As you may have noticed, we love to embrace and discuss metaphysical topics here at VIVA GLAM Magazine. We truly believe there is more to humanity than meets the eye. In other words, we are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for, we just aren’t always open to the possibilities. So, after our continued adventures into our own consciousness this year, we just had to feature a personal favorite location of mine- the international headquarters for Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.). The VIVA GLAM Magazine team had an incredible time at the A.R.E., and I’m here to share our experiences with all of you today.
Who Was Edgar Cayce?
Before we discuss Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment and our experiences there, it’s important to give you a little insight into who Edgar Cayce was and why his beliefs were so unique and groundbreaking. Sometimes referred to as “The Sleeping Prophet” or the “Father of Holistic Medicine”, Edgar Cayce was an American clairvoyant who became the most documented psychic of all time.
Kevin Todeschi, the CEO and Executive Director of Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. told us, “For 43 years of Edgar Cayce’s adult life, he was able to close his eyes and put himself to sleep, at which point he could be given the name and address of anyone in the world. Somehow he was able to tune into that person, describe what was wrong with them and how they could get well. He had an amazing accuracy rate! For the first 20 years of his career, he focused on health. Later on, the topics expanded as they found he could answer any question.”
“Over the 43 years he gave readings, Cayce mentioned an astonishing 10,000 different topics. We have over 14,300 readings, and the Cayce database consists of approximately 24 million words. Hundreds of books have been written about his amazing life and work.”
What is the Association for Research and Enlightenment?
Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping provide people with the tools for mind, body, and spirit health, as well as empowerment and spiritual growth.
In the late 1920s, Edgar Cayce moved to Virginia Beach, believing it to be the ideal location for his center, where he built the Cayce Hospital. Cayce stressed the importance of mind, body, and spirit health, and this is one of the ideals the A.R.E. still holds dear, helping their visitors discover this for themselves daily.
Why Virginia Beach? Past-life regression expert Peter Woodbury explained, “If you look at why Edgar Cayce moved here, one of the reasons was to be near the ocean, which Cayce stated would be beneficial for his psychic ability. There’s a kind of energy here… Whatever you’re focusing on gets amplified here. If you come here with spiritual ideals, it gets amplified.”
“Cayce did draw from every school of medicine. Cayce believed that every school of medicine could be helpful in some regard,” explained Kevin Todeschi, “and that’s really why he came to Virginia Beach. His dream was to have a hospital where regular doctors, nurses, and therapists would carry out the treatment, and he would give readings on people’s illnesses, and they would all work together to promote healing.”
“Even today, all kinds of help modalities with the exception of surgery takes place in our spa. We are known for our massages; we have our own massage school here. We also do chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, regression therapy, hydrotherapy. We do energy medicine. Anything you can imagine we do here in the spa. Our most popular treatment is probably massage. In fact, if you’re on staff here at A.R.E., we will pay you your salary while you are getting a massage.”
The Magic of the A.R.E.
I grew up as a member of the A.R.E., and I always felt completely at peace with myself each time I visited the Health Center and Spa or the Visitor’s Center. It was such an enchanting feeling to be back in my old stomping grounds after so many years.
As we walked the campus with Kevin Todeschi, something very endearing stood out to me. Kevin, as the CEO of the A.R.E., knew the names of all the employees we passed by. He took the time to say ‘hi’ to each of them, smile at them, and give them a moment. Sure, it’s something small, but it’s also incredibly powerful. We see many companies where the leader doesn’t know their crew, and this changes the dynamic tremendously. It was such a refreshing feeling to see the kindness, respect, and care everyone who worked at the A.R.E. had for each other. And it reflects the exact idea of what Edgar Cayce had for the world.
You see, Edgar Cayce discussed the idea of people from all backgrounds coming together, and the staff at the A.R.E. is a strong reflection of this ideal today. “Cayce suggested that with God as our creator, we are all brothers and sisters in the same family.” Kevin told us, “He suggested we try to bring together people from every religious background and have them work together and share with one another.”
The A.R.E. Currently
“On a given day, we generally get more than 10,000 unique individuals coming to our website looking for insights on mind, body, and spirit health. We have a spa here that does 200-300 services a week,” continued Todeschi, “Cayce emphasized the importance of health and how we all have a great deal of input in the health of our physical body. One of the things we often say around here is that our health is tied into the acronym C.A.R.E. And Cayce suggested that if you work with your circulation, your assimilation, your relaxation, and your elimination, the body does not have a chance to be a good culture medium for germs.”
Be sure to stay tuned for my full video interview with Kevin Todeschi where he discusses his journey learning about Edgar Cayce and his interesting adventure into dream analysis. Dream analysis is one of the many tools offered that can help you find mind, body, and spirit health in this life.
There are so many other interesting topics and metaphysical properties that the A.R.E. teaches visitors about, as well. As Todeschi said, “Anything you’re interested in, we have programs and information for here at the A.R.E.”
Past Life Regression
One interesting area of study offered at the A.R.E. that may pique your interest is past life regression. For those who don’t know, past life regression is an experience that uses hypnosis to help people access memories from their past lives, and it’s an excellent tool to help us understand and grow in our current lives. We sat down with past life regression expert Peter Woodbury to discuss the basics of regression.
When asked to explain hypnosis and if it’s harder for certain people to have an experience, Woodbury replied, “To have a regression experience, you have to be able to use the imagination. Some people can more easily go with their imagination than others. And sometimes people who have had trauma, it takes them a little more practice because it takes trust to go into a trance state. Between being awake and asleep, in those states of consciousness which we call trance states, the mind opens to suggestion, and that’s what we call hypnosis.”
“What people think hypnosis is and what it actually is, is different. You can be in an in-between state or you can be conscious [to have a regression],” continued Woodbury, “I actually think for a regression, it is most important for a person to keep their ego conscious… You need to be conscious of yourself currently while watching the movie you are experiencing in your regression so you can download it and process it in your current life. We do need our ego conscious there to watch this soul experience.”
When asked what the biggest misconception is for working on past lives, Woodbury explained, “I think that we’re hungry to move beyond just the limitations of the ego mind. I believe that we’re wired for transcendence. We have a new age – in order to have a new age, there must have been an old age. I think in the previous age we weren’t accessing God from within. We’d go to Jesus and Buddha and Edgar Cayce, and they’d do the transcendent experience for us. But I think the new age is that it’s within us. And those people doing this type of work are trying to introduce people to the god within. It’s so much more than just a past life experience. It opens you up to a sense of awe of how much you can access from within yourself. You move into a broader consciousness, and it lingers. My hope is that people continue that. A regression is kind of like a spiked meditation. I’m really trying to introduce people to their soul consciousness and liberate them.”
Be sure to visit the A.R.E. headquarters the next time you are in the Virginia Beach area to learn more or you can find a local chapter near you! Or, if you’ve never been, plan to visit during an upcoming event. The A.R.E. offers many events and services that you can check out here on their website.
There is so much more to discuss regarding Edgar Cayce and the A.R.E. So, stay tuned to my full video with the A.R.E. soon. You will get the special treat of also hearing from the Edgar Cayce Foundation’s archivist Jessica Newell, who is currently implementing an assessment on the condition of their records and preserving the Cayce readings for the future.
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