Edgar Cayce, known as "The Sleeping Prophet," lived from 1877 to 1945. During his heyday, he was one of America's most famous clairvoyants. Thousands of people came to consult Cayce for predictions about the future and advice on personal or medical matters, which he delivered while in a meditative trance.
Cayce's Meditation
Cayce's nickname, "The Sleeping Prophet," arose from the trance in which he worked. Cayce would relax and close his eyes, seeming to fall almost at once into a gentle sleep. While in this state, he would make predictions -- including, for instance, that the United States would discover an Atlantean death ray in 1958 -- and advise questioners on medical matters, often with the help of an assistant. Cayce seemed to be able to fall into this trance quickly and easily, without much preparation.
Cayce on Meditation
Cayce was associated with hypnotists early in his career, and his trance state seemed to owe more to hypnotism than to meditation. Nonetheless, Cayce was an advocate of meditation. In one of his trance sessions or "readings," Cayce referred to meditation as "listening to the Divine within." He suggested a number of different aids to meditation, including sitting in a relaxed posture and chanting, but insisted that the most important aspect of meditation was simply opening the mind to divine influences.
Cayce Meditation Courses
Following Cayce's death, his organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment, or A.R.E., continued to teach and promote Cayce's spiritual message. Among the services offered by A.R.E. are online courses in meditation. The A.R.E. meditation course centers on physical relaxation and includes exercises to relax the head and neck, followed by deep breathing. A period of meditation follows, during which the person focuses on an affirmation or statement of a spiritual goal.
Eclectic Meditation
The principles of meditation taught by A.R.E. avoid hard-and-fast rules, encouraging individuals to create the meditation environment that makes it easiest for them to meditate. This is consistent with Cayce's teachings on meditation, in which specific techniques are of secondary importance to relaxation and the opening of the mind to allow the subconscious to express itself fully. Cayce did not encourage others to attempt to enter the same type of trance he entered, but to seek the method of meditation which worked best for them.
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