Edgar Evans Cayce

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                                         R E M E M B R A C E S   O F   E A R L Y   D A Y S




  Edgar Evans Cayce

Kevin J. Todeschi, editor-in-chief of Venture Inward, interviewed him for this article.
 


Edgar Evans Cayce is the youngest son of Edgar and Gertrude Cayce. He was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1918 and moved with his family to Virginia Beach in September 1925.

Following advice given to him in a reading from his father, he entered Duke University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1939. In 1940 he became an engineer for Virginia Electric and Power Company (now Dominion).

Serving four-and-a-half years during World War II, he attained the rank of captain in the air force. He returned to the power company in 1945, from which he retired in 1983.

He married Kathryn A. Bane in 1942, and they have two children. Currently he serves as a trustee emeritus on the A.R.E. Board of Trustees. An avid golfer and storyteller, he is also the author or co-author of four books: Humor from the Psychic, The Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce's Power, The Mysteries of Atlantis Revisited, and Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into a dozen different languages.

Q. Kevin Todeschi: Edgar Evans, this year marks A.R.E.'s 75th anniversary. Interestingly enough, it's also the 50th anniversary of buying back the old Edgar Cayce Hospital building that had been lost during the Depression.

A. Edgar Evans Cayce: I can remember both events. When A.R.E. was formed I was 13 years old. I was 38 when the hospital was bought back.

The Association of National Investigators had been the organization that preceded A.R.E. When the hospital closed its doors, my dad, Edgar Cayce, was really at a low point in his life. The hospital had been his dream. Prior to the hospital closing, the medical director, Dr. House, who was also Dad's friend, died as well. I think that Dad felt like everything he had hoped for had suddenly gone down the drain.

After the hospital closed, I remember Dad telling me that the building would never be a success at anything but what it had been intended for - and he was right. Over time, some of the best businessmen at the Beach acquired the property. They tried to make it a motel. They tried to make it a nightclub. Over a period of years, they tried to make it half a dozen things. Eventually, the "North End" of Virginia Beach started to boom. The Ramada got built there on 57th Street. Everything on the beach was booming, but nobody could do a thing with the old hospital. Finally, when it came up for sale, many A.R.E. people and study groups came together to help buy it back for about $100,000. Now keep in mind the A.R.E. didn't have enough money to pay the interest on the loan, but somehow we got it back, and it's been a success ever since. Dad was right about it succeeding for what it was intended.

What I remember most about the time after the hospital closed was that we had to move two or three times. For a time we even lived right across the street from the old hospital, which I'm sure was really hard on Dad. Eventually we moved down to Arctic Circle by the lake and rented two little tiny houses. My folks had to get two of them to have an office, as well as a place for the family and a place for Gladys Davis. We lived Association headquarters and Dad lived there until he died.

Gladys was just like a member of the family. And she had a memory like a computer. She could remember people's names and when they had readings. She'd remember their readings, when they'd written, what had been in their letters, and so forth. She also remembered Dad's letters because she had seen the letters that had been written back and forth. Dad wrote a lot of letters. He had an old Remington typewriter and he had literally worn some of the lettering off the keys. Gladys could remember so many things about people because she was there when the people were there, when the readings were taking place. She was amazing.

Q. Can you describe how Virginia Beach has changed since you first moved here?

A. (Laughing) When we first came here, I don't think there were six houses between 31st Street and the end of the North End. Laskin Road hadn't been built. All that existed were sand dunes between here and Cape Henry. We used to go up there and pick grapes - great big things that Dad used to make jelly and wine. You could pick them by the bushel.

Virginia Beach was just a tiny little fishing village then. Virginia Beach hadn't incorporated Princess Anne yet; it was just a strip of land along the oceanfront. I remember there used to be a company at the oceanfront called Storemont's Fishing Company. They used to have these long wooden poles up with nets between them to catch fish. Sometimes during a storm those poles would break off and drift ashore. We were so poor that Hugh Lynn and I used to gather up those broken pieces of wood and saw them up for firewood for the fireplace. They burned real pretty because they were full of the ocean salts. Some of them would be green, red, blue, all colors. We sawed many a cord of wood from the oceanfront.

Speaking of old Virginia Beach, there used to be a train track that ran along Pacific Avenue. A lot of the railroad people used to come down here. They'd take a Pullman car down to the beach and park where the Cavalier Hotel is now. The train used to bring picnickers from Norfolk down to the old casino that was quite popular. The casino used to have a picnic pavilion with tables and chairs where people could eat lunch. It also had a bathhouse with showers and changing rooms for swimmers. There was a dance floor where famous bands played at night. There were areas for slot machines, and, though gambling was illegal, the city looked the other way. The Beach also had a theater. It was 10 cents to go see a movie, but nobody had 10 cents in those days.


 
 
 

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 Remembrances of Early Days - Edgar Evans Cayce
Kevin J. Todeschi, editor-in-chief of Venture Inward, interviewed him for this article.


Edgar Evans Cayce is the youngest son of Edgar and Gertrude Cayce. He was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1918 and moved with his family to Virginia Beach in September 1925.

Following advice given to him in a reading from his father, he entered Duke University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1939. In 1940 he became an engineer for Virginia Electric and Power Company (now Dominion).

Serving four-and-a-half years during World War II, he attained the rank of captain in the air force. He returned to the power company in 1945, from which he retired in 1983.

He married Kathryn A. Bane in 1942, and they have two children. Currently he serves as a trustee emeritus on the A.R.E. Board of Trustees. An avid golfer and storyteller, he is also the author or co-author of four books: Humor from the Psychic, The Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce's Power, The Mysteries of Atlantis Revisited, and Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into a dozen different languages.


Q. Kevin Todeschi: Edgar Evans, this year marks A.R.E.'s 75th anniversary. Interestingly enough, it's also the 50th anniversary of buying back the old Edgar Cayce Hospital building that had been lost during the Depression.

A. Edgar Evans Cayce: I can remember both events. When A.R.E. was formed I was 13 years old. I was 38 when the hospital was bought back.

The Association of National Investigators had been the organization that preceded A.R.E. When the hospital closed its doors, my dad, Edgar Cayce, was really at a low point in his life. The hospital had been his dream. Prior to the hospital closing, the medical director, Dr. House, who was also Dad's friend, died as well. I think that Dad felt like everything he had hoped for had suddenly gone down the drain.

After the hospital closed, I remember Dad telling me that the building would never be a success at anything but what it had been intended for - and he was right. Over time, some of the best businessmen at the Beach acquired the property. They tried to make it a motel. They tried to make it a nightclub. Over a period of years, they tried to make it half a dozen things. Eventually, the "North End" of Virginia Beach started to boom. The Ramada got built there on 57th Street. Everything on the beach was booming, but nobody could do a thing with the old hospital. Finally, when it came up for sale, many A.R.E. people and study groups came together to help buy it back for about $100,000. Now keep in mind the A.R.E. didn't have enough money to pay the interest on the loan, but somehow we got it back, and it's been a success ever since. Dad was right about it succeeding for what it was intended.

What I remember most about the time after the hospital closed was that we had to move two or three times. For a time we even lived right across the street from the old hospital, which I'm sure was really hard on Dad. Eventually we moved down to Arctic Circle by the lake and rented two little tiny houses. My folks had to get two of them to have an office, as well as a place for the family and a place for Gladys Davis. We lived Association headquarters and Dad lived there until he died.

Gladys was just like a member of the family. And she had a memory like a computer. She could remember people's names and when they had readings. She'd remember their readings, when they'd written, what had been in their letters, and so forth. She also remembered Dad's letters because she had seen the letters that had been written back and forth. Dad wrote a lot of letters. He had an old Remington typewriter and he had literally worn some of the lettering off the keys. Gladys could remember so many things about people because she was there when the people were there, when the readings were taking place. She was amazing.

Q. Can you describe how Virginia Beach has changed since you first moved here?

A. (Laughing) When we first came here, I don't think there were six houses between 31st Street and the end of the North End. Laskin Road hadn't been built. All that existed were sand dunes between here and Cape Henry. We used to go up there and pick grapes - great big things that Dad used to make jelly and wine. You could pick them by the bushel.

Virginia Beach was just a tiny little fishing village then. Virginia Beach hadn't incorporated Princess Anne yet; it was just a strip of land along the oceanfront. I remember there used to be a company at the oceanfront called Storemont's Fishing Company. They used to have these long wooden poles up with nets between them to catch fish. Sometimes during a storm those poles would break off and drift ashore. We were so poor that Hugh Lynn and I used to gather up those broken pieces of wood and saw them up for firewood for the fireplace. They burned real pretty because they were full of the ocean salts. Some of them would be green, red, blue, all colors. We sawed many a cord of wood from the oceanfront.

Speaking of old Virginia Beach, there used to be a train track that ran along Pacific Avenue. A lot of the railroad people used to come down here. They'd take a Pullman car down to the beach and park where the Cavalier Hotel is now. The train used to bring picnickers from Norfolk down to the old casino that was quite popular. The casino used to have a picnic pavilion with tables and chairs where people could eat lunch. It also had a bathhouse with showers and changing rooms for swimmers. There was a dance floor where famous bands played at night. There were areas for slot machines, and, though gambling was illegal, the city looked the other way. The Beach also had a theater. It was 10 cents to go see a movie, but nobody had 10 cents in those days.

Virginia Beach started annexing property and eventually merged with Princess Anne County in 1961 - that's when the city really started to grow. Virginia Beach is now the largest city in the state, with about a half million people.

Q. What was it like having a psychic for a father?

A. To tell you the truth, when I was real little, I used to think that everybody's father gave readings. I didn't know the difference. Growing up with it is different than coming into it from the outside because I used to watch him give readings and when I got older I had readings myself. Over the years, I saw the readings work for many, many people, including my mother, my father, my brother, and myself. I had physical readings and life readings. As I grew up, I learned not to talk about it at school. Most of the people at the Beach thought Dad was a doctor of some kind. They used to call him "Doc Cayce." When he'd take me into the barbershop to get a haircut when I was little, they'd say, "How ya doing, Doc?"

One time during a reading I asked where I should go to college, and it suggested Duke. It suggested engineering and stated that I could get a scholarship. I graduated from Oceana High School with 28 people in the graduating class, and getting a scholarship to Duke seemed like the chance of a snowball in hell. (Laughs) Well, I put in for a scholarship and got a scholarship for my first year. I was valedictorian of the Oceana graduating class, but still it was a small, small school.

Q. When you were thinking about getting married, did you ask for advice?

A. My girlfriend Kathryn ("Kat") had a reading. She always kids me about it and says that if Dad hadn't recommended marriage, we wouldn't have gotten married. Dad said that we'd been associated before - this year, we'll have been married 63 years!

Q. One of the subjects that you really took an interest in was the readings on Atlantis. How did that happen?

A. That really came about in the early 1960s. I was skeptical like anybody would have been because most people thought Atlantis was a myth. I decided to read every reading on Atlantis and see if I could find anything that might prove it. I thought I would go down to A.R.E. at night and read all the readings that mentioned Atlantis. I figured the project would take me a few weeks. At the time, all of the readings were on microfilm that could be viewed through one of those roller-type machines. There was no index system yet, so I had to scroll through all of the life readings. The project I had thought would take a month took me over a year. I worked for two or three nights a week, maybe two or three hours a night, and finally read through every one.

As I read the readings on Atlantis, I'd make notes and then I tried to organize them into time periods and subjects. Dad didn't often give dates, unless somebody asked him. But a few were mentioned, so I tried to group the readings into one of the three destructions he spoke about: one occurring around 50,000 B.C., when the first part of Atlantis was submerged; another occurring about 28,000 B.C., when they had the second destruction and the continent was split into islands; and the last one about 10,000 B.C., when the last islands went down. The final destruction is the one that Plato talked about.

Dad made statements in some of these Atlantis readings that later proved to be accurate. For example, he was talking about this ray that they had in Atlantis and the technology that they had reached. He said that this would be discovered in 25 years. Well, almost exactly 25 years later, the Bell laboratories discovered the laser. Dad also talked about humankind being in the earth a lot longer than geology and archaeology claimed to be true. Most of the early readings were in the '20s and '30s, at a time when science believed humans had inhabited North America for 2,000-3,000 years at most. Dates of 10,000 or 20,000 years were ridiculous. But we now know that carbon dating suggests humans have been in places like Pennsylvania for at least 17,000 years, I believe South America has a date of at least 35,000 years, and so forth. Over the years, it's turned out that people lived in the places Dad said they had, at the time he said they did. In the past, no one believed that the poles had ever shifted, now there's real good evidence that they've shifted before. They've found mammals in Siberia that are frozen with tropical vegetation in their stomachs. And all the things that he said about the past - all the recent discoveries, instead of proving him wrong have proven him accurate.

Q. Didn't you and your brother Hugh Lynn write a book once about the times when Edgar Cayce might not have been completely accurate?

A. It's called The Outer Limits of Edgar Cayce's Power. The two of us wanted to look at those occasions when the readings seemed to have been wrong. In all, perhaps 200 out of the 14,000 could have been somewhat inaccurate - now that's still a pretty good batting average. It gives him about a 98 or 99 percent accuracy rate. In the end, I came to the conclusion that there were explainable reasons why some of these readings were wrong.

You see, overall there are probably four sources of psychic information evidenced in the Cayce files. One of them, of course, is the unconscious memory of everything you ever read or heard that's in your mind, although you may not remember it. It's for this reason, I think, that many of the readings have a biblical sound with the "thee's" and "thou's" scattered throughout. Dad read the Bible through once for every year of his life.

A second source of psychic information is telepathy - a communication between one mind and another. If you could get into a person's subconscious mind, like Dad could, you could give a beautiful diagnosis of his or her physical body. That would be the second source.

The third source is clairvoyance - the capability of somehow "seeing" things at a distance. Now whether he saw things at a distance the same way you and I might if we were there, I don't know. Not in every reading but in a number of readings he would make a side comment like: "What a beautiful cherry tree in the yard!" or "This man's arguing with his wife," or "There's been a wreck outside," and so forth. We always tried to check up on these comments, writing or calling and asking, "Do you have a cherry tree in your yard?" or "Were you arguing with your wife?" or "Do you have a beautiful collie dog?" or something like that. He was never wrong. I never heard of a case when he was wrong.

On one occasion, I was listening to a reading that was supposed to be given for a man in New York. This man was supposed to be in his apartment at the time of the reading. My mother, Gertrude, gave my father the suggestion, "You will have before you the body of so-and-so, who is at this address in New York..." Dad lay there for a minute or two and then said, "He's not here. He's on a bus coming across town. There's been an accident and there's a lot of traffic; the bus is late. He'll be here in minute. We'll wait." He lay there for about 10 or 15 minutes and didn't say a word. Then suddenly he said, "He's come in now," and proceeded to give the reading.

