“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The 32nd envelope experiment was held during the session. The object was a black and white Polaroid photo, taken of myself by a coworker in September 1960, at my desk at the Artistic Card Co. in Elmira. The older individual in the left background of the photo, Ezra Havens, figures in the envelope data, also. The friend who took the photo caught me by surprise during a lunch hour; hence my position in the act of stretching, and the startled expression.

(I placed the photo between the usual two pieces of Bristol and then sealed it in the usual double envelope. This photo had laid in my files for several years. Jane had seen it a long time ago, I knew, but certainly not recently. Since it was a photo of me I felt it would have an emotional attraction for her.

(“Ruburt’s impression of a table...and rounded objects and colored.” In the photo I am sitting at a drawing table. Rounded objects and colored I thought another reference to “something circular.” listed above. The table data brings up another instance of the fine discrimination necessary to Jane in giving such experimental data. She said she had an impression of a table while speaking for Seth; not only this, but of a white table. In the envelope photo it can be clearly seen that my drawing table is covered with white paper, for cleanliness while working. This is still my habit.

[...] The object was a black and white photo of Jane’s father and his deceased second wife, Maxine, taken sometime prior to 1954. Jane hadn’t seen the photo in recent months. [...]

[...] Although it does not show in the photo itself, just beyond the photo would be the back steps of the couples’ house in Santa Monica. [...]

[...] Apparently the picket fence, seen in two places on the photo—to their right and in back of Del and Maxine, and their left foreground. In the photo the tree branches in their left background form an interesting pattern also, with the building mentioned at the top of this page seen behind them; usually when Jane uses the word miscellany to denote irregular shapes the data is too general.

[...] As stated the photo of Mrs. Berry was not used in the experimental envelope. This photo was included in another article; the photo was centered above the middle column of the object. At the time I prepared the envelopes I thought of including the photo with Peggy’s article, but decided against it at the last minute.

[...] This second one included the photo of Mrs. Berry. The second article also included another photo—this one of a man who was also elected with Mrs. Berry. The two photos ran side by side.

[...] As stated a photo of Mrs. Berry was included in the other article about her, printed just above Peggy Gallagher’s story. I had considered enclosing the photo in the envelopes with the article but decided not to at the last moment. [...]

(The photo in question, in color, is not dated, but was taken in 1973. [...] I’m marking the photo with this session number, for possible future reference.)

[...] Amen—and I will be most willing to help you on your own endeavor (touching the photo of me.

[...] The object concerns the election of Jane as president of the Day Students Council in her junior year, and the photo at the top of the article shows Jane and the other three female members of the council. [...]

(The typing below the photo and on the back sums up the content of the news stories on the object. [...]

[...] See the copy below the photo of the object, page 168. [...]

(“Something to do with a circle” is interesting, in that our motel at York Beach, where this photo was taken, is situated on a circular driveway in back of the beach hotel that fronts on the ocean. In the photo the marsh grass comes out as “dark leaves against white,” and the photo was taken in the afternoon of a bright day. I recall this easily enough because I had to wait until the sun was in the correct position to give a good contrasting result in the black and white photo that I wanted to use for reference.

[...] Most of Jane’s impressions can apply to the photo. A “framework of thin lines” is an apt description of the patterns formed by the high marsh grasses in the foreground of the photo, with the houses rising in the background as “cube formations... [...]

[...] The envelopes contained a black and white photo of York Beach, ME, taken there last summer, that is the summer of 1964. [...]

[...] We wanted the photos for Jane’s book on the Seth material, which is now practically finished. Rich also brought with him contact proofs of photos he took of Jane and me yesterday afternoon.

[...] Seth did most of the talking as usual; and more and more his attention became riveted upon Rich as the latter buzzed around, taking photo after photo, with flash. [...]

[...] I slipped the photo between two pieces of Bristol, then into the usual double envelopes; the Bristol board prevented identification of the photo’s serrated edges by touch.

(See the tracing of the test photo on page 295. [...] Jane remembered this quite well even though the photo was taken some years ago. [...]

