Читать книгу Edgar Cayce on Mastering Your Spiritual Growth - Kevin J. Todeschi - Страница 10

“Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “What is the purpose of life?” Throughout the history of the world, questions such as these have driven every generation of humankind in search of meaning. Many have discovered partial answers in religion. Some have encountered personal revelation in philosophy. There are even those who have found clarification of their life’s purpose in psychology. Others, however, have spent a lifetime in search of answers to questions that they didn’t entirely know how to ask.

In much of religious thought, one’s ultimate identity is connected with the soul—that portion of each individual that is believed to experience some form of eternity. Generally, it is thought that, through the evolving process of life, each individual begins to shape the “eternity” which becomes one’s destiny. In spite of the fact that some people have always maintained a narrow and exclusive look at the liberation and salvation of the soul, for many interested in spirituality, the purpose of life is much more than simply being “bad” or “good” and then receiving the corresponding punishment or reward. For example, in Hinduism there is the belief that, eventually, within each individual, the desire arises to discover an understanding of Brahma, the Creator. Although every soul is a part of Brahma, it is only as the soul ponders and experiences the knowledge of Brahma, the Supreme Universal Soul, that the individual soul gradually begins to awaken to its true selfhood. In time, the soul begins to discover the same powers and attributes within itself that belong to the Creator. The result is that the soul is released from limitation and bondage and truly becomes at one with Brahma, the Whole.

This same idea—that we are somehow integrally connected to the Divine and are destined to become like our Creator—is found in legends, myths, and stories such as the Buddhist parable of the wealthy man and his poor son, contained in the Lotus Sutra. In the parable, a young man, apparently in search of himself, leaves his wealthy father’s home and roams the country for more than fifty years. Through the course of events, the son experiences extreme poverty and must take on meager jobs simply to pay for his next meal. During those years, the father grows old and moves to an even larger estate, still constantly grieving over the loss of his son.

Eventually, the poor son passes by the gates of a magnificent estate. Peering inside, he can see servants taking care of an old, wealthy gentleman. Unfortunately, because the son has so lost himself, he does not recognize the man as his own father. In spite of the passage of fifty years, however, the father immediately recognizes him and sends well-dressed servants to rescue his now-grown son. Because the son does not recognize his own father, when the servants come to retrieve him, he panics and thinks he is being arrested for a crime he did not commit. It is clear that the son has forgotten his true identity. Not wanting to scare his offspring any further, the father releases his son. A plan is devised through which the son can remember his worth and grow into his inheritance.

Two of the wealthy man’s servants dress in shabby clothes and follow after the son to offer him a lowly job on the estate, gathering sewage to make fertilizer, which the son accepts. For twenty years, the son works at this job and begins to gain self-confidence. During that period, the father disguises himself as a foreman and finds occasion to praise his son’s efforts. Gradually, the son’s faith in himself grows, until the day comes when the foreman offers the son a promotion as an accountant for the entire estate.

Although the son still lacks healthy self-esteem, at the encouragement of the foreman he accepts the position. In time, the son sees how his life has changed, due to his own efforts, from one of poverty and shame to one of responsibility and being able to care for himself. As a result, the son finally acquires self-worth and faith in himself. At this point, the father has become so old and near death that the ruse cannot continue. He declares the truth and makes his son heir to the entire estate.

The dynamics of our deep and literal connection to God is also found in Judeo-Christian scripture, beginning with Genesis, where we are told that God made humankind in the Creator’s image. From this perspective, the body is simply an external wrapping for the soul. Interestingly enough, a New Testament version of the Buddhist parable also exists in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24), clearly illustrating the journey of the soul and our connection to God. Simply stated, we were with God in the beginning; through the power of our free will, we were able to make choices that were not necessarily in perfect accord with the Creator, enabling us to forget our true identity. However, at some point, we will “arise” and decide to return to God, regaining our inheritance and finally experiencing our rightful relationship with Him.

In discussing the nature of humankind, American philosopher and editor Paul Carus (1852-1919) often sought the interwoven connections among science, philosophy, and religion. In the preface to his book, The Soul of Man, he stated:

What is more interesting to man than his own soul! And what, at the same time is so mysterious, so wonderful, so marvelous! Our pleasures and pains, our loves and hatreds, our hopes and fears, our longings, our aspirations and ideals, whence do they come, what is their meaning and whither do they tend?

For every one the centre of the universe lies in himself. In our soul, if anywhere, must be sought the key to the mysteries of the cosmos.

This same idea that the discovery of one’s purposefulness is ultimately an inward journey is echoed in esoteric and New Thought traditions which state that, although the Divine is everywhere, it isn’t until the search leads within one’s own self that God can ever really be found.

In exploring the nature of humankind, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), founder of the analytical school of psychology, believed that the goal of personal development was self-realization or individuation. From this premise, the archetype or universal model of every individual’s potential was clearly expressed in the Christ. Jung called the Christ “the archetype of the self,” for the Christ-figure exemplified the self fully realized: “He represents a totality of a divine or heavenly kind, a glorified man, a son of God . . . unspotted by sin.” (Collected Works, 9ii) Rather than being a message restricted to a specific religion, from a psychological perspective the Christ embodies a universal archetype of the self for all of humankind.

