“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Jane received her first intimation that something new might develop in the sessions when she was reading over last Wednesday’s session after supper tonight. She came up with the idea that she might give part of tonight’s session while lying down. Her first thought was one of acquiescence. Her second thought was one of panic, in that she wouldn’t know the passage of time as usual, etc.

(Then, lying down at 8:15 this evening, Jane felt that she went into a deeper trance state, one that was experimental and yet controlled. She was not particularly trying psychological time, yet she felt that she was familiarizing herself for a new development. She did not “see” or “hear” anything. She did not feel Seth around. She was, however, worried somewhat about what control she would have over the material if, in the prone position, she was in a deeper trance.

(The session did begin in a new way. At 9 PM Jane was sitting opposite me at our living room table, where I take my notes. She took off her glasses as usual, but instead of rising to begin pacing about the room she remained seated. Her eyes were closed, and remained closed whenever she delivered material throughout the evening. Her voice was normal, her delivery rather rapid but with pauses. For the most part she sat with one leg drawn up, an arm resting upon the knee, her hand to her head as though propping it up. She held a lighted cigarette in the other hand.

Nor would I have attempted such a procedure until I knew that Ruburt was ready for it, or at least ready to begin it, for this is but a beginning. He is doing well. This is of course a training period, and he may become momentarily uneasy, but never frightened. It is simply a matter of new orientation, and doing without certain props that are basically unimportant, but practically extremely convenient; such props as the divisions of sensation, fenced in from each other by pickets of minutes.

There will be varieties of adjustment; this also is to be expected. In the long run this procedure will take less out of Ruburt, and we of course will not exceed our usual regularity. Since we are trying something new I do not know how far we shall proceed this evening, for I do not press for quick, but press for thorough and safe progress. And even now, woe to me if I make a wrong move, for Ruburt would most certainly rise up in arms.

As it forms new fields of activity then, it increases its own ability for such renewal. The fields themselves are energy potentials. You must recall our discussions concerning fragments. Fragments of this type have all the potentialities of the parent, inner energy. You understand that: the parent, not apparent, energy?

(Jane was not frightened at the new development, but still felt uneasy about relinquishing control, as she put it, during a session. For instance, she worried about not knowing the time, yet once the session began she thought nothing of it. She did feel she had given consent for the experiment. She did not think Seth would try “pushing through” any startling information tonight.

We will not attempt to push much material through this evening, since we are trying a new venture.

(Jane said it would be easier to block any material that frightened her while she was pacing about. The new method, when she sat quietly, with the added ingredient of the long pauses, made blocking probably more difficult. The pauses interrupted the sense of the material to some degree. This might remove the impact from words or phrases that ordinarily would alert her to block them.