“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

[...] Leonard Yaudes left the May, 1981 issue recently, and Jane has been reading the interview therein once I noticed it and suggested that she review it. [...] I’ll note briefly that late last year, in November-December, Jane attempted to get in touch with Kubler-Ross at the behest of a friend of KR’s who had attended Sheri Perl’s classes. Jane was to call KR at a conference in Wappinger’s Falls, NY; she tried a number of times, always to be put off by a rather unpleasant and officious woman who was always saying that KR was “in conference” and couldn’t be disturbed. Jane wouldn’t leave our private number. KR, we were told, knew that Jane would be calling—indeed, had requested that she do so. [...] According to our phone bill, Jane’s last attempt at contact was on December 5, 1980. [...]

(Our family of raccoons was stirring a bit in the fireplace behind my chair as I sat facing Jane on the couch. [...] “If it works out and you have a minute tonight, and if you’re in the mood to say something about Israel and Iraq, it would be interesting,” I told Jane. [...]

(Jane has had a relatively good day, and has done much better with the new chair for the bathroom. [...]

(After the last session, which was held six days ago now, I realized I’d forgotten to ask Seth a question that had been on my mind for some weeks: I wanted his comments on Jane’s swollen feet. [...] I hoped that what he might have to say would ease my concern —although I haven’t heard Jane mention the condition at all. [...]

[...] Instead, Jane has been working steadily on her “Manifesto from the Sinful Self” that she began just a week ago. [...] Jane said she’d see. [...]

[...] This, then, must be the shortest session Jane has held in years. “I told him that he could have the session be as long as he wanted,” Jane said as soon as she was out of trance. [...]

[...] Lorrie came in to give Jane eye drops. The motions Jane has done today have been about average for her now for some time. [...] Now that all the vitals have been taken care of, Jane said she wanted to have a session. [...]

[...] After a cigarette and watching In Search Of Jane began reading yesterday’s session. [...] When Jane got to the end of the session, and read my own notes about my own crying spells, she began to cry while reading aloud—but she kept going, and finished in good style. [...]

[...] Jane was doing well, and had slept well last night. [...]

Yesterday, Sunday, had marked the end of Jane’s first week home from the hospital. [...] Jane herself was displaying a stoicism (I’m afraid to write “acceptance”) regarding her condition that I’d have found unendurable were I the one experiencing it. [...] Not that I wanted Jane to be magically transformed into a 25-year-old again—just that I ached to see a resurgence of that uninhibited, unplanned joy of motion for its own sake. [...]

[...] To our dismay, we discovered that Jane had lost much of the use of her legs while in the hospital, since during that month she’d been actively discouraged from using them in her accustomed way. [...] We’d scheduled just a two-hour visit by a registered nurse five afternoons a week for Jane’s physical therapy, and to change the dressings on her decubiti. [...] I, for one, was afraid that such an arrangement would not only demonstrate our acceptance of the fact that Jane was really caught in a terrible, permanent situation, but that it would end up destroying us psychologically and creatively.

Jane struggled to regain strength in her legs. [...] I became extremely busy after my wife came home, making what seemed like endless calls and trips about getting prescriptions filled, about trying out various kinds of beds and mattresses and chairs and hospital gowns, about insurance, about a commode, about having a speaker phone hooked up to our regular phone so that Jane wouldn’t have to hold the standard bulky handset to her ear. [...] When I began sleeping on the couch in the living room, where it was quieter and darker, we bought a pair of wireless intercoms so that Jane could call me from her bed at any time. [...]

[...] Jane had not seen this draft, or even the final copy of the letter, although she knew I was writing it this evening. I sealed it in an envelope when finished; then showed this to Jane and asked her to mail it tomorrow morning. [...]

(Jane and I considered two possibilities. [...] Or the proximity of this building to Dr. Lodico’s actual office could have resulted in confused impressions which Jane gave voice to. [...]

(Jane began speaking while seated. [...]

(Jane and I do not ascribe the elements making up our house adventures to that old catchall, “coincidence,” of course; at the same time we have no plans to statistically attempt anything with them either. [...] But Jane, being younger, would designate quite different limitations in time….

At least as she understands these concepts, Jane — and Seth — “took off” from them in individual, creative ways. For Chapter 19 of Politics (which is to be published in 1976) Jane transcribed from her library, in part: “If you imagine the official numbers 1 to 10 in a row, then there would be an infinite number of unofficial 1’s hidden in the 1 you saw, and an infinite number of spaces between the official 1 and 2. The position of the 1 on the paper would represent our sense-data world, while the invisible 1’s behind the official 1 would represent the official 1’s hidden values and infinite probabilities.”

[...] The house connection is still unique, however, considering that in the hill house Jane and I found ourselves bracketed east and west by people who knew one of her early students — who had in turn mentioned Jane to them. [...]

[...] Jane felt the test data contained but few correct impressions. [...] Jane remembered this quite well even though the photo was taken some years ago. Our dog sits before the Bronx, NY, house of Jane’s aunt; Jane said she well remembers the peculiar blue and red cast of the bricks. [...]

(For the test object I picked a black and white photograph of a dog Jane had owned when I married her. [...] Jane took the picture before I met her, some 11 years ago. [...]

