This blog is part of our 2021 Enlightenment Courses, an exclusive benefit for members of Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. Each month John Van Auken provides a lesson with a worksheet, a video, a blog, and in each issue of the member magazine, Venture Inward, he writes an article about this topic. For 2021, the topic of study and practice is Enhancing, Our Minds, Intuition, and Dreams. Members can access all of the available material in the Member-only section of our website at EdgarCayce.org/members.
MAPS OF THE MIND
Freud – Jung - Cayce
Each month I provide members with lessons from Edgar Cayce's teachings. This year the topic is Enhancing our Minds, Intuition, and Dreams. Lesson one focused on enhancing our mind, with details about Cayce's fundamental principle: "Mind is the Builder." The second lesson focused on enhancing our intuition, with details about his teaching: "All knowledge is as one knowledge. Hence may be attained from the universal force." The third lesson focused on enhancing our dream life, with his statement: “When the physical consciousness is at rest, the other-self communes with the SOUL of the body, see? Thus, correlating with that as the entity has accepted as its criterion or standard.” In the fourth lesson we focused on Cayce's practical, everyday ways to develop, experience, and grow stronger in our efforts to enhance our minds, intuition, and dream life.
I recommend that you read or reread these initial lessons for they contain Cayce's major and fundamental teachings on mind, intuition, and dreams.
All lessons are in the Member Section of our website: EdgarCayce.org/login
The fifth lesson explores the many Maps of the Mind developed by Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and our own Edgar Cayce, who channeled information from the Universal Consciousness. Highlights of this lesson are in this brief article.
Lets begin with Sigmund Freud's map.
Sigmund Freud's Map
Freud's map of consciousness, which is widely broadcast on the Internet, uses an iceberg as a symbol for levels of our mind.
Here's what his terms refer to:
- The “ID” is unconscious urges, animalistic instincts, pleasures;
- The “Ego” is the rational self, evaluator of healthy and unhealthy activity;
- The “SuperEgo” is our deep morality, our conscience, and the "watcher."
The Ego strives to build an alliance, a union or association formed for mutual benefit of the mind. It seeks cooperation. It is the wrestler between ID and SuperEgo.
You may be surprised to know that Edgar Cayce's readings actually mention the ID in reading 2072-16.
Now, let's look at Carl Jung's map.
Carl Gustav Jung
Jung's map of consciousness is quite complex.
Let's look at these:
- The ego is who we are 'consciously.' It is who we think we are, and it is the person we present to the world but much of who we really are can be hidden in our personal and collective unconscious.
- The personal unconscious doesn't need to be perceived as mysterious or supernatural (though it is hidden). The personal unconscious contains all the stuff that simply isn't conscious.
- The collective unconscious is part of the psyche that does not owe its existence to personal experience. While the personal unconscious is made up essentially of contents which have at one time been conscious, the contents of the collective unconscious have never been individually acquired but owe their existence exclusively to heredity.
- The concept of the archetype indicates the existence of definite forms in the psyche which seem to be present always and everywhere. In addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals.
Now let's look at Edgar Cayce's maps.
Edgar Cayce's Maps
Here are two of his maps of the mind, the more complex maps are in the Member Section.
These maps show Edgar Cayce's vision of how we are living in a finite, individual, and temporary reality, but there is also an infinite, universal, eternal reality.
In my video of the fifth lesson, I go over these maps and more. Much more detail can be found in the Member Section of EdgarCayce.org by going to "Member Login."
Not a member? Join now at: EdgarCayce.org/membership
Watch an invitation from John Van Auken and learn more about this year's Enlightenment Courses.