 
 

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When my Dad said that, Hugh Lynn got up and went in the other room and called the man on the phone. The man said, "That's exactly right. I know I was supposed to be in my apartment at the time. I was on the way and there was a traffic accident. The bus was late. I just walked in." So there's something nobody could've anticipated. I think his clairvoyance is pretty accurate.

The fourth place of getting information would be, well, there's two ways of looking at it. A lot of people think there's such a thing as the Akashic records - a record of everything that ever happened in time and space - and it's kind of like a big library. If you could have access to that, you could have access to any kind of information. Another way of looking at this fourth source is to think about moving in another dimension, like where you take a point, you move it, you have a line - one-dimensional - no height or depth in it. You move the line at right angles to itself and you've got a plane - two dimensions, no height or depth. If you move the plane at right angles to itself, you would have a cube - three dimensions, like the kind of world we live in.

Suppose you could move that cube at right angles to itself? Well, how you do that? We can't conceive of moving that, but suppose you moved it in time so it existed yesterday, today, and tomorrow. As an analogy, think of a little two-dimensional bug that's crawling in this plane, and he has a free will and he has a memory. He remembers where he's been. He knows where he is, but he knows nothing about what's going on up here or where he's going. But you're a three-dimensional person; you're looking down on this plane. You can see that bug and you can see every place he's been. You can see where he is. You can see everything that could possibly happen to him in the future and you can see it all at once - past, present, and future. Now you could say, if you continue to go like you're going, at three o'clock tomorrow you'll be right here - and you'd be right. But since he has a free will he might choose to move in another direction. He might go this way or that way, and you'd be wrong. So that's why I don't think the future is fixed. I think that Dad could see future possibilities, some more likely than others.

In addition to these four sources, I think it's important to keep in mind that the attitudes and the purposes and ideals of the people involved in the readings affected his accuracy. I know for a fact that if Dad had a stomachache or a cold or was upset physically, he didn't get as good a reading as he did when he was perfectly healthy. So that was certainly one thing. On the other hand, if a mother had a sick child that she wanted to get well, Dad certainly wanted to help the child get well. This empathy between them coupled with good intentions, good purposes, would result in a good reading. But if somebody was looking for a goldmine or buried treasure, what's the intention or motive? Dad felt he ought to help people. I don't know whether finding a goldmine would help them - might or might not. All kinds of things went into giving a reading.

Q. What do you think your father would say about how his work has spread all over the world?

A. I think he would be very surprised, but I think he would be very happy about it. My father's hope was to help people as much as he could. He was most interested in helping people. If a person couldn't afford a reading, he'd give it to them for free. He was constantly giving to others. While he was still alive and Tom Sugrue's book There Is a River came out and the Coronet magazine article "Miracle Man of Virginia Beach" by Margueritte Harmon Bro came out at about the same time, he became famous overnight. At the time, Hugh Lynn was in Europe and I was overseas and neither of us could do anything to slow him down. The readings just started piling up. The bags of mail they brought in just buried him. He'd get so many calls at night; he even had to get an unlisted number. People called him up at midnight: "My mother's dying," or "My wife's dying, what can you do?" He was just deluged with people trying to get help.

Although the readings themselves recommended giving no more than two readings a day, he started giving 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 readings a day just to try to help. It was too much, and he had a breakdown from it. He had a minor stroke, and he gave a reading on himself and it told him he was trying to do too much; if he didn't slow down, it would kill him. He didn't slow down and it killed him. That's what's happened.

When I think about it, Dad was happiest when the hospital opened and it was treating all these people. I guess that was his peak. That's what he had wanted most of all. When the hospital folded, it was really a big disappointment.

I remember so many times watching my dad on the fishing pier just thinking and fishing. He loved to fish. He loved to tend to his garden. He never came in from the garden without an armful of vegetables. He never came in from fishing without a load of fish. He was good at both of these things, but he loved helping people.

I think he'd be happy with how many people have been helped by the readings. If Dad were alive today, I think he'd be surprised by all of the books, by the readings on computer, by the Edgar Cayce Centers around the world. Other than being surprised, I guess he'd still be giving readings as much as he could and probably run into the same problems - wanting to help more people than he could. Dad would be surprised at how the organization has grown. He would be surprised at buying the old Cayce Hospital building back and then at the size of the Library and Conference Center. He used to have a little library of books, and now the A.R.E. has more than 65,000 volumes. I think he'd be surprised.

You know, I remember when they built the Library/Conference Center back in 1975. Hugh Lynn was worried about how they were going to move the books from the Cayce Hospital building to their new home in the Library. There were over 16,000 volumes at the time. I suggested that he get together as many staff and volunteers as he could find and have them form a human chain down the steps of the hospital building, across the parking lot, and up the steps into the second floor of the new building. That's exactly what he decided to do. On the day of the move, approximately 200 staff and volunteers formed the chain and were able to move those 16,000 books in one day!

Q. Edgar Evans, in addition to your own readings, the readings on Atlantis, and some of the stories you've remembered here today, do any of the other readings stand out in your mind?

A. Once toward the end of a life reading, an individual asked the question, "Who will aid me most in my work and daily life?" Dad's answer was short and to the point: "God!" - one word.

Q. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today.

A. It's been a pleasure.

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THE FOLLOWING POSTS MAY BE HELPFUL FOR RESEARCH



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E.C. REPORT

These five projections appeared simultaneously in five places
on the earth. The surface was much different from its
present appearance. The axis of the earth has changed since
that time. What are now polar regions were then tropical.
The extinct continents of Atlantis (lying in the area between
the present Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea) and
Lemuria (lying in the South Pacific) were the largest land
areas. In what is now Europe, the region of the Carpathian
Mountains was above water, as was the upper part of Africa
(Egypt and Sudan). In Asia, the region of what is now the
Gobi Desert was fertile plain, as were the desert plains of
what is now the southwestern part of the United States. The
western seaboard of the United States was the then the
coastal region of Atlantis, while the Andean region of South
America was the coastal region of Lemuria. The white race
appeared in the region of the Carpathian Mountains; the black
race in the upper African region.

Thus Amilius, the first and last Adam, prepared the way for
His conquest of the world, through man. Down through
countless ages He has moved among men, sustaining them,
ministering unto them, quelling their fears, ever urging
them on. He has walked and talked with men of every clime,
nurtured the seeds of every great religion that proclaimed
the Oneness of God, fanned the fires of every great
philosophy that pointed upward along the way. In the hearts
and minds of men He has kept alive the battle-cry for a
conquest of self, and has, as an individual entity, led the
way out of the great delusion which the inner man created and
does create for himself.

(The above introduction was taken from the December 1932
Bulletin of the Association.)

(The material which follows was prepared by the Association
for distribution in May 1935, being a collection of extracts
from readings by Edgar Cayce - 364-1 through 13, February 3rd
through November 7th, 1932.)

For parallel study refer to Bible minutes on the Book of
Genesis, prepared by Study Group #8 of the Association, the
group taught by Edgar Cayce, during the first thirteen weeks
in 1939.)

CREATION

The earth was created and inhabited by the mineral, plant,
and animal kingdoms long before men entered the earth plane.
For God first gave the world into the keeping of His Son who
came to this sphere a spiritual being.

With Him came many soul-entities in spiritual form ("So God
created man in His own image, in the image of God He created
him; male and female created He them." Gen. 1:27)

The purpose of these soul-entities was to fulfill God's laws
and plans for this earth. In a few short chapters the Bible
gives the story of the turning away of these spiritual beings
from God's will, their fall into matter, and the preparation
for the redemption of each soul that turns its face toward
the Creator.

The story in Genesis is the presentation of a teacher. A
teacher of a people who were separated for the definite
purpose of keeping alive in the minds, the hearts, the
soul-minds of entities, their original source; that there may
be seen their closer relationship to the Divine Influences of
Creative Forces that brought into being all that appertains
to man's indwelling as man in the form of flesh in this
material world.

The story is presented in symbols of that thought as held by
those peoples from whom the physical recorder took those
records as compiled, together with that gained by himself in
and through the entering into that state where the entity's
soul-mind drew upon the records that are made by the passing
of time itself in a material world. These records are known
as the AKASHIC RECORDS.

Amilius, the Son into whose charge the earth was given, first
discerned that from himself, not of the beasts about him,
could be drawn, WAS drawn, that which made for the
propagation of beings in the flesh, for companionship in a
material world. The apple - as the "apple of the eye" - the
desire of that companionship innate in that created, as
innate in the Creator, brought companionship into creation
itself.

The forms in the physical sense were OF THE NATURE OF THOUGHT
FORMS able to push themselves out of themselves in that
direction in which development took shape in thought - much
in the manner of the amoeba in the waters of a stagnant pool.

As these took forms, by the gratifying of their own desire
for that as builded, or added to, the material conditions,
they hardened or set in bodies similar to those of today,
with a color partaking of the surrounding environ.

There was the ability to project itself in whatever direction
it chose. It was able to make itself of that environ, in
color, in harmony, in whatever manner was desired. And this
power resulted in projections in music, in art, in every
conceivable manner; bringing all realms under subjection.

For He was the Son of God made manifest, that He might be
the companion in a made world, in material manifested things,
with the injunction to subdue all, bring all the material
things under subjection, by that ability to project itself
in its way, knowing itself, as given, to be a portion of the
whole; IN, THROUGH, OF, AND BY THE WHOLE. The injunction
was, "Keep thine self separate; OF that seen but NOT that
seen."

With many of the soul-entities, desire entered, bringing
associations with the influences of the carnal mind.

Thus there came into the world the sex influence (as
symbolized by the serpent), creating those desires that could
be satisfied only in gratification of carnal forces which
partake of the world and its influences about same, rather
than of the spiritual emanations from which this influences
has its source. Will control was broken down.

Thus we see at the first the Sons of God combining male and
female as one with the abilities as described. Then, with
entering of DESIRE, there was created a projection which
became the companion and a means of satisfying the carnal
desires.

Today, we know this being as Lilith. With the turning back
to the Creator's plans and the turning within to the Creative
impulses, there was made possible the creation by God of one
to be a helpmate, a balance, in the long struggle which was
to ensue. This one we call Eve.

The first companion was a projection into the animal kingdom;
a companion, a means to an end. And was builded through the
thought forms in a period of evolution. Eve was created by
God and in an instant drawn from the soul-entity already in
existence. For God said, "Let there be life," and there was
life.

Through the will of that which came into being through the
right channels, of that which was created by the Creator,
souls were able to continue entering the earth plane to help
balance the struggle which continued with the offspring of
that which had pushed itself into form to gratify the desires
of the carnal forces.

Many souls were able to attain a balance in this early
period, for during the time of the third from Adam, "In that
day did they call upon the name of the Lord." Ever when the
elements that make for littleness, uncleanness, are crucified
in the body, the Spirit of the Lord, of God, is present.

When there is the overbalancing, so that the body (physical),
the mental man, the imagination of the heart, are evil, or
his purpose is evil, then is that war continuing - as from
the beginning.

With the changes that brought sin into the world there came
the fruits of same, the seed of sin, which we see in the
material world as those things that corrupt good ground,
those that corrupt the elements that are of the compounds of
those of the first causes, or elementals; and pests are seen
and similar evils.

So does it follow throughout all creative forces, that the
fruit of that which is active brings seed productive of the
corruption or the cleansing, in the activating forces, of
that being acted upon.

Amilius projected himself into the earth plane as five in
one, choosing the type of body best adapted to the earth
which we know today in our present size and proportion.

This was the beginning of the five races. One of these we
know as the red race which began in Atlantis. The first
chapters of Genesis deal with the period just before and
during this five point projection. The book of Job,
written by Melchizedek, is an account in simple language of
the Son into whose hands the earth was given and who passed
through the trials in the flesh that He might become the
Savior of mankind.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ATLANTIS

Introduction

Stories of Atlantis are legends and wild figments of the
imagination for the average person. Plato's reference to
the lost continent and a few lines in the Bible regarding
the division of the earth may furnish a basis for much of
the psychic data received on this subject. But these are
mere figments and do not satisfy those seeking evidence.

Nor does the literature published by various orders and
societies appear evidential except to those giving credence
to such information. Recently a few scientists have brought
some light to bear on this matter as a result of their
investigations which appear to confirm the belief in the
existence of such a continent.

The following data will only add to much that has already
been written, purported as having come psychically. That it
checks with some material already published will make it of
more interest to some.

Those who through personal experiences have established
confidence in the validity of the information which comes
through this channel will find this data valuable as a basis
for further study of the subject.

In over one hundred and fifty Life Readings given for various
individuals in all parts of the country, details of their
appearances during one or more stages of the development of
the lost continent of Atlantis have been received. Those who
have had such appearances will find this material of
particular interest.

Accepting for a moment the possibility of this continent's
existence, one naturally asks of what value is a knowledge
of it today.

The world is being greatly influenced in this present age
by Atlanteans. Many are being reincarnated into this plane
and hosts of others are pressing through psychics all over
the world.

To meet and cope with the influences which they bring we must
understand their development, their weaknesses as well as
their accomplishments. The world of their day was one of
change, one of great achievements and terrible destructions.

The rapid scientific strides which have been made in recent
times are evidences of their activity and the great
discoveries just ahead will be made through their influence.

Our greatest scientists know little of many of the natural
laws controlled by the Atlanteans. Will their coming bring
peace or turmoils into the world? Much depends on those who
will guide, direct, and balance their great knowledge and
tireless energy. It is important that we know something of
the ideals and purposes of these peoples as well as
understand their accomplishments.

TIME AND LOCATION

The origin of the Atlantean continent is obscured in the
misty period of prehistory. Indeed, even psychic records
are hard to understand, for the earth's surface has changed
many times during even this cycle.

When man entered this earth as man, Atlantis was a great
continent lying in what is now the Atlantic Ocean between the
Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea.

In area it can be compared with what is now Europe and
Russia. The north and south poles did not occupy their
present positions, nor were the land surfaces now existent
then above water except as follows:

The eastern seaboard was the coastal region of Atlantis; the
region of the Carpathian mountains and the Mongolian Desert
were habitable, as was the northern part of what is now
Africa, as was the southeastern portion of Atlantis.

The Andean coast of South America were covered by water,
while the plains of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona were above
sea level. The people of Atlantis passed through the same
stages of development as other peoples. As we shall see,
there were periods when they attained very high understanding
of natural laws and excelled the other races of the world in
material civilization.

