The Power of Group Focus
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The World View of SNI
by LYNDA DAHL, President
STAN ULKOWSKI, Vice President

"The living picture of the world grows within the mind. The world as it appears
to you is like a three-dimensional painting in which each individual takes a
hand. Each color, each line that appears within it has first been painted
within a mind, and only then does it materialize without. . . The great
creativity of consciousness is your heritage."
(The Nature of Personal Reality, chapter 1, session 610).

One of the most frequent comments we hear from Seth/Jane Roberts readers who
contact SNI is, "I've been  studying the material for years, but I've never met
another Seth reader." There are variations to the theme, of course, but
basically we've discovered that many of us stumble onto Jane and Rob's books
through an interesting set of circumstances, our attention becomes riveted on
them, they become our touchstone to reality, and usually they stay a very
private part of our lives, shared by few or none others for years. If a
percentage could be attached to our informal survey, we'd say that's true for
perhaps 60% of the people who call or write SNI.

It certainly was true for the two of us in our beginning years of reading Seth.
We both worked in the computer industry when we picked up our first books, and
neither of us, in our long careers, had heard metaphysics discussed on the job.
It must be different today, what with the flow of new thought breezing across
the globe, but in 1984 our books stayed safely ensconced in our cars during
work hours, hidden from probing questions and curious eyes. But we never left
home without at least one of them firmly in grasp. Our days became intently
focused on finding the next opportunity to grab a book and inhale the essence
of psychic freedom once more.

So, like many, we worked on our personal issues while trying to grasp the
greater picture of universal interaction. And, like many, we came to understand
that the Seth material not only held the answers, or guidelines, to personal
change, but if implemented by a very large number of people had the potential
to transform civilization.

What would it take to translate the knowledge inherent in the Seth/Jane/Rob
material into a mass event of that magnitude? What must happen in order for
most of the world to at least be aware of the concepts found in Jane's 22
volumes of work? Certainly, on a practical level, the books must come back into
print so they are accessible, and surely the readership must grow. For the Seth
material to become a prominent force in the world, the material has to become
better known, and that seems to translate into the challenge of disseminating
the material worldwide so many more people are exposed to it.

But maybe there's more to it than that. Mass events are built from the
thoughts, intent, desire, emotions and focus of a large group of people. Surely
seven million Seth readers qualify as a large group; but then, are we all
focusing on the same picture of the future strongly enough to bring about a
probability shift into a redefined civilization? Have we even thought about
what a future would look like based on the implementation of Seth's concepts?
Can we clearly and precisely visualize how a world would function with these
new guidelines and insights as the working order of the day?

Changing from one mass probability into another is mechanically the same as
changing personal probabilities, albeit with greater numbers of people
involved. That means we set our goals so we know what it is we want to
experience, we find the limiting beliefs that would keep us from that goal, we
change those beliefs to ones that support our desire, and we visualize the end
result with intensity.

Seth says, "The true power is in the imagination which dares to speculate upon
that which is not yet. The imagination, backed by great expectation, can bring
about almost any reality within the range of probabilities" (Dreams,
"Evolution," and Value Fulfillment, vol. 1, session 627). Through imagination
and expectation, our psyches can make virtually anything happen. It seems,
then, that some questions beg addressing: What would happen if a group of
individuals, aware that virtually anything is possible in this reality when
washed with imagination and expectation, came together and honed a picture of a
civilization reflective of their desires? And then what would happen if that
picture was held in theirminds with consistency and intensity?

Instead of working individually-no, along with working individually-we readers
have a wonderful opportunity in this time and place to make an imprint on the
future of our civilization by grouping together with purpose and vision. We've
seen it happen time and again in our world where a group of people brought
great power to bear in their sphere of influence by, in essence, putting their
minds to it. As Seth says in The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events,
session 826, "Your thoughts mix and match with others in Framework 2, creating
mass patterns that form the overall psychological basis behind world events."
Well, what's stopping us from exerting our psychic influence as a group?
Another Seth quote from Mass Events is, "You have the power to change your life
and the world for the better, but in doing so you must, again, reevaluate what
your ideals (beliefs) are. . . ." So, what's stopping us-except maybe our
beliefs about reaching our ideals?

There are a few more questions lingering around the edges of this subject, such
as: What would happen if no group coalesced around a joint vision of a new
reality? Would there be enough of an impetus to thrust a new face onto an old
civilization (called changing probabilities)? Perhaps the answer is yes, it
still could eventually materialize in this reality, as long as enough of the
world's population understood their participation in the creation of events.
But perhaps the answer is maybe, because unless there is a picture to grasp, a
common element of design between the parties, perhaps the power of the
thought-energy would be diluted through lack of clarity. In other words, if we
all don't visualize a similar civilization, one drawn from forward visions of
an earth free from war, disease, poverty and tragedy, and one where every
single day is an exciting, fulfilling experiment in idea construction-if we
can't see it and hold the thought as a group-will it happen?

In early May, a relatively large group of Seth/Jane Roberts readers will meet
on the Oregon coast to participate in a conference called SethNet '94. The
general purpose of the conference will be to aid in the development of a
psychic blueprint for an evolving civilization, using the Codicils as its
basis. But what does that really mean? We've been asked by some readers to
expand upon what we think will be accomplished at the conference, and how such
a challenging idea can actually be launched. Briefly, then, here it is.

First, let us say that SethNet '94 is seen as simply the beginning of an
evolutionary process. As with any extended project, a platform of joint
understanding must first be developed amongst the participants so all share the
same basic concepts and insights upon which to build. What this means for
SethNet '94 is that we will explore each of the Codicils in different ways,
delve into their implications for personal and global society, and come to some
shared understandings as to their power to transform a world. Once we agree on
the basics at the first conference, then at SethNet '95 we can progress to
discussing the implementation and expansion of our ideas.

In many ways, all of the SethNets to come will comprise one large research
project. It is most likely the first time in the mass reality we share that a
group of people will attempt to slip the boundaries from one probability into
another by consciously choosing a desired future, focusing thought and
imagination on to that future, changing private beliefs on an individual basis,
and telling the world's population that there are alternatives to tragedy and
terror if we but open our minds to new concepts. In other words, we won't be
trying to change today's world; we'll create the opening to a new probability
where the outer world reflects our newly designed mass inner landscape, and
that landscape will be quite different in purpose and scope from the one that
today's religions and political organizations allow.

Obviously, people don't have to attend any of the SethNets or join any group
like SNI to aid in the development of a new world blueprint. But is the pitch
there? Is the shared excitement, as a goal is set and eventually met, there? Is
the vision as clearly defined? Is there reinforcement to hold that thought? Or
do daily needs take over until little to no time is allocated to think the big
picture into actualization?

Groups have great power because they stay focused and help individual members
do the same. In the case of a large group of Seth readers, we can hold our
focus by choosing events and setting our priorities; and by grouping together
with intent, we can bring great power to bear on those priorities. We can
literally form a psychic gestalt of consciousness that becomes a force of such
magnitude that new civilizations are seeded throughout time and space-including
right here and right now.

Copyright 1995, Seth Network International. All Rights Reserved.