“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(This session was due yesterday but was not held. John Bradley, our friend from Williamsport, PA, who had witnessed a group of sessions, visited us yesterday evening. Jane, John and I then journeyed to the home of the Gallaghers, where the session was to be held. When unexpected company arrived at the Gallaghers shortly before 9 PM however, Jane and I put the session off until tonight.

(The 59th envelope experiment used as object a tag that had been attached to a rifle we had bought in October 1962. Jane hadn’t seen the tag since. See the tracing on page 217. The tag is printed on typical card-weight stock in two colors, red and black as indicated. The face of the tag is gold coated, the string red. The object was sealed in the usual double envelopes, between the usual two pieces of Bristol. The results of the experiment were quite unusual, and Seth goes into the mechanisms involved.

(A very heavy rain and hailstorm developed at 8:30 this evening. It appeared to be over by 9 PM but actually was not. Our windows were open, and Jane began speaking in a voice heavier than usual, as in the last session. Her pace was average, her eyes closed to begin.)

(Break at 9:26. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her slow initial pace had picked up, her eyes had begun to open frequently, and she had sipped iced tea and smoked a cigarette.

(Jane’s pace was now fast and energetic, and she used many gestures. Her eyes were very dark, and open wide for paragraphs at a time. She was smoking again.)

The images seen during the seance were quite as real as anything else in the room. They could have been photographed, if any one of the three of you had held the camera. (Broad smile, eyes dark. Seth refers to three here because Bill Macdonnel was a witness to the session.)

I spoke briefly of the form that appeared in the mirror. Now that appearance was something else again, and was somewhat in the nature of the experience you had much later. (See the 219th session.) You see you pick up the idea even with that form, then you attempt to translate that data into physical terms. The attempt is bound to bring distortions, but without the distortions you could not consciously perceive the data. The distortions in all cases form your physical camouflage patterns.

(Break at 9:57. Jane was dissociated as usual. Her energetic delivery lasted until break. It had been fast and emphatic.

(It was time for the 70th Dr. Instream experiment. Actually this material was a makeup for last evening. Jane’s pace slowed, and she sat with her hands raised to her closed eyes. Resume at 10:04.)

(Her eyes closed, Jane gestured with the envelope, which she was holding with its long dimension parallel to the floor.)

(It had begun to rain a while ago. Now the storm resumed in full fury, the worst rain and hailstorm here in 16 years according to later reports. There is a large patio roof outside our living room windows, and this is covered with aluminum roofing. The sound of rain upon it is usually very pleasant. Now however the hail created a drumfire so loud that I could barely hear Jane, although she sat but three feet away. I almost called a halt, but since she seemed prone to continue I did also. The racket was disconcerting and I had to ask her to repeat some of the data.)

(Break at 10:27. Jane was out as usual. Her eyes had remained closed through both experiments. Her pace had been fair. Surprisingly enough, her voice hadn’t increased in volume to rise above the noise of the storm. Jane now said the storm hadn’t bothered her, so this fact may account for it. She evidently heard me without trouble.

(Clues were available however. As soon as she opened the double envelope and saw the front of the object, Jane announced that the picture thereon was of a moose. Actually it is a black line drawing, in some detail, of an eagle. We pursued this impasse for some little time. Jane insisted the drawing represented a moose; she interpreted the spread of the eagle’s wings as stylized antlers. My tracing is quickly done on page 217, and shows little detail, but the drawing on the actual object is very well and finely done, including individual feathers on the wings, etc. I could see little relationship between an eagle and a moose here except in the most abstract sense. It was easy for us to agree that Jane saw a moose instead of an eagle because she wanted to. Intellectually she agreed that the drawing was of an eagle, but said that she saw a moose.

(Jane held the envelope with the long dimension horizontal, but we do not know the position of the object inside them at that time. It is possible the tag was simply upside down. Perhaps this gave rise to Seth’s mention of lower center.

(“The impression on the object, on the lower bottom, of very small rectangles or squares…” On the back of the object is the phrase “Side-opening loading-port for easy rapid-load.” As soon as she read this Jane said this was the source of the above data, well distorted. But Jane was subjectively sure.

(“A cost, and that is all on that.” The third question sought more detail on the initial expense data. As stated the rifle was an initial expense, and did cost us.

(“I have the impression that it is a picture or transparency of some sort, or strongly connected….” My fourth question asked Seth to name the object. There is a picture on the object. According to Seth after break his data was legitimate as given to Jane, but was distorted by her.

Ruburt does not approve of guns. The quite legitimate visual data was quickly and frantically transformed. You saw this happen in a different way—after the envelope was opened, when Ruburt insisted on seeing the moose instead of the eagle.

(While Jane was giving the envelope data I detected nothing out of the ordinary in her delivery. She sat with her eyes closed, speaking quite calmly and easily as she usually does. The storm outside was the only one I was aware of.)

It is quite amazing that any legitimate data got through, and little did. There was a complete subconscious refusal to interpret the data, and a complete reversal in this case. For instead of the gun, which to Ruburt signifies destruction, purposeful destruction, you have the distortion of the eagle shape on the gun label, into a woman and child image, signifying of course creativity in this case.

Some small effort was made to keep the original visual data but even this was sacrificed for the same subconscious purpose when it became necessary.

The gun was purchased during a national crisis, and was therefore connected with fears in any case.

The blue was a reference to the typewriter, which was purchased at the same establishment, when Ruburt eagerly tried to substitute one test item for another, you see.

(We had thought of this, since this typewriter was bought at about the same time, from the same store.)

His data was legitimate from me, but it was deliberately distorted on the part of the subconscious.

(End at 11:11. Jane was out as usual. Her pace had been fast, her eyes open often.

(At the end of the session she was still convinced the eagle looked like a moose, although she agreed it was actually an eagle because I said it was. Jane mentioned showing the object to others to get their opinion.