Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet

by Jess Stearn

A fascinating biography written by the country's foremost authorities on metaphysics. 

The Edgar Cayce story is one of the most compelling in inspirational literature. For more than forty years, the "Sleeping Prophet" closed his eyes, entered into an altered state of consciousness, and spoke to the very heart and spirit of humankind on subjects such as health, healing, dreams, prophecy, meditation, and reincarnation. His more than 14,000 readings are preserved at the Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc., in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

A native of Kentucky with a ninth-grade education, Edgar Cayce accurately predicted two world wars, including the years they began and ended, racial strife in America, the death of John F. Kennedy, and hundreds of other recorded events. He could apparently travel in time and space to treat the ill, and dispensed information that led to innumerable cures where traditional medicine was helpless. The first to introduce many Americans to the concept of reincarnation, Cayce drew on a subconscious Universal Mind for startling information about past and future. In The Sleeping Prophet, Jess Stearn presents the extraordinary story of his life, his healing, his prophecies, and his powerful legacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Spirituality, New Age, Paranormal, Metaphysics, Religion

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Stearn was a Jewish-American journalist and author of more than thirty books, nine of which were bestsellers. As an author, Stearn specialized in sensationalist speculative non-fiction. His early work focused on outsiders and marginalized individuals such as prostitutes, drug addicts, and homosexuals. His later work focused on spirituality, the occult, and psychic phenomena. His most popular works were two biographies on the American psychic Edgar Cayce; Stearn was a conference speaker for the Association for Research and Enlightenment and a proponent of Cayce's theories.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm no fortune-teller; I'm a psychic diagnostician", pg. 24

Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet, was an American clairvoyant who had thousands of readings during his life. But he could only get readings when he went to sleep. He would put himself in a trance/sleep state and visions would come to him. He explained that when he went to sleep he tapped into what he called the Universal Unconsciousness. This was where he channeled information and would 'sleep talk'. His wife would dictate his readings throughout the years.

Edgar Cayce was born on a farm in rural Kentucky in 1877. He was raised in a conservative Christian family that belonged to the Christian Church, which was an offshoot of the Presbyterian church.

He was little more than seven or eight, when he reported a clairvoyant experience which was to eventually shape the direction of his life. Off by himself, in a secluded outdoor nook, he had been reading in the Bible of the vision of Manoah, for he loved clearly the story of Samson. Suddenly there was a humming sound, and a bright light filled the glade where he usually hid to read. As he looked up, he saw a figure in white, bright as the noonday light, and heard a voice:

"Your prayers have been heard. What would you ask of me, that I may give to you?"

The boy was not startled. "Just that I may be helpful to others," he replied, "especially to children who are ill, and that I may love my fellow man."

The figure silently disappeared. pg. 26-7

From that point forward he would have visions that came to him when he slept. Throughout his life he made many readings about the outside world and several of them came true. He was right about the stock market crash of 1929, the Earth's magnetic pole shift of the 1950s into the 1990s, weather and geological anomalies, the deaths of FDR and JFK, start and end dates of WW2, and the rise of Hitler just to name a few.

Cayce also made readings about physical health. He received information about cures for various ailments like arthritis, dieting and cleansing to eliminate toxins, osteopathic manipulations on the spine and neck, basic exercise like walking and swimming, and much more. Cayce believed he body operated based of vibrations and chemical balances that kept the body healthy. "Cayce stressed that the system functioned as a unit, drawing on one area to shore up another." pg. 190

He later believed and spoke about other things including reincarnation and the lost city of Atlantis. He even predicted the day of his own death—3 January 1945. Today the A.R.E. (Association of Research and Enlightenment) still exists in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Cayce founded this building in 1931 to store all his readings and promote self-help enlightenment for others.

Overall this was a pretty read and I never heard of Edgar Cayce until recently. The book was a little dry at times but the information learning about this for the first time kept me engaged. I would recommend this for anyone into New Age or psychic things. Thanks!

