“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The 40th envelope experiment was held during the session. See the tracing above. The envelope object was a dried holly leaf. This gray-brown leaf had been taped to the shade on my lamp at work for well over a year; originally I had used it as a model in doing some artwork for a Christmas card. I saved it because of its interesting color and shape, and the fact that its points were as sharp as ever. It was sealed in the usual double envelope, between two pieces of Bristol. Jane had never seen it, nor did she know I had brought it home.

At the same time, because of the methods we use, some translation is often necessary. In many cases this translation is done by the intervening psychological framework, which is simply the psychological point closest to the meeting of Ruburt’s personality and my own, for he does not fade out as a personality. He extends himself in an expansion. The psychological expansion on his end, and the psychological expansion on my end, form the gestalt, the psychological bridge, of which I have spoken.

I could not have explained moment points to you, for example, until I had clearly given the idea of the spacious present. It is not as simple a thing as it might seem, for there is no coercion involved, Ruburt always consenting to let me push concepts at him, which he interprets speech-wise with my assistance.

(Seth began talking about moment points in the 149th-152nd sessions. He began on the spacious present in session 44 in Volume 2.

There is often at his end a final tug and pull, so that the vocal mechanism will finally speak the correct interpretation. Of course Ruburt’s own associations are used by me, with his consent, up to a certain point, to enable me to lead him to the proper subject or image.

This point is fairly important, for it shows how the personal associations are utilized up to a certain point, and then sometimes quite suddenly dispensed with, for they have served our purposes.

The trick is to allow Ruburt’s associations free reign to a certain point, and then expertly insert the correct data. This is sometimes difficult. Ruburt’s associations may go for example from C, D, E, and F, but precisely where he would say G, we must insert X or Y, and do it so smoothly that he is quite unaware.

Here is a very brief example. Suppose I am trying to give him the impression of a glass of water. It is fairly easy to insert the idea of water, but this may lead him personally to think of the Gulf of Mexico, or the ocean off of Marathon, or even of the Atlantic at York Beach. I will use his associations until I am certain that he has the concept of the word water, but precisely where he is about to say the ocean for example, and after having made use of his associations to get him to this point, I must suddenly make him say a glass of water.

(See the tracing of the envelope object, the holly leaf, on page 13. Some of Seth’s points were good. I thought another group of them tried to get at the origin of the envelope object—namely my place of employment—hence the reason I chose the question I asked. I also thought the hole and grave data referred to an earlier envelope experiment dealing with my place of employment.

(“The number 6.” A lengthy article on Jane’s ESP book was published in the local Elmira Star-Gazette on July 6,1965. This can be a possible connection but we are not sure since I did not ask Seth to speak on this point. The article however is involved with some of the following data.

(“A G and H.” I thought this an inverted reference to the fact that the envelope object came from my place of employment, presided over by my boss, Harry Gottesman. Harry noticed the holly leaf in particular when it was first given to me about a year ago; and like I did, he pricked his finger on the exceedingly sharp points.

(“Ruburt’s impression now is of a basement. Mine is something steep, downward, with rock. Rock walls, and hard rather than soft beneath. And perhaps water.” This is the data obtained after I asked Seth to elaborate upon the underground, or grave, data. It adds a little to the first impression given tonight. See page 17 also. Jane said now that because she hadn’t given the word grave in the envelope data in the 232nd session, involving a death, she made it a point to speak it aloud this evening when she obtained a similar impression.

(Yet note that above she has an impression of a basement instead, personally, and when speaking for Seth does not use the word grave, as she did the first time. One point I am curious about. Is water somehow involved with Ezra’s grave? Is Seth clairvoyantly aware of water in, or near, the grave? I wasn’t quick enough to ask the question after break.