[...] Jane was dissociated as usual. [...] Jane regarded tonight’s envelope test as pretty much of a failure.

(Jim Adams visited today with some sample black frames for her reading glasses, and repeated to Jane what I’d quoted him as saying his friend Dr. Werner had said about Jim’s description of Jane’s condition. Interesting, for I think Jim phrased some of his quotes somewhat differently to Jane than he had to me earlier this week —although I think the gist of the remarks is pretty much the same. But Jane and I have trained ourselves to try to recall accurately what others say, and we are aware of how information can be distorted as it’s passed on. [...] In the meantime, Jane is getting used to the idea, should we do anything about it.

(Frank Longwell also visited today—before Jim did, as a matter of fact —and helped Jane experiment with certain exercises for her legs in the bathroom. He explained the procedure if Jane goes to the hospital in Sayre. Jim, on the other hand, is in favor of Jane seeking local treatment. [...] He said Jane doesn’t have rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid trouble. Jim said he couldn’t comment on Jane’s situation from a medical standpoint, except to say her eyes per se are okay. [...]

(Incidentally, Jane today received her first letter—from a lady who has written her before—about Mass Events. [...] [Incidentally again, it is Thursday afternoon as I type, and in an hour one of the Ryall boys from the Handi Book Center in Elmira will be at the house to have Jane autograph 20 or so copies of Mass Events; the store received them today, and has a number of orders for copies. [...]

[...] Timothy Foote, Jane and I got along very well; seemingly we all liked each other. Timothy Foote was very interested in Jane’s abilities, and said he would like to return for a session with a recorder. [...]

(Timothy Foote told Jane he would review Seth Speaks for the magazine. [...] Jane, liking Timothy Foote, told me later that had he stayed for the evening she would have had a session for him; yet we feel there were reasons he didn’t stay, and that things worked out for the best all around.

[...] While Jane and I discussed the events of the day, however, she said Seth was around, and that we could have a session if we so chose. [...] The session was held in Jane’s workroom.)

(After hanging up, Jane said Callista also mentioned her young son James. In telling me this Jane said Callista had foreseen events concerning James’s death. This was a slip on Jane’s part, for Callista had actually said James’s future.

(Callista called Jane to tell her about several psychic experiences of her own, both before and after Buff’s death. [...] As Jane offered Callista reassurances on the phone, she got the impression that Callista would remarry.

(Jane did call Callista back, however, and checked out the data with her item by item. Callista decided to visit Jane later in the week, when a more thorough check of the material could be undertaken. [...]

[...] although Jane lay awake until about 2 AM. [...] At my request Jane wrote her account of the non-session events of last night, and it’s attached. [...] After a number of hesitations, which only confused Jane as to what I really wanted to do, I sat for the session.

(Tam has rejected Stefan Schindler’s book on Seth – he did so last week—so this morning Jane called Eleanor Friede to see if she wanted to examine the work. [...] Then Jane called S. Schindler with that news; he in turn has “a list” of West Coast publishers he wants to try, evidently thinking the university press route won’t work.

(Jane was quite upset because of all the time she spent on the calls this morning, plus the visits this noon by F. Longwell and H. Wheeler. [...] I mowed some grass, worked with the pendulum, helped Jane walk—she’s still taking steps—and wrote these notes. [...]

(Elmar, Jane and I take to refer to Jane’s father, Delmer. [...] In this constant questioning about descendants, we wanted to get enough information for Jane to be able to ask her father some questions about his family tree; Jane knows nothing about it, and her father has not discussed it with her. So our task now is to learn if Delmer or Jane had a great great uncle named Tom Roberts, and if Tom Roberts had a brother named Hubbell Roberts.

(Later, I was watching Jane and my mother. Jane was to my left, Mother to my right. Between them on the wall was a drawing of Jane’s, matted in a gray-white matte perhaps three inches wide. Pointing to the drawing, Mother asked Jane: “Did you do this?” “Yes,” Jane said. [...]

(Jane’s delivery had by now slowed up considerably; she began to take long pauses between phrases. It appeared that this session would be another of the kind wherein Seth tries very hard to make accurate points; they usually leave Jane quite tired. [...]

(Jane received a telegram from Ann Healy on February 2, Thursday, informing her of the death of her college teacher friend, Blanche Price. Jane answered the wire this morning before writing me the note. [...] I thought that possibly the data had been displaced from Jane’s note to me, to the letter she wrote Anne. The two were closely connected in time, and both concerned highly charged events for Jane.

(The object for the 83rd envelope experiment was a note Jane wrote to me today; I found it on the table this noon upon returning from work, left there by Jane shortly after 11 AM. [...] Jane wrote her note in red ink.

[...] It consists of a note Jane wrote me late this morning, and left on the table for me to find upon coming home from work this noon. Jane herself left for work at about 11:30 AM at nursery school. [...] I thought it would have strong emotional attachment for Jane.

[...] This was highly interesting for Jane’s data speculated about the inner image with “no hair at the sides, or perhaps bald.” Yet not necessarily bald, Jane added, to me at the time. Checking with Tom Hartley’s wife after the party, Jane learned for sure that Pete Tomoski does wear a toupee, being self-conscious of his baldness because he is a barber... [...]

