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Collector's Library of the Unknown
There is a River - The Story of Edgar Cayce
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384 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 1968
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June 11, 2012
When my generation, born in the latter 1940s, somehow blew our minds by the 1960s and challenged some of our parents' ideas about civil rights, war, religion, education, and even medicine, the books and astonishing insights of somebody named Edgar Cayce were just another among many new possibilities for us to discover. The bookstores and the streets were exploding with marches and ideas, music, art, cosmic consciousness for peace and love. It was a wonderful and heady and terrible time of assassinations in this country, and Vietnam, nuclear weapons, ecocide, genocide, and all the great things about Feminism, Hinduism, Revolution.
I picked up a few cheap bestselling paperbacks along the way by Cayce about Atlantis, reincarnation, extraterrestrial realities of all sorts. They were fascinating little books but I didn't really understand who he was or where all this information was coming from, and therefore whether it was really true and accurate and could be trusted. There were always people around who said they understood it a lot better than me, but then they were into Communes too, and esoterica like EST and Maharishi Yogi and gurus whom I only heard about briefly in many glancing peripheries in-between my own studies of theatre, Sitting Bull, and Carlos Castaneda and classical literature. Edgar Cayce was just one more of the amazing people and things in our world like Easter Island and psychic phenomena and flying saucers.
So it was only about a week ago I found 'There Is A River', by Thomas Sugrue in our local used bookstore in Flagstaff, for $3.50. I had actually been looking for some UFO books I had read years ago by Zechariah Sitchin and Immanuel Velikovsky and Erich von Danniken, but instead there was a whole shelf or two by my old old friend Cayce, about everything under the Sun and the Moon. He was obviously a lot more popular than the handful of studies about Roswell and even astronomy. I was glad to see there was a biography, written by a man who knew Cayce, and published in 1943 before Cayce died in 1945. Glancing inside to see if it was just a lot more baloney like the many, many shelves and whole sections of the store on 'New Age' self-help love, I was pleased to read a well-written study of the man's life which I knew so little about; and it even started out with a relevant passage to my interest in the relationship of Spaceships and psychic consciousness.
"The story of Cayce properly belongs in the history of hypnosis, as a chapter in evidence for the theories of Armand Marc Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis de Puysegur." Who? I had not realized what Cayce did to discover his astonishing insights into ancient and prehistoric events about Atlantis and the Egyptian Pyramids, etc.,was a matter of hypnosis. But the next sentences of the opening paragraph of the Preface were even more revealing.
"It was de Puysegur, not Mesmer, who in 1784 discovered hypnotism. De Puysegur's famous subject Victor went into a sleep instead of a convulsion while being magnetized, and in that state showed remarkable intelligence and apparent powers of clairvoyance. Further experiments brought the same results. Other patients, when put to sleep, showed like powers. Walter Bromberg, in 'The Mind of Man', says: 'Dull peasants became mentally alert, and could even foretell events or understand things ordinarily obscure to them. Somnambulism made medical diagnoses in other patients brought before them, and foretold the future. The magnetizer of the 1820s merely brought his patient before a competent somnambulist, and waited for the diagnosis . . . If only modern science had such aids! The clairvoyance of somnambulists became a fascinating game.'"
I rushed to my dictionary to look for the definitions of somnambulism and clairvoyance and especially magnetizer, but was disappointed to find they had been reduced in our modern skepticism to mere sleepwalking and therapeutic techniques. Magnetizer had set me off, in error, to the narratives of "UFO Contactees" George Adamski and Travis Walton, who had been shocked by the powerful magnetic force around the Flying Saucers they had accidentally approached too close, or even touched, in 1953 and 1975, in California and Arizona, before they were both taken inside the Space Ships.
But Edgar Cayce's phenomenal abilities, while in his self-hypnotic Sleep States, was really not that much different to the actual physical facts I had at first supposed was the meaning of 'magnetizer'. A physical, bodily power rushes through him, whether it was what his friends and doctors might have described as the 'subconscious' or 'super-consciousness', and the well-documented descriptions of the experiences of Adamski and Walton, among others, inside silent aircraft sailing swiftly to the Moon and Venus and back in a few short, safe hours. That they are both abilities and narratives many people would say are impossible, but true to many others of us, as proven by many other eyewitnesses and data, makes for a stronger case for credibility than ever.
By 1910, Edgar Cayce was 33 years old, when a full page story appeared in the New York Times titled, 'Illiterate Man Becomes A Doctor When Hypnotized'. Sugrue provides a quote, "The medical fraternity of the country is taking a lively interest in the strange power said to be possessed by Edgar Cayce of Hopkinsville, Ky., to diagnose difficult diseases while in a semi-conscious state, though he has not the slightest knowledge of medicine when not in this condition."
Most of the book, like most of Cayce's own life, was spent in trying to help and heal individual people of their many illnesses, with detailed anatomical descriptions and cures of what was wrong with them - sometimes they were not even present when he easily slipped into his self-induced sleep states twice a day. Stenographers recorded his precise words, in a clear and almost dreamy voice, for many drugs and therapies, and they are recorded in the vast archives of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, A.R.E., in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he and his family spent the last decades of his life. In fact, the thousands of people he cured over those many years were witnessed by astonished doctors and they are testified by the patients themselves; establishing what Cayce himself said was a miraculous gift directly from God as the most convincing and believable of all the amazing men and women of that generation.
It's not a matter of belief or faith, as it might be with UFO Contacts and Abductions, which are experienced almost privately or witnessed by only a few people. Cayce was a deeply religious christian in the fundamentalist backwoods tradition of the American South, and in the early days of my own 'Coming of Age', I tended to discount, a little, his attribution of his powers and everything else to a Biblical God and Jesus. I was raised in a strict conservative Catholic family and my mother didn't like my father's relatives who were all "holy-rollers" or Mormons from Kansas and Utah. There were indeed some real charlatan 'faith-healers' among my own relatives, who prescribed grape-juice and apricot-pit cures for cancer, resulting in tragic early deaths of some family members. My mother was also an R.N. for 50 years, and hated osteopaths, chiropractors, and Protestants in general (and they pretty much hated her in return).
Cayce certainly had to overcome a lot of these prejudices himself when he was growing up, in himself as well. He says, with a lot of good humor about it too, "I'm the dumbest man in Christian County, when I'm awake." A few women like his grandmother and mother believed him when he was a boy growing up on those rural farms, when he said he saw a woman in the woods one time, when he was alone, and it looked like she had wings on her back. "She said to me, 'Your prayers have been answered, little boy. Tell me what it is you want most of all, so that I may give it to you." Sugrue writes, "I was very frightened," from personal interviews with Cayce as an old man, "but after a minute I managed to say, Most of all I would like to be helpful to other people, especially children. Then she disappeared."
He attributed the Vision of Her as the source of his power. There was and is a lot of that so-called superstition still firmly embedded in people who live closest to nature, but it's always been scorned by more people, especially so-called sophisticated city dwellers who like to call themselves democratic, secular humanists. When Edgar came out of those poorly educated times and places - he only finished the 9th grade - all he really had was the Bible as his source of orientation to the world and its great mysteries.
He did poorly in school, until he slept with his head on his schoolbooks, after the Vision: and then could picture the pages of the books and could instantly answer all the questions, when he woke up; where before he had been almost completely befuddled.
He also saw other beings which are similar to stories of Aliens from contemporary accounts. "They were nice little boys and girls and he had wondered for a long time why other people didn't see them; but one day he found out that they didn't like other people to see them. His father came to ask to whom he was speaking, and when he turned around to point out his playmates, they were gone. They came back after his father left. But his mother could see them sometimes, and it made him happy. One day she looked through the window and said, 'Your playmates are waiting for you'; and when he went out, there they were, sliding down the hayrick."
For most of his life, Edgar worried that his clairvoyance might be the work of an evil force, or Devil, but he always tried to make sure it was done only for good and only for sincere people who were sick and asked for his help. He often did not want to take any money at all, even though he had a family and they were often in financial straits, moving around to Alabama and Texas and Ohio looking for jobs as a photographer, and trying to find benefactors and doctors who would support the important work of his "Readings". But most doctors laughed at him and called him a Quack and wouldn't help. He was arrested a few times for practicing medicine without a license. He was often beset by what he called "crackpots" and "faddists" who had their own ideas of psychic phenomena and just wanted to exploit his reputation, which was growing, for their own ambitions.
His dream was to open his own hospital, that was open to all forms of medicine and healing, whether of traditional medicine or allopathic, homeopathic, osteopath, or anything intended for good, for all faiths and belief systems. People also wanted to hear his 'Life Readings' of their past lives and all the wonders of the Earth's former civilizations, as well as peoples and sacred worlds of the Galaxy and the whole Universe. He was a great man and deeply beloved by everybody who knew him, which now, thanks to his friend Thomas Sugrue, includes myself.
I picked up a few cheap bestselling paperbacks along the way by Cayce about Atlantis, reincarnation, extraterrestrial realities of all sorts. They were fascinating little books but I didn't really understand who he was or where all this information was coming from, and therefore whether it was really true and accurate and could be trusted. There were always people around who said they understood it a lot better than me, but then they were into Communes too, and esoterica like EST and Maharishi Yogi and gurus whom I only heard about briefly in many glancing peripheries in-between my own studies of theatre, Sitting Bull, and Carlos Castaneda and classical literature. Edgar Cayce was just one more of the amazing people and things in our world like Easter Island and psychic phenomena and flying saucers.