The first of a series of disturbances came as a result of the
use of the very high explosives which were used to destroy
the enormous animals that then roamed the world. Great gas
pockets were blown open and volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes from the slow cooling earth broke up the
continent into a group of large islands.

The Bible gives an account of this second change, terming it
the flood. Before the final destruction which began about
10,700 B.C. the principal islands remaining were Poseidia,
Aryaz and Og. The West Indies are remains of this great
continent.

The people of Atlantis were a combination of the hardened
thought forms manifesting in that part of the earth, and
man's projection, as in present form, as one of the five
races, resulting in the red race.

In Atlantis as in other parts of the world the thought forms
has taken all manner of shapes and sizes. When Amilius chose
to guide the world out of the darkness into which it had been
led, He selected a body proportioned as those of today. And
in five places in the earth He began the five great races.
The black in the Sudan; the brown in Lemuria; the yellow in
the Gobi; the white in Carpathia (central Europe); and the
red in Atlantis.

This first man was possessed of a body through and in which
the soul functioned much more easily than it does today. The
third eye which we know today as the pituitary body was
highly developed. Through it the mind of the soul controlled
the body and influenced its surroundings; for example,
knowledge of happenings in distant parts of the country could
be known at will and the physical body could be moved from
place to place, by thought control.

The people of Atlantis passed through the same stages of
development as did other races. The need for food,
protection, and amusement drew them together, first in small
groups, and then in large bodies.

At first the homes were in caves among the rocks and in nests
in the trees. Later through group organization, structures
of wood and stone were built. Stone was first use to form
the implements with which the people protected themselves and
secured food. Iron, brass, and copper were also employed
even before the first upheavals.

The early Atlanteans were peaceful and so made rapid advances
in the application of natural laws.

At an early period natural gas was utilized to make large
balloons from the skins of animals and these balloons were
used to transport building materials. Electricity was also
discovered and set to work for man, thus paving the way for
remarkable developments in this field.

Turmoils arose with the mixing of those of pure lineage
with those who had not completely thrown off the animal
influences. Contempt, hatred, and bloodshed resulted.

With this growth of disturbing factors - resulting from the
magnification of desires without regard for the rights of
others - an effort was made to draw the people back to the
worship of one God, by establishing the first altars upon
which were made the sacrifices of the field and forest.
Rituals and ceremonies were instituted and the sacred fires
set, as the shrine of the pure and the means of cleansing for
all.

After the first destruction, the altars were sometimes used
for human sacrifice, by those turning more and more away from
the original understanding of the Creative Force. Strife,
rather than peace, became the common state, and the fact that
great understanding of nature's forces had been attained made
the destructions all the more terrible.

From this time on, though material civilization rose to great
heights, there was a growing unrest which brought about the
many migrations both to the east and the west.

As can well be understood when considering the period of time
covered, civilizations rose and fell many times on this great
continent. At the heights of material achievement the
Atlanteans were far more advanced than we are today. They
used electricity as we do and, moreover, included among their
inventions, well developed television and radio;
amplification of light rays for telescopes; and more advanced
systems for heating and lighting.

Rays of various kinds were controlled, including the death
ray. Fluxes of metals unknown today were used in the various
types of air and water craft which were constructed by the
Atlanteans. The forces used to propel these crafts were
first gas and electricity, but later, forces from the sun's
rays - caught and reflected by crystals.

Many beautiful cities were built throughout the land.
Perhaps the largest was that called Poseidia, located on what
became the last of the great islands also designated by that
name. Here on the bay of Parfa - one of the great harbors of
the ancient world - the Atlanteans constructed a city of
stone.

Water was brought in great conduits from the mountains and
distributed to the individual buildings and beautiful pools,
of which there were many. The buildings, other than the
temple in the heart of the city, were built in tiers.
Colored stones, highly polished, were used; and inlay work
was prevalent.

In the temple were to be found enormous semi-circular columns
of onyx, topaz, and beryl, inlaid with amethyst and other
stones that caught the rays of the sun at various angles. In
the temple, the sacred fires burned continually. These were
rays that we know nothing of today. There was an outer
court, or assembly hall; the inner rooms for attendants and
the inner chamber about the alter and fires.

In appearance the Atlanteans varied as do the people of a
vast country today. In the early periods there were both
giants and pygmies. Monstrosities resulted from the mixing
of the thought forms, but the pure strain as came down from
one of the five projections was the origin of the red race.

With this incoming of the souls using the vehicle selected by
Amilius as the best for this plane, purposes for development
became more fixed. Thus group organization was made possible
through the cooperation necessary for development. Homes,
tribal groups, cities, and nations resulted.

At first skins of animals were used as clothing. Later many
types of cloth were utilized.

The laws of heredity and environment gradually became more
and more of an influence. The appearance changed according
to the purity of the strain and the purpose and results of
activity. Truly the Atlanteans were a people of extremes.
There were those who were perfect in form and feature. And
also those with the most hideous bodies.

Paradoxically enough the results of the mixtures sometimes
produced divine forms containing twisted, warped souls; or
repulsive bodies enclosing souls seeking the light. It was a
difficult time in which to live - but how important! is it
not the same today?

There are many evidences of Atlantean influences at the
present time. As yet men have not established the direct
connection. Northern Spain, the region of the Pyrenees;
Morocco and Egypt on one side of the Atlantic, the British
Honduras, Yucatan and America on the other, show remnants of
the civilization brought in by the migrating Atlanteans.

We must remember that the periods of exodus from Atlantis
were far apart. The type of civilization carried to the
region of the Pyrenees and America just before and after the
first destruction was not the same as that carried to Central
America and Morocco before the second upheaval, and to Egypt
and Yucatan before the final destruction.

In the Pyrenees there are ruins of the early Atlantean
settlements; and in Morocco early settlements, also as yet
uncovered. In America, traces of Atlantean rituals and
ceremonies are to be found among many of the Indian tribes.
In Central America and Egypt ancient ruins show definite
Atlantean influences, while in both places there will be
uncovered records of Atlantean history, duplicate accounts of
the early civilizations that will explain much of the early
Jewish records as found in the Bible.

The West Indies - as has been pointed out - are actual
portions of the continent; and on Bimini there are in
existence today remains of an old Atlantean temple.

Bit by bit the case for the existence of Atlantis will be
pieced together. This will bring a renewed interest in the
periods of development of many ancient nations.

As has been pointed out, it is very important for the people
of this present age to understand the many influences which
will become more and more apparent as direct from Atlantis.
This may help us to understand a little more of the turmoils
through which we are now passing and will continue to pass.

THE ORIGIN OF OCCULT SCIENCES - INTRODUCTION

In discussing the early development of occult sciences we may
turn to the first thousand years of Atlantean history. No
attempt will be made to even enumerate the multitudinous
forms and methods of such sciences. The following material
is concerned primarily with the original state upon which the
foundation of all occult phenomena is based.

It is important that we understand the relation between the
terms "PSYCHIC" and "OCCULT". In its pure sense PSYCHIC
means SOUL. MANIFESTATIONS OF SOUL FORCE IN THE WORLD ARE
CALLED PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA.

The term OCCULT is applied to the little understood laws
which pertain to the results of soul activity in and through
any of man's so-called sciences. Thus, it is claimed that we
have the occult approach to chemistry, to physics, to
astronomy, et cetera.

No criticism is offered of science as a whole. The data
which follows simply points out that any true understanding
of life and the universe in which we find ourselves, must be
based fundamentally upon a realization within the inner self,
within the human soul.

THE EARLIEST STATE

Upon first entering the earth plane, souls came as spiritual
beings without physical forms. THE MENTAL BODY was far more
active in this state than in its present house, the brain of
man.

These first souls projected thoughts much in the manner that
we today build air castles; except that these projections
were much stronger and much more carefully directed. In
creating these thought forms, the first spiritual beings
sought to enter into, become a part of the forms of matter
then existent in the earth.

The results were a gradual evolution of forms endowed with
perverted purposes. Souls, spiritual beings, became more and
more involved in various types of matter and the laws
governing that particular realm. Every natural law, each
kingdom, was subject to the mind and will of these spiritual
beings. It was a natural condition to supply

[Bianca]

REPORT OF READING 1219-1

R1. 7/14/36 See 1221-1.

R2. 7/21/36 Mr. [1221]'s letter:


Another point in Miss [1219]'s reading which intrigues me and
upon which I would like to have any further light which you
may have available concerning the Iroquois Indians being
directly descended from the Atlanteans. Perhaps the root of
the two most ancient philosophies known to mankind had their
inception in Atlantis. Certain it is that the Iroquois
Indians did have a legend corresponding to the Noah and Ark
story of the Jewish Scriptures. It is also true that the
Esquimaux have a similar legend and to one of a philosophical
mind, the very fact that these very peoples in different
parts of the world and at different chronological periods
have in common a legend of such great import indicates a
connection of some sort which is well worth attempting to
fathom.

[Bianca]

1942
I am very interested in knowing just what your thoughts
are on this subject and if you agree with me regarding the
nature of these limitations; limitations which we rightly
should call opportunities. For example, from my Father's
information, I gather that our country is faced with a
peculiar mission and that our greatest dangers lie not
from without but from within. Many Atlanteans are being
incarnated in our country, bringing with them urges regarding
specialization in many fields of material civilization.
These fields of specialization may reach a new high in
either constructive or destructive activity. Certainly, the
activity will be extreme in either direction. As a nation,
we are also concerned with certain principles which have been
inculcated into the hearts and minds of the people regarding
democratic principles. The world upheaval which we are going
through will result in a new inter-racial point of view which
will tax the best brains and hearts of our time. We can, I
believe, depend upon the rising of certain leaders who can
point the way but there is an important job to be done with
the groups and masses who must choose one path or the other.
Knowledge of spiritual law is the essential factor for
spiritual growth and freedom from selfishness, the first
and last barrier.

[Bianca]

A few preliminary statements will be in order. My father has
given almost a thousand Life Readings. Among this number
about one hundred and fifty include Egyptian incarnations of
this particular period. By this particular period, I mean
that one designated by the key words "reestablishing of the
Priest" and "coalition of activities from the Atlantean
land." By comparing all those incarnations from various
individual readings and through special readings asking about
the history of the period, we have been able to connect
certain facts.

The date of the period is approximately 10,550 B.C. Poseida,
the last island of the great Atlantean continent which
existed in the Atlantic ocean, sank and the people came to
Egypt. They arrived during a disturbing period, there was a
conflict between church and state. The High Priest was in
banishment and native rebellions were threatening the power
of the government.

About fifty years before the above date a war-like tribe had
moved like a swarm of locust into Egypt from the Carpathian
mountain region. They were led by a stubborn old king who
was pushed on by a young priest who prophesied a great
civilization in Egypt. The King, obeying the priest,
conquered Egypt and made the Priest, the High Priest of
Egypt. There were rebellions among the natives, so the Old
King withdrew and placed his young son on the throne at the
age 16. It is this young king to whom your reading refers.
Counselors were appointed to assist the boy king. Some of
these men were opposed to the power of the priest and sought
to destroy his power. They finally were able to bring about
his banishment for a period of nine years. It was during
this period of banishment the natives rose in a bloody
rebellion, and the Young King's brother tried to divide the
Kingdom. These were the turmoils that were being allayed as
mentioned in your reading. Under the direction of the Priest
who returned in triumph a great civilization arose in Egypt.

Two important temples, the Temple of Sacrifice, and the
Temple Beautiful, were established. In the Temple of
Sacrifice individuals passed through steps of purification,
during which they gave up all those things that hindered the
spiritual growth. In the Temple Beautiful there were courses
in training for those who would go out to serve - in
hospitals, in teaching, as missionaries to other lands and in
services of all kinds.

The Atlanteans brought many new customs and teachings. About
this same time people from Said (a High Priest in India) came
bearing messages to High Priest in Egypt. It was necessary
to correlate all these various teachings and give the people
the benefit of them.

The great progress made during this period was the
correlation of the best thought from the outstanding teachers
of the period and the translation of these teachings into
practical help for the masses of people.

You counseled with the Young King in establishing a place for
the records and in recording the teachings of these various
groups. Later you were active in building, that is in
planning and directing the building, of homes and communities
for the masses.

This period is of special interest to us and we are always
happy to find individuals who fit into that experience. This
Egyptian age was the important developing experience for my
father in relation to his present work. He was the High
Priest, who was the inspiration for the conquest of Egypt,
was raised to power, was banished and returned to head a
great civilization.

I was the Young King. Today I am striving to repay the debt
created by the turmoil and strife that arose. Much was
accomplished then, but this work is carried over into the
present life.

Your reading advises that you could find an outlet for your
talents and abilities in counseling with and advising those
who come seeking through these same channels (the guidance of
the priest - today Edgar Cayce). These truths as proclaimed
in Egypt and correlated with the teachings from all lands are
being reestablished through his efforts now in America,
spoken of and prophesied about by the prophets of old, the
land of many rivers.

It was during the period described that a record chamber (a
small pyramid) now buried was built to house the teachings
and records. This is mentioned again in your questions.

Now turn to the paragraph on page three. This is an
admonition to strengthen your ideals and purposes. God has
promised man that he will show the way, if man will seek.
You have been seeking and a way has been shown. It is time
for you to awaken a purpose within. It will be a renewing of
a purpose which was made part of the soul memory in Egypt.
This will bring freedom, a realization that you are a child
of God and as you make your will one with his purposes for
man you become one with the consciousness of Christ.

This is a very beautiful promise. One that indicates
considerable development and the possibility great spiritual
attainment in this life.

Nothing that I can explain will mean as much as the inner
conviction regarding the value of the information in my
father's readings. I like to call it "clicking". For many
the physical readings are phenomenal, but there are those few
who sense the truth of the spiritual teachings, the
comprehensiveness, the sincerity of the channel.

I understand that you are leaving shortly for Italy. I am
sending you some leaflets and booklets under separate cover.
Perhaps you will have time to go over them carefully. When
you return let us discuss your reading more fully.

I am happy that you enjoyed your trip to Virginia Beach, and
that you found Dr. Backman helpful.

Bon voyage. Hurry back for you have lots to do.

Sincerely, [signed] Hugh Lynn Cayce

[Bianca]

.

[Bianca]

R6. 3/6/42 Letter: "In [2677]'s reading, in the Atlantean
appearance it speaks of the children of the Law of One and
that he was among the children of the Law of One, also of the
journeys through the air to the Pyrenees. I wonder if you
have anything further on this, or an explanation of it, as
it is something completely new to us. Also it refers to Ajax
and Ax-Tell in Egypt. Do you know who they were and what
their influences might have been? Am very sorry to bother
you with this but am sure I could not find this information
any place else in the world."

