Edgar Cayce Readings, 4071-1

Time and Place: Set bet. 10:30 to 11:30 A. M. Taken 11:20 to 11:40 A. M. Eastern War Time. ..., Arizona.

TEXT

GC: You will give the relations of this entity and the universe, and the universal forces; giving the conditions which are as personalities, latent and exhibited in the present life; also the former appearances in the earth plane, giving time, place and the name, and that in each life which built or retarded the development for the entity; giving the abilities of the present entity, that to which it may attain, and how. You will answer the questions, as I ask them:
EC: Yes, we have the records here of that entity now known as or called [4071].
In giving the interpretations of the records as well as the urges latent and manifested in the personality of the entity, we find that there is much from which to choose. We would magnify the virtues and minimize the faults. At times the entity finds in its consciousness the abilities to interpret mysteries, dreams, visions, experiences that are of unusual and strange natures as associated with individuals. These the entity at times has found to be most helpful, but so oft has the entity found that such were unappreciated or that so little confidence has been given or gained in the minds of others that it has tended to cause a good deal of resentment. Thus the entity has resorted to compiling such that might be absorbed by some here and there. This is very well, but as we find, if there is a better analysis of self, and if there is the creating by its own activity confidence, and by its whole trust in the inner visions, the inner experiences of self, there may be added much not only to the manuscripts being prepared but a great deal more may be accomplished personally by the entity. Also there will be the ability to increase the possibilities of sufficient distribution of those being prepared as to become a real value or help in the conditions that the body in its own mental self would contribute to the welfare of its fellow man.
These should be analyzed and studied. This is not condemnation, it is rather exhortation; that the entity not abuse but not lose the real abilities. For if there is the abuse or the condemning of self or of others, because of that received or experienced by the entity in its analysis, either by intuition or by numbers or astrology, or the study of the ancient wisdom of every tongue, how may there come the help to others. For only as the individual entity brings help to another may there be added help, or that which may answer to that within the individual who would apply such suggestions in self's own experience, receiving self's individual reactions and experiences from same. Or to put it in other words, "My spirit beareth witness with thy spirit."
Thus it behooves the entity first in itself to learn the law of the Lord; not as interpreted by any of those of other lands. For "Think not who would descend from heaven to bring thee a message, or who would come from over the sea that ye might know and understand; for lo, the answer is within thine own self, thine own consciousness." These laws are eternal and not of man's making. For the law of the Lord is perfect and converts the soul, the purpose, making straight the pathway, making understandable the way and the truth and the light as from the beginning.
As to the appearances in the earth, not all of these would be indicated. The entity has passed by many of these, but these we would give as those that indicate something of the pattern, as well as the warning, as well as the recommendations due the entity. Know that the Lord is mindful of thee, and that it is God's way that ye be ever creative; not man's formula, not man's passion, not man's sacrifice even. For these, too, must be more often directed by the consciousness within and from the spirit that the individual entity entertains.
Greater, then, in grace and in knowledge and in understanding, if ye would apply even those tenets that ye, thyself, have gained.
For in the experience before this the entity was among the early settlers of the land near what is now Provincetown or Salem, when there were the questionings of those visions had by others, when there was revised and an interpreting of the laws within the individual entity.
Then in the name Sarah Wheeller the entity was oft disturbed by doubts and the persecutions brought. Yet the entity knew within self that it was honest in itself, and tended to condemn others.
This is part of thine own experience. Condemn not if ye would not be condemned. For with what measure ye mete, it is measured to thee again.
Before that the entity was in the earth during the period of the Master's teachings, during those periods when there were the first proclamations, the first sermons on teachings of the Apostles. The entity became acquainted with such, as an outsider, as one of the peoples of Parthenia who came into the consciousness of those things that had taken place. They aroused an interest. They brought study, they brought the abilities which the entity finds latent in self to interpret symbols, to interpret figures, to interpret the mysteries of other lands.
Yet these in their application are not to supplant His teachings, any more than in those early periods. For who is the way, the truth and the light? They who climb up some other way are those who belittle themselves, who make the paths crooked rather than straight.
Then in the name Araymth, the entity gained, the entity lost, the entity gained; gained as it applied the universal truths, lost when these were applied for material gains to self and associates; gained when there was the consciousness that the law of the Lord as manifested in the man called Jesus gives the perfect way.
Before that the entity was in the Holy Land among those who entered with the sons of Naphtali, when there were the interpretations of the varied experiences of individuals.
The entity came in closer contact with the teachers of the law that brought some disputations.
The name then was Ellenn.
As to the abilities of the entity in the present, that to which it may attain and how:
Study self, study self's relationships to the Creative Forces and as to how well the entity applies in its own life that it would teach others to do. Be ye a doer of the word, then, not a hearer or an instructor only. For that thou hast attempted is well, provided it is in accord with the universal consciousness that is in the truth and the way which was manifested in Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus who became the Christ.
Ready for questions.
(Q) Please explain my conviction that I must pass on my story, "An Untraveled Road," in order to turn popular thought to the conception of life presented in The Ancient Wisdom?
(A) Read what has just been given.
(Q) When would be the best time for my book, "An Untraveled Road," to be published, to be most effective?
(A) As indicated there must be much application in self and then a reviewing of that which has been prepared in manuscript. When corrected we find that this would be published in England, and must come after the war.
(Q) Does my deep interest in the spiritual and particularly in The Ancient Wisdom have its roots in another life or lives?
(A) Read what has just been given. It has, but don't be overcome by self-consciousness or become condemning because others reject.
We are through with this reading.
Copy to Self
Copy to Ass'n file
Copy under case number for indexing

