back through the veil. That is, unless we learn to. Then the veil becomes much more transparent, and we become more sensitive to subtle shifts in states of consciousness.
The Soul Mind is the subconscious, but with a much greater expanse than we normally give to the subconscious.
In Cayce’s discourses this aspect of our being is tightly integrated with our outer mind (the conscious mind) and our body. One of the common communication channels between these two parts is dreaming.
We have the body, the enquiring mind, [Ms. 288], with dreams as come to the body from time to time. These, as we see, are applicable to the body, in the study of forces as are manifested in the physical world, and are correlations of mental mind, body-mind, soul, and the subconscious forces, or mind of the soul.
EC 288–14
These dreams as come to these individuals are lessons to be applied in their daily lives and are the correlating of the developments of the mind, the body, the soul forces of same, acted upon by the soul forces of subconscious mind in inductive forces and emblematically given to the mind as instructions, see?
EC 294–36
Inner life goes on in a manner reflective of how it does in the physical, material plane. Let’s consider an example of love living beyond the physical in this following communication between two souls who knew each other while incarnate and are continuing to commune after one has passed on from the physical world. They were mother and daughter. The mother’s nickname for the daughter was “Sister.” It begins with a simple dream interpretation requested by the daughter, who had dreamt about her mother, who had died. After the reading’s initial comments, it quickly becomes a direct communication with the mother, who now lives in another plane, using Cayce’s attunement as a medium for this conversation.
MHB: You will have before you the body and enquiring mind of [Ms. 243], present in this room, and the dream this body had of recent date, in which her mother, [Mrs. 3776], came to her and put her arms around her, and told her that she loved her. The body [Ms. 243] asked her if she knew how much she had always loved her, and the mother replied, “Yes, you’ve proven it always.”
EC: Yes, we have the body and the enquiring mind of this body, [Ms. 243], present in this room. “The dreams, as we see, come to individuals through the subjugation of the conscious mind, and the subconscious being of the soul—when loosed—is able to communicate with the subconscious minds of those whether in the material or the cosmic plane. In this as is seen the body-mind takes that concept of the subconscious that is closest to the soul forces of the body, and the mother in the living being as it is, then, gives that assurance to the body through this means of its full life existence:
“Sister—Sister—as is seen by you, Mother sees, Mother knows, Mother feels those same feelings of that love which is in the earth that makes of the heavenly home. And while I am in the spirit planes I am yet present in the minds and hearts of those who express to me the love as builded in the being—the love the Master shows to all when He gave that He would prepare the home for those who would come after Him.
“Love those about you in the way that Mother gave, and be that as Mother would have you be—for Mother does not leave you, Sister—and Mother knows! For the life is the whole life, even as the Master gave that He was the life and the light of the world, in that same concept as shown in that felt as Mother gathers Sister in her arms—and Mother knows! Mother Knows!”
Q: The mother guides, guards, as the living angel, though unseen to sensuous eyes?
A: In this there is seen that as has oft been given, that through the subjugation of physical forces the subconscious—which is the mind of the soul—communicates those same feelings, those same expressions, which are that which really builds in the material plane—for as is experienced by this body-conscious mind, [Ms. 243], there is seen the love that is expressed through the mother love. Not as that which is passed, or gone, or not present, or not among the living! For GOD is God of the living, the Savior is the Savior of the living. Let him that is dead bury the dead. Let him that is alive be alive to that which may be gained by those closer manifestations of the guards that keep those who seek to know His way.
EC 243–5
Soul life and consciousness are not far from physical life, and relationships extend beyond the separation that occurs when a body dies. This requires that we awaken to our Soul Mind, develop an awareness of the veil that separates us, and learn how to transform the veil’s opacity to transparency. As we do this, we become aware of our next higher Self! This self is beyond the personality that we know in the projected life in physicality.
Soul Being (Neshamah)
Our Soul Being—Neshamah (from nasham, meaning “to breathe”)—is our soul self, the ghost self of our whole being. It is the bridge between the physical incarnation and the heavenly tiers of our being. It is both in the body and beyond it. This is the portion of our being that is striving to save the Living Being from the wheel of desire and karma, to free it from its servitude to self-seeking entanglements. Edgar Cayce called this our individuality, in contrast to our outer self’s personality. It is our higher nature, in contrast to our human or animalistic nature. He referred to the Soul Being as our “better self.” (EC 1662–2 and many others)
This is the breath of the glassblower.
These first three divisions are often considered to be the human being. As such, it is developing, changing, and ever moving toward earthliness or toward heavenliness, often somewhere in between. The body is its temple and is either filled with the fires of self-seeking and gratification or the incense of love, kindness, and helpfulness toward others, and a sense of the godly connection and destiny. In many cases, there is a battle waging between these two opposing interests. Living Being (Nefesh) is often pulling in one direction and Soul Being (Neshamah) in the other. The Soul Mind (Ruach) is analyzing and correlating the activities and thoughts, giving its conscientious insights to help minimize the struggle—leading the two toward a cooperative effort to make the most of the immediate incarnation.
Cayce illustrates and explains this, as well:
The entity finds self a body, a mind, a soul; in a three-dimensional world. In the physical or material we see, the more often, the manifestations of the mental and the material successes, failures, or confusions in the experience of individuals. Life—as manifested in this three-dimensional plane—is a combination not only of the present experiences, the present problems, the present urges (as has been indicated for the entity), but of all the experiences; and the awareness of same is only manifested through that phase or portion of the mental self as it seeks to know its source of activity—or the spiritual or soul self.
The spiritual or soul self is the eternal. Hence the mental is both of material and of spiritual, or divine origin.
Hence, the individual who aided man in setting forth laws, rules or regulations—or who is known as the lawgiver [Moses]—gave expression to that which, if it is wholly understood in the consciousness of an individual, puts before him all the problems and yet the answers to same, day by day.
Then, as he gave, it is not who will descend from heaven to bring you a message, or who will come from over the seas or from without to make you aware; but lo, the whole answer is within thy own consciousness. For, as ye become aware of this, in thy relationships, there is the realization within self of that spiritual awareness which may enable self to do that which is ever the constructive exercising of the will in materiality; for: “Today there is set before thee good and evil, life and death;
