Psychological Time: How to do it and what to expect

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Over the years of reading the Seth material I’ve explored psychological time with limited success. I also tried meditation. Nothing but a whole lot of thoughts. But for the past few months I’ve been doing it nearly every day without really knowing what to expect and exactly what I was doing it for other than Seth said it was beneficial and that in time it would bring one in touch with the inner senses. While taking a Rick Stack course I began keeping a psy time journal as per his suggestion, and I think Seth suggests it as well because Jane and Rob both kept track of their experiences with psy time.

Here’s what I experienced. Faces and figures of people I don’t know, once in a while someone I do know, it’s fleeting and hard to remember but on occasion I see someone who resonates for some reason like: a young woman with honey coloured, long straight hair, a small feminine face in grainy black and white like a fuzzy TV, her eyes and lips closed, old time Indians (I have native ancestors), an older plump and gleeful man opening a pantry type door. One time I said during psy time ‘Ok, anything will do’ and I saw the quick image of a short, round faced bald man. Sometimes I hear garbled voices, one time a deep rumbly voice that said something unidentifiable but the voice stood out in my mind, the second time a young raspy voice said ‘this is great’. I’ve seen animals: deer being bothered by coyotes, lizard. Strange disjointed things like: a small fuzzy grey dot, a hand or foot wagging or waving. Most often though I just wrestle with a continual flow of thoughts.

At first I thought most of this stuff was just me falling asleep but then I consulted the search engine here on Seth Talks (THANK YOU FOR THIS CHRIS!!!, what an incredibly invaluable tool this is) where I found about 470 references to psychological + time. Of those over half of them related to either just the word psychological or just time but I found over 80 fantastic references to psychological time which I began referencing in my books and am now able to get a sense of what this experience was like for Jane and Rob.

For a great explanation of how to do it go to Seth Speaks, Session 522, near the end of session. Seth doesn’t specifically use the term psychological time in this session but is referring to it according to Rick Stack.

If anyone would like to share their experiences with psy time I would greatly appreciate it.

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Hi Cindy, I rarely post here, but read your post and would be happy to share experiences.

It’s hard for me to narrow down years of various experiences, are there any particular topics (relating to psy time etc) that interest you in particular and I could start there perhaps.

I don’t tend to use labels so much, so whether dreaming, sleeping or waking, experience is all of equal worth to me, however I can use Seth-isms for ease or ref etc.

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Hi Jonny, thanks for the response.

I couldn’t find my psy time list which I found on the search engine here some time ago, but I just located it now. Interestingly Seth says this in the Seth Material

"Do not concentrate on worries or daily trivia that may arise as soon as you block out physical distractions. If such thoughts do come to the foreground of attention, then you are not ready to proceed. First you must get rid of them”

“At a certain point you will feel alert and conscious but very light. Within your mind you may see bright lights. You may hear sounds or voices. Some may be telepathic or clairvoyant messages. Some may simply be subconscious pictures. As you practice, you will learn to tell one from the other.”

So in reading that I realize I’m not really ready to move ahead because my thoughts are still flowing off and on. The thoughts stop when I enter a near asleep phase of what I think is hypnagogia. I see and hear images and sounds and am aware enough to tell myself to remember them. Because I get groggy with a drifting nearly asleep sensation not ‘alert and conscious but very light’ as Seth says, I assume the images and sounds are only hypnagogia. Today I heard ‘I am the lily’ :slight_smile:

I sit up to avoid falling asleep. Yet I still feel like I’m drifting off.

Can I assume that if I ever get rid of the thoughts that the alert and conscious state that Seth mentions above is my first clue that I have entered psy time? Does it feel significantly different enough so that a person is aware their awareness has shifted into psy time?

Thanks Jonny, anything you can share will surely be of value.

Cindy

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Cindy,

I’m interested in the question posed in your topic heading: How to do it. It seems from the reading to be rather important, but I’m afraid I’ve never really gotten the “how to”. You noted “SS p 56”, but I suspect I have a different publication of Seth Speaks, since I’m not seeing it there (I have an older paperback and an original hard cover). Can you give me a Session number???

Like you, I’ve also tried meditation, and while I did experience some briefly interesting moments I just haven’t been able to keep at it. Lazy, I guess. In the meditation I’ve been taught the goal is, in fact, to concentrate on one thing (say, your breathing) to the exclusion of other thoughts, but knowing full well that thoughts will definitely come, and often. The trick here is to “notice” the thought(s) but then move back to the task of concentration on the breath, rather than following the “train” of thought as one normally might. If one is able to “step back” a bit and simply observe the thoughts, the hope would be that we might gain a bit of insight into our mental habits and perhaps be closer to understanding our “beliefs”. (I’m not saying I’ve actually done this – just saying it seems promising : )

Thanks,
Dave

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Dave,

Considering the numerous times that Seth talks about psy time it is clear that it’s an important connection to the inner senses. How close it is to meditation I’m not sure. Rick Stack indicated that mediation and psy time were quite different but didn’t elaborate. Your description of mediation does indeed sound quite different from psy time which it is not so much about uncovering beliefs which are connected to our physical life but is more about connecting to our inner senses. That said I can certainly see the value in using meditation as another tool to uncover beliefs and insight to mental habits.

