First, think about what it is that you are thinking about while you are lying there in bed not sleeping. Then, make a list of some positive statements in the present tense as if it were true already. For example if you lie awake worrying about bills, one of the phrases could be, "I get my bills paid on time as soon as I get them." When you get in bed at night, list the things that you are thankful for and feel the security of your warm bed in your cozy house. Then when you are done and ready to go to sleep, repeat a possitive statement in your head 40x. You should be asleep way before 40x. If you get to 40x, then ditch that one, it isn't working. Don't just keep switching them though, only change it after it didn't work after 40x. Once you find one that works, stick with that one. Repeat it any time you wake up at night and want to go back to sleep. If I use ones about sleep, they don't work. If I have a stuffy nose or a cough, I use, "I can breathe freely (or 'clearly')." It works really well and usually quickly as well.

Edit I would like to add that your statement doesn't have to have anything to do with the things you are thinking about at night, that is just a place to start. You want to put on your list anything that you want in your life. One example that has helped me is, "I feel loved and accepted." this turned into but could not start with (I tried) I am loved and accepte." For some reason at first, I couldn't accept that "I am loved" statement and regressed it back to "I feel loved." Then that allowed me to accept the "I am loved" statement.

12/26/11 I no longer bother to count. I just repeat my simple phrase until I fall asleep. My favorites are (only one per night): I am loved; I am safe; or I can breathe clearly (if I have a stuffy nose or am coughing).

Ummm not to be rude or anything but. But a good old fashion Orgasm does wonders.and if not one try two or three. If you Google it you will find lots of positive aspects like:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/13903-orgasm-benefits/

Orgasms act as a natural tranquilizer. That wonderful release of endorphins is very calming.

I sleep like a baby log.and on the rare instances I just can't.... well.
No complaints here.
peace

Jaianniah, I can really relate. My sleep problems go back so far that I actually remember lying awake in my baby-crib unable to sleep. It isn't stress, worry or pain, just a totally hard time turning off my mind. I have tried less caffeine, have tried exercising at different times of the day, tried taking walks, tried reading, warm milk, and you name-it-I-have-tried-it. My troubles were falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking way too early. And this runs in my family. On my father's death-bed, he joked that he was about to finally get some sleep! At one time I was addicted to sleeping pills and could not sleep without them. While on them, it was the best and most restful sleep ever. In fact, I would have gone on that way forever, since it was the first time in my life I was sleeping well, but the problem was that after two years they simply stopped working for me, requiring larger doses, until I finally decided it was ridiculous and just stopped! And so.....it was back to no sleeping.

I can't honestly tell you I sleep like a baby. Some of us just don't, and that's a fact. It comes easy to some, but I am not one of those people. My best routine though, is to avoid caffeine during the day (in soda, coffee, tea, chocolate) except very early in the morning. Ten AM is my cut off for any of that. I avoid any napping during the day as well. Just one short nap can sabotage my night's sleep. This also means no snoozing on the sofa in the evenings with a book, TV or movie. I have to stay awake until bedtime. I work out in the early afternoons. And I only shower in the morning. Showers and baths are also stimulating to some of us. An hour before bed, I change clothes and retire with a book. No electronics around me in the bedroom. These are stimulating to some, so no laptop, no TV, no Nook, nothing! Just me, the dogs and a book.....my husband falls into sleep like a baby and is not bothered by my reading with a soft lamp for awhile. Eventually I get sleepy from the reading and turn out the light. I relax my body, in a comfortable position and start counting backwards. The reason for that is to occupy my mind with something non stimulating; something that will keep it inactive. I rarely have to start over and will usually drop off. With this routine every night, I normally sleep well. Most nights I sleep through til morning without a lot of wakefulness, I would say 80% of nights, and for me, that is pretty good.

I hope some of these ideas might help you. Believe me, I understand the frustration of not sleeping well and how exhausted and sore one can feel after some time of that.

Best wishes for some significant rest.

Jai says " I am actually afraid to go to sleep. I often have terrible nightmares" I think you answered your own question, Jai.

