Reading 254-63

TEXT OF READING 254-63

Text

Date: 4/26/1932 Sex: M ReadingID: 1201

This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at his home in Pinewood on Lake Drive, Va. Beach, Va., this 26th day of April, 1932, in accordance with request made by those present.

[Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Mildred Davis and Hugh Lynn Cayce.]

Time of Reading 10:35 A. M. Eastern Standard Time.

1. GC: You will have before you the information which has been given regarding the psychic work of Edgar Cayce, present in this room. You will answer questions regarding the various phases of this work that will aid those in studying it.

2. EC: Yes, we have information that has been given respecting the psychic work. Ready for questions.

3. (Q) In organizing a small study group to begin a more thorough study of the psychic work of Edgar Cayce, advise us as to what approach should be made and what subjects should be taken up first. (A) As the subject is questioned by many, this - to be sure - is an illustration of one who never heard of psychic work, if that’s the way the desire is to begin.

First some review of individuals who have given time, study, or who have written as respecting various phases of psychic phenomena (such as Hudson), and especially as related to the character of that as manifested through the individual. Then the outline or the study of the developing of, or the various attitudes that have been assumed by individuals and public through the years, and the various phases of its development. The good, physically, mentally, spiritually, that may have been brought to the lives of individuals. [See [262] series, especially 262-17, Par. R2.]

4. (Q) How can the language used in readings be made clearer, more concise and more direct? (A) Be able to understand it better! [See 254-63, Par. R7.]

5. (Q) Tell us specifically what should be done by, and what the attitude of the following should be, to obtain the best possible reading. First, one seeking information: (A) Those who receive a prophet in the name of a prophet receive a prophet’s reward. Those that would seek God must believe He IS, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. That’s the attitude one should approach.

As to the attitude of the individual through which the questioning is, or the intercollator - passive. That of the individual through whom the information may come - active; the desire - SINCERE desire - to be of help. There are your three phases!

6. (Q) Of one requesting information for another. (A) That’s very good, but don’t often get very far.

7. (Q) Those present in the room. (A) Active.

8. (Q) Is there any special information, or type of information, which should be sought through this channel to present to the world, which is not being made possible with the present approach and types of readings sought? (A) As has oft been given, “Sufficient unto the day is the good or the evil thereof”. As there is the understanding of the various characters of information that may be had, or as may be sought, or - better still - when that which IS obtained is put into active forces, or activating in the world, then more may be given. Why feed pearls to swine, or why - He that knows to do good and doesn’t, to him it is sin! Why create more environ? If you’re not going to use that you have, better not try to get any more!

9. We are through for the present.

Copy to Cayce file ” ” Ass’n file ” ” Hugh Lynn Cayce

Reports

Reports & Follow-up

R1. 6/32 See A.R.E. Minutes approving contract between EC and A.R.E. (and each year thereafter until 6/40 approval for extending indefinitely).

R2. 7/2/32 A.R.E. Board Meeting was held. Hugh Lynn Cayce was appointed Business Manager. Motion was passed that henceforth no charge would be made for readings but that all fees would be applied on memberships. By-laws were ordered rewritten by the original committee who has worked on them.

R3. 10/21/32 EC’s letter [Arctic Crescent] to Mrs. [464] [Used also under 464-12 Reports with other correspondence between them through the years]:

EDGAR CAYCE - THE MAN - As Revealed by his Correspondence (Excerpted by GDT)

Dear Mrs. [464]:

As always, I was very glad to have yours of the 5th. I appreciate very much your telling me about your garden, and troubles with it.

For so many years I had little opportunity to plant anything in the ground, or have flowers around us, that since I have been at Virginia Beach all the time the family tell me that I spend every spare nickel I can get hold of, and a lot I shouldn’t, on trying to have things like that around me. In the first place I lived here [315-35th St.] I had quite an assortment on a very small lot, for though I only had about 140 x 50 feet, including the house and garage, I had fruit trees of every description almost - pear, plum, cherry, peach, apple, grapes, as well as a little garden, though I couldn’t make this very large, but I had a very nice asparagus bed, onions, beans and tomatoes, as well as a little bed here and there of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and - of course - an old-fashioned garden with roses, violets and the like.

The last year I have been moving around considerable and such things, you know, can’t just be pulled up and set down anywhere, and be expected to do anything; so practically the only thing I’ve saved out of all the beautiful assortment is my violets. They have been moved so often that I suppose when they see anyone coming with a hoe they wonder where they’re going next. They are very appreciative, and if given the opportunity they bloom forth with all their might and main, and raise those beautiful heads with all the fragrance that is theirs alone to give. They are blooming beautifully now, and will no doubt continue until next June, as they have done since I have had them.

