print this page

Application and Attunement

We wonder most about ourselves. Why are we so imprisoned in the here and now in a universe so unimaginably immense? We wonder about our relationships to the people around us-near and far, small and great. We wonder, Why? Why am I the way l am? Why are they the way they are? Why am I failing? Why am I succeeding? Why am I ill? Why am I well when others are ill? Why is this relationship going the way it is? Why can't I do what I know to do? Why can't I be free to be what I want to be? Why is there so much suffering? Why can't I be happy?

We look about for answers. We look to that family member or neighbor or friend who seems to have something special that we do not have. We look to the famous for a better glimpse of the good life and we look to the great for meaning. We find that we learn all too slowly and reluctantly and painfully.

We must first become the seeker! When we become seekers, we not only put into action the following universal law but we also claim it as a promise - Seek, and you shall find.

Becoming the Seeker

There is much to learn! We are quick to acknowledge that we do not know all there is to know about chemistry or physics or such. We anticipate new developments in every field of human endeavor except those that deal with "religion." We say that we "believe in" or "don't believe in" certain teachings. Many of these issues are not just matters of belief but matters of fact which rest upon truths about the nature of man and the universe. Either the universe works in certain lawful ways or it does not; we should anticipate progress in understanding these universal laws. Perhaps the major problem has been in failing to make a differentiation between knowing what we believe and in knowing in whom we believe. Even He in whom we are invited to believe said, "I have many things to tell you, but you cannot receive them now." How ready are we to grow in a deeper understanding? Growth may mean change and change may be painful! As we become seekers, where are we to turn?

We know that we gain most in insight and inspiration from the great teachers of all time; yet do we not resist accepting their gifts? Do we not resist the light they would share with us because of imagined differences of background, culture, language, tradition and beliefs? We may search out some flaw or generate some misgiving to prove these teachers inconsistent with our present beliefs and to avoid an encounter with the greater wisdom that they might share with us. Because we are fearful and unsure of ourselves, we cling to beliefs which, even in our own minds, are inadequate and sometimes untenable.

If we could just get a real and living sense that Moses does not belong only to the Jews, Jesus does not belong only to the Christians, Gautama does not belong only to the Buddhists, Mohammed does not belong only to Islam, Mahatma Gandhi does not belong only to India, George Washington Carver does not belong only to the blacks, and Helen Keller does not belong only to the handicapped! With a more open attitude toward our fellow man, we could lay claim to a much broader and enriching world view. Instead, we permit narrow-mindedness and dogmatism, unfortunate childhood experiences, or imagined limitations of background and tradition to rob us of the riches from the lives of these great people--gifts that are all of ours to claim. The more we treasure a sense of the value of humanity, the more surely we must sense that we share it with all others, The simple decency of acknowledging the essential interrelatedness of all life in the world should be accompanied by a more profound awareness of the brotherhood of all.

Now our seeking has led us to consider the life and work of Edgar Cayce. He is just such an example of a source of insight and inspiration for all who will accept the gifts presented through him. Yet his readings, which were documented, tested and verified, and through which thousands have been helped and healed, were also represented by him as containing nothing new. And the central truth to which this information would lead us is what all of the spiritual teachers have affirmed. The essence of this truth, which is always two-fold, may be found in these words: Attunement and Application. All that we truly long for lies within the depths of our own innermost being; but to become our own it must be lived in our actions.

Thus, these two words together constitute an action form of the great commandment: "To love God with all our head, mind and soul" is attunement. "To love our neighbor as ourselves" is application. Let us consider these two words in turn.

Attunement

Can we deny that all that we value most deeply has come through the human mind? All of the sciences, inventions, the ads, the creative manifestations, the sacred literatures have come through the depths of individual minds. Yet these creative persons have often sensed that they were simply channels through which a greater reality was being expressed, Attunement is a quickening, an elevation of consciousness. It puts us in touch with a greater reality. We know this to be so, yet perhaps we have thought that deep attunement was possible only for the great, or reserved for others, but surely not something we could do anything about or practice on our own. Yet each of us may yet discover that only by seeking and growing in inner attunement may we come to know our own unique and individual WAY.

