“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The object for the 72nd envelope experiment was an empty envelope, as shown. I kept the letter that had been enclosed in the envelope for reference, and as expected needed it to decipher some of Seth’s data. The object was a standard white business envelope, printed and typed in black. The back was blank. I sealed it in the usual double envelopes after placing it between two pieces of Bristol board. Jane had seen the envelope in a casual way upon its arrival here last May, but not since then.

Maturity has nothing to do with the meaning of the reptiles and mammals mentioned as dream images. There is generic imprint stamped within the cells, and at various levels of cell consciousness. These are reactivated. The reptilian images do not represent maturity nor immaturity, but are simply designations natural to a particular level of cellular consciousness.

Men repress many mammalian images in your particular civilization, because they do not want to be reminded of the female’s reproductive advantages. But these apply to your social frameworks alone. The level of sleep is the real indicator. The individual becomes aware of cellular consciousness at certain sleep levels.

Cellular consciousness itself straddles, so to speak, various levels of sleep activity. Various aspects of it come to the forefront at definite times. This consciousness is constant, whether you wake or sleep. It existed before the ego’s formation, and in many cases exists after the ego’s organization is altered. In sleep cellular consciousness often intrudes into the dream process, appearing in the form of dream images. Cellular consciousness is highly codified in actuality, much more emotional than visual, and the visual dream images are but translations of inner comprehensions. (Long pause, nearly one minute.)

The organism is the center of this happening, then, the core. The ego attempts to stand apart and observe, but in order to do so it narrows the available field of perception. Once it has formed its characteristics, it has already become too specialized to do more than observe certain limited fields of activity. It is of course itself observed by the inner ego, which has managed to maintain its position securely within subjective reality, where it has a wider though somewhat less intense viewpoint.

The inner ego sees and knows itself as a part of this action or happening, and sees the entire identity existing in various dimensions simultaneously. The outer ego attempts to cut action short, and so its viewpoint is limited by its own attempt. It perceives its birth and its death, but not beyond its birth or its death.

Even if they are recalled as dreams however, they may appear meaningless, for they are unfamiliar to the ego. Yesterday’s events reenacted in a dream touch off familiarity. Tomorrow’s events in tonight’s dreams do not, not at least to the ego. Generic codes apply in other words to the future as well as to the past, but mankind does not generally perceive them as such for they appear meaningless to the ego, because of the ego’s inherent nature and limitations.

A corridor. A circular corridor or path. Not circular but curved.

The photograph connection is strong (pause) but I do not believe the item is this precisely. (Pause.)

(Break at 10:17. Jane said she was dissociated as usual during the delivery. Her eyes remained closed. She reported no images within at first, but memory of a few did return as we discussed Seth’s data.

(Jane now opened the double sealed envelopes and examined the object, as she always does at break. At first it had little meaning for her, and as is often the case she said the data obtained pertaining to it was incorrect. True, the data was not as specific as it has often been, but it did contain a number of valid points. Some of these were subjective on our part.

(See the tracing of tonight’s envelope object on page 71 and the notes on the next page. The empty envelope used as object was mailed to me last May 26,1966, by an old friend, Wendell Crowley, and contained a letter detailing a reunion of a group of friends, all artists, that Wendell and I worked with in 1941-43. The letter was not in the envelope but was kept separate by me for reference after the session. As I suspected, some of Seth’s data referred to the contents of the letter rather than the envelope object itself.

(Jane and I last saw Wendell Crowley perhaps seven years ago, but we keep up a correspondence on about a twice-a-year basis. We have not seen Wendell since moving here to Elmira, NY, six years ago. When Jane first read the Crowley-Taylor logo on tonight’s object it meant nothing to her, until I mentioned the name Wendell. Neither of us have met Wendell’s business partner, Mr. Taylor, or know anything about him—not even if he is still living.

(The negative mention in the data is interesting, and has several connections, both here and in the rest of Seth’s data. Jane and I did not think of negative in connection with the word no, for instance, but in relation to pictures or visual images. On page two of his letter Wendell tells about a friend who works for the Neilson TV survey people—having to do with pictures. But also, negative, meaning pictures, is called to mind because Wendell’s letter deals with a group of artists who worked together in a studio, drawing comic strips, in 1941-3. In addition I personally have a studio here in the apartment, and the envelope used as object was kept in this studio. These references about studios, pictures, and the object crop up again later in the data also.

(“A connection with Michigan.” We were able to make no connections here, but Seth does after break.

