(Posted on October 28, 2014 by David McMillin)
I have included this reading in its entirety as a resource for the SFG lessons because it seems to capture the essence of most the lessons in SFG1 and SFG2 in very practical, clear language. It was given for a lawyer, so perhaps that was a factor in the organization and clarity of the text.
To illustrate some of the connections to the various lessons I have appended the text with commentary (in red). You will probably notice other associations as well. You may also notice that several direct quotes from this reading have been used in the Exercises and Supplemental Resources for these lessons.
This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at his home on Arctic Crescent, Virginia Beach, Va., this 11th day of January, 1938, in accordance with request made by self – Mr. [826], Active Member of the Ass''n for Research & Enlightenment, Inc.
Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Mr. [826] and Hugh Lynn Cayce.
Time of Reading
11:00 to 11:55 A. M. Eastern Standard Time. Washington, D.C.
(Entity, who seeks a Mental & Spiritual Reading with reference to his soul development and purpose for entrance into the earth plane during this age; also who seeks information, advice and guidance as to how he may carry out this purpose in practical application for the benefit of mankind. You will answer the questions he submits, as I ask them, regarding information which has been given him through this channel – and its application.)
1. EC: Yes, we have the entity here, [826]; with the abilities physical and mental, and the use or application of same as has been made by the entity in its experiences or sojourns in the earth – all of which become a part of the entity in the present.
2. In giving that as we find that may be helpful to this entity, first the purposes for which an entity enters a material experience – and why:
3. In giving such there must be given then some premise that is acceptable or stated as being a practical thing or condition in the experience of the entity; that it may be a part of the entity in fulfilling that purpose in the present experience.
4. The entity or man then is physical, mental and spiritual; or the physical body, the mental body, the spiritual body. [TRIUNE MODEL THAT IS THE BASIS FOR IDEALS AND THE DESTINY TRILOGY]
5. The spiritual is that portion of same, or that body, that is everlasting; that is a portion of all it has applied in its mental experiences through the sojourns in the environs of which the entity or soul or spirit body is a part. [SPIRIT]
6. From whence came then this spirit body, that we find in consciousness in the present; aware of the physical attributes, aware of at least a portion of its mental abilities, its mental capacities; only catching a glimpse here and there in the application of spiritual laws or spiritual truths of the spiritual body?
7. The spirit is the universal consciousness, or God; that which is the First Cause; that which is manifested in all the varied forms and manners that are experienced in the activities of the individual in this particular sphere of activity or phase of consciousness in the present. [CONCEPT OF GOD – GOD’S MANIFESTATION]
8. Why the entity – why the spirit of this entity? A gift, a companion, – yea, a very portion of that First Cause.
9. Hence the purposes that it, the entity, the spirit body, may make manifest in materiality or in physical consciousness the more and more awareness of the relationships of the mental body, the physical body to eternity, infinity, or the God-Consciousness. [DESTINY TRILOGY]
10. Why? That is the purpose, that is the gift, that is the activity for maintaining its consciousness throughout matter, mind or spirit.
11. For, as is the consciousness of the entity in materiality, when there is such a diffusion of consciousness as to change, alter or create a direction for an activity of any influence that has taken on consciousness of matter to waver it from its purpose for being in a consciousness, it loses its individual identity.
12. What then is the purpose of the entity's activity in the consciousness of mind, matter, spirit in the present?
13. That it, the entity, may KNOW itself to BE itself and part of the Whole; not the Whole but one WITH the whole; and thus retaining its individuality, knowing itself to be itself yet one with the purposes of the First Cause that called it, the entity, into BEING, into the awareness, into the consciousness of itself. [KNOW THYSELF; ONENESS]
14. That is the purpose, that is the cause of BEING.
15. Then the natural question to the entity becomes, "What may I do about same? In what manner, in what way may I apply myself as an entity, as an individual, to fill that purpose whereunto the First Cause has its influence, its way, its purpose with me?" [COOPERATION]
16. In such an activity then the body-physical, the body-mind, must be taken into consideration; with its faults, its fancies, its faith, its purpose, its abilities in every manner, and in every influence that has been and is a part of that mental or spiritual or material consciousness.
17. It has been given the entity as to much which or unto it may attain; as each entity bears an influence into and unto the Whole, and is influenced by same according to the will and purpose of the entity in the individual or the moment's expression.
18. For the choices are continually being made by the body, the mind, UPON those things that are within THEMSELVES taken within the consciousness, the awareness of the entity.
