“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 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.

(During this part of the impromptu session Jane’s voice became very loud and strong at times; it did not match the effects of the recorded 170th session, but came close once or twice. It was far too loud for the house, in my opinion, with others living so close. Jane’s eyes were open for the most part by now, and she, or Seth, often looked deliberately at me, knowing my embarrassment. But this did not prevent another strong blast. At times Jane got to her feet and tipped her head back, as she had done in the 170th session. At these points Seth would remark about using such a position to attain more power, and would talk about how impossible such an effect was for Jane to attain normally.)

The voice became very loud at times. I worried about the neighbors during our frequent breaks. It was a hot and humid night and our living room windows were of course open. Seth was obviously enjoying himself, and I was very active physically as I spoke for him. My eyes were open a good deal of the time.

A few times the voice reached startling volume. I was afraid that the neighbors would wonder what was going on, and as it turned out my fears were justified. As Seth was speaking a knock came at our door. Almost instantly, it seemed, I snapped out of my trance.

For a moment we just sat there. Then I answered the door. Two neighbors from the house next door stood grinning at us. They had their cat with them. They had heard the voice from this apartment; their place is actually two lots away; a space of perhaps seventy feet separates the two houses.

Our friends were mystified. They had recognized elements of my voice, but because of the volume did not really think it was mine. The girl, Donna Taylor, said she thought we might be in trouble of some sort. Her husband Ed finally decided to come over to see what was going on. Not knowing what to say, I tried to joke that it was the television set, but Donna said it wasn’t; their set had been on, and they had checked all the eight stations to see if they could find such a voice.

(As often happens when witnesses are present, Seth was in a fine and frisky mood; there is no doubt that a witness or two will produce what appears to be abundant extra energy on Seth/Jane’s part. More often than not strong voice effects are manifested. Jane appears to be swept up, fully involved in the role, and thoroughly enjoying it. Nor does this involvement produce any apparent fatigue of any kind. On top of this, Seth promised an excellent session at our regularly scheduled time tomorrow night.)