So it was only about a week ago I found 'There Is A River', by Thomas Sugrue in our local used bookstore in Flagstaff, for $3.50. I had actually been looking for some UFO books I had read years ago by Zechariah Sitchin and Immanuel Velikovsky and Erich von Danniken, but instead there was a whole shelf or two by my old old friend Cayce, about everything under the Sun and the Moon. He was obviously a lot more popular than the handful of studies about Roswell and even astronomy. I was glad to see there was a biography, written by a man who knew Cayce, and published in 1943 before Cayce died in 1945. Glancing inside to see if it was just a lot more baloney like the many, many shelves and whole sections of the store on 'New Age' self-help love, I was pleased to read a well-written study of the man's life which I knew so little about; and it even started out with a relevant passage to my interest in the relationship of Spaceships and psychic consciousness.
"The story of Cayce properly belongs in the history of hypnosis, as a chapter in evidence for the theories of Armand Marc Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis de Puysegur." Who? I had not realized what Cayce did to discover his astonishing insights into ancient and prehistoric events about Atlantis and the Egyptian Pyramids, etc.,was a matter of hypnosis. But the next sentences of the opening paragraph of the Preface were even more revealing.
"It was de Puysegur, not Mesmer, who in 1784 discovered hypnotism. De Puysegur's famous subject Victor went into a sleep instead of a convulsion while being magnetized, and in that state showed remarkable intelligence and apparent powers of clairvoyance. Further experiments brought the same results. Other patients, when put to sleep, showed like powers. Walter Bromberg, in 'The Mind of Man', says: 'Dull peasants became mentally alert, and could even foretell events or understand things ordinarily obscure to them. Somnambulism made medical diagnoses in other patients brought before them, and foretold the future. The magnetizer of the 1820s merely brought his patient before a competent somnambulist, and waited for the diagnosis . . . If only modern science had such aids! The clairvoyance of somnambulists became a fascinating game.'"
I rushed to my dictionary to look for the definitions of somnambulism and clairvoyance and especially magnetizer, but was disappointed to find they had been reduced in our modern skepticism to mere sleepwalking and therapeutic techniques. Magnetizer had set me off, in error, to the narratives of "UFO Contactees" George Adamski and Travis Walton, who had been shocked by the powerful magnetic force around the Flying Saucers they had accidentally approached too close, or even touched, in 1953 and 1975, in California and Arizona, before they were both taken inside the Space Ships.
But Edgar Cayce's phenomenal abilities, while in his self-hypnotic Sleep States, was really not that much different to the actual physical facts I had at first supposed was the meaning of 'magnetizer'. A physical, bodily power rushes through him, whether it was what his friends and doctors might have described as the 'subconscious' or 'super-consciousness', and the well-documented descriptions of the experiences of Adamski and Walton, among others, inside silent aircraft sailing swiftly to the Moon and Venus and back in a few short, safe hours. That they are both abilities and narratives many people would say are impossible, but true to many others of us, as proven by many other eyewitnesses and data, makes for a stronger case for credibility than ever.
By 1910, Edgar Cayce was 33 years old, when a full page story appeared in the New York Times titled, 'Illiterate Man Becomes A Doctor When Hypnotized'. Sugrue provides a quote, "The medical fraternity of the country is taking a lively interest in the strange power said to be possessed by Edgar Cayce of Hopkinsville, Ky., to diagnose difficult diseases while in a semi-conscious state, though he has not the slightest knowledge of medicine when not in this condition."
Most of the book, like most of Cayce's own life, was spent in trying to help and heal individual people of their many illnesses, with detailed anatomical descriptions and cures of what was wrong with them - sometimes they were not even present when he easily slipped into his self-induced sleep states twice a day. Stenographers recorded his precise words, in a clear and almost dreamy voice, for many drugs and therapies, and they are recorded in the vast archives of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, A.R.E., in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he and his family spent the last decades of his life. In fact, the thousands of people he cured over those many years were witnessed by astonished doctors and they are testified by the patients themselves; establishing what Cayce himself said was a miraculous gift directly from God as the most convincing and believable of all the amazing men and women of that generation.
It's not a matter of belief or faith, as it might be with UFO Contacts and Abductions, which are experienced almost privately or witnessed by only a few people. Cayce was a deeply religious christian in the fundamentalist backwoods tradition of the American South, and in the early days of my own 'Coming of Age', I tended to discount, a little, his attribution of his powers and everything else to a Biblical God and Jesus. I was raised in a strict conservative Catholic family and my mother didn't like my father's relatives who were all "holy-rollers" or Mormons from Kansas and Utah. There were indeed some real charlatan 'faith-healers' among my own relatives, who prescribed grape-juice and apricot-pit cures for cancer, resulting in tragic early deaths of some family members. My mother was also an R.N. for 50 years, and hated osteopaths, chiropractors, and Protestants in general (and they pretty much hated her in return).
Cayce certainly had to overcome a lot of these prejudices himself when he was growing up, in himself as well. He says, with a lot of good humor about it too, "I'm the dumbest man in Christian County, when I'm awake." A few women like his grandmother and mother believed him when he was a boy growing up on those rural farms, when he said he saw a woman in the woods one time, when he was alone, and it looked like she had wings on her back. "She said to me, 'Your prayers have been answered, little boy. Tell me what it is you want most of all, so that I may give it to you." Sugrue writes, "I was very frightened," from personal interviews with Cayce as an old man, "but after a minute I managed to say, Most of all I would like to be helpful to other people, especially children. Then she disappeared."
He attributed the Vision of Her as the source of his power. There was and is a lot of that so-called superstition still firmly embedded in people who live closest to nature, but it's always been scorned by more people, especially so-called sophisticated city dwellers who like to call themselves democratic, secular humanists. When Edgar came out of those poorly educated times and places - he only finished the 9th grade - all he really had was the Bible as his source of orientation to the world and its great mysteries.
He did poorly in school, until he slept with his head on his schoolbooks, after the Vision: and then could picture the pages of the books and could instantly answer all the questions, when he woke up; where before he had been almost completely befuddled.
He also saw other beings which are similar to stories of Aliens from contemporary accounts. "They were nice little boys and girls and he had wondered for a long time why other people didn't see them; but one day he found out that they didn't like other people to see them. His father came to ask to whom he was speaking, and when he turned around to point out his playmates, they were gone. They came back after his father left. But his mother could see them sometimes, and it made him happy. One day she looked through the window and said, 'Your playmates are waiting for you'; and when he went out, there they were, sliding down the hayrick."
For most of his life, Edgar worried that his clairvoyance might be the work of an evil force, or Devil, but he always tried to make sure it was done only for good and only for sincere people who were sick and asked for his help. He often did not want to take any money at all, even though he had a family and they were often in financial straits, moving around to Alabama and Texas and Ohio looking for jobs as a photographer, and trying to find benefactors and doctors who would support the important work of his "Readings". But most doctors laughed at him and called him a Quack and wouldn't help. He was arrested a few times for practicing medicine without a license. He was often beset by what he called "crackpots" and "faddists" who had their own ideas of psychic phenomena and just wanted to exploit his reputation, which was growing, for their own ambitions.
His dream was to open his own hospital, that was open to all forms of medicine and healing, whether of traditional medicine or allopathic, homeopathic, osteopath, or anything intended for good, for all faiths and belief systems. People also wanted to hear his 'Life Readings' of their past lives and all the wonders of the Earth's former civilizations, as well as peoples and sacred worlds of the Galaxy and the whole Universe. He was a great man and deeply beloved by everybody who knew him, which now, thanks to his friend Thomas Sugrue, includes myself.
March 1, 2023
At one time I was thrilled to discover Edgar Cayce, and this book was the best resource I was able to find.
For Cayce fans, of course it deserves *****.
OF POSSIBLE INTEREST, THOUGH?
As you Goodreaders may know, the Sleeping Prophet would go into such a deep state of trance while channeling, he had zero recall of what transpired in any of the readings.
Reported in this book, however, if I recall correctly....
During one reading he told something like this to a man with epilepsy:
"Of course, you have epilepsy now. In your last incarnation, you were a channeler."
Good to keep in mind. For many reasons, I'm no longer a fan of channeling or channeled teachings, to put it mildly. One of those reasons is how bad it is for the channeler.
Maybe worth considering? Because now, in the Age of Awakening, we can do better than channeling.
For Cayce fans, of course it deserves *****.
OF POSSIBLE INTEREST, THOUGH?
As you Goodreaders may know, the Sleeping Prophet would go into such a deep state of trance while channeling, he had zero recall of what transpired in any of the readings.
Reported in this book, however, if I recall correctly....
During one reading he told something like this to a man with epilepsy:
"Of course, you have epilepsy now. In your last incarnation, you were a channeler."
Good to keep in mind. For many reasons, I'm no longer a fan of channeling or channeled teachings, to put it mildly. One of those reasons is how bad it is for the channeler.
Maybe worth considering? Because now, in the Age of Awakening, we can do better than channeling.
July 5, 2010
This book has helped me through a difficult period. The extent and pace of change in my life has overwhelmed me as I prepare to enter a new career and thus a new way of living. Money and charity have pulled from opposite ends of my soul throughout my life and finally, I think I found the line of work I am meant to do.
