Reading the Soul

A Study of the Akashic Records — Part I

Many years ago at the age of three, I began a journey into the unknown and found that I lived in a different world that most, an imaginary world, but at the same time one that manifested itself in front of my eyes in a timely fashion. Now in my late 60's I am still in contact with that world some might call the fifth dimension or higher, and one defined by the theosophists of old, the Akasha. During my studies over the last sixty years, I have blended what is found in the personal and collective unconscious with my Jungian training and Gestalt studies as well as Theosophical and Biblical philosophies that reveal ancient truths. I have also delved into the work of Robert Monroe and the Hemi-Sync tapes, which allow one to calm the brain into a deep meditative state. I am beginning an Akashic group that will meet for "service to humanity" this next fall of 2010. Hopefully others will see the healing value of this study of the Akashic Records in reference to healing of the soul and eventually having a global impact.

     The term "Akasha" comes from a 6,000-year-old, Sanskrit language which means "hidden library." This "hall of records" is a ultimate library that records everything that happens in the world and beyond; it records events, the lives of a soul from the beginning of time and the connection to all things past, present and future. The word, Akasha, is derived from two ancient Tibetan or northern Indian words. "Aka" means space, storage place, or repository, and "Sa" means sky, hidden, or secret. A simple translation of "Akasha" is "an unseen space or storage place."

     The Akashic Records are in essence a hidden library of records imprinted on the subtle space of the Akasha. The Akashic Records are believed to have existed since the beginning of the time-space continuum of planet Earth.
 
     These records are open to anyone who is disciplined and connected to the personal unconscious and can meditate, moving into the higher realms of the mind, body and soul. Many Akashic readers believe we can do this for ourselves, however the ability to get ego out of our way and allow complete and untainted information to come through is difficult at best. It takes discipline to move slowly and carefully through the higher realms of spiritual connections, combined with ability to record, tape, and scribe these events, then check them out in the present reality.

     We often come in touch with the Akasha through our dreams, meditations, intuitive thinking, and prayers. Many might know the Akasha through the study of Edgar Cayce and others who have traveled and documented thousands of Akashic readings. A list of materials and books addressing these readings will be listed at the end of this article. Reading about these phenomenal connections will enlighten the reader even further in regards to the Akashic Records.

     The Akashic Records are an energetic imprint of every thought, action, emotion, and experience that has ever occurred in time and space. The Akashic Records can also be understood as the imprint of all experiences of all lifetime in all realities. They are an etheric, holographic repository of information for human consciousness for the past, present and potentials for the future. The knowledge contained in the Akashic Records is imprinted upon a subtle substance called the Akasha, which describes the energy of unconditional and heart-centered love that permeates and creates everything in the Universe. It is available everywhere, all the time. Everyone can access information from the Akashic Records at any time, and indeed we do! The flashes of intuition and knowing hunches that occur every day are glimpses into the divine wisdom contained in the Akashic Records

     The Akashic Records contain all past, present, and future possibilities through the vibrations of compassion and joy. The library records imprints, much like the DNA of the universe. It contains a collection of everything that has occurred in the past, and it holds a complete set of information regarding possibilities for the future. Every individual soul has its own, unique Akashic Record. The souls of groups, events, organizations, and locations also have a unique Akashic Record.

     One way to understand the Akashic Records is to envision them as a gigantic library encompassing the entire history of your soul, as well as every aspect of which you are now and all the potentials for your future. These recordings, our individual "book of souls," are so vast that they could not exist in our physical reality. They are recorded in metaphor and according to energetic language, existing in impressions and actualities that might include ancient languages, mannerisms, details and historical information. One must become familiar with historical and sequential developments that occurred in our written history in order to language what we see while in the "hall of records."

     An example of the value of the Cayce readings is taken from Wikipedia for those who would like to look more fully into the man who brought the Akasha to life in our lifetime.

     While the health readings are most numerous, and they involve many alternative health concepts and practices. Cayce described his work in terms of Christian service. People with metaphysical interests have focused on a somewhat different set of topics.

