An Overview of the Edgar Cayce Material. Kevin J. Todeschi

In fact, Cayce proposed that ultimately the many schools of medicine should learn how to work together.

      For a person asking for physical help the reading was given much like the others. Cayce would put himself to sleep on his couch while his secretary, Gladys Davis, sat nearby with her steno pad and prepared to write down everything that was said. The one conducting the reading, usually Cayce’s wife, Gertrude, would give him the proper suggestion for obtaining the information that was needed. For physical readings her suggestion to the sleeping Cayce went something like this:

      “You will have before you the body of [Gertrude would then say the person’s name], who is located at _____________ [the city and address]. You will go over the body carefully, examine it thoroughly, and tell me the conditions you find at the present time; giving the cause of the existing conditions, also the suggestions for the help and relief for this body. You will speak distinctly at a normal rate of speech. You will answer the questions that may be asked.”

      Then, while he was sleeping, Cayce would generally respond with, “Yes, we have the body here.” If he had ever given a prior reading for the person, he would add, “This we have had before”—even if the individual’s last reading had been thirty years earlier! Cayce would often pick up right where he had left off, as if no time had passed. He spoke in his own voice and referred to the person as if the individual were in the same room, even though Cayce was usually in Virginia Beach and the patient could be a thousand or more miles away. He would then give a general description of the person’s condition, including information about the blood supply, the nervous system, and the organs involved in the difficulty. Finally, he would outline detailed methods of treatment, and respond to questions as they were asked.

      If the person getting the reading was in the room with Edgar Cayce, it was found that he or she only needed to think of the question and Cayce could answer it without it even being asked!

      Although approximately 9,000 readings deal with the principles of healing and holism, the major components of the readings’ approach to wellness can be incorporated into the acronym “CARE”: circulation, assimilation, relaxation, and elimination. The importance of each of these components is as follows:

      Without proper circulation, the body’s ability to heal itself is severely impaired. Facilitating the blood circulation—through exercise, massage, and manipulative therapies, such as chiropractic and osteopathic adjustments—bolsters the natural healing process.

      Assimilation is the second key word. It is the body’s ability to digest and distribute food. One aspect of assimilation takes into account an individual’s diet, which the readings suggest should consist of 20% acid-producing to 80% alkaline-producing foods, as well as eight glasses of water daily. But assimilation is also influenced by the methods in which foods are prepared and the ways in which they are combined. For example, although both grain cereals and citrus fruits are to be included in a healthy diet, the readings suggest that they are never to be eaten during the same meal because of their effect on the body’s digestion.

      The third key word is relaxation, which includes not only getting enough sleep but also setting time aside for the purpose of recreation. Cayce said to one person:

      “ . . . these [conditions] arose as a result of what might be called occupational disturbances; not enough [time] in the sun, not enough of hard work. Plenty of brain work, but the body is supposed to coordinate the spiritual, mental and physical. He who does not give recreation a place in his life, and the proper tone to each phase—well, he just fools self and will some day ... be paying the price.”