Edgar Cayce's story is one of an ordinary man who, through some stroke of predestination, spoke about extraordinary mysteries while in a sleeping trance. In an era where frauds like Miss Cleo and that guy from "Crossing Over" enrich themselves on illusions and scams, I imagine they'd try to take over the world if they possessed even an ounce of Cayce's physic powers.
Cayce was unique because he didn't try to peddle his powers, however incredible. It was just the opposite - he avoided attention and fame whenever possible and felt embarrassed by his talents. He never wanted money. He only cared to serve humankind and make a difference in the lives of people. He wanted to help the sick. He tried to save peoples lives and help children.
After reading the book, I feel energized by the possibilities and secrets within us. Because Cayce lived so humbly, I actually believe in his psychic history even more fiercely. Cayce was a true philanthropist who dedicated his life to helping others. He wasn't a quack or a circus act.
I feel better about my chosen than I have ever felt.
Edgar Cayce's story is one of an ordinary man who, through some stroke of predestination, spoke about extraordinary mysteries while in a sleeping trance. In an era where frauds like Miss Cleo and that guy from "Crossing Over" enrich themselves on illusions and scams, I imagine they'd try to take over the world if they possessed even an ounce of Cayce's physic powers.
Cayce was unique because he didn't try to peddle his powers, however incredible. It was just the opposite - he avoided attention and fame whenever possible and felt embarrassed by his talents. He never wanted money. He only cared to serve humankind and make a difference in the lives of people. He wanted to help the sick. He tried to save peoples lives and help children.
After reading the book, I feel energized by the possibilities and secrets within us. Because Cayce lived so humbly, I actually believe in his psychic history even more fiercely. Cayce was a true philanthropist who dedicated his life to helping others. He wasn't a quack or a circus act.
I feel better about my chosen than I have ever felt.
August 13, 2011
Fascinating. Edgar Cayce had a gift which he used to alleviate suffering and restore health in thousands of people. A devout Christian, not educated in medicine, he had the ability to make contact, through his subconscious, with an articulate source of healing knowledge. The details, medical terminology, and results were overseen and approved by learned doctors of the day.
“The Readings”, which could be done from any distance as long as the name and address of the person was given, treated the body as a linked system and the detailed therapies involved medicines, massage, and diet. The diagnoses were astoundingly accurate. People were cured. “Yes, we have the body.....”
Established medicine then and now can in itself cause harm and will ignore the entire bodily system as it offers a pill or injection from a profiteering industry for an isolated symptom or sick organ. The Readings would often catch doctors in their mistakes, preventing harmful surgeries, or demanding surgery when none was thought necessary. All chillingly accurate. It’s important to note that these Readings made use of advanced anatomical and medical terminology and that Edgar Cayce himself had no medical training. How he could, in a trance, know these things is mind boggling.
Now is a good time to again spout out my favorite statistic: Total number of medical errors and deaths equals six jumbo jets crashing every day. And yet somehow that medical establishment had/has credibility and a clairvoyant was/is viewed as a stunt or trick.
As I read many case histories that are recorded in this book, they are all sensible and detailed, making use of complicated medical knowledge, and were given with the sole intent of helping the individual examined and NOT INTENDED FOR PROFIT.
These were the days before fast food and the obesity epidemic in America, yet directives included: eat no hog meat or white bread. Fish is good, red meats not so good. Add to the diet olive oil, grape juice, vegetables, fruits. Get exercise and fresh air.
Every day I see in the newspapers the results of stupid tests and trials still trying to debate the harmful/helpful effects of diet and exercise upon health. I suspect they are organized and paid for by the highly profitable drug industries. People, behold the humble grape. The humble carrot. Spinach leaf. Human touch. Faith in God.
“The Readings”, which could be done from any distance as long as the name and address of the person was given, treated the body as a linked system and the detailed therapies involved medicines, massage, and diet. The diagnoses were astoundingly accurate. People were cured. “Yes, we have the body.....”
Established medicine then and now can in itself cause harm and will ignore the entire bodily system as it offers a pill or injection from a profiteering industry for an isolated symptom or sick organ. The Readings would often catch doctors in their mistakes, preventing harmful surgeries, or demanding surgery when none was thought necessary. All chillingly accurate. It’s important to note that these Readings made use of advanced anatomical and medical terminology and that Edgar Cayce himself had no medical training. How he could, in a trance, know these things is mind boggling.
Now is a good time to again spout out my favorite statistic: Total number of medical errors and deaths equals six jumbo jets crashing every day. And yet somehow that medical establishment had/has credibility and a clairvoyant was/is viewed as a stunt or trick.
As I read many case histories that are recorded in this book, they are all sensible and detailed, making use of complicated medical knowledge, and were given with the sole intent of helping the individual examined and NOT INTENDED FOR PROFIT.
These were the days before fast food and the obesity epidemic in America, yet directives included: eat no hog meat or white bread. Fish is good, red meats not so good. Add to the diet olive oil, grape juice, vegetables, fruits. Get exercise and fresh air.
Every day I see in the newspapers the results of stupid tests and trials still trying to debate the harmful/helpful effects of diet and exercise upon health. I suspect they are organized and paid for by the highly profitable drug industries. People, behold the humble grape. The humble carrot. Spinach leaf. Human touch. Faith in God.
September 15, 2014
I'll bet there are a lot of Christians out there who reject the idea of reincarnation or any other type of alternative afterlife theories with the idea that it's counter to the all mighty Bible. Those people need to read about Edgar Cayce, who found a way to align his Christian faith with the physical experiences he could not deny.
I won't try any harder to sell this idea, but if you'll take your head out of the sand and accept that maybe, just maybe something might be true that wasn't written 2000 years ago by angry politicians with an powerful agenda to sell.
I won't try any harder to sell this idea, but if you'll take your head out of the sand and accept that maybe, just maybe something might be true that wasn't written 2000 years ago by angry politicians with an powerful agenda to sell.
April 11, 2013
I am not sure if this is the same edition I read. I loved this book. Edgar Cayce's story confirmed so much of what I already believed.
February 18, 2017
This was an amazing book to me, about a humble man who devoted his mind to Source/God.
July 22, 2017
Deep. Not done yet though. 7/11
Left me feeling as if I were needing a more diverse explanation of his readings. 7/22
Very interesting start for me though.
Left me feeling as if I were needing a more diverse explanation of his readings. 7/22
Very interesting start for me though.
December 14, 2025
"Illiterate Man Becomes A Doctor When Hypnotized"
same diva
same diva
May 5, 2020
I grew up in Virginia Beach, where there was always an underlying whisper about ARE and Edgar Cayce. As the daughter of a Catholic family, curiosity about this man and his "cult" were not encouraged. I ran across this book when I was searching for a different book with the same title, and I decided to give it a read.
I very much enjoyed it, and came away feeling like he was not a fraud, but that he had gifts which the people of his time (and even our time) have no way to explain. Those kinds of people seem to be looked at with suspicion in our culture, for good reason. However, we have lost out on a lot by not paying more attention and respect to our "seers".
I very much enjoyed it, and came away feeling like he was not a fraud, but that he had gifts which the people of his time (and even our time) have no way to explain. Those kinds of people seem to be looked at with suspicion in our culture, for good reason. However, we have lost out on a lot by not paying more attention and respect to our "seers".
February 4, 2008
The complete biography of Edgar Cayce covers not only his fascinating life and the phenomenal information that came through his psychic readings, but it also provides hope to anyone suffering from illness or despair of heart and spirit.
December 3, 2012
Excellent. I am familiar with Cayce, but the book gives concrete examples, especially when Cayce is shocked to find out about reincarnation. He goes back to his Bible and finds scripture to support that truth.
May 31, 2023
This is a remarkable biography about a very perplexing individual from the first half of the 20th century. Cayce was a deeply committed to Scripture and Jesus, somehow endowed with the abiltiy to know things supernaturally. Others described him as a psychic or clairvoyant; Cayce would enter a trance and give medical diagnoses for people he had never met with medical treatment knowledge he had never obtained...that proved curative over and over; His knowledge either came from God, Satan, or the universe. Cayce attributed it over and over to God, and he himself didn't know what to make of it. This first-hand account of Cayce's life will stretch your thinking and understanding of the supernatural and medical.
February 7, 2025
Cayce was born Sunday, 3/18/1877 at 3pm. When he was born, his mom was 21 and his dad was 23 (58). Edgar’s relative founded the town of Cayce, SC (57).
Edgar was shy and afraid of people (101), was always dreaming (18), and wanted to help people. So INF.
He was humble, never sought uniqueness or publicity, didn’t try to profit from his ability despite many people urging him to (viii, 23, 127, 132).
When he went asleep and gave readings, he talked authoritatively (16).
His power might have been inherited. His grandpa could tell farmers where to dig their wells, and possibly make brooms dance. Snakes would follow him home form the fields, but he didn’t like them (7).
Edgar was not intelligent in school (18) and came from humble origins. These were common traits among other psychics who came before him. Another psychic was Andrew Jackson Davis, who lived 8/11/1826-1910 (337). Like Edgar, hypnotism didn’t work on Andrew (338), and Andrew gave his readings twice a day (341). Like Edgar, Andrew said in a sleeping trance that his “powers were to be used to help the sick” (338). Later, Andrew got most of his info from patients by placing the tips of his fingers against the palm of the patient’s hand, which is called psychometry (340).