Origin and Destiny of Humanity: "All souls were created in the beginning, and are finding their way back to whence they came." [Reading 3744-5] The Cayce readings could be interpreted as saying that human souls were created with a consciousness of their oneness with God. Some "fell" from this state; others-led by the Jesus soul-volunteered to save them. The Earth, with all its limitations, was created as a suitable arena for spiritual growth. It could also be interpreted as saying that all beings are born and all will eventually die.

Reincarnation: Cayce's work teaches the reality of reincarnation and karma, but as instruments of a loving God rather than blind natural laws. Its purpose is to teach us certain spiritual lessons. Animals have undifferentiated, "group" souls rather than individuality and consciousness. Humans have never been incarnated as animals. He describes a very complex design arranged between souls and God to "meet the needs of existing conditions", which was a reference to the souls who became entrapped in the Earth's physical materiality, which was not intended for a habitat of the soul. In There Is A River, a biography about Cayce by Thomas Sugrue, we are told by Sugrue that spirit "thought-forms" stayed near and guided the anthropoid ape which was chosen to be the most ideal vehicle for the human physical race to be created from, and psychically guided their separate evolution into a Homo sapiens species. This contradicts Cayce's view. In reading 3744-5, Cayce states "Man DID NOT descend from the monkey, but man has evolved, resuscitation, you see, from time to time, time to time, here a little, there a little, line upon line and line and line upon line." Cayce's view arguably incorporates and parallels Theosophical teachings on spiritual evolution.

Astrology: Cayce accepts astrology on the basis that our souls spend time on other planets (or perhaps their spiritual counterparts) in between incarnations. The position of the planets at our birth records these influences.

Universal Laws: Souls incarnated on the Earth are subject to certain spiritual laws such as, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" karma or "As ye judge (others), so shall ye be judged." In Cayce's belief system, such "laws" represent an aspect of "God's mercy", whereby no matter what our circumstances, "He" has promised to guide us in our spiritual path. Cayce said that when you view it from the highest dimension, there is no time and no space, nor any future or past, and that it is all happening in one fascinating expression and that time is an illusion that has purpose.

Unknown Life of Jesus: Cayce presented narratives of Jesus" previous incarnations, including a mysterious Atlantean figure called "Amilius" as well as the more familiar biblical figures of Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek, Joshua, Asaph, and Jeshua. Cayce describes Jesus as an Essene who traveled to India in his youth in order to study Eastern religions, more specifically astrology.

Jesus and Christ: Following New Thought precedent, Cayce distinguishes between Jesus and Christhood. Briefly, Jesus was a soul like us who reincarnated through many lifetimes. "Christhood" is something he was the first to allow to be "manifest" through his material life, and it is something which we also ought to aspire towards. Cayce accordingly calls Jesus our "elder brother" and frequently makes reference to the way of the "lowly Nazarene."

Ideals: Cayce repeatedly stresses the choice of an ideal as the foundation of the spiritual path. "And O that all would realize... that what we are... is the result of what we have done about the ideals we have set" (1549-1). We may choose any ideal we feel drawn to. As we attempt to apply it in our lives, God will guide us further, perhaps inspiring us to revise our choice of ideal. The highest ideal, says Cayce, is Christ; however, the readings recognize "the Christ spirit" in some form as the basis for religions other than Christianity.

Body, Mind, Spirit: Cayce often invokes these three terms, or their equivalents, to describe the human condition. "Spirit is the life. Mind is the builder. Physical is the result." (Conflation of various readings). The concept has application not only to holistic health but also to the spiritual life.

Meditation: While Cayce sometimes described particular meditation techniques of sitting or chanting "Arrr--eee-oommm" the crucial element, he believed, is that of opening up to divine influences. The Search For God books say that "Through prayer we speak to God. In meditation, God speaks to us." Cayce's concept of meditation has some aspects in common with Hinduism or Buddhism (the chakras, kundalini) but is most similar to Christian versions of New Thought. The symbolism of the Book of Revelation, he says, is based on meditative experiences.

Extra-Sensory Perception: Cayce accepted psychic experiences and ESP as a natural by-product of soul growth. God may speak to us through dreams (many readings consist of dream interpretation), or through intuitions similar to the pangs of conscience. However, Cayce did not endorse Spiritualism or mediumship on the grounds that supposed entities thus contacted are not necessarily particularly lofty. Instead, he encouraged seekers to focus on Christ.

