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The Nature of Personal Reality: A Seth Book
The Nature of Personal A Seth Jane The Nature of Personal A Seth Bantam FIRST First Edition Thus, 8th Printing (1980). Not price-clipped. Published by Bantam Books, 1978. 12mo. Paperback. Book is very good. Covers have some light shelf wear. Seller 348988 Pulp Paperbacks
454 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1974
About the author
Jane Roberts
307 books414 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Roberts was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. After attending public schools, she attended Skidmore College. She wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children’s literature, 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.
Roberts was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. After attending public schools, she attended Skidmore College. She wrote in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, children’s literature, 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
June 29, 2008
You know the old question: if you were on an island and could only have one book, which would it be? For me, THE NATURE OF PERSONAL REALITY. I've been studying all manner of faith and religion for years, and this book and the work of Jane Roberts and Seth is the cornerstone of my personal belief system.
October 7, 2012
I'm on my third copy of this book since the mid-1980s. My second copy - beat up, dog-eared, and missing its cover - is full of highlighted sections. The earlier editions I've read didn't include the "practical techniques" stuff in the title. Because the information presented in this book was "channeled" through Jane Roberts, I suppose a lot of people dismissed it as crap. I never had a problem with it because the concepts of how our beliefs create our reality are so thoroughly explained, making perfect sense to me.
It may interest some of you to know that Richard Bach and his editor, Eleanor Friede, sat in on some of Jane Robert's channeled sessions with "Seth" in the summer of 1972. The concepts and characters presented in his books "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and especially "Illusions" were unquestionably inspired by what he learned in those sessions.
It may interest some of you to know that Richard Bach and his editor, Eleanor Friede, sat in on some of Jane Robert's channeled sessions with "Seth" in the summer of 1972. The concepts and characters presented in his books "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" and especially "Illusions" were unquestionably inspired by what he learned in those sessions.
January 18, 2010
This is (was?) the single most important book in my life because it came to me when I was a teenager and gave me the idea of the possibility of becoming alive. It is filled with odd sounding exercises that, when done, confirm the veracity of the 'far out' ideas presented by Seth. Once read, the ideas here changed forever and for the better, how I perceived, and how I was able to perceive, life.
November 4, 2013
If I could buy everyone on the planet one book — it would be this one! It is the "how to" create your ideal reality guide. We have the power of gods, but much of what we are contributing to has already been created. Our world is mostly—second hand—physical solid mass. A mass creation stays in place by our attention to it, rather than using our imagination to create. Seth explains all creation —springs up— from within us.
One of the tips given by Seth was to built a "mental city" orbiting outside of Earth's gravitational pull, which speeds up the enhancement of the creation, by creating without having to go through matter. I built the city above my son's bar in Chico, California with the goal of enhancing his reality. I go there every day to meditate on an ideal reality. I do this by "believing in what I cannot see".
I focus hard, then rest for a fortnight, (14 day) repeating. This creates a WAVE in the quantum field, which creates what we call our physical reality.
I named the quantum city after my son, "Michael's Quantum City." It orbits with Earth. I gave it to my son as a Christmas gift. Can you imagine—his face when I handed him an Invisible Quantum City—above his night club. Below is the gift description. It is open for anyone to meditate in.
Tonight, one year later I re-ordered "The Nature of Personal Reality" to take on a trip to Italy with my husband. We are going to a small village in Latina. Each time I re-read this book I learn something new, like this quote, "Perfection is a closed in box". I am not looking for perfection, but rather making sure that each step I take is ideally suited for the outcome I wish to achieve.
I cried when the book was over…and can't wait to read it again, and again, like visiting old friends. :)
I have a Hypnotherapy Practice in Doylestown PA, 2 hours from NYC, I utilize the Seth Material, and my session is usually 2-3 hours and resolves life long issues in just one session. If you are interested in this amazing quantum physics experience, check it out here at https://doylestownhypnosis.com/ or call me for a free phone consultation to hear more about it 215-840-0684, tell me you found me through this review and I will be ticked!
