“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Two sets of witnesses did attend tonight’s unplanned session, the Gallaghers and Marilyn and Don Wilbur. Jane began speaking as Seth at 11:45 PM, continued until about 12:15 AM, took a break during which the Gallaghers left, then resumed briefly, from about 12:30 to 12:45 AM with the Wilburs present. The session might have continued but was interrupted by the visit of a friend who does not know of them. We do not often get visitors after midnight; this friend has visited us perhaps three times in the last year, so we can say his arrival was unexpected.

(Seth made some interesting points which I will attempt to summarize. Earlier in the evening Bill Gallagher spent perhaps three-quarters of an hour contemplating the oil painting of an elderly man which I executed in July 1965. Seth on various occasions has claimed this painting, along with one other, to be likenesses of him. I did these two without models. This evening Bill commented often that the painting in question had a peculiar alive quality for him. I told him the lighting was flattering, but Bill insisted there was a different quality in the work, and that he did not believe it was due solely to suggestion.

(The surprise, Seth went on, would embarrass scientific personnel, but would also lead to clearer understanding of the Seth phenomenon. None of this information was given in a superior, or smug or sarcastic manner. It was a warm evening and our living room windows were open. Traffic noise even at this hour was audible; when I told Seth he was in danger of being drowned out by the traffic noise, the voice immediately rose in strong volume, humorously, for a few sentences: “I will never be drowned out by traffic...” etc.

(Earlier in the evening our conversation had turned on the subject of death and related topics in a rather humorous way, and Seth pointed out that he had listened in on us at this time. He was not disapproving, but neither did he approve.

(Peggy Gallagher has been bothered in recent weeks by what she calls bursitis in her left shoulder. In the last few days the discomfort has moved down into her left arm; periodically she said the arm tingles, in a sensation similar to that felt when a limb has gone to sleep. The feeling is not that drastic though. Seth, without being asked, told Peggy that she had a disturbance in the area of the third to fifth vertebrae, and that this, basically, was the cause of her back and arm disturbances. Peggy had thought circulation was at the seat of the trouble. Seth said the circulation was healthy, but interfered with somewhat by tension.

(Seth proceeded to suggest several things Peggy might do; if she followed the suggestions the trouble should disappear. She should give herself suggestions before sleep that she not sleep on her left side, but her right side instead. This would remove the pressure on the afflicted side of the body. Peggy said she didn’t think she slept on her left side; Seth said she did after going to sleep, and that suggestion would prevent this. Seth told Peggy not to lean on her left elbow during the day, especially at work. Even as he spoke, we saw Peggy leaning on her left elbow. Peggy said she may have the habit of leaning on her desk at the newspaper office with her left arm or elbow; she will check.

(We now come to a surprising development. Seth proceeded to tell Peggy that she was doing her yogic neck rolls much too fast in the morning. This is an exercise, Peggy told us at break, that she does each morning. Like Jane, she works out with yoga each day, but rushes the exercises in the morning while dressing for work. Jane did not know this, and Peggy said she had never mentioned it. Seth was right here, according to Peggy, for lately she felt she had been hurrying the exercises too much. Seth told Peggy the rapid neck rolls, which are an exercise supposed to be done slowly, were actually being detrimental to her. In addition, Peggy should be careful at the end of this exercise, when she drops her head forward, supposedly in a relaxed manner. Seth said the sudden dropping put a strain on the third to fifth vertebrae. Peggy agreed that she ended the exercise in this manner; and again, she had not thought to mention this to Jane previously.

(During that session Seth gave Don Wilbur a little information concerning a job change he was contemplating. I made no notes during the evening, but Don took down the data pertaining to him. It amounted to perhaps a medium-long paragraph, and included a description of a building he would visit, its offices, and a man to whom he would apply for employment. Don’s wife carried the notes in her handbag for some weeks. Don never did see about the job he was thinking of, in December, because his present employment kept him too busy during the winter months. He and his wife lost track of the notes, and Jane and I had forgotten them long ago.

(Last week, the first week in March 1966, Don Wilbur began making the rounds in Elmira in his quest for a better job. Answering an ad in the local paper, he drove to the location given for a construction firm. He had forgotten consciously about Seth’s data, but as he drove into the firm’s property he was immediately struck by the similarity there with Seth’s predictions. He had not been to the location before. The description of the building matched, as well as the description Seth had given of the man Don would talk to about work. Marilyn, Don’s wife, believes she still has Seth’s notes at home and will look for them.

(Don Wilbur’s parents are against his changing jobs. The Wilburs did not ask Seth for advice, nor did Jane and I. Seth volunteered that it was better for Don to make his own decisions. He did say that Don would leave his present job because it offered no opportunities for advancement, and that he would try three other positions before he settled into one he really liked. But Seth did not say when. Don himself has not decided what to do. The place he visited that matched Seth’s description has made him an offer of employment.