The place where we are now living doesn’t just yet permit making much of a show for a garden, or trees, as we are very close to a little fresh water lake. Can you imagine looking out one window and seeing the lake, while looking out another and seeing the ocean? The drain in the back of the place is rather low at present. If I can find such a thing as “the root of all evil” that you speak of, and cover up some of the reeds and rushes around the edge of the lake, I might have a very pretty little place. I love flowers, and some of these times when you are pulling up some of those that have gotten away from you, and you feel that you could send them, put them in a little bundle and send them down to us - I’ll find a place for them, and assure you I’ll take good care of them.

I love all nature, for there seems to be - as it did when I was a child - the attempt to speak to me very often of my Maker. Life in all its essence must be from that Creative Energy we have called God. Plants, animals and everything, including human beings, show their appreciation of every effort man makes towards setting forth that love that must have been expressed when God brought them all into existence.

Just as kindly thoughts and loving hands will enable your hibiscus to bring forth those beautiful petals, so do contention, selfishness, greed and avarice, bring forth those weeds that allow them to choke out life. The earth didn’t bring forth the weeds and briars that were obnoxious until man erred, so they must be as much of man’s making; for he is a co-creator with God, as no doubt you are learning more and more by reading and studying Science.

Yes, no doubt we often fool ourselves and attribute things to ourselves that others looking on do not recognize as being just in accord with the actual conditions. Everything has been tamed, we remember, except man’s tongue. As someone has said, we speak so loud that our neighbors can’t hear what we say; or our actions speak louder than words.

For the last few days we have had some very stormy weather. It is rather our season for such, but today it is very beautiful outdoors. While the sun hasn’t entirely broken through the fog and mist, we can hear the birds singing and it is warm enough not to have a fire, even with the windows open. Shrubbery and trees in the forest and about the house are all taking on all the golden tints of autumn, and we are reminded that this is the time for nature - as represented in our flowers and shrubs - to prepare for rest, that men have called death; yet will bloom forth again in the spring, if given any sort of opportunity, to bring joy and gladness to those who love to see beauty in any and all of its angles in their lives.

I’m sorry you didn’t have as pleasant a visit as you had anticipated. All these [disappointments] are necessary in our experience, that we may more and more see the necessary things for becoming aware of what is good or bad. While we are in the material world we only know by comparisons. Man is prone to draw his comparisons consciously; hence we become more and more material-minded. While we recognize there are spiritual truths, the application to the material things of life must, to us, take on such concrete examples as to force us to be more and more material.

We still keep fairly busy with our work. There has been the formation of some study groups in various parts of the country, that are being fostered and supplied information from a local group [Norfolk Study Group #1] studying the information [readings] firsthand. I have been wondering if at any time or another you would like to see or know something about the spiritual application of the information that is seen or expressed in the lives of others, who have been closer in contact with the information than yourself. Don’t understand, now, that I’m trying to sell you anything, because you just said you didn’t have any of this world’s means, or the “root of all evil”. I think we often misquote that, though. It is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil, or the love of things that money brings, as it is the medium of exchange. The love of having that which will buy indulgences and pleasures for us is the thing that brings the evil most in our lives, don’t you think? These SFG] lessons are only 25 cents a month. I do not know whether they would be really of interest to you or not. I will be glad to iterate to you what they are like, and what they are all about, if you are interested. I do not want to induce anyone to study or to take up the thought of such things, especially when I know they have such a wonderful course as you are studying, and - as you say - that is entirely free.

Know that we are always glad to hear from you. I have heard recently over the radio some of the great political overflows that you have had in your city Cleveland, O.], and I enjoyed Mr. Hoover’s address very much. I do not know, though, of any particular promise he made to those poor fellows that are out of a job now. I do not know that any promises any of the rest could make would be fulfilled. We all seem to be unbalanced. Those that would have more, and those that would like to see the other fellow divide with them - but what are either willing to give in exchange? We look on money as being the medium of exchange, and forget that the laborer is worthy of his hire. When we say that, we only think of so many dollars and cents. The laborer would be worthy of the hire of bringing contentment with whatever position or condition one finds self, knowing that SOME way is being provided for them to be taken care of; for, as He said, the birds of the air make no preparation whatsoever; very seldom is it, though, that they go hungry for any great period of time. Are we not much more than sparrows? The trouble is, we want to tell God what He should do for us.

Drop us a line whenever you find the opportunity.

Sincerely, [signed] Edgar Cayce [EC:GD]

[From 464-12 Reports to Edgar Cayce readings Copyright 1971 Edgar Cayce Foundation]

R4. 11/24/32 See 257-96, Par. 24-A—26-A in re Cayce Club in N.Y., advising full time sec’ty.

R5. 12/15/32 David E. Kahn wrote EC re. arrangement for a permanent organization in N.Y. for the furtherance of the work. Those who attended were: Harry Goetz, Maurice Pereles, Wm. B. Cravis, H. J. Reilly, Ernest W. Zentgraf, Robert N. Ladd and David Levy. Other letters near that date give build up to this plan. See EC’s answer to DEK, 12/19/32, below.

