“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(See the tracing on page 211. For the test object I used a wallet identification card that I picked up two years ago in an empty house that Jane and I nearly purchased. Both of us had met the owner of the house, Jim Birch, a few times. He had changed jobs and left Elmira at the time we were interested in his house, in June 1964, however. Seth dealt with the purchase of this house in several sessions, saying it would be a good one for us psychically. See these sessions among others: 65, 67, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77, 79, 82. See Volume 2.

(The test object was among other papers that we cleaned up at the house, with the intention of mailing them to Mr. Birch’s new address in North Carolina; later we learned this wasn’t necessary and the papers lay forgotten in my file until I came across them the other day. As far as I know Jane never did see this specific item among the papers. I sealed it in the usual double envelope after placing it between two pieces of board.

(It will be remembered that these sessions began two years ago through our contacting a personality called Frank Watts, who was superseded by Seth in the fourth session. Jane and I have made a few sporadic attempts to learn more about Frank Watts; such a man did live in Elmira, we learned, through a resident who knew him. Since the sessions we keep an eye out for the name in the local paper, especially in a section called “Twenty Years Ago This Week,” which is printed every Sunday.

(The session was held in our large front room. Jane spoke while sitting down. She was smoking, and her eyes began to open and close often. Her pace was good, her voice average.)

(Jane now smiled. Her eyes were wide open and very dark.)

(Break at 9:30. Jane had been dissociated as usual for a first delivery. Her eyes had opened frequently, usually to emphasize a point, and they had been very dark. Her pace had been good, her voice average, and she smiled often. She had also smoked a good deal.

(See the 9th, 15th, 17th, 69th and 80th sessions. Jane and I saw this couple, who bore remarkable physical resemblances to us, in the dancing room of the Driftwood Hotel, York Beach, Maine, in August 1963. These sessions began in December, 1963. See Volumes 1 and 2)

(Break at 10:01. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes had been frequently open. She had smoked and her pace had been a little slower, with pauses. She said Seth was going on with this material when he abruptly realized what time it was.

(It was now time for the 31st Dr. Instream test. As usual Jane sat quietly with her head down and her hands raised to her closed eyes. She used many short pauses, but her pace overall was fairly good. Resume at 10:11.)

(It was 10:22. I handed Jane the sealed double envelope for our 28th test; she took it without opening her eyes, then for several minutes held it against her forehead. She spoke at a somewhat slower rate than she had in giving the Dr. Instream material.)

(Now Ruburt’s personal association with this last impression is of your brother Loren and his wife. You may put this in parenthesis.) (Jane now lowered the envelope to her lap.)

(Break at 10:30. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes had remained closed. Her pace had been fairly good.

(Jane said that while giving the Instream material she had a vague mental impression of an outdoor scene, and of a woman in outdated clothing. This reminded her of scenes in old paintings, as by Degas.

(As will be noted most of the data in connection with the envelope test cannot be checked by us. I expected this when I picked the object. The idea in choosing it was to simulate a test in which an object chosen by a third party was used; then this third party would interpret the data, leaving Jane and me free, so to speak. I got the idea for this approach from the 24th envelope test in the 219th session. The object was chosen by Lorraine Shafer, and to some extent she helped us interpret the resulting data.

(It will be remembered that Jane and Seth noted many valid emotional connections pertaining to the test object in the 219th session. We feel that with practice Jane and Seth will be able to pick such charges up regardless of what individuals they are attached to, or directed at.

(While giving tonight’s test data, Jane said she had a few mental impressions, and that she believed she could vouch for a few items in the test.

(“Flowers... as if it is summertime.” she said, referred to the flower garden at the Birch house we considered purchasing in June 1964. We spent several weekends at the house cleaning up, and Jane weeded the flower garden.

(“Tumult, meaning noise.” referred, Jane said, to the traffic noise we became sharply aware of while working about the Birch house. Although situated on a hillside, the traffic noise seemed to roll up at us, and we used this as a reason for not buying the house. Seth said this was rationalization on our parts. See the sessions referred to on page 212.

(“Country.” Jane said she thought the last word of the data referred to the Birch house being located in the country outside Elmira, and not to be “the interior of a trailer.”

(Jane resumed at an average pace at 10:43.)

(I neglected to mention this on page 217. Jane was aware of the connection here.)

(End at 10:51. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes had remained closed. Her pace had been rather slower than usual. She said Seth had been quite prepared to continue on inverted time.)