“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Logic builds its monuments step by step, one thought before the other in a series where each thought or deduction is dependent upon the thought before. The intuitions are of a more spontaneous nature, and less dependent upon such step-by-step movements.

(It was now 9:09. I had been glancing occasionally at the candle flame as I wrote. It burned within a foot of my left hand. The flame had now increased perhaps a quarter of an inch in height, and burned steadily at that level; this meant an increase from 3/4 of an inch to one inch.

On one hand, basically, the self is limitless, both electromagnetically and because of the nature of action, which affects all other action. The self does not however proceed along straight lines, from a birth to a death. This is only the self that the ego perceives. Action cannot remain inactive or motionless, though the motion may not always be apparent.

(The candle flame had maintained its increased height very steadily until close to break time, when I thought it began to fluctuate a bit. At break I thought it was mainly at its original lower height. Jane could not see it, and did not ask about its behavior. We agreed not to mention it during sessions, no matter what took place. I had wondered if the increased height of the flame had resulted from the body of the candle “warming up,” since it was a thick one, perhaps five inches tall. When the flame subsided however at break, I did not know what to think, and decided to merely record what I saw without being concerned.

(This bit of data was also given to Peggy on Friday, December 3, during the unscheduled session preceding her Washington trip. By now, also, I saw that the candle flame had climbed back up to its one-inch height; it continued to burn steadily at that height. Jane’s voice had lost its heavier edge.)

McNamara. A white taxicab. Identified by a round symbol on it, with a border inside the circle, and some sort of figures. Whether these are people, shapes or object shapes, I do not know. The symbol is of more than one color, however, and fairly dark against the white. I am seeing it in the evening, so the color of the symbol is not very clear. It is in front of a stone building.

(Break at 9:45. Jane had been dissociated as usual, and her eyes had remained closed. The candle flame once more subsided to its original lower level. At either the 3/4 or the one-inch level, the flame burned very steadily, for there was no draft. Nor did it seek out intermediate levels.

(During this break Jane said she had the feeling the pocketbook data, given at the end of Peggy’s test, might not refer to Peggy at all, but to “something or someone else.” As it developed in our envelope test tonight, this could be true. If so it is an example of the “bleeding” of test material from one test to another during the same session. Seth has told us this is a possibility. In this specific case also, clairvoyance enters in, since the envelope test had not been held yet. Telepathy and precognition could also be factors.

I believe, though I am not certain, that this is handwritten rather than typewritten. The letters are small. There may be a book, a fairly large one, beneath the paper, with something like dull gold-edged pages, or so it would appear when the book is closed. And brownish covers to the book.

(Jane reached out to take the usual double envelope from me. She did not open her eyes. She sat quietly holding the envelope in one hand, with the other raised to her face. Her pauses were brief. This is our 21st envelope test.)

(And as Seth has mentioned before, such a bleeding through of data from one test to another is a possibility. Nor does the above example mean that Dr. Instream did not attend a cocktail party.

(As soon as I realized that Jane or Seth might be attempting something, I sat very quietly myself so as not to stir the air, and breathed shallowly through my nose with my head somewhat averted. I did not even move my hand to write until close to a minute had passed. The air in the room was very still. Yet soon after this strange interlude began, the candle flame grew quite definitely back to its one-inch height, and remained there steadily.

(Jane was relaxing on the bed, as she often does after a session, with her head propped up on one hand. She was smoking as we discussed the candle experiment. Both of us stared at the flame. It was now a little higher, and bright and steady, reaching the highest level of the evening. We stared at it for perhaps a minute. Seth then came through again, briefly; Jane was still smoking, and her eyes were closed. Resume at 10:45.)