“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The envelope object for the 62nd experiment was a piece of cream-colored burlap; it shows up dark on page 250 because of the method of reproducing it. Jane was with me last Saturday, June 18, when I bought the burlap to use for some experimental canvases for painting.

(I glued a square of the burlap to a wood panel with a very white acrylic gesso that is used to prime artists’ canvas, then used a razor blade to trim off the excess around the edges after drying. Hence the razor cuts on the object as indicated. Also along the bottom edge of the object a coating of the white gesso was to be seen, residue from the panel itself. Jane had seen me experimenting with the panel also, of course.

(The envelope results contained a few valid points. The results were well below par however. Jane was very tired before the session, although she said she felt fine when I questioned her. Had I realized how tired she was the session would not have been held; both of us have been extremely busy lately and cramped for time. Jane said she did not let me know she was tired, because under such circumstances sometimes excellent material has come through.

(Jane was smoking when the session began, and her eyes were open from the beginning. Her pace was average and she smiled broadly.)

Ruburt was so concerned that your coworkers did not hold a party for you, so I made certain that I duly congratulate you. (Pause.) Ruburt sent out messages. Your guests today were hardly uninvited—at least subconsciously.

(Jane and I had been quite puzzled at the visitors of this afternoon and supper time. All friends, they arrived this way: A group of two, a single, a group of three, for a total of six. They stayed long enough so that Jane got no work done during the afternoon, or very little. In addition one of them was a coworker of mine, and told Jane the office had forgotten today was my birthday; when they remembered, they planned a party for tomorrow.)

Four six, or 1 9 4 6, connected with the object. It is now, or was connected to, something that looks like an elasticized belt. (Pause.)

(Break at 10:26. Jane had been dissociated as usual. When she came out of trance now her eyes were bleary, and it was obvious that she was not at her best. She said that she knew the first data was off when I asked if she wanted to try again.

(Strangely enough, she had two good images while giving the inaccurate data, she said—one image for each set of data. The first concerned a card shape, rectangular, with balancing designs on each end of it while held horizontally. See page 255. The second image was of the target shape also mentioned on page 255.

(As indicated on page 251, the object was cut off the edge of the wood panel with a razor blade; the blade had to be sharp to slice cleanly through cloth, and such cuts were made on two sides of the object.

(As always when doing such work, I spread newspapers on my drawing table. Jane saw me doing this, and knew I was experimenting gluing the burlap to panels to make painting surfaces. I made this particular panel from which the envelope object came on Saturday afternoon, June 18.

(The newspaper connection also developed because on the front page of today’s paper for June 20th, was the story of a local woman being murdered with a knife. So although I used newspapers while developing the envelope object, I couldn’t have used the particular newspaper which carried the murder story, since this news developed two days later. Jane and I had talked about the stabbing at supper this evening however, and evidently the knife connection here and with the object caused the distortions.

(At the end of Seth’s second try at the envelope data, he once again came up with the newspaper connection: “Still, there seems to be a newspaper connection. Printing or black ink, I do not know.” The black ink connection is interesting to me. As I worked with the materials on the newspapers, I wondered whether it was such a good idea, fearing that perhaps the acrylic glue I was using might dissolve the black printing ink enough to cause it to dirty the white burlap I was handling. There was no real trouble although I did get a few faint smudges on the burlap; I removed them without trouble. I do not know if Seth referred to this, or merely black ink being connected with newspapers.

Ruburt was simply exhausted, and that is all.

The newspaper connection was correct, as you thought, and the sharpness. His own associations operated, though he did not realize it. It is to be expected at times, and is quite natural.

(End at 10:52. Jane was now very tired, and finally admitted it.)