R6. 12/19/32 EC’s letter to David E. Kahn:

Dear Dave:-

Many thanks indeed for yours of the 15th. I hardly know how to express my appreciation to you men for getting together, to consider ways and means of being of greater service to others, through cooperative service through the organization. Much personal feeling enters into this, I know. While I am very sure each should be just as selfless in all such undertakings as possible, I realize it is our personal feeling often that is the motivative force in such meetings. I believe the group can, and will, be of great service to many people. The amount that would be contributed, or the guarantee of this amount, will be very, very wonderful for the work. It is more the activity necessary to persuade others to become interested, than so much of a contribution from the individual. Of course, sometimes we find it not easy to get someone to the point of making application for a membership and reading regularly, but this - as you know - is that most required. It is a regular thing that we have to eat, pay our water and light bill, house rent, etc. Of course, we are not considering - and haven’t been for more than a year - hardly a penny outside of the absolute needs, and the girls who have been working have not asked for one penny.

I think [333] is very good in the capacity as secretary until you are able to go on as Pereles suggested; having one to act as secretary from some office or home where he would be the Association representative in New York, so that all might understand they could get in touch with him regarding any phase of the work. That will come later, no doubt.

Yes, we understand just how all the groups would work. This could be satisfactorily arranged with the Norfolk Group, and all could go right through this same office. Whatever remittances that came for lessons could be taken care of alright.

While I feel that I have the right to be more optimistic about the work and the future outlook for it, than I have ever had during my whole experience, the IMMEDIATE outlook is anything but bright. In the first place, I have been quite “under the weather” for the last two weeks, half the time not being able to even work; and I have really suffered. Yes, I know that much of it is from just worry and high nervous tension. I should be bigger than that, but I’m still very human and have too much of a material mind. There are several propositions that I don’t have to mention, where Pereles may be of great assistance; in fact, he has already made the offer to supply free of charge all necessary copy for advertising some of the properties, that I believe can be started with very little money - but that little money we have never had. Neither have we ever been able to get concerted action from any individual group on any of these. Whether it can be worked out with this group or not, I don’t know. This is not a good time to launch anything, yet it may be the proper time to commence with just a few dollars and get out many of the properties prescribed through the readings. The Ash, as you suggest, is one of them. That would cost a hundred dollars right off for the machine to make it, but could be done right here. I don’t know just what to say about the status with Mr. Bradley and his son. No doubt they have not made any money out of it, and we might be some time paying back the hundred dollars even, yet many dollars worth of this has been sold through this country Some systematic manner of presenting it would be very much worth while, and the sale of it would not have to depend upon the readings alone; but it could be sold from any place that might be used as a distributing point. There might be distributors in your own drug store connection; the same might be in Chicago, Nashville, Norfolk, and many other places. We might also do the same with the hemorrhoid ointment, which we are right now trying to get made up for someone in New York. As the readings have given for a number of years, there’s a fortune in the pyorrhea remedy.

Now, our immediate needs and circumstances: Since I was there (as I told you the day I left) we have not been able to pay one penny on our grocery bill; consequently, have not been able to buy anything except for cash, which naturally has made us run behind with our water and light bill. You assisted us in meeting last month’s payment on the house, and the contribution from the group there will enable us to meet it this month - if the contributions are to begin this month.

As I have said, it takes very little. If we can get three new readings each week, and ten or twelve of the group to supply one or two check readings a month, with the check readings that come in now and then we would have very little trouble in keeping our heads up until things can get better. Of course, I have faith that it is coming. The Good Lord has never failed us.

Dave, I have always hated to go into this sort of thing, for I know you have more than your share of burdens, but this is just the situation. I’m not asking you or the group to ASSUME the responsibilities at all; merely that you help me interest others, so the burden and the blessing will be equally distributed all along the line. We have a greater interest. Why should I be optimistic, you might say. There is greater interest being shown in Birmingham, in the Chicago area, in the West, in New York and locally. True enough, so far this has only reached what we may very well term “the Butler stage,” but it is something to give us hope, and something to look forward to. I feel it is going to work out, especially so if we can have the cooperation of the group you have started there. When a number of people think along the same line, pray and work the same way they pray, the Good Lord brings it to pass.

I am certainly hoping, Dave, that you’re getting your affairs shaped up, so as to be satisfactory, that you may have the opportunity to work in the way you are desirous of doing, and soon be able to look for orders, not having to be harassed and hindered by the other things. I suppose you heard the announcement over the radio, or no doubt realize it as much as anyone else, that there will be fourteen million new refrigerators sold in the next two or three years. I’m sure you’ll get your share of it in refrigeration.

I hope this finds you and all feeling the very best. Wishing you a very Happy and Joyous Christmas, and with love from all, I am

Ever the same, [EC:GD]

R7. 1/13/33 & 1/6/33 See 2733-2 and 2733-3 re Mrs. [2733]‘s fitness for taking charge of the N.Y. office of EC’s work.

