“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Last week we received Dr. Instream’s letter of September 13, in which he wrote that he would like to try straight clairvoyant communication with Seth on Monday and Wednesday nights at 10 PM. Dr. Instream also noted that on the evening of August 23,1965 he and his wife stopped overnight at York Beach, ME, while traveling. It will be remembered that Jane’s second envelope test was held on the night of August 23, in the 180th session, and that the test photo featured Jane on the waterfront at York Beach. I took the picture in the summer of 1964.

(In preparation for her next book, which will deal with the Seth material itself, Jane made an exploratory trip to several county records offices in Elmira; she is beginning an effort to track down Frank Watts. She accomplished a little, and met some helpful people; she enjoyed the quest.

(The double test envelope for the 8th test contained a page from an old novel of Jane’s entitled The Adult Time. She wrote this seven or eight years ago, and it was never published. The page is not numbered. I rummaged through her files and pulled out a page at random. I folded it in quarters and sealed it up.

(It was a very hot and humid night but we held the session in our small back room. We opened the windows however. Jane said she felt a little nervous, embarking on the clairvoyant tests with Dr. Instream. She also felt anticipatory. She began speaking while sitting down and with her eyes closed. Her voice was quiet. She used many pauses.)

(There came a knock on a window from the front of the house. The loud, brittle sound was clearly audible through the closed door. Jane came out of her trance without effort. Our first impulse was not to acknowledge the sound, but since it was unusual we did so. It proved that a TV antenna had been loosened over our porch roof, and a repairman asked us for the loan of a flashlight. We told him we were at work in the back of the apartment, and left the light with him.

(I was somewhat irritated by the interruption, since we use the cramped back room to avoid such incidents. But Jane told me not to worry, that the session was going to be a good one, that she felt Seth coming through well.

(The interruption occurred at 9:11. Jane resumed at 9:15.)

(Jane’s eyes now opened. This was quite early in the session for such a step. They did not open fully; Jane looked casually at me, and about the room, from beneath half-lowered lids. Her eyes closed at the end of the following paragraph.)

(Break at 9:27. Jane was very well dissociated for a first delivery, she said. Where in the last session everything had bothered her, even the sound of my writing, tonight nothing bothered her, not even the interruption. Her eyes were closed most of the time.

(Jane now told me she thought the “two people” referred to by Seth in the 2nd envelope test in the 180th session, were Dr. Instream and his wife Judy. See page 209. At the time, I had assumed that the two people referred to were Jane and me, since she was in the picture I took. We now know, of course, that Dr. Instream and his wife were in York Beach on the night of the 180th session.

(Jane resumed while sitting down and with her eyes closed. Her voice was a little stronger, her pace quite a bit faster. Resume at 9:35.)

(Here Seth refers to Jane’s trip downtown to the records offices, in search of data on Frank Watts. She was somewhat uneasy setting out on her journey, but wound up enjoying the afternoon a great deal.)

(Break at 9:55. Jane was well dissociated; she didn’t think much time at all had passed. Her eyes remained closed. Her delivery had been good.

(Jane’s eyes closed again when she resumed, in a quieter voice, and with more frequent pauses, at 10:00 PM.)

(Here Jane pointed at herself rather vehemently. Again, see the 180th session, page 209.)

Ruburt, or Jane Butts , in this case was the emotional connection. The test itself involved however a particular photograph that was of Jane Butts at York Beach, and in which the Instreams did not appear. I was not able to make the distinction clear to Ruburt, for it was definitely not a photograph of the Instreams.

However, on the date the test was given the Instreams were at York Beach. Therefore, the two people came through clearly; and specifically I did not say that you and Ruburt, or Jane Butts, were the two people involved. Hardly an exceptional performance, however evocative enough for a start.

(It was 10:11 PM. Jane sat quietly, her eyes closed. Actually her pause was quite brief. Her head was down, a hand to her face. Jane used many pauses delivering the following material, and I will indicate a few of them. I had the impression that she was being careful in what she said, but not that she was particularly nervous.)

(At 10:19 Jane took a long pause.)

(I gave Jane the test envelope at 10:21. Again she paused briefly, her eyes still closed. She held the test envelope in her left hand.)

(I was still somewhat puzzled by the answer, but did not press for elaboration for fear of distracting Jane. I had barely looked at the page of test script when I prepared the double envelopes this afternoon.)

(Break at 10:25. Jane was dissociated as usual. She said she did not feel particularly nervous while delivering the material on Dr. Instream. Her eyes had remained closed, her voice quiet. She had a vague memory of what she had said.

(See the copy of the test item on page 266. It is an excerpt from one of Jane’s early unpublished novels. It can be seen that once again Seth, or Jane, delivered a variety of impressions that can apply easily enough. The script deals with two people. The word “fall” appears once, and is implied in the simile “totter.”

(There could be strong verticals, depending on how Jane held the envelope; I do not remember. There are of course separations and many designs. Jane said the station wagon mentioned could be an item of value. Necessary precautions refers to steps the couple take upon learning the imminent arrival of the girl’s father, although these are not outlined on the page of test script, but on both preceding and succeeding pages.

(During break I asked Jane to discuss why I picked the particular photograph of York Beach to use in the test for August 23. At the time I made up the envelope the Instreams were already on their way to York Beach; I wondered what lines of communication had been open.

(Jane resumed in a quiet voice, and with her eyes again closed, at 10:42.)

(End at 10:49. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes remained closed, her voice quiet. Seth’s comment on this evening’s test came through because Jane and I had been speculating about such a translation of the script at last break.)