YES, the Edgar Cayce readings provide straightforward encouragement that each of us is potentially our best psychic and that everyone can access personal guidance at any time. In fact, Cayce provided a wealth of information regarding how the subconscious can be unlocked safely through such things as meditation, working with dreams, undertaking personal spiritual growth, developing empathy, learning how to recognize psychic hunches, and so forth. However, the readings also provide many cautionary tales of dangerous doorways to the unconscious, a number of which are detailed in Hugh Lynn Cayce’s book, Venturing Inward.
Having had the wonderful opportunity to recently edit the 50th anniversary re-release of Hugh Lynn Cayce’s classic, I was reminded of the true dangers associated with such things as automatic writing and Ouija boards and even the “new twist” on this old danger that is being called the “Charlie-Charlie challenge.” Literally tens of millions of people have already called attention to this game by using the hashtag #CharlieCharlieChallenge. Drawing upon the same premise as automatic writing and the Ouija board, players essentially balance pencils over the words “yes” and “no” on a piece of paper and ask questions. Reportedly, the questions are answered by a demon named “Charlie” who moves the pencils to the appropriate response.
Before running off and trying the game, it might be helpful to know that Hugh Lynn Cayce worked with countless individuals over the years who had inadvertently opened themselves up to “possession” by playing what they thought were “harmless” games. The challenge is that once a discarnate entity (a dead person who doesn’t want to be dead) finds a receptive “ear,” the deceased spirit is not too keen to turn loose. Venturing Inward includes many tales of how this type of game led to connections with spirits that attempted to take over a person’s life, break up his or her marriage (sometimes even beginning a “sexual” relationship with the individual), causing the loss of jobs, etc. These kinds of games are not harmless at all—especially to those who are vulnerable due to such things as drugs or alcohol, injuries to the spine, the hormonal confusion of puberty, and ill health. And once the discarnate has a connection, it can be very hard to eliminate.
Whenever individuals came to Edgar Cayce and asked about how to deal with these types of experiences–experiences that may include such things as feeling the presence of a ghost, sensing that someone is invading your thoughts psychically, hearing voices, picking up on unwanted psychic information—his suggestions included a variety of approaches designed to bolster the body's natural defenses—physically, mentally and spiritually:
Consider seeing an osteopath or chiropractor to make certain there has not been a spine issue that is causing pressure on the nervous system. Oftentimes, individuals unknowingly open themselves up to other realms of "reality" because of a spinal injury or problem.
Eat a healthy well-balanced diet and get plenty of sleep. Do not skip meals or eat poorly. One of the easiest ways to continue having problems at the mental-emotional level is to abuse the physical systems of the body, and that includes a poor diet and sleep deprivation.
Give the mind plenty of uplifting (oftentimes spiritually-focused) material to read. Literature might include self-help books, uplifting poetry, the Torah, the New Testament, etc. Cayce often stated, “the mind is the builder” and what we focus upon becomes a part of us.
Work with prayer. Imagine surrounding yourself with a "white light of protection" whenever you feel troubled by an experience. You can also ask friends, family, a minister, or a Rabbi to pray with and for you.
Refuse to become fascinated by the experiences. Quite frequently individuals must get over their intrigue of the experience–in spite of their aversion to it–before healing can take place.
Find a sympathetic counselor or therapist with whom you can talk. This therapist should probably be familiar with Jungian psychology, the paranormal, or at least be open to the unknown.
YES, individuals can avail themselves of safe psychic experiences through a variety of means, but Ouija boards, automatic writing, and this new Charlie-Charlie challenge can be very dangerous and not at all constructive or useful. Instead, try writing out a question, read the question before going to bed, and then dream on it.
Alternately, you can play a safe psychic game recommended by Edgar Cayce. According to Cayce, if individuals truly want to have a psychic experience, they need to work with a friend for twenty days. At the same time each day, each individual is to sit quietly wherever he or she is and think about the other person. Each individual is to try to imagine the other person and feel what that other individual had been doing just prior to the agreed upon time for the daily exercise. This is to be repeated every day for twenty days. According to Cayce, at the end of twenty days, you will have gained firsthand experience with understanding a psychic connection.
Kevin J. Todeschi
is executive director and CEO of Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research & Enlightenment (A.R.E.) and Atlantic University (AU). He is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Edgar Cayce organizations. As both student and teacher of the Cayce material for 35 years, he has lectured on five continents in front of thousands of individuals. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than 25 books, including the best-selling Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records, Edgar Cayce on Auras and Colors (co-author), and his most recent book Contemporary Cayce, an overview of the Cayce material written in easy-to-understand language, which he co-authored with Henry Reed, PhD.