Edgar Cayce

[soffty]

Photopat, you are correct, but what I see is what I see.

Another interesting Cayce insight: Duality and the human body

When man was created, there were several logistical problems in converting spiritual beings into physical. One is that souls are united as a whole in the spiritual realm. The act of individualization was necessary to be physical beings. A very lonely situation is incurred, and souls have a difficult time with this. Souls are isolated from the oneness that they had known in the “collective mind”.

As it is recorded in Genesis, the Creator helped the yound minds coming into this world to divide their yin and yang qualities into male and female bodies. To become whole in self, these two bodies need to unite in order to provide the companionship necessary. There was a process by which souls evolved into the totally separate forms.

This process took over 100,000 years, and even now, there are logistical problems. Through the akashic record, our lives leave karmic remains from each life that usually embodies itself in a newly incarnated body. This can be a positive or a negative aspect, depending on the life we live and karmic “residue”.

I find that each religion has some truth in its core, along with unique “absolutes” that do not exist. It is not extremely difficult to study religions and see the shared truths as well as the untruths. How we each embrace religion and other beliefs, as well as wage war, is based on our inefficiency to complete our very basic tasks at hand.

Maybe we can be a bit more sympathetic to people who are different from us. In our personal responsibility to learn, we have the ability to rise above and slightly purify our souls. Waging war, as well as hate and other human flaws, is a product of our inability to see clearly what life is about.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find meaning in life once we have made a commitment to learning. No matter how badly you want to debunk all that you know, if we all got our acts together, life would not be the unsightly picture we have created. Yes, it appears that we have not "evolved’ beyond our petty selfishness. Funny though, all we have to do is learn, and eventually hate disappears. After all, we are all the same collective soul.

[soffty]

Fighting ignorance is not difficult. Debunk all that I stand for…no problem. With each post that I make, you will have a more difficult time with your personal agendas. My points will become clear. Just a matter of time before some of you lose a bit of your debunking nature when common sense becomes a reality for you.

Sure is interesting how truth is in plain sight, but so many display a natural desire to not see it. To learn is to grow.

[soffty]

Fighting ignorance is not difficult. Debunk all that I stand for…no problem. With each post that I make, you will have a more difficult time with your personal agendas. My points will become clear. Just a matter of time before some of you lose a bit of your debunking nature when common sense becomes a reality for you.

Sure is interesting how truth is in plain sight, but so many display a natural desire to not see it. To learn is to grow. Objectivity is a learned ability. There are some words that might have more meaning as each of you grow and learn. Words like conviction, fortitude, perserverance, responsibility, and love.

[Fear_Itself]

@soffty

Cayce said that we are spiritual beings that form an entity together, and we split into souls in order to enter the physical world. We are individuals in physical form, while we can be either separate or united in spiritual form.

How can anyone not find this interesting?

Just because a belief system is interesting does not make it worthy of unquestioning faith. The world is full of all kinds of interesting viewpoints, from UFOs, to astrology, to tax cuts creating jobs. Unlike you, I lack the innate ability to discern between what is truth and what is fraud. I need a system to determine what is worth investigating further, and ultimately what is likely to be the truth.

That system is the scientific method. Nothing is true on the face of it; everything must meet the rigorous scrutiny of logic. I don’t have time to run down blind philosophical alleys, only to be disappointed when they reach a totally unproductive end. Science and logic provide me with a tool to winnow out the wheat from the chaff.

I do not fear your knowledge. I also do not fear living in an uncertain world. I don’t expect have to have an explanation for everything. I do expect to have the intellectual curiosity to continue searching for answers, instead of taking some one else’s word for it, just because they insist they possess the Meaning of Life.

"Believe those who seek the truth; doubt those who find it." * ~~Andre Gide*

[Musicat]

@soffty

Sure is interesting how truth is in plain sight, but so many display a natural desire to not see it. To learn is to grow. Objectivity is a learned ability. There are some words that might have more meaning as each of you grow and learn. Words like conviction, fortitude, perserverance, responsibility, and love.

Have you met another prolific poster here, Lekatt? You two should get along just fine.

Both have lots to talk about, but nothing to say.

[Musicat]

In the Staff Report about Cayce, it says

One example discussed in detail by Randi is Cayce’s extraordinary failure in divining information about the Lindbergh kidnapping case.

So Cayce is psychic? Is this a good example of his powers?

Another failure was his attempt to find buried treasure. After several weeks of trying, with the additional help of a well-known dowser, he found nothing.

Psychic?

As James Randi notes in Flim Flam: “The rationalizations that Cayce and his supporters used to explain his numerous and notable failures are prime examples of the art of evasion.”

I’m impressed by his ability.

we have several documented cases of Cayce advising how to cure dead people, in connection with readings using letters they sent to him. In these cases, the letters had been written while the person was still alive, but by the time he made his psychic “diagnosis,” they were dead.

