centers that are in our mind, often called lotuses. As consciousness awakens and broadens its view, it opens the lotuses in the mind-body connections. Yes, the subconscious mind is in this body with our conscious mind, and it is the bridge to the Christ-consciousness or God-consciousness. As the energy moves through the physical body, it awakens and enlivens the chakras, which Cayce correlates to the powerful, hormone-releasing endocrine glands. Both of these mental and physical movements cause life-giving reactions within us, reactions that change our lives—physically, mentally, and spiritually. Cayce warns us to discern carefully whether we are accentuating self and selfish interests or filling the lives of others with creative, uplifting energy and light. In many of Cayce’s readings this energy and light contain the qualities found in the “Fruits of the Spirit,” which are: Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, Patience, Faith, Meekness, Humility, Kindness, Gentleness, Peace, Joy, Goodness, Temperance, and Long-Suffering. And, as the disciple Paul so wisely noted, the greatest of these is Love.
Notice how Cayce’s readings are blending physical and mental influences in building a healthier, happier life for those around us, as well as ourselves. As the late Sister Mary Rose McGeady of Covenant House, a Manhattan-based home for homeless youngsters, said so well: “There is no greater joy, nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life.” And the Cayce readings agree: “ … the entity may find in the present that helping others to help themselves will bring joy, peace, happiness, contentment, and a life much worthwhile.” (431-1)
Here’s an affirmation that we may use to lift and center our mind. It’s a blend of several in the Cayce readings:
“May the desire of my heart, O Father, be ever in keeping with Your will this day with everyone I meet. Let Your life forces flow through me as a blessing to all I meet. Let Your ways be my ways.”
Taking hold of the life forces with God’s help is the ideal from Cayce’s perspective. We’ll discuss this at greater length in the chapter titled Your Ideal Is Your Mind’s Navigator. Next, let’s grasp the difference between Spirit and Soul, as Cayce saw it.
The Difference Between Spirit and Soul
From Edgar Cayce’s altered state of consciousness, spirit and soul are seen differently. Spirit is the life force, while soul is the individual entity with its unique memories, thoughts, desires, energy, vibrations, and motivations. All have spirit—the life force—but each has their own story and complex of being, their unique soul.
Cayce: “The soul is an individual, individuality, that may grow to be one with or separate from the whole. The spirit is the impelling influence of infinity, or the one creative source, force, that is manifest.” (5749-3)
Cayce was asked and replied:
“(Q) What is the soul of a body?
“(A) That which the Maker gave to every entity or individual in the beginning, and which is seeking the home or place of the Maker.” (3744-3)
“Spirit is the First Cause, the primary beginning, the motivative influence—as God is Spirit.” (262-123) Here Cayce is quoting Jesus’ comment to the lady at the well in the Gospel of John. (John 4:24) Here’s that conversation:
“The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father … But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (John 4:19-24, RSV)
Cayce again: “Spirit is that portion of the First Cause which finds expression in all that is everlasting in the consciousness of mind or matter.” (2533-1)
Again: “There is a vast deal of difference between spiritual and soul forces … Spirit forces are the animation of all life giving life-producing forces in animate or inanimate forces … Spiritual element, the vitality, produces the motive forces of the entity, whether physical or spiritual. Spiritual forces being the life, the reproductive principle; the soul [is] the development principle.” (900-17)
Cayce stated that, “Each soul is a portion of the divine. Motivating that soul-body is the spirit of divinity.” (1096-4) Motivating our soul to live and develop is a divine spiritual essence within us. This is the “life force.” The spirit is the life force, and it is a portion of what we call the Divine.
This motivating spirit is driven by our highest purpose for existence, as stated in the next three Cayce comments:
“The purpose of the heart is to know yourself to be yourself and yet one with God.” (281-37)
“ … the purpose is that you might know yourself to be yourself, and yet one with the Creative Forces, or God.” (2030-1) Notice how Cayce equates God with the Creative Forces, or an aspect of God is the forces that are creative, life-giving, and life-motivating.
Seeing us as spirit-souls rather than earthly persons, Cayce instructs us: “Don’t put the material first, for you have to live with yourself a long, long while! Become acquainted with yourself. Know yourself and the relationship to the Creative Forces.” (3484-1) Of course he is encouraging us to become acquainted with our more eternal self. The body will eventually die, but our soul-self will live on and on, so it’s best that we become familiar with that portion of ourselves now.
Cayce’s view of us is amazing. He saw us as star beings—celestial souls temporarily sojourning in this physical world. He saw our deepest motivation to be more connected to this soul journey and our primary purpose than to anything earthly. “As [the entity] moves from sphere to sphere, [it] seeks its way to the home, to the face of the Creator, the Father, the First Cause.” (136-83) Cayce identifies that the First Cause was “that the created would be the companion for the Creator.” This is the reason we were created, and as a result, the created (our soul) is given opportunities to “show itself to be not only worthy of, but companionable to, the Creator.” (Both quotes are from 5753-1.) Now we are talking about the Creator or Creative Forces of the entire universe. What an amazing destiny, a destiny that is surprisingly intertwined with our present life, as we’ll see.
And despite the conditions of our mind and body and situations today, Cayce taught that it is simply a matter of consciousness or awareness: “In the present there may be gained within self the raising within self that consciousness of the at-oneness with the spiritual forces that may revivify, regenerate, arouse that of health and happiness even under the adverse conditions in materiality.” (618-3)
To paraphrase, as Cayce explained, the intention was to be able to partake of the physical but not be a part of same—more and more feeding upon those sources from which we emanate, or of the spiritual life, so that the physical body, the mental body are attuned to our soul forces, our soul source, our Creator, our Maker, in such a way and manner as we develop. (364-10)
With us today is the connection to the Divine within us, that Life Force. Cayce stated: “As your body, your mind, your soul is attuned to that divine that answers within, so may you indeed be quickened to know His purpose; and you may fill that purpose for which you entered this experience.” (69-4)
“It will require that there be such an attitude in mind, in purpose, in hope, and in relationships to others, that each cell of the body may be attuned to the divine within. Each cell must become expectant, that there may be the renewing, the revivifying of the relationships that the soul-entity bears to Creative Forces.” (3511-1)
Among the many questioners of the trance-state Cayce was Morton Blumenthal. He asked some of the most compelling questions. And on the issue of spirit and soul, he asked and received these replies (my italics):
“(Q) What is this spirit entity in the body, [Morton Blumenthal], and how may he develop it in the right direction?
“(A) This is only the portion that develops other than in the earth’s