Celestial Bodies and Astral Travel
Centerspread Photo Gallery:Hubble Space Telescope Sites and Images
7. Gravity, Relativity, and Cosmology
8. Achieving Our Cosmic Destiny
Stargazing and the Photon Connection
Appendix 1: Who Was Edgar Cayce?
Expanding Abilities and Growing Demands
Appendix 2: The Language of the Cayce Readings
Appendix 3: The Akashic Records
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people helped to make this book possible. It was the A.R.E.’s John Van Auken who first suggested using my astronomical background to explore what Edgar Cayce had to say in his readings about the amazing cosmos in which we live. A.R.E. Press Senior Editor, Ken Skidmore, has been a sincere pleasure to work with throughout this project. I’m also grateful to A. Robert Smith, former editor of Venture Inward, for publishing my articles over the years within its pages—in particular, that entitled “Divine Order in the Universe” which appeared in the September/October 2002 issue. The enthusiastic response it elicited from readers worldwide was partly responsible for the eventual appearance of this book. My thanks also go to Leslie Cayce for inviting me to share the wonders of the cosmos at many A.R.E. conferences (both through slide-illustrated lectures and stargazing sessions with my telescope). I am particularly indebted to the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore for use of the stunning Hubble Space Telescope images which grace the centerspread section of this book—and to Charles Feldman, a retired engineer, for kindly downloading them onto CD-ROMs for me. I also wish to acknowledge my dear friends and longtime A.R.E. members, Marge and Warren Greenwald. Attending their Search for God Study Group meetings (West Chester, Pennsylvania, #1—which they conducted for nearly thirty years!), as well as through many private discussions, provided valuable insights into the Cayce material in general. And while this book is already dedicated to my wonderful wife, Sharon, I must acknowledge again here the invaluable role she played in my completion of this project.
Preface
“God is reflected in our concept of space. In the vastness of space our self-conceit falters. We are humblest when gazing at the stars. We draw nearer to God in contemplation of the immensity of the universe.”
(A Search for God, Book II)
When I first heard about Edgar Cayce over forty years ago, I approached his psychic readings with skepticism, coming as I did from the standpoint of one trained in the physical sciences (mainly astronomy and physics). Even earlier than my encounter with the Cayce material was that with the momentous issues of UFOs and extraterrestrial life. As both an amateur and professional astronomer, I had no doubt about the existence of life elsewhere in this vast universe. But here, too, I harbored a degree of skepticism—particularly in the case of some of the UFO sightings. While scientific training demands critical thinking and rigorous proof of any new theories put forth or reports of unusual phenomena, I came to realize that such a formal background can also in many situations blind a person to the deeper realities lying behind nature. With further study of both the Cayce material and the UFO phenomenon, I soon lost all skepticism about either of them!
In the pages to follow, we’ll look briefly at the man Edgar Cayce and at the amazing Cayce psychic readings, which contain a truly vast storehouse of information about many subjects, including the universe itself.
Edgar Cayce, often called the Sleeping Prophet of Virginia Beach, was without question one of the greatest psychics the world has ever known. This simple soul was a devoted family man, a photographer, and an avid gardener. Deeply spiritual, he read the Bible daily and was a Sunday school teacher. From most appearances, he was just an ordinary person of his time.
Yet, for more than forty years of his adult life, he displayed the phenomenal ability to put himself into a trancelike sleep at will and give psychic discourses, called readings. By stretching out on a couch, folding his hands over his stomach, and closing his eyes, he would enter a relaxed state from which he was able to place his mind in contact with the “Akashic records” of the cosmos.1 He would then answer questions, put to him by his wife or another close associate, from people all over the world, concerning their past lives, mission on planet Earth, medical conditions, and a host of other subjects about which Cayce in his conscious state could not possibly have known. Amazingly, when he did awaken from his trances, he remembered nothing about what he had said or what had transpired!
Edgar Cayce was born on a farm outside of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on March 18, 1877. He died in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on January