“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

In practical terms these mental enzymes must of course, and do, give a predictable, more or less dependable result. The reason why they must is understandable. The thing to remember is that this interchangeability can occur and is therefore an ability or property of the mental enzyme in general.

Because mental enzymes seem to give the same effects most of the time in your physical universe, your scientists for years blithely labeled these as the laws of nature, that is, the apparent laws of cause and effect. Now because, if you’ll excuse the pun, a certain cause will usually give a certain effect in your physical universe, you may be justified in saying that these apparent results are laws that operate within your physical universe. But please, stay in your own backyard.

I still haven’t gone completely into our fifth dimension discussion, but I am rounding out our imaginary structural universe in such a way that the fifth dimension material will fit in almost effortlessly when the time comes. You have already been given a tremendous portion of material this evening. I hit upon the foreshortened time idea to save you actual practical time that you might wish to use in other matters. I will go along with it as far as I can and still achieve the best results, that is, it may tire you in ways that I am not aware of, though I doubt it. In this case I should of course dispense with it.

(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.]

(Tired consciousness sometimes yields good results; so may a clogged-up consciousness. The middle state is usually too concerned with practical matters. Bill Macdonnel should be good in seance sessions, though he is somewhat like mercury, changeable; at times he may not do well, other times good. James Spaziani might be good. [Our landlord.]

(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.

(We will get better results if we don’t look for cheap tricks; but even those who do have to have discipline; if you are sincere you need even more. The work with Seth is a lifetime project for us. We will get the material published and inform others. As a medium, I may be able to contact deceased friends and relatives. I will have to try our abilities via trial and error, since they vary with individuals. The York Beach experience was a trigger toward more conscious experimentation on our part.