The Akashic Records or "The Book of Life" can be equated to the universe's super computer system. It is this system that acts as the central storehouse of all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world. Much more than simply a memory storehouse, however, these Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we draw toward us.
It is no exaggeration to state that the computer has transformed (and is still in the process of transforming) the entire planet. Whether it's technology, transportation, communication, education, or entertainment, the computer age has revolutionized the globe and the ways in which we understand and interact with one another. No segment of modern society has gone unaffected. The amount of information now stored in computer memory and crossing the Internet highway daily is literally unfathomable. And yet, this vast complex of computer systems and collective databases cannot begin to come close to the power, the memory, or the omniscient recording capacity of the Akashic Records.
Information about these Akashic Records Ð this Book of Life Ð can be found in folklore, in myth, and throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is traceable at least as far back as the Semitic peoples and includes the Arabs, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians, the Babylonians, and the Hebrews. Among each of these peoples was the belief that there was in existence some kind of celestial tablets which contained the history of humankind as well as all manner of spiritual information.
The first reference in Scripture to some unearthly volume is found in Exodus 32:32. After the Israelites had committed a most grievous sin by worshiping the golden calf, it was Moses who pleaded on their behalf, even offering to take full responsibility and have his own name stricken "out of thy book which thou hast written" in recompense for their deed.
Later, in the Old Testament, we learn that there is nothing about an individual that is not known in this same book. In Psalm 139, David makes reference to the fact God has written down everything about him and all the details of his life Ð even that which is imperfect and those deeds which have yet to be performed.
For many individuals this Book of Life is simply an imagery symbol of those destined for heaven and has its roots in the custom of recording genealogical records of names or perhaps early census taking. Traditional religion suggests that this book Ð either in literal or symbolic form Ð contains the names of all those who are worthy of salvation.
The Book is to be opened in connection with divine judgment (Dan. 7:10, Rev. 20:12). In the New Testament, those redeemed by Christ are contained within the Book (Philippians 4), those not found in the Book of Life will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.
As an interesting corollary, in the ancient world, a person's name was symbolic of his or her existence. According to Sir James George Frazer, author of The Golden Bough Ð one of the most extensive volumes on world mythology Ð there was such a bond between one's name and one's existence "that magic may be wrought on a man just as easily as through his name as through his hair, his nails, or any other material part of his person."
In ancient Egypt, to blot a name out of a record was equivalent to destroying the fact that the person had ever even existed.
Closer to our current era, a great deal of contemporary information on the Akashic Records has been made available by both reputable psychics and modern-day mystics Ð individuals who have somehow perceived beyond the limits of three dimensions.
When discussing the Book of Life, he stated it that it was "The record of God, of thee, thy soul within and the knowledge of same." (281-33)
On another occasion (2533-8) Cayce was asked to explain the difference between the Book of Life and the Akashic Records:
Q. The Book of God's Remembrances?
A. This is the Book of Life.
Q. The Akashic Records?
A. Those made by the individual, as just indicated. 2533-8
Although meditation has long been an accepted practice in the East, it wasn't until the 1960s that it gained acceptance in the West. Today, clinical research has proven that meditation has positive effects on an individual's overall health and well-being, and many physicians now recommend it as a way of helping their patients learn to lower their blood pressure. Interestingly enough, Edgar Cayce was recommending meditation in the late 1920s and 1930s, long before its craze in the 1960s. His approach to meditation emphasized mental and spiritual benefits as well as physical well-being.
Meditation is not musing, not daydreaming; but as ye find you bodies made up of the physical , mental and spiritual, it is the attuning of the mental body and the physical body to its spiritual source. - Cayce Reading 281-41
Meditation promotes coordination at three levels: physically, we begin to relax; mentally, our busied thoughts become quiet and focused; and spiritually, we get reenergized and are able to deal more lovingly and effectively with the people and events around us. By following a few simple steps, anyone can learn to meditate; even beginners may experience the calming effects of a few moments of purposeful silence.If you would like to try to meditate, start by getting into a comfortable position. It's probably best to sit in a chair and keep your spine straight, your feet flat on the floor, and your eyes closed. Find a comfortable position for your hands; place them either in your lap or at your sides. Slowly take a few deep breaths and begin to relax. Inhale the air deep into your lungs, hold it for a moment, then slowly exhale. With your mind, search your body for any obvious tension or tight muscles. You can try to relieve the tension by deep breathing, imagining that the area is relaxed, or by gently massaging any tightness with your fingertips. When you have finished becoming comfortable and relaxed, then you are ready to move on.