R7. 3/9/42 EC's letter to [2454]:


Dear Mrs. [2454]:

Thanks very much for yours of the 6th - and thanks a lot
for the extracts from [2677]'s report, they are fine. Feel
honestly [2677] is one of the most promising young men have
met in a long time, hence naturally was most anxious to know
what his reaction would be to his reading for felt if it
answered to a something within himself that thought (he might
not put that something in to words) it would mean much, if it
didn't well, would mean nothing - believe it will mean much,
and all THANKS to HIM. Will be glad to hear of any other
comments he may make from time to time, for believe he has
the right idea even in the study of the information, he will
grow to it, or its meaning as he applies the suggestions here
and there in his day contacts and his studies, hence will
mean much more than to the ordinary person.

Suspect the absence of Mr. [2746] is much to you as to we
here regards our boy now in service and as to where he will
be sent.

"Children of the Law of One" believe refers to the belief as
we would express it, and as did Moses or Abraham it was "The
Lord Thy God Is One," the expression of a Spiritual ideal
rather than a material - as is indicated in the expression
"sons of Belial".

There is something given on the Atlantean readings about the
travel at that time in some sort of machines - they seem to
be able to go either in Air or water or both. Too much of
that for me to try and tell it in a letter - will have to get
some of them to copy something for you from those readings.

Ajax or Ax-tell believe he was the same person [487] - or
seems to indicate that was a power - or in power among the
Atlanteans who came into Egypt about the time the High Priest
of Egypt was restored to power - and while he differed much
with him eventually work together for the uplift of mankind
as a whole. It no bother at all, only I can't give it to you
as would like from what hear others say about it - there will
be a paper on all this data some time when it can be gotten
together.

Miss Gladys or Mae, might get some of this for you much
better than I can, and am sure either of them will be glad
to do it for you if you will drop either of them a line.
Mae I believe has been segregating that data from the Life
Readings, for as you know it is given in very much piecemeal
in different readings, but the funny thing it dovetails when
put together.

Are having a few very very much March days here just now.
The wind is very strong out, and rained a real downpour last
night, is not so cold today - yet may be quite cold before
the day is over, the weather man says.

Think they are doing very nicely with the Publication fund -
Mrs. [Hannah] Miller has charge of that, and only hear from
them now and then - several lately have sent something to me
as the order for a Book or two.

All are glad to her from you. When ever we get together
you are never forgotten. All speak of or ask about you,
the Tuesday evening meetings are still very

[Bianca]

The Life Reading is concerned with deep basic urges that are
important to the spiritual growth of entities. This study
and use of knowledge concerning the Atlanteans, their
teachings, and history, is one way of releasing energies
and power intent within you, and it offers a way serving
others through helping them understand their complex
natures, as they arise from urges developed in experiences
in Atlantis.

[Bianca]

It apparently is a period when many of the Atlanteans are
reborn in the earth, a period when there are great
opportunities for people with great abilities, and with
[3463] as most anyone else, I know we have it in our own
sons, they will either make a marvelous success spiritually
and mentally, or a miserable failure, though might make a
material success.

Apparently people who are endowed with such great abilities,
as we often note, there is not much middle ground for them.
They are either wonderful successes, or to themselves and to
others miserable failures, one extreme goes with the other.

I do hope this helps clarify it a bit. The information
speaks much better for itself than I can explain. If you
read it over and then lay it aside and then read it again, I
think you will find it kind of opens to you in a way that you
don't get it the first time, or two, that you read it.

Hoping to be the means of a real service, I am

Sincerely, Edgar Cayce EC/vw

R3. 1/24/44 Mother's P.S. to letter re. her sister, Mrs. [3250]:
"I sent [3463]'s reading with your letter of explanation to
him in England. Many thanks."

[Bianca]

The Story of Ra-Ta
 
by Hugh Lynn Cayce
 
 
[NOTE: The Story of Ra-Ta by Hugh Lynn Cayce is included in the Report document of reading 294-153].
 
 
Introduction
    "How do you explain Edgar Cayce's unusual abilities?"  This is a question that is asked frequently.

    Various methods have been used in securing answers to this question.  The opinions of psychologists and psychic investigators have been sought; comparative studies of similar types of readings have been made; information has been sought from individuals with varying degrees of psychic powers; and, explanations have been requested through Edgar Cayce's own readings.
 
    It is with this last explanation that the material in this paper deals.  Edgar Cayce's Life Reading was one of the first of its kind to be given.  It is this reading which will be made the basis for the 1940 Congress discussion on Life Readings.
 
    In this first Life Reading an Egyptian incarnation was described during which the entity, now known as Edgar Cayce, developed abilities which are now being expressed through "readings."
 
    In view of the fact that the readings indicate that this incarnation in Egypt about 10,500 B.C. has an important influence on the present work of the Association in studying and presenting Edgar Cayce's abilities, we feel that this information should be given out and clarified.  This paper is the first step.
 
    During the 1940 Congress in June one meeting will be devoted to analyzing Edgar Cayce's Life Reading.  This will be followed by an open reading devoted to an explanation of how he developed his present abilities.
 
    A detailed history of the Egyptian period is now being prepared.  This more complete record will enable anyone who has a Life Reading to understand his Egyptian incarnation.
 
Thus, we may say that this paper has two major purposes: (1) To furnish information which will be helpful in understanding how Edgar Cayce is able to give readings; (2) To assist all individuals who have had Life Readings in understanding their Egyptian incarnations.
 
    The following material has been paraphrased from readings.

294-147, 7/19/32:
 
    There were many people, even nations, that were influenced by the material activities of Ra-Ta.  He came into the land of Egypt for a purpose, and was a man of unusual abilities as well as appearance and manners of conduct.
 
    Before entering the earth, the soul of Ra-Ta looked upon a tribe of people in Arabia and foresaw that they would conquer Egypt; therefore he chose to be born to a daughter of this tribe of Zu, and was not begotten of man.  As a child Ra-Ta was rejected by those who ordinarily would have been his companions, just as he might be today, because he had no father nor a real home as other children.  Even in that early period home associations had been established, in an entirely different land, and had been projected in thought by the various leaders who had come into being through crystallization of thought by the Sons of the Most High.  Ararat had established a community home in the land of Ararat (later called, after the flood brought changes in Og which caused many people to settle in Ararat and join in peopling the earth again); and his people condemned the tribe of Zu.  However, the lad Ra-Ta grew in grace daily with the people by his manner of conduct, while his mother suffered many hardships by the actions of Ararat's people during their sojourn in those surroundings.
 
    Ra-Ta prophesied that Ararat's son would journey into Egypt, the land of plenty, where one could enjoy and enjoin the associated activities of the mental and material bodies. Those things which we today class as pleasures that gratify our developed senses, either in necessities or luxuries, were in this land of Egypt quite commonplace.
 
    While Ra-Ta was still, at twenty-one years of age, looked on askant by many, he actually led Arart and his families into Egypt, making it easy to control this land that was then supplying all the luxuries of the earth.

    Peaceful arrangements were made, after a period of dissension with the young natives, and the name of one of the native leaders was changed to Aarat - in line with the house of Arart.

    Ra-Ta gradually gathered about him those who would harken to his words pertaining to relations with an outside world, or to those divisions in the body which represented the intermission from an experience to an experience.  The natives held more strongly to the necessity of materialization for the enjoyment, as may be surmised from the high materially developed civilization which had been reached at this particular period.
 
    As Ra-Ta began to uncover records through archeological research, gradually more and more adherence was made to his words; and it was remembered how that this peculiar leader had come into Egypt leading or guiding the conquerors, who were seeking expression of various thoughts that were coming through in those entities entering that particular group.
 
    This was at the period when there was the change to the white race, and Ra-Ta (as the name indicated) was the first pure white man in the earth.
 
    So the wonders of his activities brought various conditions that were the source of much disorder, dissention, and discouragement to him throughout his whole experience.  As his findings began to show the variations that had existed in the developing of the mental and physical needs of those who had populated the land, many changes necessarily had to be brought in the manner these were to be expressed, from that heretofore manifested by the conquerors or the natives.
 
    With the subsiding of contentions, the people were divided into groups; what we would today call the material minded, the spiritual minded, the business minded and the political minded.  These divisions then made a real representation of the conditions that are now arising in the earth, when there is the drawing near to that period of a change again, the cycle when there must be the establishing of a spiritual awakening to the people as then.  [294-147]

294-148, 7/26/32:

    There began a series of changes, and the intermingling of the conquerors with the natives.  The native rulers were submissive, especially as the real native king had become enamored with one of the girls in the conqueror Arart's household.

    With Arart as the king and Ra-Ta as the prophet or seer, there began a period that may well be called a division of interests of the people.  Through Ra-Ta's visions and experiences in line with establishing customs, rules and regulations, he attempted to induce Arart to select only those natives who were tried and true to aid in bringing the closer relationships.  This naturally made some disturbance among the natives of the upper class, who sought to be in power themselves - or who had ideas as to what should be done with the abilities of the people as individuals, and with the abilities of the country as a country to supply those material necessities for sustenance and recreation of the people.  This eventually led to the pitting of the young leader Aarat with the king's son Araaraart, after Arart had accepted Aarat - who represented a group as well as himself, for he was among those native rulers deposed by the real king whom Arart had found in office when settling there.
 
    As Arart turned over the leadership to his son, more and more he devoted his life to the political phase, as well as in establishing those relationships of individuals with individuals, also the religious or spiritual life, with the preparation for setting in motion the regulations or ceremonies that would be accompanied, or signified or designated, by the developing of these peoples who chose to give their lives, or were chosen for their abilities in certain phases of the conditions that arose.
 
    The young king Araaraart gathered about him many to act in the capacity of council.  He was then only thirty years of age.  There was an inner council, that ruled on the general circumstances of the people as a whole.  Then there was a council that had supervision over various departments of the activities of the people, or a cabinet, the departments being much as they are today; for there is nothing in the present that hasn't existed from the first.  Only the form or manner of its use has changed, and the art has been lost of many elements that were used in that day, which are now being rediscovered by scientists, when they were then the common knowledge of the most illiterate.
 
    There was much work for Ra-Ta in council, that there be kept the ideal or purpose for which this band, this group, had chosen this particular land for the development or manifestation of the forces manifesting through the mental or spiritual Ra-Ta.
 
    With the giving in of Arart (politically) to pit or parallel the activities of the native with the abilities of the son and heir, he himself acted as a council then with Ra-Ta to the inner council.  Then there became the necessity of matching the abilities of the king's council, or king's peoples, with the facilities of the natives, in the various phases of progress.  Hence Araaraart began the opening of mines in Ophir, later known as Kadesh, now called Persia.  Also in the land now known as Abyssinia, and those portions yet undiscovered or unused in the upper lands of the river Nile, there were those mines of precious stones - as onyx, beryl, sardis, diamond, amethyst, opal, and the pearls that came from the sea near what is now called Madagascar.  In the northern (or then the southern) land of Egypt, those mines that produced quantities - and quantities - and quantities - of gold, silver, iron, lead, zinc, copper, tin, and the like, that these might be matched with those in the valleys of the upper Nile.  Stonecutters began gathering materials for the establishing of residences for the king's people.
 
    Also Ra-Ta began to gather his own people, and those that were pointed out to him through the sources from which he received those various injunctions for the establishing of the name forever in the land.  With these preparations began for the temple where there was to be the various forms of worship, as related to the divisions of the penal or moral relationships of the people, and what would be termed today the religious or spiritual relationships.
 
    Many periods or days were required for the building up of the body, represented by the group that acted in the capacity of active individuals about the building of these edifices or temples that were to represent then the recreation halls. The physical attributes were worshipped much more then in many ways than the religious in the present, and rightly so; though there were the preparations for the spiritual worship that comprised not only the sacrificial altars.  There was not the sacrificing of animal, bird, or beast, or reptile, or man.  Rather these altars were that upon which individuals put their faults and blotted them out, with the fires of those forces set in motion by Ra-Ta, through his ability to give to each the activity to which they were best adapted in developing themselves.  This was only, however, after each had chosen to give themselves in service in that particular position in which their activity was necessary.  See the difference?
 
    There were also storehouses established, which would be called banks today, or places of exchange, that there might be communication with individuals in various lands.  Even in this period (though much had been lost even by these people) there was the exchange of ideas with other lands, as Poseidia and Og, as well as the Pyrenees and Sicily, and those countries that are now known as Norway, China, India, Peru, and America.  These were not their names at that time, but were the portions of the earth from whence many of the recreations were gathered for the people.  The understandings were of one tongue!  There had not been the division in tongues, except in the Atlantean or Poseidian land.
 
    Edifices were erected to house the people.  Also the temple of sacrifice, the temple of Beauty - that glorified the activities of individuals, groups or masses, who had cleansed themselves for service.  The storehouses for commodities of exchange were also builded, and the people gathered these stores - matching their activities one against the other.
 
    So, the priest or seer, Ra-Ta, had a very busy life.  Still, he devoted much time to keeping himself in communion with those Forces which brought the knowledge of the progress made in the spiritual sense in other lands, especially so from Poseidia and Og.
 
    From time to time it was necessary for Ra-Ta to visit these other lands, and during his absence there arose more and more a dissension among the people, some claiming that Ra-Ta was leaving much to subordinates.  Especially some of the native councillors found such fault with Ra-Ta, and a few others who had allowed avarice to arise in their own makeup.  This brought questioning more and more.  Gradually there was the mis-use of those offices that had been set aside by Ra-Ta, and the people brewed and concocted drinks that set the body, the mind, the whole fires of the physical body, against that which had been cleansed by the fires on the altars in the sacrificial temples.
 
    After thirty years these buildings were completed.  Ra-Ta made one of his visits to the mount, where there had been some activities on the part of the archaeologists who were delving into conditions of those who had lived in the lands during the previous periods.  On his return to the temple of sacrifice, he saw there was aggrandizing of the lusts of the body, rather than the activities that were to be carried on by the sacrificial priests.  There arose a mighty turmoil; and greater and greater stress was laid upon Ra-Ta by those who sought various ways to find fault with his activities. Hence at that time there arose the first of that saying,  When the devil can't get a man any other way, he sends a woman for him."
 
    Among the priests' daughters was one of the kings favorites, who made the entertainment for the king and his council, and his visitors.  She was more beautiful than the rest, and was induced to gain the priest's favor through activities of herself in body, so as to cause some fault to be found.  This was not done by her own volition, but rather by the counsel of those who had been persecuting her own people, and she acted in this manner in order to protect her people.
 