I also wrote a book about my wild adventures dating and looking for God, LOL! You'll love it, check it out "From Hollywood to God" on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/From-Hollywood-...
Love Kelly Granite Enck, Hypnotherapist, and Adventurer of the Mind! Let's be friends!
One of the tips given by Seth was to built a "mental city" orbiting outside of Earth's gravitational pull, which speeds up the enhancement of the creation, by creating without having to go through matter. I built the city above my son's bar in Chico, California with the goal of enhancing his reality. I go there every day to meditate on an ideal reality. I do this by "believing in what I cannot see".
I focus hard, then rest for a fortnight, (14 day) repeating. This creates a WAVE in the quantum field, which creates what we call our physical reality.
I named the quantum city after my son, "Michael's Quantum City." It orbits with Earth. I gave it to my son as a Christmas gift. Can you imagine—his face when I handed him an Invisible Quantum City—above his night club. Below is the gift description. It is open for anyone to meditate in.
Tonight, one year later I re-ordered "The Nature of Personal Reality" to take on a trip to Italy with my husband. We are going to a small village in Latina. Each time I re-read this book I learn something new, like this quote, "Perfection is a closed in box". I am not looking for perfection, but rather making sure that each step I take is ideally suited for the outcome I wish to achieve.
I cried when the book was over…and can't wait to read it again, and again, like visiting old friends. :)
I have a Hypnotherapy Practice in Doylestown PA, 2 hours from NYC, I utilize the Seth Material, and my session is usually 2-3 hours and resolves life long issues in just one session. If you are interested in this amazing quantum physics experience, check it out here at https://doylestownhypnosis.com/ or call me for a free phone consultation to hear more about it 215-840-0684, tell me you found me through this review and I will be ticked!
I also wrote a book about my wild adventures dating and looking for God, LOL! You'll love it, check it out "From Hollywood to God" on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/From-Hollywood-...
Love Kelly Granite Enck, Hypnotherapist, and Adventurer of the Mind! Let's be friends!
January 30, 2008
Hard to discuss this book without being perceived as a loon. Suffice it to say that this book, along with Seth Speaks, really changed my worldview on...everything. It's a difficult read but one I highly recommend for those with an open mind and a desire to understand the true reality of physical reality. 'nuff said!
October 13, 2008
One of the most important books of the century... or any other. Trust me.
April 12, 2012
This was the book that made the world make sense for me. When I was first introduced to the spiritual journey this was the first book I was given and it changed everything.
October 3, 2013
I've had to read this over and over again to GET it.I think it will be a book that I will have to continue to read as I mature and will get more out of it as I grow in my spirit.
September 18, 2010
Ok, I think I may have said this about another book, but if you were to read just one book, this is it! lol. I loved it. It was so rich and enlightening with so much depth on the nature of personal reality, I wouldn't even know where to start describing it. It is hard to believe that it was all written in its final draft. It was really "meaty" with lots to chew on which made it hard for me to get through. There was just so much to think about. I highly recommend it if you can handle "chewing" your books.
May 17, 2017
This is one of the best metaphysical books I've ever read. It took me over 2 months to read it because I'd go to a coffee shop to read it, but I'd almost invariably read one or two or three pages then have to stop and reflect on it, how it applied to me, how it explained my past, what new possible future avenues it opened for me. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
July 18, 2012
Reading this book sharpened my isolated view of reality to the point where I've begun to question the meaning of small objects in the periphery of daily life. Not as comprehensive as Seth Speaks, but definitely a necessary read. Buy it. Read it (pencil in hand).
October 13, 2011
I first read this when I was in my 20s, and it blew me away. It changed the way I looked at everything.
February 10, 2013
This book has been a lifelong companion.
October 25, 2012
You can't come up with a better description of this book than the subtitle: "Specific, practical techniques for solving everyday problems and enriching the life you know."
