“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.

(What did develop was that my boss at work, at 11:50 AM, called me on the phone–he happened to be at the company’s other plant on Elmira’s southside at the time–and asked me to put in more time on the job as a regular routine. As soon as the secretary told me who was calling me, I intuitively knew what the call was about and was prepared as I picked up the receiver.

(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 had thought that if there was a session tonight, and it was a short one, I would wait to ask Seth what transpired with Miss Callahan within the above time period. If the session lengthened out, I planned to ask him tonight.

(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.

(At 9:01 Jane said, “I have a vague feeling he might come through for a few minutes. I’m not sure, though.” I took my usual place at the writing table. Jane began to dictate at 9:02, smiling quite amusedly as she did so. Although she had been coughing a lot, she delivered the following material without strain or interruption, in a quite voice. Her pacing was slow, her eyes dark as usual.)

I was indeed giving you a much needed vacation, but I could feel you clamoring about this evening, and so we will visit for a short time.

Ruburt’s encounter with his father, in many ways, did him good and was largely advantageous. The encounter had nothing to do with his cold, or with yours.

The abandon of your dancing was good for both of you. The indisposition, or cold, came about for a strange reason, based mainly upon the symbolism placed by both of you upon the establishment in which you created the fragments last year.

(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.)

The unpleasantness for this date was avoided largely because of your own improved expectations and understanding.

(End at 9:16. The time is an estimate, since I forgot to note down the actual ending time. Jane said she was not very well dissociated, although she had no trouble receiving the material. Her voice did not bother her while dictating.

(We have been resting from trying psychological time since August 12th. After the session tonight we tried a few experiments but achieved nothing, with the exception that at one point when Jane announced she might achieve a certain result, I felt my old familiar thrilling sensation wash over me quite strongly. It might be noted that although Jane’s hand rested in mine at the time, she was not aware of any change in feeling or sensation on my part.)