Attunement to what? What is the essence of our inner being? What is that greater reality which has been the source of the creative inspiration of the great contributors to the heritage of all mankind? Many have difficulty in referring to this reality as God. Some prefer the term "Creative Forces." The Edgar Cayce readings work with a first premise of Oneness, the Oneness of all force-the Law of One. Yet, regarding attunement, the readings speak in the strongest terms of a personal quality of this reality which may be experienced.

The startling thing to every soul is to awaken to the realization that it is indeed a child of God! That is startling enough for any man, any woman, any being, in this sin-sick world!

And yet it is the heritage of every soul to awake to that consciousness that God indeed is mindful of the children of men, and calls,ever, "If ye will he my children, I will be thy God."

This is the message, then, that you shall carry; for there is a loving Father that cares. That is thy message!

There is; for you have experienced it, you can and you may experience it in your own life!

Can anything, any experience, any condition be more worth while? That, though there are those things that make men afraid, there are turmoils in this or that direction in the relationships of human experience that may terrify thee for the moment, there is He who cares! And He may walk and talk with thee! That ye may experience in thine own life! Do that. (254-95)

Application

In most areas of life, it is all too apparent that diligent, energetic, persistent application is regularly accompanied by uncommon success-This relationship between application and accomplishment is so obvious that were we not aware of a few seeming exceptions, we would call it a universal law. But even though we see this principle work in certain obvious ways, as in productivity in a factory, we may not see how it may work in healing our bodies or developing healthy family relationships. In all areas of life, when we apply what we know, we come out ahead.

Nothing hinders more than saying one thing and doing another. Yet all of us know much more of that which would constitute a "better way" in many aspects of our lives than we are eager to apply. There is a quality in us which deters us from doing our best. If we could identify and confront that quality, accept responsibility for it and not project it upon others, we would take a great step toward our own better well-being.

All that is asked of any of us as souls is that we do what we presently know to do. When we do what we know to do, the next step is always given. There is a saying from the East that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This often is taken to mean that a person will appear as a master; however, another way of understanding this truth is that when we bring ourselves to the point of being truly ready to learn, the learning experience needed will be forthcoming. We may think of ourselves as being ready to learn only insofar as we are applying what we already know.

Motivation and the Ideal

All of us have often said to ourselves, "If only I could bring myself to do what I know lam capable of doing. If only I could get motivated." We recognize a vital ingredient that some people seem to have and others do not. Or we find that this quality seems to come automatically in some areas of our lives and not at all in others. Motivation seems to comprise a major dimension of what really counts in life.

There is a whole cluster of concepts which are related to this dimension of motivation: intention, incentive, desire, purpose, aspiration, the spirit in which we act, the ideal. We recognize the intensity of motivation when we say someone is highly or poorly motivated. We also recognize its quality as we speak of being selfless or self-centered in our motivation.

The Cayce readings emphasize the crucial nature of this dimension of life when they stress that, " ... the most important experience of this or any individual entity is to first know what is the ideal--spiritually." (357-13) By the word "ideal," the readings are referring to the standard of quality of motivation by which we measure our decisions and actions. Here is a difference! Rather than taking our motivation for granted as an unknown and unchangeable given (i.e., "That's just the way am"), we are told to set an ideal by an act of our own wills, to choose a standard of motivation by which we as individuals intend to measure our decisions and with which we wish to quicken our actions. A young man who came to Mr. Cayce for vocational counseling was told, "In choosing, then there will of itself be made for the body the greater determination, and will open - as it were - the possibility, the probability, and the fact, of making for self an association or connection in that direction." (419-3)

Thus the first step in becoming motivated is to choose as a standard the quality of motivation which we want to have as the driving force behind our actions.

The second step is to dwell upon this quality with the mind - not the intellect - but the imaginative forces of the mind. The key consists in inducing the mind to dwell upon the ideal. As we require the imaginative forces of the mind to dwell upon a high ideal, we are actually selecting the motivational circuitry in the body through which the life force may flow.