Next, focus your mind on one, single, peaceful, calming thought. Instead of thinking about what went on at work or what has to be done with the remainder of your day, try focusing on a thought such as "God is love" or "I am at peace." You can use any spiritual prayer or thought which is meaningful to you. These thoughts are also called "affirmations." The first way to work with an affirmation is to try to clear your mind of everything else.
From Cayce's perspective, there are two stages to meditation.
The first stage involves thinking about the words of your affirmation. In one of the examples cited above, you would think about the words "God is love." After a few moments of thinking the words, you should be able to move into the second stage, which is feeling the meaning behind those words. For example, you can say the words "God is love"; however, the feeling of those words can be much more powerful than the actual words themselves. It's like the difference between thinking the words, "I love my children" and experiencing the actual feeling behind those words.
Once you begin to feel the meaning of the affirmation, you should attempt to hold this feeling in silent attention. Gently bring your focus back to the words of the affirmation every time your mind starts to wander-that is to say, first begin thinking of the words of the affirmation, then try to concentrate on the feeling behind them. Don't let yourself become discouraged when you find yourself thinking more about distractions than you are focusing upon the affirmation. It will take time to teach yourself to focus on one thought. Spend anywhere from three to fifteen minutes trying to hold the affirmation silently. Longer meditation periods can take place when you have built up some experience.
At the end of your meditation, send out prayers, good thoughts, or peaceful energy to others. If you have been focusing on love, then try to send a sense of that love to someone about whom you're concerned. Simply with a thought, you can also send out the energy of peace to your neighborhood, world leaders, or other countries.
In simplest terms, meditation is the practice of quieting our physical bodies and our minds, and focusing our attention inward instead of upon the world around us. As you begin to practice meditation daily, it will become easier. You might also notice that the sense of peace inside you during meditation will begin to carry over into the different parts of your day. Although some schools of thought suggest that the mind should be blank when you are meditating, Cayce's approach is different. Cayce's material suggests that the mind is a constructive force and allows for the closest attunement possible if used in the right way.
While Cayce sometimes describes particular meditation techniques of sitting or chanting ("Arrr--eee-oommm") the crucial element is that of opening up to divine influences.
The Search For God books say that "Through prayer we speak to God. In meditation, God speaks to us."
Cayce's concept of meditation has some aspects in common with Hinduism or Buddhism (the chakras, kundalini) but is most similar to Christian versions of New Thought. The symbolism of the Book of Revelation, he says, is based on meditative experiences.
Cayce accepted psychic experiences and ESP as a natural by-product of soul growth. God may speak to us through dreams (many readings consist of dream interpretation), or through intuitions similar to the pangs of conscience. However, Cayce does not endorse Spiritualism or mediumship on the grounds that entities thus contacted are not necessarily particularly lofty. Instead, he encourages seekers to focus on Christ.
The story of Edgar Cayce's life is filled with examples of what this extra sense of communication is like. His ability to give readings in the sleep state could be labeled ESP because he somehow knew information that he had never studied, and he could see people and places and events without using his physical sight. While asleep, he could answer questions on any topic or he could give descriptions of the individual and his or her surroundings, even though Cayce was in Virginia Beach and the person receiving the reading might be in New York City. Because there are so many different types of extrasensory communication, researchers have broken down the term ESP into further categories to help explain what is taking place.
Telepathy is the ability to obtain information psychically by reading the mind of another person. For example, while Cayce was in Kentucky, he gave a reading for a man in New York (740-1). He saw the man smoking a cigar, heard him whistling a particular song, saw him meet with another man about a piece of property, and saw him look over three letters.