Jai says " I have difficulty sleeping. I feel like it is a chore. I cannot figure this out" You describe sleep as a "chore" (as if sleep is an unpleasant, burdensome but necessary task). Perhaps that is part of your problem. Perhaps you would benefit by researching "The Law of Attraction". I know it is NOT your intention; but I think you are attracting exactly what you do NOT want. As Wayne Dyer says -- "change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”

Jai says " am aching all the time now, and I know it is from lack of sleep".
You are absolutely 100% correct, Jai. Sounds like you're well on your way to a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia in addition to having a bad back and a knee replacement. It's a vicious Catch-22. Please don't let pain define who you are. Welcome restorative sleep and cherish every minute you do sleep. Start a Gratitude Journal. If nothing else - please stay in bed for 8 hours - even if you can't sleep - just resting your body and "quieting" your mind will help........

Jai says " Please remember that "exercise" is not an option for me..." "This is NOT a recent thing.. I have been like this for years " Jai, you are NOT correct - you just haven't found the right exercise - get your tired self to a good physical therapist, immediately - ASAP! Jai, you are exhausted and in pain; you are making EXCUSES & you are NOT making sound decisions - physically, mentally or spiritually and by the sounds of it; you have been like this for a very long time. I know it's hard; but I know you can do it...

Jai, it's not my intention to make you feel worse than you already do. I'm trying to help you because I see myself in you. No we are NOT the same; but I think we are more alike than we are different. I know how tired you are. I've been there and back. I've suffered from chronic sleep problems over half my life and I know about chronic pain. As a caregiver, I also survived on ONLY a couple hours of sleep for years. I know what it is like to go 2 and 3 days with NO sleep and then CRASH. Not Good... As I see it - perhaps my years of being sleep deprived prepared me for this "sacred" experience.

Instead of living in fear of sleep - let your dreams be your greatest teachers... Important life lessons can be learned from your nightmares if you are not afraid to look deep.... and don't get lost.......

In my youth, my nightmares were neither warnings nor premonitions - they were caused by stress and worry. From the time I was a very young child and for many years thereafter, I was haunted by a recurrent nightmare. Someone was chasing me - it was very dark - I came to a fork in the road - I didn't know which way to run - I froze - as the "monster" was about to "get" me - I would wake, heart pounding and scared and when I was very little, I would jump out of bed and flee to my parents bedroom. I had this same dream over and over for years - whenever I faced a tough question or had a difficult decision to make - which choice was the right one? In which direction should I go?

In later years, after experiencing a frightening nightmare, I would wake - heart pounding - eyes tightly closed - trying hard to calm my breathe - so afraid there was someone in my room who was either going to kill me or do me great bodily harm. I constantly dreamed of being "killed" or dying. Why? Well, after way too many years, I finally came to the painful realization it was because I was allowing someone to (kill) take my "power" away - my spirit/my essence/my soul was slowly fading away (dying) and because of this, my physical health was deteriorating as well..... Again, I was NOT listening to my own innate wisdom.

I'm new here and I see it's been over 4 months since you wrote this - I hope you have found some peace...... Blessings.......

EDIT to add - I wrote my response and posted it prior to clicking on your profile, Jai. Had I clicked on your profile first - I probably would not have posted. Hopefully, what I have experienced will help someone else....

well jai hit the bed. and go to dream world. place of no suffering where you can experience many things. example sitting on a cloud in a cloud world with 2 white tiger at your side. i did not have nightmare since 20 year. go lucid and kick buts. experience and enjoy.

u need to find a new way to sleep , humans sleeping schedule keep from an old time caveman style of sleeping, they had to sleep on darkness so they were not out and about in danger. listen to this, if you think the ideas can help, then read the rest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBQGTOn_2oI

SETH SPEAKS

CHAPTER 8

SLEEP, DREAMS, AND CONSCIOUSNESS

SESSION 532, MAY 27, 1970, 9:24 P.M. WEDNESDAY

Good evening. ("Good evening, Seth. ") Persons vary in the amount of sleep they need, and no pill will ever allow them to dispense with sleep entirely, for too much work is done in that state. However, this could be done far more effectively with two, rather than one, sleep periods of lesser duration. Two periods of three hours apiece would be quite sufficient for most people, if the proper suggestions were given before sleep - suggestions that would insure the body's complete recuperation. In many cases ten hours sleep, for example, is actually disadvantageous, resulting in a sluggishness both of mind and body. In this case the spirit has simply been away from the body for too long a time, resulting in a loss of muscular flexibility. (Jane's delivery was quite fast, and remained so throughout the session.) As many light snacks would actually be much better than three large meals a day, so short naps rather than such an extended period would also be more effective. There would be other benefits. The conscious self would recall more of its dream adventures as a matter of course, and gradually these would be added to the totality of experience as the ego thinks of it. As a result of more frequent, briefer sleep periods, there would also