Many years before in France, patients under hypnosis showed clairvoyance (119). “Many somnambulists experienced this transference of the patient’s symptoms to themselves. They were termed ‘sensitive.’ Others, particularly those who went into deep trance, on awakening neither knew what they had said nor felt any ill effects. These were called ‘intuitive.’ The sensitive type suffered constantly, picking up the pains of those about them, and were in danger of temporary blindness, melancholia, and almost anything else that the person examined was enduring. The intuitive somnambulist, on the other hand, had a rather easy time of it. He went to sleep, woke up, and his work was done” (156).
Edgar learned his spelling words by sleeping on the book. He also memorized a speech of more than an hour long by his father reading it to him as he slept (56).
He had imaginary friends or little children he could see but others couldn’t. They were his size and grew as he did. They always wanted to do what he wanted to do. Their gender would vary. Another real child claimed to see and talk to them (37). She asked why they couldn’t get wet. One said “We can’t get wet. We live in the flowers, and the music. The music of everything” (38). Edgar and the girl found other little invisible people who wouldn’t play with them. When the little people stopped keeping pace with Edgar’s growth, he knew he was going to lose them (38). Edgar also saw his dead grandpa, who was sort of transparent (39).
After reading the Bible 12 times, a winged woman with a soft, clear, musical voice told him that his prayers had been heard and offered to give him what he wanted. He said he wanted to help other people, especially sick kids (45-46).
Edgar’s trance conditions: normal health, stomach done digesting, loosened collar, cuffs, shoes, and belt; gave readings no more than twice a day (10:30am, 3:30pm), woke feeling a little hungry (181, 332, 334); felt refreshed if his power was used for good, felt bad if his power was used for a bad purpose without his knowledge (247). “The two most important factors for a good reading were a genuine desire to get help on the part of the subject and an equally genuine desire to give help on Edgar’s part. Gertrude’s ideal attitude was passive, sympathetic, and receptive” (334). The ideal conductor was one who was sympathetic and close to the psychic. For giving medical readings, he would lie with his head to the south and his feet to the north, but for life readings he would lie with his head to the north and his feet to the south (269).
The conductor would say this for a physical reading as Edgar’s eyes closed: “Now the body is assuming its normal forces, and will be able, and will give, such information as is desired of it at the present time. The body physically will be perfectly normal, and will give that information now. Now you have before you the body of —-, who is located at —-. You will go over this body carefully, examine it thoroughly, and tell me the conditions you find at the present time; giving the cause of the existing conditions, also suggestions for help and relief for this body. You will speak distinctly, at a normal rate of speech. You will answer the questions I will ask” (332). For check readings, she’d say, “You will give more than one reading at this time.” For a life reading: “You will have before you [name and place of individual at birth], and you will give the relation of this entity and the Universe, and the Universal Forces, giving the conditions that are as personalities, latent and exhibited in the present life. Also the former appearances in the earth’s plane, giving time, place, and the name, and that in that life which built or retarded the development for the entity, giving the abilities of the present entity and that to which it may attain, and how. You will answer the questions which I will ask regarding this entity. You will speak distinctly, at a normal rate of speech” (333). When Edgar said “We are through for the present,” she said: “Now the body will be equalized as to overcome all those things that might hinder or prevent it from being and giving its best mental, spiritual and physical self. The body physical will create within the system those properties necessary to cause the eliminations to be so increased as to bring the best normal physical conditions for the body. The mental will so give that impression to the system as to build the best moral, mental and physical forces for this body. The circulation will be so equalized as to remove strain from all centers of the nerve system, as to allow the organs of the system to assimilate and secret properly those conditions necessary for normal conditions of this body. The nerve supplies of the whole body will assume their normal forces; the vitality will be stored in them, through the application of the physical being, as well as of the spiritual elements in the physical forces of the body. Now, perfectly normal, and perfectly balanced, you will wake up” (334).
The readings said that living near large bodies of water was good for Edgar’s health and his psychic abilities. Traveling over water was also good for the person receiving the reading (267). Interesting since water has usually been associated with intuition. It was also in water that I often got ideas or inspirations, like when doing the dishes, taking a shower, or being in the spa/pool.
“Everybody takes it for granted—even the best Christians, the ministers and missionaries—that the things that happened in the days of the Bible and the days of the saints can’t happen now” (22). I think this shows that those people don’t truly believe in the Bible.
Edgar used all schools of medicine and wasn’t loyal to any brand or manufacturer (20, 289).
“The appendix and tonsils should not be removed, because they act as focal points for poisons, gathering and sending them out through the proper channels. Only when overloaded to the point of breaking down should they be removed, and such a breaking down meant that some part of the body was overproducing waste material” (290).
“Vegetables grown in vicinity are always better for body than those grown elsewhere and shipped in” (301).
Edgar told a man to sit under a tree in a quiet spot at the same time of day every day for a week. On the fifth afternoon, the man claimed he heard the tree speak. “Edgar told the story to illustrate the truth that when any person who is habitually an objective thinker begins to experiment with subjective thinking, he sees and hears strange things and imagines he is having psychic experiences. ‘Actually, he is only meeting the reality of himself. It’s just the opposite sort of thing when a man who has been too concerned with his inner thoughts goes out into the world and mixes with other people. In each case it is new to the person just experiencing it, but common to everyone else’” (306).
“Though patience we learn to know ourselves; we learn to measure and test our ideals, to use faith, to seek understanding through virtue. All spiritual attributes are embraced in patience. In patience possess ye your soul” (331).
Edgar’s trance self said that he got his psychic power because he had once attained a great height in soul development in a past life, but slipped “downward through a series of lives until he had reached an almost opposite position of instability. The present life was a chance to atone for some of his mistakes. It was a crucial life: he had purposely been given a great temptation, balanced by an equal opportunity for good. During one of his appearances he had been wounded in a battle and left on the field for dead. He lived for several days, conscious and in extreme agony. Being unable to move or help himself in any way, he had only his mind as a weapon against pain. Just before he died he succeeded in elevating his mind beyond reach of his body and its suffering. Since no achievement, good or bad, is ever lost, the ability to subdue the body and its feelings became part of the pattern of his individuality. It was now being employed to present the test to the personality of Edgar Cayce. Used for good, it would raise him back to a portion of the spiritual estate he once possessed. Used for selfish, material purposes, it would sink him to the lower levels of humanity” (263-264).
“The Life Reading was a balance sheet, and if an asset once possessed was missing, it was something to be alarmed about. Most souls possessed greater virtue in their earlier lives than at present anyhow, but this virtue was through grace: it was the virtue of innocence. The path of the soul was downward until free will made the turn upward” (278).
Edgar thought astrology and reincarnation were wrong, but his sleeping self said otherwise (237, 247). He became convinced by the readings. He said that the fifth chapter of Matthew was in line with reincarnation, but I don’t think so. It’s about God rewarding the meek and persecuted, but it doesn’t say when their reward will be. John 9:3 was about a child born blind. “Since he was born blind, how could his own sin have caused his blindness, unless it was committed in another life? Doesn’t that indicate that the disciples were familiar with reincarnation and the law of karma” (261)? I looked up the verse. Jesus said the child was born blind so that he could use his power on him.
The book says that the underworld of other religions/mythologies is earth. Persephone being abducted by Pluto, Lord of Hades, was a metaphor for the soul of man who was taken from his true home in the heavens (362).
Only the mind is real, and thought builds the soul more than deeds (260).
As a reading once told Edgar, “Every sincere try [at helping people] is counted to you for righteousness” (349).
“It is a stern set of ethics that emerges from the readings. No lukewarm embracing of theological virtues will satisfy them. They insist on perfection as the goal, and every misstep must be retraced, every injury undone, every injustice rectified. The newer, lenient interpretations of Christianity are not tolerated. Marriage, for instance, is treated as the Roman Catholic Church treats it, though the readings give a different reason for this attitude from that of the church fathers. . . . Only in extreme circumstances, similar to those under which the Catholic Church grants annulment, do the readings advise divorce. Then one of the parties is usually hopelessly at fault, while the other is bearing an unreasonable burden. Usually the reading will say, speaking of the one who is attempting to co-operate and hold things together, ‘This has been met by the entity; the debt is paid’” (351-352). Good to know my debt’s been paid, heh. It’s reassuring that there seems to be justice in the world after all.
Arcturus is the next stop for souls leaving the solar system. Arcturus is the point of choice for the soul’s next adventure (273). This is the fourth brightest star in the night sky.