March 25, 2019
The book is very long so it’s taken me a long time to get through, but it has never been a chore, every page is a pleasure of information to be absorbed. There have also been many, many pauses for reflection. As with the other Seth book I’ve read, I’ve had a lot of psychic experiences during the time I’ve been reading it and they are all powerful and meaningful and bring me along my journey. I really enjoy the three-character interplay of the Seth Books; there is Seth who is being channelled, there is Jane/Ruburt who is channelling Seth, and there is Robert/Joseph taking the notes. It could be presumed that this Seth book would be simply the book that Seth would write, but it really isn’t. There is a strong group feeling to the material, each person has their own character and they are very different, they are three directions meeting together to apex in the production of the book.
I know that there are going to people who hear that this book is written by an entity being channelled through a woman and the words being recorded as notes by her husband, that some people are going to instantly dismiss anything said about it and no doubt exclaim ‘what a load of old mumbo jumbo, we live in the “real” world.’ Well to them I say ‘Mmm, that real world that you believe in so much, how’s that workin’ out for ya? How’s it working out for all of us on the planet?’ I say let’s be open minded, expand our horizons and create a new “real” world.
I have done a lot of personal work while I have been reading ‘The Nature of Personal Reality’. Generally whatever book I read brings out a lot of inner feelings and makes me contemplate or re-evaluate what I think about things. This is never so enjoyable as when I’m reading a Seth book. It can be painful going over your beliefs and being honest with yourself, but I really don’t find the process so when guided by a Seth book, it is always refreshing and positive and not remotely corny!
Seth is not a religion or a cult, and there is absolutely no desire from it to be such a thing. It is a guide, a tool to use on your own personal journey, a method for unpicking the lock to your inner kingdom; and when used carefully I really feel that there is nothing better. If there is, I haven’t found it yet anyway.
I guess the two most important things to take from the book are ‘you form your own reality – there are no exceptions’ and if you want to make changes to your reality then ‘the point of power is in the present’ These two phrases alone are clearly nowhere near thorough enough explanations, and some people may even be offended by them. So, if you are interested in changing one area, or all of your life, or you want to understand how to take more control of one area, or all of your life – You need to read the book!
In conclusion. This is the best book I’ve ever read, non-fiction certainly. The best. It’s so good I’m finding it really difficult to find the words to describe it adequately. It’s changed my life (in a good way), that’s certainly how I feel right now. It is so well articulated that trying to describe it seems like boxing it or watering it down or doing it some other sort of injustice.
I was disappointed when this book came to an end, but also satisfied. I highly recommend it to anyone open-minded enough to want to expand their minds, their consciousness and their experience – and who doesn’t want to do that!
You can watch my video review of this great book here: https://youtu.be/8lw6nCXuez4
I know that there are going to people who hear that this book is written by an entity being channelled through a woman and the words being recorded as notes by her husband, that some people are going to instantly dismiss anything said about it and no doubt exclaim ‘what a load of old mumbo jumbo, we live in the “real” world.’ Well to them I say ‘Mmm, that real world that you believe in so much, how’s that workin’ out for ya? How’s it working out for all of us on the planet?’ I say let’s be open minded, expand our horizons and create a new “real” world.
I have done a lot of personal work while I have been reading ‘The Nature of Personal Reality’. Generally whatever book I read brings out a lot of inner feelings and makes me contemplate or re-evaluate what I think about things. This is never so enjoyable as when I’m reading a Seth book. It can be painful going over your beliefs and being honest with yourself, but I really don’t find the process so when guided by a Seth book, it is always refreshing and positive and not remotely corny!
Seth is not a religion or a cult, and there is absolutely no desire from it to be such a thing. It is a guide, a tool to use on your own personal journey, a method for unpicking the lock to your inner kingdom; and when used carefully I really feel that there is nothing better. If there is, I haven’t found it yet anyway.
I guess the two most important things to take from the book are ‘you form your own reality – there are no exceptions’ and if you want to make changes to your reality then ‘the point of power is in the present’ These two phrases alone are clearly nowhere near thorough enough explanations, and some people may even be offended by them. So, if you are interested in changing one area, or all of your life, or you want to understand how to take more control of one area, or all of your life – You need to read the book!
