Venturing Inward. Hugh Lynn Cayce
been at least partly the cause of his extremes of emotional reaction—very happy or very depressed—very talkative or very silent—very optimistic or very pessimistic. Often he functioned at one end of the emotional scale or the other. He was sentimental and moody. When he laughed his world was light and joyful; when he frowned his world was a very dark place. He trusted everyone and frequently moved with those around him in wrong directions. He could easily forgive others. He was harder on himself.
My father radiated interest in, as well as concern and love for, people. These attitudes showed in small ways, as well as through his desire to help people through his readings. He was kind to children and they were drawn to him. He was thoughtful of servants. His patience with young people was an important factor in his success with groups throughout his life. When he traveled he was soon on friendly terms with anyone he met. I can never remember my father’s showing irritation with a waitress or waiter in a public place. People, all kinds of people, were drawn to Edgar Cayce.
This was the clairvoyant, the psychic, whose comments on the unknown powers of the mind have made the greatest impression on me. Whatever else his gift may have been, it was a window through which his mind could be seen functioning at an unconscious level.
In examining the content of this material there are a number of points to ponder. A respectable amount of the clairvoyance seemed to be accurate. Many people who tried suggestions in the readings reported they received practical help. Some insight was shown in areas of knowledge which later investigations proved to be correct. Of special interest are statements on endocrine gland functions, body currents, knowledge of prehistoric earth changes, archaeological discoveries, etc. It will be seen that a number of philosophical concepts about which Edgar Cayce had only vague conscious opinions were developed in some detail in his readings. Some of the most obvious of these are reincarnation and karma, the origin of the soul and its purpose in the earth, the causes of many specific diseases, life after death, and a world of thought forms. And though my father was a student of the Bible, his unconscious interpretations of many passages, as well as his comments on biblical history, were sometimes startling, to say the least. Accuracy in one area of his information did not require that any other statement be accepted without question. However, through the years, the evidence for extended perception in many directions accumulated rapidly. Preservation and thorough examination of his psychic readings seemed warranted.
Certainly in the life and work of this man we find an example of an attempt to use a psychic gift for the benefit of those who sought his help. The measure of his success has not been completed.
Of considerable importance, it seems to me, is the examination and testing of any statements made from this unconscious mind as to how psychic abilities may be developed. Where are the rooms of the unconscious which contain the radio and television sets of the mind that reach beyond the five senses—and how does one get to them?
Finally, it seems reasonable to say that a study of my father’s life and the mass of unconscious data of his readings might give us some insight into the nature of the unconscious—its activities and dimensions.
2The Edgar Cayce readings are numbered to maintain confidentiality. The first set of numbers (e.g., “565”) refers to the individual or group for whom the reading was given. The second set of numbers (e.g., “1”) refers to the number of the reading for that individual or group.
2
A Boundless Unconscious
THE LABORED, HEAVY BREATHING OF THE MAN ON THE BED COULD BE heard outside the room in the hall. The doctor who had been listening with stethoscope turned away and spoke: “This man has one lung completely closed. The other is in bad shape. He must be moved to the hospital immediately. Pneumonia may have set in already.”
Edgar Cayce was the man on the bed. It was I to whom the doctor had spoken. For days my father had suffered with a heavy cold. We were visiting with friends on Staten Island, New York. Day after day he had met people and given readings morning and afternoon. Finally he had gone to bed. Outside a heavy snow was melting.
The doctor went downstairs to call an ambulance. Dad motioned to me to come to the bedside. “What did the doctor say?” he croaked.
I touched his hand and head. They were hot and dry. I told him exactly what had been suggested.
“Shut the door,” he said. “Don’t let anyone in here until I wake up.”
I obeyed him without question.
In a matter of minutes his eyelids fluttered; his breathing became deep, regular, and heavy. He rattled like the crackling of thick underbrush in a dry forest.
Within five minutes great beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and face and began to run down his neck. As I watched and listened, the sheet which touched his chest became wet, and the breathing grew heavier and more labored.
At the end of fifteen minutes, perspiration was running off the bed onto the floor where it stood in a little glistening puddle. The breathing was clearing and was more even now.
Someone knocked at the locked door. I tried to explain without opening it.
In a little more than twenty minutes Edgar Cayce opened his eyes, stretched, smiled, pulled back the covers, and asked for his robe. The sheets, the blankets, the mattress were soaking wet. His voice was clear; his head and hands were cool. The ambulance went away without him.
This is an example of the strange power of the subconscious to take suggestion and control automatically the internal functioning of the physical body.
Living would be difficult indeed if man consciously had to regulate his breathing, not to mention what regulating his digestive processes would entail. Just how would one plan the digestion of a carrot? What mind plans the distribution of the assimilated food? Different parts of the body need varying amounts of energy at different times. Extend this idea a little further. There is a truly magical power of the body to rebuild the tissue of an injury or a cut. The proper amount of the right kind of tissue is restored. Hair or bone does not grow where muscle tissue is needed. Such functions, along with breathing, blood circulation, much of eliminations, and hundreds of other automatic body functions are controlled from an unconscious level of the mind. This amazing control is accepted without thought until it is possible to observe a demonstration of the power of suggestion for someone in an unconscious state.
Throughout his life my father lost his voice at varying intervals. The approach he took in order to heal this situation was to enter the same state of consciousness he used in order to give a reading. In this state, suggestions could be given him to increase the circulation through the throat area to relieve the nerve tensions. Anyone watching his reactions could see the tissue of the throat change color. Generally he would awaken able to speak again.
The amenability of the unconscious to suggestion and the power of suggestion to affect the physical body are well known to anyone who has practiced or observed hypnosis. The range and degree of effects which can be produced apparently depend upon the skill of the hypnotist and the susceptibility of the subject. A responsive subject will weep over an apple if told he is eating an onion, or raise a blister when touched with a piece of ice if told he is being burned with a match.
It is frightening, at times, to consider the range of the power of suggestion. In an early report on “subliminal projection” it was stated that an invisible commercial was flashed on the screen of a drive-in theater while the regular pictures were being projected. In The Reporter, October 17, 1957, it was stated that over a period of six weeks 45,000 people were moved by the suggestion, which bypassed the conscious mind, to increase their popcorn purchases by 57.5 percent. It is not generally recognized that the unconscious may contain a record of every experience of consciousness, even though there is no conscious awareness at the time of perception.
On several occasions Edgar Cayce demonstrated an ability to read over material and then bring it accurately to consciousness after sleeping for a few minutes. This occurred first when it was suggested to him that he could remember every word in a spelling book. At a grade-school graduation he was reported to have