The "Introduction" and "Key Points" for this chapter were summarized by an AI editor based on the main text below; they are not things Mike said during the lecture. The main text comes from Mike's commentary, and the block quotes are Seth's original words (the portions Mike read aloud).
Introduction
In the final session of 1979, Seth took "great expectations" as his theme, explaining that 1980 exists in many probable versions, and that mass reality collectively selects one version; actual events are only the materialized version after probabilities have been activated. Great expectations have nothing to do with magnitude; the smallest things and children possess them innately. The true motive power lies in the imagination, and combined with great expectations it can bring about almost any reality within the range of probabilities. He also gave a method of manifestation by investing in Framework 2, and discussed fairy tales, Rob's mother's memories, the Iran hostage crisis, and an appendix on New Year's resolutions.
Key Points of This Chapter
- The year 1980 exists in all its potential versions; collective reality jointly selects one version, while the rest remain at the periphery of psychological reality.
- Actual events are the physically activated versions of probabilities; individuals and groups alike choose among probabilities at both conscious and unconscious levels.
- Great expectation has nothing to do with scale; the smallest things and children are naturally endowed with this expectation.
- The true motive power lies in the imagination that dares to think of things not yet realized; imagination plus great expectation can bring about almost any reality within the range of the possible.
- Anything you do not want to happen should not be given any conscious consideration, otherwise you bind yourself to those probabilities.
Main Text
Session 891 Opening: The New Year Node Just After Christmas
This session began on Wednesday, December 26, 1979, at 9:07 p.m. Christmas was December 25, and the holiday had just passed. Jane and Rob had not held class the day before because they had invited friends over. Tonight was not a formal dictation session either; during the holidays everyone was more relaxed, but this session contained some matters related to this book. Actually, it was not very closely related to this book; the main point had a great deal to do with The "Unknown" Reality.
At 8:50, while sitting and waiting for the session to begin, Jane said, "I don't care whether we have a book session or a session about other things, I'm just waiting for the session to start. I don't even feel Seth around." She found this strange, because over the past two days she had picked up some insights from Seth on various topics. Jane and Rob had discussed all of these, but had not written them down. By 9:06, Jane said, "I may be ready. This doesn't seem to be about the book."
At that point Seth came through. Seth said good evening, and Rob said good evening, Seth. Seth humorously said that tonight's topic was "Great Expectations."
This title is the title of a Dickens novel, Great Expectations1, which in Chinese has been translated as "Kuai Rou Yu Sheng." I'm not sure whether that is the Taiwanese edition; I don't know what the mainland Chinese edition calls it, and I haven't read the book either. Seth borrowed Dickens's title, but it has nothing to do with the novel.
Great expectations.
The topic of tonight's session, then, was great expectations. 1980 was about to arrive, and with the new year there would always be a new year's outlook. Seth said that 1980 existed in all of its potential versions.
In this moment, 1980 exists in all of its potential versions.
Suppose 1980 had ten thousand versions; he said all ten thousand versions exist. Of course, because mass events were involved, there was not a completely different year for every person on the face of the earth. There was one shared version of 1980, determined by the mass reality of humanity as a whole. This was also a question that many people may have remained confused about after studying The "Unknown" Reality, and this session gives you the answer.
But there are literally numberless mass-shared events of 1980, on the sidelines, so to speak.
That is, we have one 1980 that is mutually agreed upon by mass reality. On both sides of this 1980 that everyone has consensus on, there are many, many more versions of 1980 on the sidelines, but none of them became the 1980 of our reality.
The Range of Possible Choices
In your terms, since you have already established a certain large body of probabilities as the material for the coming year.
Seth means that you have now prepared a large amount of material for the coming year. For example, 1980 must be based on certain things from 1979, which have an influence on 1980, and that influence continues, becoming the material for 1980. So this is not simply a matter of deciding what world you want to materialize into reality. For the world as a whole, the influence of mass events continues from 1979 onward, and within this, it is not the case that whatever you personally want to happen will necessarily happen. Many people say, "My beliefs create reality, so can I create any reality?" No. Those probable realities that can happen will happen, and those that cannot happen will not happen.