In conclusion. This is the best book I’ve ever read, non-fiction certainly. The best. It’s so good I’m finding it really difficult to find the words to describe it adequately. It’s changed my life (in a good way), that’s certainly how I feel right now. It is so well articulated that trying to describe it seems like boxing it or watering it down or doing it some other sort of injustice.
I was disappointed when this book came to an end, but also satisfied. I highly recommend it to anyone open-minded enough to want to expand their minds, their consciousness and their experience – and who doesn’t want to do that!
You can watch my video review of this great book here: https://youtu.be/8lw6nCXuez4
June 9, 2017
I am sorry I couldn't take this seriously, because anything that happens spiritually in a book where the author has taken drugs or have mental health problems, makes me wonder if this is all actually an illusion of a sick mind. Friends recommended this book as helping them, but since some of them have read this book, I think they have changed to become a little more extreme,,, some have even taken drugs thinking that it helps them, based on this authors experience... I do not recommend this book personally.
November 4, 2008
This is another interesting book of the Seth series which gets quite deep in describing aspects of our consciousness. It is not a light read and is in fact a book I can only read in small doses, but it is pretty incredible nonetheless. This is the type of book that you can flip to any page and find something profound.
September 27, 2016
Uh, after a few pages I can tell this is not my type of book. The author dictates the book to her husband while a personality within her she calls "Seth" speaks to her. A little too psychedelic for me. I'm sure there must be some value to others, but my narrow mindedness is going to pass on this book.
July 29, 2012
I read this book twenty- five years ago and I am rereading it. It was and is a marvelous piece of writing. The author seems to move aside and let the entity Seath speak through her and the voice is clear.
June 26, 2008
Techniques to create the reality I want and desire.
October 22, 2008
Another great Seth book. Really good for information on the nature of reality.
February 25, 2010
One of the best books I have ever read...The exercises work!
July 20, 2010
The wisdom imparted in this book is definitely a keeper ~ and not just in this lifetime.
January 7, 2011
One of the best Seth books
February 11, 2011
This is one of my favorite Seth books!
May 26, 2013
This book made me think about life differently. I found it uplifting and inspiring. I couldn't read it quickly; I had to stop often to think about what I was reading and how I felt about it.
August 17, 2016
This book informed my thinking a lot recently, particular the chapters on creating new beliefs. I started seeing things around me through the lens of Seth’s teachings, for example, how others’ beliefs in the difficulty of something in life are actually inviting and reinforcing that difficulty’s reality, and how in other cases deficient self-worth could manifest as health trouble. I spent time doing the visioning practices to create new fundamental beliefs for myself, which seems to have worked well; I even accelerated the process of new-belief-installation itself by putting in a belief about that. I.e., “I can rapidly change my beliefs...” :) Unfortunately I wasn’t able to manifest a cure for my cold, but the perspective shift did help me enjoy it more.
I also had some good discussions with friends centered on ideas of how beliefs affect reality, and how mistaken/unexamined beliefs we've taken in can affect us negatively. There are some common ones. For example: I did X, and about the same time, another person did Y, or else Z happened. Therefore, my egoic mind concluded that Y or Z was because of me. It’s so easy to take things personally! Another example which a friend brought up from her own belief investigation: There’s the idea that “Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people.” Therefore, if bad things happen to me, then I must be a bad person. How many of us have fallen for that one?
The chapters focusing on the above ideas (15 and 16) alone are worth the price of reading of the whole book and can be read independently, too. Another beneficial technique is to remind myself and meditate on, that as Seth says, “The Present is the Point of Power”. It's a self-empowering meta-thought, a reminder that we’re choosing the thoughts from which our reality itself is constructed.
Maybe the reading would have been smoother as a stand-alone without the inter-session commentary by Robert? But I started appreciating this layer. It grounds the Seth reality within a context, or a portal through which Seth’s book is made to feel more real. We can imagine sitting there and observing the sessions, and Seth also comments on then-current events. Finally, perhaps you’ll need to suspend your disbelief at times when confronting ideas about how far we’ve believed ourselves into certain predicaments. (E.g., the commentary on health foods and medical practice.) This is well worth doing as it allows the whole work to come into focus.
