This Psychic Reading given by Edgar Cayce at the office of the Ass'n, Arctic Crescent, Virginia Beach, Va., this 8th day of January, 1942, in accordance with request made by the self through her husband, Mr. [333], Associate Member of the Ass'n for Research & Enlightenment, Inc.

Present: Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno.

TEXT

1. GC: You will have before you the entity [602], at home, ..., Md. You will give a mental and spiritual reading for this entity, considering the anxiety keenly felt over the safety and welfare of her son, Private [670], who is in the Quartermaster Corp of the U.S.A. in Ft. Sill, Okla. Please give advice, guidance and help to this confused mind, and answer the questions, as I ask them:
2. EC: Yes, we have the body, the enquiring mind, [602].
3. In giving a mental and spiritual reading, especially in relationship to those confusions and disturbances in the body and mind, - many varied phases of the mental and spiritual life, the mental and spiritual experience, must be taken into consideration.
4. To be sure, there is builded within the consciousness of the entity, [602], an aversion to strife, to war, and to all phases of military activity. The entity should consider, however, if this consciousness bears the same relationships to all other forms of activity that may more subtly destroy the soul, rather than the body.
5. Remember, there has been given, "Fear rather him who may destroy body and soul than he who may destroy the body alone."
6. In an hour of trial, when there are influences abroad that would change or mar, or take away that freedom which is the gift of the Creative Forces to man; that man might by his own innate desire be at-one with God, the Father, as was manifested in Jesus, the Christ; there should be the willingness to pattern the life, the emergencies, the exigencies as may arise, much in the way and manner as the Master indicated to each and every soul.
7. According to the pattern of the life, as He gave, one should ever be able to give the evidence of the hope and faith that lies within the individual.
8. One should ever be able and willing even to lay down the life for the principles that may live as He indicated; that of freedom not only from the fear of servitude, not only from the dictates as to the manner in which love, sacrifice, obedience may be administered to the faith and hope that lies within him, but that the whole earth may indeed be a better place for an individual, for those that are to come to reside in.
9. To be sure, taken as a personal application, these become in a manner necessarily as of self. But self, too, may needs be offered on the altar of sacrifice.
10. When He withheld not His own Son, how can ye ask Him to withhold thine? if it needs be that necessary that the world may know that He, the Father, sent the Son into the earth?
11. Live in thine own life that which is worthy of acceptance, of that ye ask of the Father; and He will not withhold any good thing from thee.
12. Are thy principles, thy activities in keeping with His purposes?
13. This ye may ask day by day:
14. LORD, SHOW THOU ME THE WAY. LET ME NOT IN MIND, IN PURPOSE, IN INTENT, DICTATE TO ANY: BUT THOU, O GOD, DIRECT THE WAYS, THE PURPOSES.
15. In that attitude ye may create about thy loved ones, thy friends, thy brethren, that sureness in Him that may bring about the NEEDS for that life, that experience of thy son in the vineyard of the Lord.
16. Know and realize that the earth is the Lord's, with all its turmoils and its strifes, with all its hates and jealousies, with all its political and economic disturbances. And His ways, the Lord's ways, are not past finding out. By living them in the little things day by day may that surety in self, that sureness in Him, be thine. For His promises have been and are sure. And, as His promise has been, "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God," believe also in the Christ, who gave "If ye love me ye will keep my commandments, and I and the Father will come and abide with thee day by day."
17. So live, then, so think, so act in thy conversation, in thy convocation with thy fellow man, that others may know, too, that the Lord walks with thee.
18. Then, so instill that hope, that encouragement in the mind and in the heart of thy son that he, too, may live, may look to the Lord for strength, for purpose, for sureness; and that in the peace which is to come there will be the needs for his activity among the children of men, that the way of the Lord may be sure in the earth.
19. If this attitude is kept, - if the Lord be with thee, WHO may be against thee!
20. Let that mind be in thee, then, as was in Christ Jesus, who boldly claimed His relationship to God, and so lived among His fellow man.
21. He, too, showed anger at the house of the Lord being turned into a den of those who took advantage of their fellow man. He, too, brought - through that expression, that hope - that knowledge to those that seek His face, that He knows the heartache of disappointment, He knows the heartaches of fear, - even as He prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me - not my will, O God, but Thine be done."
22. In that attitude, in that pronouncement may there come to thee that strength, that knowledge that ye CAN, ye may trust wholly in the Lord.
23. Ready for questions.
24. (Q) Could he be transferred to some post closer to his home?
    (A) This may be, but is it best? Rather than making the environ by doubts and fears, isn't it better to put it all into the hands and upon the heart of thy Elder Brother? yea, in the hands of thy God? seeking that He use thee and thy body, as manifest in thy son, to bring hope and love and peace to the children of men.
25. (Q) Is it best for him where he is?
    (A) As He gave, - consider well His answer, the Master, - "No man is in this or that position save by the grace of God." Then the opportunities are WHERE he is in the present, USING the knowledge of the material, the mental and spiritual life for the betterment of his fellow man where he is.
    That impress, that instill in self.
26. (Q) Is there any other branch of the service where he could serve, that would be less dangerous?
    (A) No portion of the service is dangerous if he is put in the hands of God, and the self and the son LIVE that as is known! Look upon that condition which disturbs not from the material angle but from the standpoint of a mental and a spiritual blessing to others in the opportunities offered.
27. (Q) Could he better serve in some defense work outside the military service?
    (A) If it had been, would not this have been the place? If what has been given is studied, these questions will be answered. Fill the place better WHERE YE ARE, and the Lord will open the way! Is this not in keeping with His life, His teachings? These are worthy of acceptation. These are worthy of being trusted, of being lived.
28. We are through for the present.

