“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Friday evening, January 21, Jane had some success hypnotizing both Bill and Peggy Gallagher at their request, separately. The experiment was not planned. Peggy has been hypnotized twice—one of these times by Dr. Milton Erickson—but this was Bill’s first experience. Dr. Erickson is nationally known.

(Seth came through briefly shortly before the Gallaghers left, at about 1 AM. He told us he had watched the proceedings with much pleasure and amusement. He explained that Bill had allowed the hypnosis to proceed just so far before his ego called a halt, but that he could progress. Seth said Peggy used rationalization in saying that she stood for Willy’s proximity because she thought Jane touched her instead of the cat. Peggy, Seth said in high good humor, had actually achieved an excellent state of deep hypnosis when Jane used the more authoritative approach; otherwise she wouldn’t have permitted the cat’s presence.

(I was somewhat dubious about Jane’s hypnosis attempts since we haven’t had time to do much work in this direction lately. But Jane said she felt like it, and the Gallaghers insisted that she try. I didn’t think Bill could be easily hypnotized, but he was quite pleased with his results for a first attempt. Both Bill and Peggy said they thought they could have done better had Jane taken more time with her induction, yet Jane’s approach had been quite leisurely; thus time appeared to have been compressed for them.

In many respects the individual is not at the mercy of past events, for he changes them constantly. He is not therefore at the mercy of future events, for he changes these also, not only before but also after their occurrence. I regret that our friend Philip does not have the preliminary background to follow this discussion with clarity.

Priestley was right also to some extent here. These probabilities do occur somewhere, but they will occur to a self that Priestley nor Dunne ever imagined—a self who exists simultaneously with any given individual, and who is a part of him; but a self that he will never know while he is within your particular system.

Reality within some systems other than you own, is experienced not as a series of moments, but as experience into all the probabilities of action that exist within any given instant. A continuity therefore is in terms of the self rather than in terms of a series of moments. Instead there is a series of selves—

The whole psychological formation of the perceiver is entirely different, and there is no one event out of all probable events, but there is experience of all the mathematically probable events that could happen to any given individual, within any given amount of time as you know it.

The psychological composition of the perceiving participator is therefore entirely alien to your own. In such a system however, as in your own, the perceiver is also a participator and a creator, but he does not work with your conception of time, but with probabilities. In your terms then, he would seem to delve into each moment in all of its probabilities, so that in your time on the one hand many centuries would have passed, and on the other hand only an instant.

(Just before first break Seth had mentioned a 12th St. in connection with John Bradley. Jane now asked John about it, but John said he wouldn’t tell her anything about such a statement yet. Jane said she received this bit of data quite strongly while giving Seth’s other material, and that at first she wasn’t going to give voice to it because she wasn’t sure if it was from Seth or herself. Then she decided to speak it out anyhow.

(“12th Street.” John now told us that he took several meals in the Manger Hotel—pronounced with a hard G—and had some business engagements there also. This hotel is on either 12th or 13th St. in Cleveland; John was not positive, but felt the address would be 12th Street rather than 13th Street.

(“I think also of a meeting and a fat man.” At the Sheraton-Hilton John had several meetings with Searle’s Washington, DC representative to the government, Mr. McKeown. This man engaged John in conversations designed to feel him out, John said, and did it so cleverly that the meeting in Cleveland was over before he fully realized what had taken place. John is aware that he is being considered for promotion however. Mr. McKeown, John told us, is quite overweight, but is not a truly obese person. John said his own idea of a “fat” man is one who is grossly overweight; this Mr. McKeown is not, even though on the heavy side.

(“8 o’clock.” John said this could refer to a time in the evening when he was supposed to make a telephone call, but he doesn’t consider it very relevant.

(“And in connection with this a tall thin man, and a discussion concerning money.” John said he accompanied a tall thin man to the Hotel Manger’s dining room, which is located next to the bar and grill. The tall thin man also has a position high up in the company, John said. John could look into the bar and grill of the Manger from where he sat while eating supper. He had a long talk with the company executive, but money was not the specific subject of the conversation.

But I am going too far, for I am thinking now of the bartender, and this will not help us.

(John said his barber in Williamsport, PA, is named Alfred, and that a friend of his who is active in a political organization that John belongs to, in Williamsport, is named Leo. But if these names refer to Cleveland, John could offer no confirmation.

At another meeting some other aspects were made known to you, Philip, of which you may not be consciously aware. A vague but definite connection to Dayton, OH, here. A man with connections with Dayton, OH will be involved with a change in your company. We speak in terms of probabilities. Nevertheless no actions thus far have occurred to drastically change any of the predicted events, and unless actions are so initiated events will occur as given.