“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

We didn’t realize either that the emergence of the Seth voice completed the psychic structure through which we would receive the Seth Material, and through which Seth’s personality would express itself. From this session on, there was always some voice change during sessions, but the deep booming tones were the exception rather than the rule for some time to come. On occasion there is the sense of really tremendous power behind the voice; and my own voice is never strained. Much later, Seth told us that this psychic energy can be translated into sound like this, or it can be used for other purposes. Now when Seth gives clairvoyant material, for example, the voice is seldom loud. The energy is used to gather the data instead. (As you will see later in this book, that energy can also be a springboard into other dimensions.)

The session began as usual, with no hint of the voice changes that would occur. I’d like to mention here that by now we had read several books on extrasensory perception, but still hadn’t come across anything about voice communication. We’d read about the Patience Worth case, where a Mrs. Curren produced novels and poetry through the Ouija board and automatic writing, but we were completely unfamiliar with the idea of anyone’s speaking for another personality. It had never occurred to either of us that my voice might change in any way.

“Looking at Jane and knowing her natural feminine voice so well, I had to think twice to realize that this other new voice was issuing from her in such volume, and with no strain at all. I don’t know whether I was more surprised at the fact that Jane seemed not at all disturbed by this voice, or by the fact that it had such a definite deep and masculine tone.”

Here, as Seth, I pounded on the desk for emphasis, and suddenly began speaking in a stronger voice. At the same time the hoarseness disappeared. Word by word the voice grew deeper, more formal, louder. As Rob looked down to take his notes, he realized that a vocal metamorphosis of some kind was taking place. He wrote as fast as he could, so he could also look up now and then to see what was going on. Now I stood almost in front of him, the un-Jane-like open eyes staring at him as if to make sure he understood what was being said.

(Jane rather surprised us by opening the session in a voice that was surprisingly deep and somewhat loud. I can say that the voice was somewhat deeper than her voice in the 170th session, though lacking of course anything like the sheer volume displayed in that session. At times it was almost a bass voice, quite vibrant, produced without visible strain. [...]

(Jane’s voice was fairly deep in the 151st session. There have been some other instances of a voice deeper but not necessarily much louder or stronger; my estimate is that she reached her deepest voice in the 33rd session, of March 9,1964. In that session her voice was also loud, much louder than in tonight’s session.

[...] I will also tell you, Joseph, that with my voice I am like a bird trying out its new wings. (Jane’s voice grew abruptly much louder, briefly.) And if I grow overenthusiastic I trust that you will forgive me. [...]

I hardly find it necessary to deliver any massive voice displays this evening, and so we shall largely dispense with such activity.

(This voice was not the Seth voice by any means. Even at its strongest Seth’s voice is a dry and intellectual one. The Father Trainor voice was very emotional by contrast. I do not believe that the Father Trainor voice at its best exceeded Seth at his best, and vice versa.

[...] The sudden volume and depth and timbre of my voice was instantly apparent, and startled me. [...] My voice boomed—I sounded more like Father Trainor than like myself. The volume of my voice was really tremendous.

(As a check I suggested later that Jane try reading a different poem, one not read by Father Trainor, to see if she could summon this powerful new voice at will. I wanted to see if something Jane had no emotional involvement with, via memory, could also be used to summon voice changes. [...] To begin with Jane could not consciously summon nearly the volume of voice, and within a few lines she was so hoarse she had to rest. [...]

[...] For brief periods her voice would sound very alien. For other periods, during what seemed to be letdowns, I would know the voice was hers. But still it would be much stronger and lower in timbre than her natural voice.

(We had been hunting through the taped session for particularly strong voice effects so that John could get an idea of the power of the Seth personality. [...] Jane’s voice was strong from the beginning.)

[...] While trying psychological time on June 18,1964, I had a very startling experience in which I was told by a thunderous voice that John’s trouble lay really in a “bad tongue.” [...] Seth now explained that this mysterious voice had been his. [...]

[...] They had recognized elements of my voice, but because of the volume did not really think it was mine. [...] Not knowing what to say, I tried to joke that it was the television set, but Donna said it wasn’t; their set had been on, and they had checked all the eight stations to see if they could find such a voice.

[...] In the middle of a passage Seth suddenly came through, saying: “Why settle for a recording when you can have the real thing?” His voice was quite strong. [...]

(We have always thought of the 33rd session as furnishing the most dramatic display of voice changes on Jane’s part, both in volume and a lower register. I would say that tonight’s session saw Jane surpass those voice effects as far as sheer power and staying ability went by some little margin; but I do not think her voice dropped as low. [...] She said that before the Father Trainor demonstration she had been concerned about her voice being able to give a session tomorrow night, Monday, let alone tonight.