Finally, the sleeping Cayce heard the man telephone another gentleman and knew the gentleman's name. All of these events were later verified. Cayce was able to see with this extra sense everything the man in New York had experienced firsthand with his normal senses. In our own lives, one example of telepathy is when we suddenly start thinking about someone we haven't heard from in a long time and a short while later the phone rings and that person is on the line.
Another category of ESP is clairvoyance, the ability to "see" information that no one else has. For example, suppose you shuffled a deck of cards and placed them face down, then went through the deck and tried to name each card (or at least to tell its color). If your percentage of correct guesses was far beyond what would be expected by random chance, it would be an example of clairvoyance. You would not need to be 100 percent accurate to demonstrate clairvoyance, just statistically (and consistently) greater than random chance. On the other hand, if you tried the same experiment but had a friend look at each card and concentrate on it before you guessed, this would be an example of telepathy.
Looking at one instance from the Cayce readings (2826-1), we find the case of a person who was in Ohio while Cayce was in Virginia Beach. During the reading, Cayce correctly gave the person's body temperature. Now, if the attending doctor in Ohio had known the patient's temperature before Cayce's reading was given, then this would be an example of telepathy, since Cayce could have read the doctor's mind. But if the doctor hadn't known the temperature until after Cayce's psychic reading, it would be an example of clairvoyance.
A third category of ESP is precognition,Although some have called Cayce a "prophet," he himself made no such claims. In fact, in one reading, he described himself as a "lowly, weak, unworthy channel" (254-76). He rarely made any predictions about worldwide events, mostly because these kinds of predictions are subject to countless outside influences. For example, when psychics try to predict the future, all they can actually do is foretell a possible future based on current happenings. If events continue to occur the same course - if people's attitudes, lifestyles, and world conditions remain the same-then psychics can "see" what the result will be. However, the readings make it quite clear that each of us has the gift of free will. If enough people use their free will and change what they are currently doing, this in turn will have dramatic effects on the future.
In the Bible, Jonah went to the evil city of Nineveh to tell the people about the destruction that was about to come upon them. However, the people of the city repented of their evil ways. With their free will, they changed their lives and, as a result, their city was saved. The ability of precognition, then, is subject to many more influences than either telepathy or clairvoyance.
The fourth major category of ESP shown in the Cayce readings is retrocognition, the ability to see past events. For example, in the life readings (those readings which dealt with the soul) Cayce would often repeat aloud significant happenings in a person's life while going back over the years until the date of the person's birth. In one reading, he said, "1935-'32-disturbing periods-'31-'36-'26-not any too peaceful!" etc. (1650-1). In another life reading (1462-1), Cayce was given the incorrect date and location of birth for a young girl. In going back over the years he responded with, "We don't find it here". (He had been incorrectly told that the child was born on January 24, 1919 in Cleveland, Ohio). Then, after a short pause, he finally said, "Yes, we have the record here (looks like it's the wrong place and date)." It was later discovered that the girl had been born on January 23 (a day earlier) in New York City and not in Cleveland.
More than eleven years before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947, Cayce's readings described a sect of Judaism about which scholars knew little. This group was the Essenes. Cayce gave a great deal of information about their work and their life in the community. For example, he claimed that in the Essene society men and women worked and lived together. At the time of the reading, scholars believed that the Essenes were a monastic society composed exclusively of men. However, in 1951, more than six years after Cayce's death, archaeologists made further excavations at Qumran near the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. They discovered evidence that both men and women lived together in the Essene society.
These are just a few of the many examples of ESP in the Cayce readings. Because "psychic is of the soul," the Cayce information suggests that it is relatively easy to induce personal psychic experiences. However, the phenomenon that manifests itself through psychic channels can oftentimes get us off the track. The readings suggest that instead of seeking psychic experiences for the sake of having them, we should seek only those within the context of spiritual growth, of learning about ourselves, or of being of service to others.