“The solar system is a cycle of experiences for the soul. It has eight dimensions, corresponding to the planets; they represent focal points for the dimensions, or environments in which the dimensions can express and materialize themselves—although materialization of each dimension is different. This is the third dimension, and it’s a sort of laboratory for the whole system, because only here is free will completely dominant. On the other planes, or dimensions, some measure of control is kept over the soul to see that i learns the proper lessons. The control is usually by the soul itself, if it has evolved sufficiently, because once the body of this dimension has been left and the consciousness of his life has been absorbed into the subconscious, the veil between the two is lifted. The subconscious, you see, is the record of all the lives of the soul, in this system and in other systems, out among the stars. it’s the record we think of as being kept by the Recording Angel. It’s the story of what we do with our spirit—the portion of God that is given to us for life, with the gift of individuality, or separate existence from God. Our problem is to perfect our individuality, and then we return to God. Our spirit and soul, or individuality, are joined to Him. . . . Our astrological influences from the planets, or dimensions, we have inhabited will be good or bad, weak or strong, according to the experiences we have had there, and how we handled our problems. For example, we react to the earth according to the manner in which we have handled the problems of earth in our other lives—brotherly love, material possessions, sex, food and drink. Sometimes we are working on an earth problem to the exclusion of any influence from the stars or planets at all. The stars represent soul patterns, not experiences. The twelve signs of the zodiac are twelve patterns from which the soul chooses when coming into the earth plane. They are like races—patterns of temperment, personality, etc. . . . It’s Hermetic, it’s Pythagorean, it’s Jewish, it’s Christian! The Egyptians put it in the pyramids, on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, and on the Bembine Table of Isis. Pythagoras put it in numbers, and in the theorem that the square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Jesus put it in the Sermon on the Mount and in the remainder of the fifth chapter of St. Matthew” (237-239, Lammers telling Cayce what he said in trance). “A body is only an objectification of the soul pattern. That’s why each one is different in build, in physiognomy, in basic health. It is a reflection of the individuality of the soul, which gives it life. The record of this particular experience, the conscious mind—that’s the personality. It’s like a day in the course of a life, compared to the actual history of the soul” (240). “The conscious mind is the record of this life. Just as an emotion is the experience of a single moment, so the conscious mind is the record of a single life. This conscious mind is located in the pituitary gland. That, at least, is its focal point—the gland has a purely physical function also. The thoughts go from the conscious to the imaginative, or introspective mind, which is seated in the pineal gland. There the thoughts are compared with all that has gone before that is in any way related to them, and when this is done, the thoughts—properly conditioned and judged—pass on to the subconscious, or soul mind, which is seated, with its spirit, just above the heart. There the thoughts are kept as a record, and as they are constructive they quicken the spirit and lower the barrier between the soul and the pure essence of life. As they are destructive they are rejected, but kept as a record, and as they are repeated they build up the barrier between the soul and the spirit and dim the radiance of the life essence that shines through the subconscious to the imaginative, and by refraction, or hunch, intuition, and yearning, into the conscious” (244-245).
“Remember what I say about the subconscious mind being the storehouse of all our experiences and thoughts, for all our lives, here and elsewhere? Well, to the degree that these experiences and thoughts have been in the right direction, a man is civilized, cultured, humane, and so forth: his past record shines through his conscious mind and present body, making the pattern of the body and the character of the person. Nothing is forgotten or lost by the subconscious” (245-246).
“They discovered, among other things, the existence of a gland unknown to science—the lydin—located above the gonads, and the point of entrance of the life force into the body” (335).
Why we can’t remember our former lives: “Because we’d never learn anything if we did. We’d carry over all our prejudices, weaknesses, strengths, likes, and dislikes, and have them in active, rather than suppressed form. They would make a mess of free will on this plane. What we have been, builds our character and intellect and makes us charming or hateful; then, with free will as the active agent, we go forth with this equipment in a world that is like a succession of laboratory tests” (248, Lammers).
Why reincarnation isn’t in Christianity: It used to be in the early days. “There was a sect of Christians called the Gnostics. The readings say they kept the line unbroken between the old religions and the new one. . . . Christ was predicted by the old religion. The people who built the great pyramid in Egypt predicted Him. . . . We found some books about it. There’s a movement in England called British Israel, that’s founded on the pyramid prophecies. . . . Just like the other old religions—they are called ‘mystery’ religions—the Jewish faith had a secret doctrine. It was called ‘cabala.’ The students who learned it were called ‘initiates,’ and these were the high priests. They learned the esoteric part of the religion, and the people were given the exoteric version: they were given the same fundamental philosophy, and the same moral code, but with a simple explantation. . . . The readings say that when the leaders of the early church decided to propagate the faith to all people, indiscriminately, they decided to drop the doctrine of reincarnation. It was difficult to explain, for one thing, and it was difficult to swallow, for another. It made life more complex. It made virtue even more necessary. A man had to be pretty brave to face the fact that one life of suffering was only a step toward heaven. On the other hand, people who didn’t examine the theory could easily say, ‘Oh, well, we have other lives to live. We won’t be sent to hell after this one. So let’s enjoy it.’ So they fought the Gnostics and won the battle. What they did was right, I suppose, because without a simplification of the faith it wouldn’t have spread. It would have remained a small sect, for intellectuals and students of metaphysics. . . . But the readings say that no sect, or schism, should ever be allowed to form around this work. They say we are merely to present what we have, to those who seek it. Truth will prove itself, in time” (257-259).
Interesting: The moon’s “influence was obvious on such things as the tides and the female cycle. Any farmer could tell you that a fence rail laid on the wane of the moon will sink into the ground, just as bacon from a hog killed on the wane of the moon will shrivel in the pan and be worthless. The fence rail has to be laid when the moon is on the increase, and the hog has to be killed at the same period” (249).
Edgar was shy and afraid of people (101), was always dreaming (18), and wanted to help people. So INF.
He was humble, never sought uniqueness or publicity, didn’t try to profit from his ability despite many people urging him to (viii, 23, 127, 132).
When he went asleep and gave readings, he talked authoritatively (16).
His power might have been inherited. His grandpa could tell farmers where to dig their wells, and possibly make brooms dance. Snakes would follow him home form the fields, but he didn’t like them (7).
Edgar was not intelligent in school (18) and came from humble origins. These were common traits among other psychics who came before him. Another psychic was Andrew Jackson Davis, who lived 8/11/1826-1910 (337). Like Edgar, hypnotism didn’t work on Andrew (338), and Andrew gave his readings twice a day (341). Like Edgar, Andrew said in a sleeping trance that his “powers were to be used to help the sick” (338). Later, Andrew got most of his info from patients by placing the tips of his fingers against the palm of the patient’s hand, which is called psychometry (340).
Many years before in France, patients under hypnosis showed clairvoyance (119). “Many somnambulists experienced this transference of the patient’s symptoms to themselves. They were termed ‘sensitive.’ Others, particularly those who went into deep trance, on awakening neither knew what they had said nor felt any ill effects. These were called ‘intuitive.’ The sensitive type suffered constantly, picking up the pains of those about them, and were in danger of temporary blindness, melancholia, and almost anything else that the person examined was enduring. The intuitive somnambulist, on the other hand, had a rather easy time of it. He went to sleep, woke up, and his work was done” (156).
Edgar learned his spelling words by sleeping on the book. He also memorized a speech of more than an hour long by his father reading it to him as he slept (56).
He had imaginary friends or little children he could see but others couldn’t. They were his size and grew as he did. They always wanted to do what he wanted to do. Their gender would vary. Another real child claimed to see and talk to them (37). She asked why they couldn’t get wet. One said “We can’t get wet. We live in the flowers, and the music. The music of everything” (38). Edgar and the girl found other little invisible people who wouldn’t play with them. When the little people stopped keeping pace with Edgar’s growth, he knew he was going to lose them (38). Edgar also saw his dead grandpa, who was sort of transparent (39).
After reading the Bible 12 times, a winged woman with a soft, clear, musical voice told him that his prayers had been heard and offered to give him what he wanted. He said he wanted to help other people, especially sick kids (45-46).
Edgar’s trance conditions: normal health, stomach done digesting, loosened collar, cuffs, shoes, and belt; gave readings no more than twice a day (10:30am, 3:30pm), woke feeling a little hungry (181, 332, 334); felt refreshed if his power was used for good, felt bad if his power was used for a bad purpose without his knowledge (247). “The two most important factors for a good reading were a genuine desire to get help on the part of the subject and an equally genuine desire to give help on Edgar’s part. Gertrude’s ideal attitude was passive, sympathetic, and receptive” (334). The ideal conductor was one who was sympathetic and close to the psychic. For giving medical readings, he would lie with his head to the south and his feet to the north, but for life readings he would lie with his head to the north and his feet to the south (269).
The conductor would say this for a physical reading as Edgar’s eyes closed: “Now the body is assuming its normal forces, and will be able, and will give, such information as is desired of it at the present time. The body physically will be perfectly normal, and will give that information now. Now you have before you the body of —-, who is located at —-. You will go over this body carefully, examine it thoroughly, and tell me the conditions you find at the present time; giving the cause of the existing conditions, also suggestions for help and relief for this body. You will speak distinctly, at a normal rate of speech. You will answer the questions I will ask” (332). For check readings, she’d say, “You will give more than one reading at this time.” For a life reading: “You will have before you [name and place of individual at birth], and you will give the relation of this entity and the Universe, and the Universal Forces, giving the conditions that are as personalities, latent and exhibited in the present life. Also the former appearances in the earth’s plane, giving time, place, and the name, and that in that life which built or retarded the development for the entity, giving the abilities of the present entity and that to which it may attain, and how. You will answer the questions which I will ask regarding this entity. You will speak distinctly, at a normal rate of speech” (333). When Edgar said “We are through for the present,” she said: “Now the body will be equalized as to overcome all those things that might hinder or prevent it from being and giving its best mental, spiritual and physical self. The body physical will create within the system those properties necessary to cause the eliminations to be so increased as to bring the best normal physical conditions for the body. The mental will so give that impression to the system as to build the best moral, mental and physical forces for this body. The circulation will be so equalized as to remove strain from all centers of the nerve system, as to allow the organs of the system to assimilate and secret properly those conditions necessary for normal conditions of this body. The nerve supplies of the whole body will assume their normal forces; the vitality will be stored in them, through the application of the physical being, as well as of the spiritual elements in the physical forces of the body. Now, perfectly normal, and perfectly balanced, you will wake up” (334).