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be higher peaks of conscious focus, and a more steady renewal of both physical and psychic activity. There would not be such a definite division between the various areas or levels of the self. A more economical use of energy would result, and also a more effective use of nutrients. Consciousness as you know it would also become more flexible and mobile. This would not lead to a blurring of consciousness or focus. Instead the greater flexibility would result in a perfection of conscious focus. The seeming great division between the waking and the sleeping self is largely a result of the division in function, the two being largely separated - a block of time being allotted to the one, and a larger block of time to the other. They are kept apart, then, because of your use of time. (9:36.) Initially, your conscious. life followed the light of day. Now with artificial light this need not be the case. There are opportunities here, then, to be gained from your technology that you are not presently taking advantage of. To sleep all day and work all night is hardly the answer; it is simply the inversion of your present habits. But it would be far more effective and efficient to divide the twenty-four-hour period in a different way. There are many variations, in fact, that would be better than your present system. Ideally, sleeping five hours at a time, you gain the maximum benefit, and anything else over this time is not nearly as helpful. Those who require more sleep would then take, say, a two-hour nap. For others a four-hour block sleep session and two naps would be highly beneficial. With suggestion properly given, the body can recuperate in half the time now given to sleep. In any case it is much more bracing and efficient to have the physical body active rather than inactive for, say, eight to ten hours. You have trained your consciousness to follow certain patterns that are not necessarily natural for it, and these patterns increase the sense of alienation between the waking and dreaming self. To some extent you drug the body with suggestion, so that it believes it must sleep away a certain amount of hours in one block. Animals sleep when they are tired, and awaken in a much more natural fashion. You would retain a far greater memory of your subjective experiences, and your body would be healthier, if these sleeping patterns were

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changed. Six to eight hours of sleep in all would be sufficient with the nap patterns outlined. And even those who think they now need more sleep than this would find that they did not, if all the time was not spent in one block. The entire system, physical, mental, and psychic, would benefit. The divisions between the self would not be nearly as severe. Physical and mental work would be easier, and the body itself would gain steady periods of refreshment and rest. Now, as a rule, it must wait, regardless of its condition, at least for some sixteen hours. For other reasons having to do with the chemical reactions during the dream state, bodily health would be improved; and this particular schedule would also be of help in schizophrenia, and generally aid persons with problems of depression, or those with mental instability. (9:52.) Your sense of time would also be less rigorous and rigid. Creative abilities would be quickened, and the great problem of insomnia that exists for many people would be largely conquered - for what they fear is often the long period of time in which consciousness, as they think of it, seems to be extinguished. Small meals or snacks would then be taken upon rising. This method o~ eating and sleeping would greatly help various metabolic difficulties, and also aid in the development of spiritual and psychic ability. For many reasons, physical activity at night has a different effect upon the body than physical activity during the day, and ideally, both effects are necessary At certain times during the night the negative ions in the air are much stronger, or numerous, than in the daytime, for example; and activity during this time, particularly a walk or outside activity, would be highly beneficial from a health standpoint. Now the period just before dawn often represents a crisis point for persons severely ill. Consciousness has been away from the body for too long a period, and such a returning consciousness then has difficulty dealing with the sick body mechanism. The practice in hospitals of giving drugs to patients so that they will sleep entirely throughout the night is detrimental for this reason. In many cases it is too great a strain on the part of the returning consciousness to take over again the ailing mechanism. Such medications also often prevent certain necessary dream cycles

