“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(These notes typed up by Jane on January 17, 1964. They are from material written down by Rob immediately after the events of January 16, 1964.

(Last night, Thursday, we decided to try a few experiments. Color card experiments yielded no results. At 8:45 I received the words, “No winds ever blew across the prairie but I was there.” We sat in semidarkness then, at a small white table in front of a full-length mirror. I tried to put myself into light trance. Rob asked questions and I began to answer, using my own voice, which was more wavery in tone than usual however. We had no idea of what effects we might get, and because of the poor light Rob did not take notes during the experiment. He did write the whole thing down immediately after.

(According to her, ectoplasm formed the various changes and materializations about my hand in our previous seance with Bill Macdonnel. Sessions, she said, should be regular. Darkness or very dim red light will produce the best results for beginners. Rob asked if it would be possible for me to continue in full light. Malba said light would not bother her, but might bother me. She said that the way Rob and I work together, we need both of us to succeed, and that our channels were open before the session. The color experiments failed because we were not prepared. The closet experiment failed because I did not believe it would work. [Reading about mediums and their cabinets, I stationed myself in a dark closet while Rob checked from outside for any ectoplasm or aura.]

(Don’t worry about checking data so carefully to begin with; that is, get materializations first or you won’t have anything to check. Suggestion is a good tool. Mirror is a help to me, see perspective on a flat plane. Rob asked about prairie quote earlier, Malba said she was trying to make contact. She is not related to us in any way in a past life, just was available. Sometimes they will not respond on her plane to open channels unless they feel compatible with people seeking contact.

(She has not been looking in on us. She could not give name of town in S. Dakota because I was blocking her, already worried about possible failure if I checked on a map. She had lived in frame house, sandy yard, old house. She suggested Rob do same back exercises I am doing since they teach concentration. I didn’t say this at the time, but told Rob later.

(The term midplane is nearest she could come to a translation, they don’t use words on her plane. Better to keep our group small, and practice. Can’t expect too much yet. Rob told to try sessions with Bill and myself as we did last year, when Rob saw house and other material so clearly. Will not take so much energy from him now; then, he was sick. Keep pencil and paper handy for Rob’s visions, and expand ability.

(Rob and I weren’t as alone as we thought, when we tried first seance. Friends helped us get good results so we wouldn’t be discouraged. But we couldn’t count on such help all the time, or we wouldn’t develop our own abilities. The fingers I materialized were ectoplasm, done with the help of friends.

(Speaking of worry, she said we were much better now along that line. Isolation was good when it expanded. When your mind is consciously tight it is like closing a switch; and when you open up you turn off the switch. Rob asked if I could travel in astral body outside room, she said possibly. We should experiment along our lines of interest: Bill with his travel experiences, Rob with his visions, me with my dreams of levitation. Malba said there is no sensation as far as medium is concerned when ectoplasm emerges.

(Session lasted from about 9:15 until 10:30 PM. Rob wrote up his notes immediately after, then I checked them to add what I could that he might have forgotten.)