“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Our friend John Bradley visited us this evening. We played part of the 170th session, which was recorded and directed by Seth to Dr. Instream. In the middle of a passage Seth suddenly came through, saying: “Why settle for a recording when you can have the real thing?” His voice was quite strong. He seemed in excellent spirits. John had never heard the loud Seth; the previous sessions he witnessed had all been quiet ones. Now Seth began to speak loudly and jovially. Rob made no notes, as Seth told him they were not necessary. These notes are written from memory.

(We had been hunting through the taped session for particularly strong voice effects so that John could get an idea of the power of the Seth personality. Jane was on her knees before the recorder; we had found a strong passage. Her eyes closed and she switched the recorder off as she began speaking as Seth. The transition was so smooth that it was a moment before John and I realized we were no longer listening to the tape. Jane’s voice was strong from the beginning.)

John is considering leaving his job and buying a restaurant bar in his home town, Williamsport, PA. He asked Seth’s opinion concerning this plan. Seth doubted John would make the move, because of his desire for security for his family, and because of his need for cosmopolitan outlets. These were met in his sales work, but would not be so easily satisfied if he were a proprietor of a settled establishment.

Seth said that no changes would occur in the organization with which John is now connected, Searle Drug, until next February at the earliest. John is planning his job change for next January. Seth said the new project would be a success if John actually bought the business.

(Seth also told John that the data given on Searle Drug, its financial and personal entanglements, plus John’s own promising prospects if he remained with the firm through its present crises, still applied. Some of this information goes back well over a year. It is scattered through the following sessions that John has witnessed: 37, 54, 63, 70, 95, 135, 166, in Volumes 1 through 3.)

John also asked Seth if he knew what the trouble had been when John had had a pain in his throat on June 17,1964; on this date John witnessed the 63rd session. While trying psychological time on June 18,1964, I had a very startling experience in which I was told by a thunderous voice that John’s trouble lay really in a “bad tongue.” See Vol. 2, pages 167-68. Seth now explained that this mysterious voice had been his. He said John had cut his tongue on a bone sliver while eating, but because of the human nerve structure in that part of the anatomy the pain had been felt down in his neck.

John made a remark to the effect that he would like some sort of proof of Seth’s existence. Seth lit into him, saying that the voice effects were impossible for a woman of my makeup. Seth said he could just as legitimately insist that John prove his existence to him.

John asked Seth if he knew who he, John, could get to type extra copies of the material. Seth told us that later Dr. Instream would help us out in this respect, although he didn’t know it yet. Seth said there was a woman at the college in Oswego who would do the work. Seth also told John to keep looking for someone himself: “The effort will do you good.”

Rob then said it was an experiment in self-hypnosis for my next book. This certainly was no lie, and the Taylors seemed to accept the explanation. John was having trouble keeping a straight face. The Taylor’s cat began playing with our cat, Willy, and we had no trouble steering the conversation into safer channels. The Taylors stayed for half an hour, then left. John Bradley left shortly after. By then it was past midnight.