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that can help the body recuperate, and the consciousness then becomes highly disoriented. Some of the divisions between different portions of the self, therefore, are not basically necessary but are the result of custom and convenience. In earlier periods of time, even though there were no electric lights for example, sleep was not long and continuous at night, for sleeping quarters were not as secure. The caveman, for example, while sleeping was on the alert for predators. The mysterious aspects of the natural night in outside surroundings kept him partially alert. He awakened often, and surveyed the nearby land and his own place of shelter. (10:04.) He did not sleep in long blocks as you do. His sleeping periods were instead for two or three hours, stretched through the nighttime from dusk to dawn, but alternated by periods of high wakefulness and alert activity. He also crept out to seek food when he hoped his predators were sleeping. This resulted in a mobility of consciousness that indeed insured his physical survival, and those intuitions that appeared to him in the dream state were remembered and taken advantage of in the waking state. Now, many diseases are simply caused by this division of yours and this long period of bodily inactivity, and this extended focus of attention in either waking or dreaming reality. Your normal consciousness can benefit by excursions and rest in those other fields of actuality that are entered when you sleep, and the so-called sleeping consciousness will also benefit by frequent excursions into the waking state. Now you may take your break. (10: 10.) Jane's trance had been deep, her pace fast throughout. Yet she remembered some of the material, which usually isn't the case. She hadn't been reading about sleep recently. "The whole bit is far out to me, " she said. "I haven't been entertaining any ideas like these, at least consciously. " resume in the same manner at 10:22.) Now: I bring up these matters here because such changes in habitual patterns would definitely result in greater understanding of the nature of the self. The inner dreaming portions of the personality seem strange to you not only because of a basic difference of focus, but because you clearly devote opposite portions of a twenty-four hour cycle to these areas of the self. You separate them as much as possible. In doing so you divide your

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intuitive, creative, and psychic abilities quite neatly from your physical, manipulative, objective abilities. It makes no difference how many hours of sleep you think you need. You would be much better off sleeping in several shorter periods, and you would actually then require less time. The largest sleep unit should be at night. But again, the efficiency of sleep is lessened and disadvantages set in after six to eight hours of physical inactivity. The functions of hormones and chemicals, and of adrenal processes in particular, would function with far greater effectiveness with these alternating periods of activities as I have mentioned. The wear and tear upon the body would be minimized, while at the same time all regenerative powers would be used to the maximum. Both those with a high and low metabolism would benefit. The psychic centers would be activated more frequently, and the entire identity of the personality would be better strengthened and maintained. The resulting mobility and flexibility of consciousness would cause an added dividend in increased conscious concentration, and fatigue levels would always remain below danger points. A greater equalization, both physical and mental, would result. Now such schedules could be adopted quite easily. Those who work the American working hours, for example, could sleep between four to six hours an evening, according to individual variations, and nap after supper. I want to make it plain, however, that anything over a six- to eight-hour continuous sleeping period works against you, and a ten-hour period for example can be quite disadvantageous. On awakening often then you do not feel rested, but drained of energy. You have not been minding the store. If you do not understand that in periods of sleep your consciousness actual does leave your body, then what I have said will be meaningless. Now your consciousness does return at times, to check upon the physical mechanisms, and the simple consciousness of atom and cell - the body consciousness - is always with the body, so it is not vacant. But the largely creative portions of the self do leave the body, and for large periods of time when you sleep. (10:39.) Some cases of strong neurotic behavior result from your present sleeping habits. Sleep-walking to some degree is also connected here. Consciousness wants to return to the body, but it has been

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hypnotized into the idea that the body must not awaken. Excess nervous energy takes over, and rouses the muscles to activity, because the body knows it has been inactive for too long and otherwise severe muscular cramps would result. The same applies to your eating habits. By turn you overstuff and then starve the tissues. This has definite effects upon the nature of your consciousness, your creativity, your degree of concentration. Along these lines, for example, you do literally starve your bodies at night, and add to the aging of your bodies by denying them food throughout those long hours. All of this reflects upon the strength and nature of your consciousness. Your food should be divided within the twenty-four hour period, and not just during the times of wakefulness - that is, if the sleep patterns were changed as I suggest, you would also be eating during some night hours. You would eat far less at any given "mealtime," however. Small amounts of food much more frequently taken would be much more beneficial than your present practice in physical, mental, and psychic terms. Changing the sleep patterns would automatically change the eating patterns. You would find you were a much more united identity. You would become aware of your clairvoyant and telepathic abilities, for example, to a far greater degree, and you would not feel the deep separation that you now feel between the dreaming and waking self. To a large degree this sense of alienation would vanish. Your enjoyment of nature would also increase, for as a rule you are largely unacquainted with the nighttime. You could take much better advantage of the intuitional knowledge that occurs in the-dream state, and the cycle of your moods would not swing so definitely as it often does. You would feel much safer and more secure in all areas of existence. The problems of senility would also be reduced, for stimuli would not be minimized for so long a time. And consciousness, with a greater flexibility, would know more of its own sense of joy. You may take a break. (Suddenly louder): And if you do not try this, how can you expect others to? (Jokingly: "I don't know. ")
Your own periods of creative work would also be more effective and

