“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(I became absorbed in the task, and had just obtained the answer when Jane called me from the front room at 8:55. I hadn’t mentioned the pain to her, deciding on the spur of the moment to see if Seth could also pinpoint the trouble during the session. Nor did Jane know I was using the pendulum. When I took my seat at our table in the living room just before 9 PM Jane told me she had felt surprisingly nervous at my absence so close to the session; hence her calling to me. She also felt a definite irritation, but did not know its source, or who or what the target was.

(Once again the lassitude began to creep over me, while I looked about the room with sharp eyes. I had a little trouble focusing on my writing paper, but none looking away from the table. Jane’s eyes were closed, her manner as usual.

(Shortly after this my familiar old thrilling sensation began to creep over me. I have not been aware of it much recently, although in the early sessions both Jane and I experienced such effects often. It is, briefly, a rich tingling or thrilling that is very pleasant. It can appear in any limb or part of the body, remain localized or sweep the whole organism. Deeper stages of this are what Jane has called ecstasy in her psychological time experiments.

(This time it began in both my feet and moved up my legs to my hips, then manifested itself in the back of my head. It did not interfere with my writing. It was not overwhelming by any means, yet most definite, and lasted in residue until next break. See Volume 1, page 172 for a description of my first experience with this sensation, which was at first frightening to me, and accompanied by visual internal data which was quite vivid. Seth went into the experience in detail in the 24th session, explaining how at times it represented my attempts to perceive him, and at other times my attempts to perceive other data outside the usual sense channels.)

(Again toward the end of the delivery I had felt the pleasant lethargy, coupled with the sharp vision as I looked about the room. I noticed nothing unusual at break once more. I described my feelings to Jane once more, and she then surprised me by saying that she had a subjective feeling while speaking that her features had changed.

(Note above that the apparition and the feature change in Jane are two distinct and separated effects, both occurring in the same session. The one was visible to me, the other was not. Again, this evening I saw no change in Jane’s features.

Do you have an envelope for me, Joseph?

(Jane paused at 10:15. Her eyes still closed, she reached out to take the envelope for our 39th experiment from me. She held it to her forehead for a few sentences, then lowered it to her lap.)

(See the tracing of the envelope object on page 1. As stated it is a membership card in the AAA, purchased by me on August 14,1964, and good for one year. It is printed entirely in dark blue ink on glossy white heavy paper. The exception is the large AAA seal affixed by hand beneath my typed address; this is in black, embossed on foil. The back of the card is covered by fine print, giving detailed instructions re the procedure after an accident, etc., calling Western Union, bail bond procedure, etc.

(“and with an occasion in which something was not appreciated.” This at once reminded me of a most definite event, involving Jane and me, that was not appreciated. It took place at the same time I purchased membership in AAA, and the locale of this unappreciated event was a gasoline station directly across the street from the MCI building. Our car was the subject, and this material is well covered in the notes in the 81st session for August 26,1964. See Volume 2.

(Watching the mechanic struggle with the car, I felt sure he was not familiar enough with the work to know what he was doing. I made my feelings known, then left for the gallery to tell Jane. This was at a time when Seth was beginning to fill us in on the power of expectation; Jane insisted that the car would be ready when we went back for it. We ate in a diner, and Jane concentrated on the car being ready. When we went back for it an hour later it was indeed ready. The station mechanic told us he was surprised that he had been able to fix it. The incident had upset me considerably, in a way that would not bother me now.

(“Connection with music”, reminds me that I heard music while in the AAA office; the music was piped throughout the new building by a public address system. Jane and I are well aware of this because a friend of ours worked in another office in the MCI building, and remarked often on this piped music, which she disliked but was forced to listen to all day on the job. In addition, the AAA office was below ground level and without windows, and my personal opinion was that the music was some kind of compensation for not being able to see daylight.

(“That’s what the pendulum told me, just before the session.”)

(“I’ll keep trying. Jane wants me to tell her to open her own eyes, when I do see you.”)

(The pendulum told me Jane did not feel this way, and after the session she agreed. Nevertheless the pendulum told me I felt some anger at myself on this score, hence the stiff neck. I had not reached any such neat conception as “a pain in the neck” before Jane called me. Jane now said the irritation she felt quite strongly just before the session, was her sensing of my own irritation at myself. As stated on page 2, she was aware of the irritation before the session, but puzzled as to its source. She did not know of my pain in the neck, or that I was using the pendulum.)