世的人通灵，获取有关世界观的知识，包括哲学家威廉·詹姆士和印象派画家保罗·塞尚。

直到罗伯兹于1984年过世前的21年间（有一年因病停止活动），她都会定期进入出神状态，在课堂上以赛斯的身份说话。霸兹充当速记员，将听到的讯息记录下来，并在一些课上让其他人当场录音。赛斯透过罗伯兹传来的讯息主题广泛，内容大都是独白的。这些纪录后来以《赛斯资料》（The Seth Material）之名由Prentice-Hall出版。

多年来，数百人见证赛斯说话。有些人在晚间参加罗伯兹主持的ESP课程（1967年9月－1975年2月每周二上课，有时也在周四晚间开课），其他人则参加长期课程。在课后，罗伯兹也私下对个别写信向她求助的人上起赛斯课。对于这些课程，她并没有收取任何费用；不过，在为数5至40人的ESP课程中，她还是会向学员酌收2.50美元到3.50美元不等的费用。等到赛斯资料的销售情况转好，她就取消了费用。罗伯兹出版的赛斯课书籍几乎都是1967年至1982年期间每周一和周三晚间没有任何见证者的私人课（1981年8月至11月是周二和周四）。

1969年出版的《赛斯资料》（The Seth Material）是罗伯兹的通灵纪录，以概要的形式出版。1970年1月，罗伯兹开始将从赛斯那里听来的讯息撰写成书。罗伯兹宣称她的灵媒身份就是这些书的作者，除此之外并无其他作者。这一系列的《赛斯书》共有十册。最后两册似乎因罗伯兹的病情而未完成。霸兹为所有赛斯书编写了大量注解、附录和其他评语，自然也就成为赛斯书的共同作者。这些附注有罗伯兹和霸兹自己在赛斯课期间的轶事、以他们阅读过的当代信仰和资料的观点对赛斯讯息的评论、对摘自追随者和赛斯评论家的信件的评述（特别是后者，为长条校样提供了宝贵的意见）。到了1982年2月，他们仍旧从各方读者那里收到“每周30至50件的信函和包裹”。一些罗伯兹早期和晚期的诗集也出现在信中，简明地透露她对赛斯的概念。罗伯兹也写了《超灵七号》（The Oversoul Seven）三部曲，以小说的形式探索赛斯在轮回和超灵方面的某些教导。

根据罗伯兹的说法，赛斯人格形容自己是“不再聚焦于物质（向度）的能量人格元素”，独立于罗伯兹的潜意识之外。起初罗伯兹怀疑赛斯的来历，猜想他可能就是自身人格的反映。赛斯附体时，罗伯兹有时显得冷峻，有时显得快活，或有教授风范。“他”的腔调一般来说是独特易辨的，尽管有时也会显得模糊难认。据说灵媒爱德加·凯西于出神状态时会用古代的句法说话，且内容含糊不清。罗伯兹跟他不一样，当赛斯“上身”时，她的句法风格现代而内容清晰^{[来源请求]}。赛斯书不断传出，但并不与早期的内容相矛盾。这些书有的还附有练习元素（Practice Elements），以便读者知道如何亲证赛斯的一些概念。

