“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The objects for the 57th envelope experiment were two leaves taken from our poinsettia plant. The plant is an old one, and one of our favorites. We see it every day of course but I was sure Jane wasn’t aware of these two specific leaves separately. The plant also has an interesting history, which will be brought out later. I taped the leaves to one of the two pieces of Bristol used in these experiments, sandwiched it against the other piece, then sealed the two in the usual double envelopes. Note that the word “top” is penciled on the back of the Bristol; this was done by me after the experiment, but before Jane saw the objects, as will be shown later.

(Jane had been housecleaning, and to air the place out all the windows were open, still, at session time. Thus Jane began speaking in a voice quite a bit stronger than usual, evidently to counter the constant street noise. Her eyes soon began to open; she began speaking with a smoking cigarette in her hand. Her pace was fair.)

But the reality of all of these constructions will be equally vivid, you see, for they are indeed equally real. I will give you one very simple example. Suppose you find yourself in a room with certain people, and you recognize later upon awakening that this room and these people both belong to a particular sequence in a novel. You think then, “This was no projection, simply a dream.”

It may however be a valid projection. The room and the people exist, but they do not exist in the manner which you endorse as reality. They exist in another dimension, but as a rule you cannot perceive it. In this case, you see, since the book has already been written you could say that the scene was a past event, at least of the imagination, at the time the author conceived of it.

(Break at 9:28. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her eyes had opened often, and she had smoked and sipped iced tea. Her pace had been average.

You may find yourself in the midst of a battle that was once planned in some general’s mind, a battle that never materialized in physical reality.

Before our break I will leave you with a few questions. (Smile, lighting cigarette.) Was there something your future self had forgotten? Did the future self request information, and did this request cause the present self, you see, to make an actual and legitimate projection into the future?

(Break at 9:57. Jane was well dissociated. Her pace had been average but her manner very emphatic. She had smiled often and used many gestures. Her eyes had been open for paragraphs at a time. She had been aware of nothing but the material, she said.

(It was now time for the 66th Dr. Instream experiment. Jane sat with a hand raised to her closed eyes. Resume at 10:04.)

I believe that Dr. Instream was here just before twilight this evening. At one time with five particular people, talking to them. At an earlier time there were more people in the room, a small crowd. I believe that hypnosis was under discussion. The slide rule may have been used somehow in a demonstration.

(Break at 10:25. Jane said she was really “out.” Way-out, she said, not aware of anything but the data and the connection to or with her mother, Marie. Her eyes had remained closed through both experiments, her pace had been good.

(Jane had one image which will be mentioned in place. We were able to make quite a few connections, and Seth helped us with one after break. The session was over now however for most practical purposes. Since the object did not originate with us, we were not able to make some connections which we supposed were probably valid. The history of the poinsettia plant which furnished the leaves used as objects will unfold to some extent as we interpret the data.

(“Again, I have the impression of something round—more oval, perhaps. Fairly large in the center of a square or rectangular object.” As noted Jane held the envelope to her forehead with the long axis parallel to the floor. No matter which long edge was uppermost this places the large poinsettia leaf in the center of the card as far as the short edges are concerned. Even so the large leaf would be off center, either above or below, as far as the long edges are concerned. I hoped Seth would mention two objects, but he did not.

(“A connection with 1961.” The plant from which the two leaves were taken was once the property of our neighbor here in the apartment house, Miss Callahan, an elderly retired teacher. Jane first saw it in Miss Callahan’s apartment at Christmas of 1964, when Miss Callahan received it as a Christmas present.

(“A connection with the month of February.” We don’t know. At first Jane and I thought this might refer to the month I found the discarded poinsettia on the back porch last winter. It was a bitterly cold day and the plant had begun to wilt when I found it at noontime. However, upon reflection we realized we had the plant with us last Christmas.

There was a visual distortion. We should have had M C, rather than M G.