BACKGROUND

9/18/43 [4071]'s ltr. to EC:
Mr. Edgar Cayce, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Dear Mr. Cayce,
It has recently been my very great pleasure and privilege to read "There Is A River", and as a result of the interest it called forth in your work I am writing to ask if you would be willing to give me a reading that is out of your usual line, but which, after careful consideration, I believe I am justified in asking. I would not be were it what it may appear to be on the surface. That you may not misjudge my request I would like to give you a little of its background.
This week I am finishing the writing of a book entitled "An Untravelled Road". It is the outcome of an unusual handling of an exceedingly difficult problem which lasted nearly twenty years and which resulted in an amazing expansion of consciousness that yielded a remarkable conception of life and its purpose.
Ever since then I have been under an unswerving conviction that the experience was given me in trust to pass on. But that I have not found easy to do. For over ten years I have been working on it, first writing it from one angle and then from another in an effort to get it in such a simple form that even the most casual reader with no spiritual conception of life would get something from it, for I have believed, if I could get it in the right form, it might play a very real part in helping to bring in the spiritual awakening which so many of us are hoping and praying for and which must come if the world is not to repeat in a few years the tragic experience it is now going through.
When the war started I put it aside, realizing that it had no place in a time of such chaos, but this spring I found myself again under the same relentless urge which kept me at it so long in spite of the fact that often I felt it was a task altogether beyond me. The reviving of that urge at this time may have been due in part to several attacks of angina which have made me feel that my tenure of life is very uncertain, but another reason for its revival and for the force with which it came back is the conviction that, now that our thoughts are beginning to turn to the problems of world reconstruction, the time is ripe or ripening for its appearance.
But whatever the cause, it has come back in full force and this summer I have completed to my satisfaction the work I have long been striving to do. It is the first time in all these years that I have felt I have come anywhere near achieving my purpose, but in the light of the final result I understand the reason for the persistence of the urge. In saying this I would add that this summer I have been conscious of working under a power far greater than my own, and I have felt under the direction of a mind far greater than my own.
Under these circumstances I hope you will not feel it would be a misuse of your remarkable power to help me in the way I am going to suggest. I have always believed that when I had gotten it in the best shape I possibly could, and when the time was right for its appearance, I would contact just the right publisher, I mean one who would be sympathetic with its purpose and who would handle it in such a way that it would accomplish the most possible good. Now it so happened that your book was given me to read just at the time when I feel I have accomplished my objective in the writing of it, and when I feel that the time is ripe or ripening for its appearance, and this has led me to wonder whether in a reading you might be able to get any suggestion for me in regard to a publisher.
I realize this would be experimental on your part and might lead to nothing which I would understand of course, and I will understand also if you do not care to undertake it, but if you feel that you could, I should be very happy and very grateful whatever the outcome.
And now to the mundane. In case you undertake it, would you be willing to tell me what is the usual remuneration for a reading? I know you do not like to do this, but it would help me since I'm afraid, as things are at present, I will have to content myself with doing the customary thing, much as I would like not to be held down to that.
Whether or not you care to undertake this, may I express my sincerest wishes for your continued success in the fine work you are doing.
Very sincerely, (Mrs.) [4071]
September 18, 1943 1143 East Lexington Drive, Glendale, (6) Calif.
P.S. If you could give me any suggestions as to the angina I would be glad, but that is of secondary importance compared to getting the book into the hands of the right publisher.
10/09/43 [4071]'s ltr. to EC:
Mr. Edgar Cayce, Virginia Beach, Virginia Dear Mr. Cayce,
In response to your letter of Sept. 27th and the pamphlets which you so kindly sent me, I am enclosing an application for associate membership in the association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. together with a post office order for twenty-one dollars and thirty cents (twenty dollars for the membership fee and one dollar and thirty cents for the pamphlets listed below).
It is a satisfaction to me to become an associate member of this organization for I feel you are doing an invaluable piece of work for the future as well as for the present. I hope it may be my good fortune sometime in the future to attend one of your annual meetings at Virginia Beach, but in the meantime I am glad to keep informed of your work through your monthly bulletin.