19. Not that there are not OTHER influences also that are aware only to the higher portion of the mental and spiritual self. For in the BODY few are aware of even the heartbeat, the fact of assimilation, the fact of distribution, the fact of building or of degeneration. [DESTINY OF THE BODY]
20. In the purpose then or premise; it is that:
21. Mind is the Builder, being both the spiritual and material; and the consciousness of same reaches man only in his awareness of his consciousness through the senses of his physical being. [DESTINY OF THE MIND]
22. Then indeed do the senses take ON an activity in which they may be directed in that awareness, that consciousness of the spiritual self as well as in the physical indulgences or appetites or activities that become as a portion of the selfish nature of the individual or entity. [DESIRE]
23. It behooves the entity first in its premise then to know, to conceive, to imagine, to become aware of that which is its ideal. [IDEALS]
24. Not that alone of the ideal condition of the body as in relationship to its appetites, its factors, – yea, even its functionings, nor only the abilities of the mind to be in the physical manner directed in such a way or manner that it may bring that which is the answer to the desires of the flesh. But also, or RATHER, that which takes hold on those things that are eternal in not ONLY their awareness, not only in their application but in their body, yea in their mind, yea in their application! [DESIRE]
25. For as is the awareness of the mental self, the Spirit of God – or Good – is never seen by the material man, ever; only the effects and the application of those factors in the experience of the individual are made aware by that it brings into the consciousness through the senses, – yea of the body, the awareness of the mental self and the spiritual self. [SPIRIT]
26. And this kept as a part of the development, the growth, the activity of the entity as a whole, becomes then a well-balanced unit; an entity that IS conscious of the influences of infinity through the finite forces that may be given in what has been expressed as of old, "As ye do it unto the least of these thy brethren, ye do it unto thy Maker."
27. How, then, may an entity become aware of those influences of that infinite force and power, and intelligence that is the ruling force of that ideal life as may be manifested by this entity in this individual experience? [IDEALS]
28. When the mental self is loosened in the quietness of those periods when it would take cognizance of the influences about self, we find the mental as a vapor, as a gas (not that it is either, but as comparison) is loosened by the opening of the self through those centers of the body that arouse the awareness of the mental to the indwelling of the spiritual self that is a portion of and encased within self. And it, the energy, the influence – as the vapor, as the gas – rises to the consciousness within, to the temple of the motivative forces of the physical body. [ATTUNEMENT; THE OPEN DOOR]
29. It, that energy, seeks – by the natural law – that to which it has an affinity. Affinity is the ideal, then. [IDEALS]
30. If that mental self, that portion of the Spirit is in accord with the Divine Will – by its application of its knowledge as to its relationships to the fellow man in the manners and purposes as indicated – there comes that consciousness, that awareness that His Spirit indeed beareth witness with thy spirit. [COOPERATION]
31. And indeed ye may then find that access, that consciousness of His abiding presence with thee that ye may carry on, ye may fulfill, ye may keep inviolate all promises that thou hast made to thy Maker; that He hath made to thee! [IN GOD’S PRESENCE]
32. Thus it is through thine own self. For indeed thy body is the temple of the living God. It is the temple of thine own awareness. It is the temple of thine own conscious walk with Him. [IN GOD’S PRESENCE]
33. And the application of that received there, then, in the physical consciousness, physical mind – applied in thy relationships to those ye meet day by day – causes the growth to come.
34. Even as in or within thine own body ye become in body a part of that ye digest within thine own physical self.
35. Thus only that ye digest within thine own spiritual body may ye apply in the building up of the mental and spiritual self for that activity in the ETERNAL consciousness of the Father-God. [ONENESS]
36. So, keep thy physical body inviolate, in such an active way and manner that it may become more and more aware of this indwelling consciousness that may give to thy mind, as a whole, as an entity, the BEST tools to work with. [DESTINY OF THE BODY]
37. For if the body is racked with doubts – by the use of those influences in same that have set at naught this continuous effort of same to assimilate and distribute for activity in its own physical self – it becomes unfit for the duties, the obligations, – yea the beauties, yea the OPPORTUNITIES of itself in its associations with those of its fellow centers, its fellow activities; or energies that are – each in its atomic self – a portion of the whole. [THE CROSS AND THE CROWN; OPPORTUNITY]
38. Keep the body-physical, then, well-balanced in those infusions of what? that are as energies that are positive and negative forces within the material activity, known or classed as the proper chemical balance in same – the fusion of the activities from the material angles that are acid and alkaline; also the potash and activities in its forces that become the making of materiality by the activity of mind upon same in its influence in the physical forces of self. [DESTINY OF THE BODY]
39. Hence in these manners may the entity, as a physical being, as a mental being, dwell upon the things not alone of the physical being but upon the spiritual, the things that are eternal; that it, too, may be kept in a balance such as that thy good may not be evil-spoken of, that thy evil may not become so overbalanced as to wreck thine OWN self in its influences and its activities in thy conscious walk among thy fellow man.
