Q) How can I find love and practice gratitude? (from S.T.)

A) Thank you for your question. Your issue is a common one that I see in my practice. Let’s first take a look to see what Mr. Cayce had to say on the topic:

(Q) Why have the last five years of my life been so entirely devoid of all contact with men?
(A) As a testing period to that which has been and is the basic building of thy purposes in the earth. (369-16)
 

So what might Cayce mean by this? A testing period is clear in that it’s a period of being denied something we want. What do we do while we are waiting? Do we try and numb the pain or seek a closer contact with our Source? So do we use this period of denial of what we are seeking as an opportunity to attune and turn within? That seems to be what Cayce is alluding to; that we use a period like this to connect with “that which has been and is the basic building of thy purposes on the earth.”

What are our basic purposes on the earth? Well, it’s different for each of us, but it does require that tuning into the still small voice within to find out. Meditation, prayer, and a spiritual support group like A Search for God Study Group would be helpful.

Now from my perspective as a psychotherapist, I’d wonder what happened to you in your relationships and what might be continuing on from those? Do you feel there are any lingering wounds? Relationships follow patterns. Did you feel there was a pattern that just got worse and worse?  This would be useful to explore in psychotherapy.

The other common theme in the Cayce work is that like attracts like. So when it comes to relationships, we need to be like that which we want to attract. I oftentimes ask my clients this question, much to their chagrin, “Would you date you?” Basically, are you the kind of person you’d want to spend time with? They oftentimes say, “No, I wouldn’t want to date me! I’m trying to get away from me!” That’s an honest answer but highlights the problem. We need to become the person we’d like to spend time with! Then the Universal Law of like attracting like will serve us. It helps to make a list of qualities we are seeking in a partner and then ask ourselves which do we have and then work on the ones we are bit light on. The converse of the law being that if we date too soon after a break up, we will attract broken people, like us. In the words of the incomparable sage, Cher, “if you don’t like your own company, don’t expect anyone else to!” Is that not just perfectly put? Thanks, Cher!

And I’ll end with the wisdom of Ann Landers, after whom this column was inspired by: “Love is friendship caught fire!”

Sometimes we want all the heat too soon. Take time to establish a warm friendship and see if the sparks of that fondness take you to the next level.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck on your journey!

How to Ask Edgar

Though Edgar Cayce died in 1945, he left us a legacy of 14,306 readings covering an astonishing 10,000 topics in about 24 million words! Send your question through our Ask Edgar Submission Form, and a staff person or volunteer will mine the readings database for an answer. Though we can't promise that all questions will be answered, you can check our Ask Edgar blog category for a response to yours or similar questions.