“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(This morning at breakfast I had announced that light was also a mental enzyme, to Jane’s surprise and somewhat to my own. We opened this session by sitting at the board as usual, without asking questions. The answers, once we were underway, began through the board.

(Break at 9:45. Jane and I both were surprised at the amount of material we had gathered in forty-five minutes. The time seemed to fly. During this session our cat Willy slept the whole time. Jane’s voice never went beyond a certain medium deepening and a small increase in volume. At times as she talked it was quite normal. During this break I mentioned that I would like to ask Seth about flying saucers. Jane resumed dictating at 9:51.)

(Here Jane pounded the table for emphasis, although her voice was normal.)

(Seth made this surprising statement at 10:12, just 21 minutes since we ended last break at 9:51. Now typing up this material the next day, I must say that my reading of the clock may not have been entirely accurate; it sat on a shelf behind me and I merely looked quickly over my shoulder. I was so surprised by the statement that I did not think to make absolutely sure of the reading.

(Once again Jane’s voice became loud; but it was still quite recognizable as her voice.)

Planes can and do intermix without the knowledge of the particular inhabitants of either plane. I want to get away from the idea of a plane being a place. It may be in some cases but it is not always. A plane may be a time. A plane, believe it or not, may be only one iota of vitality that seems to exist by itself. A plane is something apparently divided from the rest of the universe for a time and for a reason. A plane may cease to be. A plane may spring up where there was none. A plane is formed for entities as patterns for fulfillment along various levels. A plane is a climate conducive to the development of unique and particular capacities and achievements. A plane is an isolation of elements where each element is given the most possible space in which to function.

Frank Watts did indeed come from the state of sorrow. He was a makeup personality—that is, through Frank Watts I had to make up for past errors. Never a pretty proposition. These people who seem borne from sorrow to sorrow are often of this type. I should not make light of Frank Watts, since almost literally he redeemed me. This plane for Frank Watts was a plane of sorrow. I will of course make it all up to him, or try to. He has absolutely no sense of humor.

(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.

(Finally someone who said her name was Malba Bronson spoke through me, in my own voice. She said that she died in South Dakota in 1946, at the age of 46, and that presently she inhabited a “midplane.” She said that she knew Seth, who was however on a higher plane, and that he would explain the term midplane to us. She also said that Seth would probably call her “Malba Toast.”

(Malba said it takes time to prepare for a seance, 15 minutes at least in relaxation before; a black cloth on our table reaching to the floor would help, as well as drapes on the upper half of our windows, to cover the white Venetian blinds. She said that my old friend, Father Trainor was on her plane, and that both of them would probably reincarnate again. She is a female personality but does not operate sexually.

(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.

(Malba said connection with her could be renewed by asking questions. Seth, she said, was an excellent teacher, a philosopher where she was not. Don’t be discouraged, remember poor Ouija sessions before success. We have been preparing ourselves for this since before our marriage nine years ago, but marriage reinforced our energies. Ego spits like a cat to maintain conscious control, but will relax when it sees it can come to itself whenever it chooses. A drink helps, a darkened room, pre-seance preparation.

(Malba will go over this material later if we want to check notes we intend to make. Malba said she was the girl I spoke about dying early in Levonshire, England, but that she died at 14 and not 17, as I said. The ego distorts material, as in this case. She also said that if we meet anyone who would be good in seance group, we would know it.

(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.

(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.