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efficient if you followed the advice given here. ("Well, we'll see what we can do. " (10:53 P.M. Jane's trance had again been deep, her pace rapid. Indeed, her speed left my uniting hand almost numb. This break proved to be the end of the recorded session. (Now, for the second time recently, Seth and I enjoyed a chat without my taking notes. He explained in more detail how an altered sleep pattern would considerably improve my painting. After it was over I wished I had recorded the conversation, since it contained much information that could be applied generally. Jane ended the .evening by saying she "wasn't even in a session mood tonight. " (Since this session - it is June 1 as I type this -Jane and I have been experimenting somewhat with altered sleep patterns, and we can say that Seth's ideas seem eminently workable. After a shorter nighttime sleep period, we have no difficulty waking up easily, alert and ready to go. We supplement this pattern with one or two rest Periods during the daylight hours. The system adds an unaccustomed sharpness of appreciation to all of our activities.)

SESSION 533, JUNE 1, 1970, 9:20 P.M. MONDAY

(Previous to the material given below, Seth delivered five pages of personal data for Jane and me. He resumed dictation on Chapter Eight of his own book after a break at 10:10. (Humorously): Dictation. ("All right. ") Now: It is well known that fluctuations of consciousness and alertness exist in the sleep state. Some periods of dream activity do indeed supersede those of some waking states. But there are also fluctuations in normal waking consciousness, rhythms of intense activity followed by a much less active period of consciousness. Some waking states, of course, come very close to sleep states. These blend one into the other so that the rhythm often goes unnoticed. These gradations of consciousness are accompanied by changes in the physical organism. In the more sluggish periods of waking consciousness there is a lack of concentration, a cutting off of stimuli to varying degrees, an increase in accidents, and generally a lower body tone. (10:28.) Because of your habits of an extended sleep period, followed

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by an extended waking period, you do not take advantage of these rhythms of consciousness. The high peaks are to some extent smothered, or even go unnoticed. The sharp contrasts and the high efficiency of the natural waking consciousness is barely utilized. Now I am giving all of this material here because it will help you understand and use your present abilities. You are asking too much of normal waking consciousness, smoothing out the valleys and peaks of its activity, demanding in some cases that it go full blast ahead when it is actually at a minimal period, denying yourself the great mobility of consciousness that is possible. (10:33.) The suggestions given earlier in this chapter, concerning sleeping habits, will result in a natural use of these rhythms. The peaks will be experienced more frequently. Concentration will be increased, problems seen more clearly, and learning capacities better utilized. (Earlier in the day I had remarked to Jane that it seemed the adverb "far" was showing up in the material quite often. Now Seth-Jane leaned forward, smiling with mock emphasis.) I was going to say, "far better utilized. " ("Yes. ") Now: This extended period, given to waking consciousness with out rest periods, builds up chemicals in the blood that are discharged in sleep. But in the meantime they make the body sluggish and retard conscious concentration. The long sleep period to which you are accustomed then does become necessary. A vicious circle then is formed. This forces over-stimulations during the night, increasing the body's work, making it perform continuously over an extended time physical purifications that ideally would be taken care of in briefer periods of rest. The ego feels threatened by the extended "leave of absence" it must take, becomes wary of sleep, and sets up barriers against the dream state. Many of these are highly artificial. (10:42.) A seeming duality is the result and a mistrust on one part of the self toward the other. Much creative material of quite practical value is lost in the process. The procedures mentioned would allow much greater access to such information, and the.. waking self would be more refreshed. The symbolism in dreams would appear with greater clarity, not, for example, be lost through the many hours you now give