    Copy to Self
    Copy to Ass'n file
    Copy to Loose-leaf book in Ass'n Library on World Affairs, using case number instead of name.

BACKGROUND

1. She previously obtained six Physical Readings.
2. 1/04/42 Husband [333] wrote that she had decided to request a Mental-Spiritual reading in re her fear of her only son, Pvt. [670], getting into battle, being injured or perhaps killed.
3. 1/06/42 EC's ltr.: "Yes, these days bring real anxiety to every mother and father of the land. Only as we are able to realize consciously that we live and move and have our being in HIM, can we put it all into His hands and leave it there, doing our duty as we see it from day to day."
4. 1/07/42 She phoned questions.

REPORTS

1. 1/09/42 Husband [333]'s letter: "Thanks so much for helping Mrs. [602]. She as we all need all the help we can get."
2. 1/12/42 EC's letter to Mr. [333]:
   "Thanks for yours of the 9th with enclosure - am anxious to hear from you and Mrs. [602], while know necessarily you will have to give the matter a bit of thought, do hope you have found it an helpful experience, and not too hard a one to take, certainly know what it means, as have two of my own that are subject to military service, one of them already in service - he the one in - goes tomorrow for special training course in N.J. which means he will see actual combat service within the year any way not easy to take can assure you without something like you were given, then many or several who are like my own both in Army and Navy have already seen service - have heard from all of them Thanks to HIM and thus far all well and happy to do their bit - one of them was in Pearl Harbor the day of attack there.
   "Glad your work is going well - there is needed many in that service with the same attitude of a real service for Christ and His ways, as am sure you do all of your work.
   "Anxious too to know what you think of my open letter to the membership that came to me almost as a command to solicit the prayers of the membership [1/08/42 See under 2678-1 Background] - will be anxious to know what the information will give on such a subject, as the attitude of all regards the conditions - what sort of prayer there should be - gave some two years ago you know - those present at one of the Congress meetings [See 3976-25 on 6/23/40] could keep this country from being invaded if they tried with Prayer.
   "Let me hear from you often"
   Love to you both, Edgar Cayce
3. 1/16/42 See her son's [670]'s ltr. in re rdg. 602-7 under 670-11 Reports, also her ltr.
4. 1/25/42 Regarding son's ltr., and: "Each time I re-read the rdg. I find a new thought and know I shall get comfort too as I need it from day to day. I sincerely hope the rdg. will also prove helpful to others."
5. 6/16/42 Mrs. [264]'s ltr.: "Had a nice conversation (on the phone) with Mrs. [602]. Mr. [333] has a good job. [670] is in camp in Texas."
6. 2/27/43 Husband [333] at 10:00 a.m. suddenly died. She ret'd to Calif. with son [670] for a while, then back to D.C.
7. See subsequent notations under 670-11 Reports on her son, who went overseas but was not injured in battle.

Edgar Cayce Readings © 1971, 1993, 1994, 1995 by the Edgar Cayce Foundation