The readings said that living near large bodies of water was good for Edgar’s health and his psychic abilities. Traveling over water was also good for the person receiving the reading (267). Interesting since water has usually been associated with intuition. It was also in water that I often got ideas or inspirations, like when doing the dishes, taking a shower, or being in the spa/pool.
“Everybody takes it for granted—even the best Christians, the ministers and missionaries—that the things that happened in the days of the Bible and the days of the saints can’t happen now” (22). I think this shows that those people don’t truly believe in the Bible.
Edgar used all schools of medicine and wasn’t loyal to any brand or manufacturer (20, 289).
“The appendix and tonsils should not be removed, because they act as focal points for poisons, gathering and sending them out through the proper channels. Only when overloaded to the point of breaking down should they be removed, and such a breaking down meant that some part of the body was overproducing waste material” (290).
“Vegetables grown in vicinity are always better for body than those grown elsewhere and shipped in” (301).
Edgar told a man to sit under a tree in a quiet spot at the same time of day every day for a week. On the fifth afternoon, the man claimed he heard the tree speak. “Edgar told the story to illustrate the truth that when any person who is habitually an objective thinker begins to experiment with subjective thinking, he sees and hears strange things and imagines he is having psychic experiences. ‘Actually, he is only meeting the reality of himself. It’s just the opposite sort of thing when a man who has been too concerned with his inner thoughts goes out into the world and mixes with other people. In each case it is new to the person just experiencing it, but common to everyone else’” (306).
“Though patience we learn to know ourselves; we learn to measure and test our ideals, to use faith, to seek understanding through virtue. All spiritual attributes are embraced in patience. In patience possess ye your soul” (331).
Edgar’s trance self said that he got his psychic power because he had once attained a great height in soul development in a past life, but slipped “downward through a series of lives until he had reached an almost opposite position of instability. The present life was a chance to atone for some of his mistakes. It was a crucial life: he had purposely been given a great temptation, balanced by an equal opportunity for good. During one of his appearances he had been wounded in a battle and left on the field for dead. He lived for several days, conscious and in extreme agony. Being unable to move or help himself in any way, he had only his mind as a weapon against pain. Just before he died he succeeded in elevating his mind beyond reach of his body and its suffering. Since no achievement, good or bad, is ever lost, the ability to subdue the body and its feelings became part of the pattern of his individuality. It was now being employed to present the test to the personality of Edgar Cayce. Used for good, it would raise him back to a portion of the spiritual estate he once possessed. Used for selfish, material purposes, it would sink him to the lower levels of humanity” (263-264).
“The Life Reading was a balance sheet, and if an asset once possessed was missing, it was something to be alarmed about. Most souls possessed greater virtue in their earlier lives than at present anyhow, but this virtue was through grace: it was the virtue of innocence. The path of the soul was downward until free will made the turn upward” (278).
Edgar thought astrology and reincarnation were wrong, but his sleeping self said otherwise (237, 247). He became convinced by the readings. He said that the fifth chapter of Matthew was in line with reincarnation, but I don’t think so. It’s about God rewarding the meek and persecuted, but it doesn’t say when their reward will be. John 9:3 was about a child born blind. “Since he was born blind, how could his own sin have caused his blindness, unless it was committed in another life? Doesn’t that indicate that the disciples were familiar with reincarnation and the law of karma” (261)? I looked up the verse. Jesus said the child was born blind so that he could use his power on him.
The book says that the underworld of other religions/mythologies is earth. Persephone being abducted by Pluto, Lord of Hades, was a metaphor for the soul of man who was taken from his true home in the heavens (362).
Only the mind is real, and thought builds the soul more than deeds (260).
As a reading once told Edgar, “Every sincere try [at helping people] is counted to you for righteousness” (349).
“It is a stern set of ethics that emerges from the readings. No lukewarm embracing of theological virtues will satisfy them. They insist on perfection as the goal, and every misstep must be retraced, every injury undone, every injustice rectified. The newer, lenient interpretations of Christianity are not tolerated. Marriage, for instance, is treated as the Roman Catholic Church treats it, though the readings give a different reason for this attitude from that of the church fathers. . . . Only in extreme circumstances, similar to those under which the Catholic Church grants annulment, do the readings advise divorce. Then one of the parties is usually hopelessly at fault, while the other is bearing an unreasonable burden. Usually the reading will say, speaking of the one who is attempting to co-operate and hold things together, ‘This has been met by the entity; the debt is paid’” (351-352). Good to know my debt’s been paid, heh. It’s reassuring that there seems to be justice in the world after all.
Arcturus is the next stop for souls leaving the solar system. Arcturus is the point of choice for the soul’s next adventure (273). This is the fourth brightest star in the night sky.
“The solar system is a cycle of experiences for the soul. It has eight dimensions, corresponding to the planets; they represent focal points for the dimensions, or environments in which the dimensions can express and materialize themselves—although materialization of each dimension is different. This is the third dimension, and it’s a sort of laboratory for the whole system, because only here is free will completely dominant. On the other planes, or dimensions, some measure of control is kept over the soul to see that i learns the proper lessons. The control is usually by the soul itself, if it has evolved sufficiently, because once the body of this dimension has been left and the consciousness of his life has been absorbed into the subconscious, the veil between the two is lifted. The subconscious, you see, is the record of all the lives of the soul, in this system and in other systems, out among the stars. it’s the record we think of as being kept by the Recording Angel. It’s the story of what we do with our spirit—the portion of God that is given to us for life, with the gift of individuality, or separate existence from God. Our problem is to perfect our individuality, and then we return to God. Our spirit and soul, or individuality, are joined to Him. . . . Our astrological influences from the planets, or dimensions, we have inhabited will be good or bad, weak or strong, according to the experiences we have had there, and how we handled our problems. For example, we react to the earth according to the manner in which we have handled the problems of earth in our other lives—brotherly love, material possessions, sex, food and drink. Sometimes we are working on an earth problem to the exclusion of any influence from the stars or planets at all. The stars represent soul patterns, not experiences. The twelve signs of the zodiac are twelve patterns from which the soul chooses when coming into the earth plane. They are like races—patterns of temperment, personality, etc. . . . It’s Hermetic, it’s Pythagorean, it’s Jewish, it’s Christian! The Egyptians put it in the pyramids, on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, and on the Bembine Table of Isis. Pythagoras put it in numbers, and in the theorem that the square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. Jesus put it in the Sermon on the Mount and in the remainder of the fifth chapter of St. Matthew” (237-239, Lammers telling Cayce what he said in trance). “A body is only an objectification of the soul pattern. That’s why each one is different in build, in physiognomy, in basic health. It is a reflection of the individuality of the soul, which gives it life. The record of this particular experience, the conscious mind—that’s the personality. It’s like a day in the course of a life, compared to the actual history of the soul” (240). “The conscious mind is the record of this life. Just as an emotion is the experience of a single moment, so the conscious mind is the record of a single life. This conscious mind is located in the pituitary gland. That, at least, is its focal point—the gland has a purely physical function also. The thoughts go from the conscious to the imaginative, or introspective mind, which is seated in the pineal gland. There the thoughts are compared with all that has gone before that is in any way related to them, and when this is done, the thoughts—properly conditioned and judged—pass on to the subconscious, or soul mind, which is seated, with its spirit, just above the heart. There the thoughts are kept as a record, and as they are constructive they quicken the spirit and lower the barrier between the soul and the pure essence of life. As they are destructive they are rejected, but kept as a record, and as they are repeated they build up the barrier between the soul and the spirit and dim the radiance of the life essence that shines through the subconscious to the imaginative, and by refraction, or hunch, intuition, and yearning, into the conscious” (244-245).
“Remember what I say about the subconscious mind being the storehouse of all our experiences and thoughts, for all our lives, here and elsewhere? Well, to the degree that these experiences and thoughts have been in the right direction, a man is civilized, cultured, humane, and so forth: his past record shines through his conscious mind and present body, making the pattern of the body and the character of the person. Nothing is forgotten or lost by the subconscious” (245-246).
“They discovered, among other things, the existence of a gland unknown to science—the lydin—located above the gonads, and the point of entrance of the life force into the body” (335).
Why we can’t remember our former lives: “Because we’d never learn anything if we did. We’d carry over all our prejudices, weaknesses, strengths, likes, and dislikes, and have them in active, rather than suppressed form. They would make a mess of free will on this plane. What we have been, builds our character and intellect and makes us charming or hateful; then, with free will as the active agent, we go forth with this equipment in a world that is like a succession of laboratory tests” (248, Lammers).
Why reincarnation isn’t in Christianity: It used to be in the early days. “There was a sect of Christians called the Gnostics. The readings say they kept the line unbroken between the old religions and the new one. . . . Christ was predicted by the old religion. The people who built the great pyramid in Egypt predicted Him. . . . We found some books about it. There’s a movement in England called British Israel, that’s founded on the pyramid prophecies. . . . Just like the other old religions—they are called ‘mystery’ religions—the Jewish faith had a secret doctrine. It was called ‘cabala.’ The students who learned it were called ‘initiates,’ and these were the high priests. They learned the esoteric part of the religion, and the people were given the exoteric version: they were given the same fundamental philosophy, and the same moral code, but with a simple explantation. . . . The readings say that when the leaders of the early church decided to propagate the faith to all people, indiscriminately, they decided to drop the doctrine of reincarnation. It was difficult to explain, for one thing, and it was difficult to swallow, for another. It made life more complex. It made virtue even more necessary. A man had to be pretty brave to face the fact that one life of suffering was only a step toward heaven. On the other hand, people who didn’t examine the theory could easily say, ‘Oh, well, we have other lives to live. We won’t be sent to hell after this one. So let’s enjoy it.’ So they fought the Gnostics and won the battle. What they did was right, I suppose, because without a simplification of the faith it wouldn’t have spread. It would have remained a small sect, for intellectuals and students of metaphysics. . . . But the readings say that no sect, or schism, should ever be allowed to form around this work. They say we are merely to present what we have, to those who seek it. Truth will prove itself, in time” (257-259).