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first introduction into Edgar Cayce when I barely knew anything about him. I read it about 8 years ago whilst still studying and remember finishing it within a number of days because of how intrigued I was all the way through the book. I didn't think Edgar Cayce was anything particularly special in terms of spirituality, at the time - I kind of just thought he was some random guy who could channel and I was more interested in people who produced their work directly from their minds through rigorous thought or meditation. This book made me realise what an incredible mystery EC was and how special he is in modern spiritual culture and times - He truly is an anomaly which made me question so much of what I thought about spirituality. If you don't know much about EC and the story behind his works then this book is a great place to start.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

At one time in my life I read everything I could by and about Cayce.
I don't now if this edition is what I read- there were many other books containing his 'readings. In the past I followed the doings of the Edgar Cayce Institute- that by the way helped many people. Cayce died in his early? 50s. I lost faith, you might say. Still, an amazing adventure.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never thought I would read something like this...long story short, the book was sent to me by a woman after having an in-depth conversation about ghosts and spirits. The next thing I knew, I had this book sent to me and a membership with the Cayce Foundation! I felt obligated to at least peruse the text so that I could participate in a conversation with my "benefactor". I found Edgar Cayce's story interesting, yet I remain skeptical of the authorship. In the least, it offers another perspective on church doctrine- that is, one does not need the Vatican, the Temple, or Mohammad to find heaven.

[Lawrence A · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read this book in junior high school, I was impressed and somewhat awed by Cayce's alleged powers. As a more skeptical adult, I realized that the author was writing more of a hagiography, and did not question the validity of any of the claims made on Cayce's behalf. Cayce remains a fascinating figure, however, and those who are interested in the more quotidian side of his existence should see or read the play about him, entitled "The Freak."

[Gary S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jess Stearn was a prolific and, in some sense, overwhelming writer on the subjects of clairvoyance and reincarnation. He writes in a journalistic style…throwing assertions at the reader without let up, but at the end of his chapters, you have a sense of missing real evidence for his statements. He cites many examples that support his themes, but does nothing to place the examples in a larger context where objections or alternate explanations could be possible. In short, there is a sense of quantity over quality in his work. Ultimately, I don’t know if Edgar Cayce was exceptional or exceptionally devious. On the other hand, it is an interesting and compelling story within the context of 20th Century American history.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book many years ago and when I came across it recently I thought I would dip back into it to see if it still intrigued me. It did. I re-read it completely and marveled once again.

Born in Kentucky and not well-educated, Edgar Cayce was a man who learned he could fall asleep and then go into a trance-like state and both diagnose and cure illnesses from afar. (This is the part that fascinates me.) He later made predictions and did readings on past lives. (This part less so.)

However, this man who died in 1945 made thousands of readings that are still preserved in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Did he tap into the collective unconscious? It seems so.

A miraculous story.

[Nic · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not this book's fault that it was published in 1967...but it was published in 1967, and it shows. Edgar Cayce's story and predictions are fascinating, and if there is an updated version of this book, like maybe one that's not 25 years older than me, I would love to read it.

[Sandy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prose is a bit dense but the story of this man changed my life.

[Martti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought Jess Stearn's book "Edgar Case - Sleeping Prophet" over 30 years ago while on a vacation trip. In Virginia Beach I visited the A.R.E. Conference Center, which preserves Edgar Cayce's life's work and preserves his nearly 15,000 readings.

It is now 80 years since Cayce's death and almost 60 years since Stearn's book was published. Now was a good time to re-read the book, as the passage of time has given insight into the events described in the book.

Edgar Cayce's story was already then amazing, and 80 years later it still is. Stearn tries to base his text on factual ground, even though it is understandably difficult. He employed experts in medicine and scientists in many diverse fields to examine material left by Edgar Cayce.

Jess Stearn is at his best when he writes how Edgar Cayce, after entering a trance state, was able to analyse distantly the illnesses of people he had never met before and suggest practical cures. According to Stearn, Cayce was almost infallibly accurate in these analyses. Also healthwise Cayce had virtually infallible record, when his recommendations were followed. The diagnoses indicate that Cayce, an uneducated photographer, knew more about medicine, anatomy and chemistry than distinguished professionals in their fields.

