“Too often, we are out of touch with the intention (the why) behind our everyday actions. Edgar Cayce recommended that we establish a spiritual ideal to liv
e by. By consciously establishing a spiritual ideal – like love, forgiveness, compassion, and service to others – we can accomplish a personal transformation with soul development as the result.
Then, the more important, the most important experience of this or any individual entity is to first know what is the ideal — spiritually.
— Edgar Cayce reading 357-13
– In part, ideals help to establish ‘why’ we do the things we do. Everyone is, in essence, working with an ideal in their lives. However, not everyone is consciously aware of it. Sometimes when life is at its most confusing, the lack of conscious ideal plays a role.
Since ideals shape our very lives, our experiences, and even who we are in the process of becoming, setting a conscious ideal is singularly important to our soul’s development and growth. And the ideals that guide our lives will change over time as we learn, apply, and grow from each ideal that we’ve established. Choosing our ideal and then working with it to shape our life is a process that can help to awaken our soul’s purpose and foster soul growth.
Since our natural state is Spirit, reawakening to full spiritual awareness is one of the purposes we all have in common. In fact, in one reading (3357-2), Cayce stated that ‘Soul development should take precedence over all things.’ Cayce stated that soul development is not achieved through some great deed or act but is a gradual accomplishment that is attained ‘line upon line, precept upon precept.’
What appears to be most important is our application of the fruits of the Spirit in our interactions with others. In other words, acting with love, kindness, gentleness, and patience. According to Cayce, attunement and application are at the heart of spiritual growth. Attunement is the process of awakening to our spiritual nature and our true relationship with God.
The most frequently recommended tools for achieving this attunement are the regular practice of prayer and meditation. Cayce believed that prayer was talking to God, while meditation was listening to God. Both prayer and meditation are invaluable at reestablishing a conscious awareness of our spiritual source while inviting God’s will to work through us so that we may be a ‘channel of blessings’ to others.
Then, just being kind, just being patient, just showing love for thy fellow man; that is the manner in which an individual works at becoming aware of the consciousness or the Christ Spirit.
— Edgar Cayce Reading 272-9
We were with God in the beginning and, through choice and experience, we found ourselves cut off from a complete awareness of Spirit. In one respect, the fall of humankind was really our descent in consciousness from the realms of infinity to those of time and space. However, this was not necessarily a ‘bad’ thing or an erroneous choice. Just as a child learns through experience, by making choices, and even by making mistakes along the way, our own experiences will help our souls to mature, and that process will enable us to come into our full heritage and an awareness of our true spiritual nature.”
