Seth on Assassination and Murder

Seth: The Personal Sessions,  aka The Deleted Sessions  9/20/78

Rob: Do you want to say something about my dream, in which I get shot? 

Seth: It was, as I believe Ruburt has mentioned, a result of deep contemplation on your part about the bookstore murder, but in a larger context, involving probabilities, murderers, victims, and the beliefs involved.

The men were all united--that is, they agreed to the circumstances. No one was trying to run away, and in a way the murderer was performing a service. Any violence or hatred serves a purpose beyond itself so that man in a way often performs services of which he is not consciously aware.

I am not saying that man is being manipulated, but that in a larger framework, even his seemingly evil acts have constructive meaning. A man who kills with hatred will have his hatred to contend with, but he is not able to kill anyone who has not decided to die--and to die in a particular manner; that is, someone who wants his death blamed on another, who would not commit suicide, who would not choose a long illness--someone who is ready to die but does not want to deal with the circumstances, and wants indeed to be surprised by death.

Now: in those terms, and in the terms of this discussion, specifically, all assassins are paid assassins hired by the victims. Again, in the terms of this discussion, many murderers are overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, and the murderous act pinpoints the reason for the guilt--so the victim pays the murderer by giving a clear-cut, unassailable reason for a monstrous guilt that was before formless, and even more frightening, since it seemed to have no particular base, but an overwhelming vitality.

Now all of those issues, in one way or another appeared in your dream, where ...you became the victim. You then discovered that you were still 'alive'..."

© Laurel Butts