(During this break, since Jane’s voice had again been very low and dry, almost a whisper, I made the unfortunate remark that her heavy smoking this evening was responsible. This brought on her most spectacular voice display of any of the sessions to date, bar none. She began speaking in a voice that was at least as loud as that used in the Father Trainor experiment earlier this evening, and that was loud indeed. [...]

[...] On the tape she manifested many voice changes, while reading G. K. Chesterton’s narrative poem Lepanto, that were quite reminiscent of the way the deceased Father Trainor had read it. [...] Because of her cold and her still impaired voice, she thought she could get through a few lines at best.

[...] Immediately the same voice effect again manifested itself in no uncertain terms, and Jane then swept through the long poem without pause. Her voice did not bother her; indeed it became very loud and powerful and dramatic, very vibrant. [...]

(During this paragraph Jane’s voice really grew in strength and volume, although it was to become stronger later on. She began to approach the volume of the voice used in the 158th session. [...] This voice is not a shouting voice, but simply an innately stronger voice.

(I joked with Seth about the great voice effects, and Seth agreed that he had not yet reached the peak in voice effects, at least as far as volume went. Whereupon Jane rose to her feet again and treated us to a voice display that in my opinion exceeded to some small degree the voice effects we had taped this evening. [...]

(With the above paragraph Jane rose to her feet and her voice grew stronger. [...] Now she spoke from above it, but we believe the stronger voice more than made up for the increased distance, and was still able to show the variation in the volume of Jane’s voice as the session progressed. [...]

[...] I say again, if any small and simple treats of voice (louder again) will serve to make supposedly sane men stand up and listen (louder, strong, very strong; Jane’s head was thrown back as though to let the great voice out unimpeded) then so I will speak out in loud and hearty tones. [...] Then the voice began to soften. [...]

[...] 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.)

(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.)

[...] Instead of the heavier and strong usual Seth voice she began to speak in almost a normal manner. [...] Her eyes were open and very dark; she smiled and spoke in a pleasant, almost lilting, much quieter voice.)

[...] 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.)

(Jane’s voice had been pitched quite a bit lower than usual, even when quiet, and this was a bit unusual in that the deeper voice usually grows stronger also. See the 191st session for Seth’s explanation of why the voice grows so much stronger at times.

[...] Her voice had been mostly even, her pace rather fast toward the end. A trace of her peculiar brogue had been apparent also, and usually when the brogue revealed itself the voice grew a bit in strength.

[...] I had indeed been watching the volume of her voice, for several times during this delivery I thought I noticed a tendency to escalate in volume. A couple of times I was on the verge of asking Seth to be careful, but the voice quieted each time by itself.

(I might also add that we recently learned of other people hearing Seth’s strong voice during the unscheduled 190th session. [...] A couple of days ago Jane and I learned that other people in our apartment house heard the voice, and were quite curious.

[...] This is not, for example, my voice. It is a representation or approximation of my voice for your edification. Furthermore in your terms I do not have a voice. Nevertheless it is a valid representation and if I must say so myself, and that’s a pun, the voice is very much like the voice I would use, though Frank had a different one.

[...] The moment Jane sat down at break her voice returned to normal. [...] Somewhere along the way she realized her voice was deeper, but was not bothered by it. She knew her voice was responsible for the phenomena, yet felt at the same time as though the new voice was independent of her somehow.

(During this delivery her voice retained its strong, slow and deliberate character. When she began dictating again her pacing picked up somewhat, and her voice remained the same. [...]

(Now, Jane’s voice, which had been stronger than normal through the whole session, began to take on added timber; that is it began to grow deeper more than it increased in volume. [...] Already her voice had changed more than it had in any session except the 14th. [...]

The voice was much softer than usual. [...] The points where the [Seth] voice was loudest and most powerful—these points often represented openings through which the development could occur. [...] The energy would have been diverted from the voice in which it had already been built up, you see.”

[...] For one thing, the voice was different. It was much more like my own voice, yet it wasn’t mine. [...]

Here the voice was very distant, high and clear, so unlike the usual Seth voice that Rob was still rather taken back. [...]

The transition from Seth’s deep voice and lively gestures was very startling to Phil, who hadn’t heard the other personality speak before. [...] Just before the voice began to speak, I felt my consciousness drawn up through the invisible pyramid like a draft up a flue. [...]

[...] Her voice was stronger than normal, and echoed somewhat in the crowded office. [...]

[...] I have endeavored to keep the voice somewhat under control because of the proximity of other offices. [...]

[...] Her eyes had been closed, her voice good but nothing exceptional.

[...] Dr. Instream said the voice effect was somewhat unusual, and questioned us about Jane showing fatigue afterwards. [...]

(The voices continued. Then I realized that my small transistor radio was at the head of the bed, that the voices were coming out of two speakers on it. [...] But the voices kept on. Now I got out of bed [in the dream], went into Rob’s room and found that another radio sat on the bookcase where the Seth material is kept, and that the voices were coming from this radio also. [...] I don’t recall that the voices bothered me now or if I heard them, though I had not turned the back radio off. [...]