    These divisions among this group were unknown to Ra-Ta, for he was among those who trusted all, believed all, and - as it were - for the time the gods laughed at his weakness.  [294-148]
 
294-149, 7/27/32:
 
    It might be enlightening here to give an outline of the various forms of worship, the individual beings, and the differences in form from the present, so that it may be better understood how these influence so much in the present individual or personal associations of individualities.
 
    The political conditions had been set.  Also the buildings had been completed to demonstrate the relationships of individuals to individuals, and the relationships of individuals as individuals - and as masses - to the Creative Forces.
 
    The marital relationships did not exist as they do today, in individual homes.  Rather there were the appointed companionships that were to serve their State, their purposes, for the completing and competing of groups or nations one against the other.  These were rather a matter of the ruler's word, than choice of individuals as in the present.  This particular relationship of Ra-Ta attempted to change.  He felt there should be rather the establishing of definite homes, as in other lands which he had visited; and that marriage should be rather the consecration of lives one to another.  Hence there was the attempt to change or alter the forms of service in the temple, where there were the relationships one with another for the propagation of those peoples.  In this same temple there were the halls of recreation, halls of learning, halls of precept and example. There were many individuals required to supervise these changes, in various capacities, to serve the priest in ministering to the needs and relationships of individuals through the temple.  In this particular group of people, all births were in this temple - in the hall set aside for that purpose.  There were also chambers set aside in which conception was to take place, had taken place, for the various relationships that existed among the people.
 
    The service in the Temple Beautiful rather pertained to those changes wrought in individuals' activities as they set themselves aside, or consecrated themselves for particular activities in the material or mental, or in the commercial world.  There were also those who performed their particular activity or service in the Temple Beautiful, or the spiritual portion of the service.
 
    The housing of all the female of the whole clan or tribe for the evening was in the temple, while the male had other quarters outside the king's own household.  The king's household included the king's alone, not any favorite or queen, or closer relationship; for all the women were in the same building, under State rules.  These buildings were beautifully laid out, in tiers.  Each hall had three and four tiers.  The rooms were 7 X 9 in size, 8 to 10 feet in height.  There were the various accoutrements - rugs and blankets, etc. - that were wrought with the hands, for the couches and the various furnishings.
 
    Those that were born in the birth hall were immediately, or after three months, taken from their own families and raised by groups confined in other buildings for those purposes.

    The great chamber halls that were inter-between were of high tiers, each for a form of recreation - as the dance, etc.
 
    The body was worshipped then as sincerely as most of the physical or spiritual worship today, for the bodies were changing in form as their developments or purifications were effective, in those temples where the consecrations of the individuals made them able to turn themselves (in the mental) toward the spiritual things of an existence.  These bodies gradually lost, then, many feathers from their legs.  Many lost hairs from the body, that were gradually taken away.  Many gradually began to lose their tails, or their protuberances in various forms.  Many paws of claws were changed to hand and foot, so that there might be more symmetry of the body.  Hence the activities of the body became more erect, more shaped to meet the various needs.  These who had achieved such transformation, to be sure, were considered as the body beautiful.  Beauty as divine; for the divine has brought - and does bring - those various beauties of form or figure to the body, and should be considered; for "the body is the temple of the living God."  It is true, then, that the various forms or attributes of the body in its symmetry are of the divine inheritance, as was brought to the recognition of these people at this time by poor ill-forgotten Ra-Ta.
 
    In the Temple Beautiful were altars where various forms of desire were sacrificed, so as to bring to the bodies the gradual falling away of their animal activities, that would enable them to concentrate and consecrate their bodies, their lives, their activities, in this service.
 
    Let's don't forget the thesis, or the key for which all of this understanding had come:  That there might be a closer relationship of man to the Creator, and of man to man.
 
    So there were many altars.  As these changes came about, there was the necessity of attempting to persuade Ra-Ta there should be more of the activity which had been withdrawn (in the sex life of those who had been purified, or clarified, in the Temple Beautiful), in order that there might be drawn into the earth more perfect physical bodies - instead of having to use so much time and effort to perfect them after their arrival.  Hence there began the development of the personality, as these influences were injected more and more.  This is where, as it were, the gods laughed at the weakness of Ra-Ta.
 
    The associations began with Isris, the favorite of the king, who had become near the body beautiful, or beauty divine.  Their activities in the temple (not the Temple Beautiful) brought Ra-Ta and Isris into closer relationship.  Eventually there came the decree that the priest Ra-Ta was to be the companion of Isris, who had been chosen to be the channel through which there might be brought such a perfect body as the priest had described.  So, to put it in common parlance, Ra-Ta "fell for the whole proposition."
 
    There were many others also chosen by various ones, and there were the attempts to have these in the same associations with Ra-Ta; yet when when there came the offspring (Iso) from this association of Ra-Ta and Isris, there immediately became the cry that there had been the breaking of the very laws Ra-Ta had set, when he had suggested the changing of the conditions for the people into homes.  More and more the lines were drawn and the people took sides.  There were those groups who had the desire for their own offspring, or their associates, or associations closer with the priest Ra-Ta. There were also those who came into power in various activities; for, as the cleansing came, there were the abilities of individuals in various fields of endeavor.  There were singers, workers in linen, workers in embroidery, carders, weavers, workers in clay, and the various forms of commercial industry - horticulture, agriculture, etc.  No merchants then existed, as there was one common store for all.  Each of these in their various fields had been given free activity to that which might be produced.  Hence there came many divisions, and the first uprising between the Church and State.  The lines being drawn caused more tumult, until eventually there was the trial of Ra-Ta and Isris and they were banished into the Nubian land to the south and east.
 
    Everything became changed, with the tumult that arose with the various priests in attendance in the various offices.  Advantage was taken of the situation by many who in their various forms began to learn, as it were, a form of war and defense.  There was the gathering then of the young men and the old, and sides were taken.  Still some remained faithful to the priests who had remained in office, and troublesome times arose for many, many suns - until at least nine seasons had passed, before there was even the semblance of the beginning of a quieting, and that not until there had been definite arrangements made that the priest Ra-Ta would return, and that all would be submissive to his mandates. Ra-Ta became, then, a dictator - or a monarch in his own right.
 
    The offspring Iso, to be sure, was taken from the close relationship with the parents, as were all the rest.  In various forms and manners there was the attempt to bring about the proper conditions for the developing of Iso as had been planned, yet the body wasted away - for while the priest Ra-Ta had abilities in some directions, he had not clarified or crystallized them into that which came about in the latter part of his experience.  [294-149]
 
294-150, 7/28/32:
 
    Some two hundred and thirty-one souls followed Ra-Ta and Isris into banishment.  Many were in the capacity of guards, defenders, special body guards, interpreters, etc.  Not that the interpreters were to interpret languages, or speech, or activities, but give to those that were unable to approach the priest Ra-Ta; they were to give out where it was impossible for Ra-Ta to reach all about him.
 
    With these changes, there became the natural consequence in change of relationships.  Pairs were given places of abode, and then homes - with their first environs - were first established among those sent in exile, or among those who chose of their own volition to be among that number, or who named the name Ra-Ta.
 
    With their entrance into the Nubian land there came such a change that there were better conditions in every term that may be applied to human experience.  Successes of every nature grew up about this warlike people.
 
    In Egypt rebellions came about that made for turmoils and strife.  More and more were there overtures made, that there be some means provided whereby those who had followed Ra-Ta might be made, or forced, to return.  There were insurmountable objections to this, however, so that only those acting in the capacity of go-betweens of either sex were able to be kept in touch with Ra-Ta direct.
 
    As Ra-Ta entered more and more into closer relationships with the Creative Forces, greater were the abilities for him to bring about material manifestations of that relationship. Hence the peace that was enjoyed by the people, not only with the priest but all those of that land.  Hence, as given respecting individuals, they returned to Egypt from the land, for many sought to be as close in contact with Ra-Ta as at all possible.
 
    Every form of advancement then, or advantage, seemed to point to the fact that Egypt had acted in haste.  Those who were advanced in their purification in the temple, whether male or female, with the ideal of bringing peace to their friends, their people, to whom they held some allegiance, kept attempting to make for such associations with the council and the king that there might be the re-establishing of Ra-Ta to his place in the land.
 
    In the Nubian land some memorials had begun in the mountains. Whole mountains were honeycombed, and were dug into sufficient to where the perpetual fires are still in activity.  Ra-Ta then began to show the periods of reckoning and longitude, latitude, and the activities of the planets and stars, and the various groups of stars, constellations, and the various influences that are held in place, or that hold in place those about this particular solar system. Hence in the Nubian land there was first begun the reckoning of those periods when the Sun has its influence upon human life.

    Let's remember, it is in this period when the present race has been called into being - and the influence is reckoned from all experiences of Ra-Ta, as the effect upon the body- physical, the body-mental, the body-spiritual, or soul body. These are the reckonings and the effects that were reckoned with, and about, and of, and concerning, by Ra-Ta; not set by Ra-Ta - but expressed in the development of Ra-Ta, that these do effect - by the forces as set upon all - not only the inhabitants of a given sphere or planet, but the effect all has upon every form of expression in that sphere of the Creative Energies in action in that given sphere.  This particular sphere or earth was the reckoning in that period. Hence arose what some termed idiosyncrasies of planting in the moon, or in the phases of the moon, or of the tides and their effect, or of the calling of an animal in certain phases of the moon or seasons of the year, or of the combining of elements in the mineral kingdom, vegetable kingdom, in various periods.  These were first discovered - or first given, not discovered - first consciousness of - by Ra-Ta, in his first giving of this reckoning to the people of the Nubian land.
 
    Well may it be imagined, then, as to the effect this had upon the people in Egypt who had classed themselves as the elect, the chosen, and yet recognizing that for a physical activity there had been the envy, selfishness, strife, contention, and those things of the body - that pertain to the lusts of the body, which had brought about or produced that which separated from themselves that which would build.
 
    There were emissaries of various positions sent back and forth by the leaders of Egypt who sought to eventually bring about the restoring of Ra-Ta.  Under the strain, in a very short period Ra-Ta had, to the apparent eye of those about him, become aged, decrepid, and not able physically to carry on.  Fear began to be felt that there would not be the sustaining strength sufficient for him to continue to give to the people in Egypt that which he had begun there, and that which was now being manifested in this land to which he had been banished.
 
    Eventually there came the time when there was to be the attempt for Ra-Ta to return to Egypt.  Then did the priest Ra-Ta, of himself and of the Creative Forces, edict that those who were in close association with him - who had meant an extenuation or saviour of a peoples, into a regeneration of same - would have marks set in their bodies that would remain throughout their appearance in the earth's plane, that they might be known to one another, if they seek to know the closer relationships of the self to the Creative Forces and the source - physical - of their activity with that source.  To some in the eye, to some in the body, to some marks upon the body, in those ways and manners that may only be known to those who are in that physical and spiritual attunement with Ra-Ta as they pass through the material or earth's sphere together.  They are drawn, then, by what?  That same element that was being accentuated in the earth's plane, as also the other laws that were discovered - or were given, or were conscious of - by Ra-Ta in that particular period. The purpose of such, then, is that there may be known - that with such an association - there may come an awakening to that which was accomplished by those of the select - not elect, but select - in that particular endeavor.
 
    These, then, who have that mark, are in that position wherein their relationships may be of the best, the closet relationships of the mental, the material, the spiritual developments of all that aided in that period, for the good of the group, the nation, the world.  Hence their activities in whatever direction must influence the whole human race, whether any of that particular group enter as servants, as kings, as ministers, or those that mete penal justice, or those that become emissaries, or ministers, or those that are of those sources that in material things bespeak of the lore of the attributes of physical relationships.  All are to, and for, and of, that that makes for an awakening of those conditions, that make for an awareness of that manifested at that period.
 
    Then, with the return of Ra-Ta to the Temple Beautiful, he first began to withdraw himself from the whole, that regeneration in body might become manifest.  He lay down the material weaknesses, and from those sources of regeneration recreated the body in its elemental forces for the carrying on of that which these material positions gave the opportunity for; leaving the first records of the world from that day until when there is the change in the race. [294-150]

294-151, 7/29/32 - 11:00 A.M.:

    With the completing of this resuscitation, or regeneration of the body-physical, there began a general upbuilding or rebuilding throughout the land.  With the return of those who had been forced, or who had voluntarily followed Ra-Ta into exile, and the many who had been healed or changed in the Nubian land, there began the segregations more into places, homes, etc.  Where there had formerly existed only forts or temples in the various sections, in which the different characters of commercial life were carried on, gradually there came to be homes, with families, that were much in the order as we have in the present day - except there were more than one companion in the various households.  These companions were chosen rather for their ability to bring about the variations necessary in the temperamental forces that were developed.
 
    Many changes came about in the political divisions of the people in various sections.  The native counsellor was rather in the position of subordinate to Arart's demands, and became rather a recluse and shut from many of the activities that were being carried on, in the relationships of the nation or people with the outside world.  This caused others to rise to positions of prominence and responsibility, in the direction of exchange of ideas with the outside world.  With the regeneration, more and more it became noised abroad just what had been and was being accomplished in this land of plenty - in foods, ornaments, recreation, and needs of the inner man; also in the necessities for satisfying the desires of the material mind, and in the aiding or setting up of various sciences (called in the present).
 
    More and more there were the visitations of the wise men or emissaries from various lands, which heretofore had been visited by the priest Ra-Ta.
 
    In the temple which had been established for the giving of truths pertaining to the relationships of man to man, with the change in the home, with the change to the building up of various sections under their own rule, there became the necessity of establishing the rules and regulations governing the relationships of individuals to individuals, as a criterion, as a measuring stick, as to what would be the ideal - or that which would be proper and right.  These were supervised by those close in association with the priest, while he - Ra-Ta - acted more and more in the capacity of advisor.  Gradually he came more and more close in contact only with those acting as emissaries, in the various offices to which they had been assigned as the developments began - not only around Luz but in those cities established in various sections.
 
    As related to the spiritual life, with the establishing of the home, the towns and cities, there were set those in the Temple Beautiful who acted in the capacity of advisors, teacher, ministers, or ones who gave counsel in the spiritual places that were prepared in the various centers.  This also caused the gathering together of a group that were set in the various capacities.  In this department of the work there was necessarily required the closer associates with Ra-Ta, for the spiritual messengers that were sent to these various places.
 
