“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

I will address my remarks this evening to Dr. Instream, with whom I am at least now somewhat acquainted. I will speak fairly slowly, since Ruburt is taking his time in order that Joseph may take his notes. Notes in our circumstances are fairly important.

Your attentions are indeed focused elsewhere. You are in a trance as well as Ruburt is in a trance state now. This is far from unusual. I use you, dear Doctor Instream, only as an example. Consciousness of any kind is merely the direction in which the self looks. I told you this at our brief meeting. Consciousness is the focus, the direction of focus. Your ordinary consciousness is as much a trance state as any trance state induced through hypnotism. Therefore it is nearly impossible to convince a subject in trance that something he does not see exists.

There is indeed no reason for you, in your position, to jump in with both feet and wild erratic enthusiasm. Nor, my dear doctor, is there any reason at this point why I should leap in with both feet, and with wild unrestrained enthusiasm. I am working through and with Ruburt. Ruburt is a writer by profession and I am, again, a rather sly individual, for Ruburt will express my views for me, and this is what I am interested in.

I am interested in education. You, my dear doctor, are interested in visual aids. This is all right. We are in a very basic manner interested in the same matters. It occurs to me once more that I am speaking too swiftly for our notetakers, and I will once again endeavor to slow down. As far, incidentally, as automatic speech is concerned, let me say that there is nothing compulsive in Ruburt’s speaking. He allows me to speak indeed. I have his politeness to thank that he does not interrupt me, but his speaking is not compulsive in that he is so driven.

If you will read the Seth material you will also find that there are other reasons why I speak through Ruburt.

I can indeed give you, and quite easily, evidence of clairvoyance, and I will in future sessions. But my dear Doctor Instream, what will this prove? It will not prove my existence to those who will not accept it. It will simply be said that Ruburt is clairvoyant.

I will, and can, give you evidence of telepathy, and what will this prove? It will not prove my existence, not to those who will not accept it. They will say merely that Ruburt is clairvoyant, and Ruburt has telepathic powers. If I materialized in full sight of twenty good and weighty witnesses, what indeed would this prove to those who would not accept the proof?

Therefore what proofs can you require? And in all honesty’s sake, what proofs do you think that they will require? What good will it do if through Ruburt I literally shout from the rooftops, and raise my voice, and shout that I am indeed who and what I say I am. What will this prove?

You are not so gullible, nor am I, to suppose that those who do not want to accept evidence will ever accept the strongest evidence imaginable. Those who will not see, will not see. And those who will not listen, they will not listen. You wanted a voice display, and so indeed shall you have it. And what indeed will such a display show? That Ruburt has lungs?

You know, and I know, that it is literally impossible for a woman such as she to speak in tones as loud and deep as those which I am now using. But you speak of proof, and your psychologists speak of proof. Though I have Ruburt speak in tones as deep and ungodly as a frog’s, this will mean nothing.

Ruburt and Joseph also to some extent, and for good reasons, hold back. I do not resent this. They find it difficult to imagine that they are dealing with a case which will be indeed well investigated.

Indeed, I should not be harsh, and I do not mean to be. This voice which I adopt forces a certain meaning upon me, through inflection, which sometimes is not intended. Ruburt, who cooperates with me so well, still is not certain that I am I. So indeed, how shall I blame others? I am hampered indeed, for whenever I speak in tones of ordinary conversation, then indeed I cause these poor people hours of notetaking. You may not know it, but you will help us out in these matters in the future.

And here you see an example of my sly nature, for Ruburt (louder) will present my material for me. Regardless of its source, the material speaks loud and clear. It is largely disregarded, the sort of personality which is required in this endeavor. It simply happens that because of past relationships I know Ruburt well, and Ruburt knows me far better than he imagines.

Now. I have trained Ruburt and taught Ruburt so that his valid clairvoyant experiences can be put on some sort of scientific basis. He keeps records, which will be invaluable. He is an intelligent and intuitional personality, and should be given credit. He is not however some demigod walking the face of the physical earth; and your word “medium” leaves much to be desired. Again I say as I have said before, all human beings are breathers, and in this respect all human beings are mediums.

Now. Quite practically your personal and practical interest in immortality will give the impetus, the emotional impetus that will indeed allow me to deliver what you want. This is perhaps one of the most important statements of this evening’s session. Emotions are more important than you suppose. There is no fraud in me. There is no fraud in Ruburt or Joseph. They are not stupid and they are not gullible. You are not stupid nor gullible. They are not caught up in pseudoreligious nonsense. This will serve us well.

However I do not sincerely believe that such will be the case, and I can assure you that I am not one to dillydally. I am deeply aware of my responsibilities to Ruburt, through whom I speak, and I will endeavor to protect this personality from undue or unnecessary bother. But I will in all manners cooperate in any sincere effort that will add to the knowledge of the human [species] in general.

Ruburt and Joseph are, again, in many ways reluctant. They are more humble than is necessary also.

You must also understand that I work to some extent within the human limitations of Ruburt’s own personality, and you have underestimated that personality. You have not underestimated my personality.

I am no secondary personality. There is no case of multiple personality here. What you have if you take advantage of it, is Ruburt’s personality, which with Joseph’s help is capable and willing to perceive more than one reality at once. You will not, my dear doctor, get a second chance in this endeavor.

Now. Because I have been called upon to give a voice display, so shall you see that I can do so. (Very loud and strong.) You will also find at the end of this session that Ruburt’s vocal chords are in no way fatigued; and I can so speak here for hours, nor would this bother Ruburt in the slightest degree. If such a display serves to convince you of my validity then so shall it be. I find it difficult to imagine that you need such childish play to convince you of that which you already know. (Loud and strong.)

We must to some extent consider Ruburt’s own personality, and all protection that is possible should be given here. Doctor Instream can act in this behalf, and I will consider such actions as a gesture of his faith; though the word faith is not meant as any alternative to the word science, it is quite possible to have both.

(Seth was rather loathe to discuss the statue at first, but kept throwing out bits of information about it in between his protests. During this time Jane remained seated, her eyes closed. The statue, of a mythological or Godlike being in a sitting position with its arms upraised, did come from Tibet, Seth said—a small area in a southwestern corner of the country. I asked him for the name and he said he did not think Ruburt could pronounce it. The closest he could come via spelling was S-w-a-s-o-o-w-a-n. Swasoowan.