Just what is the nature of humankind? This same question, framed
in dozens of different approaches, was asked repeatedly of Edgar
Cayce.
Edgar
Cayce (1877 - 1945) was born on a farm in Kentucky. Even as
a youth, Cayce displayed powers of perception which extended
beyond the five senses. Eventually, he would become the most
documented psychic of all times. For many years the information
requested of Cayce related mainly to reincarnation
His answers
- insights into our relationship with the Universe, one another
and ourselves - have served as a foundation for comparative
studies between the East & West for decades.
From Cayce's
perspective, we are not simple physical bodies with souls, but
are instead spiritual beings who are currently having a material
experience. As souls, we have manifested in the earth order
to learn lessons that will enable us to return to our former
state of spiritual awareness. At the same time, one purpose
we all have in common is to bring the spirituality of the creative
force in to the earth.
A soul can
choose to be born into either a male or female body in any given
lifetime, or as Cayce called it, an "incarnation."
a soul selects that environment (parents and family, location,
personal obstacles, etc.) which will best allow for the learning
of lessons it needs for completeness. The goal is to fully express
love in all the challenges which physical life offers.
One's experiences
are subject to the choices made with free will. As one grows,
he or she learns - or rather remembers - his or her true relationship
with the Creator and one's heritage as a spiritual being. With
free will, we can turn the challengers life presents to us into
stepping-stones toward growth. Or we can see them as obstacles
and stumbling blocks. Either way, we reap what we have sown.
We constantly meet the consequences of previous deeds and attitudes.
One frequently
misunderstood concept regarding reincarnation has to do with
karma. Karma is not "destiny." It is only memory.
These memories are generally unconscious and influence our abilities,
our faults, even our relationships with others, but with free
will we can meet this memory as a positive or a negative experience.
Karma provides
us with the potential to learn a lesson we need in order to
grow at a soul level, and free will determines whether or not
we choose to learn it at this time. The choices we make determine
the next set of potential experiences we encounter.
Much more
than simply a concept that applies to a limited segment of the
world, reincarnation is a philosophy that has-at one time or
another been embraced by all the major religions of the world.
It's a concept that can allow us to have compassion for one
another because ultimately we are all equal, there is only one
God, and we are all His children.
From Cayce's
viewpoint, it doesn't really matter if an individual believes
in reincarnation or not. For some it can be a helpful concept,
for others confusing. The main purpose is to allow individuals
to become aware of their true spiritual nature and their ultimate
relationship with one another. In fact, if we can think for
a moment about the one person in our life whom we love most
of all, then we will get an inkling of the goal of reincarnation:
to be able to love every single soul, even ourselves, with the
very same love.
Adapted from:
Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records
by Kevin J. Todeschi