    Then began what may be truly termed the first national or nation spirit of a peoples.  Rather than the divisions causing a dispersing of ideal or a dividing up of interests, they seemed to centralize the interests; for these divisions were being guided by a ruler or king whose authority was not questioned any more.  Neither were the advisings of the priest Ra-Ta questioned, and he was acting in the capacity of preparing for this very spirit to manifest in the way of the national emblems, the national ideas, that stood for the varied activities of not only individuals or groups, but for the general masses.  Hence there began the first preparation for what has been called The Great Pyramid, which was to present that which had been gained by these people through the activities of Ra-Ta, who was now known as Ra.  This work was aided much by Hermes, who had returned with Ra from the mount to which he had been banished.
 
    Isris, who had been condemned with Ra-Ta in banishment, was now raised to the position of queen without question, or the advisor to all her own people.
 
    The idea gradually grew to preserve these truths, not only for the present generation but for those to come throughout the experiences until the changes were to come again in the earth's position, which would make the inundation (that had brought Ra-Ta's coming into the experience for the gods in the Caspian and Causasian mountains at that time, which had brought the change in the peoples).  Hence, under the authority of Ra, and Hermes acting as guide - or the actual construction architect, with Ra giving the directions, work began in earnest on the pyramid.

    Isris, whose name had now been changed to Isis, became the advisor for the laying in of those things that would present to the people the advancement of that portion of man called woman, as to her position in the activities of the human race.  These changed the position or attitude of these particular people as to the place held by woman in her relations to the developing of conditions national, local, or individual.  Not only, then, does woman become that upon which man depends for those advancements or advents into the material activities, but the nourishing of, the maintaining of, that to which man's ideals are to be turned in their activity when he arises to that position when expressions are to be given in the material plane.
 
    This, then, made for an endowing of this body Iso, of Isis - with the spiritual influence of Iso, to the position of the first goddess that was so crowned.  She was given then that place which others might seek to gain counsel and advice from the priest Ra.  They gained access through Isis to the Throne itself.  Not that her position rose above the authority of the king, but was in accord with that developing necessary in the activities of woman through this particular advancement.
 
    Then began the laying out of the pyramid and the building of it, through use of those forces that were able to bring the materials from those very mountains that had been a place of refuge for Ra-Ta, and where certain memorials had begun.  The various sections were laid out not only for the receiving of that which had been offered in the Temple Beautiful, on the various altars for the activities of an individual's innate self, but for the place of initiation of the initiates who were to act in the capacity of leaders in various activities.  This building on the pyramid lasted for a period of one hundred years, as now termed.  It was formed according to that which had been worked out by Ra-Ta in the mount, as related to the position of the stars about which this particular solar system circles in its activity - going towards what?  That same name to which the priest was banished, Libya - or the constellation of Libra.  Is it not fitting, then, that these must return?  This priest Ra, now dgar Cayce, may develop himself to be in that position or capacity of a liberator of the world, in its relationships to individuals in those periods to come; for he must enter again at that period - or in 1998.
 
    With the changes in the relationships by those who acted in the capacity of go-betweens, between Ra-Ta and the council or the king himself, then there began the establishings of the king's household.  The bodily adornment began, and the first preparation of the linens, that have not yet been attained in this present period, that were developed from cottons, hemp, and the papyrus and lotus flowers.
 
    With these developments there was the preparing of the Temple Beautiful for a more perfect place of preservation of those things that were to bring an understanding in the minds of the people later.  As the changes came about in the earth, the rise and fall of nations were to be depicted in this same temple, that was to act as an interpreter for that which had been, that which is, and that which is to be in the material plane.  [294-151]
 
294-152, 7/29/32 - 4:45 P.M.:
 
    There were also developments in many other lines of human experience.  These were the natural result of the ideal that was held by the entity Ra-Ta from the beginning:  To make manifest man's relationships to his Maker, man's relationship to his fellow man.
 
    As the memorial progressed, so did the activities of individuals and groups - in the types of homes, cities, and every character of physical, mental and spiritual manifestation.  The symbolized ideas in the homes, in the buildings, and the acceptance of this, that or the other that contributed to the welfare of man, found an individual that claimed such - and each set about to, in some form, add that to their contribution of man's development.  Hence the Ibex, the scarab, the sacred ox, the sun, the eagle, and the symbols of every character that aided or abetted in representing an ideal of an individual were brought into prominence by the abilities of these people to preserve them in some manner or form.
 
    The decorations in the Temple Beautiful became more elaborate.  These, with the supervision of Isis - and with the spiritual influence of Iso, brought more and more attendance to that part of man's development.  As also in the temple of recreation, where now only those participated who had gained that position where their bodies in form presented the human form divine, or the lines that were set by the carvers in stone, the workers in brass, the moulders in iron.  The figure of Ra was wrought in gold.  Also those women who aided and assisted in the ministering to the individuals, through the guiding of those truths that more and more these became apparent in their physical activities.
 
    Other children were born to Ra, that were to rise in their various capacities to carry on the activities.  This again brought contentions among the civil and political factions of the land, however, and brought disturbing forces in Ra.
 
    Then there came the period when all the pyramid or memorial was complete.
 
    Ra, having finished his work, ascended into the mount - and was borne away.  [294-152]

[Bianca]

Uhjltd
 
by Hugh Lynn Cayce
 
 
(Note: The following article comes from the report document of reading 1770-2.  It is a fictitional account of the past life of Edgar Cayce in ancient Persia.)
Two powerful desert tribes gathered to celebrate the marriage ceremony of two of their important families.  For years these tribes had warred with each other.  It was the dream of the old men that this marriage would end hostilities and bring peace.  Slumdki, princess of Ra, was to become the bride of Kaila, prince of Zu.

For those who still held to the ancient teachings of their fathers who had come out of the land of the Sun, this was a great day.  A priest of Egypt had been called to perform this sacred rite.  His presence lent an air of mystery and reverence to the proceedings.

In silent awe the tribesmen watched their princess and prince meet and join hands before the priest.  Each wore the bridal costume of their tribe.  The simple garments of white were covered with symbols and figures whose meaning only the wisest remembered.

As the priest raised his hand and spoke in a foreign tongue, not a sound was to be heard except the low, tense breathing of the closely packed men and women.  Suddenly his voice changed.  It grew in volume and the people gasped as they began to understand the words in their own dialect:

"Hear ye!  Children of the plains!  Through the seed of this man and woman many people shall be blessed.  Their first-born will be a son whose name shall be called Uhjltd.  He will reign over you and guide you.  Follow him and you will become a great people.  Hear me, Prince of Zu and Princess of Ra! Thou shalt send me this son when he is twenty and one years of age.  For seven years I will train him, then he will return to you.  Proclaim him ruler of all your people."

For a moment the man and woman stood silent.  Then Kaila spoke, "All shall be done as thou commandest, O Priest.  This day before the God of our Fathers and before our peoples we pledge our first-born to the Creator in service to his fellow man."

A few years later a son was born to Kaila and Slumdki.  For twenty-one years he was trained and taught according to the laws of the tribes.  Peace did not come to the plainsmen and the lad Uhjltd saw his father slain in battle.  But his mother remembered the vow and at the appointed time sent Uhjltd to the land of Egypt with a message to his future teacher.

Seven years passed.  Again the tribes of Ra and Zu were gathered to celebrate a great event.  Uhjltd was returning to become leader of his tribes.  All were tense with excitement and curiosity.  The older men, drawn together by their common interests, had gone aside to discuss the young man who was to rule their people.

One of the tribe of Zu first expressed the doubts and fears which were in the minds of many:  "Our people have long been unhappy.  Wars have not ceased.  Robbers plunder our caravans, steal our camels, and carry off our young girls.  This Uhjltd - will HE be capable of meeting these troubles?

"You speak wisely," answered another of the same tribe.  "We no longer prosper.  We must have peace."

"That is not all we must worry over," cried one of the tribe of Ra.  "Uhjltd has been away from us for a long time.  He may have adopted strange customs of the foreigners.  He may desert the ways of our fathers and lead our people into sin."

All turned as Remai, oldest and wisest of the tribe of Ra, began to speak:  "My brothers, the blood of two great families flows in Uhjltd's veins.  He will not fail us in this time of trial."

The younger men were also gathered here and there talking of their new leader, and many were the far-stretched stories they told.  "Uhjltd is the mightiest of all men," one exclaimed.  "Why, once when we played together I saw him withstand the full force of a great bolt of lightening from the heavens.  It ran all over him but did not burn one hair of his head."

"He was the strongest of us all in running and wrestling," cried another.  "There is none greater than Uhjltd."

"Perhaps this Uhjltd has changed," suggested Oujida, one of the leaders.  "Maybe he will not take advantage of our opportunity to attack the Lydians while they are so weak, busy with wars on the other side of their country.  What if he is not interested in the gold, jewels and women we could capture?  Suppose he will not lead us into battle, what then?"  Murmurs arose here and there at this speech, but no one dared resent it openly.

Just at this point a horseman dashed up with the cry, "He is coming!  Uhjltd is approaching!"
 
The people began to push forward and cry, "Hurrah!  Long live our leader Uhjltd!"  The tumult died as quickly as it began, as a lone horseman rode into view and toward the camp.  A magnificent dun colored charger pranced and turned, affected by the excitement that ran through the people and somehow aware, it seemed, of the importance of his rider.

The figure sitting so straight on the great steed was indeed one to inspire admiration.  Heavy black hair fell to his shoulders.  The wide forehead, the straight angular nose with its thin nostrils, the firm chin, all denoted strength of character.  Steel-gray eyes were kind, even a little tear-filled, though the lips smiled.  Simple, white, flowing robes failed to conceal the slender gracefulness and the corded muscles of the tanned hand and arm that held the powerful mount under control.  Uhjltd, predestined leader of his people, had returned.

On either side the people called his name and his voice was clear and full as he answered.  "Djhiu, how are you?  How's the lance arm?  And you, Ganal?  Can you ride yet without falling?  Ianal, how are your father and mother?  Greetings! Oujida, did your last raid succeed?  Well!  If it isn't little Hala!   What a man you've gotten to be!  Ah!  Father Mala!  You do not change.  It is good to be home again.  The journey has been long, the way hard and rough."

"Son, your family waits for you in their tent.  When you have rested, all is ready for the ceremony," Remai spoke as Uhjltd dismounted and a dozen hands reached for the bridle.

"Uhjltd's meeting with his two younger brothers was quiet.  They were saddened by the necessity of telling him of their mother's death.  He did not wait for them to speak.  "Yes, I know, my brothers," he said.  "She will be happy in knowing that we carry on.  Do not be sad.  There is much work ahead.  Let us carry it together."  He caught each in turn by the shoulders, shook them gently and smiled.

A few hours later Uhjltd stood before all the assembled tribesmen.  Remai spoke for the people, "Son, long ago your life was pledged to your people.  Long have we waited this day.  As leader of our united tribes your responsibility is great.  Robbers plunder our land, our young men fight one another, our people are unhappy.

"For seven years you have studied in the land of the Sun, the truths which were taught our fathers.  You have delved into the mysteries of the gods, searched for knowledge of the laws of the Universe.  You know the needs of your peoples.  Into your hands we now commit the power to govern our people.  May the Great One guide and protect you."

Uhjltd's answer was simple and direct, "I am ready." Remai then placed about him the robe of the leader and Uhjltd turned to address the people.  "Long have I looked forward to this day, my people.  I have not forgotten the years when we fought and worked together.  I have been away from you only a little while, that I might be better fitted to serve you.  Long years of trial and struggle are behind us.  Today we look forward to a new life.  We are united.  The Great One will guide us.

"Since we were little children in the tents of our fathers we have been taught that the men and women of our tribes know no fear.  Upon this great truth we shall build our nation. There is no one who would dare question the courage of our warriors, or of our women.  It is a privilege to give our life's blood in support of our principles.  We do not fear death.

"But there is a greater courage.  Dare to uphold that which you believe to be right!  Throw aside the fear that the Great One will desert you.  Know that so long as you cling to the principles of loyalty, duty, courage; so long as you do not condemn your fellow man, the Great One will stand with you.  My people, let us work together in harmony.  My mind, my body, my life belongs to you.  Stand with me and together we will approach the God of our fathers, daring to follow in the way He may direct."

During the following months Uhjltd carried out his plans for reorganization.  He brought order out of chaos, peace out of strife, quiet out of tumult.  The oldest and wisest men of each tribe formed a council which governed the people, made simple laws and settled differences arising between individuals and families.  The camps were no longer filthy and dirty, but orderly and clean.  The people now gathered each morning and evening for prayer.  The services were beautiful in their simplicity, and tended to develop a spirit of harmony.

With the younger men Uhjltd organized bands whose duty it was to guide and protect the caravans which passed through their country.  Under this protection the commerce improved and new wealth flowed into the coffers of the merchants.  Work was the keynote of the success.  Men, women and children were given something to do.  The tribes begun to prosper and express once more the natural joy that was part of their natures.

Two years passed.  Uhjltd's younger brother, a lad of fifteen years worshipped the leader.  He followed him everywhere, continually demanding that he be allowed to help with tasks that were much too hard for him.

"Why can't I lead Diaga's band this morning?" he asked one day.  "He is sick from eating too many bananas.  A caravan is due from the west, you know."

"Young man," Uhjltd answered, "I have a much more important job for you.  You are to have charge today of the 'silkers' (gatherers of refuse).  See that they do a good job."

"Aw, Uhjltd!"  A pause, then, "Well, all right!" he answered.

That night when the lad returned tired and sore, Uhjltd met him.

"Well, Aika, I see you did a good job today!"  The boy saluted in military fashion and grinned.  "You can never tell," Uhjltd continued, "how many of our people you saved from the plague by your work today.  Disease, you know, sometimes comes out of filth."

"Thank you," the boy answered, "But when are you going to let me do a man's work.  I am as big as Rana (the older brother) already."

"The time will come soon enough, "Uhjltd laughed.  "Now off with you, and get ready for evening prayer."

With the growing prosperity, the people began to urge that Uhjltd select a mate, that his leadership might be continued by his children.  Both the older men and the young spent many hours with him suggesting this and that alliance which would prove advantageous to the tribe.  Many of the most beautiful girls in the land were brought to him that he might select a wife.  In each case he refused, pointing out that his time belonged to his people, that much work was still to be done.

Finally Uhjltd's closest associates took council with Handra, father of Tatil - a woman famous for her beauty and noble lineage.  Her father's tribe to the southwest was a powerful one and many believed that such a union would be of great advantage.  Plans were laid quietly and one day Tatil came to Uhjltd's camp with her father to trade.

Though proud; having refused many offers of marriage, she was attracted by Uhjltd.  Always gracious, the leader entertained the neighbors in his tent.

"Your journey was pleasant, I hope," he inquired of Handra.