(“It seems some connection with cars or transportation.” As stated, the object contained a letter describing the reunion of perhaps half a dozen artists who worked together in the early 1940’s. The reunion was attended by the writer of the letter. All of the reunion participants live in the New York City and New Jersey area just across the Hudson River. In his letter Wendell does not name the town or city in which the reunion, at a restaurant, took place, but from following data Jane and I surmise it took place in New York City.

(“My fair lady—I do not know to what this refers.” In his letter Wendell makes no reference to this in any way. Seth begins to clear this up after break but an interruption interferes.

(“A string, as of lights, or pearls, in a string of succession, of items in succession.” We interpreted this as a possible reference to street lights at first, or a theater marquee, since the reunion was held at night, and nighttime travel would involve lights, etc. But “items in succession” could just as well refer to words in succession—i.e., the letter that had been enclosed in the envelope object or the printing and typing on the object itself.

(“A corridor. A circular corridor or path. Not circular but curved.” [Gesture.] This would seem to be part of the following data, as Seth/Jane tries to become more explicit.

(Tunnels would also be involved going to New York City, but not as far as I know in travel on only the New Jersey side of the Hudson. I lived in that area for a few years, some time ago, and recall no tunnels at the moment.

(Jane had a mental image within while giving this data, but could not put it into words beyond saying she saw something curved, like a tunnel. Driving into New York City by tunnel from New Jersey, I remember a long curving tunnel lit by strings of lights. I cannot now say whether this refers to the Holland or Lincoln Tunnel. Wendell’s home in Edgewater is north of both tunnels. If he drove to New York City by private car, he would presumably head south and take the first tunnel he met—the Lincoln.

(“Some connection with a February event.” Wendell’s letter of May 26 was in answer to a letter I wrote him last February. I do not have a copy of my letter, but am sure it was written in February because Wendell discusses my references to snow and poor weather. Our weather last winter was quite peculiar—we had no snow at all until the massive three-day storm of February 1, one of the worst in local history. Seth has more to say about February in answer to my first question.

(“The photograph connection is strong [pause] but I do not believe the item is this precisely.” [Pause.] Seth tried to help Jane discriminate here, as he often does. Tonight’s object of course is not a picture or photo, but an envelope that contained a letter about people who make pictures. Also, I was taking pictures of Jane last week, as explained. Thus it can be seen how all such related data, even though separated by much time, comes together in these session experiments. This particular chain of association was not anticipated by me when I picked the Crowley envelope as object for tonight. The two studio settings—the studio I worked in with Wendell Crowley in 1941-3, and my present studio, are separated by as much as 23 years.

(Jane spells out: M-i-s-s-i-n-c or e-n-c. At break Jane said this data was actually two impressions, Miss and Inc or Enc. But we still couldn’t make connections. According to the object, for instance, the Crowley-Taylor Lumber Company is not incorporated.

(“One thirty-five.” My hunch was that this referred either to the end of the reunion discussed in Wendell’s letter—at 1:35 AM, or the time Wendell himself left the party. Inspection of his letter showed that Wendell states “I left at about 12:30 AM,” but that other member of the party remained after he left. Seth is more specific after break.

(“A bottom or middle drawer, next to something financial.” The object was not kept in a drawer of my desk in the studio, but lay beneath a pile of papers on a shelf of the desk, perhaps a foot above the desk drawer which contains our financial records.

(2nd Question: Got any initials on the older man? “The letters M and J, though these are not necessarily connected with the man.” The J here could apply to Jack. Seth began to comment on the M after break, but unfortunately was interrupted, as will be shown.

(Seth called for break after the second question, taking me by surprise. Usually I can ask more questions, and attempt them without being leading about it. I owe Wendell a letter, and may ask him to clear up some of the points mentioned in the data, and by Seth after break. It is however difficult to explain briefly in a letter just why such questions are necessary, and so Jane and I usually forego trying. But any additional information obtained will be attached to this session at a later date.

(This is a good description of my main job in Jack Binder’s studio in 1941-3. I do not recall now whether I had ever described it to Jane in this manner, but may have.)

(Jane was interrupted here, unfortunately. One of our cats jumped up on her lap as she sat in trance. She did not leave trance, but her delivery was disrupted. Her eyes remained closed. I left my chair to put the cat in another room.)

Also, unfortunately, the “My fair lady” connection… The lights, a tunnel… He intended to travel by car. Did so, part way through the tunnel, but then he parked the car and went by subway.

The studio connection was legitimate, but Ruburt associated it with you primarily when two studios were involved. These are the main points.