But Edgar Cayce did not limit himself to analysing health conditions. In his trance, he also analysed other subjects, such as world events and the history and the future of the Earth. In these analyses, Cayce's accuracy was questionable. For example, for the period 1958-1998, he predicted great devastation and upheaval for the Earth, especially for Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, as well as for Japan, which he predicted would partially sink into the sea. In 1940, Cayce predicted that some major parts of the legendary lost continent of Atlantis would rise again from the sea during 1968-1969.

Stearn's book is dedicated to describing and evaluating Cayce's role in identifying diseases and their cures. Predictions about the earth, its history and future events are not given the same weight, and Stearn is more critical of their accuracy.

As an interesting fact Cayce has in trance explained, how psychic force travels through the subconcious and functions through certain glands. "In the body we find that which connects the pineal, the pituitary, the Leydig, these may be truly called the silver cord." Maybe this can provide some guidance to the principles in the psychic development?

[Steven H · Rating 3 out of 5]

A USEFUL SUMMARY OVERVIEW OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF EDGAR CAYCE

Jess Stearn (1914-2002) was an American journalist and author who was a conference speaker for the Association for Research and Enlightenment (AR&E).

He wrote in the first chapter of this 1967 book, “It was like any other day for Edgar Cayce. He went to sleep… and then he started to talk in his sleep. But when he awakened … he realized from the faces of those around him that he must have said something very extraordinary… [On] August 1941… he had predicted the destruction of most of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. The greatest mystic America had ever known reacted philosophically to his Cassandra-like prophecy… From his own ‘readings,’ which had helped thousands, he had come to believe in an endless cycle of life, and … he felt it was all part of God’s plan… He said, scratching his head, ‘I hope it’s wrong, but it’s never been wrong before.’ ‘It’ was the subconscious information, apparently the product of a Universal Mind, which had been streaming through hum for forty years, and which were rather incongruously known as readings.” (Pg. 1)

He observes, “Healthwise, Cayce had a virtually infallible record, when his recommendations were followed. Nevertheless, his advice was often disregarded, either because the treatment required so much time and effort, or the patient could find no other therapist to implement the instructions. At times, impatience turned even Cayce’s dearest admirers to therapy promising faster relief.” (Pg. 13-14)

He notes, “Cayce had the ordinary instincts. He like the companionship of pretty ladies, as he did that of intelligent men. He took a drink occasionally, making his own wine… Ironically, he was a chain smoker. When admirers wondered about this, he would laugh genially and point to the heavens, ‘Where I am going there are no cigarettes.’ He rarely fretted about his own health…. He was like the doctor who prescribed for everybody but himself.” (Pg. 21-22)

In Cayce’s earlier periods, he wondered “whether he had been punished for readings motivated by material gain. Originally, he had rationalized that his stock market forecasts were purely motivated because they meant he would get his school and his hospital. Now both were gone. His name had been dragged through the mud, and he felt tired and discouraged. Perhaps he was on the wrong road? Maybe he should go back to work like everybody else. Several times before, doubting the high purpose of his gift, he had given up the readings and turned to photographic work. But [his mother] Gertrude, believing in him, had encouraged his return to the work she felt he was intended for.” (Pg. 25)

When a geologist began investigating Cayce, Stearn recounts, “Atlantis was of special interest to the Geologist, since it apparently straddled past, present and future… In his own way, the Geologist tried to check out the size of Atlantis… To accept Atlantis, he would have to accept the whole fabric of the Cayce story, of a race technically superior that gradually brought on its own destruction through greed, and immorality. I found the Geologist’s interest in a mythical continent rather surprising. ‘Just because Cayce was right in his health readings, doesn’t mean he was right about Atlantic,’ I pointed out… the Geologist rejoined… ‘I certainly wouldn’t have accepted Cayce if Atlantis was all there was to go on.’” (Pg. 50-51)

