“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(This was our first session since returning from vacation in York Beach, Maine. Both of us had heavy colds when we got home on Sunday, August 23.

(Jane came down with her cold while we were in Maine. Strange to say, she believes it began on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 18, while we were dancing at the Driftwood Lounge at York Beach, which is the hotel bar where we saw our projected fragments, described by Seth in the 9th session [in Volume 1], page 43.

(It will be recalled that in the 63rd session, June 17, 1964, page 159, Seth gave a date of today, Aug. 24, as being one that could possibly see an unpleasantness arise for us. Starting our day this morning, we reminded ourselves of the date, but made no plans other than to perhaps keep a sharp eye out for situations that could possibly develop unpleasantly. As an example, I drove the car with a little extra caution, though usually I am a careful driver to begin with.

(When Harry requested that I put in more time I declined, and he accepted my answer with his usual good grace. I thanked him for offering me the extra income. There was no unpleasantness. I did not base my decision concerning working hours on the Seth material, although the information Jane and I have received on expectations played a part; it has done much to increase our confidence in various fields of endeavor other than our arts.

(It will be recalled also that in the 63rd session, Seth gave a date of Aug. 12-15 for Miss Callahan, our neighbor in the front apartment. Miss Callahan and her illness, and her connection with Frank Watts, who purportedly was the first psychic contact Jane actually achieved, have been dealt with at length in various sessions. Seth did not specify the meaning of this latest date for her, and Jane and I saw Miss Callahan the day after our return from vacation, looking quite well. We had left Elmira on the morning of the 15th.

(I would like to mention here another rather halfhearted experiment I tried while on vacation. Driving up to Maine, I noted that our car, which is an old one, was using quite a bit of oil. I did not keep an exact record because I did not have the experiment in mind at the beginning of the trip. However, by the time we left York Beach, I had tried to suggest to my subconscious, in line with the material we have obtained to date on the value of expectation, that the car would consume less oil than on the outward journey. Again without keeping an exact count, I arrived home with the definite feeling that the car used at least two quarts less oil. Twice, stopping at stations along the way, I was somewhat surprised to be told by attendants that no oil was needed, or that it was down so little that there was no point in adding more. I did not tell Jane of my little effort until we were home. Again, if tonight’s session developed, I thought I would ask Seth whether I was correct, or merely the victim of some overoptimistic wishes.

(The irony here being that I had been making efforts, consciously at least, to convince myself that I would not catch Jane’s cold, after she developed it last Tuesday. I came down with it, actually, on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 22, while Jane and I were sitting in a drafty bar with her father, in Saratoga Springs, NY, while on our way home. It was a cold and rainy evening.)