赛斯评论了一些当代世界事件，例如圭亚那琼斯镇的死亡事件和三哩岛事件。

赛斯也提出不一样的创世神话，取代传统的大霹雳学说或智能设计论。

1971年11月，罗伯兹的父亲过世，享寿68岁；母亲则于六个月后相继过世，亦享寿68岁。1982年年初，罗伯兹因严重的甲状腺功能亢进症住院一个月，并同时患有诸多病症：眼球突出、双重视觉、听力几乎丧失、轻微贫血、褥疮—而且还在院内感染葡萄球菌。后来她的病情稍有好转，但还是于两年半之后的1984年过世。她长期患有严重的关节炎—跟母亲一样—折磨了她大半生和生命的最后一年。（大约有15年之久，霸兹一直相信，至少罗伯兹的心理状况远比怀有患病倾向的肉体还来得重要－用那些话说，是更具损害性的。）罗伯兹的死被挚爱地记录在《健康之道》（The Way Toward Health）里，而霸兹则继续他守护赛斯资料的工作、监督一些余下资料的出版，包括《早期课》（The Early Sessions），并确保所有跟赛斯有关的纪录、手稿、笔记、图画等保存在耶鲁大学图书馆中。霸兹再婚，其第二任妻子劳拉（Laurel）在他们超过二十年的婚姻当中支持他的事业。2008年5月霸兹过世，但他协助带给世界的道理的那股活力仍旧熠熠生辉。许多团体将赛斯的语录编辑成册、概括其教导、发行录音带版的赛斯课，并继续开课或在既有惯例中宣扬赛斯资料。

接受与影响

赛斯对新纪元思想家的影响力极为深远。出版于1994年的《个人实相的本质》（"The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book"）在标题纸套外即印上了一些新纪元重要思想家和各方作家的推荐语。玛丽安娜·威廉森（Marianne Williamson）、狄帕克·愁普拉（Deepak Chopra）、萨克蒂·高文（Shakti Gawain）、丹·弥尔曼（Dan Millman）、露易丝·贺（Louise Hay）、理查·巴哈（Richard Bach）、潘蜜拉‧克里柏（Pamela Kribbe）和其他相关人士都表示赛斯资料启发了他们的灵性。威廉森也下了类似的结论：“赛斯是我的第一批形而上学老师的其中一位。他源源不绝地为我的人生提供知识和启发。”芝加哥大学美国宗教史教授凯瑟琳·阿勒本尼斯（Catherine L. Albanese）在1970年代指出，赛斯资料开启了美国全国上下关注通灵趋势的纪元。她相信，赛斯资料促进了新纪元运动“自我认同”的发展，而且还扩大了它的阵容。

约翰·纽波特（John P. Newport）研究新纪元思想对当代文化的影响，指出赛斯资料的中心思想是：“你创造你自己的实相”。（简言之，我们的信念产生驱动记忆和组织联想的情感。那些信念最终都会在我们的实际生活和健康状况中获得实证。）纽波特写道，新纪元的这一根本概念首次出现在“赛斯资料”中。布拉德利大学研究的宗教学教授罗伯特·富勒（Robert C. Fuller）指出，赛斯人格填补了心灵引导的角色，他称之为“非教会的美国灵性”（unchurched American spirituality），其主题涵盖了轮回、业报、自由意志、古代形而上学的智慧、“基督意念”（Christ consciousness）。

一些作家注意到，“身为夫君的罗伯特·霸兹承认赛斯的想法和各类宗教、哲学乃至神秘教义之间都存在相似性。这些思想从近东、中东、到远东……例如，我们的确读了一些佛教、印度教、禅宗、道教的资料，更不要说萨满教、巫毒教和奥比巫术了。”

晚近的物理学家麦可·塔尔巴特（Michael Talbot）写道：“我感到惊讶的同时掺杂着些许烦闷－我发现赛斯对实相观辩才而清晰的解释只有在我下了极大的努力和对超常现象及量子力学做了广泛的研究之后才能达到。”

批评

查尔斯·厄普敦（Charles Upton）在他题为《敌基督的系统》（The System of Antichrist）的批判专辑中断言，罗伯兹的“多重人格”实则源于对死亡的恐惧。他认为，赛斯资料不过是起因于对基督教和东方宗教的误解。

心理学家兼超心理学批判家詹姆斯·阿勒卡克（James E. Alcock）认为：“赛斯资料这所有的一切仅能被当作不值一哂的东西。这出骗局显然需要投入大量的时间和才干，但我们又无从分辨那到底是骗局还是潜意识的产物－－总之，鉴于这些情况，实无必要考量超自然力量介入的可能性。”