For example, for Rob, it is quite improbable that he would suddenly become a tailor.
For example, for you, Rob, it is quite improbable that you would suddenly become a tailor. In 1980, because among your choices of probabilities, none has ever led toward such an action.
In the past, you never had any indication that could have led you toward becoming a tailor, toward such a behavior, such an action, so in 1980 you cannot suddenly become a tailor. This probability will not happen in your world; it is not a selectable event.
Similarly, no matter what, England in 1980 could not suddenly become an Islamic country. But within the feasible probabilities, within the range of your personal and collective choices, the people of the world choose their probable 1980. For each person, within your own range of possible choices, within the whole group, we as a group choose a broadly consistent, probable 1980. That is the process.
Let me say this slowly, because this is a question that confuses many people: between personal reality and mass reality, which one actually takes effect? Any possible action that a person thinks about is part of that person's conscious thought. When we think of a possible action, that action is part of that thought. For example, you think of going here, you think of going there, you think about it but do not go, but that thought of the possibility is part of your conscious thought. Our conscious thoughts contain a great many things, and among them, such thoughts of possibilities are one part.
However, beneath that thought of possibility, for example, you think of traveling to Switzerland, but in the end you do not go. Beneath that possibility of traveling to Switzerland, people are also considering other possibilities, but those may not reach the conscious level, only because they have been pushed aside, or because they have not been consciously recognized. Beneath the possibility of traveling to Switzerland, you also considered other possibilities, but those possibilities were not within what your conscious level could capture, so you were not aware of their existence. For example, you might have considered quitting your job, going to study in Switzerland, and so on, but on your conscious level, it seems as if these never existed, you never thought of them. What he means is that these things were considered on the unconscious level, but on the conscious level you did not know.
When you think of actual events, I want you to try to think of them as representatives of activated probabilities.
Seth hopes you can understand that what you call actual events are merely those probable events that have been activated. Those things that did not come to pass were not activated, and have remained latent.
It is the physical version of a psychic probability.
The events that actually happen in your life are merely a materialized version of your psychic probabilities. There are also many probabilities that have not materialized, that you have no conscious concern with, on the psychological periphery.
Those probabilities that you have no conscious concern with are on the psychological periphery. You could say they are there, and yet not there.
Meaning you are not aware of them, so to your consciousness they seem not to exist. Your conscious mind can only accept probabilities in a certain sequence as recognized experience. We only recognize probabilities in a certain order, those with reasonableness. For example, you would not think that when you wake up tomorrow your gender will have changed; that does not conform to your logic. In your world, you only accept those things that conform to your cognitive logic as possibilities.
As I have said, choices among probabilities are constantly being made. This is true on both the conscious and unconscious levels.
Choices among probabilities are constantly being made. On the conscious level, we know whether we will go eat beef noodles, sushi, Western food, or stir-fry in a little while; these are all your conscious probabilities. There are also those unconscious probabilities that you do not know at all. Whether you know them or not, on both the conscious and unconscious levels, you are making choices among numerous probabilities.
The psychic events that you do not perceive as conscious experience are to some extent indeed part of your unconscious experience.
This is indeed the case: that part of experience that we humans do not perceive is, to you, as if it does not exist. This applies to the individual, and it applies equally to the whole, and it also applies to worldwide mass events.
In Framework 2 There Is No Pain and No Death
Every action seeks all of its possible accomplishments.
Any action must seek all of its possible accomplishments, trying as many of these possibilities as it can. All That Is seeks the experience of all possibilities; it wants to try them all. But in this case, within such a larger framework, the problems of pain and death, for example, simply do not apply, although obviously they do apply on the physical level.
Every action must seek the greatest possible expression of its possibilities. Pain and death, for example, are also a kind of possibility, also a kind of experience, and naturally there will be those who want to experience them. Although from a higher level -- just rise one level of consciousness, and on the spiritual level there is no pain and no death. In the larger framework, in Framework 2, there is no death and no pain. But here in Framework 1, we do have death and pain.