[...] Again Jane’s trance had been good. Her last pause had been quite long; when I mentioned this Jane said she thought that Seth had been trying to get the title of his book through; at the same time Jane had been In the process of coming out of trance. [...]

(Jane’s own data, given at break, was also very good. [...] At the party however, I do not recall Jane leaping with recognition when she met Don Simmons...

(By 3:55 Carla had taken Jane’s temperature — 98 — and Shawn her blood pressure and pulse. At this relatively early hour, Lynn came in to give Jane her eyedrops after which my wife said she was ready for a session.)

(During the last paragraph the fire alarm bell began sounding by the elevator door outside Jane’s room. The strange ringing was most distracting, and I thought it would never stop, yet Jane remained in trance, and continued dictation around a few pauses.)

(4:35 p.m. Jane had some ginger ale and a cigarette. “Well, he’s going to cover those questions in the book,” I told Jane — “about radiation, the consciousness involved with it, and with things like cancer. [...]

[...] He asked about Jane’s condition, and said that in a month or so the ulcer on Jane’s coccyx might have to be surgically closed if it didn’t do so on its own. [...] Jane didn’t appear to be upset by the call, though—perhaps because of what we’d learned about medical methods by now. [...]

(Jane was particularly “out of it” for most of yesterday, after sleeping well past 9 AM. [...] Jane’s finger continues to improve, and for now at least we don’t even want to hear from any medical people. [...]

(As noted in the private session for May 22, I brought Jane home from her overnight stay at St. Joseph’s hospital the day before. [...]

(It will be recalled that Seth himself [or Jane?] initiated the idea of asking me if I had an envelope test at each session. The first such test was held in the 179th session, and Jane knew about it before the session began. In that session however Seth also said it would be better if Jane did not know whether I planned a test before any particular session.

(Today Jane was quite upset because she still hasn’t received a letter from her publisher, Frederick Fell, even though Mr. Fell reassured her about the ESP book when she telephoned him last Monday, October 5, the day of the 195th session. In that session Seth also offered reassurance to Jane.

(See the report by Jane and me at the end of the last session. [...] The plans are simple; at session times next week Bill and Peggy will attempt to concentrate on Jane, Seth and me, with a view to seeing what Seth can pick up.

(At 10:22 I did so, and spoke to Jane again. [...] When she finally began to talk Jane said this was the deepest trance, the “farthest out” she had ever been, bar no other time. [...] Jane felt the energy involved: “I had a sense of tremendous power going through me.”

(Again Jane paused, at 10:13. [...] I did so now, and very slowly Jane opened her eyes, one at a time, on a crack. [...]

[...] Jane had the impression at the time of Seth conferring with someone else, she said. The next word, she now speculated, could have been either Elder or Older; Jane said now that she didn’t realize this until she voiced the idea.

(Sue’s note intrigued me anew: After class I promised her that not only would I search our files about Grunaargh, but that with Seth’s help Jane and I would eventually get more information on that family, and present it somewhere in the notes for “Unknown” Reality. The point I want to make here is that others beside Jane can intuitively divine material on the families of consciousness. Actually, for whatever reasons, Sue had glimpsed a family other than Sumari before Jane had. [...] Sue had picked up on the Grunaargh¹ during the 598th session, which she’d recorded for me the evening after Jane had made the whole Sumari breakthrough in class, on November 23, 1971.

(So far, Jane and I haven’t been able to find a home that we intuitively feel is the right one, although the place on Foster Avenue has intrigued us considerably since we first saw it on February 3. [Since then we’ve looked at many other houses.] Last Thursday afternoon [February 13], Jane was busy with her creative writing class so I went house hunting alone. [...] Jane agreed when I asked her about it at the supper table.⁷

(The next day, Friday, Jane had an auditory “psychic” experience of sorts about the Foster Avenue situation; Saturday morning we made a formal offer to buy the house in question. [...] Note 8 covers Jane’s inner experience and the details surrounding our house offer. [At 12:06 this evening Seth also refers to Jane’s auditory intuition.]

(In an effort to further clear up Seth’s rather involved interpretation of Jane’s dream of September 7, I made it a point to ask Jane just before the session was due tonight about the statement Seth-Jane had made on page 46, involving Jane’s friend, Marie Tubbs, in childbirth. Marie wrote Jane on October 11 that she has not given birth for two years, and Seth dealt with what looked like a discrepancy between the two sets of facts to a partial degree in the 98th session. [...]

[...] Jane was dissociated as usual. [...] He referred above to a question and answer session because I had mentioned the idea to Jane earlier in the day. [...] The furnace reference concerns Jane’s manual operation today of the usually automatic gas heating plant in the house, after the thermostat developed some as yet undiagnosed trouble. In connection with the bed data, Jane has been mentioning for some time now that she has a vague soreness of the ribs on her left side.)

[...] Jane and Marie went through high school together. [...] Through the years I have heard Jane wonder aloud, many times, about the fact that Marie decided to have children, rather than place her emphasis on writing, as Jane chose to.