[...] I was in bed, and then I realized that I heard voices in my head; was not at all sure that this was a dream. The voices were very loud, independent, each quite different from the others, and I believe, all male voices. [...]

([Jane:] “All I want you to do is if you hear your own voice, not to distrust it. I mean, why because it’s somebody else’s voice does it all of a sudden attain authenticity, where your own voice doesn’t? [...]

I want you to understand that in this moment in your time, your very cells respond to what I say, not because I say it, but because your cells also speak through my voice and the forgotten portions of you to which you do not listen. The voice that cries in the wilderness is your own, and the voice that answers from eons of time, that you do not understand, is your own. [...]

[...] And the voice that speaks in your dreams is the voice of yourself that you do not recognize speaking from the ancient founts of knowledge that are your own. [...]

Now I bid you all a fond good evening, and yet before I do, I ask you to identify with the power behind this voice and to feel it within your very cells, for it is your own power, your own energy, your own knowledge and the divinity from which you have sprung and which is a part of each of you. The voice that answers is your own, then listen to it with love and understanding. [...]

The basic action of the first dream involved his reception, his clear perception, of several voices within his head. The voices, though he does not consciously recall their message, the voices spoke words of encouragement. [...]

There were four voices, all male. Three of these were the voices of personalities who no longer exist within the physical system, but which were closely allied with Ruburt in past lives. The fourth voice was my own. [...]

He would not accept the responsibility that he felt such ability would put upon him, and so he looked for an outside source of the voices, and dreamed the sequence in which the voices came from a radio, and not his head. In the dream he switches the radio off, hoping to still the voices. [...]

[...] Her voice was average.)

(The Seth voice did come through to some considerable extent in the last portion of the session addressed to Pat’s students. While the voice was not as unique—as low in pitch or as resounding, as it has been on some occasions—it was definitely apparent at times during the session and sometimes it was quite startling. This is the first time in some while that the voice has come through, incidentally. [...]

[...] There seems no doubt that when the voice attains a certain…pitch or intensity—something clicks and “I” am simply out of it. [...] No one asked Seth to do so and, of course, all this time he was speaking through me in this voice of his. [...]

(While the voice boomed out toward the end, I was in that classroom, certainly not in our living room. [...]

(There is no doubt that Seth “comes through” much more clearly when the voice “turns on”. [...]

[...] When Jane did begin speaking in trance, her voice was peculiarly gentle in quality—lighter than the usual stronger and heavier Seth voice by a good bit, almost as though she was proceeding somewhat cautiously. But there were other reasons for this different voice, as we learned later. [...]

[...] Jane’s voice still persisted in the light, gentle, almost lilting quality, quite different from the usual deeper Seth voice.) The Seth personality has been an intermediary, and a legitimate one. [...]

[...] Once again her voice was on the gentle side—not like the usual strong Seth voice.)

[...] The points where this voice was loudest and strong—these points often represented openings through which the development could occur. [...]

(Jane’s voice had again begun to turn loud, and I wondered whether we would have more voice effects like those of the 158th session. She began to speak more rapidly, and upon occasion let her voice boom out. [...]

[...] Jane began speaking while sitting down and with her eyes closed, in a voice a little stronger than usual, and at a fairly fast rate. [...]

[...] Jane’s voice rose to some degree of loudness for the rest of this delivery. [...]

(Still with her eyes closed, Jane resumed at a good rate and in a good voice at 9:25.)

(During that session Jane achieved outstanding voice effects, a very deep trance, and a projection to the Boston classroom of Pat’s special high-school class. [...]

(She particularly had some questions about the projection and voice.

[...] Her voice was quite a bit deeper also, but not loud; and it was very slow and with many pauses.)

The volume of the voice is the result of a buildup of power, or energy. [...]

(More voice effects were demonstrated now. [...] Seth came through after some of the stronger voice effects on the tape had been played. [...]

[...] This is the tape containing the strong voice effects and was recorded for Dr. Instream. [...]

(As it happened many people who live in the house were away for various reasons, so Seth was well aware that neighbors wouldn’t be a hindrance to voice effects—at least as much as usual. [...]

(Nor according to Seth would the voice effects be accepted as any kind of evidence, until certain measuring instruments were used in a scientifically-controlled experiment. [...]

(Jane had been much surprised at hearing her voice, as Seth, as it was taped Monday, July 19, for Dr. Instream. The power of the voice had amazed her, whereas I had taken it for granted because of long hours spent listening to it. [...]

[...] Jane spoke while sitting down, with her eyes closed, and in a voice somewhat deeper than usual. [...]

This will pass, but it is all to the good that he was able to hear the voice. [...]

I regret that when the voice has a loud volume it does indeed sound quite harsh. [...]