赛斯哲学远比传统的教会权威、上帝与造物二元性、一生定功过、耶稣中心等体系还要来得复杂，但又不与它们一致。这些都引起一些基督徒的非难。许多牧师警告信徒，要提防罗伯兹等人通灵讯息的危险性和欺骗性。《赛斯资料》被某些领域的圈内人认为是“一本完全由魔鬼写的书”。“一个女人听魔鬼的话，然后写下它；当然，就上帝启示来说，它摧毁了一切真理”。不仅如此，它还是“魔鬼附体”的证据。“珍·罗伯兹的赛斯书是反天主教的憎恨之书－借由媒体传播”等影片都说，赛斯是“一个从地狱来、通过通灵板显现的魔鬼”。

罗伯兹死后，还有人宣称通灵到赛斯。在第一本记录赛斯话语的《赛斯如是说》（Seth Speaks）的序言中，“他”说道：“为了维持资料完整，通灵只会透过鲁柏［赛斯为珍取的名字］而进行。”在《赛斯资料》中，珍·罗伯兹写道：“很多人告诉我，赛斯借由自动书写跟他们接触，但赛斯都全数否认。”至少有一个人曾宣称通灵到赛斯。

著作集成

• Roberts, Jane (1956). The Red Wagon, short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1957). The Canvas Pyramid, short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1957). First Communion, short story. Publisher: First Communion Fantastic Universe, March edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1957). The Chestnut Beads, novella, (Bundu series). Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1958). The Bundu, novella, (Bundu series). Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1958). A Demon at Devotions, short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1959). Nightmare, short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1959). Impasse , short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1963). The Rebellers, novel. Publisher: Ace Books.
• Roberts, Jane (1964). Three Times Around , short story. Publisher: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May edition.
• Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) ISBN 0-8119-0379-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. ISBN 978-0-9711198-0-2 .
• Roberts, Jane and Robert F. Butts (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-07-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-06-8. Online here. 页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆
• Manley, Seon and Lewis Gogo (1975). Ladies of Fantasy: Two Centuries of Sinister Stories by the Gentle Sex. William Morrow & Co Library. ISBN 0688516815. Includes Roberts' 1956 short story about reincarnation, The Red Wagon.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-013953-X.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-208538-0. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-731752-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-25-4.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-26-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cezanne: A Psychic Interpretation. ISBN 0-13-968859-5.
• Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-018515-9.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 1-57174-142-9. Children's literature.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-22-X.
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0134572599. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 1-878424-21-1.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-17-3. Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984).
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-01-335749-2. Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. ISBN 0-9661327-5-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-450619-7. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, ISBN 0-13-219452-X and ISBN 0-13-219460-0.
• (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. ISBN 0-942380-15-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach: Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-09-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health: A Seth Book. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 187842430.
• Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. ISBN 0-9768978-2-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. ISBN 0-9652855-0-2.
• Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. ISBN 0-9711198-4-8.
• Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Two volumes.

他人撰写的赛斯书籍

• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1992). "Beyond the Winning Streak: Using Conscious Creation to Consistently Win at Life". The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-10-2; eBook ISBN 978-1-889964-08-9.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1995). Ten Thousand Whispers: A Guide to Conscious Creation. The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-06-5; eBook ISBN 978-1-889964-00-3.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (1997). The Wizards of Consciousness: Making the Imponderable Practical. The Woodbridge Group. ISBN 978-1-889964-03-4; eBook ISBN 978-1-889964-12-6.
• Dahl, Lynda Madden (2001). The Book of Fallacies: A Little Primer of New Thought. Moment Point Press. ISBN 978-0-9661327-9-3.
• Friedman, Norman. Bridging Science and Spirit: Common Elements in David Bohm's Physics, The Perennial Philosophy and Seth. The Woodbridge Group, 1994. ISBN 978-1-889964-07-2.
• Friedman, Norman. The Hidden Domain: Home of the Quantum Wave Function, Nature's Creative Source. The Woodbridge Group, 1997. ISBN 978-1-889964-09-6.
• Stack, Rick. Out-Of-Body Adventures : 30 days to the Most Exciting Experience of Your Life. Contemporary Books. ISBN 0-8092-4560-4.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Reality : A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1984. ISBN 0-13-189127-8.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Happiness: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1988. ISBN 0-13-189226-6.
• Ashley, Nancy. Create Your Own Dreams: A Seth Workbook. Prentice-Hall Press, 1990. ISBN 0-13-189382-3.
• Watkins, Susan M. Speaking of Jane Roberts: Remembering the Author of the Seth Material. Moment Point Press, 2001. ISBN 0-9661327-7-7.
• Watkins, Susan M. Conversations with Seth. Moment Point Press, 2005, 2006, two volumes. ISBN 1-930491-05-0 and ISBN 1-930491-09-3 (original version published: Vol. 1 (1980), Vol 2 (1981).
• Hsu, Dr. Tien-Sheng. The Secret to Healing Cancer: A Chinese Psychiatrist and Family Doctor Presents His Amazing Method For Curing Cancer Through Psychological and Spiritual Growth. New Awareness Network, 2011. ISBN 0984928502.
• Kendall, Richard, The Road To Elmira, Volume 1 : A former student of Jane Roberts recounts his experiences while attending Jane's classes . Rich Kendall Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9835776-007.