We are mostly unconscious of these choices among possibilities in Framework 2. Our conscious choices all take place in Framework 1. But the choices in Framework 1 come from Framework 2. What does not exist in Framework 2 does not mean it does not exist in Framework 1. For example, pain and death do not exist in Framework 2, so why do they exist in Framework 1? This is what it means to try all possibilities as much as possible. The previous framework does not have them, but the next framework does, and it wants to try them. Very interesting.
Great Expectations Have Nothing to Do with Scale
Seth says that great expectations have nothing whatsoever to do with scale. You should not say "great expectations" as if it means doing some big thing or making some contribution to human society — none of that, it has nothing to do with this. Because a single blade of grass is also filled with great expectations.
Great expectations have nothing whatsoever to do with scale. Because a single blade of grass is also filled with great expectations. Great expectations are built upon confidence in the nature of reality, confidence in nature itself, and confidence in the life that has been given to you, regardless of its scale.
The most minuscule things all have their own great expectations. Where do their expectations come from? From confidence in the nature of reality, confidence in the natural world, and confidence in life. Whether great or small, everything has a great expectation.
For example, all children are born with such expectations.
Children are born with this great expectation; you do not need to tell them anything about life, meaning, ideals, or goals — they have it innately. You might say, "How come I do not feel that children have it" — right, their expectations may not be the same as yours, but they are equally great expectations.
Fairy Tales and Cinderella
Fairy tales are indeed transmitters of underground knowledge.
Although not always, fairy tales really are transmitters of certain underground knowledge. We think fairy tales are just things to amuse children, but what you don't know is that the deeper meaning within fairy tales is profound. They are the inner transmitters of that knowledge, but they don't dare show it openly, subtly influencing every child.
Seth again used the fairy tale of Cinderella as an example. Her favorite fairy tale to cite is Cinderella.
In the best fairy tales, the greatest expectations always win out in the end.
Cinderella wants to marry the prince. From the standpoint of real life, it's simply impossible, but she has such an expectation, a seemingly impossible great expectation. Although Cinderella is lowly, her expectation is great.
This expectation is that the unfortunate elements of the physical world can, through great expectation, be transformed in an instant.
Cinderella is miserable in real life, always bullied, but once the great expectation is fulfilled and she marries the prince, everything changes. This is the definition of great expectation — why even the smallest things, including children, including the smallest animals and plants, all have this great expectation.
Your education tells you that all of that is nonsense. The world is defined solely by its physical aspect.
When you were little, your parents told you fairy tales. Once you were a bit more sensible, they told you fairy tales are all lies. You just couldn't understand: if they're lies, why did you tell them to me in the first place? Actually, it's because the parents don't understand the deeper meaning within fairy tales.
True Power Lies in the Imagination
When you think of power, you might think of nuclear energy or solar energy. But true power is not nuclear energy, not solar energy. Without people, without human spiritual creativity, those energies are not enough to produce anything. True ability, true power, is human spiritual creativity. This energy and power are meant to be used by us humans, used by spiritual creativity.
True power lies in the imagination that dares to think of things not yet realized.
True power is daring to think, daring to imagine those things that have never yet been accomplished.
Imagination, coupled with great expectation, can bring about almost any reality within the range of probabilities.
Imagination plus great expectation can bring about almost any reality within your range of probabilities. The premise is that it is a probability. For example, if you want to become an astronaut, that probability is almost nonexistent. But for a pilot in flight school, being selected to become an astronaut is possible, although the probability is relatively low, because the selection is very strict. And if you cannot even fly a plane, and your body did not pass the pilot selection, then it is impossible for you to become an astronaut. Seth speaks very precisely, so remember these premises: it must be within the range of the possible, and then "almost" any — he did not say "any," he added "almost" before it.
All versions of probabilities of 1980 will occur. All the others that you did not choose remain at the periphery of psychological reality. Behind your conscious experience, you do not sense them.
All possible versions will occur. The ones you choose will occur in this reality, and the others that are not chosen remain at the periphery of psychological reality, right at the periphery of your psyche, outside conscious experience. But all these possible versions will be interconnected in certain ways.
