Seth: “You create your own reality!”
Yes, but can you really be, do and have anything you want like “The Secret” claims?
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Way back in 1980, I started to read some of the Seth books, which were channeled by Jane Roberts. I found Seth to be wise, insightful, compassionate and humorous. I quickly felt comfortable with his refreshing ideas and applied the material to my life as best I could.
My inspiration for this essay comes not only from Seth, but also from Bashar, as channeled by Darryl Anka. And I will cover some important Buddhist and Daoist principles as I learned them from my mentor, Timothy Conway. This broad perspective will help us understand this important topic.
Seth and Bashar offer compatible views about the creative process. Seth often joyously proclaimed, “You create your own reality!” Bashar offers us the idea that your beliefs are the seeds that create your emotional state of being and these two things then work together with your actions to create the circumstances that arise all around you. Those circumstances are best understood as a reflection of your beliefs, emotions and actions. Once you understand this, you will stop trying to improve your life by only focusing on your outer circumstances.
Since your core beliefs are at the beginning of this creative process, all effective change will start there. If you desire a more joyous state of being, you must drop the core beliefs that are preventing this joy from arising and adopt beliefs that allow you to be happy right now. Then you will take wholesome (unselfish) actions that correspond to these new beliefs.
And here is one more very important point: You cannot just create anything you want. The specific outer circumstances of the future are always unknown.
This is true even though all outer circumstances are just a reflection of your core beliefs, emotions and actions. For example, if you believe that you are not good enough to be loved, you will feel unloved and your examination of your circumstances will seem to verify this belief. Yet even if you do believe that you are good enough to be loved, you still will not be able to dictate that certain people love you in the way that you want. But you will now be open to the love that God will bring you through the kindness of some of the people around you, perhaps in ways that you did not even expect. You will now have the experience of living in a loving world. What a profound shift!
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So the universe is not your personal mail order catalog simply waiting for you to clearly make up your mind and place your order as some people have claimed. This is not about creating specific outer circumstances so that you can then become happy. If you are not happy most of the time, then you must first change the core beliefs that are preventing you from being happy right now.
Your most natural state of being is the one filled with joy and peace. Think about that for a while. And notice that it takes no effort to simply be in your natural state. When you let go of fear, this is what you relax into. And in a very beautiful way, this is the optimum state for God’s love to flow through. It is easier for a happy person to be a loving person.
At its deepest level, this is about releasing limiting beliefs such as “I am not good enough to be loved” or “I don’t fit into this world” and embracing the core beliefs that you are good enough to be loved and that you do fit into this world beautifully. This allows you to be open to the changes that God’s love, wisdom and power will bring you.
As your trust in God grows, you will discover that peace and joy are always available to you, no matter what your circumstances are. This recognition gives you the freedom to comfortably put your values of caring and sharing into action with a spontaneous aliveness that you have not known before. How beautiful is that?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not pushing back on the ideas offered in The Secret and other popular books in order to make you go back to the conventional approach of trying to improve your life by working directly on your outer conditions. Instead, I am inviting you to move farther down the path to a deeper wisdom.
I am sure that you have noticed by now that you cannot just create anything you want. Are you ready to be honest about that? The process of spiritual liberation does not culminate in the power to create whatever you want. Liberation means that you are free of all selfish and self-centered desires and that you clearly understand that your emotional state of being is your own choice in every moment. This is entirely up to you. All outer conditions are completely powerless in every way. You are never a victim of anything or anyone even though it might seem like that has been the case many times before.
Although I don’t think that you can be, do and have anything you want in this lifetime, the good news is that you can still live a happy and fulfilling life in your own unique way without getting everything you want. What a relief! And you can dwell in this ever-present divine peace, love and joy that is so wholesome and natural. If you are open to a deeper understanding of this important subject, then you are ready to make some significant progress and this starts by choosing new, wholesome core beliefs.
Seth’s Prime Belief and Some Affirmations
First, let’s consider Seth’s suggested prime belief:
I am a worthy and deserving person.
Notice that this is an open belief about receiving continuous support. It does not focus on any specific outer conditions, which could only be stated as a limited or closed idea.