参见

• Stewart Edward White

参考资料

Dorothy Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929 – September 5, 1984) was an American author, poet, self-proclaimed psychic, and spirit medium, who claimed to channel an energy personality who called himself "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.

Early life and career

Roberts was born in Albany, New York and grew up in nearby Saratoga Springs, New York. Her parents, Delmer Hubbell Roberts and Marie Burdo, divorced when she was two years old. With her only child, the young Marie then returned to her own parents, and the home that the family had rented for a number of years: half of a double dwelling in a poor neighborhood. Marie had begun experiencing the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis by 1932 but worked as much as possible. Eventually, Roberts' grandfather, Joseph Burdo, with whom she shared a deep mystical identification, was unable to support two extra people, and the family had to rely upon public assistance. Roberts' grandmother was killed in an automobile accident in 1936.

The next year, her grandfather moved out of the house. By then Marie was partially incapacitated, and the Welfare Department began to furnish mother and daughter with occasional and often unreliable domestic help. When Marie became a bedridden invalid, it was Jane's responsibility to take care of her. This included cooking, cleaning, bringing her the bedpan, and getting up in the middle of the night to refuel the stove. Her embittered mother would tell Jane she was going to turn on the gas jets in the middle of the night and kill them both. When her mother attempted suicide for about the fifth time, she took sleeping pills and was in the hospital. Jane wrote that she went to the welfare worker and said, 'I can't take it anymore. I've just got to leave.'" Over and over Marie told Jane she was no good, that the daughter's birth had caused the mother's illness, and that she was disowned and considered no longer her daughter.

The persistent psychological abuse and mistreatment by her mother resulted in the young girl's deep fear of abandonment. Such situations increased Jane's sense of not being safe, yet also reinforced feelings of independence, for she did not have to feel as dependent upon Marie as she might otherwise.

Well before she was 10 years old Jane had developed persistent symptoms of colitis. By her early teens, she had an overactive thyroid gland. Her vision was poor; she required very strong glasses (which she seldom wore). For most of 1940 and half of 1941, Jane was in a strictly-run Catholic orphanage in Troy, NY while her mother was hospitalized in another city for treatment of her arthritis. Priests came to the house regularly and support was offered to the fatherless family. Jane's initial bonding to the cultural beliefs of religion was very strong to make up for the lack of a loving, nurturing family. For a time she was left between belief systems.

In the summer of 1945, when she was 16 years old, Jane began working at a variety store. It was her first job. That fall she continued on the job after school hours and on an occasional Saturday. After attending public schools she went to Skidmore College from 1947 to 1950 on a poetry scholarship. Roberts' grandfather died when she was age 19. It was a time of severe shock for her. She began to substitute scientific world view for religious belief.

At that time Jane was dating Walt Zeh, a long-time Saratoga Springs friend. Together they went to the west coast by motorcycle to see Jane's father who had also come from a broken home. Jane then married Walt and continued to write while taking a variety of other jobs, including society editor for the Saratoga newspaper, and as a supervisor in a radio factory. Walt and Jane lived together for three years. It was then in February 1954 while "cutting up, dancing, and raisin' hell at a party," that Jane first met the former commercial artist Robert Fabian Butts, Jr. (June 20, 1919 - May 26, 2008). The fourth time they met at another party and Jane 'just looked at him and said, "Look, I'm leaving Walt, and I'm going to live by myself or I'm going to live with you, so just let me know."'" Eventually the two left town together and Jane filed for divorce. Jane and Rob married on December 27, 1954 at the home of his parents in Sayre, PA.