The Most Important Lesson
In your society the most important lesson has never really appeared.
This translation isn't very good. "Lesson" should be "one lesson" (lesson). In your human society, the most important lesson has never been taught to you.
I hope each person can remember that this moment is you, with great expectation, together with knowledge of the activities of Framework 1 and Framework 2, making the most beneficial use of directed will.
You can't say I only understand Framework 2, I don't like Framework 1, because then you won't be able to operate on both levels at the same time. You need to have knowledge, both of Framework 1 and Framework 2; second, you also need willpower; and then add great expectation.
Very simple: you want something, you consciously focus on it for a little while. You consciously imagine them coming to the front of probabilities, closer to your reality.
Seth is teaching you a method. If you want something, you focus your attention, your consciousness, on it for a little while, not too long. Then you consciously imagine that you bring it from among the many probabilities to the front, bring it into your life. Because when you pay attention to this matter, you have already brought it from among the many probabilities to the front.
You toss it into Framework 2 like a little pebble. Then for two weeks try not to think about it.
After you toss it in, don't think about it every day. If you think about it every day, that's bad. He has given many examples: you can't plant a seed and turn the soil every day, because then the seed will die. Plant the seed, and patiently wait for it to sprout. Here he says don't think about it for two weeks. Then you do this at a certain rhythm, once every two weeks, you let what you want enter Framework 2, and it will manifest in Framework 2. This short passage actually teaches you the basic method and principles of manifestation. Don't bring judgment, don't bring purposefulness. Then you might say, if I don't bring purposefulness, how can I create in Framework 2? Didn't he tell you: think about it once, and after you've thought it through, hand it over to Framework 2, and then leave it alone. You can't think about it every day. This is the reason many people don't succeed when they apply this. They think they need to think about it every day to succeed, but no, thinking about it every day actually makes it fail. Very interesting, and very subtle.
Last Year's New Year Resolutions
Seth said that last year he had given them some New Year encouragement. He said that last year, that is, January 1, 1979, he had given Jane and Rob some New Year content, and at the end of this session he would attach that material, which would be very good for everyone.
I think it can continue to be used.
Rob told Seth that he read it several times every week. Seth said:
You tell Ruburt that he is just as good now as he was then. Jane has stopped reading it now.
Seth was referring to those New Year resolutions. He said this text was just as good as when he first gave it, and just as practical for Jane, but Jane had not read it for a long time. Rob kept reading it, but Jane had stopped, and Seth could not do much about her.
This material helps to focus the mind and the imagination.
If you want to improve your mind and imagination, take this material out and read it once every day. Reading it in the morning works better, and reading it before bed is also fine. That kind of focus will help you to act and to be, without making you uncreative.
The Origin of the Universe and 1980
Seth continues, in this book Dreams, "Evolution," and Value Fulfillment:
I will do my best to explain the origin of your universe, and in such a way that most of the most pressing questions are answered. But people's current ideas about reality are so narrow, therefore I must often resort to analogies.
This book is about the origin of the universe, and it should be able to answer almost all of the most pressing questions. But because your understanding of reality is too narrow, I often have to use analogies to explain.
The most basic statement: when 1980 happened, the energy that entered your universe was, in your human terms, as fresh as if the world had been created only yesterday.
This is a rather difficult point to explain. When 1980 arrived, the energy it carried was just like when this universe was first created, the energy was so fresh. What he actually wants to say is that our universe is being recreated at every moment — not developing from some point in the past to the present, but everywhere, every minute and every second, all points of the universe, from the microscopic to the macroscopic, are being created simultaneously. This is indeed very hard to explain to you.
1980 had many possible versions, and we only chose one that fit our collective group reality and group beliefs. All those possible versions, then, spun off their own possible courses.
And any consciousness that existed in 1980 was also part of the beginning of the world as you think of it.
The consciousness that existed in 1980, including human consciousness and the consciousness of all things, is one with the consciousness at the very beginning of the world's birth. It is part of the consciousness at the birth of the universe. So 1980 is brand new, just as if the universe had just been created.
