“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

From my writing table at the right of the entrance to our bathroom, I could easily look at Bill as he sat in our Kennedy rocker, facing the bathroom entrance itself. … As Jane continued her delivery, I noticed that Bill was staring quite consistently into the open bath doorway, yet I didn’t pay any particular attention to this. I just took it for granted that Seth’s remark about using Bill as a guinea pig meant that he was to be a topic of conversation.

As soon as break arrived, Bill announced that he had seen an image in the bathroom doorway. This is what he had been staring at the whole time. He asked for a sheet of paper and immediately set to work on a sketch of what he had seen. He is an artist and schoolteacher.

As soon as Bill told us he had seen an image, Jane and I both looked into the doorway, of course. But we could see nothing; for that matter, Bill said, the image had vanished during break. Now Jane began dictating again in the same strong and very deep voice. Bill continued working on his sketch, saying that he was not satisfied with it and would try another.

Here Jane, as Seth, pointed at Bill as he sat in the rocker, working on his second sketch. Then she pointed at me. In the meantime Bill kept staring into the open doorway. As before, I could see nothing from my position at the table. The open door completely blocked my vision. I did not want to risk moving around, since I had to continue taking notes to make certain that our record was complete.

“Your friend Mark, to digress, is an excellent witness in one way because he is sensitive to constructions that appear within the physical realm from other planes. His span of attention is short. I did indeed stand momentarily in the doorway, though if I do say so …”

Jane handed the sketch back to Bill, who continued to stare into the doorway.

“This is the first time that I have attempted to approach in this manner during a session. I am pleased that I have been perceived, and I have been watching you from my own vantage point. The image in the doorway is indeed my own, though there is bound to be a distortion in Mark’s perception of me. It is through the Inner Senses that he perceives me, and this data he then attempts to transform into information that can be physically perceived.”

Jane took the second sketch from Bill’s hand and paced about the room, talking as she examined it. I caught a glimpse of the drawing as she waved it briefly in my direction. All the while Bill continued to stare into the doorway.

Seth-Jane ended the monologue with a laugh at Bill. Now I asked Bill exactly what he had seen. He said that the dark open bathroom doorway turned a foggy white. He then saw the form of Seth’s apparition stand out against this lighter background. The form was mainly a silhouette, Bill said, without strong detail, and yet during the first monologue he got a good look at the face. The effect was rather like that of a photographic negative. Bill added that the face of the apparition was about six feet above floor level. A copy of his sketch is included in the notes [see illustrated section].

“Oh, all right.” Suddenly I felt silly. I sort of danced around to the doorway, laughed, and said, “Okay, Bill, now exactly where did you see your man in the doorway?” I clowned about, moving around in the open doorway. “Here? Or was it here?”

“There is no more truth and no more falsehood in saying that my appearance in the doorway was caused by suggestion than to say that this room and everything in it is caused by suggestion. … You will understand that it is erroneous to think in terms of one physical universe. You now exist in four different ones at this moment. …”