“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The object for the 71st envelope experiment was the first draft of a poem Jane and I wrote for Bill Gallagher’s birthday, which fell on Friday, July 1st. We wrote it first aloud in the car as we drove about. Jane then typed up what we could remember; we corrected it as shown on page 51, then Jane copied it over to give Bill, along with a cake. This first draft was typed on yellow paper; I folded it as shown to insert it in the usual double envelope, after sandwiching it between two pieces of Bristol. More details later.

(Jane had no idea of what Seth would talk about during the session, although both of us hoped he would discuss the events of last Friday evening, September 23, at home. Present were Bill and Peggy Gallagher, Barbara Ingold, Jane and myself. Jane has written up an account of her experience, and Peggy took partial notes. Copies of both accounts will be attached to this session. I will also add notes as the session unfolds.

(Seth desired to come through Friday evening, since we had obviously set the stage through our conversation. Jane and Barbara had also helped because of their talk before the arrival of the Gallaghers. Jane denied Seth permission to speak, and he agreed. Later Jane began to give impressions on her own, in trance. All of the data concerned Barbara, who verified several striking points.

(Indeed, Jane slipped back into it several times, at brief intervals. Barbara could verify none of this experience, which would be the case were it buried in the subconscious. Bill Gallagher took us on a ride in the hopes the cold night air would help Jane snap out of it; so at 1:00 in the morning we were bouncing through Elmira, Elmira Heights, and Horseheads. The therapy worked however.

There was also a triangle formed by you, Ruburt and the girl, highly charged on a subconscious level, that added to the psychological climate. The Jesuit (Bill Gallagher) and the cat lover (Peggy G.) were balancing factors. All of these conditions, these balancing and propelling factors, were necessary for Ruburt’s first realization of this particular kind.

(“The impression of something swirling about, as leaves in a wind.” Our interpretation here was that the swirling and leaves data referred to the mention of a garden in the poem used as object. See page 51. This may be correct. Also according to Seth after break however, the swirling was to have led Jane to frosting. The birthday cake we gave Bill Gallagher on July 1st was frosted. The poem used as object was written for this occasion.

(“And a staircase.” Jane at once interpreted this data as referring to the staircase she must climb in order to reach Peggy Gallagher’s office, on the second floor at the newspaper office where Peggy works. Peggy of course was present at the small birthday party we gave Bill on the evening of July 1.

(“A missionary connection.” We think this very good data. Bill Gallagher’s facetious term for the local newspaper office, where he also works, is the Garden of Gethsemane—hence such religious connections in the poem used as object. Also, Seth’s longstanding term of affection for Bill is “The Jesuit,” and he so calls Bill in the session tonight. See page 54.

(“Six plus one.” Bill Gallagher’s birthday is on July 1—six plus one for a total of seven. The poem used as object was written by Jane and me for the birthday occasion which occurred on July 1.

(Actually this data is quite legitimate, and becomes understandable when we learned after break that, according to Seth, Bill Gallagher felt very old on his 41st birthday, last July 1. Once again, see the 286th session.

(“A description, perhaps of a house or a building.” This is very good. As explained on the last page, Bill Gallagher calls his place of employment, the newspaper office, the “Garden of Gethsemane.” As referred to in the poem used as object. See page 51.

(“Nine, or nine o’clock.” We recall that the Gallaghers were somewhat late in arriving for Bill’s surprise birthday party last July 1, and that they did come at about 9:00. We expected them before 8:30.

(“A circumstance involving a policeman.” This refers to a long and involved story told us by Peggy Gallagher during the evening of the birthday party, for which Jane and I wrote the poem used as object. Peg’s news made an impression and Jane and I still remember it. Very briefly, it concerns the behavior of a local psychiatrist and his wife—one of those continuing affairs that have been well known locally for some time, yet never getting into the newspaper.

(“A letter written by an older person.” This ties in with the earlier old and wavering data, interpreted at the top of page 57. As Seth tells us after break, the old reference concerns Bill Gallagher’s subjective feelings on his birthday last July 1. The letter reference here stems from the resemblance of the typed poem used as object to a letter, and echoes the note data, also discussed on page 57.

(First Question: Is this old hand male or female? “I am not sure, though I suspect male. The hand is not a typically male hand however, but more delicate perhaps.” Seth is correct, in that the old reference here does concern Bill Gallagher and his subjective feelings [the male], on the evening of his birthday party, for which the envelope object was written. Jane and I do not especially see any connection with the delicate hand reference however.

(Peggy Gallagher has partial notes on last Friday’s events, and a copy of those, as well as Jane’s own version, will be attached to this session.)