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Embracing Change: With an Open Mind

Nov 25, 2011 ● By Ron Hounsell

We usually grudgingly accept change, but seldom embrace it. Moving into 2012, many of us may face the unparalleled changes in the world, and it is our choice to embrace uncertainty and fear or something different. To this end, the ideas of 20thcentury clairvoyant and teacher Edgar Cayce are worth a visit.

Although many people have heard of Cayce, most know little about him or the concepts documented in the 14,000 “readings,” preserved by the Association of Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), the organization Cayce founded in 1931. The A.R.E. is a service organization—not a sect, cult or religion, providing access to and understanding of Cayce’s ideas.

The scope of this material is inspiring. Most readings were addressed to specific individuals of all ages on subjects as diverse as Atlantis, reincarnation, diet and health, relationships, Egypt, gems and stones, astrology, numerology, the role and importance of will and the cyclical changes associated with 2012. Some of his precepts are breathtaking in their sweep (we are immortal); some are common sense (you reap what you sow); some are unique (thoughts are things). Collectively, they represent a set of tools and techniques to help anyone live a happy, helpful and hopeful life, irrespective of age.

Cayce has become better known over time, especially as his legacy has borne fruit. Fully half of the readings center on health, diet or the balance of systems and energies in the body. Things he mentioned a century ago, like the diagnosis of bodily health, “from a single drop of blood,” were seen as fantasy at the time. Today, they are routine.

What’s so special about Cayce and why is he relevant in today’s world? For most, the key value comes on a personal level. Author Gina Cerminara summarized some of Cayce’s ideas as a “Philosophy to live by,” in her book, Many Mansions. It is an all-inclusive approach to positive daily living: by no means a panacea, but when we, “do what we know to do,” it feeds our needs, often in surprising, inspiring and even delightful ways. This approach provides practical answers, but also some real challenges, and more importantly, it offers purpose and a process by which to address and contend with anything, at any stage of life. Cayce not only tackles “Why?” but also “What?” and “How?” in reference to health, work, relationships and many other areas of our lives.

Cayce followed his own advice by cultivating a sense of humor and enjoying a good laugh when he could. He admonished one person that, “It’s not sufficient to be good, but to be good for something.” He tolerated foolish questions, but not always without a riposte. When one person asked how long it would take to restore his health, Cayce replied, “One year, one month, one day, one hour and 10 minutes.” Similarly, when a person asked if he would die in Tibet, Cayce replied with the deep insight of an oracle, “You will not die in Tibet unless you go there.”

People continue to study and work with Cayce’s material because they find it helpful and hopeful. Start with one of the following general books on Cayce: Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet, by Sydney D. Kirkpatrick, The Edgar Cayce Primer: Discovering the Path to Self-Transformation, by Herbert B. Puryear, and There Is A River: The Story of Edgar Cayce, by Thomas Sugrue.

In Chicago, you can find these books, Cayce remedies, more information and like-minded people through the Edgar Cayce Holistic Center, where the A.R.E. supports spiritual growth study groups, monthly programs, workshops and holistic fairs, intuitive skills development training, a well-stocked bookstore and knowledgeable seekers, intuitives and healers.


Ron Hounsell has been a student of Edgar Cayce since 1984. He holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Northwestern University, has co-authored four books and is an adjunct faculty member at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills. Hounsell leads the Chicago Area Team for A.R.E. Contact him at [email protected].