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to sleep. Muscular strength would benefit. The blood would be cleansed more effectively than when the body lies prone for such a time. Most of all, there would be far - if you will excuse me - better communication between the subjective layers of the self, an increased sense of security, and, particularly with children, an earlier kindling of creative abilities. . Now you may take a break. or end the session as you prefer. ("We'll take the break." 10:50 to 11:04.) A clear, uncluttered, bright, and powerful consciousness needs frequent rest periods if its efficiency is to be maintained, and if it is to correctly interpret reality. Otherwise it distorts what is perceived. Rest or sleep cures - very extended sleep periods - have been helpful for therapy in some cases, not because extended sleep is in itself beneficial, but because so many toxins had built up that such extended periods were required. Learning processes are definitely hampered through your present habits, for there are certain periods when consciousness is attuned to learning, and yet you try to force learning during unrecognized minimal periods. Creative and psychic abilities are thrust into the background simply because of this artificial division. Dualities result that affect all of your activities. In some cases you literally force yourselves to sleep when your consciousness could be at one of its maximum points. This is, incidentally, in the predawn period. In certain afternoon hours consciousness is lowered, and needs refreshment that is instead denied. If the stages of waking consciousness were examined as sleep stages are presently being examined, for example, you would find a much greater range of activity than is suspected. Certain transition stages are completely ignored. In many ways it can be said that consciousness does indeed flicker, and varies in intensities. It is not like a steady beam of light, for instance. Now I will end our dictation. My heartiest regards to you both. ("The same to you, Seth. Thank you. " (11: 15 P.M. Jane, out of trance, was surprised by the quick ending of the session.)

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SESSION 534, JUNE 8, 1970, 9:05 P.M. MONDAY (No session was held last Wednesday, June 3. (At 8:30 tonight, Jane and I discussed Seth:S progress on his book. Jane was somewhat concerned. She wasn't reading the book now but she realized Seth wasn't following, literally, the outline he'd given for it before he began dictating it chap ter by chapter. I told her I thought Seth was presenting it just as he wanted it done; she agreed that she might as well relax and just let it come out. (I would now like to describe two effects, one of Jane's and one of mine, that took place almost simultaneously some few minutes before the session began. In addition, my experience blended into another one after the session started - but more about that later. (1. As we sat waiting for the session to begin, Jane told me that the face of Joseph, in my oil painting of Ruburt and Joseph, * smiled down at her from its spot on the living room wall. When Jane became aware of the smiling effect she looked away.from the painting, then quickly back at it. The effect was still there, she said; it lasted for perhaps two minutes, until just before session time at 9. (Jane faced the painting as she sat in her Kennedy rocker, but my back was to it because of my position on the couch. During the several times I turned to look at it I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. Jane told me that Joseph, representing my own entity, smiled broadly at her in a way the painting actually doesn't. The expression in the eyes changed first, the smile spreading from them down to the mouth. The forehead didn't move. It was. as though the painting became abruptly alive, although the painted head of Ruburt did not change. (Jane doesn't particularly like the painting, and has never seen this change in it before. (2. My effect concerns an interference in my vision, without an actual loss of sight. It produced no aftereffects this evening, nor had it ever in earlier years beyond a very slight headache. Tonight I didn't get the headache. Strangely I've never been alarmed by this phenomenon. With my somewhat secretive nature I'd had no urge, even as a child, to tell my parents about it, or to see a doctor. The absence of aftereffects, and the continued clarity of my mental processes, may have been reassuring. (The effect, which always reminded me of a mirage, began with a smallish, bright sawtooth pattern of light just to the right of my direct line of vision. Now,

*For illustrations of this painting, see The Seth Material, Prentice Hall, Inc., 1970.

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with memory of almost forgotten episodes returning, I knew that this brilliant, shimmering pattern could spread so that as I looked at an object it would be obliterated, even while I still had peripheral vision. (At times the interference had covered a wide enough area so that I had a difficult time seeing the drawing paper before me, for instance, or the pencil I felt in my hand. The shimmering varied in intensity. On one occasion I lay down and closed my eyes simply because it was easier to do this than anything else. Such effects lasted half an hour at the most, usually less. (Now, I wondered once again at my calm response to this as I grew up to something whose origins were so completely outside any kind of knowledge I possessed. When the interference had been strong, covering most of the field of vision, I had experienced a peculiar sense of both darkness and light, with the objective world indistinguishable with~n what I can only describe as a field of patterned, alternating lightness and darkness that possessed a velvety depth. (Tonight's experience wasn't that intense. I first realized its onset at about 8:50, and at once began to give myself suggestions to minimize it because I didn't want to alarm Jane by delaying the session. At the same time Jane began to describe the smile she perceived in the painting; I could see the painting well enough when she asked me to check it, although my vision effect was still building. My suggestions were very beneficial, though, and by session time at 9:05 I realized that not only had my experience gone as "far" as it was going to go, but also that it was on the retreat. By 9:15 the last traces of it were gone and my vision was clear. (There is more to follow; for as this experience waned it was replaced, or led into, an event of a different kind. This one was new to me, and most interesting. Subsequent notes, and Seth himself, explain what transpired as the session progressed. I'll say here that the new effect involved the gradual loss of my ability first to spell, and then to write. . . . (Jane began to speak for Seth at quite a slow pace, in contrast to her faster rate of recent sessions. As the session began I had to make a little bit of an effort to see the page clearly in order to write.) Good evening. ("Good evening, Seth. " (just before the session I had commented on the peaceful evening, which was very warm.) I hope I do not shatter your peace. ("No. ") We will resume dictation. (Pause; one of many.) Consciousness has

