Edgar Cayce on the Interconnectedness of Humankind
Kevin J. Todeschi
The Edgar Cayce readings respond to the Old Testament question, "Am I my brother's keeper?" with a resounding YES! From the perspective of the Cayce information, we are ultimately responsible for one another. That responsibility prompted countless thousands to reach out to the Haiti disaster last year and continues as people the world over respond to the recent earthquake and tsunami tragedy in Japan and the thousands who have died, more who have been injured, and those who have not yet been found.
Given the Cayce information on service and the importance of reaching out to others whether they are "next door" or "on the other side of the world," perhaps it isn't surprising that so many people feel a need to do something in times like these. What may come as a surprise, however, is that the Cayce material links each of us to personal responsibility long before addressing the after-effects of a tragedy.
In 1935, a 29-year-old man asked Cayce about the possibility of cataclysmic earth changes. Rather than responding with an exact date or a possible scenario as to what might happen, the reading instead connected potential disaster with the actions, thoughts, and deeds of humankind. Cayce said, in part: "Tendencies in the hearts and souls of men are such that these [disasters/cataclysms] may be brought about. For … man – by his compliance with divine law – bring[s] order out of chaos … by his disregard … bring[s] chaos and destructive forces into his experience." (416-7)
On another occasion (reading 5751-1) Cayce made the astonishing observation that the phenomenon of "sunspots" was inextricably connected to instability and turmoil upon the planet earth itself. In fact, the readings state that whenever war, strife, and turmoil occurred in the affairs of humankind, sunspots would occur as a natural consequence. In other words, instability among people leads to instability upon the planet and throughout the universe!
When a 40-year-old woman asked for more information about herself and her relationship to the universe, the response came that for all individuals everything that was out of accord with spirit and divine laws somehow had an impact upon the heavens itself. In the language of the readings: "For, faults and failures, sin and sorrow, are the outgrowth of disobedience to the divine law, and influence the heavens in the experiences of individual souls!" (2408-1)
Is this science fiction? Or is it rather in accord with the laws of physics? After all, isn't Isaac Newton's third law of motion, "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"? What if we were collectively just a little bit responsible for the initial "action" behind all kinds of "natural" disasters involving earthquakes, horrendous storms, wildfires, mudslides, and everything else that makes people too often ask, "Why did God let that happen?"
What if we had the capacity to affect the world and the people around us in ways that we often overlook? After all, Cayce suggested that the ultimate goal for each and every one of us was to bring spirit into the earth. What if by not working with spirit we perpetrated a "sin of omission" – overlooking our responsibility – rather than a "sin of commission" – purposefully doing something wrong?
Rather than being overwhelmed by the magnitude of this interconnectivity, the readings suggest that we can become a leavening influence that ultimately impacts the whole. This was described to Thomas Sugrue, Cayce's biographer, as follows: "Not in mighty deeds of valor, not in the exaltation of thy knowledge or thy power; but in the gentleness of the things of the spirit: Love, kindness, longsuffering, patience …" (849-11)
On another occasion, when a 49-year-old accountant asked how he could be of the greatest service to humankind, Cayce recommended that he simply begin working with the daily practice of prayer and meditation. (270-33) Is this science fiction? Or is it rather in keeping with the universal law of Oneness, and the interconnectedness of all things?
Yes, we absolutely need to reach out to others in need – especially during times of human tragedy – but perhaps ultimately we need to understand that we are responsible for one another in ways that we have not yet dared to imagine.
