A Man Who Had an Edgar Cayce Health Reading
Perhaps some were disappointed that I did not report verifiable healings taking place during the Kathryn Kuhlman crusade. There may have been healings, but many who expected healings were not healed. I think there are reasons for this that go to the heart of what is necessary for a person to be healed. Even Jesus could not work miracles in his hometown, and when he did heal, he met the person on his own level in terms of beliefs. There were times when his disciples could not heal, and he admonished them for their unbelief. I will add more thoughts about faith healing later on as I discuss healing through dream guidance.
It was near the end of the 1960s when I met a man in Dayton, Ohio, who had obtained a reading from Edgar Cayce. This man, who I will call George, was probably in his fifties when I encountered him. During World War II and a short time before Edgar Cayce died, this man had sent a request to Edgar Cayce for a reading. Cayce was receiving thousands of requests due to an article in a national publication and people desperate for news about loved ones in the war, but George was fortunate enough to have his letter as one of the ones selected from the stacks of mail. As I recall the event, to the best of my knowledge the following is what he told me.
George said he was very sick at the time. He was not a large man, and I would guess his normal weight at about 135 lbs. He said that when he sent the request for a reading his weight was down to 85 lbs. Also, he said he was experiencing frequent blackouts. He gave little information to Cayce other than his name and address. He said he was quite surprised when he received the reading in the mail. Cayce detailed his current condition, including his blackouts, which he said were the result of a medication recently prescribed by his doctor. The reading then gave him a number of things to do to restore his health. These included changes to his diet, spinal adjustments, exercise, and things related to his mental state. George said that he did not get better overnight. But as he implemented the suggestions in the reading, his health began to improve. He said it was about six months before he regained all his weight and his health was restored.
I did not see the reading and don’t know the details of the recommendations in the reading. However, I do know from perusing hundreds of Cayce health readings that Cayce’s approach was a holistic one. His recommendations ran the entire gamut of known treatments. He often recommended spinal adjustments, but also recommended changes to the diet, exercise, hydrotherapy, massage therapy, electrical treatments, and ultraviolet or infrared light treatments. For medication, he often gave a formulation of natural ingredients to be made as specified in the reading. And in some cases, when there was no alternative, he recommended surgery. A key theme, though, throughout the readings is the necessity for the person to establish the right attitude and become more spiritual in nature. In Cayce’s view, for true healing the spiritual forces must become active in a person’s life. Meditation is a way to help accomplish this, and for some with critical diseases, he said deep meditation was required to achieve significant progress with healing.
In the Cayce approach, the treatment was tailored to the condition and needs of the individual. He might advise consuming large quantities of some food for one person and tell another to stay away from any quantity of that food. Specific types of doctors were sometimes recommended, and he advised people to find doctors who understand their bodies. This has become increasingly difficult with the limited time a doctor can spend with a patient nowadays. However, I found an osteopath who understands my body, and I make a monthly visit for a spinal adjustment, which helps maintain my overall health. The Cayce approach is a balanced one where the best is taken from a large number of disciplines for healing. There are medical doctors who follow the suggestions given in the readings and work in cooperation with the Association for Research and Enlightenment. Although what Cayce says about healing sounds like what a faith healer might say, he recognizes the spiritual or creative force at work in the doctor as well who can be an instrument of divine help.