Charles Thomas Cayce, Ph.D.

Association for Research and Enlightenment

One day recently, I spoke with the wives of two soldiers, who each described psychic experiences while praying for their husbands who were on duty in the Persian Gulf. Their impressions of their husbands on specific dates—where they were, what they were doing, and wearing—were recorded in some detail, and recently corroborated by their husbands who had also journals. For example, on a particular day, one of the husbands was sleeping in an elementary school, had on a red bandana, and drew a specific picture in a letter written that day—impressions all recorded by his wife.

It reminded me of similar experiences between captive husbands in Vietnam and their wives, living in Virginia Beach during the Vietnam War, who had contacted the A.R.E. to try to understand what was going on in their dreams and during their prayer time. They were frightened by the experiences of contact with their loved ones and by the term "psychic experience." Their stories reminded me of both the continuing problems with semantics (what do we mean by "ESP"?) and the close relationships between prayer, meditation, dreams, and other deeper states of consciousness.

It is a wonderful thing that the word "prayer" has such universal meaning and isn’t limited by our particular religions or other preconceptions. In fact, the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of prayer continues to grow.

A deep, rich resource on this topic of prayer is the material in the Edgar Cayce readings. For a number of years,beginning in 1931, a group of Mr. Cayce’s friends, studying and working with prayer, began receiving a series of readings on that subject (the "281 series"). The organization’s prayer outreach continues to be an important part of the work of A.R.E., both as a service and as a source of information.

It is sometimes overlook as individuals’ interest is piqued by what seems to be more relevant or mysterious topics in the readings. [Ed.: You may wish to access the 281 readings on the A.R.E. web site, or enter "prayer" in the search field on the home page, located at http://www.edgarcayce.org]

For me, one of the most fascinating points in the readings about prayer is the reality of the potential effect of small groups of us,, in prayer, affecting much larger situations—a real opportunity these days. Another point is the individual spiritual growth and attunement that can come with our regular work with prayer and meditation.

This point was brought home to me many years ago by Hanna Miller, one of those original A.R.E. Prayer Group members. She just seemed like a sweet, husky, elderly lady, who liked to grab and hug me when I was a youngster of eight or nine. One summer day, at about that time, I had caught a four- or five-pound fish in a lake near our house. It was the biggest fish I had ever caught and I was really excited. I left my rod and the fish at the lake and telling no one, I jumped on my bike and pedaled the 14 blocks to the A.R.E. to tell my father. I ran into the lobby of the hospital building through the back door on the way to my dad’s office. I almost ran into Mrs. Miller, who was in the lobby. She grabbed me as I ran by, gave me a kiss and whispered, "What a fine fish you just caught!" It was the first of a number of experiences with her and that prayer group—fascinating examples of ESP.

To me, these and other stories suggest our connections to one another as well as the close relationship between ESP, prayer and the deeper states of consciousness. These are times when prayer might be especially appropriate and is always quite available to us.

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To Request Prayer or to Participate in A.R.E. Prayer Services

The A.R.E. Prayer List is mailed to over 4,000 people around the world who, along with the Glad Helpers in Virginia Beach, meditate and pray for those on the list. Participation in the activities of the Healing Prayer Group is free of charge and open to individuals and groups interested in performing healing work. Those who wish to participate may join as individuals or start their own local group.

To place a name on the prayer list, request information on becoming a dedicated "pray-er" or starting a group, or to make a contribution to this free worldwide service, write: A.R.E. Prayer Services, 215 67^th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451 or call 757-428-3588, ext. 7551

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