on the lesson material to Cayce's psychic source.
• They would attempt to live what was being studied and to record their personal experiences for possible inclusion in the text they would write.
• They would not move on to the next lesson until each individual in the group had learned, understood, and applied the lesson being studied.
This final pledge led the group into an extraordinary commitment of time and energy. The series of twenty-four lessons outlined by Edgar Cayce took the group eleven years to apply and compile! Each lesson required an instructive essay that combined a summary of key principles along with brief reports on how group members had worked with the material.
Cayce's promise that the group could become a “light to the waiting world” was fulfilled. Study Group #1—as they called themselves—went on to author this book, A Search for God. Although the first twelve lessons, comprising Book I, were not published until 1942—marking 1992 as the 50th anniversary of A Search for God, Book I—additional groups formed soon after the initial lessons could be mimeographed. The remaining twelve lessons, comprising Book II, were finally published in 1950. This present special edition of Study Group #1's creation is the first time both books have been printed in one volume.
The lessons, given in sequential order, begin with “Cooperation.” Although not part of the original series, a twenty-fifth lesson on “Meditation” was later added to give insights into Cayce's approach to this important discipline. According to Cayce's instructions, it was placed in the beginning of Book I.
Working creatively with A Search for God is much more than simply gaining knowledge of spiritual principles. Instead, this material must be applied, understood, and even “lived” so that we can move beyond mere intellectual knowledge about concepts into a true awareness of universal laws operating in our daily lives. When A Search for God is approached from this perspective, it can truly facilitate lasting, meaningful, personal change. In fact, these twenty-four lessons have been called one of the earliest and most effective tools for group therapy and personal transformation introduced in the Western Hemisphere.
Interestingly, in 1934 a Cayce reading told Study Group #1 that the life-changing insights of their experiences would still be helping people a hundred years into the future. Today, nearly sixty years later, that prediction is clearly being realized. You, too, can become a part of that promise. To find out where A Search for God study group meets near you, contact:
A.R.E.
215 67th StreetVirginia Beach, VA 23451-2061
Few teachings about the spiritual path have stood the test of time. This edition, A Search for God, is one of them.
NOTE:
Numbers at the end of quotes are file numbers of psychic readings by Edgar Cayce. The original readings are in the custody of the Edgar Cayce Foundation, Virginia Beach, Va.
Bible references are taken from the King James Version.
P.E. refers to a personal experience.
P.R. refers to a psychic reading.
In some instances in the text of this edition, nouns and pronouns have been modified from the male gender to be inclusive of both genders, i.e., mankind to humankind.
PREFACE
Try living the precepts of this book.
Here is a unique compilation of information dealing with spiritual laws of daily living. Why is it unique?
The manuscript resulted from the study and work of the original Study Group #1 of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Incorporated, Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was written not by one person but by many individuals.
The affirmations and basic discourses under each chapter heading came from general readings given by Edgar Cayce. Questions were asked and experiences during meditation explained in subsequent readings for twelve people.
To these individuals it brought hope, peace, a better understanding of their fellow human beings and an inner joy in a greater awareness of attunement with the Creator.
There is nothing new here. The search for God is as old as humanity. This book is passed on in the hope that through it, during the trying times ahead, many may glimpse a ray of light; that in other hearts it may awaken a new hope and vision of a better world through application of His laws in daily life.
Prayer
Our Father which art in HEAVEN,
Hallowed be thy NAME.
Thy kingdom come. Thy WILL be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily BREAD.
And forgive us our DEBTS, as we forgive
our debtors.
And lead us not into TEMPTATION,
but deliver us from EVIL:
For thine is the KINGDOM, and the POWER,
and the GLORY, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
MEDITATION
The Edgar Cayce readings repeatedly emphasized the importance of meditation as an integral ingredient for personal transformation. In fact, they suggested that the following information on “Meditation” be added to the twenty-four lessons that comprise A Search for God. However, to become familiar with the group process, some readers may wish to start with the chapter on “Cooperation,” reading the meditation information individually or picking it up later for group discussion.
I. Introduction
In this material world we are conscious of the phenomenon of growth. We should be equally aware of spiritual progression that includes both a broadening of understanding of the relation between the Creator and ourselves, and a definite improvement in capacities for more useful lives. Too much stress has been placed upon the desirability of escaping from physical existence. The average individual has come to look upon spiritual things as being intangible and ethereal, unconnected with normal life.
The eternal question that runs through life is this: What is truly valuable in thought, in activity, and in experience? Only from within can come a stable estimate of what is worthwhile. This sense of appreciation or this inner realization is based fundamentally upon an understanding of self—self in relation to others and self in relation to God. Meditation is the means to this end.
II. Prayer and Meditation
1. Prayer defined and illustrated
Some individuals give little thought to either prayer or meditation. They are satisfied to drift with the current, hoping that somehow or somewhere conditions will work out for the best for them. There are others who seek a better way, searching for that light which renews hope, gives a more perfect understanding of their present lot, and justifies the course of life that is being pursued.
Prayer is the concerted effort of our physical consciousnesses to become attuned to the Consciousness of the Creator. It is the attunement of our conscious minds to the spiritual forces that manifest in a material world. It may be a cooperative experience of many individuals, coming together with one accord and with one mind.
Prayer to some is the pouring out of personality for outward show, to be seen by others. To others it means entering into the closet of the inner self and pouring out the ego so that the inner being may be filled with the Spirit of the Father. These divergent