(The photo does have verticals in it, and the dog’s form can be seen as cone shaped. Our dog was certainly of personal concern to us, the test object is a photograph, my initials are not directly connected with it as far as being visible, and as far as we know there is no wallet connection with the photo, etc. [...]

[...] No chimneys show in the photo. The house across the street is very small in the photo; for Seth to make an association with that house is most intriguing to us. [...]

[...] I found the photo accidentally in my files earlier in the day while looking for something else. [...]

(The photo is of a winter scene, with brilliant contrasts of light and shadow. [...]

[...] The photo is of a decorative garden cat, bearing a shining glass glaze, and was made by Marilyn.

(The grass immediately in back of the cat is light yellow brown in color, shading off to a darker greenish brown around the edges of the photo. [...]

[...] The bricks in the photo are rectangular, not square. [...]

(“I thought of the photo connection when I first bought the album, and told Jane what I had in mind. [...]

[...] But my reluctance was based, I thought, on my resentment at Prentice-Hall over their handling of art work; I really didn’t want to let the photos in question out of the house, for fear they’d be lost, etc. [...]

I’m jumping now to an uncle of Shirley’s, with a mustache and with an old photo. [...]

[...] All of this describes a photograph of Shirley’s grandfather not uncle; a photo she had not seen until approximately four days before this session.)

I’m jumping now to an uncle of Sally’s: with a mustache and with an old photo. [...]

[...] All of this describes a photograph of Sally’s grandfather—not uncle; a photo she has not seen until approximately four days before this session.)

[...] This because of the numerous photo and man references in the data. At this time, of course, before Jane had seen the object, I had no idea that it would remind her strongly of a man, and hence possibly give rise to the photo data.

[...] If Seth is talking about a photo here, Jane and I do not know offhand what one it could be. We have photos of buildings in our album, of course, but no specific building or location comes to mind.

[...] At any rate it seems that the texture, the rough stonelike feel and appearance of the pigment on the object, could have given rise to the rock or stone impressions which in turn could conjure up the step data and so lead to the idea of a photo.

[...] The test object of course is connected to the photos also indicated on page 198, and these particular photos were connected with “other”s since they were the last two exposures on a roll of film.

[...] Our friend Lois took some photos of Jane recently, for use on the dust jacket of Jane’s ESP book. The photos my brother Loren took were also to be used in connection with publicity for the ESP book.

[...] Again, see the tracings of the photos on page 198. [...]

(The photo idea however is quite legitimate, since a photo can be related to a painting in many ways. [...] Jane said Seth might not be able to very easily distinguish between the emotional charges connected to a photo and a painting; they might appear much alike to his perceptions. [...]

[...] Thus the visual idea of a painting and a photo are closely related, to Seth. Some distinction is made, either by Seth or Jane, in that a photo is not definitely named as the object. “Dark colors and light colors and shadows” can refer to either a photo or a painting; the description is quite apt for the painting roughly indicated on page 39.

[...] We have not seen the photo Barbara took of Gary in the giant vase or jar.)

[...] The reference to hills is clearly seen in the photo: Jane sits on a group of craggy high rocks on the Maine seacoast. With the figure painted out of the photo the rocks would easily resemble any number of aerial shots of denuded mountain ranges, or hills, depending on scale.

[...] This time the double envelopes contained a black and white photo I took of Jane at York Beach, ME, a little over a year ago this month. [...]

[...] It is of course a black-and-white photo. [...]

A PHOTO GALLERY

[...] Photo by Rich Conz.

[...] At about this time (tapping the photo) Ruburt sat on the lap of an adult man on the front porch, and neighbors duly reported this — the idea being that sexual depravity could be involved.

[...] While he followed the framework, nothing could swerve him from it, and here (touching the photo) in this child’s picture, you already have the unswerving nature, the great spontaneity, looking for a structure that will allow it growth, and yet give the illusion of safety.

The placid-looking child (in the photo) was as dogmatic and unyielding in some respects as Ruburt has ever been. [...]