A Brief Probable History of NewWorldView

NewWorldView is the result of the contributions of many talented and dedicated individuals, starting with Jane Roberts and Robert Butts, who began to produce the Seth material in 1963.

Among the early supporters and promoters of the Seth material was Dr. Maude Cardwell (1927-1992), who formed her Seth study group in the late 1970s. (1) Maude inherited “a lovely old mansion” near the University of Texas from her former husband, which became the headquarters for The Austin Seth Center and Reality Change magazine. Maude began holding Seth Conferences in 1982, and according to Helen Walker, founder of The Rocky Mountain Seth Conferences, it was the first American conference devoted to exploring the Seth material. (2) The tradition of Seth “virtual costume parties” began at this time (we’ve had several dream parties on the Sethnet email list, where “virtual costumes” are required). Maude also created the first version of a Seth Store by publishing Path to the Stars. It featured Seth-related articles and promoted books, tapes, pictures, and notes to supplement the study of the Seth material. (3)

In 1992, Maude was ill with cancer and attended the Rocky Mountain Seth Conference to find someone to take over the Austin Seth Center and Reality Change and promise to keep it dedicated to the Seth Material. Lynda Dahl and Stan Ulkowski stepped up to the plate, and the three decided to move the operation to Eugene, Oregon, where Lynda and Stan lived. The Austin Seth Center became Seth Network International (SNI) to embody the growing vision that Lynda and Stan brought with them.

Lynda and Stan’s dedication to Jane and Rob’s work kept Maude’s vision alive as she passed on later that year. The premier issue of SNI’s Reality Change was published in Spring 1993, becoming a larger, slicker magazine with a paid production staff. The first SNI conference was in April 1994 in Seaside, Oregon. Lynda and Stan formed Windsong Publishing to publish her three books.

During this time, Janet Mills, for what would become Amber-Allen, began to republish Seth Speaks and The Nature of Personal Reality. Lynda and Stan got the rights to reprint Jane’s Aspect Psychology Trilogy: Adventures in Consciousness, Psychic Politics, and The God of Jane. The 1990s saw a renaissance of interest in the Seth material.

By this time, many people were supporting SNI, including Sheri LoBello, Mary Dillman, Kat Newcomb, Mary Rouen (who managed SNI’s Brass Ring Bookstore), Michael Steffen, Betty Kielty, Nancy Walker, Richard Kendall, Suzanne DeLisle, Andy Hauck, Norm Friedman, and many others.

Paul and Joanne Helfrich attended the October 1996 SNI conference in New Haven, Connecticut, where they “got bit.” Also in attendance were Vicki Pendley and Ron Churchman, who showed a tape of a then-unknown channeler named Mary Ennis who spoke for Elias. It would be another seven months, at the June 1997 Elmira, New York conference, that a “destiny meeting” between Jo, Paul, and the “Elias kids” would take place. The 1997 Elmira conference was a high point for SNI, when over 400 Seth enthusiasts celebrated a full moon, the summer solstice, Rob’s 78th birthday, Mary’s 43rd birthday, and much more over the span of four beautiful days.

Paul and Jo were looking for changes in their life, and were experimenting with bridge-building and outreach in the form of CafeMuse, a science-art web pedagogy for elementary school teachers and children. Paul’s work in “five senses only” science education became stifling, and he quit his job to devote his time to SNI and the Elias phenomenon. He and Jo moved to Castaic, California, to be with their new Elias friends, and eventually created the Elias Forum web site. Paul gave his first SNI presentation at the April 1998 Seaside, Oregon, conference, wrote music for Stan’s Considerations radio show, and moderated an SNI email list. There were other Seth-related email lists at the time, but Lynda and Stan wanted SNI to have its own, so in October 1998 they opened Sethnet on what was called Onelist (which would morph into eGroups, then Yahoo! Groups).

In December 1998, Stan, Lynda, Paul, Jo, Michael Steffen, and Mary Rouen created NewWorldView.com as a next generation online venture. The idea was to use the Seth material as a foundation for sharing ideas and commerce, and expand into other areas to reach a broader audience. Sadly, Stan passed away unexpectedly in February 1999. Lynda soldiered on with the June 1999 Elmira conference, but soon announced that with Stan’s absence, she’d lost interest in running SNI. The last issue of Reality Change was published Fall 1998, and SNI formally closed its doors at the end of 1999. Legally, the Austin Seth Center came to a close at that time. Lynda closed out SNI and various publishing companies created to promote her, Jane’s, and Norm Friedman’s work, and officially turned ownership of the Sethnet email list over to Paul late 1999 (while retaining ownership of the name Sethnet). Lynda also left NewWorldView, as did Mary Rouen to focus on The Brass Ring Bookstore, which became its own legal entity.

To keep the Seth-related conferences going, Jay and Kerin Foley stepped up to host the well-attended S2K Conference in New Haven, Connecticut, in 2000. NewWorldView held Spring and Fall conferences in 2001 and a Summer Author Tour to promote Lynda’s Fallacies and Dr. Fred Alan Wolf’s Mind Into Matter. NewWorldView suspended its conferences and author tours in 2002, but continued to build its online community, forums, libraries, and resources.

Reality Change was briefly resurrected by Serge Grandbois and Mark Bukator in August 2003 as The Seth Journal. Volume 1 was dedicated to Maude’s memory. Serge, an extraordinary channeler who provides the energy exchange with the energy personality essence Kris, had known and worked with her since late 1984. He began corresponding with Maude at Rob Butt’s suggestion, and they became good friends till her passing away in 1992.

As part of NWV’s bridge-building mission, we began to incorporate Elias material and discussions, and in 2004, Serge and Mark added the Kris Chronicles to our Community Forums.

It became clear that to make real Seth’s probable future that the Seth material would take its place among the Western world’s esoteric traditions, bridges needed to be built with them. Paul and Jo became immersed in Ken Wilber’s Integral Psychology & Spirituality, and Don Beck’s Spiral Dynamics Integral, finding that they provided the integration framework, and in 2005 Integral Conscious Creation (ICC) was born. In 2006, Michael, Paul, and Jo decided it was time for a change in direction. Michael retired from NWV and remains a good friend.

By May 2006, Sethnet had expanded to embrace other sources including Elias, Kris, and Ken Wilber, and had over 1,250 subscribers. It needed a new home with better functionality and fewer ads, and found that home on NewWorldView. Sethnet served as a virtual meeting place for over 1,600 Seth readers worldwide until it’s retirement in August, 2009. Paul also retired as its List Admin (He served from October 1, 1998 until August 15, 2009). Though it was sad to see the forums close their eight year run, amazing new social networking sites and technology continue to develop at blinding speed and will provide new ways for Seth readers to connect in cyberspace.

In July, 2009 Lynda Dahl returned from her “retirement” to head up, along with Michael Steffen, the new Seth Network Int’l. website. They continue to serve as a clearinghouse for those interested in the Seth Material, and Paul fondly handed over the “Sethnet” email list to their good graces, which is now run by Jeff Kiefer.

Maude’s vision has expanded and morphed into many different forms and has reached many people. If she were with us today, she’d be delighted at how the seeds she planted continue to blossom and bear fruit within the larger community of folks who treasure the Seth material.

There are many email lists, local groups, and people working to promote the work of Jane, Rob, and Seth. Rick Stack’s New Awareness Network publishes The Early Sessions, The Personal Sessions, Early (ESP) Class Sessions, Seth Audio CDs, and out-of-print Jane books. Susan Watkins continues to write books. Mary Dillman and Bettie Kielty run occasional conferences. The Rocky Mountain Seth conferences morphed into the Colorado Seth Conference hosted by Jim Funk (Carol passed away in early 2010), Jim and Loretta Gilbert, Dawn and Morgan McKay, Helen and Nancy Walker, and others. Rob Butts passed away on Memorial Day, 2008 at the age of 89, and this milestone sparked three additional Seth conferences: California Seth Conference (Lawrence Davidson), Maine Seth Conference (Tom and Judy Ewing), and Rick Stack’s New Awareness Seth Conferences in 2009-2010. There have also been recent conferences in France, Switzerland, and a burgeoning Seth Education Center in Taiwan run by Dr. Tien-Sheng Hsu.

The NewWorldView website is now almost twelve years old and has evolved from a high-end Internet Portal into a “back to basics” Education Site with the addition of Christopher Johnson, son of Harry, in 2010. NewWorldView remains a place for those interested in Conscious Creation, Channeling, and the emerging fields of Integral Psychology and Spirituality. It reaches back almost five decades to the foundational work of Jane Roberts and Robert Butts, and Maude Cardwell’s pioneering vision. We invite you to contribute in whatever way you can and freely explore these ideas. We are delighted to see old and new friends join in our continued adventures in consciousness!

Contributors Gallery

A tremendous amount of volunteer work has gone on behind the scenes to make our website available to you over the years. This is a simple way to say, “Thank you!” to our friends and colleagues who have moderated a forum, written a blog, or helped out with the website over the years, and moved onto new adventures elsewhere.

MARK C. BUKATOR moderated The Kris Chronicles forum and Kosmic Cocktail Lounge.

JAMES FERRIGNO moderated the Sethnet forum.

SEAN FOREMAN moderated the Seth Material Coursework forum.

ELLEN GILBERT moderated the Inner Visions Journal.6

  SERGE J. GRANDBOIS moderated The Kris Chronicles forum.

JOHN HAWKINS wrote a blog called Your Faithful Reporter.

DONALD R. JOHNSON, NWV Administrator, Sethnet and NAGEW moderator, and New World You blogger.

RICHARD KENDALL wrote a blog called Running Dialogues with Rich Kendall.

JOYCE A. KOVELMAN, Ph.D., Ph.D., wrote a blog called Once Upon a Soul. BRENT MARCHANT, wrote a blog called Get the Picture.

BILL MARSHALL, wrote a blog called 21st Century Reality.

JOHN J. McNALLY, NWV Administrator, Sethnet moderator, and chief editor for Sethnet Journal.

NARDINE NEILSON, Sethnet and RoseVine moderator, and interim editor for Sethnet Journal.

JAN RAMSEY moderated the Kosmic Cocktail Lounge and Psychic Naturalists forums.

TOM SHERLOCK moderated the Inner Visions Journal.

CARMEN SILVERS was a moderator for the Sethnet forum, and wrote a blog called Musings of Consciousness.

SAMANTHA STANDISH wrote a blog called The Magical Life.

EMMY VAN SWAAIJ wrote a blog called Improvisations in Consciousness.

Endnotes: (1) Eileen Glover, Dedicated to the Memory of Maude Cardwell, Ph.D., The Seth Journal, Vol. 1, no. 1, August 2003, Avion Rising Inc. (2) Helen Walker, Ibid. (3) Helen Walker, Ibid.