The universality of the Christ is also explored in the work of Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), twentieth-century mystic and clairvoyant. Although Cayce himself was a Christian, his life’s work is deeply ecumenical. From Cayce’s perspective, regardless of an individual’s religious or personal beliefs, the Christ pattern exists in potential upon the very fiber of her or his being. It is that part of each of us that is in perfect accord with the Creator and is simply waiting to find expression in our lives through the use of the will. This Christ pattern was further described as “ . . . the awareness within each soul, imprinted in pattern on the mind and waiting to be awakened by the will, of the soul’s oneness with God” (5749-14¹); its manifestation is the eventual destiny of each and every soul. With this in mind, Cayce presented Jesus as humankind’s “elder brother,” a soul who came to show each one of us the way back to our spiritual Source by perfectly manifesting the laws of the Creator in the earth.

While exploring the philosophical meaning of life, many individuals have incorrectly assumed that the goal of being in the earth is simply to reach heaven, find enlightenment, or somehow “get out of the earth.” This is a perspective quite different from that contained in the Cayce material, however. In part, Cayce believed that, as children of God, our mission is to somehow bring spirit into the earth, experiencing soul growth and personal development in the process.

Throughout his adult life, Edgar Cayce gave intuitive consultations, called “readings,” to individuals from all segments of society and various religious backgrounds. In addition to his work with hundreds of topics, including health and personal counsel, in nearly 2,000 “life readings” Cayce explored for individuals their soul history and their corresponding development through a series of lifetimes. From a source of information he called the “akashic records,” Cayce could view an individual’s soul development and describe how past-life influences and choices played out over time. Rather than being simply a philosophical discussion of possible past lives and corresponding strengths and weaknesses, the readings detail practical advice regarding what an individual might accomplish in the present, based upon the experiences and influences affecting her or him from the past.

The readings on reincarnation were given to individuals to help them understand soul strengths and weaknesses, as well as their own potentials and challenges. Often, when viewing an individual’s soul history, Cayce commented on how the person had both “gained” and “lost” in terms of soul development in any given lifetime. For example, a fifty-three-year-old housewife was told that, in the present, she possessed innate talents as a teacher and a guide to others. Apparently because of past-life experiences, she had developed the ability to attune herself to the Divine, and she could share that same ability with others for their own personal development. Cayce perceived how some of her strengths and weaknesses had been acquired during an incarnation in Greece when she had lived at the time of Xenophon, the Athenian general.

While Xenophon was away on one of his military campaigns, the woman had found herself in a position that enabled her to provide encouragement and assistance to others. In fact, the Grecian life had been a period when she had truly learned to be of service. At the same time, however, after Xenophon’s return and his elevating her to a position of responsibility, the woman apparently misused her newly acquired power for personal aggrandizement and the pursuit of selfishness. In summarizing her lifetime in Greece, Cayce stated: “Gaining and losing through the experience. Gaining for the faith and service rendered many during the trials of that waiting. Losing in the mis-application of the power gained by being put in an exalted position.” (115-1) In the present, the woman was encouraged to set aside her selfish motives and to focus instead upon cultivating her connection to the Divine and continuing to be of service to others.

The Cayce information stresses the continuity of the soul regardless of an individual’s bodily identity in any given lifetime. All experiences, inclinations, desires, abilities, and shortcomings from the past become a part of the soul’s memory in the present. As to whether a soul is developed or impaired in any given incarnation depends upon an individual’s application and the use of his or her free will. Because past-life influences can be both negative and positive, Cayce repeatedly emphasized the important role played by the human will in each soul’s personal development. As a case in point, in 1929, Cayce told a fifty-one-year-old osteopath that the will plays a greater role in a person’s development than either heredity or environment. It is essentially the will that determines whether a person evolves, grows, and overcomes life’s challenges or regresses, fails, and is overcome by them (101-1).

Just as in the parable of the poor son, Cayce believed that, because of our focus on the material things in life, much of humankind has forgotten its true birthright as a child of a loving God. From this perspective, the material world is simply a faint reflection of a much greater spiritual reality. In fact, the material world might be likened to a purposeful dream that enables each individual to evolve into an awareness of one’s true self through lifetimes of experiences, choices, and interactions with others. Cayce told one person:

For, will is the factor that makes for growth in the soul’s sleep through the earth’s experience. For, with the birth of a physical body the soul slumbers; and its dreams are the deeds by which the soul is judged in its associations with its fellow man. 259-8

The Cayce information insists that we are not simply physical bodies; instead, we are spiritual beings who are having a physical experience. Essentially, we are all seekers, seeking our true identity and our relationship to the Whole. From this premise, life is an ongoing adventure of purposeful experiences and relationships, enabling each individual to find the true self.

All too often, we have sought meaning in our lives through all manner of escape, acquisition, addiction, and confusion. The time must come in the history of the world when we finally realize that, throughout our sojourns through space and time, we have simply been seeking our connection to spirit, our connection to the Creative Forces, our connection to God. With that in mind, this book is an attempt to explore what constitutes spiritual growth as well as why a soul may lose ground in a particular incarnation. In the end, I hope that it might make some small contribution to our comprehension of the true nature of humankind and to our collective understanding that we are truly spiritual beings.

Kevin J. Todeschi

¹During Cayce’s life, the Edgar Cayce readings were all numbered to provide confidentiality. The first set of numbers (e.g., “5749”) refers to the individual or group for whom the reading was given. The second set of numbers (e.g., “14”) refers to the number in the series from which the reading is taken. For example, 5749-14 identifies the reading as the fourteenth one given to the subject assigned number 5749.