"Yes, thanks to your valuable guard, we had a very pleasant journey," he answered.  "I have seen the day when we could not have crossed this country without being attacked by several marauding bands.

"You honor me with your presence, Princess Tatil," Uhjltd remarked, turning toward the girl.

"The honor is ours," she answered flatteringly.  "Many stories have come to us of the hospitality of the chieftain Uhjltd.  They have not been exaggerated."

That night Handra and Uhjltd discussed the proposed marriage.  Uhjltd's answer was the same.  "You honor me, Handra, but I cannot consider marriage at this time.  My people still need all my energies and time.  We are at peace with your people and there is no reason why this should not continue.  During the coming month our tribes gather for a great feast.  Stay and honor us with your company."

Handra accepted Uhjltd's offer and set up his camp near the central camp of Uhjltd's people.  For days Tatil remained in her tent, insulted and hurt over the rejection of marriage.  In her desire to hurt Uhjltd she began to cultivate the friendship of his assistant and second in command, Oujida.  The increasing prosperity and gradual dying down of activity among the young men offered a background for a growing unrest.

Tatil began to see Oujida daily.  She spent hour after hour talking with him of his great possibilities, of his superiority to Uhjltd, of his bravery and daring.  She urged him on in his plans for raids on the Lydians.  Oujida began to be absent from the evening prayer.  While Uhjltd noticed this, he did not approach Oujida about it, hoping that he would soon change.

Instead the condition grew worse.  The young men led by Oujida began to hold secret meetings and Tatil deliberately planned a series of feasts to which she invited many of the younger men of Uhjltd's tribes.  These feasts were held during the evening hour of prayer and many grew lax about attendance.  Throughout this period Uhjltd held to his faith in his assistant.  Many times in his meditations he prayed for Oujida.

Oujida finally excited a group of the more daring warriors to plan a raid.  About a hundred gathered one evening at an appointed meeting place.  "Men of Ra and Zu," Oujida cried, "Have you all become cowards?  Do you no longer know how to fight?  To the north and west of us there is a great kingdom ripe for the picking.  Great stores of gold and silver lie unguarded, ready for the taking.  This very night a spy has returned bearing news of a school where Croesus' own daughter holds court, surrounded by the most beautiful women of the country.

"The King and his generals would pay well for the return of their daughters.  In five days we could strike and be back in our own country.  We would be heroes, and even Uhjltd would be glad to receive some of the rich booty we would bring back."

Before dawn a hundred picked men, mounted on the swiftest horses, crossed the border and rode swiftly toward the heart of the Lydian kingdom.
 
The guard about the school in which Elia, only daughter of King Croesus of Lydia held her court, had grown lax.  The long period of peace with the nomad tribes and the growing interest in the plans to attack the Persians had drawn attention away from the southern plainsmen.

In a secluded spot away from the bustle of the growing commerce, Croesus had built a royal school.  There, under the guidance of renowned teachers, the daughters of the noble               families of the realm were taught the graces of the court.  The scene was a beautiful one which this peaceful, unsuspecting spot presented on the night before the raid.

Most of the girls had gathered in the great hall to listen to the music of a group of wandering singers, among whom the spy sent on ahead by Oujida to prepare the way.  Surrounded by every luxury, the maidens gave themselves over to the light pleasure of the music.  Silver laughter, jewels from the storehouses of the world, beauty beyond the wildest dreams of the imagination, combined to furnish a background for this Elia, called 'the Beautiful.'

After the musicians departed, Elia - with her aunt, who was one of the instructresses; her close friend and companion Ilya, daughter of one of Croesus' ministers, and two or three of the other girls, gathered in Elia's bedchamber to read and discuss an ancient manuscript.  It was the instructress who had first interested the girls in the ancient lore and legends of the first Semitic tribes.  Each night they gathered to hear her read some of these almost forgotten stories.  "Tonight, my dears," she began, "we will read the story of a great leader of our people who lived hundreds of years ago.

"Majara was born of a noble family, but at his birth his people were in slavery.  During those days our forefathers lived far to the north of our present country.  Then they did not have the great power we now have under our great King..."  The girls settled themselves to listen to the story that was never to be finished.  It was here that Oujida's men found them.

 Without one false move the hawk struck in the night and the whole school was at once thrown into confusion.  The gates were opened by the spy, and the guards - before they realized an enemy was upon them - died quietly at their posts.  Oujida's men quickly surrounded the palace and, led by the spy, sought out the most prominent women.  The daughters of the greatest families of Lydia did not succumb without a struggle.  Damala, daughter of one of Croesus' noble generals, dispatched her first assailant with a dagger and died with a lance through her soft young throat.  Another girl leaped from a balcony rather than be taken.

The group in Elia's bedchamber were given no opportunity to escape or harm themselves.  They were bound quickly and with several others, some fifteen in all, hurried to the waiting horses.

Like the sacks of gold and jewels which had been hastily collected, the women were bound to the backs of horses brought for the purpose, then the raiders departed as quickly as they had come, leaving destruction and turmoil behind them.  The pace was hard going with the added weight.  And at the end of the third day Oujida realized that he would have to stop and fight the band of Lydians who had overtaken them.  He realized that the pursuers would not dare attack, for fear of causing death to some of the prisoners.  So he stopped, pitched camp, and sent an emissary to parley with them while he sent others on to Uhjltd to advise him of the situation. He then ordered Elia brought to his tent and sought to bargain with her to write an order for the Lydians to turn back.

"My dear Princess," he began, "Our situation is most embarrassing and I find it necessary to have you write a little note for me.  Here is a tablet.  Kindly inform your loyal subjects that your pretty head will hang on the front of my tent before dark if they do not turn back at once."

"Dog!" she answered, "I will see your cursed hide picked by the vultures before I will aid you."
 
Oujida's laugh was not pleasant.  He rose slowly and started toward her.  "I'll see if I cannot twist a little of that spirit out of you," he said.

Elia turned to flee and fell heavily over a pile of accoutrements that lay near the door.  Before Oujida could reach her the frantic girl snatched a dagger from the trappings and buried it in her breast.

Realizing that he had lost his best hostage, Oujida turned to strategy.  He notified the Lydians that he would return Croesus' daughter in the morning, provided they would withdraw, and proved his good faith by sending with the messenger Elia's companion Ilya and the instructress, who were only too willing to plead for her.
 
Fearing the anger of their King, the Lydians withdrew and waited for the coming of dawn.  Oujida himself remained in camp, keeping the fires burning while he sent his men on with the loot and other prisoners.  Several hours before dawn he tied Elia's dead body on a horse and drove it toward the Lydian camp, then set off quickly after his followers.

When Oujida reached the central camp where Uhjltd waited, he ordered a large part of the captured gold and the women sent to the leader.  During the afternoon Uhjltd called the men of the tribes together.  All wondered what attitude the leader would take and were perplexed by his silence.  As soon as they were gathered, Uhjltd rose and addressed the assembly.

"Men, the peace and happiness of our people are endangered.  The Lydians are now organizing an army to attack our tribes. Such a war would mean bloodshed and the destruction of all we have builded in the past few years.  Now is the time for us to prove that we have a deeper kind of bravery than that which might drive us to attack our unsuspecting neighbors.

Now is the time for us to dare to do what we know to be right.

"There must be no war.  We must go to the Lydians with terms of peace.  As your leader I cannot ask you to do that in which I will not lead you.  Here is the gold which was sent me.  I will have none of it.  The women I will protect in my own tents.  Already I have sent messengers to notify the Lydians that both their gold and the women will be returned.  At dawn I leave to carry terms of peace directly to King Croesus and beg forgiveness for the crime which he and his people have suffered at our hands."

His voice softened, and in a milder tone he continued, "Into your hands Oujida I commit the government of our people until I return.  See that you serve them well.  While I live and guide you there will be no war.  Dismiss."

When Uhjltd returned to his tents there was great confusion and stir.  "Why can't I go with you," Aika cried.

"No, that is impossible, lad.  You must stay here to care for my household while I am away," Uhjltd answered.

"But Uhjltd," cried the boy, "What am I to do with all these women?"

"Have I not told you before, Aika, to look for the importance in every job, every responsibility?  Do you not see that by caring for and protecting the daughters of the greatest men of Lydia you will be rendering a great service?" Uhjltd reminded him gently.

"But Uhjltd," the lad began - then stopped, smiled, and dashed off to prepare his brother's horse.

The boy spent a restless night dreaming of hundreds of women.  In the morning Uhjltd departed shortly after morning prayer.  The people watched him go, the old men shaking their heads sadly.

A few days later a lone plainsman approached a small oasis outside the gates of an outlying Lydian fort, and at a well beneath three palm trees sought a drink of water from a girl who sat nearby.  After the Lydians had been tricked by Oujida they had come to this fort, awaiting the arrival of the army which has gathering to attack the nomad tribes.

Ilya and the instructress had come with them.  The girl still mourned the fate of her companions and was bitter over Elia's death.  Almost daily she sought the quiet of the oasis away from the heat and dullness of the fort.  It was she who looked up at this plainsman as he approached.

"May I disturb you, maiden, for a drink from your well?" he asked, as he drew his horse up near the trees.

"It is little matter to me whether you drink or no," she answered.  "It does not belong to me."
 
After quenching his thirst, Uhjltd looked more closely at the girl and finally decided to question her.  "I have come a long way through the desert," he said.  "Can you tell me if an army of Lydians have passed this way during the past few days?'

"You are quite frank about what you wish to know, aren't you?" she scoffed.

"Why should I not be?" he replied.  "My people desire peace with the Lydians and I have come to bring terms that will satisfy them."

A vague sense of uneasiness began to come over Uhjltd.  Never had a meeting with a woman so affected him.  Perhaps it was the indifference, or the utter lack of fear, even indeed the beauty which was different from that of the usual woman of the desert.

"Are you not afraid I will call for help and have you taken?" she asked.

"Your voice would not carry to the fort," he replied lightly, "And besides my horse is very fast."

"Ah!  Such bravery," she mocked.

"Uhjltd smiled and dropped lightly down beside her.  The girl laughed and rose.  "I must be going" she said.  "Shall I notify the commander of your arrival?"

"If you do," he answered, "I cannot meet you here at this time tomorrow."

The following day Uhjltd was waiting near the well when Ilya arrived.

"Did you inform the commander?" he asked.

"Yes," she scoffed, "But he told me that he did not have time to chase wandering 'schanclers' (desert rats)."

"You should assure your commander that I am worthy of being chased," he answered.

"Tell me," she began earnestly, "Have you heard any word of some girls who were captured from Cartha in Lydia by some desert tribes of the south.  I could not rest until I had asked you."

"Had you asked me yesterday you would have saved yourself a trip," Uhjltd answered, "but I am glad you did not, for this pleasure of seeing you would have been denied me.  I have seen the girls you speak of and they are safe.  In fact, they were brought to me after the raid.  I am the leader of the tribes you speak of.  People call me Uhjltd."

"Why did you not have mercy and kill them as you did Elia?" the girl cried.  "Dogs, how could you be so cruel?"

"You do not understand," Uhjltd interrupted her, "both the girls and the gold are to be returned to your people."  In detail then he told her of the raid and its results, together with his plans for peace.  When he had finished the girl was silent.  Revenge still burned in her heart.  She saw only one face, that of Elia as she had been returned to the Lydian camp.  Quickly, plans formed in her mind.

"Perhaps I can help you," she said, and Uhjltd - lost in the whirl of the totally new emotion which had suddenly come over him - failed to notice the cold gleam in her eyes and the slight twitch of the small mouth.  "Tomorrow I will bring you food and water, and I will learn the plans of the army which is approaching, that you may meet them," she continued.

"If you will return again," he said, "I will be waiting for you."

The following day Ilya brought food and water and forced herself to talk with Uhjltd, drawing his attention more and more to her, so that the three men whom the commander had ordered to capture Uhjltd might approach unseen.  The nomad leader suspected nothing until his horse warned him with a shrill neigh.  Before he could escape the men were upon him.  He surrendered without fighting.

"We shall see what other information you have for the commander," Ilya laughed cuttingly.

When brought before the leader of the fort, Uhjltd told his story simply, demanding that messengers be sent to Croesus' generals carrying his proposals.  The commander was not entirely sure of just what he should do regarding Uhjltd, as many stories of his peaceful work and friendly attitude had come to him.  Finally he ordered him taken to the tower and there chained hand and foot to await the return of messengers sent to the approaching army.  For several days the captive was left to himself.  Only bread and water were furnished him twice each day.

In the meantime the messengers sent out by the commander of the fort were captured by Oujida and a small band of his followers.  On learning of Uhjltd's capture he determined to make himself permanent leader of the tribes.  The Lydian messengers were promptly run through with a lance and left dying on the desert.  He sent one of his men ahead to announce Uhjltd's death and warn the people of the Lydian attack.  Before the tribes could gather, however, the Lydians struck, killing many and scattering the rest in the desert. It was months before the tribesmen collected again, and then to wrangle over the selection of a new leader and finally break up into factions.

No news came of the death of the messengers and Uhjltd waited in solitary confinement.  He faced the situation without protest and spent much of his time in prayer and meditation.  One night as he prayed for the opportunity to carry on his work, a light shone in his cell and he heard a quiet voice. "Your prayers have been heard, O Uhjltd!  Prepare thyself for the valley of the shadows."  After that he was even quieter, and when Ilya came to goad him into telling her more of the young girls who had been captured he answered her softly, "I have never sought to harm your people.  The words I spoke to you at the well were true."

More and more often she came to talk with him, at times bringing the instructress.  Gradually they came to have faith in Uhjltd and in his plans for bringing peace to the desert. Remorse began to eat at Ilya's heart and she finally decided to aid in Uhjltd's escape.  Their continued interest aroused the suspicion of the guards, and on the night before the attempt was made, as Ilya came to Uhjltd's cell to tell him of their final arrangements she was followed by a guard who slipped to the door to listen.
 
 "Be quiet, Uhjltd," she whispered.  "Here is the key to your chains.  At dawn, Irenan has arranged to have a horse at the north gate.  Forgive me.  Farewell."

"You are kind, Ilya," he answered.  "Is there no danger for you?  Come with me.  I will take you safely back to your people."

"I would only hinder you," she answered.  "They suspect nothing.  I must go now."

When a few minutes later a cry arose in the courtyard below, Uhjltd suspected discovery.  Unfastening his chains he leaped to the window and began climbing down the tower wall, just as guards with lighted torches rushed into the cell.  A general alarm went up at once and a hunt for the escaped prisoner ensued.  Uhjltd reached the outer wall and ran off through the shadows into the desert.