R8. 12/45 A.R.E. Bulletin article by Gina Cerminara, reprinted April 1966 in The A.R.E. Journal [in re 254-63, Par. 4-A]:

THE LANGUAGE OF THE CAYCE READINGS

Anyone who has ever had a reading from Edgar Cayce knows that the language in which it was couched was very often very hard to understand. The involved phrases and odd expressions are apparent even in the brief paragraphs that appear in the Bulletin and the Weekly Reading Extracts; and a person coming upon these passages for the first time might well wonder if it is not a case of making the waters muddy so that they may appear to be deep.

Such a suspicion is not unnatural; but any person who has made a careful, impartial, and thorough study of the material knows that it is quite unfounded. Through what one critic called the “rambling, redundant, ambiguous, and evasive verbal meanderings” there ran a current of high and genuine import. Thousands of people whose physical health has been transformed and whose psychological difficulties resolved by the contents of the readings will testify to this fact.

But the question remains: Why WAS the language so odd? Why the psychic double-talk? Why not come out and say, “this is a spade” instead of pussy-footing around with, “this as we find, has to do with not the consciousness in spirituality (as commonly conceived) but rather the consciousness in materiality, as condensed in what is known as, or called, in the present, an implement of spading, or a spade.”

To this question we can not give a complete authentic answer because we are not in possession of all the facts in the case. But we can draw some reasonable deductions from what the readings themselves have offered as explanation, and we can make an intelligent appraisal of all the facts as we know them, in connection with the phenomenon of language in general.

In the first place it must be recognized that Mr. Cayce was NOT a medium in the usual sense of the word. It was his own superconscious mind - highly developed and trained in past incarnations in Egypt and Persia - which, when the ordinary consciousness was laid aside in sleep, became active and was able to attune itself with whatever source was necessary to secure the information desired.

The sources upon which the soul-entity of Mr. Cayce should draw were several. These - as explained by the readings themselves - can be summed up as follows:

(1) the subconscious mind of Edgar Cayce himself;

(2) the subconscious mind of other individuals in the earth plane. (When a life reading was given, the information came in part from the subconscious of the one on whom the reading was given; this was also true, to some extent, in the case of the physical readings):

(3) the subconscious minds of discarnate entities in the spirit plane;

(4) the soul minds of higher masters; (5) the Akashic records;

(6) The Universal cosmic consciousness.

Now it seems fairly clear that - whichever source he used to obtain his information, he was speaking from a point of view infinitely vaster and more intricate than the point of view of earth-plane man, and it is perhaps for this reason that a language difficulty arises. The choice of words is often labored; the phrases seem chosen from an odd and unusual angle - much like a photographic study taken from an angle and in a focus not ordinarily thought of.

Exactly what the language mechanism was has never been explained by the readings themselves, except for very fragmentary remarks to the effect that higher-dimensional realities can not easily be expressed in three-dimensional terms. This sounds reasonable. And piecing together what the readings themselves have said with the linguistic impressions one gathers on examining the readings, one arrives at some fairly satisfactory conclusions.

These impressions can be summarized as follows:

(1) the readings sound like a man speaking in a foreign language;

(2) they sound like a person from an ancient era trying to speak to a modern era;

(3) they sound like a highly educated person - or an academician - trying to make himself clear to the uneducated

• or the non-academic.

The first impression - that of a man trying to speak in a foreign language - is very strong. One feels, primarily, as if a highly cultivated and benevolent philosopher of a very remote country, say China or Afghanistan, were attempting to speak in English - and the English language is notoriously difficult for foreigners. Native turns of speech, awkward use of idiom, flagrant mistakes of syntax and grammar, oddly combined with occasional perfection of syntax and grammar are typical of the speech of foreigners

• who often use subjunctives and pronouns more accurately than we do ourselves, and consequently sound stilted in doing so.

Moreover the use of archaic expressions in the readings, such as “oft,” “babe,” “wilt,” etc., suggest that the speaker is a foreigner not only in space but also in time. These out-moded forms of English may hark back to Mr. Cayce’s early American incarnation; and characteristic ways of using certain words, such as “same” and “self” (as, for example, “the entity, remembering same, will make much progress,” and “First analyze self”) may be idiomatic in one of the ancient languages, either Egyptian or Persian, with which Mr. Cayce’s soul-entity was once familiar.

The stiltedness of many passages in the readings give rise to still a third impression - namely, that of an individual educated far above the level of the person to whom he is talking, and attempting to talk down to the level of the second person. This offers both psychological and linguistic difficulties. Ph.D.’s and professors, for example (to say nothing of the writers of income tax laws and the Congressional Record) are notorious for their use of style incomprehensible to the majority. In some cases this may be due to affectation, or to that kind of social ineptitude that arises from many years of academic seclusion. But generally speaking, there is among this type of persons a genuine habituation to certain language constructions, which they can depart from only with great effort. The breadth, subtility and complexity of their thought is something to which the uneducated are not accustomed. The necessity, then, to make themselves intelligible to people whose outlook is innocent of ideological or technical preoccupations, and whose speech is rough and ready for the simple purposes of making a living, is often a difficult one.