Roberts wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children's literature, nonfiction, science fiction, and fantasy, and novels. She was the only woman invited to the first science-fiction writer's conference in 1956 in Milford, PA.

The couple moved to Elmira, NY, in 1960, to find steady part-time work – Rob in the local greeting card company, Jane in an art gallery. Now 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.

Seth Material

On a September evening in 1963, Roberts sat down at her table to work on poetry; Butts was in his back-room studio, painting. "It was very domestic, very normal, very unpsychedelic," she would later remember. And then "Between one normal minute and the next, a fantastic avalanche of radical, new ideas burst into my head with tremendous force... It was as if the physical world were really tissue-paper-thin, hiding infinite dimensions of reality, and I was flung through the tissue paper with a huge ripping sound." When she "came to," Roberts found herself scrawling the title of this odd batch of notes: The Physical Universe as Idea Construction.

Before this, though her fiction typically dealt with such themes as clairvoyance and reincarnation, intellectually neither she nor Butts believed in extrasensory abilities. Yet soon after this episode, Roberts suddenly began recalling her dreams, including two that were precognitive. Their curiosity piqued, the couple decided to investigate further, and she managed to land a contract with a New York publisher for a do-it-yourself book on extra-sensory perception.

In late 1963, Roberts and Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for the book. 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. The first seven sessions were entirely with the Ouija board. The three-hour session on the evening of Jan. 2, 1964 was the first where she began to dictate the messages instead of using the Ouija board. For a while, she still opened her sessions with the board, but finally abandoned it after the 27th session on Feb. 19, 1964.

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." The 26th session on Feb. 18, 1964, was the first held in the presence of another person—a friend.

On Jan. 17, 1964, Roberts channeled an allegedly recently deceased woman who told Butts that his and his wife's work with Seth was a life-time project, that they would publish his manuscripts, and help spread his ideas. At the 27th session Seth also told the couple how to rearrange the furniture in their apartment which would better suit their energies. Despite feelings of disbelief toward both messages, the couple somewhat reluctantly agreed. Two days afterward they heard from a psychologist interested in reincarnation to whom they had written three weeks earlier with some session copies enclosed. The psychologist told them that the very fluency of the material suggested that it might come from Roberts' subconscious, though it was impossible to tell. He also cautioned that in some circumstances, amateur mediumship could lead to mental problems.

The letter upset her but helped her deal with her doubts. She felt there were no "alarming changes" in her personality. "I was doing twice the creative work I had done earlier. I was satisfied with the quality of the Seth Material; it was far superior to anything I could do on my own. If nothing else, I thought the sessions presented a way of making deeply unconscious knowledge available on a consistent basis." "Because we were so innocent about psychic literature, we weren't hampered by superstitious fears about such [psychic] phenomena. I didn't believe in gods or demons, so I didn't fear them. I wanted to learn. Rob and I had discovered a whole new world together, and we were going to explore it."

Roberts assumed Seth was a subconscious fantasy, personified because she did not believe in spirits or life after death. She monitored her personality characteristics and went to a psychologist. But she felt that "Seth seemed far more mature and well-balanced than the psychologist, so finally I stopped worrying. This is not to say the experience did not cause certain strains and stresses that could accompany any worthwhile venture in an entirely new field."

Roberts also purportedly channeled the world views of several other people, including the philosopher William James, Rembrandt, and the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, through a process she described as using a typewriter to write "automatically."

For 21 years until Roberts' death in 1984 (with a one-year hiatus due to her final illness), Roberts held more than 1500 regular or private "ESP class" trance sessions in which she spoke on behalf of Seth. Butts served as the stenographer, taking the messages down in shorthand he had made up, having others on occasion make recording of some sessions. The messages from Seth channeled through Roberts consisted mostly of monologues on a wide variety of topics. They were published by Prentice-Hall under the collective title Seth Material.

