We cannot study Cayce’s teachings about the mind without seeing his most often quoted statement: “Mind is the Builder.” 

Here are just a few of the comments he made about mind being the builder: 

• “All building and replenishing of a physical body come from within and must be constructed by the mind of an entity; for mind is the builder; for each cell is the atomic force of the body is as a world of its own….” (93-1) 
• “Mind is the builder, whether in the material, the social, mental, or spiritual” (146-2)  

As you can see, Cayce wants us to be mindful of our mind’s needs and its key role in our growth. He wants us to understand that our thoughts attract reactions and build our consciousness and future. We like to think that our thoughts are our own private thoughts, but it’s not so. There is a Collective Consciousness from which all minds are expressed and given freedom. However, all the thoughts of individual minds are recorded in this Collective Consciousness! Edgar Cayce could read these thoughts. 

It is helpful for us to accept that our thoughts make impressions on the whole consciousness of humanity, for it helps us become more mindful of our thinking. I was 18 years old, I first read this teaching, and I was stunned! My thoughts are being recorded! My thoughts – me, little me – was impacting the Collective Consciousness! And most shocking of all, my thoughts are knowable! The mind of an 18-year-old teenager should not be recorded! Shortly after this, I came across a Cayce teaching stating that new thoughts overshadow old thoughts, and I was SAVED! I began to deliberately watch my thoughts as they arose. Those that were not good or of my baser nature in my estimation, I stopped and replaced with healthier thoughts. I still do this today, some sixty years later! 

Cayce often stated, “The spirit is the life, the mind is the builder, the physical is the result.” Let’s look at this closely. “The spirit is the life” means that the most true and essential aspect of all life is spirit. Cayce taught, “Your natural, normal condition is spirit.” Clearly, spirit, not physical matter is the true life, the eternal life. Now, since you and I are profoundly physical, we need to become aware of our spirit. Remember when Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night and asked him to give the mysteries? Jesus replied, “You must be born again.” Now, Nicodemus being a very physically minded guy, asked how he could get back into his mother’s womb. Jesus then explained that Nicodemus had already been born physically, he didn’t need to do that again. What Nicodemus, and all of us, need to do is conceive our spiritual self in the womb of our hearts and minds, gestate it, and then birth that portion of ourselves. This is the birth of the spirit; and spirit is the life, the true life. When this is done, we are no longer physical personalities who love spiritual concepts and practices, we are now spiritual beings temporarily incarnating physically. 

The next part of Cayce statement was, “The mind is the builder.” This indicates that the way to birthing our spirit is through higher thoughts and thinking patterns. As our minds think, so we become; thus, changing our thinking leads to spiritual conception. The result is that we are "pregnant" with our spirit living within us. As a woman gestates a new baby before birthing it, so we have a period of gestating our spiritual self within us. Then, when the baby is fully ready, we birth our spirit, and live as a spirit. What’s this like? How is it different from being a physical person? It is different in two ways: 

1. Vibrations. Our vibes are more alive, more stimulated, more creative and helpful. Cayce explained that people can feel the difference in us when we are spiritual. No words need be spoken; the vibes convey the spirit’s presence. Cayce actually explained how our endocrine glands begin to secrete new hormones that change our body temples! There is a profound physical change to a body that is now spiritualized. (Note: we are still living physically but with a spiritual vibe.)

2. Mental expansion. Our spiritual self naturally has a more expansive awareness. We begin to see patterns and causes in relationships and ourselves and the lives of humanity. It’s as if our intuition has awakened and is always flowing to our consciousness. We feel a new contentment, despite all that is going on. Jesus called it, "That peace that passes understanding." Higher mindedness becomes a normal condition. This expansive awareness results in less self-centeredness, because we begin to feel a part of a greater whole. We begin to perceive an amazing oneness behind animated life and its activities.

As you can see, mind is indeed the builder. 

Here are 3 little ways to change our minds: 

1. Mindfulness. The first step is becoming aware of our thoughts and thinking patterns. Awareness gives us the opportunity to change. What do we change to?

2. Setting an Ideal. Of all the teachings Cayce gave, setting an ideal to live by was paramount. Once we are aware, then we have to set our course to our new mind. Like a captain of a great seafaring sailing ship, with his map and destination in hand, we analyze the winds and the currents, determine what we have to work with, and how best to get there. If life is hard or we haven’t much to help us, then we have to tact against the winds of our relationships and life. Gaining by little victories: step by step, “here a little there a little,” on and on until the winds shift, and we can move more quickly and easily to our destination. Jesus taught, “In patience possess you your soul.” Cayce agrees, he actually taught that patience overcame time and space. It was an active force, not a passive one, as most of humanity looks at it. Patience is like running water on an immovable stone, eventually the stone is worn away, and the water is flowing freely.

3. Mantra, Affirmation, and Meditation. Cayce often recommended that we maintain our minds’ focus by using a mantra or an affirmation that keeps our minds from wandering or slipping into habit patterns. I used these in my twenties when I was trying so hard to change my thinking patterns, and they worked well. Cayce gave many affirmations that you can find atEdgarCayce.org. Of course, Cayce was big on the practice of meditation. Think of meditation as an intermission from daily life and self-consciousness. We simply pull back, go within, get still and centered, and abide their while we are renewed and re-centered. Budgeting time for this important intermission from daily life and self-consciousness helps us gestate the spirit within us.

Watch an invitation from John Van Auken and learn more about this year's Enlightenment Series.