Akashic Records or The Book of Life

Akashic Records or The Book of Life

In Theosophy and Anthroposophy, the Akashic Records, from Akasha, the Sanskrit word for 'sky' 'Space' or 'Aether', are a compendium of Mystical Knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence known as the Astral Plane.

Akasha is a Sanskrit word meaning "sky", "Space" or "Aether", and it entered the language of theosophy through H. P. Blavatsky, who characterized it as a sort of life force; she also referred to "indestructible tablets of the astral light" recording both the past and future of human thought and action, but she did not explicitly identify these as "akashic" in nature.

The notion of an akashic record is attributed to Alfred Percy Sinnett, who, in his book Esoteric Buddhism, wrote of a Buddhist belief in "a permanency of records in the Akasa" and "the potential capacity of man to read the same." By C. W. Leadbeater's Clairvoyance the association of the term with the idea was complete, and he identified the akashic records by name as something a clairvoyant could read.

Readings of the Akashic Record were central to theosophist writings, but also appear in writings of other related figures. Among the former, Leadbeater's book Man: How, Whence, and Whither? claims to record the history of Atlantis and other civilizations as well as the future society of Earth in the 28th century. Rudolf Steiner referred to the Akashic Records and reported about Atlantis, Lemuria, the evolution of man and earth, et cetera.

The Akashic Records or "The Book of Life" can be equated to the universe's super computer system. It is this system that acts as the central storehouse of all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world. Much more than simply a memory storehouse, however, these Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we draw toward us.

Alice A. Bailey wrote in her book Light of the Soul on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Book 3 - Union achieved and its Results:

"The Akashic Record is like an immense photographic film, registering all the desires and earth experiences of our planet. Those who perceive it will see pictured thereon: The life experiences of every human being since time began, the reactions to experience of the entire animal kingdom, the aggregation of the thought-forms of a karmic nature (based on desire) of every human unit throughout time. Herein lies the great deception of the records. Only a trained occultist can distinguish between actual experience and those astral pictures created by imagination and keen desire."

Levi H. Dowling's Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ offers a version of the youth of Jesus Christ ostensibly based upon Akashic Record material.

In The Law of One, Book I, a book purported to contain conversations with a channeled "social memory complex" known to humans as Ra, when the questioner asks where Edgar Cayce received his information, the answer received is:

"We have explained before that the intelligent infinity is brought into intelligent energy from eighth density or octave. The one sound vibratory complex called Edgar used this gateway to view the present, which is not the continuum you experience but the potential social memory complex of this planetary sphere. The term your peoples have used for this is the "Akashic Record" or the "Hall of Records".

Accessing the Library of the Akashic Records is not difficult. It is not a privilege allowed only to a handful of people; the Universe doesn't discriminate. And there are many ways to access. Don't get sidetracked to practice astral projection, etc. just because you read someone accessed the Akashic Records by astral projection. That's like believing you must practice skateboarding because you read someone got to the public library by his skateboard. Get the skateboard only when you love skateboarding; in order to access the Akashic Records, choose the approach that feels comfortable and efficient for you.

The motivation is even more critical than the skill. If someone attempts to enter the Hall of the Akashic Records with mere curiosity, not to mention malicious intentions, they are rejected (often by getting confused). The curiosity might sound innocent enough, as in "Let's find out what my boyfriend / girlfriend was like in their past lives ..." Learning who they were / are won't improve your relationship until you understand who you are. We always want to begin with ourselves. The good news is that reading the Akashic Records that are relevant to you is even easier, you carry a copy of your Records, so to say.

Biblical References: Book of Life

The first reference in Scripture to some unearthly volume is found in Exodus 32:32. After the Israelites had committed a most grievous sin by worshiping the golden calf, it was Moses who pleaded on their behalf, even offering to take full responsibility and have his own name stricken "out of thy book which thou hast written" in recompense for their deed. Later, in the Old Testament, we learn that there is nothing about an individual that is not known in this same book. In Psalm 139, David makes reference to the fact God has written down everything about him and all the details of his life – even that which is imperfect and those deeds which have yet to be performed.

Edgar Cayce and the Akashic Records

In terms of contemporary insights, perhaps the most extensive source of information regarding the Akashic Records comes from the clairvoyant work of Edgar Cayce (1877-1945), Christian mystic and founder of A.R.E. For forty-three years of his adult life, Edgar Cayce possessed the uncanny ability to lie down on a couch, close his eyes, fold his hands over his stomach, and put himself into some kind of an altered state in which virtually any type of information was available. The accuracy of Cayce's psychic work is evidenced by approximately one dozen biographies and literally hundreds of titles which explore various aspects of his information and the thousands of topics he discussed.

When asked about the source of his information, Cayce replied that there were essentially two. The first was the subconscious mind of the individual for whom he was giving the reading and the second was the Akashic Records.

The Edgar Cayce readings suggest that each of us writes the story of our lives through our thoughts, our deeds, and our interactions with the rest of creation. This information has an effect upon us in the here and now. In fact, the Akashic Records have such an impact upon our lives and the potentials and probabilities we draw toward us that any exploration of them cannot help but provide us with insights into the nature of ourselves and our relationship to the universe.

There is much more to our lives, our histories, and our individual influence upon our tomorrows than we have perhaps dared to imagine. By accessing information from the Akashic Records, the universe's computer database, much might be revealed to us. The world as we have collectively perceived it is but a faint shadow of reality.