Over the years, hundreds of people witnessed Roberts channeling "Seth". Some went to the ESP classes Roberts held (Tuesday and some Thursday nights, Sept. 1967 – Feb. 1975) for an evening, others attended for longer periods. (By this time Jane had given up her gallery work, and was teaching nursery school during part of this time.) Outside of the ESP class structure, Roberts gave many personal Seth sessions to various individuals who had written her, asking for help. She never charged for those sessions; however, at some point, she did charge $2.50 to $3.50 per ESP class of 5 to 40 people. When the books began to sell in sufficient numbers, she dropped that fee. Book sessions were almost always private, held on Monday and Wednesday evenings without witnesses from 1967 through 1982 (except for Tues and Thurs from Aug. to Nov. 1981).

The material through 1969 was published in summary form in The Seth Material, written by Roberts from the output 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 a medium. This series of "Seth books" totaled ten volumes. The last two books appear to be incomplete due to Roberts' illness. Butts contributed extensive footnotes, appendices, and other comments to all the Seth books, and thus was a co-author on all of them. These additions describe what was going on in Roberts' and his life at the time of the various sessions, annotated in light of contemporary beliefs and materials he and Roberts were reading, described excerpts from some fan mail and letters from professionals commenting on Seth's material about their fields, and, especially later, provided insight as to the many steps of production of multiple books with the publisher. By February 1982 they were still receiving "from 30 to 50 letters and packages a week" from readers of their various books.

Some of Roberts' earlier and later poetry was occasionally included to show how she had touched upon some of Seth's concepts. Roberts also wrote The Oversoul Seven trilogy to explore via fiction some of Seth's teachings on the concepts of reincarnation and oversouls.

According to Roberts, Seth described himself as an "energy personality essence no longer focused in physical matter," and was independent of Roberts' subconscious. Roberts initially expressed skepticism as to Seth's origins, wondering if he was a part of her own personality. While speaking as Seth, Roberts at times appeared stern, jovial, or professorial. "His" voice was deeper and more masculine sounding than Jane's and was possessed of 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. Later books continued to develop but did not contradict the material introduced in earlier works. Some "Practice Elements" were even included on how a few of the concepts could be practically experienced.

A few contemporary world events were commented upon, such as the Jonestown Guyana deaths and the Three Mile Island accident.

Seth also provided an alternative creation myth to that of the Big Bang or Intelligent Design.

Roberts' father died in November 1971 at the age of 68; her mother died six months later at the same age. In early 1982 Roberts spent a month in the hospital for severely underactive thyroid gland, protruding eyes and double vision, an almost total hearing loss, a slight anemia, budding bedsores—and a hospital-caused staph infection. She recovered to an extent, but died two and a half years later in 1984, having been bedridden with severe arthritis-like her mother—for the final year and a half of her life. Roberts had spent 504 consecutive days in a hospital in Elmira, N.Y. The immediate causes of her death were a combination of protein depletion, osteomyelitis, and soft-tissue infections. These conditions arose out of her long-standing rheumatoid arthritis. (Butts believed for some 15 years that in Roberts' case, at least, the young girl's psychological conditioning was far more important—far more damaging, in those terms—than any physical tendency to inherit the disease.) Roberts was cremated the next day, in a process, she and Butts had agreed upon several years earlier.

After Roberts' death, recorded in The Way Toward Health (1997), Butts continued his work as a guardian of the Seth texts and continued to supervise the publication of some of the remaining material, including The Early Sessions, making sure all of the recordings, manuscripts, notes, and drawings would be given to the Yale Library. Butts remarried, and his second wife, Laurel Lee Davies, supported his work during the more than 20 years they were together and helped answer mail and proofread manuscripts. Butts died of cancer on May 26, 2008. Jane Roberts Butts and Robert F. Butts Jr. are interred together in the Wayne County, NY Furnaceville cemetery; however, there is another gravestone with their names on it in the Sunnyside cemetery in Tunkhannock, PA. A number of groups have compiled anthologies of quotes from Seth, summarized sections of his teachings, issued copies of Seth sessions on audio tape, and further relayed the material via classes and conventions.