Interesting: The moon’s “influence was obvious on such things as the tides and the female cycle. Any farmer could tell you that a fence rail laid on the wane of the moon will sink into the ground, just as bacon from a hog killed on the wane of the moon will shrivel in the pan and be worthless. The fence rail has to be laid when the moon is on the increase, and the hog has to be killed at the same period” (249).
July 25, 2017
SUBJECTIVE READER REVIEW WITH PLOT SPOILERS
I will openly state that, other than the Holy Bible, this book has transformed my understanding of our human universe more than any other. Without a doubt, the most compelling and indispensable read anyone can imagine.
Back in 1993, we were paying for having won the Cold War by enduring the very painful base closure and realignment process--the peace dividend. At the time I performed a very challenging, important and self-fulfilling job in the Charleston Naval Shipyard. In March 1993, the announcement was made by the Commission that Charleston's shipyard, along with 32 other major defense installations would be closed. My reaction was not good, and I went into what I now understand to be a state of depression, what with my raison d'etre pulled out from under me. I was sulking in my office several weeks later when a friend stopped in, saw my very unusual glumness and suggested I read the story of Edgar Cayce. Talk about owing a person the true karmic debt, Paul Ammon was reminded of that little suggestion for the rest of his natural life, may God bless his soul.
So I made the most important book purchase of my life and began reading. The first 120 pages or so were so boring that I nearly didn't endure it. Just for simplicity, I'll explain how Edgar Cayce delivered his messages of clairvoyance. He would enter a trance state and a moderator would ask him questions dealing with medical cures outside the boundaries of early 20th century medical thresholds. One day the moderator asked Cayce in a trance state, 'What is the nature of the human soul?' The revelations that Cayce brought forth from that simple question staggered mainstream human consciousness.
To summarize an incredibly complex and comprehensive response, Edgar Cayce in the trance state accessing information otherwise not available, stated that the human soul does not perish with the body at death, but returns to the afterlife where it remains until 'recycled' as another human's soul via reincarnation. Of course there were many aspects affecting this process, including free will choices made by individuals and the implications these choices had on karma. The raison d'etre of individual souls was to become more Christ-like until they were suitably advanced to be in the presence of God.
Just to take this out of its context and view my own apparent misfortune as life-as-we-know-it cataclysmic suddenly put things in perspective. Lost job or not, I had other reasons for getting out of bed every morning, and my attitude about life improved remarkably.
There were some interesting inconstancies regarding Cayce's access to 'the akashic record' and having his readings recorded and disseminated. Edgar Cayce was a devout Christian man who was a pillar of his church. This part of his readings tended to run counter to every precept of organized religion in the universe perhaps other than Hinduism and Buddhism. The potential veracity of the information he brought forth was immediately subjected to every form of disproval. Interestingly enough, of the literally hundreds of readings he did for individuals with incurable diseases, if they strictly followed the treatment advice from his readings they all immediately improved and most were cured. He also brought forth that Jesus did, in fact, exist and live as recorded in the Bible, the declaration of which immediately put the Christian religious leadership under intense scrutiny regards reincarnation and karma.
My reaction to these readings was somewhat analytical; if all the incurable's were cured and the existence of Jesus some 2000 years ago was 'seconded' by a living human, Cayce must have been accessing 'the purest form of truth.' These facts granted Edgar Cayce unlimited credibility so far as I was concerned, so I accepted his pronouncements from 'the akashic record' as fact. I know; what's the akashic record that Cayce was accessing in his trance state? He was asked this question by the moderator early on in the readings and responded, 'All thoughts of all humans who had ever lived existed as the akashic record.' He described it as a 'continuum' that he was able to access. So the cures to diseases came from past instances of humans encountering similar symptoms.
So to sum up my review of Thomas Sugrue's book published 72 years ago, I cannot imagine a human being who would not benefit from the insight proclaimed in this book. Predictably, Cayce's readings were so powerful and ubiquitous that a group called the Association for Research and Enlightenment, or ARE, formed to better consolidate and categorize the readings. These readings and subsequent modern day parlance explanations made by literally hundreds of Cayce scholars are resident at the group's Virginia Beach, Virginia, headquarters. So get the book, read it and absorb it; it sure solved clinical depression for me!
I will openly state that, other than the Holy Bible, this book has transformed my understanding of our human universe more than any other. Without a doubt, the most compelling and indispensable read anyone can imagine.
Back in 1993, we were paying for having won the Cold War by enduring the very painful base closure and realignment process--the peace dividend. At the time I performed a very challenging, important and self-fulfilling job in the Charleston Naval Shipyard. In March 1993, the announcement was made by the Commission that Charleston's shipyard, along with 32 other major defense installations would be closed. My reaction was not good, and I went into what I now understand to be a state of depression, what with my raison d'etre pulled out from under me. I was sulking in my office several weeks later when a friend stopped in, saw my very unusual glumness and suggested I read the story of Edgar Cayce. Talk about owing a person the true karmic debt, Paul Ammon was reminded of that little suggestion for the rest of his natural life, may God bless his soul.
So I made the most important book purchase of my life and began reading. The first 120 pages or so were so boring that I nearly didn't endure it. Just for simplicity, I'll explain how Edgar Cayce delivered his messages of clairvoyance. He would enter a trance state and a moderator would ask him questions dealing with medical cures outside the boundaries of early 20th century medical thresholds. One day the moderator asked Cayce in a trance state, 'What is the nature of the human soul?' The revelations that Cayce brought forth from that simple question staggered mainstream human consciousness.
To summarize an incredibly complex and comprehensive response, Edgar Cayce in the trance state accessing information otherwise not available, stated that the human soul does not perish with the body at death, but returns to the afterlife where it remains until 'recycled' as another human's soul via reincarnation. Of course there were many aspects affecting this process, including free will choices made by individuals and the implications these choices had on karma. The raison d'etre of individual souls was to become more Christ-like until they were suitably advanced to be in the presence of God.
Just to take this out of its context and view my own apparent misfortune as life-as-we-know-it cataclysmic suddenly put things in perspective. Lost job or not, I had other reasons for getting out of bed every morning, and my attitude about life improved remarkably.
There were some interesting inconstancies regarding Cayce's access to 'the akashic record' and having his readings recorded and disseminated. Edgar Cayce was a devout Christian man who was a pillar of his church. This part of his readings tended to run counter to every precept of organized religion in the universe perhaps other than Hinduism and Buddhism. The potential veracity of the information he brought forth was immediately subjected to every form of disproval. Interestingly enough, of the literally hundreds of readings he did for individuals with incurable diseases, if they strictly followed the treatment advice from his readings they all immediately improved and most were cured. He also brought forth that Jesus did, in fact, exist and live as recorded in the Bible, the declaration of which immediately put the Christian religious leadership under intense scrutiny regards reincarnation and karma.
My reaction to these readings was somewhat analytical; if all the incurable's were cured and the existence of Jesus some 2000 years ago was 'seconded' by a living human, Cayce must have been accessing 'the purest form of truth.' These facts granted Edgar Cayce unlimited credibility so far as I was concerned, so I accepted his pronouncements from 'the akashic record' as fact. I know; what's the akashic record that Cayce was accessing in his trance state? He was asked this question by the moderator early on in the readings and responded, 'All thoughts of all humans who had ever lived existed as the akashic record.' He described it as a 'continuum' that he was able to access. So the cures to diseases came from past instances of humans encountering similar symptoms.
So to sum up my review of Thomas Sugrue's book published 72 years ago, I cannot imagine a human being who would not benefit from the insight proclaimed in this book. Predictably, Cayce's readings were so powerful and ubiquitous that a group called the Association for Research and Enlightenment, or ARE, formed to better consolidate and categorize the readings. These readings and subsequent modern day parlance explanations made by literally hundreds of Cayce scholars are resident at the group's Virginia Beach, Virginia, headquarters. So get the book, read it and absorb it; it sure solved clinical depression for me!
September 8, 2017
I found this an engrossing biography, although it might be more accurately termed a hagiography. The reading of this book also introduced me to De Puysegur who, in the late eighteenth century, was able to induce a sleeping trance in a person by the name of Victor Race who could then diagnose physical ailments in the same way that Edgar Cayce could. By the early nineteenth century, many individuals emerged all over Europe who could provide trance diagnoses and the phenomenon came to be called "somnambulism". People preferred visiting these somnambulists rather than medical doctors because diagnoses were generally more accurate. Of course, the doctors were in danger of going out of business and managed to discredit the somnambulists by fair means and foul. History has largely forgotten these somnambulists but they attest to the fact that Edgar Cayce's abilities were not unique. Of course, Cayce himself collided with the medical profession or the medical mafia as it was fast becoming. In the twentieth century, allopathic medicine ruthlessly crushed all competitors but Cayce and his predecessors confirm that trance diagnosis is astoundingly accurate. With the medical madness that is engulfing us in this current century, it is time to "reawaken somnambulism" and challenge the medical monolith..