Stearn observes, “[Cayce’s] batting average on predictions was incredible high, close to one hundred percent. He may have missed once or twice, on Hitler’s motivations, which he thought essentially good in the beginning, or on the eventual democratization of China, but so much of what he said has come to miraculously true, that even where there are some who give him the benefit of the doubt---and time.” (Pg. 81)

He acknowledges, “As remarkable as Cayce was, not all Cayce patients were satisfied. Indeed, I had met one, a psychic researcher, who was downright unhappy about the treatment he had received. Even now, twenty-five years later, he argued that Cayce was a fake… ‘Cayce sent me to a chiropractor with my ulcers, and he practically killed me.’ … Subsequently, I saw where my friend had chosen to criticize Cayce to a reporter, who had added a criticism of her own, about the feels exacted by the Cayce people. The last attack was patently absurd, since there is no charge for treatment at the Cayce Foundation today, and no treatment!” (Pg. 156)

He states, “Cayce was the answer to the cigarette manufacturer’s current nightmare over cancer. He said that moderate cigarette-smoking---five or six cigarettes a day---never hurt anybody, and he was an inveterate smoker himself. They relaxed him. He saw no harm in an occasional drink, but said wine was the only alcoholic drink actually helpful.” (Pg.185)

He explains, “Cayce’s and Plato’s Atlantis corresponded in many details, though Cayce had never read the two dialogues, in which the greatest mind of antiquity passed on the story… Cayce had seen three periods of destruction… Though the precise outlines of Atlantis, before its breakup into the islands mentioned by Plato, were never given in a Cayce reading, he indicated that it extended from what is now the Sargasso Sea in the west to the Azores in the east, and compared its size to ‘that of Europe, including Asia in Europe…’” (Pg. 225-226)

After a 1941 reading for Eula Allen, “for the first time… chatting with Cayce, she heard about reincarnation. ‘Does that mean,’ she asked with a worried frown, ‘that I may come back as an animal?’ Cayce laughed. ‘Certainly not, that’s transmigration, and you might not even have to come back at all, if you become perfectly developed in this life.’ Even with the confidence she had in the amazing healer, it was hard for her to get used to the idea of reincarnation… Cayce didn’t press her. ‘The soul is eternal,’ he said, ‘and God’s arm isn’t short. You go out and you come in again.’” (Pg. 245)

He notes, “Cayce himself, in the conscious state, found support for reincarnation in the Bible, though modern theology spurned it. ‘Reincarnation has so long been considered a part of the eastern religion,’ he said once, ‘that we have great cause to consider it foreign to Christianity. However, I doubt if anyone who has really studied the Bible could say that it was not contained in the Book. Throughout the ages, the question has been asked, ‘If a man die, will he live again?’” (Pg. 258)

This book is an excellent overview of Cayce, and will be of great interest to anyone seeking such an introduction.

[Davy Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife has roots in the Hopkinsville KY area.
A few years ago, we were sitting on her 95 year old Aunts front porch.

I happened to ask her if she had heard of Edgar Cayce. She pointed thru the adjacent parking lot to a big old dilapidated house on the corner and said that was one of his childhood homes, but was about to be torn down. I had a pamphlet of him and found the house in it. She had only been in her house about 50 years, so did not overlap with Edgar, who lived there in the early 1900s.

I have known about him since the early 1980s but pretty much have backed away. I am a Christian and I think Edgar was too, but I think he veered off into the occult.

I have only skimmed my copy of this book.
Are vignettes permissible here, asking all purists.

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per me Cayce rimane un argomento controverso, ha dato migliaia di letture, decine di profezie su cambiamenti futuri nei decenni successivi alla sua morte ma tutto quello che ne rimane sono gli ultimi affezionati che non hanno visto avverarsene una.
Per altro, a più di settant'anni dalla sua morte, nonostante sia indicato come il padre della medicina olistica, sembra essere per lo più sconosciuto.
E ancora si sta cercando la "hall of records" della Sfinge.

