Reincarnation
is an elusive spiritual concept. Many people believe in a soul that continues
beyond the physical body, but few refer to their 'past lives' with confidence.
Until July of last year, I was also just a casual believer. That changed with
an afternoon in meditation, and a vision which led eventually to books,
photographs, historical archives, astrological charts, and psychic readings;
establishing a veritable case study of my past lives. I also discovered that my
husband in this life, was my paternal grandfather in a previous life. And most
surprising of all was who these past lives were connected to… Edgar Cayce,
the "sleeping prophet."
In
June of last year I was reintroduced to Cayce's work. Years of spiritual study
had exposed me to the basic elements of his story, but I wasn't drawn directly
to him before this point. I had explored a myriad metaphysical topics in the
mean time, and owned a few Cayce books that were never read. But I now
understand this to be an example of 'divine timing'; a plan to keep me from
discovering my truth before I was ready.
One
day in meditation I received a clear but simple vision: the word AMERICAN
across a computer screen. After a few moments of reflection I found myself
searching, 'Edgar Cayce American' online. I found a biography titled, Edgar
Cayce an American Prophet, and thought this might be where the vision was
leading. It wouldn't be the first time that I was guided to read something specific.
After saving the book, I felt compelled to search again, this time for
photographs of Cayce family members. Much to my surprise, I found an image of
Edgar's grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Cayce, and immediately recognized the
face of my husband. My reaction to this image was full body visceral. I sent
the image to several friends and family members to get a second opinion. They
reacted in much the same way.
A
group photo including Edgar's sister, Annie, also caught my attention. There
was just something about her, which I would later understand. But at the
time I was much more focussed on the photograph of Thomas.
After
the buzz had started to settle, I went back to the preview of American Prophet
on Amazon. The first few pages of chapter one were visible in their entirety,
and there was a detailed description of Edgar's grandfather inside. This
chapter further supported what I was seeing in the image online. Many details
about this man's life corresponded with my husband's personality. One humorous example
was that Thomas had been a whiskey drinking, pipe smoking tobacco farmer, and
my husband preferred whiskey, and occasionally smoked a tobacco pipe. Two
habits which were not particularly common for a young man in his twenties. He
also tried to grow a beard once, "because for some reason he had always wanted
to", but neither man could grow a mustache if they tried.
In
researching historical records online, I was also able to find corresponding
dates in their lives. Thomas died in 1881, and my husband was born in 1981.
Thomas was born on my husband's mother's birthday. Astrologically, their charts
were also in correlation, as both men shared their sun sign in Taurus, and had
interesting planetary similarities.
I
ordered the book, Edgar Cayce's Photographic Legacy, to see what other images
from Edgar's life would have to share. Again, his sister Annie seemed to be
looking at me from her photographs, which was an interesting feeling. When I
came across the photograph of her profile, taken around the same age that I am
presently, there was no mistaking what I was looking at then. I was overcome
again by the feeling of recognition, and realized that I was looking at myself
in another life.
In
researching Annie's story, I was able to connect many of the details between
us. As a child, I was innately drawn towards 'mothering' other children, and
knowing that Annie was the eldest of Edgar's four sisters made sense in this
equation. From a young age, I also felt strongly that I was missing an older
brother. I looked on the relationships that my friends had with their older
brothers with longing. This was such an important sense of 'something missing'
for me, that I planned to have a son born first, so that any daughters
in my future would have an older brother. Though I did not understand my reason
for feeling this way, I was convinced that this was how it should be.
Interestingly, my first born child was a son.
I
also found a Cayce dream reading, done for Annie in September of 1927; a sign
to me that dreams were an important part of both our lives. Astrologically
there were also correlations in our charts. My husband and I are actually both
Taurus sun signs; our birthdays are only four days apart. Annie was a Scorpio sun
sign, which is the exact astrological opposite of Taurus. Scorpio is my rising
sign, and there were also interesting planetary alignments.
There
are many other details to this story, including dreams and intuitive guidance,
which relate to more personal understandings. Dreaming has always been a major
part of my life, as I recall having precognitive visions as early as elementary
school. At the time I thought I was experiencing a lot of deja vus, and by
definition I suppose I was correct. When I began actively working with my dreams
as an adult, I realized where this feeling of familiarity was coming from.
There
were also psychic readings done for Annie, by Edgar in the early 1900's, which
indicated four additional past lives, corresponding with my intuitive connection
to Egypt, the French language, my fear of water, certain personality traits
(which I've apparently been carrying with me for a while now), and similar
health concerns. It is a complex and constantly unfolding story of fascinating
interest, which has been proof enough for me of the many metaphysical concepts
that permeate our existence. I think the powers that be knew that having this
kind of "case" for the "Cayce Connection", would insure that the truth would
not go unrecognized in my life. I believe there is a reason for all of this
history having been preserved, and coming to light at the precise time that it
did.
Finding
out that my husband in this life, was my paternal grandfather in my Cayce life,
was not particularly odd for me. I understand that this is how soul families
and reincarnation often work. We tend to reincarnate with the same souls, in
different roles over many lifetimes, to work on a variety of lessons in our
spiritual development, and to continue the work that our soul has come to the
planet to accomplish. The story of our relationship actually makes a lot of
sense, knowing that we were connected in previous lifetimes. I believe that
many people interpret the energetic experience of soul recognition as "love at
first sight", or experience an intense amount of karma that needs balancing in
soul mate relationships.
I
know that part of my process in discovering this connection, is to contribute
to the awakening of our society, in whatever role that I am called to step
into. This has been a part of my soul's plan for many lifetimes, and
discovering this past life connection helped me to overcome my fear and self
doubt, and step more fully into a path of authenticity and service to others. I
feel very blessed to be a part of this process, and I am grateful that I have
the opportunity to share my experience with others. I look forward to seeing
where the future leads.
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Teaser image by mckaysavage, courtesy of Creative Commons license.