From one of the pamphlets you sent, I see that a request I made in my letter of Sept. 18th is impossible of fulfillment, and so I withdraw my request for suggestions as to the physical condition. That was entirely incidental to the other request, and comparatively unimportant - so please forget all about it.
As I wrote in my earlier letter, the thing I am seeking is light on the way to handle the publication of the book I have just completed entitled "An Untravelled Road". What I want above everything else is to get it in the hands of a publisher who will see its purpose and handle it in a way to make it accomplish the maximum good.
The conception of life it puts forth (and by the way it is extremely like the one you are putting forth) came as the result of twenty years of extraordinary experience and the book itself is the result of more than ten years of laborious effort - an effort I could never in the world have made except for a profound and unwavering conviction that the purpose for which I came into this life was to do it. I may be mistaken, of course, but I cannot help believing it has a very real mission in this life.
2/07/44 She wrote asking us to make the decision as to whether she should have the Life Reading or the Mental & Spiritual, considering that her main desire was to have guidance re. finding a publisher for her book.
3/04/44 GD's ltr. to [4071]:
..., Arizona
Dear Mrs. [4071] Due to Mr. Cayce's illness, I am at this late date, attempting to answer your letter of February 7th.
I feel that a Life Reading will better answer your need than the Mental and Spiritual. If you are familiar with our literature regarding Life Readings then you will know how to form your questions and just what a Life Reading generally includes without questions.
Just in case you have not read the Life Reading pamphlet, we are sending it, under separate cover. This will give you some idea of what a Life Reading is, although I suppose you have read the Book, "There is a River", which gives quite a bit of information concerning the philosophy that has come through the Life Readings.
As you know it is necessary that we receive your questions about a week before the date appointed for your reading, with the verification of the time appointed for your reading.
Sincerely, Gladys Davis, Secretary to Mr. Cayce
3/22/44 QUESTIONS submitted by [4071]:
To be asked during the Life Reading of [4071] who will be at the home of a friend ..., ARIZONA FROM 10:30 TO 11:30 EASTERN WAR TIME APRIL 6, 1944.
Unusual circumstances in the life of [4071] demanded an extraordinary feat in sublimation which in its turn led to contact with the teachings of The Ancient Wisdom and to the confirmation of some of them. Under a profound conviction that the rare experience which came to her was of universal significance and was given her in trust to pass on, she has put the story of it in a book entitled "An Untravelled Road". The task of writing this book she found exceedingly difficult, and many times would have given it up as being altogether beyond her, but she was not able to throw off the conviction that her mission in life was to pass on the story of this twentieth century experience which - all unexpectedly to the participants in it - led to the gates of The Ancient Wisdom.
Question 1. What is the explanation of the depth and tenacity of her conviction that she must pass on her story in order to turn popular thought to the conception of life presented in the The Ancient Wisdom, in order to contribute, as it were, to a Renaissance of those age-old and ageless teachings and thus to help bring in the spiritual awakening which must come if the world is not to repeat in a few years the tragedy it is now experiencing?
Question 2. Does her deep interest in the spiritual and particularly in The Ancient Wisdom have its roots in another life or lives?
Question 3. Does her profound concern for the welfare of humanity have its roots in another life or lives?
Question 4. Did the unusual experience of which she has written have its roots in another life or lives?
She believes that after many years of work upon it she has succeeded in putting her story in a form so simple that even the most casual reader will grasp its significance and in a form so logical that the mentally discriminating will be able to accept it as it moves step by step to its surprising goal. If her conviction was a true one and if she is correct in thinking she has completed her task, it is essential that the book appear AT THE RIGHT TIME AND THAT IT BE PUBLISHED BY A PUBLISHER WHO WILL HANDLE IT IN A WAY TO INSURE ITS ACCOMPLISHING THE MOST POSSIBLE GOOD.
Question 5. When should it appear to be the most effective?
Question 6. Can any suggestion be given as to a publisher or publishers to whom to present it?
Question 7. Can any suggestion be given as to how to approach the publisher?
She would be glad to have Mr. Cayce ask any other questions that might serve to throw light on this particular phase of her life. Or on any phase of her life. So she leaves any further questions to those who are conducting the reading.

REPORTS

10/20/45 [4071] requested a copy of the booklet, "Auras" ($ .25), using the Edgar Cayce Publishing Co., Inc. ORDER BLANK. [See Source File Key #4071 for entire ORDER BLANK re 4071-1.]