Body Mind Spirit –-
Edgar Cayce's Holistic Health Approach
“ Body mind spirit ” is
the mantra of the holistic
health movement.
And Edgar Cayce was the man the Journal of the American Medical Association called “the Father of Holistic Medicine.”
But who was Edgar Cayce?
To us, when we were young, he was the Man. Widely known as “the Sleeping Prophet,” he answered all the burning “Why?” questions that no one else could. At that age, issues related to health ran a distant second.
But time passed, and, like many others, we remembered there was a “body” in “ body mind spirit.” Health issues began to seem increasingly important. Again, the Edgar Cayce readings proved their worth as a source of information. But how did this man come to have all those answers?
In our cynical age of science, it’s hard to believe in magic, but Edgar Cayce came close, with his remarkable ability to enter a relaxed, sleep-like state, in which he could answer questions asked of him. He would lie down, fold his hands over his stomach and close his eyes, and the guide for the session could begin.
Cayce addressed thousands of different subjects, over the course of his lifetime, some of them down-to-earth, others esoteric and metaphysical. The questions and answers for a given day, time and subject are called a “reading.”
Where did the information come from?
According to the sleeping Cayce himself, it came from “Universal Mind,” the “Akashic Records”, or what Jung called “the collective subconscious.” And it came in quantity – over the forty-three years when readings were given, they amounted to twenty million words!
In 1931, he founded the
Association for Research and
Enlightenment, “to help people
change their lives for the better
through the ideas and information
in the Edgar Cayce material”
(from the A.R.E. Mission Statement).
Many books have been written about Cayce and his work, including transcripts of all his readings. The A.R.E. in Virginia Beach has done a great work as custodian of that information and in carrying out his mission and ideals. All of the 14,306 Edgar Cayce readings are available for study today, thanks to the long work of the A.R.E.
The A.R.E. classifies Edgar Cayce’s readings generally into five categories: (1) Health-Related Information; (2) Philosophy and Reincarnation; (3) Dreams and Dream Interpretation; (4) ESP and Psychic Phenomena; and (5) Spiritual Growth, Meditation, and Prayer.
But our site is focused on natural health, and the largest portion of the Cayce readings dealt with the health and illness of the physical body, always with that " body mind spirit " awareness. Readings were given for specific individuals with problems, even though Cayce never actually saw most of the people he was trying to help! He went into the trance, and was given a suggestion directing him to consider the body in question. Everything he said was taken down in shorthand by his longtime friend and secretary, Gladys Davis.
Because of this extraordinary documentation, individuals have found physical help from information given as long as 100 years ago! The detailed analyses and directions for treatment are still amazing in their accuracy, and are used in many medical facilities today.
Edgar Cayce’s fundamental approach to natural health was based upon " body mind spirit," the same principle underlying holistic medicine, Ayurveda and much of Chinese traditional medicine. He maintained that none of the three could be healed without the cooperation and alignment of the others. This is how he came to be known as “the father of holistic medicine.”
The other day, I saw an excellent program about Edgar Cayce on the History Channel under "Decoding the Past." They did a remarkable job on his life, work, and accomplishments.
See this Edgar Cayce video!
In the 60's whenever we would mention Edgar Cayce the Psychic, and “body mind spirit,” people would head for the exit and cross themselves. But today, we're glad to say that he is more widely known, and getting to be mainstream.
Though Cayce died more than sixty years ago, his readings have been a source of treatments and cures previously unknown, many of them recently verified by established American medicine.
One remedy that has become well-known is castor oil, which he used in packs for many conditions and injuries. He also gave many diet recommendations, subscribing to the Eastern concept of treating many conditions from within by the use of "functional food." A cornerstone of the Cayce diet was maintaining the proper acid-alkaline balance in the body. All of the Edgar Cayce remedies grow from his underlying foundation principle that " body mind spirit " must always be considered in the healing process.
Learn more about
Edgar Cayce, the man
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