“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(After this our conversation turned to what Seth might say about the origins of Bill Gallagher’s ulcer. The ulcer had bothered him all day while Peg and he attended a family gathering. Jane announced that she felt the rapport in our group was favorable, that Seth could hold a session now if we requested it. Not long after this she asked me to get my notebook. The session then began with Jane sitting in the same chair, facing us.

May I here add for our friend Ruburt’s satisfaction that the performance of which he was so skeptical, was indeed, despite all his protests, quite legitimate. Now he can stew over that.

Without carrying us into a long and lengthy session, it would be impossible for me to go into the complicated relationships involved in the psychic history of the personality whom I will here call Manuk, which is the male as he now sits before me. The solution of the problem is in his hands, and recognition on the part of the ego, which has not assimilated past knowledge, will do much to settle his condition.

I must here express my gratitude indeed that Ruburt deign to allow this unscheduled session, particularly since we missed our own last scheduled one. But I shall not badger him, as I believe indeed he badgers himself enough. I will now take my leave and give you a short break.

In a past existence the male in this room, during in fact two existences, was an extremely intelligent female of high standing. The woman was in the last existence a male. The husband in the immediately last existence was also a male, but in two lives previous to that he was a female. A wealthy one in one life.

While indeed I try to understand his ways, nevertheless I find it most difficult to understand on his part these mountains of self-doubt. I am hardly a portion of his personality. Were I a secondary personality of his, I would exhibit those characteristics that are inhibited in his personality, though I must admit I find it difficult to discover where he is inhibited. A less inhibited personality is difficult to find.

—of a gullible, pseudomystical type of temperament. Nevertheless I cannot help but grow annoyed when I am literally besieged with the protests meant to insist upon his sanity, the point being that if he is sane, then I must be some nefarious seven-eyed monster. He does indeed give acquiescence for these sessions, and I am indeed fond of you both. I have been aware that you do not care, particularly, for the opinion of your fellow men. But our Ruburt, who has never cared for the opinion of his fellow men, now rises up in great worry. What is he afraid of?

Indeed the answer is only too obvious: the great writer fears to be found out; and why? Because the words he speaks are not his own. He knows only too well the importance of these sessions, and I am not afraid of his ego, for even his ego knows.

I will now suggest your break, and I will discuss to some greater degree data concerning your guests. And if I took time out for this discussion, it is indeed because for once I have grown impatient. For much of this on Ruburt’s part is indeed pretense—not conscious pretense, but pretense. He knows full well not only the importance of the sessions, personally, but he knows the far-reaching consequences of these sessions, and he is indeed quite able to deal with the consequences.

(Bill Gallagher’s ulcer was not bothering him. He said he felt fine, and that it was a most welcome situation. I had not observed any change in Jane’s features, the few times I had managed to take a look. Bill however remarked that he thought he had detected a change; he thought Jane’s lower jaw line had become more rounded, losing a little of its angularity. As it happened Bill could see Jane full-face from his position on the couch. I sat beside him and saw more of the left side of Jane’s face, and Peggy from her position was looking at the right side of Jane’s face. Peggy also thought she noticed some change.

(I was quite pleased that in spite of the fast and furious pace of most of the session, my writing hand was holding up remarkably well. I didn’t know whether Seth was helping me out or not; he didn’t mention it in those terms, and unfortunately I neglected to ask.

(Bill’s ulcer was still not bothering him, and he was still free of symptoms at 1:20 AM when Peggy and he left for home. Bill again mentioned that he thought he saw a change in Jane’s features while she was speaking, especially in the jawline and the shape of the face in general. I had noticed nothing. My writing hand felt only a mild fatigue.

There is much concerning the laws of energy which I have not yet explained to you, and so it is inevitable that our sessions are dependent upon his abilities to utilize energy. He has indeed done very well. But for a while yet we are still dependent upon his utilization of energy.

He has realized for a while that it would be possible for me now to speak while we—that is, he and I so cooperated that his eyes were open, and yet his trance was deep, much deeper than in our early sessions, where the exterior circumstances might appear the same.

There is what amounts at times to a wall that separates us, as far as emotion is concerned, and this is our Ruburt’s doing, though of course he does not do it deliberately. Again, the strength and indeed the stubbornness of his ego, made the sessions possible, for without it in the beginning there would have been difficulty in maintaining necessary stability.

I regret that you must be so involved in your notetaking. This evening’s session, all in all, will be most beneficial to Ruburt, and I hope it will be beneficial to you. I must work along the lines of his development. This involves us in many circumstances that are necessary. I cannot get around him as far as his abilities are concerned. I will not push him. We would lose in the long run. The spontaneity of the whole night’s adventure, including the Father Trainor episode, was advantageous. He, Ruburt, is basically with me all the way, but he has Jane to contend with.

The hoarseness on Ruburt’s part is not because of the endless cigarettes which he has smoked, for I could indeed continue along these lines, and with this voice, as long as I desired.

(“Don’t you wish he’d quit smoking?”)

(The strange thing here was that by now even I realized that Seth could do just what he said he could, that he still had not hit the top of his, or Jane’s, ability to produce a really stunning effect. I have no real way of measuring the magnitude of what I was hearing, beyond stating that it enveloped me completely. I not only felt that everyone in the apartment house could hear the voice, but that it was audible on the street. I am still surprised that no one banged on our door and asked for quiet.

(Since Seth was obviously having such a good time needling me, I very nearly yielded to temptation and told him to pull out all the stops as far as voice effects went. I was curious to see what he could really do, through Jane. But I didn’t have the nerve, considering the hour and other people.)

Ruburt presently feels no discomfort. He may be slightly tired tomorrow, but that is all. The emotional rapport built up between us will reinforce our sessions in general, and you know how important this can be. I must still work within the realm of his energies, and I do not even now believe that you realize how much more effectively he is using those energies, nor what strains our sessions have put upon his ego, which he has managed to triumph over.

You do well, Joseph, to watch out for Ruburt as you do. He does however allow himself freedoms, as this evening, and on other occasions which are most beneficial.

(And I thought that if Seth really showed what he could do, cars would probably stop in the street outside; seriously.)

(It can also be noted that in the second half of the session Seth made no reference to my watching out for physical changes in Jane, as he had when Peggy and Bill Gallagher had been present. Bill and Peggy had seen changes. I observed my own set of changes later. It is my thought, at least at the moment, that Bill’s observations and my own would not coincide. This may be explained later.)