[Jasmine Walston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't necessarily believe all of the things Edgar Cayce prophesied, but I appreciate the manner in which the information was laid out in this book. It was interesting to read, and written with an impartiality that left me to decide for myself. Well worth it for any reader with an open yet carefully discerning mind.

[Lauren Thyme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! My aunt Edna gave me this book to read when I was 9.

[Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm totally embarrassed by how much I used to be obsessed with all things Edgar Cayce. That's all I have to say on all my reviews of his books.

[Ed R White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant book of a fascinating man. The prose can be a bit dry, but there's plenty of information, for those open to accept it.

[Jo-jean Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating man. He certainly had a tremendous impact on those he read for. And still does for that matter. We can continue to learn from him.

[Dan Desmarques · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure about the purpose of this trash. Too many suppositions and no real answers given.

[Peter Jochinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing individual who lived to help others with his clairvoyant insight.

[Hrvoje Kačić · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps the most uninteresting book i have read so far.

[Basir Farrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

planted in the soul of man, this quiet thunder ⚡ the voice.

[J Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

78

[Elvalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it.

[Morgan Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah.

Recommended by Dad!

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nostalgic read since I was a child in the 1970s when psychic and paranormal stuff seemed to be everywhere. Stearn does a good job explaining what Cayce was all about. The book was less interesting when he quoted Cayce since the prophet's readings were mostly word salad. Kudos to Stern for writing this in 1966 since a lot of Cayce's predictions were set to come true between 1968 and 1998. Needless to say, we're still waiting for Atlantis to rise, major cities to be destroyed, death rays, and cancer to be cured with rabbit blood. The book also suffers from vagueness. If Cayce cured thousands, why were so few willing to allow their names to be used? Of course, those he failed to cure are dismissed for not following Cayce's exact directions allowing the author to claim a huge success rate.
The predictions are almost quaint by today's standards. Once it was all about California falling into the sea from an earthquake. No one ever seemed to predict it would be destroyed by fire and mud.
The medical stuff was pretty interesting. A lot of Cayce's advice boils down to exercise, heat, and massage, all treatments designed to increase blood flow. He was big on folk remedies. In the end most of his success was do to psychology. Those who went to him for a cure believed it would work and sometimes that can be enough.

[Hal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by Edgar Cayce. I think he just defies explanation. There are those out there that call him a fraud but I don't see how he could have faked his way through the medical descriptions. This book was somewhat of a disappointment. It skips around on a number of topics and gets into areas like past lives and Atlantis that I found wanting. The book was written in the late 1960's and speculates on near term disasters especially global geophysical eruptions he predicted for this time. They did not materialize along with the failure of the appearance of Atlantis which he predicted. So in the prediction realm he did come up short on a number of things. Yet his medical diagnosis of which he put in considerable work he often did seem to be on the mark. Equally amazing was his remedies which were often off the wall but apparently effective. Cayce always mystifies me and always will he was truly a seer.

[Erika Larsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fängslande och intressant!

[Dar Hosanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this man 5 stars all the way across the board.He's simple Christian folk.He had what some call a phenomenal gift but people who hold said gifts don't think its a gift.If one is not careful it can and will drive you crazy.If children were checked out as kids when they saw "ghost"our society would have less schizophrenic patients with paranoia.It's real folks and why not.Heaven and hell ain't so black&white.Don't make your kid suffer cause you don't believe in it.If you don't believe him or her then leave them to themselves,God wouldn't bestow a gift on a person and leave them to fend for themselves.READ EDGAR CAYCE! O:-)

[James Lundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this comes up as a 1989 version but what I read was pulished in 1967. When you read about and are amazed by Edgar Cayce's life and abilities, there is a significant diminishment when you read about how Atlantis is going to rise out of the ocean in 1983. (I'm going by memory here, let's just say it was a year in the distant future of 1967 but the past of 2005). So if he was wrong about that, what else was he wrong about? I would like to know more about Edgar Cayce and this book is the reason.