When tuned into the Universal Consciousness to give one of his psychic readings, Edgar Cayce was asked to give a discourse on the topic of reincarnation. Somewhat surprisingly, he began with the teaching that each soul (that’s you and me and all our acquaintances) were conceived as a result of an initial motivation, what Cayce called a “first cause.” Even more surprising was his teaching that the first cause for our existence was companionship with our Creator and all the beings of the creation! He explained that this is the deeper meaning behind the two greatest commandments in the Bible: love God and love one another. We find these in the Old and New Testaments: Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18, and Matthew 22:36-40. According to Cayce’s reading of the so-called “Book of Life” that abides in the Universal Consciousness of God’s mind, The Creator’s nature has all the qualities of what we call, love. The Creator’s love conceives and sustains life from a motivation of love. We find this teaching in the Epistle of John:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love .... If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12)

The Apostle John clearly wrote, “God is love.” And he added, as we live God’s “love is perfected in us.” So now the question is, does living include life beyond this present incarnate life? If it does, then will we be conscious of our life before and after this one? Another question is, does this life affect our life beyond this incarnation? The answer coming from Cayce’s reading is yes. The memories are in a deeper level of our consciousness than our daily, incarnate mind. He divides our awareness into three basic levels with an ultimate holistic awareness that has no boundaries. This ultimate level comes when we have merged our mind with God’s mind, thus enjoying universal awareness – as Cayce did when giving one of his readings. Presently, Cayce gives us these three active levels: 1. Self-conscious mind functioning in a physical reality; 2. Inner conscious mind where we have our wonderings, fantasies, sleep-dreams, and intuitions – sometimes this level can even be fully psychic; and, 3. A mental level of awareness that is beyond anything earthy or physical. It’s a level that is angelic in nature, as Cayce described: “Thyself that is the angel!” (1646-1)

This present life is affected by our previous lives and it affects our future lives. Cayce taught that our souls intentionally and purposefully incarnated now in hopes of more fully perfecting our love. Our love may blend with God, who is love, and we will experience the oneness that brings contentment and bliss.

Our souls were first conceived in the mind of the Universal Consciousness as lights within the Source of Light. We were among numerous lights that appeared in the vast womb of the Creator's mind. It was the first dawn, when the "morning stars sang together in the heavens” (Job 38:7). We found ourselves awake and filled with wonder. In this early morning light, our virgin consciousness would have been so like the omnipotent mind of our Creator that the we were as one. Within the original Oneness were countless individual points of consciousness with free will. Within them were the innate urges of their Creator's desire for companionship and creative expression, two celestially primal drives that would remain an influence within every soul.

Flush with life, our minds ablaze with wonder and imbued with the essence of their Creator, we fledgling children of God began to move, to explore, and look through the endless dimensions of the Cosmos. As children of God we peered into the many and varied mansions of our Heavenly Father’s and Mother’s house. Wonders upon wonders were to be found everywhere.

Some of us (certainly you and I) were attracted to the environs of our present solar system. When we arrived here, the Earth was still cooling, physical life was just beginning to stir in its waters and gases. Our first appearance was not an incarnation in the true meaning of that word, for there were no Earthly bodies to inhabit. In this dawn of Earth's existence, we was more like spirits in the breeze, a song in the wind. Our minds swept across the steaming waters foretelling the coming of humanity.

But Earth was not the only planetary realm that we visited, nor was the third dimension our primary level of consciousness. All the planets in this star system provided us with unique perspectives and opportunities, mentally, not physically. The entire universe with all its dimensions were ours to enjoy mentally, spiritually. Only in the third dimension did be express ourselves physically. By exploring we would grow in understanding and come to be a true companion to the Infinite One who conceived the universe.

We were not souls traveling alone. We traveled in soul groups. Grouped as “birds of a feather” or “schools of fish.” In this childhood of the Sons and Daughters of God, we were among countless souls exploring the universe. Of course, our group turned their attention to this little part of the universe, our present solar system, and the planet Earth.

It’s important to understand that our celestial nature possessed both male and female gender qualities, yin and yang in oneness. Our "form" could best be described as a consciousness which could in moments be very defined and unique, focusing in on the smallest places in the cosmos, and at other moments expand into a vast universal awareness, perceiving the entire cosmos!

This was our original condition in the heavens, long before we made a home in the Earth and began the cycle of incarnations. The goal now is to reawaken to our celestial nature in consciousness and vibration. According to Cayce’s teachings, this is done by seeking within. That seeking is done through intuiting who we really are, meditating in that depths of our inner being, and becoming more aware of our sleeping mind and its “dreams.” Cayce taught that dreams were our higher dimensional mind correlating outer physical life with inner soul life needs and purposes. Remember, Cayce taught that deeper soul-self intentionally incarnated for the purpose growing closer to our original purpose for being: loving companions with our Creator and the Creation (including those souls we share life with). Earth life has a way capturing our attention all the time! To break this spell, we have to budget time for inner seeking, shutting down outer life for brief periods while we re-experience inner dimensions of our being and the greater, eternal life.

This blog is part of our 2020 Enlightenment Series. Members can access all of the available material, which includes an online video and downloadable monthly lesson, in the Member-only section of our website at EdgarCayce.org/members. Not a member? Join now.