A true visionary here. He couldn’t even see into the past, let alone the future. And you admire this man?

As James Randi notes in his classic book, Flim Flam, “It is no secret that his cures were quite similar to the ‘home remedies’ described in the handy medical encyclopedias that were bedside reading in many rural homes in the late 1800s.” In other words, he didn’t exactly need psychic powers to know about them.

So he read books and spouted what he read. He didn’t predict advances in medical science, did he? What is there to admire about this dolt?

He later notes, "Cayce was fond of expressions like ‘I feel that’ and ‘perhaps’–qualifying words used to avoid positive declarations. It is a common tool in the psychic trade.

In other words, he was a medium just like others of that ilk, using techniques well known by magicians then and now.

Another amusing prediction was that the U.S. would discover an Atlantean death ray (as in, one from Atlantis) in 1958.

Missed again. Wow, is this guy impressive!

“Beef broth was one of Cayce’s favorite remedies for such diverse diseases as gout and leukemia. Who can fault a nice man who prescribes a cup of hot soup?”

Hot soup may cure some things, but I’m pretty sure gout and leukemia isn’t one of them. This guy is a quack and he talks like a duck.

The point is that, as with every other well-known “psychic” I’ve seen/heard about/read about, the claims simply don’t stand up to scrutiny.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So which part of this Staff Report do you think is wrong? Let’s zero in on one specific objection you have or nit you want to pick and we can discuss it.

@soffty

It [Cayce’s writings] is truly profound.

Profound? What’s so profound about bad advice and cold reading? Did you ever stop to think that by not examining his claims, you might be falling for an act hook, line & sinker? Reel him in, Charlie – we’ve got a live one here!

[soffty]

Wow, this is quite amusing. No matter what I say, you guys maintain your ignorance. Repeating the inaccuracies don’t make them true. Anyway, I’m done. You can go back to your talents…hypocritical as they may be.

This website has made its point. Like minds attract, and when they get together, they celebrate their shortcomings by turning on all others and declaring thjier logical perceptions.

Not one of you went beyond your limitations. Celebrate your half-truths.

Cayce said: half truths are much more damaging than lies because they have the ability to deceive where lies do not.

The debunker society is still safe. Get together and share a drink, as you are VICTORIOUS!

[Fear_Itself]

Don’t go away mad.

[Kevala]

soffty, your oracular and lofty manner puts me off because it seems less suited to conversation than to aphoristic poetry or a lyrical essay or the utterances of a trance medium. You have your answers, and that’s great, no irony intended, but my 50-plus years on earth have taught me that you don’t have THE answers.

When you share your beliefs without sounding fatuous or condescending, you hold my interest. I want to know more about what life means to you because I’m curious that way. I read Cayce in my early teens when I was deeply curious about all things psychic or paranormal, but that was a long time ago and I would love to be refreshed. All I remember is that he reminded me a lot of the Theosophists.

I have some non-rhetorical questions… If it’s true that not all soul transmissions are accurate, how can you be sure that his received descriptions of the soul are reliable? If different souls spoke through him, are there contradictory transmissions on the nature of the soul? Lastly, did Cayce have anything to say about homosexuality? I’m curious.

[Baldwin]

@soffty

Wow, this is quite amusing. No matter what I say, you guys maintain your ignorance.

You haven’t said anything so far.

@soffty

Repeating the inaccuracies don’t make them true. Anyway, I’m done. You can go back to your talents…hypocritical as they may be.

Repeating the inaccuracies doesn’t make them true. Noun and verb; I’ve learned a lot about grammar, syntax and talkin’ right, just by reading threads on the SDMB. As Will Rogers said, “Everybody’s ignorant, only on different subjects.” This board is all about learning. So, point out those inaccuracies; explain why they’re inaccurate; be prepared to provide facts and logic to support your assertions.

So far you’ve done nothing but make vague philosophical statements and whine about our unwillingness to believe, without evidence, that you’re giving us a meaningful description of the real universe. You seem to think that our fondness for asking specific logical questions is either too ill-mannered to respond to, or an unfair attack upon your belief system. In fact, this is one of the fairest arenas you’ll find for discussing an idea – any idea you’re willing to defend. From PhD’s to regular schlubs such as I, we’re all on level ground here.

[Telemark]

@Baldwin

You haven’t said anything so far.

Damn, you beat me to it.

[photopat]

@Baldwin

From PhD’s to regular schlubs such as I, we’re all on level ground here.

Speak for yourself Baldwin, this regular schlub is standing on an uneven floor.

Oh no, wait. My left leg is just longer. Never mind.

Anyway, Soffty? If you’re still reading along, just keep in mind that you said this:

Photopat, you are correct, but what I see is what I see.

The problem with using that as the absolute guide to what’s true is that what you see may not be what’s really there. If you trust an illusion you’re apt to be disappointed.

[Bryan_Ekers]

If soffty chooses to check in again, I’d just like to recommend Martin Gardner’s Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science, which includes a chapter on Cayce.