Atlantis: The Cayce readings spoke of the existence of Atlantis, a legendary continent with an advanced technology whose refugees peopled ancient Egypt as well as pre-Columbian America. Cayce's description of Atlantis has much in common with that of Ignatius L. Donnelly. According to Cayce, Atlantean society was divided into two long-lived political factions-a "good" faction called the "Sons of the Law of One," and an "evil" faction called the "Sons of Belial." Many people alive today are the reincarnations of Atlantean souls, he believed, who must now face similar temptations as before. It is said Atlantis suffered three major destructions, one of which was the deluge. According to the readings, a major source of turmoil was the Sons of Belial's desire to exploit the Things, sub-humans with animal appendages and low intelligence, and the movements to protect and evolve them by the Sons of the Law of One. The final destruction was the overcharging of the crystal which caused a massive explosion.

Egypt: Next to biblical times, the most significant era for the "life readings" was a pre-dynastic Egyptian civilization consisting of Atlantean refugees. Cayce purported to have been an Egyptian priest named "Ra Ta" who built a spiritually-based healing center (the "Temple of Sacrifice") and an educational institution (the "Temple Beautiful"). His diagnostic readings and narratives about the past and future were supposed to be a continuation of his ancient work. This civilization also built monuments on the Giza plateau, including the Great Pyramid, and left records of Atlantis in a "hall of records" located somewhere beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza. These readings bear a close resemblance to books by AMORC founder H. Spencer Lewis.

Earth Changes: Cayce coined the term "Earth Changes" (later widely used in New Age writings), a reference to a series of cataclysmic events which he prophesied would take place in future decades-notably including the Earth shifting on its axis, and most of California dropping into the Pacific Ocean following a catastrophic earthquake.

Cayce Cures: Cayce's medical readings typically prescribe poultices (often of castor oil), osteopathic adjustments, colonic irrigation, massage (often with peanut oil), prayer, folk remedies (e.g. charcoal tablets), various forms of electric medicine and patent medicines (such as Atomidine), and specific recommendations concerning diet and exercise. Cayce is often seen as a practitioner of holistic medicine, and has particularly strong philosophical ties with naturopathy.

Cayce Diet: Major dietary recommendations include the avoidance of red meat, alcohol (except red wine), white bread, and fried foods; a preference for fruits and above-ground, leafy vegetables over starches; and a high ratio (80:20) of alkaline foods over acidic. One meal per day should consist entirely of raw vegetables. Under strict circumstances, Cayce advocated both coffee and pure tobacco cigarettes to be non-harmful to health. "Food combining" was also a central idea in the Cayce diet. According to Cayce, several food combinations that are contraindicated are coffee with milk or sugar, citrus fruit with starchy foods, and high protein foods with starches. Cayce himself followed very few of the dietary recommendations that were suggested by the readings. According to Cayce, two or three almonds (see Amygdalin) a day keeps cancer away.

Dream Interpretation: Cayce was one of the early dream interpreters who contradicted Freudian views by saying that dreams can be of many different kinds (including sexual) with many levels of meaning; that lack of interest is the reason for poor dream recall; that only the dreamer knows the meaning of his dream; and that a dream is correctly interpreted when it makes sense to the dreamer, when it checks out with his other dreams, and when it moves him forward in his life.

     As you can see the life of Edgar Cayce was devoted to the service of humanity and information he received while in a trance state.

     This concludes Part One of this series. Other parts of this series will contain methods to use in accessing the Akasha, meditation, hemi-sync, etc., information presented by the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A. R. E.), set up by the Edgar Cayce Foundation, and sample readings from other professionals in this field.  I also suggest the following reading for better comprehension of historical information, world religions and philosophies.

RESOURCES

Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records: The Book of Life by Kevin J. Todeschi

How to Read the Akashic Records: Accessing the Archive of the Soul and Its Journey by Linda Howe

Focusing the Whole Brain: Transforming Your Life with Hemispheric Synchronization by Ronald Russell

                                                                            —30—

Part II can be read at this link.

To comment on this article, please email Gwynne Mayer