People often have the tendency to make psychic experiences seem unusual, out of the ordinary, special, somehow set apart, or perhaps even frightening. However in the Cayce approach, psychic information is as natural as an "intuition" or a "hunch." In addition, just because something is "psychic" does not mean it's 100 percent accurate. We may wish to work with psychic information to the same degree that we would listen to the advice of a trusted friend: it can be utilized as an additional tool for gathering insights and for making decisions - it shouldn't necessarily be given any more credence than information from any of our other friends (or senses); however, it shouldn't be given any less either. In time, individuals may work with their own intuition in such a way that it becomes as natural as using any of their other senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing, or sight.
The Edgar Cayce readings tell us that dreams have been given to us for our benefit. Because we are spiritual beings, we have the potential to experience many different levels of awareness while in the dream state from which we may gain insights about all aspects of our life: physical, mental, and spiritual.
Dreams can help us diagnose health problems, encourage us in the decisions we make, or reprimand us for negative behavior in our relationships. They can be instructive and practical, lighthearted fun or spiritually uplifting, depending on what we need most at a given time. Even major life issues are addressed in dreams; in fact, according to Cayce, nothing of importance happens to us without it first having been foreshadowed in our dreams.
Although dreams often contain symbols of a universal or archetypical nature with similar meanings in diverse cultures, the Cayce readings stress the highly individual nature of dreams. It is frequently mentioned that we are our own best dream interpreter, even though outside feedback can certainly be valuable.
In order to begin using our dream insights fully, we need to be consistent in recording our dreams each day. Keeping a dream journal is very helpful. No matter how little we recall of a dream, it is important to write down any impression that comes to mind upon awakening. Next, we can look at the dream from different levels: job, health, interpersonal relationships, and any circumstance currently being dealt with in waking life.
Once a correlation has been made to an actual situation, the dreamer may decide upon a course of action in order to make use of the dream insight. Perhaps a change in attitude is required, or maybe circumstances can be seen from a new perspective and the individual decides to take a different approach to the issue. Once the dreamer arrives at a basic understanding of the dream and takes some action based on that information, then a growth process begins which allows the dreamer to reach a deeper and clearer level of insight from which to proceed.
In the 1920s and 1930s, long before traditional medicine began examining the impact the mind has on physical health, America's "sleeping prophet", Edgar Cayce, was laying the groundwork for one of the most fascinating truths presented in the twentieth century: What one thinks and feels emotionally will find expression in the physical body. Mental patterns can have a direct impact upon good physical health or disease.
The mind, Cayce asserted, is a powerful tool in creating health and wellness.Nearly seventy percent of the more than 14,000 psychic readings Cayce gave are concerned with the diagnosing of disease and the outlining of treatment. These readings are still being studied in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Many people who came to Cayce in the early part of the twentieth century came to him as a last resort: most had been diagnosed as "incurable", not only by private physicians, but by renowned medical institutions around the U.S.
While Cayce himself had no medical training or education, when he entered a self-induced altered state, his unconscious mind seemed to tap an endless reservoir of helpful physical information. He could accurately diagnose illness and prescribe treatment for people he had never met or seen.
The information from the readings on health includes simple suggestions that each of us can do to stay well. The nature of many of these recommendations indicates that Cayce's understanding of physical care was really ahead of its time. These basic principles include such items as:
Cayce's approach to staying well had its roots in health maintenance and preventive medicine rather than in the treatment of illnesses as they arose. Yet, his contribution to healing and physical well-being was not limited solely to proper diet and regular exercise.
The readings make recommendations for a variety of health concerns-from acne, diet, and cancer to arthritis, mental illness, and psoriasis. Nearly every condition that existed between 1901 and 1945-whether it was childbirth, fractures, or vitamin deficiency-is represented in the files of the Cayce material. Interestingly, modern-day researchers have found that many of the recommended treatments, given to specific individuals, seem to be applicable today on a much wider scale. Two notable examples of this are psoriasis and scleroderma. For both of these diseases, the Cayce regimen involved specific diets, chiropractic medicine, and other natural remedies and procedures. In recent years hundreds of people with these two ailments have been helped by following a similar program.
Cayce also saw total health as involving coordination among the physical, mental, and spiritual components of life. Any complete approach to health needed to consider an individual's entire being rather than simply the illness. Because of this concept, it has been said that the beginnings of present-day holistic health started from the readings of Edgar Cayce.