Reception and influence

Seth's effect upon New Age thinkers has been profound.^{[citation needed]} The title jacket of "The Nature of Personal Reality, A Seth Book," republished 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 Hay, Richard Bach, and others express the effect the Seth Material had upon their own awakening.^{[citation needed]} 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."

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." (Briefly summarized, our beliefs generate emotions that trigger our memories and organize our associations. Eventually, those beliefs become manifested in our physical lives and health.) Newport wrote that this foundational concept of the New Age movement was first developed in the "Seth Material." 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."

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."

New Age writer 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."

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. Yale University's collection entitled "Jane Roberts papers" occupies 164.08 linear feet of shelf space and is contained in 498 boxes.

Criticism

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.

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."

Some religious groups have warned their members about the dangers and deceptions of reading channeled messages from Roberts and others. John MacArthur, host of a syndicated Christian talk show, considers The Seth Material to be "a book entirely written by a demon.", while the New Age Urantia Foundation considers the book evidence for "Devil possession." Videos such as Jane Roberts' Seth Speaks is Anti-Catholic Hate Books – Allowed By The Media claimed that Seth was "a demon from hell contacted through a ouija board."

Science writer Karen Stollznow has written that much of Roberts work was "criticized for being a rip-off of Christian and Eastern philosophy. It comes as no surprise that Seth influenced such authors as Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay."

Since Roberts' death, others have claimed to channel Seth. 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 more recently to channel Roberts.

Complete writings

Books:

• Roberts, Jane (1966). How To Develop Your ESP Power. Publisher: Federick Fell. (Later retitled and reprinted as The Coming of Seth.) ISBN 0-8119-0379-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1970). The Seth Material. Reprinted, 2001 by New Awareness Network. ISBN 978-0-9711198-0-2 .
• Roberts, Jane (1972). Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Reprinted 1994 by Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-07-6.
• Roberts, Jane (1974). The Nature of Personal Reality. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-06-8.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Adventures in Consciousness: An Introduction to Aspect Psychology. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-013953-X.
• Roberts, Jane (1975). Dialogues of the Soul and Mortal Self in Time. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-208538-0. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1976). Psychic Politics: An Aspect Psychology Book. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-731752-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 1. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-25-4.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The "Unknown" Reality Vol. 2. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1997, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-26-2 .
• Roberts, Jane (1977). The World View of Paul Cézanne: A Psychic Interpretation. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-968859-5.
• Roberts, Jane (1978). The Afterdeath Journal of An American Philosopher: The World View of William James. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-018515-9.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). Emir's Education in the Proper Use of Magical Powers. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 1-57174-142-9. Children's literature.
• Roberts, Jane (1979). The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression. Prentice-Hall. Reprinted 1996, Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-22-X .
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events. Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0134572599. Reprinted 1994, Amber-Allen Publishing, ISBN 1-878424-21-1.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Oversoul Seven Trilogy. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-17-3. Edition: Paperback; May 1, 1995 (originally published as three separate books: The Education of Oversoul 7 (1973); The Further Education of Oversoul Seven (1979); Oversoul Seven and the Museum of Time (1984)).
• Roberts, Jane (1981). The God of Jane: A Psychic Manifesto. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-01-335749-2. Reprinted 2000, Moment Point Press. ISBN 0-9661327-5-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1982). If We Live Again, Or, Public Magic and Private Love. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-450619-7. Poetry.
• Roberts, Jane (1986). Dreams, Evolution and Value Fulfillment. Prentice-Hall, two volumes, ISBN 0-13-219452-X and ISBN 0-13-219460-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1986). Seth, Dreams and Projections of Consciousness. Stillpoint Publishing.
• (1993). A Seth Reader. Vernal Equinox Press. Compendium edited by Richard Roberts. ISBN 0-942380-15-0.
• Roberts, Jane (1995). The Magical Approach : Seth Speaks About the Art of Creative Living. Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-09-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997). The Way Toward Health. Robert F. Butts (Foreword), Amber-Allen Publishing. ISBN 1-878424-30-0.
• Roberts, Jane (2006). The World View of Rembrandt. New Awareness Network. ISBN 0-9768978-2-2.
• Roberts, Jane (1997 and after). The Early Sessions (Sessions 1 through 510 of the Seth Material). New Awareness Network. Edited by Robert Butts. Nine volumes. ISBN 0-9652855-0-2.
• Roberts, Jane (2003). The Personal Sessions. New Awareness Network. Deleted session material. Seven volumes. ISBN 0-9711198-4-8.
• Roberts. Jane. The Early Class Sessions. New Awareness Network. Four volumes.

