"All in all, he seemed to belong among those who could manifest only one or two of the prophet's typically many sided gifts.  Where some figures in the long history of religions, including the tribal medicine man or magician, appeared to specialize in direct healing, Cayce's was essentially a cognitive gift, dependent on the activity of others to change bodies or human affairs.  The category of seer seemed most fitting for one with authentic visions and a genuine relation to the divine, yet in effect a stunted prophet.... I would in time find parallels to important features of Cayce in such seers as the Moslem kahin, the Hindu rishi, the Sumerian baru, the Japanese urandi, the Egyptian honu, the Buddhist arhat, the Peruvian piage, and figures from Roman and Celtic history.... But Cayce in modern America, with no recognizable tradition for his gift and work, and no community of faith to support him, was a seer out of cultural time or season."  (Bro, 1990, p. 129 - 132)

     Bro's recognition of the broader ramifications of Cayce's work provides a context for understanding the readings; if Edgar Cayce is to be regarded as a seer, the information that he channeled can be viewed as representing the "perennial philosophy."

     "But there is a much more sophisticated view of the relation of humanity and Divinity, a view held by the great majority of the truly gifted theologians, philosophers, sages, and even scientists of various times.  Known in general as the "perennial philosophy" (a name coined by Leibnitz), it forms the esoteric core of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, and Christian mysticism, as well as being embraced, in whole or part, by individual intellects ranging from Spinoza to Albert Einstein, Schopenhauer to Jung, William James to Plato.  Further, in its purest form it is not at all antiscience but, in a special sense, transscience or even antescience, so that it can happily coexist with, and certainly complement, the hard data of the pure sciences.  This is why, I believe, that so many of the truly brilliant scientists have always flirted with, or totally embraced, the perennial philosophy, as witness Einstein, Schrodinger, Eddington, David Bohm, Sir James Jeans, even Isaac Newton."  (Wilber, 1981, p. 34)

     Aldous Huxley (1944) advocates a similar perspective of the perennial philosophy which emphasizes the "tripartite" quality of human nature.  Significantly, the tripartite "body/mind/spirit" interface is a major theme in the Cayce readings and provides the foundation for the "holistic" perspective of his work.

     "The Perennial Philosophy is primarily concerned with the one, divine Reality substantial to the manifold world of things and lives and minds (p. viii).  In other words, there is a hierarchy of the real (p. 33).  But all of these men, even La Rochefoucauld, even Machiavelli, were aware of certain facts which twentieth-century psychologists have chosen to ignore: the fact that human nature is tripartite, consisting of a spirit as well as of a mind and body; the fact that we live on the borderline between two worlds, the temporal and the eternal, the physical/vital/human and the divine ...  (p. 115).  Man's final end, the purpose of his existence, is to love, know and be united with the immanent and transcendent Godhead." (Huxley, 1944, p. 38)

     Recognition of Cayce's work as representative of the perennial philosophy - as an extension of a tradition of ideas and practices which underlie most of the world's major religions and philosophies - is essential for a full appreciation of Cayce's contribution.  From this perspective, he cannot simply be dismissed as a religious fanatic seeking to establish an esoteric cult; a crackpot practicing medical quackery and milking desperate innocents of their resources; or a deluded psychotic experiencing pathological trance states resulting in thousands of incoherent, implausible psychic readings.  To the contrary, Cayce's life and work exemplify a long and respected tradition among the great cultures of the world.  Although his beliefs have a definite Judeo/Christian orientation, his recognition of the continuity of consciousness, including such eastern concepts as karma and reincarnation, attest to the scope of his perspective.
     The fact that the method employed by Cayce is not generally recognized or accepted in western culture comes as no surprise.  It is primarily the materialistic beliefs underlying the contemporary perspective which makes the perennial philosophy appear incredible.  Fortunately, one does not have to be a student of, or believer in, the perennial philosophy to investigate and benefit from information such as the Cayce readings.  Interested readers are encouraged to read some of the biographical material about Cayce's life and decide for themselves regarding the plausibility of the information he provided on the full range of the human experience.

REFERENCES

Bro, H. H. (1990).  A Seer Out of Season.  New York: Penguin Books.

Huxley, A.  (1944).  The perennial philosophy.  New York: Harper & Row.

Wilber, K.  (1981).  Up from eden: A transpersonal view of human evolution.  Boulder: Shambhala.

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