“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(We had no real opportunity to talk with Dr. Instream until Sunday evening at his home, after the symposium was over. During our discussion Dr. Instream revealed that he had mailed the sessions listed above to his friend Dr. Gardner Murphy, at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, and asked for his opinion. Jane and I answered Dr. Instream’s questions as well as we could, and made an appointment to attend his Monday morning class at the college. This was to be followed by lunch with him before we left to visit my brother Bill in Rochester.

(To digress a moment: As predicted by Seth in the 168th session of July 7, Jane and I did find ourselves involved with three men in particular, one of whom is younger, at the symposium. Two of these men are physicians in their fifties, with whom we became rather well acquainted at lunches, etc., and exchanged addresses. The third man is a psychology instructor at the college, perhaps in his late thirties. On Saturday evening he leafed through some of the Seth material briefly, then pronounced it the work of a clever schizophrenic. This upset Jane briefly but she recovered well. During our Sunday evening visit, Dr. Instream demolished the young psychologist’s diagnosis rather easily.

I will seriously endeavor to do what I can do, considering our circumstances. We need have no worries concerning the personality with whom I work, since there is by now some sort of a rapport that will work for us. My cooperation can be counted upon. It goes without saying that all of this cannot happen overnight, but we shall begin.

I am very happy that I have been allowed to speak directly to you. There is in our material, if you will forgive my lack of humility, some hints and some specific remarks that will show the direction in which we can operate. I will be more than happy to work for our common goal when I am dealing with a personality who is not stupid, who is open-minded.

(Dr. Instream said that Jane was in a light trance during her delivery, and that automatic speech was involved. Our conversation then turned to the matter of scientific proofs and related subjects. This was also one of the subjects we had discussed at lunch, leading of course to Seth’s subject matter in the delivery just concluded.

Correct. For that will give us our effects.

It is our doorway... If objects come through, if evidence comes through, it comes through that doorway.

([Dr. Instream:] “Yes... the trouble is our human limitations... our methodology is important to us here... if we are to get others to listen to us....”)

Irregardless of our particular interests, I look forward to long conversations with you on less formal topics... like yourself, I am independent. We have many fields of common interests... the personality should always be considered in an elemental way as patterns of action. It is never stable. When you attempt to tamper with various levels you change it. When you crack an egg to discover what is inside you ruin the egg. There are other ways to get inside the egg, and they are not too difficult to do... you have the sort of mind, Dr. Instream, that will be of great benefit to us here. We do not need a hammer to crack the eggshell. I am an egghead, but I do not need a hammer to be cracked.

Your attitude may enable us to get some proofs. But others who say this does not exist will never get proof. All of our evidence will not be of a nebulous sort. If we succeed, some of it will be definite.

In the past I saw no reason to dominate these sessions with any particular effects. That was not my main concern. I will however at our sessions try to manage a greater variety of effects. The particular voice effect, for example: This is nothing difficult, it proves nothing. What would it prove?

(Jane came out of her trance at 2:35. Since we do not have a phone we gave Dr. Instream the number of our neighbor across the hall, Leonard Yaudes.

We will consider ways in which we can work within the physical circumstances. I want to also use the potentials in which I can work. I am somewhat sly... I am used to getting around corners. We will indeed try, within our scope of action, to do what we can. I am used to opening eggs without cracking them.

I have to admit that I am most pleased at our discussion. I am amused at your reactions, and my own... this is my first opportunity to talk with you... I have not pushed in the past for any kind of arrangement where proofs can be obtained....

(Dr. Instream said it was best to pursue a policy of denying nothing, to ignore the criticisms and go our own way. We should avoid personal polemics in the field and not get involved; just as he has always gone his own way. Jane, as Seth, sat listening intently. She nodded.)

(A case in point, Dr. Instream continued, was our meeting with the young psychologist on Saturday evening. See my notes on page 132. Dr. Instream said to forget such encounters. Jane again nodded in agreement, and her voice again became stronger briefly.)