“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Part one: A table tipping session on Wednesday, November 22, 1967, in our living room, with the following: Jane and Rob, and Claire Crittenden and Carl Watkins. Highly successful, the best achieved up to that time, with seemingly a full levitation almost accomplished.

(Several times during the evening Carl and I had to use considerable pressure to get the raised third leg of the table back down to the floor. The effect appeared so often that all four of us had ample time to feel it—as noted before, to me this force reminds me strongly of two magnets repelling each other—something invisible yet most palpable, and when things are going well, easily demonstrable.

(Carl had a brainstorm; we placed our bathroom scale on the tabletop finally when the pressure was “going good,” and requested A A to continue building up the pressure so that Carl, who was on the side of the table manifesting the pressure at that time, could measure the force he used to get the table back on the floor solidly. A A obligingly built up the pressure again; pressing down, Carl saw that he used a hand pressure of 70 pounds, as measured by the scale, to get all three legs of the table back on the floor, whereas usually gravity would effortlessly draw the legs back to the floor when our fingertips were removed.

(Needless to say, when Carl or whoever was measuring pressure on the scale, the other three took pains to see that they were not subconsciously exerting a heavy pressure on the other side of the table,thus forcing a stronger response across the tabletop to get the legs back on the floor. Such checking was easy to do; nevertheless conscious deliberate checks were constantly being made to make certain opposing pressures were not unwittingly being exerted. Most of the time our hands touched the table so lightly that it could move quite freely beneath them, seemingly of its own volition. This steady checking has the added advantage that it serves as a protection against any possible hallucination [although this would have to be a mass effect, and highly unlikely]; the checking in a deliberate manner was a good method to keep one’s feet on the floor, so to speak, even if the table was acting contrary to gravity.

(When we asked for a full levitation, it seemed the table did its best to achieve this, getting all legs off the floor except the last tiny point of contact of the third leg; it would then go in circles beneath our hands, or begin to dance about, eventually. I cannot recall whether pressure was apparent at such times. I am tempted to say that it probably was not as strongly present as at other times when we frankly requested pressure in order to experience it. At just about all times one or more of us was talking to the table, exhorting it to go on, to better its performance, in most positive tones.

(The table was active until after 1 AM. One other distinctive movement involved a seeming vault into the air while Carl held the table at arms length. This tipped the top vertically to the floor, and the other three present touched the top lightly. At first the table seemed to move Carl around in circles, continually being ahead of him, in that it ended up by twisting Carl’s arm awkwardly behind him; this made it very difficult for Claire, Jane and me to keep contact with the top. At the same time Carl insisted that he was not deliberately twisting the table this way around himself. The twisting was rapid.

(Carl, being big and strong, could hold the table as he did, with but one hand, the arm extended straight out, for some little time. At the same time we requested levitation. Abruptly the table, still in Carl’s grasp, vaulted up toward the ceiling of our living room, very rapidly, until it was upside down to the floor and beyond our reach, except for Carl, who still held on. Carl said he had not consciously made the maneuver, and he appeared as surprised as we were. Later he told us he was afraid the table would either crash into the ceiling—since Carl was tall enough—or would hit a nearby wall where several of my paintings hung.

(After hanging upside down for a short but measurable length of time the table again descended. Later, Carl tried to consciously make the table describe the same upside-down movement, and discovered that he could not exert enough force while using the same grip on the table top edge. The best he could do was to get the table up to shoulder height at the most, and I believe this to be a somewhat generous estimate. Also Carl’s arm tired quickly, whereas before it had not. Was he dissociated to any degree when the table vaulted up?

(Naturally the table was the center of attention, and within a few minutes of Jane and me and a few others sitting at it, it began to perform. Pressure, the newest attraction, was at once called for, and before long began to manifest itself to various degrees; at first however nothing like the pressure of Wednesday showed, but there seemed to be plenty present, enough so that each person present, especially those who had never witnessed such a thing, could take the time to experience it.

(This evening the table did not vault into the air as it had Wednesday, but was nevertheless very active. The pressure soon was so pronounced that it was unmistakable; all agreed that they experienced it. To save time listing a long recital of varied antics: later in the evening I stepped away so someone could take my place at the table. Jane had already done so. Meaning of course that the table performed as well without Jane’s hands upon it, as it did when she touched it.

(At the same time the table was performing so well, Jane was standing a few feet away, talking to it in a loud voice very intently, rooting very strongly for the table to resist Bill and Pat’s really strong efforts to level it out. The room was filled with noise, all manner of exclamations, shouts, comments, etc. It could be called a real, almost palpable, peak of mental and physical excitement.

(Jane and I do not know the exact sequence of events. Most likely Bill and Pat exerted so much downward thrust that the table was at last overwhelmed. The force with which the third leg hit the floor shattered it; at the same time, did the top split in two? We cannot be sure. No pictures were taken of course, or notes made at the moment. This account is written several days later, after several conversations by Jane and me with some of the people present. A variation in accounts of course resulted, and we will not try to give these here.

(The two obvious points are that the table broke, and that a great force was needed to do this. I personally witnessed Bill Gallagher pushing heavily down upon the resisting table a few seconds before it broke. My estimate is that the third, resisting leg, was perhaps an inch or two off the floor. I recall at the time being especially intrigued that such a small space between table leg and floor was leading, for whatever reason, to so much human effort being expended.

(The session with Seth began an indeterminate time after the shattering of the table. Previous to it, Jane told me she felt Seth; since strangers to Seth were present, we thought it best that he not come through. Jane wanted to go to a back room; but the bathroom door was closed. Someone was inside. Confined to the living room with its gathering, Jane finally let Seth come through.

(The session, as soon as it began, struck me as being very forceful indeed—perhaps too much so. Seth was deadly serious. Peg, fortunately, took notes. I personally did not think we were unappreciative of what had taken place this evening, but Seth proceeded to drive the point home rather unmercifully, I thought at the time. Later the Gallaghers said they did not think the session had been unduly severe, but I do not think I agree.

(At times Jane’s voice grew very strong and loud, but I would not say this was its peak performance. I thought the session a strong reaction to the evening and the gathering. At the highest or strongest points, the voice, while powerful, was not as clear and distinct as I have heard it on other occasions—notably during the extraordinary session recorded for Dr. Instream a couple of years ago. I thought too much excitement might be responsible here. Jane’s eyes opened after a time. Peg got most of the material down, and we are indebted to her for this, for Seth spoke rapidly.