The difficulty is self-expression which was obviously experienced by the giver of information in the readings seems quite comparable. They read like the speech of a man who because of the habitual grandeur of his thoughts, is clumsy when trying to speak at any level other than his own. And, aware of his own clumsiness, he becomes repetitious in the anxious effort to become clear.

Finally, it must be remembered that the readings were given from a point of view of an enlarged consciousness - that is to say, the source of information was conversant with many dimensions, and needed to condense what he knew into 3-dimensional terms. This is a difficult thing for us to grasp, because we are all so completely imbedded in a 3-dimensional consciousness that we can not conceive of realities of 4, 5, 6, 7, and more dimensions. Yet both mathematicians and physicists, occultists and clairvoyants, assure us that higher dimensions DO exist; and the readings themselves, as before indicated, often make reference to the fact.

By way of learning to appreciate the difficulty involved in compressing knowledge into narrower terms than those really adequate to describe it, one might try a little experiment. One might attempt to make a description of something, say the American flag, without using any words that contain the letter “r,” on the assumption that you were talking to a person whose version of the English language contained no letter “r.”

It seems a simple enough sort of assignment. Yet the moment you began to refer to the most basic features of the thing you would realize that you could use neither the words STARS nor STRIPES. Your first task would be to find other ways of expressing those ideas. Not even BARS could substitute for STRIPES, and perhaps BANDS would be the closest available equivalent. For STARS you might begin to say, “five-pointed figures,” and in the midst of it realize that FIGURES would be incomprehensible to an “r”-less people; so you would settle on “five-pointed symbols of heavenly bodies.”

RED would be your next preoccupation. You could neither say DARKER nor DEEPER shade of pink, but finally you would approximate the idea by saying “deep pink” or possibly (especially if you were familiar with the nail-polish ads of the country) “passion pink.”

Your difficulties are not, however, now at an end. You cannot say there are THIRTEEN bands which ALTERNATE in COLOR, nor can you remark that there are FORTY-eight stars which represent FORTY-eight states of the United States of AMERICA. Even COUNTRY would be unavailable to you.

Devising circumlocutions for all these tabu - or, in a sense, non-existent words - you might finally emerge with a description something like this:

“The flag of the United States of the Continent of the West (that is, the land found by Columbus) consists of eight and five bands of white and a tint that might be called deep pink, passion pink, wine pink, that is to say, the tint of blood, - a band of white and than a band of this tint. In the top left of the flag is a field of blue on which we see twenty and twenty-eight five-pointed symbols of heavenly bodies, each to stand as symbol of the twenty and twenty- eight states that make up the land.”

This - as anyone who has ever read a Cayce reading will admit

• sounds extraordinarily like a reading - and its clumsiness very likely arises from the same basic cause.

The readings, of course, need no apology. Their merit has been proven so many thousands of times in so many extraordinary cases that the genuineness of their clairvoyance can simply not be questioned. But it has seemed worthwhile to write this article in the interest of bringing out into the open a matter which, to some people at least, looms large as an obstacle to the full acceptance of the readings. For general publication purposes, indeed, it has become necessary to adopt careful editorial policies of simplification or clarification, in order that the message may be understandable by the majority; but even after this has been done, under rigorous supervision of Mr. Cayce’s secretary, the language still retains a certain quaint flavor.

In this connection it is well to remember, however, that the substance, sincerity, or intrinsic value of a message can not always be judged by the language in which it is clothed. Some of the best writing in the civilized world, for example, is now being done in the field of advertising. The most poetic of prose - sensitive, direct, dynamic - is found in advertising copy, and frequently the pages of advertisements make more compact, interesting, and instructive reading than the text of the magazine itself. But oftener than not that magnificent writing is the cloak for a lying message, a hypocritical appeal, and a subtle, deliberate, and crassly self-interested playing upon the reader’s sensibilities.

By all means use all your faculties of discrimination and critical judgement with regard to the Cayce readings. But do not permit the clumsiness of the language to deflect you from the genuine worth of their contents. - Gina Cerminara.

R9. 4/18/84 Dr. Gina Cerminara’s Obituary -

OBITUARIES

DR. GINA CERMINARA

Author Gina Cerminara, 70, passed away on April 16, 1984 in Ojai where she had resided since 1983.

She was the only child of Alma Cerminara and Angelo Cerminara, prominent Milwaukee attorney and Italian consular agent for more than 25 years.

A graduate of Riverside High School and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, she began her professional career as a teacher of Italian at Lincoln High School, Milwaukee. Later she returned to the University where she obtained her MA and PhD degrees in psychology and education.