The shift from thinking “I am not good enough to be loved” or “I don’t fit into the world” to an open, receptive posture for the love and support from the ever-present divine power without any specific expectation is the most important shift in core beliefs that most people can make.
This is more about removing blockages than it is about pursuing specific outer circumstances.
Here are a few affirmations that I use to do this:
I, Thomas, joyfully fit into the world beautifully.
I, Thomas, open to and receive the continuous support of God’s infinite love and power.
I, Thomas, joyfully step forward and receive all that is good for me in harmony with everyone.
I, Thomas, wake up to the dream, let go of worry and fear, and allow God’s love to flow through me in miraculous ways.
I, Thomas, receive clear guidance and inspiration now.
Seth’s Exercise – Embracing Wholesome Core Beliefs
Seth’s exercise for embracing wholesome core beliefs is so simple that it might surprise you and it only takes about five or ten minutes a day. You can certainly do this.
Before Seth presents this exercise, he talks about natural hypnosis and he points out that we have all been hypnotized into a certain way of thinking about ourselves, our world and how we fit into it. This happens throughout our lives yet Bashar points out that much of our belief system is in place by the time we turn three. That surprised me. He says that we start telepathically seeking the approval of our parents even before our birth. The influence of our teachers and the peer pressure from our friends and the popular culture also come into play. Our attitudes and values often mimic what’s in hit songs, popular movies, hip TV shows and even the slick advertising that makes those shows possible. Not all of this is coherent and we do our best to sort it all out in our own unique way. Notice that even brothers and sisters can develop completely different belief systems.
Once our belief system is in place, most of us reinforce it by constantly hypnotizing ourselves with our habitual thoughts and corresponding actions that spring from the core beliefs that we have chosen. Both the thoughts and the reinforcing actions play essential roles in this continuous process of self-hypnosis. This is why we will use both thoughts and actions to replace our unwholesome beliefs with wholesome ones.
So here’s the exercise. It comes from Chapter 16 of Seth’s book, The Nature of Personal Reality.
For no more than ten minutes a day, concentrate your attention as vividly as possible on one simple statement that captures the essence of your new belief. With your eyes closed, repeat this statement aloud while feeling the depth of its meaning. You might be able to feel this in various parts of your body, including your brain. Try to avoid any distractions, but if your mind wanders, calmly bring it back to the essence of your new belief.
Seth says that repetition is necessary to establish the new corresponding biological patterns in your body and Bashar also supports this view, particularly with regards to your brain, its structure, and its connection to your higher mind. This exercise does not require a lot of effort so you should not have to strain at all and the more you practice, the more you will improve your ability to concentrate without distractions.
Spending more than ten minutes is often just a way of telling yourself that you believe that you have really big problems that are going to be extra tough to fix. This is an unnecessary limiting belief and Seth advises us to simply do the exercise for only five or ten minutes.
During this exercise, your new belief will be installed into your consciousness and that will provide the new instructions that your higher mind must automatically follow. This is a lot like installing a new app on your phone. Once this app is installed, you can choose a completely new experience.
Now, just like it is helpful to repeat the phrase for five or ten minutes, it is also important to repeat the exercise daily. This will help establish the biological changes and get them to “stick.” As the inner channels between your brain and your higher mind are repatterned, and as your body and brain adjust to the new belief, you will most likely feel different. You may feel happy for no apparent reason.
Seth says, “You may experience spectacular results at once, but continue the exercise even if this happens.” He also points out that you may have to experiment a bit in order to find the proper wording of your new belief. If it doesn’t feel right, adjust it or try a completely different angle, but make sure it is simple and on target. It is important to note that you are looking for a change in the nature of your experience, especially your state of being. You are not necessarily looking for any specific set of circumstances to change right away. That might take a little longer.
In my case, the belief that I did not fit in created a set of circumstances that reflected that belief. When I changed the belief, new circumstances arose that reflected this new belief. But I could not have predicted the precise set of circumstances that arose.
But What If It Seems Like It Is Not Working?
