“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(Peggy Gallagher witnessed the session. Jane began speaking in trance in a voice a bit stronger and more forceful then usual; her eyes opened a good deal of the time.)

(She had put her glasses on after leaving trance, and now left them on when she resumed, as Seth. Now however there was a marked difference in her manner. Instead of the heavier and strong usual Seth voice she began to speak in almost a normal manner. I knew she was in a trance however, but doubted if a casual observer would be so sure. Her eyes were open and very dark; she smiled and spoke in a pleasant, almost lilting, much quieter voice.)

(The following manner of delivery was a new one in the sessions. Jane continued to speak with her head down; the result was that her voice seemed oddly muffled, much deeper, far from as clear as just above. There seemed to be an actual effort involved in her speaking—something quite foreign to the sessions. Her eyes remained closed. I watched her closely, ready to interrupt if the experimental delivery seemed to be taxing. And of course Peggy hadn’t seen this type of delivery before.)

(Jane now sat leaning far forward in her rocker; her head was far down, toward her knees, facing the floor. The voice was still deep but not so muffled, eyes still closed. I can say the voice sounded more like an old man’s voice, and not much like either Jane’s voice or the usual Seth voice. The voice now had almost a resonant quality.)

(Pause. Jane now sat more erect in the rocker, and when she began speaking again it was plain that the familiar Seth voice had returned. The voice was good but not too loud; eyes opened again.)

(A long pause, perhaps a minute. When Jane spoke again her eyes were wide open, voice very animated.) This is a compromise method, and a good one. You have the best of both worlds. Now these methods, when perfected, will go a long way toward explaining how I see you, and how I can make my reality known to you. I have put Ruburt on a merry-go-round, and so I shall let you take a break, though I am myself in a fine mood, and it is good to see you taking notes so diligently once more.

(The second effect did produce a little alarm when it began, but she mentally told Seth to go ahead. She was well aware of the difference in the two effects. In the second effect, Jane said she felt a distinct trembling in her chin as it was lowered against her chest, but Peg and I hadn’t observed this. Jane likened it to perhaps the trembling of an old man’s chin, and this is in character with the old man’s voice we heard. Jane knew the voice was muffled and strained; it was a completely new experience for her.

(When break was over, Jane once again spoke in the first-effect voice, where Seth hovered just beneath the surface of her own personality. “I could feel him there,” Jane said later. Once again her voice was light and easy, her eyes open and dark.

(Tonight then, Jane manifested three different voices while in trance: the regular Seth voice, somewhat strong, very clear and concise, the one we are so used to; next the light and lilting voice with Jane’s own mannerisms overlying Seth who hovers just below; and finally the muffled, masculine old man’s voice, so different from any produced before this.)