Her first book, “Italian for Students of Singing,” was written as a result of her teaching Italian to music students at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, and with the idea of fulfilling the specific linguistic needs of music students. It went into two printings and became widely used in music schools throughout the country.

She is perhaps best known for her book, “Many Mansions,” an in-depth study of the work of the famous American clairvoyant, Edgar Cayce. The book has gone into 19 American printings and 11 foreign translations, including Italian, French, German, Japanese, Finnish, and Sinhala (the language of Sri Lanka).

“Many Mansions” was followed by two other books in the same general area of parapsychology, “The World Within” and “Many Lives, Many Loves,” which have also appeared in various languages. “Insights for the Age of Aquarius, A Handbook for Religious Sanity,” a general semantic and original approach to the study of comparative religion, was her fifth book. “The Mark Twain Proposition,” a comic novel on the race problem followed; and her final book, “Edgar Cayce Revisited, and Other Candid Commentaries,” - is a collection of articles she had written through the years with autobiographical notes throughout.

She was popular among her students wherever she taught. As a lecturer she was known for her humor and engaging style and she addressed audiences in Japan, Hawaii, England and Ireland as well as in most of the larger cities of the United States.

In her later years she became very active in humane work and in 1975 founded the Animal Assistance League of Virginia, of which she remained president until 1980.

She is survived by her aunt, Mildred Heuel and cousin, Robert Heuel, both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Society of Ventura County, Animal Shelter, 402 Bryant St., Ojai, CA 93023 in her memory.

A memorial service will be held at 115 Taormina Lane, Ojai, May 5, 1 p.m.

R10. 4/20/84 Memo to A.R.E. Staff members from Dick Peterson, Director of Conferences Services:

Gladys Davis Turner and Staff members

FROM: Dick Peterson

RE: The Language of the Cayce Readings

DATE: April 20, 1984

One of our goals in several conferences this summer is to help more conferees get directly into the Cayce readings - first, as part of their conference experience, and second, on a continuing basis at home through the Library Series, circulating files, and other available sources.

One of the factors which prevents many people from working directly with the readings is the nature of the language that came from Cayce’s source. Gina Cerminara had an excellent article on the language, for example, which helped me greatly when I started reading the readings. We also have an excellent set of guidelines on “how to be your own researcher” written recently by Marilyn Peterson.

I know that each of you has spent considerable time reading the readings and has probably developed your own way of working with the language and developing understanding of more difficult passages. I’m not referring to complex concepts, but to some of the complicated syntax, unusual style, and periodically very long sentences. And even to short segments that do not immediately convey meaning to an inexperienced reader - and that’s who I’m trying to help - the individual not familiar with the readings and their style.

Could you take a few minutes sometime in the next couple weeks to jot down any ideas or suggestions you could share with a new reader of the readings, especially related to the language of the readings? Or if you prefer, after you have thought about it, give me a call, and I will be happy to talk with you over the phone or face to face to get your ideas.

Here are some questions you might consider:

When you approach an unfamiliar reading for the first time, do you read large segments of it straight through for, hopefully, an overview of the content and meaning? Or do you find it more helpful to work with it phrase by phrase, or sentence by sentence?

What do you do with phrases or sentences that you do not feel you understand, although you seem to comprehend the material around it?

Do you ever try to paraphrase a sentence or segment into your own words?

Are you completely “comfortable” reading and interpreting the readings now, or is there still some discomfort or even struggle occasionally with certain passages?

Do you have any “helpful hints” you would share with a new reader of the readings? Or like Cayce’s source, would you say, “Understand it!” and leave the individual to find his or her own way?

I will really appreciate any ideas or suggestions you can give me, and they will all be used toward the end of creating more interest in and use of the readings by our members and conferees. The first specific use will be in a lecture on June 21 on “Reading the Readings: The Language of the Cayce Source.”

Please pass this request along to anyone not listed that you think could be helpful.

Thank you for your assistance!

[signed] Dick

cc: All Members of Conference Services Staff (Please send me your ideas, too!) Marilyn Peterson

R11. 4/26/84 GDT’s remarks at A.R.E. Staff Memorial Service for Gina Cerminara who died April 16, 1984 at her home in Ojai, California:

In April, thirty-nine (39) years ago, Gina Cerminara arrived at A.R.E. in Virginia Beach on Arctic Crescent, with the specific purpose of looking at the readings - the Life Readings - to find something to justify her belief in reincarnation. She expected to stay two days but stayed two years. She rented a room in the Cayce home and shared the kitchen with the others who were living there. Gina named it KARMA HOUSE, because of the difficulties and joys of working out things together. Harmon and June Bro came to Congress in June and also stayed in the house until that fall when Hugh Lynn returned from overseas.

