Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.)

Roswell, Stonehenge, Loch Ness, and Virginia Beach. What do all these geographical locales have in common? These are venues for those who are curious about the universe's unexplained phenomenon, from the goings-on of UFO's, the elusiveness of monsters, to the root causes and out of the box treatments for illnesses. The latter holds true at The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), a.k.a., The Edgar Cayce Visitors Center, located in Virginia's great coastal resort city.

Cayce is known as the "Sleeping Prophet". He's called that because, for over 40 years, he would close his eyes, then go into an altered state of consciousness. Cayce would then utter "readings" on a variety of subjects, from the significance of the mythical Atlantis to the root causes and treatments for diabetes. He also prophesized about future events.

I had pre-conceptions about my visit to the A.R.E. Would one of their psychics pull me aside and tell me what my future as a writer would be like? Would they advise me as to why I haven't found Miss Right yet? I was even expecting to be physically healed in totality, for I was scheduled to be on the receiving end of a renowned Cayce/Reilly full body massage. Cayce is deemed the "Father of Holistic Medicine", so his techniques being applied on my sciatica were something that I anticipated with great hope.

The Strangeness of Deafening Tranquility

When I first entered the building on 67th Street, I immediately noticed just how quiet and peaceful the greeting lobby's surroundings were despite the constant traffic of visitors. I mean tranquil: this place is in the Webster's Dictionary under the word "tranquil"! My tour guide took me upstairs to the metaphysical library, where some 80,000 books, ranging from dream interpretation to re-incarnation, are available to the public for study. The A.R.E. boasts the second largest library in the world for books on this subject matter (outdone only by The Vatican). Furthermore, all of Cayce's 14,000-plus readings are contained in volumes in a special section of the library.

Coincidence Bizarre?