Edgar Cayce on Soul Mates. Kevin J. Todeschi
is not the case. The condition of soul mates is also not limited to male-female relationships; soul mate relationships are just as likely to occur in same-sex relationships. More important, each of us has many different types of soul mate relationships. Some of those relationships might manifest in the present with various members of our family, friends with whom there is a deep bond and connection, and even work relationships in which individuals are brought together to achieve some greater goal. A soul mate is an individual to whom we are drawn in the present because we have been together in the past. It is a relationship in which each individual has the opportunity to be of invaluable assistance in terms of the other’s personal growth.
Unfortunately, some individuals have mistakenly assumed that a soul mate relationship is a perfect relationship in which there are never any difficulties or challenges. They may then become frustrated because they haven’t been able to find or create such a relationship in their own lives. The Cayce readings suggest that a soul mate will offer you problems and obstacles just as you will offer the same things in return. A soul mate is someone with whom you can work through life’s challenges and difficulties, even when that individual may appear to be the source of them. In other words, a soul mate is an individual who often reflects or lets us encounter our own strengths and weaknesses.
By all accounts, Bryant and Rose had a very successful soul mate relationship, one that lasted over forty years—until Bryant’s death in 1968. However, they also had their share of problems, arguments, and difficulties. Together, they experienced the normal ups and downs of any marriage. From the very beginning, they were burdened with the knowledge that Bryant’s mother didn’t like Rose as his choice for a spouse—the readings eventually traced the animosity to a past-life jealously and rivalry.
Within a few years of their marriage, Rose and Bryant would have two sons and obtain readings for each. They were told that the older boy had innate talents as a physician and the younger as a politician. When Bryant asked Cayce for advice in the boys’ rearing and upbringing, it was stated that the most important thing wasn’t power or might or even rules, but for him and Rose to live as an example to their children. The entire family had been brought together for a purposeful reason. Together, they could assist one another in fulfilling the purpose for which each had been born. In addition to the connections among the four of them in the past, they had the opportunity to become better people for having the experience of being brought together.
In spite of the fact that the readings had encouraged them to marry, throughout their life together, there would be challenges. Although financially successful, Bryant once told some friends that he had lost out on $500,000 by not following some of Cayce’s business advice in the readings. World War II brought with it a series of shortages and difficulties, not to mention the fact that Rose, Bryant, and their children were Jewish at a time when prejudice was often common. Each of the children also had a series of problems, in addition to the normal events of childhood such as teething, colds, and sibling rivalry. The younger boy had scarlet fever, measles, anemia, and an accident in which he stuck himself in the right eye with a scissors and split the cornea. A series of readings and doctors saved his sight. The older boy had broken bones, chicken pox, measles, tonsillitis, pneumonia, and skin boils.
One of the couple’s biggest challenges came when Rose began to miss the acting spotlight just as Bryant had become too focused on his business affairs. Understandably, Rose wanted more out of life than simply the roles of wife and mother. Because of her husband’s financial status and business affairs, she often found herself an active part of society, which gave her some satisfaction. However, he was often out of town on business and rather than missing out on social functions, Rose allowed herself to be escorted by male friends. She saw nothing wrong with it. Bryant was quick to disagree. Arguments between the two could not be resolved. Finally, they obtained a reading.
Interestingly enough, years earlier Cayce had previously told the couple that as long as they worked together, they would each be able to bring out the best in the other and “gain for selves those developments that bring peace, joy, and happiness in a life worth being lived . . .” (903-3). They had been advised to always show their love for the other and to keep foremost in their minds their joint companionship. Rose’s love of the spotlight would have to come second to their marriage, just as Bryant’s focus on business matters and concerns could not be his first priority. Their home was to be their first and most important work. The two had been encouraged to keep their love alive, to find joy and peace in the other’s company, to honor and to serve God, and to never make the same mistake with each other twice.
With the new reading, Cayce advised them that their most important activity was the raising of their children, especially during the boys’ “formative years.” They were reminded that their home was supposed to be their primary focus, and each was encouraged to renew within themselves that very attitude with which they had first established their lives together. Apparently, both Rose and Bryant had allowed themselves to forget the priority of their marriage. Rather than telling them specifically what to do, each was advised to again make their marriage come first. By working with one another, the problem was resolved.
In time, Rose became more interested in parapsychology and eventually sponsored lectures and programs that brought together leading scientists, scholars, and parapsychologists. In fact, for more than twenty years she put together a very successful lecture series in New York and acted as a catalyst for the study of metaphysics, yoga, and the Cayce work. She found in these efforts the limelight she had missed and helped many people by pulling the programs together. Bryant became even more successful in business and furniture manufacturing. For years, he also supported Temple Emanuel, the nation’s largest synagogue, as well as the Cayce work. He and Rose had frequent opportunities to work together outside of their home, and many individuals saw their relationship as ideal. Their eldest son would become a leading psychiatrist and their youngest a successful attorney.
Rose lived to be in her nineties. A few years before her death, in reflecting back upon her family and the Cayce information, she said, “You notice not only the patterns and purposes of your own life, you become aware of how you are put into positions to assist others to carry out their activities.” Soul mate relationships create an opportunity for personal growth, personal fulfillment, and service to one another.
In another example from 1940, a thirty-nine-year-old housewife, mother, and bookkeeper was told that she and her husband were making great strides in “meeting” and overcoming those shadows of patterns that had been created between them in the past. By working together, each was growing spiritually, each was developing, and their soul mate relationship was becoming even more positive. They were encouraged to continue as they were, for “each may be as a help, as a prop one for the other” (1857-2). Cayce told another couple that it would take them at least ten years to create an ideal relationship (cases 4159 and 459), but it could be theirs if they worked together.
A young couple contemplating marriage in 1942 was told that, as man and wife, they had the opportunity to be very helpful to one another. Apparently, they had been together many times previously in various relationship roles. During a lifetime in Persia, there had been conflict because the two had come together under false pretenses. In ancient Egypt, they had been raised with opposing belief systems, although they had learned to work together. As a result, in the present, Cayce told them, “They each, then, have that weakness of being able to be overpowered by the personality of the other.” He advised them to cooperate with each other for the benefit of both, “Then if there is the agreement, if there is the coordination of ideals and purposes, and making same work—it can be made a beautiful companionship!” They were reminded, “It also can be made to be the belittling of one or the other” (1981-2).
A young New York lawyer obtained a reading about his pending marriage with his fiancée. He sought spiritual guidance, matrimonial happiness, and advice, which would enable the two of them to live successful lives. Cayce told the couple that as long as they kept their present feelings uppermost in their minds, they would be successful, “For their minds, their bodies, their desires, are in the present in accord.” They were encouraged to remember that unison of purpose whenever dissension and strife arose in their marriage because compatibility and happiness needed to be created. It did not simply exist. They were told to become a complement one to the other. Cayce warned