Rob's Mother's Memory
Then Seth said to Rob:
In your mother's old age, he did not simply choose to believe in a past different from the one accepted by the rest of the family. He effectively altered probabilities. He was not deceiving himself or being obsessive, and his memory in that regard was not faulty. It was the memory of the probable woman he had become.
Seth said to Rob alone: your mother was not senile, nor was she obsessive in believing that her childhood was different from the childhood remembered by everyone else in the family. Her memory being different from others' was not because her mind was muddled, not because she remembered wrong, nor was it self-deception or obsession. For this version of the mother, the history she remembered was truly what she herself had experienced. In other words, his mother had become another version of the mother, a probable version, rather than the original version, so her past changed as well.
The Iran Hostage Crisis2
Just like the Iran hostage crisis2.
Any given physical event becomes a focal point. It attracts all of its possible versions and outcomes.
The Iran hostage crisis3 became a focal point for the whole world. The moment it became a focal point, it attracted all possible versions and all possible outcomes. The hostage crisis had not yet been resolved; whether these people would live or die, no one knew, but all of these possibilities had already been drawn in.
The hostage situation, now in its 53rd day, is a materialized mass dream. Its intent is to display its importance and vitality on the political and religious stage of reality.
The reason this Iran hostage crisis2 happened among you is that it is the materialized manifestation of a mass dream. At the same time, its purpose is to dramatize the conflict of beliefs, and to project that conflict outward into the well-known arena. Western civilization and Islamic civilization have fundamental conflicts on many issues, and this event merely amplifies that conflict before the whole world.
At the most basic level of human behavior, everyone involved has consciously or unconsciously volunteered to participate.
Every person in this event, such as the kidnapped American diplomatic personnel, participated voluntarily, except that some were conscious of it and some were unconscious. You might say, how could anyone be willing to be kidnapped? Look at it from another angle: he chose to go to Iran as a diplomat, and he could have chosen not to go. Taking a diplomatic post in Iran in 1979 meant accepting a certain degree of risk. From a deeper level of consciousness, in the subconscious level he was not aware of, he knew this event would happen, yet he was still willing to take part in it. Every person involved, including the media reporting on the event, including the viewers watching the reports, all of us participated in this event.
Of course 1980 was immediately overshadowed by that event. What could the world do about it.
The Iran hostage crisis2 had not been resolved by the end of 1979, so the beginning of 1980 was inevitably overshadowed. Especially for the United States, the New Year is normally a happy occasion, but this year there was no joy, because more than fifty hostages were being held in Iran, their fates unknown. With only a few days left until 1980, no one knew what would become of these people.
Of course your television and news communication systems are themselves part of the event. In certain respects, it is far better that this event happened at this time, in this way.
Seth's perspective is always different. You think the hostage crisis is absolutely terrible, but Seth says that from a certain angle, it is far better that this event happened at this point in time. Because this allows the issue to be clearly displayed on the world stage. The media reports on it every day, with extensive discussion, and as a result it actually becomes far less violent than it might otherwise have been. Because of the massive media attention, these Islamic extremists held back somewhat. Imagine Iran in 1979: those young Islamic men believed their religion was the most correct in the world, yet a wicked America constantly challenged their bottom line. According to their religiously legislated doctrines, all these Americans should have been executed. But because of the news media's reporting and continuous tracking, they did not dare to act rashly.
As never before his religious beliefs will be examined. It is better that the issue be exposed now.
Never before had an Islamic belief been placed before the whole world for examination: Why do you use violence? Where is your religious legitimacy? Why do you kidnap the envoys of other nations? Before this event, Iran was possibly the wealthiest country in the Middle East, and also relatively open: women could work, did not have to wear headscarves, and could wear jeans. Afterward, Iran was sanctioned by the United States on a global scale, and that continues to this day.4 Seth's acuity is very strong; at this point he already saw the link between religion and politics.
The Arab world still needs the West. And again, it is better that the issue be exposed now, when they must at least to some extent consider the rest of the world.
These nations founded on religion cannot be separated from the other countries of the world. If they must consider the feelings of these countries, then exposing the conflict at this time benefits both sides. Seth's perspective is higher than that of ordinary people.
