When people hear that I am 95, some of them say, "You look 20 years younger. What is your secret?"

Of course I'm flattered, but I'm thinking, "When I look in the mirror I see wrinkles, spots, sagging skin, thinning hair, and flab. And they don't know that my knees don't like to go down steps."

My first response to them is that I have some hearty genes from my Scandinavian grandparents.

My next response is that when I was born in 1920, the air was much cleaner and the waters were purer (we could drink water from Lake Superior when swimming and camping). We ate a lot of food that was grown locally and the seeds were not altered much, if at all.

My third response comes from an experience I had at age 23. Newly married, my husband and I came to Virginia Beach to work with the Cayces and Gladys Davis. Edgar's son Hugh Lynn Cayce, who had managed the office, was now in the Army as part of the war effort. They needed some help. We decided to come.

I was in the middle of a Master's degree in music, and my husband was in the middle of a Master's degree in ministry. I left my school where I had a full scholarship and Harmon got permission from the University of Chicago Divinity School to take a year off to do research on the work of Edgar Cayce (which later became his PhD thesis). This was the best decision we ever made in our marriage of 54 years.

Without the help and wisdom of Edgar Cayce and his readings, I probably wouldn't be living today. Too much stress is not good for the body or the mind. Edgar's philosophy took away a lot of the stress, fears, and doubts I was feeling.

I was brought up a Christian, and had always loved the church and Jesus, but often wondered how I could ever be like Jesus in 80 or 85 years. Then the idea of reincarnation became real for me. In my reading from Mr. Cayce, he mentioned several former incarnations that seemed to fit me perfectly. The idea of many lifetimes to work on relationships and other problems came as a huge relief to me. I didn't have to become like Jesus in just one lifetime. Pressure off!

It didn't just relieve the pressure, it also took away my fear of dying. I realized I had died many times. Why should I be afraid? I wanted to shout it from the housetops: You don't have to fear death! More Pressure Off.

Like every child, I had a lot of fear about the idea of heaven and hell. Mr. Cayce took the pressure off on that account, too. He said the same thing Jesus had said: we need to learn how to build heaven right here on Earth. Edgar Cayce also taught me this: heaven and hell are both states of consciousness. The more we try to live the "heaven on Earth" Jesus talked about, the more the transition from life to death will be like our concept of heaven. We are talking about the fruits of the spirit here: loving-kindness, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, and temperance-all given in Galatians 5:22-23. If we have tried to develop these fruits, we will take these beautiful states of consciousness with us, and our transition to the next realm will reflect them.

...little by little, line by line, here a little, there a little, do we gain that necessary for the development in and through the ever giving forces, necessary for the transition that must come to each body.

--Edgar Cayce reading 900-64

Edgar said a few nevers that I have tried to observe. He said never to put milk or cream in coffee; to drink soda pop; to eat fried foods. I'm sure there are others, but I have tried to follow these three since I was 23. That has probably helped my body to age well.

The mind, too, is a remarkable gift to us. It can be the instrument for choosing the ideals we want to live by. I give thanks for the many chances I have to gain the wisdom I need to make good, holy choices. I want to be able to see God in everyone in spite of what they say or do, to help bring the Kingdom of God closer. Holding on to that ideal is probably the hardest of all attempts to grow closer to God and one another.

The biggest and best secret of all is that we can do it with the help of God-whatever name we call Him.

Excerpt from June Bro's "The Art of Living" from the Jan-Mar 2016 issue of Venture Inward magazine available to A.R.E. members at Edgarcayce.org/members.