“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Now. Sooner or later we are going to have to discuss the ways in which what would appear to be sensual perception is made available to an individual when the physical body, with its senses, perceives an event at which it cannot be said to be present.

(I now told Jane that as the session progressed I had more and more difficulty keeping “awake.” Actually I began to notice a heavy lassitude, although I kept writing without trouble, and I recognized that I seemed to be in a trance state. At the same time, as I looked about the room, everything seemed to be in a sharper focus, and I had a feeling of more light in the room, although it was well lit to begin with. I began to wonder if I was responding to the material Seth was presenting; I had found it very interesting.

Now. Under so-called usual circumstances, data is received through the physical senses, and is then interpreted by the brain.

(It was now time for the 46th Dr. Instream experiment. Jane had smoked only at break. Her eyes were now closed, her hands raised to her face, her pace broken by many short pauses and a few long ones. Resume at 10:05.)

Now. Give us a moment for our Instream material.

(It seems to be the rule now that Jane has some visual data, whether faint or stronger, during the envelope experiments. She said she may have had such data in the earlier experiments, also, but hadn’t been quick enough to catch it. It is tricky. The point is, Jane explained, that such data often needs interpretation. Seth gives her the information visually; it is then up to a part of Jane to correctly interpret this. Jane believes that in the early experiments her failure to appreciate this, to interpret correctly, led to many errors in the material; that actually, through Seth, she had received the correct data to begin with, but needed the practice in fine discrimination to even be aware that the problem existed. And of course needs more. A case in point here is the X-shape data explained later.

(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.

(“A Saturday here.” It can now be seen that my question for elaboration on Seth’s part did lead to a little more data. Saturday is involved with the envelope object, through our car. I obtained the actual object on Friday, August 14,1964; while doing this the car was left at the station for servicing, and the events developing at the station very nearly prevented our leaving on vacation the following day, Saturday, August 15.

(Before she resumed I told Jane I hoped Seth would say something about my sensations earlier in the session. They had all but disappeared by now. I felt but a light lingering of the thrilling effect, mainly in the back of my head; the lethargy was gone. Also gone was the neck pain that I had experienced before the session began. Jane did not know about this.

Now. I will not keep you.

Now, I will leave you unless you have any questions.

Now, I am quite prepared to speak as long as you would like. It is your convenience that I am thinking of.

(Jane, now sitting upright, smiled. Her eyes were still closed.)

(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.)