“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The 37th envelope experiment was held during the session. See the tracing of the envelope object on page 327. It is a print of my right hand, made with black stamping ink on paper. I made it on February 27,1966. Jane had picked up a book on hands at the library recently, and this got us interested in making such prints.

(Jane of course saw this particular print, along with perhaps twenty others I made at the same time. There is nothing about this one to distinguish it from many of the others. Following the instructions in the book, I traced the outline of my hand in pencil while pressing the inked surface against the white paper. The print was sealed in the usual double envelope between the usual two pieces of Bristol.

(Prior to the session Jane and I had a discussion as to the exact profession of the person who had written the many notes on the manuscript of her ESP book. See pages 319-20 for notes on this, in the 236th session, and Seth’s comments. Neither of us thought the person in question a psychologist. I favored a parapsychologist, Jane a psychiatrist. In his comments he referred rather often to his own theory of spherical time. Neither of us have heard of this, nor can we find a reference to it in our books.

(The session was held in our front room. Jane spoke while sitting down and with her eyes closed, and once again her pace was slow; at times during this first delivery it was as slow as I can remember during any session. Jane was not smoking. She sat for some time with her head down, her hands raised to her temples. Begin at 9:02.)

(Jane now took a long pause. The above material had been broken by many pauses.)

(Jane’s pace was now very slow, as slow as it has ever been, I believe. Some of her pauses lasted well over a minute. Yet at times her eyes opened briefly.)

(Break at 9:32. Jane was dissociated as usual for a first delivery. She knew Seth was being deliberate, she said, but was not aware that half an hour had passed. Her pace had been very slow, and she did not have too good an idea of what she had said.

(Jane said she thought Seth might have gone into the survival material because of some of the marginal notes made on her ESP manuscript by our unknown friend, particularly on the chapters dealing with reincarnation.

(Jane still used pauses, but her pace was much faster when she resumed. She was not smoking. Her eyes remained closed. She sat quite still for at least a minute after closing them, before resuming at 9:44.)

(Jane paused at 9:56. Seth dispensed with the usual break before our experimental material. When break finally did arrive Jane said Seth was going to give a break at this time but decided to go ahead because she was in a good state. Usually, Jane said, she reaches a better state as time passes.

(Jane took a longish pause at 10:00. Her pace was broken by many short pauses, but was still good.)

There is a coffee urn, or a silver-colored urn. A button loose—that is, a button is loose. (Jane gestured, her eyes still closed.) The color orange used as a decoration. Glass doors, and many voices from the other side.

One of the other men mentioned has a mustache, a dark one, though he is not necessarily a young man, and pointed features. The chin small but pointed.(Jane touched her own chin.)

Some talk of money for a project, or the lack of it, and an immediate plan considered. A framework, or something framed. (Jane shook her head.) The matches are the object.

(Jane paused at 10:09. I handed her the envelope for our 37th experiment, and as usual she took it from me without opening her eyes. Then she sat with it held against her head. She gave the material on the envelope with many short pauses.)

(Jane paused at 10:14. Her eyes were still closed and she still held the envelope to her forehead. This was my first opportunity to ask a question during such experiments; I picked what I thought was a safe one, meaning that I didn’t think it would give Jane any clues.

(Break at 10:16. Jane was dissociated as usual, she said, and her eyes had remained closed. My question had not upset her. It will be recalled that this asking of questions during experimental material, or immediately afterward, has been led up to gradually in very recent sessions. As will be seen, the question bore fruit.

(See the tracing of the envelope object on page 327. Jane and I made most of the connections between the envelope object and the data easily enough, and did not ask Seth to clear up any points. The connections tonight were predominantly related with the envelope object itself, and not displaced onto another as they had been in the last session, and in the 234th, which involved the episode of the four letters.

(“A floor plan, or diagram.” Note here how Jane narrowed the meaning down to a diagram. The original print used as the object, with the white lines apparent, is a diagram. See the detailed description on page 328.

(“I have the impression of a steeple shape, or upside-down V shape, that is rather prominent.” To Jane the shapes of my fingers as outlined in pencil on the print, were steeple shapes. There are several V shapes on the print, and a prominent one between the thumb and forefinger. We are not sure why the upside-down reference to a V shape however. During the experiment I noticed that Jane held the rectangular test envelope to her forehead with its long axis roughly parallel to the floor; perhaps the folded object inside gave rise to the upside-down impression.

(Personal association also operated with this impression. It wasn’t until after the session ended that Jane realized that the “steeple shape,” and the “many people” data to follow, had reminded her of a childhood poem she hadn’t thought of in years. After the session she recited the little poem to me; it is done with hand gestures accompanying, the fingers of both hands interlocking in various positions. This is the poem: “Here is the church, here is the steeple. Open up the doors, and see all the people.”

(“A connection with many people, and with something like a basement—low, that is. This leads Ruburt to think of your Myhalyk’s, his impression.” Jane believes her impression here is correct. Myhalyk’s is our favorite dancing establishment in Elmira. On Saturday, February 19, Jane and I met Marilyn and Don Wilbur and some others at Myhalyk’s for an evening of dancing. This was shortly after we had obtained the book on hands, and during the evening Jane asked the Wilburs if they would cooperate in having handprints made. The Wilburs, who have witnessed several unscheduled sessions, consented. Arrangements were made to obtain their prints on Friday, February 25, but were not carried out because of the difficulty in getting good prints. My print, made on February 27, was an experiment in an effort to learn just how to make a good print.

(“and a connection with a man who wears glasses. Not you, Joseph.” Don Wilbur wears glasses. I do also. So does Bill Gallagher. Peggy Gallagher was visiting Jane on the evening I made the print used as the envelope object, on Sunday, February 27. After I was through with my efforts Bill arrived. As we recall he was not wearing his glasses on that particular evening. Don Wilbur wears his all the time, as I do.

(“And with walls, and an interior.” Although this is too general Jane thinks it is another reference to the aforementioned evening at Myhalyk’s, where references to handprints were made.

(“A violet. Red, and a grading to yellow.” This is very interesting to me personally; Jane also recalls these details. After spending a couple of hours trying to make a good handprint, I gave up and began cleaning the ink from my hand. This proved to be a job. As I applied scouring powder I was surprised to see the black ink on the palm turn what might be termed a red with violet undertones. This effect at once reminded me of reading that the quality of a black ink can be judged by its behavior when diluted: If a red color develops it means the ink is of inferior quality. The ink I had used was stamp-pad ink purchased at a 5-and-10 downtown.

(The ink might have been of poor quality but it was difficult to remove. The red color was pronounced and I called Jane’s attention to it. She too had had the experience, since she had tried prints of her own a few days earlier. A lot of scrubbing reduced the red stain to a yellowish cast finally, but here I had to let it wear off. This took several days. Thus we have a progression here from black to violet to red to yellow.

(Bear in mind that Jane had this experience as well as I. Perhaps her own experience reinforced whatever data she had picked up from my involvement with the actual envelope object. Jane said she cannot distinguish between the two, if this took place.

(When she began speaking Jane used short pauses often. Her eyes remained closed. Much of the time she cradled her cheek on her crossed arms, supported by the table. She was not smoking. Resume at 10:32.)

(Jane raised her head, eyes still closed, and smiled.)

(End at 10:40. Jane was dissociated as usual. See page 326 for the data on the expected witnesses for this evening’s session.)