Gina became Hugh Lynn’s Associate Editor, and between the times of studying all the Life Readings she handled many assignments. She had lead articles in the A.R.E. BULLETINS ALL through 1945-46, which you can read in the file copies we have in the Foundation. I wish they all could get re-published. They are full of quotes from the readings with her commentaries: For instance:

August, 1945 - IS LIFE TOO SHORT? Sept. 1945 - WHAT SHOULD WE EAT? Oct. 1945 - ATOMIC POWER IS BACK - [Reprinted by popular request July ‘56] Nov. 1945 - THE CANDID CAMERA OF THE COSMOS Dec. 1945 - WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR ME? & LANGUAGE OF THE CAYCE READINGS [Reprinted in 4/66 ARE Journal; also under Work Rdg. 254-63, Par. R8] Apr. 1946 - HE IS YOUR BROTHER! May 1946 - KNOW THYSELF! July 1946 - ARCHETYPES AND AURA CHARTS Oct. 1946 - THE FORGOTTEN VIRTUE - [Reprinted in 1954. Humor in the Cayce Rdgs.] Aug. 1962 - BOOKS ABOUT REINCARNATION in THE SEARCHLIGHT Her book, MANY MANSIONS, published in 1950, has perhaps helped more people get an understanding of reincarnation than any other book ever written, and especially according to the Edgar Cayce readings.

I wish everyone, who has trouble understanding the readings, would STUDY her article of Dec. 1945, reprinted in the April 1966 A.R.E. JOURNAL, entitled THE LANGUAGE OF THE EDGAR CAYCE READINGS.

Gina was, and is, very dear to me. I hope, and truly believe, we will meet again.

R12. 5/23/84 Memo from Dick Peterson, Dir. of Conferences Services, to GD:

Gladys, as I mentioned to you, I have been getting suggestions from many staff members about ways of approaching and working with the readings, in preparation for a mini-conference June 20-23. Attached is my summary of all the suggestions I have received. [See READING THE READINGS:… below] I will use this as a handout in the conference. Do you have any comments or other suggestions you would like to make? Thank you for your consideration! Dick Peterson (x 180)

THREE-DAY CONFERENCE [GD excerpted this from the 1984 EDGAR CAYCE CONFERENCES Catalog]

Wednesday, June 20 (7:30 p.m.) to Saturday June 23 (noon) Registration: Wednesday, June 20, 6:30 p.m. Preregistered Tuition: $60

TREASURE HUNTING IN THE EDGAR CAYCE READINGS

Marilyn Peterson James Windsor Elsie Sechrist Mark Thurston Gladys Davis Turner Dick Peterson

This conference is a first for A.R.E.! A program wholly designed and devoted to your personal study of the readings. Within the supportive structure of a conference design and with study guide materials we have prepared for you, a “treasure hunt” awaits you.

Of course, the treasure is different for different people. What topic most directly stimulates your curiosity and interest? Perhaps it is the question of how reincarnation and karma work; or the nature of the human mind; or perhaps it is a particular historical period - ancient Egypt, the Palestine of Jesus’ day, or the American Revolution.

We’ve picked some “sample treasures” and created clues to guide you through a systematic discovery and study process, but you may be more adventurous and select a different treasure as your goal. Using the basic guidelines and orientation we will give you, you can strike out on your own. You will have the option during this mini-conference to be a personal researcher on your own or work along with a research group.

One of this week’s highlights will be a special interview with Gladys Davis Turner, Edgar Cayce’s stenographer for over 20 years, the individual most knowledgeable on the readings and the stories behind them. Another highlight is a panel interview with individuals who received Cayce readings. Marilyn Peterson, Mark Thurston, and Dick Peterson will present sessions on how they work with the readings and what the conferees can do on their own after the conference.

This mini-conference is a unique opportunity to work creatively with the primary source of the A.R.E. in other conferences, the speakers tell you what THEY have found in the readings and how THEY interpret it. Here’s the chance to see and work with the readings YOURSELF. Coming directly after Conference #7 (“New Beginnings”), it is a good complement to that program on fundamentals and would round out a full week at “the Beach.” Consider registering for both mini-conferences.

If you have spent only a little time in the A.R.E. Library, you might wish to begin this conference with a special library session at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 20. If you attend the “New Beginnings” mini-conference earlier in the week or if you have used the readings in the Library previously, the first session for you would begin at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 20.

READING THE READINGS: SUGGESTIONS FOR ENHANCING YOUR STUDY AND ENJOYMENT OF THE EDGAR CAYCE READINGS

Your General Approach to the Readings

Clarify your purpose - Set a positive, receptive attitude - Become attuned - Expect understanding and enlightenment

Keep context of reading in mind - “Know” the individual - When possible, see correspondence and other supplements In long segments, look for main ideas and feelings, the core, “nuggets” - Allow your intuition to take over - Read a reading or difficult segments several times seeking the meaning

Read readings frequently to develop feeling for vocabulary, rhythm, repeated Cayce phrases - Read as you might read Shakespeare or the Bible The meaning to you may differ from the meaning to someone else

Do not interpret too quickly…but on the other hand, do not struggle too long on a particular reading or passage - It may not be for you now