Seth Speaks, Session 522, near the end of session, p56. In this session Seth is talking about the entity and the soul, physical life as camouflage, and using your inner senses. He doesn’t use the words psychological time which is probably why you didn’t recognize that he was talking about it. I wouldn’t have either had I not taken a Seth course by Rick Stack, Here is the quote:

"The inner senses will allow you to perceive the reality that is independent of physical form. I will ask you all to momentarily forsake your roles therefore, and to try this simple exercise.
…
Now, pretend that you are on a lighted stage, the stage being the room in which you now sit. Close your eyes and pretend that the lights have gone out, the setting has disappeared and you are alone.

Everything is dark. Be quiet. Imagine as vividly as you can the existence of inner senses. For now pretend that they correspond to your physical ones. Clear from your mind all thoughts and worries. Be receptive. Very gently listen, not to physical sounds but to sounds that come through the inner senses.

Images may begin to appear. Accept them as sights quite as valid as those you see physically. Pretend that there is an inner world, and that it will be revealed to you as you learn to perceive it with these inner senses.

Pretend that you have been blind to this world all your life, and are now slowly gaining sight within it. Do not judge the whole inner world by the disjointed images that you may at first perceive, or by the sounds that you may at first hear, for you will still be using your inner senses quite imperfectly.

Do this simple exercise for a few moments before sleep or in the resting state. It may also be done even in the midst of an ordinary task that does not take all of your attention.

You will simply be learning to focus in a new dimension of awareness, taking quick snapshots, as it were, in a strange environment. Remember that you will only be perceiving snatches. Simply accept them, but do not attempt to make any overall judgments or interpretations at this stage.
Ten minutes a day to begin with is quite sufficient."

If you check out these quotes on the search engine here http://search.sethtalks.com/q/psychological+time/ you’ll see an incredible number of references to psy time. Out of about 479 hits for psychological and time there are approximately 80 for psychological time. It did give me some insight but I’d sure like to hear other people’s experiences with it. I’m currently doing it nearly every day, sometimes taking the weekend off. Have you tried it Dave or just the meditation?

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Cindy – Great! Thanks for getting that Session number to me. (The passages you quote are on page 69 in my book, a paperback published in 1974). So… I found the passages and I’ve also been checking out the search results. Lots to consider! I’ve loved reading the Seth books over the years, often feeling positively thrilled by the ideas and Seth’s soaring presentation of them. I certainly feel that just reading and being open to the material has been beneficial for me, but… I’ve never really “studied” it or worked at specifically incorporating the concepts into my daily life. Maybe I’m ready to give that a try now.

Thanks again for your response.
Dave

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You’re welcome Dave. I realize now that different printings of the book will be in different sizes which will affect page length and thus page numbers. The sessions are definitely a better way to go. I agree that in the reading there are automatic benefits to our lives, a simple adjustment in perspective can make quite a difference but in doing the work Seth suggests huge changes can occur, sometimes they are only evident over time and sometimes the changes are swift and obvious. If you get any results with psy time let me know!

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Hello CIndy & All,

To add to the discussion, here, in my words, is what Seth Practitioner, Virginia Bennett, says about her 40 years of Psy-Time experience, She discovered that, for her, the time/space in psytime or between waking and sleep could be expanded. She learned to focus her consciousness in that rich environment until the lines blurred between wake and sleep. She gave up worrying about falling asleep and played with those voices, faces, or fuzzy gray dots. I found that idea really helpful to get rid of my “am I doing it right?” questions.

Another big help to me was the realization that my imagination was valid. My dismissive belief of ‘it’s JUST my imagination’ kept me from experiencing the rich hidden emotion and complexity of what I was seeing. Some of those faces have yielded whole narratives once I got free of the idea that imagination didn’t mean anything. How many times have you heard…“Oh it is JUST your imagination!” and felt like the experience was less than real?

At first, I felt I was somehow cheating if I saw a hypnagogic face and then my ever present talking mind started adding the words. But once I learned how to let all those channels; words/imagery/feelings go their own way, eventually they began to braid together in some amazing beautiful ways. I would try and bring any little thing back into everyday life and expand it. I often just heard someone’s name in that state. So if I remembered it later, I might look it up on Google, (never got a hit) or I would spin out a tale of their possible life. Or if I saw structures or patterns I might try and draw them, even if they seemed to have no meaning. I feel like these little acknowledgements helped expand and validate psytime space for me.

I guess it comes down to giving myself up to the spirit of play. I like to tap into that feeling of complete immersion, like the imaginative worlds we spun as kids playing on warm summer nights. I like to imagine the exuberance of dolphins playing in the waves, or when seeing a big screen movie was a special treat. I still tend to want some profound meaning to appear with my explorations, but what I have found over practice is that the more I just allow myself to play, the deepening understanding begins to show throughout my life in a myriad of small and profound ways.

In spirit - liza

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Dear Liza,

This was incredibly helpful!!