A party ordered out to search for him passed within a few yards of where he lay covered in the sand.  Toward dawn Uhjltd began to whistle for his horse, which he knew had not strayed far from the fort.  Just as the first rays of the sun began to light the sky he was rewarded by the approach of the great gray.  A few minutes later he set off toward his own country.

The infuriated commander of the fort ordered Ilya and Irenan brought before him.  "You have betrayed your people," he cried.  "While I cannot condemn you to death under our laws, there is nothing to prevent me from driving you into the desert afoot.  You will be supplied with two days' rations and water.  You leave at once."

Ilya's threats and pleas were no avail, and as the sun reached high noon the two were brutally cast from the walls with only a scanty supply of food and water.  In the fall Irenan's leg was severely injured and Ilya was forced to almost carry her.  Nothing but death awaited them.

At the end of the first day Uhjltd began to tire.  Without food and water, and weakened by his long confinement, he lay down to rest on the sands.  Again and again his prayers went up to the Great One to strengthen him for the work to be done.  That night he dreamed of the two women who had helped him, and in his dream saw them suffering on the desert.  With the coming of day he was torn between his desire to turn back and the knowledge that, weakened as he was, it would probably mean certain death.  Finally he turned back toward the fort.

Toward evening he met them, barely dragging themselves along through the sands.  With Irenan on the horse, and he and Ilya walking, the three set off into the desert, beginning a terrible struggle against the elements.  The heat, the sand, burned and scorched them until only three living skeletons struggled on, driven by the indomitable will of the man who stopped often to pray, and looked always toward the distant blur which marked the low foothills in the distance.  During the afternoon of the following day the horse collapsed, falling under the weight of the two women.

"Uhjltd, save yourself," Ilya whispered feebly.  "We cannot go on."  She pointed to the teacher, "Irenan has no strength.  I will stay with her.  Go on without us."

"It is only a little further, Ilya," he answered.  I will carry Irenan.  Come, we MUST go on!  The Great One will hear our pleas and answer them!"

After three long, weary days the three reached the foothills.  Uhjltd placed the women in a small cave where they would be protected from the heat of the sun, and then set out to find food and water.  After struggling through an increasingly rocky country for several hours, he took heart as he discovered two eagles circling about their nest some distance up on a cliff wall.

Slowly, inch by inch, he worked his way upward and then, when almost successful, slipped and fell some thirty feet to a ledge below.  With the impact on the rocks there was a sickening crash as the bones in his left arm broke.  Uhjltd fainted and lay as one dead.  Gradually returning to his senses, his first thought was of the women who were starving in the cave.  He struggled to rise but could not.  Again his plea went up to the heavens.

"O Mighty One, hear the cry of thy son in distress!  Give me strength, O Great One, to save those of thy children whom I have led here into the desert to perish!"  It was not long after this that Uhjltd again tried to drag himself back toward the cave.  At the very base of the cliff on which the eagle's nest was built, he found the dead body of a desert hare.  With this he continued on his tortuous way.  Many times he stopped to pray, and after each time again stumbled and finally crawled on.  As Uhjltd drew near the cave he heard a feeble but welcome cry.

"Oh Uhjltd, I was so afraid you would not return!  What happened?  Where have you been?  Come quickly, we have found water!" cried Ilya.

"Illya," whispered Uhjltd, "The Great One has answered our prayers!  We have food and water, and we shall live!  Let us offer our thanks!"  There in front of the little cave they               offered a prayer of thanksgiving.
 
"O Gracious Creator of all things, we give thanks for Thy goodness!  We do praise Thee for Thy Infinite care of Thy children who seek Thy Face!  Strengthen us as we seek to carry on Thy work in whatever way Thou wouldst have us serve Thee!  Increase in us, we pray, the faith in Thy ever present care and protection!"

Uhjltd's voice changed suddenly, as he cried, "Look, Ilya!"

Like a mirage before them was a gray array of white tents. The pure whiteness was offset by the green of palm trees and wide expanses of land under cultivation.

"It is our city of the plains," Uhjltd cried.  "Here we shall teach the truths of the Great One.  Ilya, my arm no longer pains me.  Straighten it."

"Uhjltd, you mean..." she began.  But he interrupted her.

"I mean, Ilya, that as I have told you many times, He does not will that any should suffer.  Through Him my arm is made well."

Ilya took hold of the broken arm and straightened it.  Uhjltd now turned toward the cave.  On his face was the look of one inspired by the presence of God.

"Irenan!  Irenan!" he called, "In the name of the Great Father, arise and walk!"

There was an answering cry, and slowly, very slowly, Irenan came from the cave walking as if in a dream.  She collapsed sobbing at Uhjltd's feet.  Tears of joy ran down her face, and Ilya knelt and lifted her as Uhjltd raised his face to heaven to praise the power of the great Creator.

During the following days the three began to grow stronger.  The proximity of the eagles and the hare spoke of wild life and food.  Only a short distance away they discovered a small oasis, at the edge of the desert, fed by a mountain stream.  On the fourth day Uhjltd discovered the buried remains and stores of a lost caravan.  With the supplies and implements, the three were able to improve the cave and live more comfortably.

Weeks passed, and finally a small caravan was sighted.  The mrchant in charge was surprised and dismayed at finding the three.  His caravan had wandered off the beaten path; his stores were low, and one of the men, a servant, had developed what he believed to be the plague.

After telling Uhjltd of the Lydian attack on the nomad tribes, he camped in the desert near the oasis for the night.
 
Afraid that the three would wish to go with him, he ordered his men to make ready to depart during the night.  Taking advantage of the opportunity, he left the sick servant, whom Uhjltd found the following morning when he came to ask the merchant for supplies.  Through kindness and care the man was soon restored to health.  Fresh water and food cleared up the supposed plague.  Gratefully, he became Uhjltd's faithful slave and soon was able to set off to the caravan route to seek help and supplies.

Days passed, and the servant finally returned with supplies and some friends, who brought one to be healed by Uhjltd.  The simple faith moved Uhjltd to help the man when he was brought before him.  "O Father, may Thy Spirit heal this Thy child who seeks Thy aid through me!"  The man fell in a faint at Uhjltd's feet.  When he was revived he was well.

News of this incident spread, and many caravans began to pass near the oasis and the cave.  Some came only to watch that which was being carried on.  Others remained to study and work under Uhjltd's guidance.  Most of the people who came to stay were outcasts, poor and sick, discouraged in body and mind.  Uhjltd put them all to work.

The mountain stream was turned into the desert and used to irrigate land which was cultivated.  Orderly rows of tents were set up, and the little colony began to take on the aspect of a busy little city.  Morning and evening prayers were held, and Uhjltd propounded simple truths by which the people guided their activities.

All was peaceful and quiet.  Caravan after caravan passed that way, bringing an ever increasing stream of men and women seeking happiness.  The city in the plains grew and prospered, and tales of the wonderful things that transpired there were carried throughout the adjoining countries.

One day, just as the people gathered for evening prayer, a caravan larger and richer than those which usually passed that way approached, and the leader came forward to the oasis.  Uhjltd was speaking to the people, and the merchant stopped to listen on the outskirts of the crowd.  The clear voice carried well in the quiet of the evening.  On every face was an expression of reverence and silent awe.

"Children of the Most High, look about you upon the work of Thy Father.  Has He not satisfied thy every need?  Not only given you the necessities of life and substance for the physical body, but peace in mind and soul?  It is not the will of the Creator that any of His children should suffer.  We suffer only when we seek our own selfish desires and fail to listen to the guidance of the inner voice, which you have learned to hear.
 
"You came out of a world of misery and suffering, a world in which men fight for gold and power.  You did not dare to do right.  You were afraid, cursed by the greatest of man's enemies, the fear inwardly to stand for that which he innately feels is good.  Here you are not afraid.  You dare to do that which is right.  You have no fear of death through disease, starvation, and other sufferings of the physical.  Here you have come to know that you CAN build within yourself that understanding of the indwelling of the Great Creative Force which will supply all needs, and bring a peace beyond any understanding of the physical mind.

"The awakening of that force within can bring healing in body and mind.  It has brought that to you.  As you first came to begin to study these laws, you wondered at the need of constant meditation and prayer.  Know ye not that it is your will which must be directed to this awakening?  Long have the desires of the flesh called to you.  Your mind has been turned so long toward the material life that you WILL so to live.

"Through constant meditation upon that which is pure and holy, you can awaken the divine spark and come to know yourself as a son of the Most High.  It is your privilege, your right, to seek the peace and true happiness which this closeness with the Creator brings to your mind and soul.  Work!  Serve your fellow man; for in kindness, in humbleness, in purity of thought and deed, you may build an understanding of the Force which ever seeks to lift you from your own destruction.  Let us work together, cooperating one with another in striving toward the goal, the full realization of the Creator within."

The man on the outskirts of the crowd was deeply impressed.  He turned rather reluctantly to go, but as he moved off a hand fell on his shoulder.  "Can we help you?" Uhjltd asked.

"I only stopped to ask the way to Jular," the man answered abstractedly.  Uhjltd pointed to the north and east without speaking.  The man continued, "You seem to have a spell over these poor devils.  Some of the fantastic stories I have been hearing seem a little more real.  What can you do," he added lightly, "for a sinner who is weighted down with gold?"

"Perhaps you are growing weary of your burden.  Put it aside and come live here with us, where you will not need it," Uhjltd answered.

"There is no rest for me," the man replied, "I must go on."

"It is not rest, but work that I call you to do."  Uhjltd's voice was compelling.  "Your riches did not prevent the death of your family.  Nor have they given you peace since that
time.  There is happiness and real rest for you in serving and teaching your brothers.  I will wait here.  Go!  Tell your men to depart."

As Uhjltd spoke, the man's face changed and he cried, "How did you know?  Alright!"  He turned quickly and strode off toward his caravan.  Uhjltd waited there in the shade of the palm trees.  In a few minutes the caravan moved on, leaving a solitary figure standing looking after it.  Edssi had come to aid Uhjltd in his work.

The new lieutenant made himself most valuable.  His keen mind, trained in the markets of the world, dreamed of a great exploitation of this work.  He saw the possibilities of making this city in the plains a center of ever growing importance through its service to mankind.  Many were the questions that arose concerning him, but always he kept himself clear of any criticism.  He took nothing for himself, lived simply, counseled often with the teacher and spent more and more time in silent meditation.  His caravan returned bringing supplies and much needed implements; not luxuries, but tools to cultivate and work the desert soil, and writing materials on which the teachings of the leader might be set down.  Again his men went forth, this time carrying messages to men in high position in other countries, and long manuscripts of the leader's words of wisdom.

The day came when men of many nations arrived in the city of tents, seeking light and understanding.  From Greece, India, Egypt, and even far away China, seekers of truth came and sat at the feet of Uhjltd, and then carried with them to their distant lands the teachings of this great leader.  Thousands came to be healed, and many were the wondrous cures that were performed in the camp, both by Uhjltd and his students.  Life flowed through from this center, living words that warmed the hearts and souls of men, as the sun warmed their bodies.

More and more Edssi took charge of the various activities.  It was he who organized the simple courts when the need arose, and the cooperative system which simplified the trade relations of the growing city.  The day came when he approached Uhjltd with plans for organizing the representatives who would go out from time to time to other lands.  The people were called together and Edssi spoke to them.

"Brothers," he said, "Daily we are blessed as we are privileged to work and study with our teacher Uhjltd.  We live happily, at peace with the world and one another.  The Great One does not hide His face from us.  As we have been blessed, so we should give unto those who do not have our opportunities.  I have spoken with Uhjltd, and with his full cooperation I wish to present this plan.

"Let us organize a school in which all who so desire may study, that they may be able to carry the light to distant lands.  We will choose our ablest men and women to be teachers.  Uhjltd himself will conduct daily study groups.  There will be groups studying healing, meditation, speaking, languages, history, etc., all as a background for the teachings of our leader which have come to mean so much in our hearts.

"We will then go forth to carry them to all men, that the world may learn of the happiness it is missing in failing to pause and seek its Creator.  We can no longer live within ourselves.  The time has come when we must go forth to teach others through our work, our words, our lives, the truths that we have learned at the feet of this man who walks with God."

Following this meeting a small group was gathered by Edssi, and with Uhjltd, the plans were laid for the beginning of the school which grew rapidly.  Students and teachers of many nations came and went, bearing tidings of the work.

Edssi worked like one inspired.  He was here, there, everywhere, never sparing himself, ever urging others to greater efforts.

In all his endeavors Edssi was aided by Irenan, who - having caught a vision of the possibilities in spreading the simple truths being taught - assisted in improving and developing the presentation of the teachings to the emissaries.

It was not long before, in palace and hovel, street and market place around the world over, there was talk of this city of the plains and the simple truths propounded there.

One day Uhjltd received a special messenger from the land of Egypt, and at once called the people together.

"My people," he began, "the time has come when I must choose a bride.  Three days hence the marriage ceremony will be held.  Prepare for a period of rejoicing.  One comes out of the land of the Sun who predicts that the Great One has chosen this, our humble city, as the center through which a great blessing will come to the world.  There is none among us who has been more patient and long-suffering than Ilya.  Before you all I do now declare her to be my accepted bride."

There was great rejoicing among the people, and when at the end of the second day the ancient priest arrived they received him reverently.  A great pavilion was constructed near the cave.  At the appointed time Uhjltd and Ilya came forth to stand before the priest.  The trappings and hangings of the pavilion were most elaborate, the costumes of the leader and his bride were very simple.

The garment worn by the priest was light green trimmed in gold and silver.  Elaborate embroidery work of signs and symbols covered it, an enormous cape of snowy white, fastened at the neck, spread in all directions.  The curious headdress worn by the priest was covered with small figures cut from gold and silver, clustered about one large white diamond.  All the people became silent as he raised his hand and began to speak.

"Children of the desert, you are blessed of all people.  You are privileged to sit at the feet of your leader Uhjltd and listen to the truths which he explains to you, and you can then work with Edssi in spreading these truths unto all people.  Even in far away Egypt I have heard stories of your work.

"You have done your work well, Edssi - and you, Irenan.  Be not weary in well doing.  Carry on.  The time has come when Uhjltd, your leader must take a bride.  He has chosen one who has worked long and faithfully.  I now unite these two, and proclaim that you shall call this day blessed, for you are to prepare for the coming of a great world teacher.  Unto this man and woman there shall be born a son whose name shall be called Zend.  The Great One has heard your pleas.  This work will go on, and men will be wiser and nearer their ultimate goal because of the work which you have done.  The way has been opened.  May His blessings rest upon you all.