Remember, the process of creation is always working. But if we are not creating the joyful and peaceful state of being that we say we want, here are some of the reasons why that might be the case: we are not really dealing with the limiting beliefs that are in play, our affirmations and visualizations are not well constructed, our actions don’t demonstrate that we really believe what we say we believe, and we give up too quickly without make any adjustments if we haven’t seen a shift in the nature of our experience.
Let’s check out an example of a new action. Let’s say your new belief is that you are well supported by God or the universe or whatever word you are comfortable using. Do something that clearly proclaims this to be true and make sure this action is an action that you would not have taken in the past when you doubted that you were supported.
Now don’t go out and buy an expensive car or house that is clearly beyond your means. You don’t want to create trouble by overextending yourself. But if you usually do not buy vine-ripened tomatoes or nice avocados because they are too expensive, buying them is the perfect new action to take. Even though this is only a small amount of money, this action is significant since it demonstrates your new belief and this leads to other new reflections.
Notice that this action is not being offered to God (or the universe) like you might turn in your homework to your teacher in order to receive their approval or a reward. This action is for you to see. It is the essential, new reinforcing action that validates your new belief. Now you know that God supports you because you see that support with your own eyes. So make yourself a delicious avocado and tomato sandwich! Mmm, one of my favorites!
God Is the Only Creator There Is
Source-Awareness (God) is the only Creator there is. There are no other creative forces or creative entities. Formless Source-Awareness emanates as this dynamic, ever-changing world of form that we see all around us. This might be called God’s dream and it all unfolds through the will and power of God. The One Awareness is the only witness of this dream and it uses all the perspectives provided by each and every sentient being to do so. And this Source-Awareness is who you are fundamentally. This is your True Self. You are not just a drop in the ocean of God, you are the ocean and all the drops. For our purpose now, here is the key point:
God (your True Self) creates the totality of created reality in a way that makes it seem as if each person creates their own reality. The Divine Will is continuously arising as what appears to be the freewill of every person.
Now, even though God (your True Self) creates everything, I will still speak about you (the person) creating your own personal reality. This is just speaking from the perspective of the character on the stage rather than the wider perspective that reveals that God is the actor who is really doing this through the character. It is okay to speak from this narrow perspective since everyone easily understands what is being said and it is just too awkward to only speak from the wider perspective.
This is why it is fine for me to start my affirmations with the words “I, Thomas.” What we have here is Source-Awareness (God), the One Invisible Actor, speaking from the perspective of the character (the person). So I am comfortable saying “I, Thomas, open to and receive the love of God,” rather than “I, God, open Thomas and pour my love (the love of God) into him,” although that is also true. God is polishing up the person by repeating these affirmations through the person. This is like a musician (God) tuning their instrument (the person) so they can play delightful music with it.
When you (the person) relax your focus on your own life, you become more easily used as an instrument by the Self of all selves in many ways that are very helpful to everyOne. Of course you will still have a healthy concern for the personal self but it will be free from any harmful “me first” tendencies and paradoxically this will automatically bring you anything that is required for you to continue to blossom in ways that are ever more beautiful.
The greatest gift you can give the world is the gift of yourself as polished up by God. So let God’s infinite love continue to flow to you and through you, polishing you up in every moment!
This perspective allows you to emotional accept all of life without any pushback against what you dislike or any desperate clinging to what you do like. And yet paradoxically you still lovingly and fearlessly work for a better world in all the ways that you are joyously and unselfishly inspired. In the deepest way possible, this will automatically bring forth what is best for you and also what is best for everyone. So everything matters and we always work for the good, as best we can.
Once you recognize that you create your own reality, you will consciously put this principle into practice. But always remember that the person is an apparent “self” animated by God rather than a truly autonomous entity. You (the person) are not the original source of this divine creative power even though this power is indeed being express through you. How all this works is the subject of the longest chapter in my book, so if you are interested, you can check that out.
The End
This essay was written in March 2018 with some edits in April 2023.
Well, that’ll wrap it up for today. I hope you found this helpful. And since this wisdom unfolds more freely and completely when there is a dynamic two-way conversation, please feel free to get in touch with me via email from my website. Maybe we will be able to setup a zoom session on a donation-only basis with a suggested donation of zero. (More about that here.)
In truth, I honor your divine nature.
All my best, Thomas Razzeto
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