“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.

The past is no more objective, no more independent from the perceiver, than is the present. These electromagnetic connections which compose the past were largely made by the individual perceiver, and the perceiver of course is always a participator.

And you are more free than you imagine to completely alter many aspects of your own past. If you say that the future is dependent upon the past, therefore, you must also say that the past is dependent upon the future. Once more, the past was never an independent, concrete object existing apart from the perceiving participator; for he made his past, and its only reality exists in the electromagnetic connections within his own organic and psychic structure.

For our object, a ring. (Pause.) I believe a gold one. That is, a gold band. (Pause.)

(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.

The large objects in the foreground did refer to the rock ledge, or the ledge of rocks in front of the house.