Edgar Cayce

Edgar Cayce, who came to be known as the “sleeping prophet” and the “father of holistic medicine” was born on a farm near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1877. A poor student, he received no more than a grammar school education. His psychic abilities began to appear as early as his childhood. He was able to see and talk to his late grandfather’s spirit and often played with “imaginary friends” whom he said were spirits on the other side. He also displayed an uncanny ability to memorize the pages of a book simply by sleeping on it. These gifts labeled the young Cayce as strange, but all Cayce really wanted was to help others, especially children.

Later in life, Cayce would find that he had the ability to put himself into a sleep-like state by lying down on a couch, closing his eyes, and folding his hands over his stomach. In this state of relaxation and meditation, he was able to place his mind in contact with all time and space—the universal consciousness, also known as the super-conscious mind, the collective unconscious, or the Akashic Records. From there, he could respond to questions as broad as, “what are the secrets of the universe?” and “what is my purpose in life?” to as specific as, “what can I do to help my arthritis?” and “how were the pyramids of Egypt built?”. His responses to these questions, and many more, came to be known as “readings”, and their insights offer practical help and advice to individuals even today. Many people are surprised to learn that Edgar Cayce was a devoted churchgoer and Sunday school teacher.

At a young age, Cayce vowed to read the Bible for every year of his life, and at the time of his death in 1945, he had accomplished this admirable task. Perhaps his readings said it best, when asked how one might develop psychic abilities, Cayce’s advice was to become more spiritual. Although Cayce died more than 60 years ago, the timeliness of the material in the readings—with subjects like discovering your mission in life, developing your intuition, exploring ancient mysteries, and taking responsibility for your health—is evidenced by the hundreds of books that have been written on the various aspects of his work as well as the dozen or so titles focusing on Cayce’s life itself. Together, these books contain information so valuable that even Edgar Cayce himself might have hesitated to predict their impact on the contemporary world.

In 1945, the year of his passing, who could have known that terms such as “meditation”,” Akashic records”, “spiritual growth”, “auras”, “soul-mates”, and “holistic health”, would become household words to millions? The majority of Edgar Cayce’s readings deal with holistic health and the treatment of illness.

Today, individuals from all walks of life and belief receive physical relief from illnesses or ailments through information given in Cayce’s readings—some of which were given as far back as 100 years ago! For more than 40 years of his adult life, Cayce gave psychic readings to thousands of seekers while in an unconscious state and was the most documented psychic of the 20th century.

For more information go to Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) – Edgar Cayce readings: Spiritual Growth, Health, Ancient Mysteries.