THE SLEEPING PROPHET

Edgar Cayce was born near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1877.  He had had some
strange experiences as a child, and his first "reading" was for himself.  While
working as a clerk in a bookstore, the young Cayce had lost his voice.  None of the
local doctors had been able to help him.  In desperation, he turned to a man who
had been experimenting with the new fad of hypnotism.  With the aid of the
hypnotist, Cayce was able - of his own volition - to put himself into a sleep-like
state.  The hypnotist encouraged him to describe his condition and suggest a
remedy, and Cayce began to speak from his autohypnotic state.  He described a
remedy for his condition that did indeed restore his voice.

A young doctor who observed Cayce's performance became intereted.  He thought it was only  a step from diagnosing himself to diagnosing the ailment of others.
These experiments proved successful and the doctor's success and Cayce's fame
spread as a result of Cayce's accurate diagnosing or "reading" of his patients.
The word "reading" stuck, and Cayce's discourses from his sleep-like state became
known as readings.

At first Cayce was wary of his own ability, afraid he would somehow be wrong, and
that someone might suffer as a result of a wrong diagnosis.  His worst fears never
materialized and instead of suffering, more and more people found relief by follow-
ing the suggestions in his physical readings.