“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Basically there is no difference between precognition and telepathy. The apparent difference is the result of an inadequate understanding of the nature of time. The important fact is, in both cases, that information is received by an individual that does not come through recognized sense systems.

(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.

(Jane said she too has experienced the seemingly contradictory effects of sleepiness or lethargy, and the sharper vision, during trance. Needless to say, I saw nothing unusual in my frequent glances about the room, nor did I notice any change in Jane’s features. The sensation was pronounced by the time break came, yet during break it disappeared. I have been aware of something like it, on a must reduced scale, many times during sessions.

(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.)

(We wondered if Jane’s feeling was due to suggestion. During the week she had been referring to the 68th session as she did some work on the book on the Seth material; these sessions have to do with the construction of physical matter by each individual. This particular session was witnessed by Bill Macdonnel, and during it he made two pen and ink drawings of an apparition he claimed to see in a doorway of our apartment. The effect lasted for about an hour; during this session Bill and I together saw a distinct change in Jane’s features. This occurred at a break, without warning, and lasted for at least a minute, so that we had time for observation.

(Seth told us at the time that the apparition was of him, and that Bill could see it but that Jane and I could not because we were too “fussy” about what we allowed ourselves to see. He said that in the future—time unspecified—we should be able to see his apparition at times, but by no means regularly.

(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.)

(I have been trying out different kinds of questions. This was my third opportunity. The first time I had asked Seth for data on a category not mentioned, namely color. The second time I asked him to start over the whole thing. This time I tried something else.

(“A connection with the letter M”, referred, I thought, to the initials, MCI, which are used to designate the modern new office building here in Elmira, at which I bought my membership in the AAA. Later note by RFB: Signed by Merrill. Note on the object that the address of this new building was added later to the card, beneath the old address which was blocked out. This building was barely in operation at the time I joined AAA, in August 1964; the top floors were not yet finished.

(“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.

(“A connection with four here also.” We could not see any such connection, other than the number four appearing several times on the object.

(“and that an error might have been somehow responsible.” My own idea is that the error here mentioned refers to my error in my license number, as explained on page 9. Seth also says “might have.” I think an error can enter into the car adventure, possibly, in that at the time I felt the mechanic servicing the car did not go about the job properly, and nearly delayed our leaving on vacation by several days as a result.

(Seth got to the point quicker than I did with the pendulum, although I was somewhat handicapped through lack of time. I did not begin using it until fifteen minutes before the session, and then began by eliminating categories in Monday’s session until I found the one I was reacting to physically. This proved to be Monday’s envelope experiments, and my fear, or concern, that perhaps I was pushing Jane on such matters.