“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(This session was unscheduled. Today we had looked at a house in the country just outside Elmira. It had caught our fancy to some degree and was possibly within our ability to buy, if we could take the word of friends of ours. The house belonged to an artist and schoolteacher who had left town for good; Jane had met him at the gallery, I had not. The house offered privacy but seemed to raise as many questions as it answered, one of them being that it was situated on a hillside and was accessible only by a very steep dirt road that was not maintained by either state or county.

(Returning home at about 6:00 PM, we discussed the prospect of moving and its many involvements, etc. Jane then stated that she felt Seth’s presence and that we could have a session if we wanted one. We decided to see what developed, wondering about what help if any Seth could offer in such a situation.

(I got my pen and paper. We sat quietly for a few minutes, then Jane rose and began to dictate. Her voice was somewhat husky, and remained so. She spoke rather fast at times, and usually with some amusement, particularly in the beginning. She paced as usual; her eyes did not display the darkening so usual at night, yet there was a change in them.)

(Jane gave a big grin.)

(In addition to the teacher’s house, we had indeed looked briefly at a rebuilt schoolhouse owned by Mr. Marvin, whom Jane and I barely know. We had not entertained any though of buying it, however, since we had heard the price was high previously, and did not care for the location. Seth was very serious as he relayed the above information through Jane.)

(Our cat Willy had been somewhat active ever since the session began. Now once again he began to run after Jane. This time, instead of diving at her ankles, he jumped up on my table; then as Jane walked by he reached out at her; his claws caught in her slacks. Without breaking her delivery Jane picked him up and then dumped him into another room; she closed the door.)

(As Jane delivered the following paragraph, I felt my familiar thrilling sensation sweep over me from head to toe, quite strongly. Remnants of it lasted for a while as the session proceeded.)

(Break at 7:40. Jane was dissociated as usual. The time had passed rapidly, it seemed. The house had, we had been told, about an acre of land, although it was all on the steep side of a hill. We had found it unlocked and had gone inside, but had not thought to examine specifically the foundations. On one side the hill dropped down to the highway; on the other side it rose at a steep slant. Jane and I had wondered about landslides.

(Jane resumed in the same manner at 7:45.)

(It might be added that the house sits on the hillside on one side of the main highway leading west out of Elmira. On the other side of the highway runs the Chemung River. Jane and I could see the river from the long front porch of the house, looking down through the trees. The view would obviously be even better in the winter.)

(The house was very dirty and unkempt, and I wondered whether such a small thing as a toy ball could remain undiscovered by Jane and me for some time, with Willy perhaps playing with it in the meantime.)

(Break at 8:15. Jane was dissociated as usual. Just before break, she held her hands out to me while dictating to indicate they were “fat,” or felt enlarged. They looked to be so, especially the thumbs and index fingers. I attempted no measurements, since this procedure had indicated before that there would indeed be a definite physical difference in finger circumferences.

(Jane said the sensations began to abate soon after break. And then she began dictating again almost immediately, in the same manner.)

(Here Jane gave a broad smile.

(End at 8:30. Jane was dissociated as usual. My hand felt no fatigue, even now. We spent some time discussing the session, and the fact that our present landlady had gone up with us to look at the house we were interested in a second time. She had liked the house on sight and was going to discuss it with her husband.

(Jane then began to abruptly dictate again, sitting across from me.)

(End at 8:59. Jane was dissociated as usual. She felt very good after the session. Since these sessions had begun late last year, Jane and I had thought that there must be good reasons why we had taken this apartment, then lived in it for over four years. I had never asked Seth the reasons, thinking that in some way Jane and I must be involved with Marion and James Spaziani; and thinking also that some time the reasons would begin to emerge in the material.

(Jane is up for a substantial increase in salary at the art gallery where she works part time. We were wondering whether Seth had included some as yet unknown [to us] future salary of hers in his calculations as to whether we could afford to carry the house.

(We discussed this problem, and Jane then began to dictate again. Her voice was normal. Resume at 9:03.)

(End at 9:05. This time, Jane said, Seth was gone.)

(Friday, June 26, sometime after supper, Jane felt like trying the Ouija board by herself. I was working at the time on a painting, unaware of her activity. The transcript ends where I interrupted it by walking out into the living room where Jane was using the board.

(As usual, Jane’s questions are in italics, the board’s answers in roman.)

(Jane reports that she did not speak her questions aloud. Usually she received the answer within before the board spelled it out. She did not hear the answer within yet did know what the answer would be. She has no opinion concerning the above material; I have inserted it into the record out of curiosity, and on the off chance that it might come into future use.)