I often think of this book when I observe with amusement how wheat gluten has become such a marketing scapegoat these days.
I also had some good discussions with friends centered on ideas of how beliefs affect reality, and how mistaken/unexamined beliefs we've taken in can affect us negatively. There are some common ones. For example: I did X, and about the same time, another person did Y, or else Z happened. Therefore, my egoic mind concluded that Y or Z was because of me. It’s so easy to take things personally! Another example which a friend brought up from her own belief investigation: There’s the idea that “Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people.” Therefore, if bad things happen to me, then I must be a bad person. How many of us have fallen for that one?
The chapters focusing on the above ideas (15 and 16) alone are worth the price of reading of the whole book and can be read independently, too. Another beneficial technique is to remind myself and meditate on, that as Seth says, “The Present is the Point of Power”. It's a self-empowering meta-thought, a reminder that we’re choosing the thoughts from which our reality itself is constructed.
Maybe the reading would have been smoother as a stand-alone without the inter-session commentary by Robert? But I started appreciating this layer. It grounds the Seth reality within a context, or a portal through which Seth’s book is made to feel more real. We can imagine sitting there and observing the sessions, and Seth also comments on then-current events. Finally, perhaps you’ll need to suspend your disbelief at times when confronting ideas about how far we’ve believed ourselves into certain predicaments. (E.g., the commentary on health foods and medical practice.) This is well worth doing as it allows the whole work to come into focus.
I often think of this book when I observe with amusement how wheat gluten has become such a marketing scapegoat these days.
June 26, 2025
"Perfection is not being, for all being is in a state of becoming."
This book is a practice of intuition rather than intellect and in the most harmonious of cases, they work together to understand the multi-dimensional concepts within this book. Its completely reality-bending and there were so many times my intellect crossed its arms and stopped my brain in its tracks because none of it was fitting into the boxes we had previously built. We were now exploring the space outside of them and what a scary and liberating time its been.
This is the third and -at the moment- last book I will read by Seth as I need to take a step back into reality and try to find a practical place for this all(its already finding it) instead of my other idea which is to find a loin cloth and become a prophet of Seth's teachings and potentially get myself locked in a psych ward.
I've felt the need to search for Truth(my little kid brain called it 'fairness') since i was so so so very small and I remember it as a physical sensation, coming from the deep core of my chest but it grew painful as I aged and so I dulled the flame to an ember in an act of self-preservation. The Great Big Emptiness took its place as my energy ran dry.. all that navigated me for those years was a compass pointing to the feel good buttons: alcohol, drugs and whatever else could artificially give me back that warmth but this time without the pain. To have come back to this search in all its child-like purity is so incredible!!! I look back and see the thread thats lead me here and feel so deeply grateful that little Danny kept a strong grip and held on. I used to feel so much shame looking back at little me, the one I felt ruined my life but I see now her validity and strength. I am in the best form I have ever been and maybe thats why I was truly ready for this book at this very moment in time. The power is in the present :)
I love love and I truly, to my core, believe in the inner self and all its wisdom being accessible to us if we just tune in.
I'm forever grateful for my occult-loving ex-roommate David for introducing me to Jane Roberts.
This book is a practice of intuition rather than intellect and in the most harmonious of cases, they work together to understand the multi-dimensional concepts within this book. Its completely reality-bending and there were so many times my intellect crossed its arms and stopped my brain in its tracks because none of it was fitting into the boxes we had previously built. We were now exploring the space outside of them and what a scary and liberating time its been.
This is the third and -at the moment- last book I will read by Seth as I need to take a step back into reality and try to find a practical place for this all(its already finding it) instead of my other idea which is to find a loin cloth and become a prophet of Seth's teachings and potentially get myself locked in a psych ward.