Do Not Give Attention to What You Do Not Want
As for the things you do not want him to have happen, do not give these events any further personal, conscious consideration. Any such focus, to whatever degree, binds you to those probabilities.
If there is something you do not want to happen, do not even think about it; do not have any thoughts about it at all. Even the slightest focus on those undesirable things is tying you to those probable events. So you only need to focus on what you do want. As for what you do not want, do not even think about it; it is not worth wasting a single second.
As far as public events are concerned, realize that sometimes people are even wiser than they know.
Regarding collective events, people are wiser than they know. So some people will not pay attention to those undesirable things, but some people still will.
Seth asked Rob if he had any questions. Rob probably had a million questions in his mind, but he told Seth he had none, because it was a holiday evening. Seth said:
Then I wish you a happy wedding anniversary, and a most auspicious 1980. Good evening to you both.
Tomorrow, December 27, would be Jane and Rob's 25th wedding anniversary, their silver anniversary, which is a relatively important milestone in the West.
Seth's New Year Resolutions Appendix
Below is an appendix of the New Year resolutions Seth gave on January 1, 1979. I suggest you copy them down and read them every day. They are very helpful for practicing your focus and imagination, and they can give you more power to act and to create. When the new year comes around, you can also revise these words and add your own content. Let's see what Seth said.
The first one is meant to be read aloud to yourself:
I will approve of myself, my characteristics, my abilities, my likes and dislikes, and the things I like to do and dislike doing. I will realize that these form my unique humanity, and that they were given to me for a reason.
That is, accept all of your own good and bad, likes and dislikes.
The second one:
I will approve of and take pleasure in my accomplishments. I will likewise list them with vigor, and remember them just as powerfully as I once struggled to remember and count up my failures and the things I did not accomplish.
Write down all the things you have accomplished, and record only the good ones, the ones that give you a sense of achievement.
The third one:
I will remember the creative framework of the existence in which I dwell. Therefore the possibilities of Framework 2, the potentials, the seemingly miraculous events, and the joyful spontaneity will all be in my mind, and thus the door to a creative life will open.
We humans must create in our existence; creation is our nature. These possibilities and potentials in Framework 2, or the things you find miraculous, have always been within your mind.
The fourth one:
I will realize that the future is a probability. In terms of ordinary experience, nothing exists there yet. The future is still virgin territory, seeded by my present feelings and thoughts.
The future is a collection of many probabilities, and all of them can happen. What is the future seeded by? By our present feelings and thoughts. My present thoughts and feelings determine my future world.
Therefore I will plant achievement and success. I will do this by remembering that the future contains no event that I do not want to have there.
This sentence is very awkward. What it means is: there are some things I do not want to happen, so I will only plant what I do want, and the things I do not want will automatically not happen. You do not have to copy the original text word for word. Once you understand the meaning, you can rewrite it into something smoother, more elegant, and more in line with your own style, as a New Year resolution to review and recite often.
This session was the last class of 1979.
注释与核实
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Source: Penguin Random House, Great Expectations, 2001 (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/40446/great-expectations-by-charles-dickens/) ↩
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Source: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Iranian Hostage Crisis" (https://history.state.gov//departmenthistory/short-history/iraniancrises) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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Source: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, "The Iranian Hostage Crisis" (https://history.state.gov//departmenthistory/short-history/iraniancrises) ↩
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According to Mike's original words: "Before this event, Iran was probably the richest country in the Middle East, and relatively open; women could work, did not have to wear headscarves, and could wear jeans. Afterward, Iran was sanctioned by the United States worldwide, and this has continued to the present." Upon verification, it should be: "Since 1979, the United States has used different types of sanctions as policy tools toward Iran, but the sanctions have been adjusted many times: the 2015 nuclear deal brought multiple U.S. and international sanctions relief, the United States reinstated related sanctions in 2018, and sanctions are still maintained at present; it has not always been the same set of 'global sanctions.'" (Source: Congressional Research Service, "U.S. Sanctions on Iran," 2025, https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF12452/IF12452.5.pdf) ↩