40. These meditated upon then, these kept in the ways that ye know. It is not then that ye KNOW as a physical consciousness, but that ye APPLY of good, of that which IS of God, that makes ye know that consciousness of His walks with thee. [IN GOD’S PRESENCE]
41. For thy physical self may only see the reflection of good, while thy spiritual self may BE that good in the activities of thy fellow man in such measures that ye bring – what? [FELLOWSHIP]
42. Ever, EVER, the fruits of the Spirit in their awareness; longsuffering, brotherly love, patience, kindness, gentleness, HOPE and faith! [SPIRIT]
43. If ye in thy activities in any manner with thy fellow man destroy these in the minds, in the heart of thy fellow man, ye are not only slipping but ye have taken hold on the path of destruction. [THE CROSS AND THE CROWN]
44. Then so love, so act, so THINK that others SEEING thy good works, thy hopes that ye bring, thy faith that ye manifest, thy patience that ye show, may ALSO glorify Him. [FAITH, PATIENCE, GLORY; VIRTUE AND UNDERSTANDING]
45. For that cause, for that purpose ye entered into the materiality in the present.
46. To what, ye ask, may ye attain – and how may ye attain same?
47. That is only limited by thyself. For He, the Father-God, loveth all alike; but that ye find within thy mind, thy body, that would offend, pluck it away! For thy will as one with His may do ALL these things in HIS name! [COOPERATION]
48. Then, to what heights may ye attain? That height to which thy consciousness is ever clear before the throne of thy awareness with Him; which is to know the glory of the Father through thy dealings with thy fellow man; which is to know – no sin, no sorrow, no disappointments in him. Oft is He disappointed in thee, but if thou dost bring such into the minds, the hearts, the lives of others, what is thy reflection but these same experiences?
49. But to love good, to flee from evil, to bring the awareness of the God-Consciousness into the minds and hearts of others is THY purpose in this experience. [LOVE]
50. Ready for questions.
51. (Q) Is there any particular psychic faculty which I should develop in this experience that would enrich my daily life?
(A) As has been indicated, this may be developed in the manner as has been given. It is the heritage of each soul. If ye in thine own consciousness are desirous of meeting Him, thy Maker, thy Father in the temple of thine own soul, then meditate upon Him, applying that ye know today! [DESIRE, ATTUNEMENT]
For it is in the application, not the knowledge, that the truth becomes a part of thee. [VIRTUE AND UNDERSTANDING; KNOWLEDGE]
It is not in thine body that what ye eat is thy body, but that the body – through thy digestive self – puts INTO USE IN muscle, bone, blood, tissue, – yea the very blood and the very streams through which the mentality flows! Thy BRAIN is not thy mind, it is that which is used by thy mind!
What then IS thy mind? The gift of God, that is the companion with thy soul, that is a part of same! Then if ye would develop that by its use, by its application, it is ministering good and goodness; not for self. For that ye give away ALONE do ye possess! For he that would have life must give it. He that would know the faculties of the psychic force, or the soul, must MANIFEST same in the relationships to spiritual truths, spiritual law, spiritual application. [DESTINY OF THE MIND]
52. (Q) Please explain in detail the steps I should take in this development, in meditation, that would be most consistent with my inner self?
(A) In whatever manner that thine own consciousness is a cleansing of the body and of the mind, that ye may present thyself CLEAN before thyself and before thy God, DO! Whether washing of the body with water, purging of same with oils, or surrounding same with music or incense. But DO THAT THY CONSCIOUSNESS directs thee! Not questioning! For he that doubteth has already built his barrier!
Then, meditate upon that which is thy highest ideal within thyself, raise the vibrations from thy lower self, thy lower consciousness through the centers of thy body to the temple of thy mind, thy brain, thy eye that is single in purpose; or to the glandular forces of the body as the Single Eye. [THE DOOR]
Then, listen – listen! For it is not in the storm, not in the noise, but the still small voice that rises within.
And let thy query ever be:
HERE AM I, O GOD, USE ME – SEND ME! DO WITH ME AS THOU SEEST! NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE – O GOD – BE DONE IN AND THROUGH ME. [ATTUNEMENT]
These are the manners. Not that the things of the material mind are to be neglected, but remember this: It is the foolishness of God that is the wisdom of man. It is the wisdom of man misapplied that is the foolishness to God. [WISDOM]
53. (Q) How may I come to a greater realization of my inner spiritual power and the relation of this power to all Creative Force?
(A) That has been given over and over again, here in this: In APPLYING that ye know TODAY! and tomorrow the next step is given. For it is line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. And if ye would have thy God, – yea thy better self be patient with thee, then be patient with thy study, yea thy fellow man. [PATIENCE]
For indeed as He gave, "In patience possess ye your souls." [PATIENCE]
Then, as ye are manifested before thy consciousness IN thy consciousness, become aware of this; not only as ye see the unfoldment of life in matter as a manifestation of that force and power ye would worship as thy God, thy companion, thy Lord, yea thy BROTHER, thy portion of thyself, BUT in time, in space, in patience is the heart of it all! [PATIENCE; GOD’S MANIFESTATION]
54. We are through for the present.