When I first started seeing the faces and voices I was excited thinking that something interesting was happening. Then someone mentioned hypnagogic images and I disregarded what I had seen and heard, yet they were compelling to me and I’ve never forgotten them.

I love the idea of playing around with the visuals and sounds and I’ll definitely be looking at them in a whole new way now. Also what you say about allowing yourself to play, I try way too hard.

Your last sentence “but what I have found over practice is that the more I just allow myself to play, the deepening understanding begins to show throughout my life in a myriad of small and profound ways.” I think that’s exactly what Seth was wanting us to achieve.

Thanks so much for sharing this, I so appreciate it, it really clarifies a lot for me.

Cindy

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Dear CIndy,

So glad it was helpful. Enjoy with exuberance!

liza

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Liza,

I forgot to ask. What is your method of entering psy time? Do you use Seth’s lighted stage procedure as outlined in Seth Speaks in the session mentioned in my post?

I would be interested in reading or hearing more about Virginia’s experiences with psy time. Would you mind sharing how you obtained that info, book, video, or recorded conference?

Cindy

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Cindy,

Dr. Virginia Bennett is a psychologist who uses Sethian concepts in her practice in Berkeley, California. She has been a presenter at the Seth Online Conferences 2016 and 2017. My paraphrasing of her psytime experiences comes from my notes from her conference sessions.
http://drvirginiabennett.com

As far as accessing the 2017 conference sessions, they are still available for a price, from the Seth Bookstore. https://sethcenter.com/. I am not sure if they will do a 2018 conference, but if they do, it is awesome and totally worth it. Imagine a whole week inspired and immersed in Seth, listening and talking to other kindred souls!

As far as how I access psytime, the short answer is any way I can. The theater worked for awhile until I got stuck looking at an empty stage. Jane Roberts used to look at objects and then try to imagine what they might be in a different reality. I think she once had an experience where tree branches out her window became optic nerves. I might have this wrong, but you get the idea. Jane’s own books are a great resource for how to integrate the Seth Material into your experiences.

I do have things that have been more successful for me than others. I am sorry I don’t have more time right now to write anything up, I am about to leave on a trip for a couple of weeks. I would love to continue this conversation when I return. Maybe other people would share their techniques and we could all try new things. And since you are hypnagogically blessed, explore that gift with joy & abandon!

I am enjoying this conversation, thank you.
liza

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Thank you Liza!!

I did attend the conference which was fantastic. I’ve found myself going back to listen again and it’s odd that I missed her talk, will definitely listen to Virginia’s session next.

It’s helpful to know that there are plenty of ways to approach psy time and I look forward to hearing anything you wish to share when you return from your trip. In the meantime I will be looking at my delightfully strange hypnagogic images and messages with new interest!

Enjoy your trip and thanks again, I so appreciate your input.

Cindy

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Thank you, liza. “Small and profound ways”. I like it. Or, in the words of the songwriter, “So simple and so huge”.

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I rarely post online, but here goes…I discovered Seth about four months ago, just found this site, and gave the theater a try last night.

I don’t know how asleep I was vs psy time, but I saw an injured arm, frightening for a moment. Then I realized it was an injury not a horror film. That passed and I got a sentence, that at the time, seemed important to remember exactly–“All I want is an hour of time in which space passes for madness.”–so I wrote it down.

I don’t know what it means if anything but made me think of “I am the lily.” :slightly_smiling_face:

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Well that’s certainly an interesting phrase to year KJKY. Can’t imagine what that means but how wonderful that you were able to experience something interesting so quickly, it was not that way for me for a long time. And even now I have more sessions than not where it’s just my own to-do list churning. Seth says that psy-time is valuable on a number of levels so I persist.

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i’m glad you asked this question. i have just started the early sessions and seth references it already. In book 2,i’m like where is it?

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Elaina, Seth mentions it so many times. This website also has a search function, I did a search for ‘psychological time’ and got 155 results for psy time. Each once gives the book and session in which it can be found. http://search.sethtalks.com/q/‘psychological+time’.

Also Seth refers to it in his other books but does not always call it psy time. For a great explanation of how to do it go to Seth Speaks, Session 522, near the end of session. Seth doesn’t specifically use the term psychological time in this session but is referring to it according to Rick Stack (former student of Jane’s classes)

He also says this in The Seth Material. "Do not concentrate on worries or daily trivia that may arise as soon as you block out physical distractions. If such thoughts do come to the foreground of attention, then you are not ready to proceed. First you must get rid of them”

“At a certain point you will feel alert and conscious but very light. Within your mind you may see bright lights. You may hear sounds or voices. Some may be telepathic or clairvoyant messages. Some may simply be subconscious pictures. As you practice, you will learn to tell one from the other.”

If you read through this thread you’ll see some other quotes regarding psy time.

Good luck with your explorations Elaina.

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thank you. i have decided to focus on pay time since this thread. what a surprise to get you email. Very happy and grateful to you.

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You’re very, very welcome Elaina. And please do share your experiences with us. What is valuable for one is often valuable for many.