An ideal is not something we make happen or attain; it is something we allow to flow through us. If we set "love" as an ideal, still we cannot of ourselves love. But by setting love as a standard or ideal, by dwelling upon love in the mind, and by acting in accord with love as a standard for behavior, we begin to permit the power of love to flow through us. As the spirit of love flows through us it begins to transform our lives and the lives of those about us.

The Purpose of the Work of Edgar Cayce

On many occasions Edgar Cayce commented on the purpose of this work. The essence of what he said is contained in a statement given as a motto for the work: "To make manifest the love of God and man," (254-42) This again is an application of the great commandment: to love God with all of our heart, mind and soul; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The motto means, essentially, to live the great commandment.

On one occasion, he was asked to comment on the "correct attitude -- in order to maintain and keep first and foremost before self and the public the correct ideals of the Association." To this suggestion, his reply pointed out " . . . the simplicity of the ability of individuals to apply that as may be obtained from their own subconscious self, cosmic forces and universal consciousness (or call it by whatever name the individual may choose)-this is the great truth that mast be apparent to the layman, the individual, the scientist, the mathematician, the historian, the individual seeking information through these sources finds this apparent. . that this force is apparent in the earth's development at this time through another form or manner is only the expression to individuals that all are a portion of the divine, the creative energy, the whole, and this purpose kept first and foremost is that sure success of the approach of committee, individual, and Association, to the public." (254-46)

Notice how attunement and application appear in this reading and thus how this statement, unusual as it is, is a form of the great commandment the simplicity of the ability of individuals to apply that as may be obtained from their own inner attunement.

Now let us consider the second half of the reading which refers to Edgar Cayce himself; "...that this force is apparent in the earth's development... through another form... is only the expression . . that all are a portion of the divine." In other words, the extraordinary work of Edgar Cayce, including his ability to tune in to "cosmic forces and universal consciousness" was a demonstration of the simplicity of the principle that all of us are a portion of and can attune to the divine, "Not by a phrase or a catch-word, but rather by the exemplary life lived . . . " (254-46)

Experiencing the helpfulness of the readings does not at all require that we "believe" in them, but rather that we regard the information as worthy of examination and potentially helpful when applied. Instead of endorsing the readings as a direct source of guidance, we should think of them primarily as a source of encouragement and instruction on how to attune to the Spirit within. The specific information in the readings is to be tried, not believed in. Try it. If it helps, fine; if not, leave it alone.

The Next Step...

The work always entails two dimensions: the right spirit and the right application. The right spirit is begun by establishing an ideal and by dwelling upon that ideal in daily meditation. Right application grows out of choosing to act upon our best attunement and understanding.

Begin now with these immediate steps:

1. Take a piece of paper, a journal or diary or a dream recording book. Write a list of words which have an impact upon you, elicit a sense of high or proper motivation. Choose one word and begin to dwell upon it, making decisions based upon the quality of motivation which is awakened by that word. (If you have set an ideal already, you may regard this exercise as a way to renew your commitment to it, or perhaps to revise it.)

2. Begin to establish a daily quiet time upon which to base a later practice of regular meditation. Set a specific daily time period. During this period read something of your choice which quickens within you a high sense of meaning and purpose. (A suggested reading is John, Chapters 14-17.) Read and reread this again and again.

3. Choose one thing in your life which you have been intending to change for the better. Write it down. Bring this resolution repeatedly into relationship with the word you have chosen as an ideal. Seek in your quiet time to be given the needed energy and proper attitude to bring about this change in your life.

Where to Go from Here...

The book entitled A Search for God, used by Study Groups around the world, may become the central text for coordinating and integrating your studies in this field. It may be like a hub for the many spokes of the wheel of the holistic information from the Edgar Cayce readings. Obtain this book first and begin to work with this pattern for growth in attunement and application.

Begin to read the sacred scripture of your choice with a renewed spirit of seeking.

Request a Circulating File, to which your membership entitles you, to set about healing some area of your life which is in need.

Begin a study and practice of meditation. For instructions, read the A.R.E. publications, Meditation: Gateway to Light, and Meditation and the Mind of Man.

If you have questions about this lesson, please contact me.

Yours in peace and fellowship,

Herbert Bruce Puryear, Ph. D.