“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, Jane and I spent visiting my brother William Richard and his wife Ida, in Rochester, NY. Bill has been acting as custodian of the second carbon of the Seth material. Jane and I have always made it a policy to have a carbon of any written material—prose, poetry, etc., in separate hands outside of our house, as a protection against loss by accident, fire, etc.

(We had not asked that Bill follow the material from session to session, feeling that it was for him to decide whether to pay any attention to it or not. Jane and I were therefore pleasantly surprised to learn that Bill and Ida had read some of the material; and while not hostile to it, they still expressed a healthy skepticism—an attitude Jane and I much prefer to any gullible, overenthusiastic belief blindly undertaken.

(Ida’s brother, Louie, had also been following the material somewhat more thoroughly, and he visited the four of us at Bill’s home Saturday night. Louie has had more experience than Jane or I with ESP activities; and when in the course of conversation the question of Jane giving a session arose, Jane and I were somewhat surprised, not anticipating this, and did nothing to push agreement to such an idea. However, when we finally became convinced that a session was quite welcome to Ida, Bill and Louie, if only out of curiosity, Jane and I agreed to try to hold one.

(We sat in the fully lighted living room. I held on my lap a sheaf of notepaper and had my pen handy. Jane sat quietly on the other side of the room while the rest of us exchanged ideas on the subject. It was getting late, we had already put in an active day traveling and visiting, and I for one was not sure of how effective such a session might be. Jane had remarked that she had no idea whether she could give one, and no inkling of any possible subject matter.

(Jane then arose abruptly and began to dictate in a voice somewhat stronger than usual, without greeting. Bill called out the time to me. Jane spoke rather loudly but paced at an average rate. Her eyes, I noticed, were exceptionally dark.)

(Here Jane pointed at Louie.)

(Again Jane pointed to Louie.)

(Now Jane pointed at me.)

(Jane smiled.)

(Again Jane pointed to Louie.)

(Break at 10:32. Jane was fully dissociated. She had been worried about giving a session before three witnesses, she said, this being the first time for that many. During the conversation at break it developed that Louie in this life does not use his right hand for all things, but is somewhat ambidextrous. Ida associated this, which neither Jane or I realized, with the fact that in the previous life a right arm had not been used by Louie.

(Jane resumed in the same strong voice at 10:38.)

(Jane pointed to Louie.)

(Jane pointed to Louie.)

(Break at 11:02. Jane was again fully dissociated, far-out. There followed a conversation mainly between Louie, Ida and Bill in which family matters were discussed. Not being versed in these, Jane and I could say little, and we had no way of knowing how valid the session’s material might be, or prove to be.

(Jane resumed in the same forceful manner, with many gestures, at 11:20, pointing again at Louie.)

(End at 11:48. Jane was normally dissociated, gradually coming out of the state as the session neared its end. My writing hand was somewhat tired, since her dictation had been rather fast. Jane used the rather strong voice throughout the session, along with more gestures than usual also.

(The five of us were discussing the session when Jane spoke for Seth again, abruptly rising and dictating in the same strong voice. She spoke without wearing her glasses, but instead left them on the floor near where she had been sitting. Each time, pacing back and forth across the room, seldom looking down, it seemed she might step on the glasses, but she did not. Resume at 11:51.)

(End at 12:07. Jane was dissociated as usual.)