The Sleeping Prophet: Edgar Cayce

By Donovan Adendorf, D.C.

Peyton Rous, the discoverer of tumor causing viruses and a major contributor in the eventual discovery of the now famous retro viruses (one of which causes AIDS) once wrote: “Nature often speaks her secrets with a still, small voice out of a dense thicket of happenings. He who would hear and comprehend can have no pride of intellect, no fixed preconceptions; he can only listen intently and ask himself what he may have heard.”

The year was 1939 and the world was on the brink of war, a war between nations as well. The killer here was a devastating virus, one we are still at war with today. As someone prone to distractions, I am sure it was a difficult time to pay attention to the voice of nature, with all the death and destruction of the WWII raging. The reality is, however, that we cannot always change the chaos that is sometimes our lives, but we can certainly open our minds and listen to the voice within, if we are unable to hear the voice of nature outside. The only condition is to be unbiased.

Edgar Cayce was a psychic born on March 18, 1877 in Hopkinsville Kentucky. Unenthusiastic about the chaos of studying, Edgar accidentally found that he could absorb or learn a subject by simply sleeping on the book. This he learned after falling asleep on one of his spelling books. Not a lot of time was required either; a short little nap would do the trick. The legend further continues that, one Sunday afternoon he was particularly disturbed by a sermon at church and slipped off into the woods to read his Bible and pray for the sick. He was visited by a  “radiance” that told him that his prayers were answered and that he would have the ability to heal the sick if he stayed faithful to his prayers.

His psychic abilities did not immediately manifest themselves during childhood (bar some smaller incidents) but showed up in adulthood. The event that triggered the manifestation of his psychic abilities was during an illness that he himself had suffered. He suffered a paralysis of his throat muscles, which caused him to lose his voice. He was a salesman at the time and this essentially meant he could not work. After unsuccessful medical consults he consulted a hypnotist. Under the hypnotic/trance condition he was able to correctly diagnose his own problem - stress - that in turn induced muscle tightness causing nerves to constrict as well as cut off blood flow to the vocal cords. He then suggested to the hypnotist to, in turn, suggest to Cayce to increase the blood flow to his vocal cords. The result was remarkable because as he ‘awoke’ he had a red neck from all the blood flow and also was able to speak. Some time later he discovered that he could use this gift to diagnose and help also other people. The promise in the woods thus came full circle.

What followed were many years of helping people while in an self-induced state of unconsciousness, during which time he would diagnose medical problems and also advise people how to address severe medical problems, like cancer and multiple sclerosis. The readings were conducted over a period of forty years and initially focused on medical problems, but eventually wondered off into other realms, like predictions and also discussions of reincarnation. Over the years he had done in excess of 14,000 readings of which 8,976 were devoted to medical subjects. His grandson, Charles Thomas Cayce, started an organization called the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) and it had as a main focus transcribing the medical information and presenting it in an organized fashion. Edgar Cayce offered psychic readings on medical subjects and the results were so astounding that a Cayce hospital was opened in Virginia Beach as well as the start of an University that had, as a matter of completion, psychic phenomenon and other ‘esoteric’ subjects as part of the core curriculum. These ventures eventually failed because of the Wall Street crash as well as the Great Depression that followed. Today, however, the ARE is still standing and getting stronger by the year. It has its own on-line store (called the Heritage store) where you can buy any of the so-called Cayce cures that were described in the many medical readings. I personally like Cayce because of the fact that he had prescribed manipulation for various conditional ailments. I knew that Chiropractic was powerful, but a prescription for manipulation was ordered in somebody that had acne. I have to admit, even as a medical practitioner, there is so much more for me to learn!

In addition to the many publications on Cayce there are also encyclopedias with reference to medical conditions form A to Z, with a compilation of all the readings done on each individual subject. My only caution here is that the readings were very individualized and that, in many cases, the treatment might not translate to everybody today. It is worth a try none-the-less. My personal experience with the castor oil packs have always been very positive.
Coming back to Peyton Rous and how nature speaks to us... I think nature speaks to us all through Edgar Cayce and the message would be clear if we are only willing to listen. Cayce did mention that karma and the natural laws of the cosmos will also prevail in dis-ease and that listening to the inner self is additionally paramount in fighting serious health and mental conditions. The later can be achieved, for starters, by joining a meditation class. This is something that the Healing Garden Journal would be able to help you with, or a visit to Holistic Village.org would suffice. Be healthy!

Visit http://www.are-cayce.com for further information on Edgar Cayce and how his work is being carried on today.

Dr. Adendorf practices at West Bay Chiropractic on West Bay Shore Drive in Traverse City, MI (231-941-4030) and also in Gaylord, MI (989-858-2345).