“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I do not approve of a whole day being given over to the sort of experimentation carried on by Ruburt last week in the Father Trainor sessions. In one respect I do agree with Ruburt, in that any future experiments with friends would be of better advantage carried out using chairs at a table, and actually making as few suggestions as possible.

(Break at 9:30. Jane was not as deeply dissociated as she has been recently. She knew the gist of what she had said. Looking back at the Father Trainor episode, she said she was somewhat frightened in retrospect, and would not conduct such a lengthy experiment again.

I am not saying that you should not talk about our sessions or allied subjects with friends, only that one night or sometimes two, of social discourse should certainly contain some more outward enjoyments. It would do Ruburt no harm either to resume his painting. His time as a rule is very busily engaged, and usually with mental work. It is all the more important therefore that his leisure have some outward aspect to it, and when possible of an active nature.

I am not saying you should always go dancing, but this is an excellent relaxation for you both, and leaving the house or visiting at someone else’s home is also good for you both. I would not take so much time this evening with this material if I did not feel that it was important enough to warrant it. Surely you and your friends could go dancing together when you can afford it. Surely, you can for example go with Mark to one of his jolly haunts. Even though no physical activity such as dancing is available the change is still good.

Surely you can have enjoyable evenings at home without experiments, though again at times these have their place. Our sessions themselves are always in a state of becoming. We hope to become more proficient. I do not want Ruburt to become overinvolved. I would prefer that he channels his new abilities mainly, though not exclusively, in our sessions.

One small note. Upon another occasion I would like to speak about Mark’s recent seizure. He is very loyal, particularly to you, Joseph, and is indeed in his own way as trustworthy a friend as you have ever had; this having to do with past experiences also.

My very best wishes to you both. We shall have an excellent session Wednesday, when I hope to finish up some of the material which we have been discussing, at least. Even I, through you, look forward to your springtime. If now and then you ever want an additional session, under most circumstances I will agree. I do not mean extra sessions for witnesses particularly, since these sessions are open to anyone who is sincerely interested. I simply mean that if you ever feel the desire for an additional session, I would comply.

(End at 10:37. Jane was well dissociated. Once in a while Jane and I have discussed extra sessions, but usually we do not have the time, particularly when other experiments like the one involving Father Trainor crop up. Occasionally we would like a session dealing with some specific problem, and may try this approach. Also one involving questions and answers.)

(I am not sure exactly what happened, much less what caused it. I’m writing a prose sketch of Father Trainor. I thought that if I tried reading G. K. Chesterton’s Lepanto, and Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard the way Father Trainor used to, my memory would be refreshed. I wanted to describe his poetry readings for the sketch.

(After lunch I decided to try again. At lunch I played the tape for Rob, then while posing for him I suggested to myself that I would go into a trance as soon as I began to read, and that Father Trainor would indeed use his voice to speak through me, if he was available. I then started all over again with the readings. Except, for what reason I do not know, I turned the recorder on but forgot to depress the “record” button.

(I was so angry that I did the whole thing over again. Lepanto is a four-page poem. This time the performance was about like the second one, already recorded. Perhaps if I feel subjectively right about doing it again, I may try it tonight. I don’t know where the volume comes from, the deep manlike tones. Perhaps it is what actors call merely projection, breathing from the diaphragm. I wasn’t conscious of breathing any differently than usual, but if this was a subconscious production that wouldn’t make any difference. But where would the male aspect enter, unless it be a woman’s attempt to mimic as best she could the voice of a man she had admired?

(The volume and male inflection Jane achieved during her various readings was quite amazing. I noticed that toward the end of each verse of the Lepanto she would reach a crescendo of volume and emotion that was indeed thrilling. For brief periods her voice would sound very alien. For other periods, during what seemed to be letdowns, I would know the voice was hers. But still it would be much stronger and lower in timbre than her natural voice.

(It might be added that during the whole day’s experimentation Jane did not suffer from any voice fatigue, nor did she have any aftereffects the next day. She bore up as well as when she was conducting three-hour Seth sessions, although today’s experiment lasted something like five or six hours. I was afraid that she would overdo it however.)