activities rely upon a measure of intuition, and the Cayce material on working with intuition and intuitive guidance apply here as well. An aspect of intuition that is very important in communing with nature is the imagination. Traditional psychologists know that being in nature excites the imagination, especially of children. What psychology is only recently including in its study, however, is something that is implicit in the Cayce material concerning the imagination—it can serve as a channel of perception of those dynamics in nature that are invisible to the eye: the “unseen,” the “creative,” and the “imaginative” forces Cayce describes as being the behind-the-scenes shaper of what manifests physically—the stuff that we can see with our eyes.
When communing with nature from the heart, feeling the oneness with all life, people are discovering that they become aware of dynamic activity around them. Some, like Edgar Cayce as a child, perceive the “elementals” that are the spirits of plants. Others may perceive the energy of the creative forces pulsing through and around the trees. One may go on “journeys” with animals. When such a special moment of communion happens spontaneously, amazing us with the seemingly magical appearance of things normally unseen, it is easy to focus on this special phenomenon. In the idealism of the Cayce readings, however, it would be a waste to merely marvel at our perceptions. It is more important to realize that these perceptions arise from our essential unity with nature. Whether these magical perceptions arise spontaneously or come from a dedication to developing the art of deep attunement, Cayce would render them of little use spiritually unless these moments inspire in us a renewed respect for nature. He would echo the prayers of native peoples who affirm that nature is like a mother to us and that we need to serve her with gratitude and respect for all that she provides.
Communing with nature for no other reason than to share the love of the Creator is perhaps the best reason of all.
6
Working with Ideals:
Your Creative Spiritual Partner
THE CAYCE MATERIAL IS A STRONG PROPONENT OF THREE TOOLS FOR personal spiritual growth and transformation: ideals, attunement, and application. Of these three, ideals are the most imperative; in fact, Cayce once told a 40-year-old clerk that the “most important” thing that any of us could undertake was to know (and work with) our spiritual ideal. This individual had come to Cayce seeking advice on her health, her work, her home life, and her general welfare. Cayce’s response was that if she would focus first on her ideal, many of these questions would be answered in the process. Since the readings indicate that ideals are a central component of everything we do—from making everyday decisions to our personal spiritual growth—it’s important for us to understand exactly what ideals are and how we might work with them in our daily life.
One illustrative example can be seen in the story of Rosalind, who was faced with a personal dilemma. She had been out shopping one day when she saw her best friend, Joanne, kissing a man (who was not her husband) in what appeared to be a romantic embrace. Joanne did not see her, so Rosalind continued on her way, but she could not get the image out of her mind. Although Rosalind was aware that Joanne was a bit unhappy in her marriage, she had not thought that things had gone this far. Instead, she felt a bit guilty for having seen Joanne and suddenly knowing her secret. But why did she feel guilty? Rosalind herself had done nothing wrong.
Rosalind realized that she was assuming the worst of Joanne—judging her without knowing the facts. Was she angry at Joanne? Perhaps she should just let Joanne know that her secret was witnessed, and then perhaps Joanne would explain everything. Would Joanne want to know that her secret had been witnessed? How could Rosalind be the best friend possible to Joanne in this situation? She wanted to be loving. Would it be the loving thing to let Joanne know her friend had been seen her kissing this guy? But if Rosalind mentioned the incident, what would be her real intention in informing Joanne of such? Would she just be trying to force Joanne into sharing something she had not previously chosen to share? What was the loving thing to do in this situation?
Rosalind had to reach down into her deepest values and intentions in order to resolve the troubling situation. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that if she were in Joanne’s place, she would want her friend to be more understanding and to have more compassion. In the end, Rosalind chose to remain silent and focus on being more compassionate, rather than choosing the “tough love” approach she had contemplated. Therefore, Rosalind meditated on the feeling of compassion. She found herself being more at peace with herself. She came to realize that having loving compassion for her friend was a much higher ideal than trying to discover what was going on in the situation. In her mind, she surrounded Joanne with love. As she did so, she found that she had feelings of acceptance, understanding, and empathy for Joanne, even though Rosalind didn’t know the actual facts of the situation. That was okay by her. She found the path of peace out of her dilemma, and kept her friend quietly embraced in the back of her mind.
About a week later, Joanne contacted Rosalind and asked her to lunch. After the meal and catching up on each other’s news, Joanne indicated that she had something special to tell Rosalind, introducing it by saying, “I just knew, Rosalind, that I could share this with you, and you wouldn’t judge me, but would help me see my situation more clearly.” As Joanne spoke and told the story of her new relationship, Rosalind realized she had made the right decision and really was Joanne’s best friend.
All of us have faced dilemmas where there was an upside and a downside to whichever choice was made. No wonder making these types of decisions can be one of our most disliked and challenging things to do. We are free to make choices, but whatever we choose will have consequences. The choice of any action is followed by a reaction. Our freedom to choose, our ability to make choices, and our inability to avoid our choices having consequences are all part of our co-creative relationship with the life force, or God. The best course of action available to us is to make good choices, but what makes our choices good?
In order to make choices, we need to know our values. Often we need to know our highest or ultimate value, what Edgar Cayce would refer to as our “ideal.” It’s for good reason that he reminds us that becoming aware of our operative values and then consciously choosing our ideal among them is the most important spiritual act we make in our lifetime. On one occasion, Cayce explained to a man that the reason he had so many problems and so much confusion in his own life was because he had never really established a conscious ideal. He often felt like he was in a state of confusion simply because the ideal he had established (unconsciously, to be sure) was that of a “wanderer.” He was encouraged to make a conscious choice and to begin to work with it, because whatever an individual dwells upon, they become.
How do you become aware of your highest values and, ultimately, the spiritual ideals that can best become a part of your life’s motivation? One way is to begin to imagine the scenario of an ideal day, and then examine that day for the values that it contains. For example, Richard was a self-employed handyman, a jack of all trades, an artist. He was relatively happy, unless he began to compare his modest circumstances to others he knew with bigger homes, newer cars, and exciting vacations. He felt guilty that he hadn’t used his talents enough to create as prosperous a life as others. When he was asked to imagine his ideal day, he responded as follows:
“Every morning when I wake up, it feels like Saturday. I have a creative project that I love working on. Sometime during the day, I help somebody with something. At night, I enjoy myself with friends.” Examining the values underlying this scenario, Richard realized that freedom of expression was paramount, for the feeling he associated with Saturday mornings was “freedom.” There was also the happiness of being engaged in creative pursuits and the freedom to do so. There was the desire to be helpful to others as he was needed. There was the valuing of close relationships and the freedom to be himself among friends. When Richard realized that he actually valued freedom of expression more than the freedom to buy whatever he wanted, he became more