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many characteristics, some of course known to you. Many of the characteristics of consciousness, however, are not so apparent, since presently you largely use your own consciousness in such a way that its perceptions appear in quite other than "natural" guises. You are aware of your own consciousness, in other words, through the medium of your own physical mechanism. You are not nearly as aware of your own consciousness when it is not operating primarily through the mediumship of the body, as it does in out-of-body states and some dissociated conditions. (By the time I wrote the last sentence I was aware - again, without being upset - that it was taking me just a little longer than usual to come up with my abbreviations or symbols for such common words as "does, " "as, " and "even. " This action of course should have been automatic. But visual interference was now lifting considerably. (By 9:12 I began to spell an occasional word incorrectly. To show what was happening I'm including, in parentheses after the corrected word, some of the mistakes my notes contain.) The characteristics of consciousness are the same (seme) whether you are in a body or outside of one. The peaks and valleys of consciousness that I mentioned exist to some degree in all consciousness despite the form adopted (adepted) after death (deth). The nature of your consciousness is no different basically (bascially) than it is now, though you may not be aware of many of its characteristics. (I caught myself omitting the word "not".from the last sentence, and was quite aware by now that something was up. More and more I had to make a deliberate effort to get the notes down correctly. In the material below, I couldn't think of some of the symbols I used and had to write the words out.) Now your consciousness is telepathic and clairvoyant, for example, even though you may not realize it. In sleep when (whene) you often presume yourself to be unconscious (unconsious) you may be far more conscious than you are now, but simply using abilities of consciousness that you do not accept as real or valid (valed) in waking (waping) life. You therefore shut (shup) them out of your conscious experience (experiend). Consciousness, yours and mine, is quite independent of both (poth) time and space. And after death you are simply aware of the greater powers of consciousness that exist within you all the time. (9:21. I had a lot of trouble getting the following sentences down. Many of the words were misspelled, some so much so that I crossed them out and quickly

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tried again - with the humorous result that the corrections also contained errors. My vision was by now very clear. (For the first time I conceded to myself that perhaps I ought to ask Seth to slow down, while realizing his pace was slow to begin with. I didn't ask him what was happening. That worthy stared at me through Jane's eyes without a sign that anything unusual might be taking place in the session. . . .) Since they do, of course, you can discover them now and learn to use them. This will directly (dreactly) assist you in after-death (agter) experience. You will not be nearly so startled by the nature of your own reactions (reactone) if you understand beforehand for example that your consciousness not only is not imprisoned by your physical body, but (bud) can create other portions at will. Those who "overidentify" their consciousness with their body can suffer self-created torment (tortment) for no reason, lingering about the body. Indeed, quite the forlorn soul, thinking it has no other place to go. (For "beforehand" in the paragraph above, I wrote "byeborehoune, "then crossed that out and tried twice more. I now made a determined effort to spell correctly and write clearly. It helped. It was something like coming out of a deep sleep and immediately making a strong effort to focus in physical reality.) You are, as I said earlier, a spirit now; and that spirit has a consciousness. The consciousness belongs to the spirit then, but the two are not the same. The spirit may turn its consciousness off and on. By its nature consciousness may flicker and fluctuate, but the spirit does not. I do not particularly like the word "spirit" because of several implications attached to it, but it (ot) suits our purposes in that the word does imply an independence from physical form. Consciousness does not refresh itself in sleep. It is merely turned in another direction. Consciousness does not sleep then in those terms and while it may be turned off it is not like a light. (9:28. The difficulty I had been experiencing with my spelling abruptly returned to an even greater degree. Along with the mi