November 4, 2021
3-1/2 stars, only because there was far more detail than needed, especially at the end of the book. I believe one whole chapter was dedicated to remedies he gave to different people.
It was throughly written, by obviously someone who knew Cayce quite well. Edgar Cayce was an ordinary man who was a gifted phenomenal prophet and healer, when he was placed In a hypnotic state. I loved his story, and for the most part, that he wouldn’t take money for his healings. He said he only wanted to do it if he knew it was of God’s doing and for the purpose of good, not evil. I lost interest when he spoke of actual cases which seemed like they were published word for word. I feel like his actual remedies could’ve been added as a bonus chapter at the end of the book, for those who were interested to read about the actual ingredients that Cayce prescribed to heal people.
It was throughly written, by obviously someone who knew Cayce quite well. Edgar Cayce was an ordinary man who was a gifted phenomenal prophet and healer, when he was placed In a hypnotic state. I loved his story, and for the most part, that he wouldn’t take money for his healings. He said he only wanted to do it if he knew it was of God’s doing and for the purpose of good, not evil. I lost interest when he spoke of actual cases which seemed like they were published word for word. I feel like his actual remedies could’ve been added as a bonus chapter at the end of the book, for those who were interested to read about the actual ingredients that Cayce prescribed to heal people.
August 18, 2018
I wanted to like this more. The concept is so fascinating to me but the narrative became redundant in places. Certainly a fascinating man and story, didn’t particularly like the writing though. Some of my favorite was in the philosophy at the end of the book. “ Every person’s life is shaped to some extent by karma: his own, that of his associates and loved ones, that of his nation and race, and that of the world itself. But these, singly or together are not greater than free well. It is what the person does about these influences and urges, how he reacts to them, that makes a difference in his soul development. Because of karma somethings are more probable than others, but so long as there is free will anything is possible.” Love that!
February 20, 2016
took a while to get good, but once it did it was very interesting. it was sort of similar to the books of another psychic, carl jung (particularly 'memories, dreams, reflections'). my only complain was that i wished the author would have focused a little more on the readings edgar cayce gave on the nature of reality and the evolution of the soul, rather than diagnosing medical conditions. very interesting regardless.
July 16, 2017
It was the first time I heard the words past lives and reincarnation. I had been calling them my other lives but didn't know there were words for them.
Bless my Aunt Edna who gave me this book to read when I was 9.
Bless my Aunt Edna who gave me this book to read when I was 9.
July 2, 2023
Thomas Sugrue’s There Is A River: The Story of Edgar Cayce reads like a science fiction novel. It tells of Cayce’s extraordinary and unbelievable talents. Throughout the book family and friends questioned his psychic abilities. How can any one sleep on a book and able to recall its contents? How can Cayce go to sleep, and diagnose disease in patients that have baffled doctors in the medical profession?
As a “sleeping prophet” Cayce has made a name for himself. He was covered by newspapers in numerous cities, including stories in the New York Times, and was visited by professionals to ascertain if he were a charlatan. But according to Sugrue all these investigations proved positive about his gifts. With his abilities Cayce was able to prescribe treatments for hundreds of his subjects. These patients had to follow the exact protocol as prescribed. In instances many medicines were different from those use by traditional medical professionals.
Cayce eventually expanded his readings. He began to do “life readings” for his subjects. These were viewed as being especially helpful to people who were sick, in crisis, and wanted to know about their future. But things did not always go well for him. During his years of practice, he was twice arrested. And both times judges freed him of any blame of practicing medicine without a license.
Because of popular demand Cayce was able to start a hospital and university in Virginia Beach. The idea of these enterprises came in readings. A.R.E., hospital, and university were to be located near water, and the beach was the ideal place. Other cities were considered, but Virginia Beach always remained pre-eminent. The Association for Enlightenment laid down its roots in this area of the country with Cayce taking up residence with his family. There family members, and the public continue to have access to thousands of Cayce’s readings that were recorded, and available at the library. Although the original university and hospital were aborted by its board, A.R.E. has evolved again as a psychic center known for its holistic, Christian, and Eastern teachings. A variety of books and other materials about the works of Edgar Cayce is available at the A.R.E. Bookstore.
As a “sleeping prophet” Cayce has made a name for himself. He was covered by newspapers in numerous cities, including stories in the New York Times, and was visited by professionals to ascertain if he were a charlatan. But according to Sugrue all these investigations proved positive about his gifts. With his abilities Cayce was able to prescribe treatments for hundreds of his subjects. These patients had to follow the exact protocol as prescribed. In instances many medicines were different from those use by traditional medical professionals.
Cayce eventually expanded his readings. He began to do “life readings” for his subjects. These were viewed as being especially helpful to people who were sick, in crisis, and wanted to know about their future. But things did not always go well for him. During his years of practice, he was twice arrested. And both times judges freed him of any blame of practicing medicine without a license.
Because of popular demand Cayce was able to start a hospital and university in Virginia Beach. The idea of these enterprises came in readings. A.R.E., hospital, and university were to be located near water, and the beach was the ideal place. Other cities were considered, but Virginia Beach always remained pre-eminent. The Association for Enlightenment laid down its roots in this area of the country with Cayce taking up residence with his family. There family members, and the public continue to have access to thousands of Cayce’s readings that were recorded, and available at the library. Although the original university and hospital were aborted by its board, A.R.E. has evolved again as a psychic center known for its holistic, Christian, and Eastern teachings. A variety of books and other materials about the works of Edgar Cayce is available at the A.R.E. Bookstore.
July 10, 2023
So mind expanding for me... expanding my religious background and illuminating to my mind how much bigger God is and how if we open our minds to "pagan" and "taboo" beliefs and occurrences - love expands. It does need to be one (conservative, fundamental, we have all the answers religion) or the other (mystery, there's so much more to this life, past life and future life purpose). If minds open to the possibilities without having to understand it all, we open to love everything and everyone around us. Perhaps that is Jesus points is to but have been obscured by man and history.
December 18, 2025
I absolutely LOVED this book. It was truly outstanding and genuinely life-changing for me on a personal level. I’ve been interested in Edgar Cayce and his life story for a few years now, and finally getting around to reading this biography answered so many questions I’d been holding onto.
I was constantly getting shivers at just how extraordinary this man truly was. For anyone interested in Edgar Cayce, I can’t recommend starting here enough — it’s an incredible foundation for understanding the man, the myth, and the legend himself.
I was constantly getting shivers at just how extraordinary this man truly was. For anyone interested in Edgar Cayce, I can’t recommend starting here enough — it’s an incredible foundation for understanding the man, the myth, and the legend himself.
January 20, 2023
Not impressed. Reading this book convinced me that there is less to this man than more.
While his "cures" seemed specific, they were nothing more than what my grandmother would have done or said. A poultice, tea or enema are not cures. Take these herbs and your cold will be gone in 2 weeks. There is no indication that he cured anything that time wouldn't have.
The book is worth a read but it belongs in fiction.
While his "cures" seemed specific, they were nothing more than what my grandmother would have done or said. A poultice, tea or enema are not cures. Take these herbs and your cold will be gone in 2 weeks. There is no indication that he cured anything that time wouldn't have.
The book is worth a read but it belongs in fiction.
April 14, 2023
This book really detailed Edgar Cayce's life and struggles. It still had me wondering how he could align what he revealed in his readings with his belief system.
He was a fascinating man who was given a miraculous gift.
It got a little tiring here and there to read about how he moved from place to place, maybe those facts could have been shortened or deleted. All in all, I feel as though I know him a little better now.
He was a fascinating man who was given a miraculous gift.
It got a little tiring here and there to read about how he moved from place to place, maybe those facts could have been shortened or deleted. All in all, I feel as though I know him a little better now.
August 15, 2022
I bought this biography at the library book sale. It was the first time I had heard of him. His method of diagnosing ailments was very interesting but unfortunately he couldn’t keep up with demand. I really enjoyed reading about his life. The testimonials at the end were very detailed and difficult to understand. The power Edgar had was interesting.
September 25, 2023
I read about him as an early teen. Now, as senior woman, I wish I had followed my spiritual path more closely.
Casey's path was made more difficult because he was a devout Christian, and this was highly discouraged by "those of the faith!"
How sad people are turned away when they seek answers to who we "really" are!
Casey is an "Enlightening" read!
Casey's path was made more difficult because he was a devout Christian, and this was highly discouraged by "those of the faith!"
How sad people are turned away when they seek answers to who we "really" are!
Casey is an "Enlightening" read!
January 13, 2024
A fascinating look at one of the most well documented psychics. His organization and legacy expands even in to the modern day and is well worth a reflection on. The capacity of the human spirit is far more nuanced than we understand today. A moving story of faith, courage and genuine care for humanity.
May 17, 2024
The original Biography of Edgar Cayce is still the best. Thomas Sugrue really captured the simple man who just want to help others. From his childhood to his own skepticism of his abilities to his final acceptance of what he was able to do, it's truly a remarkable story. Highly recommended.
September 14, 2024
Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Edgar Cayce is a very curious historical figure, and this book makes a compelling case for his supposed powers. Whatever your opinion of the supernatural is, this a very good biography of a person living around the turn of the century and his family.
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