“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(I had prepared the usual test envelope that Wednesday afternoon while Jane was napping, as she usually does on session days. When the session did not materialize I saved the envelope for the next session, which I thought would be on Monday, September 6.

(The double envelope contained a simple line drawing I executed in black ink on ordinary white paper. It was folded once. I chose this subject matter in an effort to see how Seth would handle more abstract subjects. The drawing is reproduced on page 232; it is a pen tracing made from the original on a light table.

(Much was said before the envelope test developed, and this is summarized in Part Two. At about 11:50 PM Seth surprised me by asking if I had a test prepared. I replied that I had and went back to my studio to get the envelope I had readied for last Wednesday’s session, and my pen and notebook. Jane, as Seth, sat quietly talking with the Gallaghers while I was gone; I wondered if the enforced delay would give her time to become nervous.

I did not realize that this would not help you, that this information would not help you here. This was not Ruburt’s distortion, but my own misunderstanding.

(The session ended at 1:10 AM. Through it all Jane had been dissociated as usual. There had been rather frequent breaks. Jane now went to bed, and I began to make notes to supplement what I had already written down. I would like to add here one more piece of information given by Seth, concerning an earlier test, before concluding Part One. This was given after the Gallaghers had left.

(After tonight’s session Jane said she vaguely remembers a small plot of grass and vegetables, bordered by flowers, maintained by her grandfather in the backyard of her home in Saratoga Springs, NY. This would be quite an early memory for her. She had not made any conscious connection with this memory and the border data given in connection with the second test, however, until Seth mentioned it tonight.)

(Almost at the beginning of the session Jane, as Seth, pointed at me and said my head would be clear for the rest of the evening. Hay fever had been bothering me a great deal during the day. Seth said the reason I am bothered more at home than at work, where I feel remarkably good, is that the house dust in the apartment reminds me of house dust at home, and of my mother, when I was a child.

(It would be a great help if I could learn to talk with my parents in a conversational way, about inconsequential things.

(Seth deplored our ideas on war and peace, which must improve if we are to survive. This led into a discussion about computers, and Bill Gallagher’s personal idea of studying up on them for future use in business. Seth said computers would transform human life. He said Bill’s personal ideas were good ones; the inherent danger with them had to do with the type of salesman’s personality, the feeling of superiority and of having power over others, that might color the use of computers. He told Bill that it would require strict discipline on his part if he worked with computers in such a fashion.

(Seth told Bill he didn’t seem to have enough time in the day because he had the common habit of chopping time up into segments of minutes. A conception of time close to psychological time would give Bill enough time to do all he wants to do.

(At one point I remarked to Bill Gallagher that I used to have two favorite questions for Seth: “What do you do between sessions?” and “How’s my old friend Frank Watts?” Seth’s answer to my first question was “What do you do?” He now gave essentially that answer when Peggy asked my old question tonight. Commenting on Frank Watts, the personality Jane and I first contacted on the Ouija board to begin these sessions, Seth told me that there were records in town pertaining to Frank Watts, if we would stir ourselves to look for them.

(A few days ago Peggy Gallagher had brought Jane a copy of the latest Cosmopolitan magazine, and suggested that Jane query them about running some excerpts from her ESP book. In view of Cosmo’s drastically revised format, Jane agreed to try. Naturally we wondered how the ESP subject would be received by a popular magazine, and this gave us a chance to try an experiment that we had discussed before.

(This was simply to determine if Jane herself, as Jane, could ask Seth a question, then go into trance and deliver the answer as Seth. Since Jane had been switching focus often tonight, I suggested that now was as good a time to try the technique as any. With a little urging Jane, a little self-consciously, asked Seth about what kind of a reception such a query would get from the editors at Cosmo, whether they would buy such an article, etc.

(Seth stated that the editors at Cosmo would be interested, and that in answer to Jane’s query, which would consist of a chapter from her ESP book plus a letter outlining her ideas on adapting it for the magazine, they would send a letter of interest. Such an article, Seth said, would not be immediately bought by Cosmopolitan, but would eventually. The editors would ask for some changes. In the beginning they would be merely interested. Seth mentioned no time limit concerning the sale.

(This past week Jane learned the editor of Topper magazine that they had bought a short story of hers, The Mission. She was of course greatly pleased by this news. Seth now told us that Jane would sell more stories out of that batch she had written up before starting the ESP book. It will be remembered that Seth had something to say about Jane’s sales of short stories and books in the 104th session. The predictions given in that session 10 months ago are still working out. See Volume 3.

(Seth said that nevertheless the government had a point when they tried to prevent public panic by denying the existence of such craft. A great danger at this particular time would be that an admission of the saucer’s existence would, strangely enough, serve to unite the far-left and far-right extremist groups in this country. These groups would unite in declaring the craft to be Russian, that they were much advanced over anything we have; this whole furor would create panic, Seth said. In six months such reasoning would not apply, because of impending developments in this country. This would presumably be because of the impending elections, though Seth didn’t say this in so many words. In answer to my question he said Barry Goldwater would not be one of the far-rightists to cause trouble. Nothing was said about the source of the saucers, their inhabitants, etc.

(Bill Gallagher has something of a cold, and Seth gave him instructions for using suggestion upon retiring tonight. If he executed the suggestions properly, Seth told Bill he would wake up tomorrow to find his cold vastly improved. He would not be rid of it overnight, but would be well on the way to disposing of it.

(Seth said one other person would be involved, but he would not say whether it would be a male or female.

(At first I had thought Seth meant that Jane and I would be involved in the trouble seen for Leonard, but Seth reassured me by saying we would not. It did not involve a disaster for Leonard, he said, nor a crippling accident; he used the word unpleasant often, and did not commit himself beyond this.

(Any trouble that developed would be the result of present trends involving Leonard, and at this time these trends were so general it was impossible to pinpoint future events with any certainty. If the present trends were changed, the personality of the future trouble would change also. Jane and I know Leonard fairly well, but actually know little of his inner feelings, his friends, etc. We have no idea of what Seth means by trends. I had become concerned about attempting to warn Leonard in some fashion, but Seth said this could not be done.

(In case of a specific predicted event such a warning could be given, and if heeded could head off trouble. Seth told us that in this case there was nothing we could do. The present trend would have to continue before trouble really was a possibility. Nevertheless Jane and I will be alert on Leonard’s behalf, especially between September 15 and October 15.