Short Stories and novellas:

• Roberts, Jane. "Prayer of a Wiser People" in Profile, 1950.
• Roberts, Jane. "The Red Wagon" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1956 (republished 1993, Reality Change Magazine; anthologized in 1975, Ladies of Fantasy).
• Roberts, Jane. "The Canvas Pyramid" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958).
• Roberts, Jane. "First Communion" in Fantastic Universe, 1957.
• Roberts, Jane. "The Chestnut Beads" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1957 (French edition, 1958; anthologized in Triple W: Witches, Warlocks and Werewolves, 1963).
• Roberts, Jane. "The Bundu" (novella, sequel to "The Chestnut Beads") in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958.
• Roberts, Jane. "A Demon at Devotions" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1958 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Winter 1994).
• Roberts, Jane. "Nightmare" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959.
• Roberts, Jane. "Impasse" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1959 (Spanish anthology edition ca. 1960).
• Roberts, Jane. "Three Times Around" in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1964 (anthologized in Earth Invaded, 1982).
• Roberts, Jane. "The Big Freeze" in Dude, 1965 (reprinted in Reality Change Magazine, Summer 1994).
• Roberts, Jane. "The Mission," purchased by Topper magazine in August 1965. (Publication not yet confirmed.)

Poetry Submissions:

• "Time" in The Saratogian [Saratoga Springs, NY], 1947 Mar 19.
• "Enigma" in The Saratogian, 1947 Mar 19.
• "Spring Gaiety" in The Saratogian, 1947 Apr 26.
• "Rain" in Profile [Skidmore College literary magazine], December, 1947.
• "Pretense" in Profile, December, 1947.
• "Code" in Profile, December, 1947.
• "Skyscrapers" in Profile, December, 1947.
• "Introvert" in Profile, May, 1948.
• "Poem" in Profile, May, 1948.
• "How Public Like a Frog" in Profile, Fall, 1948.
• "Motorcycle Ride" in Profile, Fall, 1948.
• "Echo" in Profile, May, 1949.
• "Death Stood at the Door" in Profile, May, 1949.
• "Compromise" in Profile, May, 1949.
• "I Shall Die in the Springtime." Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.
• "Lyric" Patterns. v.1, n.1, October 1954.
• "Matilda" in Quicksilver, Spring, 1960.
• "It is Springtime, Grandfather." Epos., v.12, n.3, Spring 1961.
• "The Familiar." Bitterroot. v.1, n.2, Winter 1962.
• "I Saw a Hand" in Treasures of Parnassus: Best Poems of 1962, Young Publications, 1962 (reprinted in The Elmira Star-Gazette, 1962).
• "My Grandfather's World." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.
• "Lullaby." Epos. v.14, n.3, Spring 1963.
• "Beware, October." Epos. v.16, n.1, Fall 1964.
• "This Wrist, This Hand." Epos. v.16, n.4, Summer 1965.
• "The Game." New Lantern Club Review. n.2, Summer 1965.
• "The Flowers." Steppenwolf. n.1, Winter 1965-1966.
• "Vision." Dust/9. v.3, n.1, Fall 1966.
• "Who Whispers Yes." Dust/12. v.3, n.4, Spring 1969.
• "Hi, Low, and Psycho." Excerpts published in Reality Change, Third Quarter, 1996.

References