In fact, I’d recommend it to anyone.

[soffty]

Thanks Bryan for providing a resource for me to check out. Kevala, the book I have has only one reading for a homosexual, and keep in mind this reading is for this person, and may not be the only information available or relative to homosexuality. Searching “Edgar Cayce homosexuality” may yield more.

Here is the actual reading:

These (homosexuality) are the effects of karmic influences…Thus there is brought not merely a physical or purely pathological condition, but a physiological and psychological disturbance to the body.

I think he is saying that for this person, it is caused by a combination (or singlular) of past life experiences in which trauma affected both conditions. It may have something to do with being victimized or victimizing another.

In other readings where this condition is indirectly associated, I would speculate that there can be a gender (yin/yang) disorder due to logistical problems not yet ironed out for mankind, and that this has always been a common condition, maybe more so in the past.

Cayce talks about conflicts between people that can cause turmoil that carries over to another incarnation. So I assume that one possibility may be that if we find certain personality traits of the homosexual that stand out, they may be an indication of what may have happened. For example, if someone was a rapist in a past life it may cause a karmic problem if the person displays violent behavior or sexual obsession, or the other way around if the past life was the opposite.

[Bryan_Ekers]

Are you prepared to consider alternative non-Cayce explanations for any of those?

[soffty]

Actually, I don’t have much interest in homosexuality, but I guess you asked me to elaborate because you have some sort of point to make. I welcome that.

As far as Cayce being a fraud, which is the only opinion here if mine is excluded, I see a 0% chance of him faking his trance state. That was the only reason I started this thread, because the original post displays him as something else.

And as far as his readings, I have never proclaimed them to be true. I have maintained that they are interesting, and profound, which also in my opinion has a 0% chance of being wrong.

Cayce’s postive influence upon many famous Americans of the past is also totally true, as the testimonies have proven. Many advancements in science were initiated by famous people getting the information first from Cayce.

The evidence is overwhelming to this point. My future opinion of Cayce is still in question, as I am not nearly done studying him. But it is very unlikely that any negative information can be as much as 1% of his legacy. Your common psychic has an extremely difficult time establishing credibility, which in my opinion, make sCayce that much more credible.

At this point, even if he was a fake, I would still focus most of my attention on him as I write my book because even as a fake, he has more credibility than any other source. In fact, after studying Cayce I have a much higher opinion of the Bible. I gave up on it when I was not allowed to believe in reinacrnation, which again, I find to be absolutely true.

You guys can all get together and discredit my “common sense”, and I will still make it the basis for my beliefs.

[Fear_Itself]

@soffty

You guys can all get together and discredit my “common sense”, and I will still make it the basis for my beliefs.

Since you have declared your faith to be impervious to reason, I will not waste my time trying to dissuade you.

However, I have one question. When you encounter new belief systems or philosophies, how do you determine which are worthy of your interest, and which are frauds? For example, I recall the Heaven’s Gate cult was based on the belief that a spaceship was travelling with the Hale-Bopp comet, and believers could shed their bodies and travel the universe as it passed by the Earth.

Is that belief something you would investigate, and if not, how did you decide it was outside the realm of consideration in your quest for truth?

[Bryan_Ekers]

I wasn’t saying anything negative about Cayce, just asking if you’d entertain the idea that some of the things you’ve attributed to Cayce might be explainable by other means.

[soffty]

There is no doubt that in pursuing truth, and in being objective, I not only entertain other ideas, but I aggressively pursue them. My objectivity has never been the issue here. It is the other way around.

One constant for me…my quest NEVER ends. I exclude nothing when I form opinions, and now, if I learn new information about Cayce as I know I will, my opinion will change. If there was a scientific approach in this matter, I would not only embrace it, but defend it.

True objectivity is so rare that sometimes I feel that 99% of people have no idea what that is. Almost everyone has a mechanism that disallows them to discard their subjectivity, and the forumites here show that in vivid technicolor.

I understand that science discriminates in a deliberate and orderly fashion, and its a damn good thing it does. But science does not provide answers in almost every important matter concerning humanity. Even science as we currently accept it will evolve as we evolve.

I have made many good points and yet you guys label me the problem. Time for a reality check, because if you are defending yourself from me you are truly lost. I am still waiting for one person to show that they are mature enough to participate…because I don’t see anything in these posts that makes me think I should post here ever again.

I hold myself totally accountable, and always have. In fact, I have never met anyone who has impressed me enough to think they can compare. People are just selfish and weak…ultimately defending their right to do as they please.

I have seen nothing here that is honorable.

[Kevala]

@soffty

Actually, I don’t have much interest in homosexuality, but I guess you asked me to elaborate because you have some sort of point to make.

Nope. I have no point to make. I asked out of sheer curiosity. That’s it. I was engaging you in dialogue, not a dialectic. Thanks for your response.