"Mean It and Act That Way" — Edgar Cayce Reading 850-5

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In Reading 850-5, Edgar Cayce reminds us that affirmations are far more than positive statements designed to improve our circumstances. When asked for "an affirmation that will help me physically, mentally and spiritually," Cayce first offered an important caution before giving the prayer itself. He explained, "Affirmations are well, but remember there is ever a promise to life or the divine within self as well as the Infinite outside of self." Every affirmation is therefore a sacred promise. It is made not only to God, "the Infinite outside of self," but also to the divine presence that dwells within every individual. Speaking an affirmation is entering into a covenant with God, and its power depends upon the sincerity with which it is lived.

Cayce then explains why affirmations sometimes fail to produce the changes people expect. "Unless these are kept as inviolate as the self would have its closest associations, then they become stumblingblocks rather than helpfulness in the experience." The word inviolate means something kept sacred, faithful, and unbroken. Cayce compares our promises to God with our closest human relationships. Just as trust must be preserved between husband and wife or between lifelong friends, so our relationship with God must be built upon integrity. If we repeatedly declare spiritual ideals but make little effort to live them, those very words eventually become "stumblingblocks." Instead of lifting us higher, they continually remind us of the distance between what we profess and what we practice. The problem is never with the affirmation itself, but with our willingness to live according to it.

Cayce therefore summarizes the secret of effective prayer in one remarkably simple instruction: "Mean it and Act that Way!" These five words may be the heart of the entire reading. Spiritual transformation does not come from repeating beautiful words a hundred times a day. It comes when those words shape our attitudes, decisions, and conduct. Every affirmation should gradually become visible in our daily lives. The prayer must become the pattern by which we think, speak, and serve.

The affirmation Cayce gives begins not with asking God for health, success, or protection, but with gratitude: "In the Infinite, I give my praise and my glory to the Father of Love and Life and Light." The focus immediately turns away from self and toward God. Cayce frequently taught that thanksgiving opens the soul more effectively than petition. By describing God as the "Father of Love and Life and Light," he presents the Divine as the very source of all goodness, vitality, wisdom, and spiritual illumination. Rather than dwelling upon what is lacking, the individual begins by acknowledging the abundance already received.

The prayer continues by thanking God "for the opportunities He has given me for service and for the manifestation of His goodness to the children of humanity." This reveals one of the central themes found throughout the Cayce readings: life is not primarily about personal achievement but about service. Even our talents, experiences, and challenges become opportunities through which God's goodness can be expressed to others. Cayce consistently taught that spiritual growth occurs naturally when we stop asking, "What can I receive?" and begin asking, "How may I serve?" Every circumstance becomes an opportunity to reveal God's love in practical ways.

The second half of the affirmation moves from gratitude to complete surrender: "Use me, then, O God, in such ways and in such manners that I, Thy servant and Thy child, may show forth the love that was exemplified in the life of our Friend—my Friend—Jesus the Christ." Rather than asking God to fulfill personal desires, the individual offers themselves as an instrument through which God's love may work. The beautiful expression "our Friend—my Friend—Jesus the Christ" makes Christ both universal and deeply personal. Jesus is not portrayed as a distant historical figure but as a living companion whose example can be followed in everyday life. The goal is not merely to admire Christ but to "show forth the love" that characterized His life.

Notice that the affirmation never asks for physical healing, mental clarity, or spiritual enlightenment directly, even though that was the original question. Cayce understood that these blessings are often the natural result of living in harmony with divine law. When a person sincerely praises God, seeks opportunities for service, and strives each day to express Christ-like love, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being begin to develop as natural fruits of that transformed life. Health becomes more than the absence of disease; it becomes the harmonious expression of the soul's relationship with God.

Reading 850-5 therefore teaches that an affirmation is not magic, nor is it simply positive thinking. It is a sacred commitment that must be lived. The words only possess power when they become actions. Cayce's instruction, "Mean it and Act that Way!" summarizes his entire philosophy of spiritual development. Gratitude must become daily thanksgiving. Prayer must become service. Faith must become action. Love must become visible in our relationships. When our lives begin to reflect the prayer we speak, the affirmation ceases to be merely spoken words and becomes a living expression of God's presence within us. Only then does it truly help us "physically, mentally and spiritually."

EDGAR CAYCE READING 850-5

(Q) Please give me an affirmation that will help me physically, mentally and spiritually.

(A) Affirmations are well, but remember there is ever a promise to life or the divine within self as well as the Infinite outside of self. And unless these are kept as inviolate as the self would have its closest associations, then they become stumblingblocks rather than helpfulness in the experience.

But this - mean it and Act that Way!

In the Infinite, I give my praise and my glory to the Father of Love and Life and Light, for the opportunities He has given me for service and for the manifestation of His goodness to the children of humanity.

Use me, then, O God, in such ways and in such manners that I, Thy servant and Thy child, may show forth the love that was exemplified in the life of our Friend—my Friend—Jesus the Christ. Amen.