I've felt the need to search for Truth(my little kid brain called it 'fairness') since i was so so so very small and I remember it as a physical sensation, coming from the deep core of my chest but it grew painful as I aged and so I dulled the flame to an ember in an act of self-preservation. The Great Big Emptiness took its place as my energy ran dry.. all that navigated me for those years was a compass pointing to the feel good buttons: alcohol, drugs and whatever else could artificially give me back that warmth but this time without the pain. To have come back to this search in all its child-like purity is so incredible!!! I look back and see the thread thats lead me here and feel so deeply grateful that little Danny kept a strong grip and held on. I used to feel so much shame looking back at little me, the one I felt ruined my life but I see now her validity and strength. I am in the best form I have ever been and maybe thats why I was truly ready for this book at this very moment in time. The power is in the present :)
I love love and I truly, to my core, believe in the inner self and all its wisdom being accessible to us if we just tune in.
I'm forever grateful for my occult-loving ex-roommate David for introducing me to Jane Roberts.
March 8, 2012
This book just was not for me. It dragged on and on and on, and I clearly remember updating my reading status at one point with "like dreading murky waters".
Part of the fault why I didn't like the book is of course mine. I knew this was a chanelled book and I knew where my stance is on such phenomena (i.e. firmly on the ground with both of my feet), yet from time to time I find myself reading channeled books
, or books about channeled information
. While I found RA robotic but interesting, Seth is just unbearable to read.
The fact that the book is presented in a schizophrenic way doesn't help the reader one bit. The flow of the information.... eh..."information" is constantly disrupted with notes, additions, footnotes, descriptions of environment, random phone calls, chats outside of channel, visitations, random notes on current time and smoking oh.. and cats.. musn't forget the cats etc. It's positively crazy and so disruptive to the flow!!! At first it was fun. It kind of read like a movie where you'd get the description of action and then the dialogue (erm..."information"). But it quickly became a disabling handicap.
The book should have been released PURELY as the channelled material, cleaned up for good flow of information. A separate issue, with all these notes upon notes should have been released as an annotated copy for true fans of Seth.
Gah, no more Seth for me. Ever.
Part of the fault why I didn't like the book is of course mine. I knew this was a chanelled book and I knew where my stance is on such phenomena (i.e. firmly on the ground with both of my feet), yet from time to time I find myself reading channeled books
, or books about channeled information
. While I found RA robotic but interesting, Seth is just unbearable to read.The fact that the book is presented in a schizophrenic way doesn't help the reader one bit. The flow of the information.... eh..."information" is constantly disrupted with notes, additions, footnotes, descriptions of environment, random phone calls, chats outside of channel, visitations, random notes on current time and smoking oh.. and cats.. musn't forget the cats etc. It's positively crazy and so disruptive to the flow!!! At first it was fun. It kind of read like a movie where you'd get the description of action and then the dialogue (erm..."information"). But it quickly became a disabling handicap.
The book should have been released PURELY as the channelled material, cleaned up for good flow of information. A separate issue, with all these notes upon notes should have been released as an annotated copy for true fans of Seth.
Gah, no more Seth for me. Ever.
June 23, 2018
This book is actually life changing. Throughout the entire book, I did not establish if I really believed Jane Roberts was being channeled by an inter-dimensional being or not. Either way it does not really matter, the book has great material on how to channel your true self. This book describes how to look at life in a whole new way by using your own true being to make the best version of yourself possible. Seth/Jane talk about the human nature and how we created the systems that we do. The main themes of the entire book are that “you create your own reality” and “the point of power is the present.” There are really inspirational messages like that all throughout the book and it is overall just an uplifting read. I read this book really slowly in order to take time to process and journal about topics that I really enjoyed. Over the past year, I gained a different perspective on life from it by realizing that we choose and create every situation in our lives and that is really a very powerful statement. Throughout my life, I plan to pick this book up to enjoy all of the knowledge it has to share about loving yourself and being true to who you are. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking some advice about life, but as Seth/Jane would say all of the answers you need are within you!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews