“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

SESSION 511, JANUARY 21, 1970,
9:10 P.M. WEDNESDAY

(Usually Jane goes in and out of trance with remarkable speed. Her eyes aren’t closed during sessions, except for relatively brief periods — but they can be barely open, say, or half open, or wide open and much darker than usual. She sits for sessions in her Kennedy rocker, but on occasion she gets up and moves about. She smokes in trance and sips a little wine, beer, or coffee. Sometimes, when her trance has been very deep, it takes her a few minutes “to really come out of it,” as she puts it. Almost always she joins me in a snack after the session, no matter how late it is.

(Jane’s voice in trance can be almost conversational in tone, volume, and pace, but is subject to a wide range of these qualities. Usually it’s somewhat deeper and stronger than her “own” voice. Once in a while her “Seth voice” is very loud indeed, much more powerful, with definite masculine overtones and with an obvious, tremendous energy behind it. Most of our sessions however are fairly quiet.

(I think these changes in Jane during sessions are caused by her creative reception of a portion of an entity, an essence, that we call Seth, and by her own ideas of what this certain segment is like as she casts it in the masculine gender. Her transformation as Seth is original, and absorbing to watch and participate in. Regardless of degree, Seth is uniquely and kindly present. I am listening to, and exchanging dialogue with, another personality.

(Before the session, Jane said she felt rather nervous; she thought Seth would start his own book this evening. Her feeling of nervousness is quite unusual in these sessions. I offered reassurances, telling her to forget the whole thing and let the book come out in its own way.)

(Long pause at 9:35.) My consciousness is fairly well focused within Ruburt’s body. It is a cold night. This is our first experience in writing a complete book in trance, and Ruburt was somewhat nervous before the session began. It is not just a simple matter of having this woman speak for me. There are many manipulations necessary, and psychological adjustments. We have established what I refer to as a psychological bridge between us — that is, between Ruburt and myself.

(Pause at 10:45.) The hour is growing late. Both of my friends must get up early in the morning. Ruburt is working on two books of his own and must get his sleep. Before I end this session I ask you to imagine our setting, for Ruburt has told me that a writer must be careful to set the scene. (Humorously.)

You may take a break or end the session as you prefer.

(11:00 P.M. Jane was out of trance quickly. Her pace had been good throughout the session. She said she was glad Seth had begun work on his book. “For ages in the past,” she said, “whenever I thought Seth wanted to start the book, I was afraid to let him do it.”