Special Techniques for Enhancing the Flow of Words and Ideas

Read aloud, or “hear” the words spoken in your head - Try different inflections of certain words or phrases

Write segments in “free verse” format

In your own copies, write key words or ideas in margin - Use highlighting or underlining

Skip parenthetical clauses and modifying phrases - Add their contribution later

Recognize incomplete sentences - May be followed by restatement or clarification - Also be alert to dangling phrases and modifiers with unclear referents

Grammatical “parsing” may clarify relationships among words, phrases, and ideas

Rewriting in your own words or paraphrasing may help, but stick with actual readings and its words if possible

Talk to or watch a “pro” working with the readings

Words and Phrases

Watch for similes, metaphors, and comparisons - Words may have other than their literal meaning

Watch for “foreign-sounding” phrases and archaic words - Also words like “thee” and “thou” - Consider possible present-day equivalents

Try different inflections and meanings for “that”

Interpret some words and symbols as if they were in dreams

ABOVE ALL, READ WITH ASSURANCE AND EXPECTATION!!!

ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER’S COMMENTS, without signature

Why do we have to LEARN HOW to read the readings in the first place? This kind of thing builds a thought form that creates a barrier before a person even looks at a Cayce reading.

It is unnecessary, complicating, and the statement “Talk to or watch a ‘pro’ working with the readings” is reminiscent of a secret school system where only the initiated or master levels can understand or work with these readings.

These readings weren’t given to people gifted with special understanding; they were given to everyday people, a complete cross-section of society. They were mailed out, and the individual had to study his own case and come to his own understandings.

Such a “handout” to conferees gives rise to all sorts of classes and teachers and foolishness to keep people from taking their own initiative; and it’s their own initiative upon which this work is based.

If we want people to read the readings we must get out of their way.

When someone wants to learn how to swim, all the instruction in the world can’t teach him until he gets wet. And in the end it’s only his own application that makes it work. No different with these readings. To present the foregoing approach to, or attitude toward, the Edgar Cayce readings is cultish - as if the staff here is a priesthood of some kind.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND ENLIGHTENMENT INCORPORATED P.O. Box 595 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451

5/23/84 GDT to Dick Peterson in re A.R.E. Staff suggestions for ways to approach and work with the Edgar Cayce readings:

Through the years I listened to Mr. Cayce talk to individuals who came to him seeking help. I heard him make this statement, in his waking state, hundred of times:

“IF YOU FIND SOMETHING IN THESE READINGS THAT ANSWERS TO SOMETHING WITHIN YOU, HOLD TO IT! IF NOT, FORGET IT!”

R13. GD’s memo in re Language of Edgar Cayce Readings and their source:

I wish people would stop saying or THINKING the “Cayce Source”; or the “Language of the Cayce source.” HE HAD MANY SOURCES. [See 294-1, Edgar Cayce’s FIRST READING describing the various sources from which he obtained the information]

R14. See subsequent series of readings on EC’s psychic work, beginning with 254-1 on 2/13/11, besides subsequent readings in the [294] series.

R15. Also see 3744-3, Par. 11-A in re source of EC’s information.

R16. See also under 5756-1, Reports of 1/4/84 GD’s answer to Dr. Shealy about EC’s “controls”, spiritualistic communications, etc., in which you will find this paragraph:

“In Edgar Cayce’s information regarding the Akashic Records (from which he apparently obtained the Life Readings) he explained that these records are NOT WRITTEN WORDS [THAT CAN BE READ OFF] but are ACTIVITIES ON THE SKEIN OF TIME AND SPACE, that may be read BY THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO DO IT, but that THE CLARITY OF THE INFORMATION depends on the ability of the one reading the records TO PUT INTO WORDS what he sees.”

R17. 6/1/84 GD’s note: Now I think IT IS ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE that Edgar Cayce, who had only a grade school education, could interpret these records and put them into his own words as well as he did. [Also you have to realize that stenographic notes were taken and transcribed on the majority of his readings by “yours truly” who dropped out of school in second year high and took a business course in stenography and typing - also bookkeeping. Fortunately my best subjects while in school were English and Spelling.

So, I think, the best way to understand these readings is to learn all you can about the man himself, through his correspondence to and from the people who were involved in the Work through the years. Scads of these letters are available in the library with the readings and more being added daily behind the Work Readings [[254] series]. (In other words, become familiar with EC’s language while AWAKE!).

Background

Background

None.

Mentioned Entities

Gina Cerminara, A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment), Gladys Davis, Hugh Lynn Cayce, Soul, Purpose, Reincarnation, Subconscious Mind, Egypt, King David, New York City, Prophets, Virginia Beach, Akashic Records, Chicago, Clairvoyance, David Kahn, Entity (Cayce Term), Incarnation, Japan

Source: The Complete Edgar Cayce Readings, A.R.E. CD-ROM (2006). Reading 254-63, ReadingID 1201.