Reincarnation: Have We Lived Before?
                   Just what is the nature of humankind? This same question, framed in dozens
                   of different approaches, was asked repeatedly of Edgar Cayce. His
                   answers -- insights into our relationship with God, one another, and
                   ourselves -- have served as a foundation for comparative studies between
                   the East and the West for decades.

                   From Cayce’s perspective, we are not simply physical bodies or even
                   physical bodies with souls, but are instead spiritual beings who are currently
                   having a material experience. As souls, we have manifested in the earth in
                   order to learn lessons that will enable us to return to our former state of
                   spiritual awareness. At the same time, one purpose we all have in common
                   is to bring the spirituality of the Creator into the earth.

                   A soul can choose to be born into either a male or female body in any given
                   lifetime or, as Cayce called it, an “incarnation.” A soul selects that
                   environment (parents and family, location, personal obstacles, etc.) which
                   will best allow for the learning of lessons it needs for completeness. The
                   goal is to fully express love in all the challenges which physical life offers.
                   One’s experiences are subject to the choices made with free will. As one
                   grows, he or she learns -- or rather remembers -- his or her true
                   relationship with God and one's heritage as a spiritual being. With free will,
                   we can turn the challenges life presents to us into stepping-stones toward
                   growth, or we can see them as obstacles and stumbling blocks. Either way,
                   we reap what we have sown. We constantly meet the consequences of
                   previous deeds and attitudes.

                   One frequently misunderstood concept regarding reincarnation has to do
                   with karma. From the standpoint of the Cayce material, karma is not
                   destiny, it is only memory. These memories are generally unconscious and
                   influence our abilities, our faults, even our relationships with others, but with
                   free will we can meet this memory as a positive or a negative experience.
                   Karma provides us with the potential to learn a lesson we need in order to
                   grow at a soul level, and free will determines whether or not we choose to
                   learn it at this time. The choices we make determine the next set of potential
                   experiences we encounter.

                   Much more than simply a concept that applies to a limited segment of the
                   world, reincarnation is a philosophy that has -- at one time or another --
                   been embraced by all the major religions of the world. It’s a concept that
                   can allow us to have compassion for one another because ultimately we are
                   all equal -- there is only one God and we are all His children.

                   From Cayce’s viewpoint, it didn’t really matter if an individual believed in
                   reincarnation or not. For some it can be a helpful concept, for others
                   confusing. The main purpose was to allow individuals to become aware of
                   their true spiritual nature and their ultimate relationship with one another. In
                   fact, if we can think for a moment about the one person in our life whom we
                   love most of all. then we will get an inkling of the goal of reincarnation: to be
                   able to love every single soul, even ourselves, with the very same love.
                    (Edgar Cayce. http://www.are-cayce.com/reincar.htm )