By Virginia Lascara
virginia.lascara@insidebiz.com
Claire Gardner slips on white cotton gloves as she stands in a vault that holds 14,000 readings given by self-proclaimed psychic Edgar Cayce.
The gloves provide extra protection as the Edgar Cayce Foundation worker handles the laminated documents that are typewritten and yellowing with age. These records - transcripts of readings offering health advice and predictions while Cayce was in a trance - are some of the most prized possessions at the Association for Research and Enlightenment center in Virginia Beach. That's why extra care is taken.
Gardner pulls out photographs, letters and other materials held in safekeeping. She picks up a box of postcards collected by Cayce's wife, Gertrude Evans Cayce.
"I could sell these for a fortune on eBay," Gardner says.
Gardner, who had been living in Sedona, Ariz., was in Virginia Beach in 2005 for a month visiting her relatives after the death of her husband. Driving by the A.R.E.'s Oceanfront campus, she felt drawn to go inside.
"I started to volunteer every day," she said. "They would have to kick me out at the end of the night."
She began working for the Edgar Cayce Foundation that same year and now is the foundation's corporate secretary and archives specialist.
"I don't ever want to leave," Gardner said.
Before working at the foundation, Gardner made seasonal displays at Michael's Arts and Crafts. She enjoyed the creative aspect of her job, but was looking for something deeper.
"There's a stigma out there that we have to watch out for," Gardner said. "People think we might be crazy. We just want to make people feel good. That's what we're here for."
Renovations
Virginia Beach natives and visitors alike may notice the $7.5 million renovations to the Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment's 67th street campus, but few know what the facility is, why it's there and what it has to offer. Or that this Virginia Beach Historical Register site reeled in more than 30,000 visitors last year.
"Some people drive by and think we might be some unusual or psychic place, but the best way to describe us is a self-help place," said Kevin Todeschi, the A.R.E.'s executive director and CEO.
In June, the A.R.E. celebrated the opening of the newly renovated Health Center & Spa and de Laski Education Center, bringing to life Cayce's vision of providing tools for personal empowerment and healing of the mind, body and spirit. Alison Ray, A.R.E. media communications director, estimates that between 300 and 400 guests attended the grand opening and 220 viewers from around the world watched via YouTube live stream.
"We wanted to move everything into the 21st century, including our buildings," Todeschi said.
Efforts to modernize the campus began after Todeschi began his tenure as executive director and CEO in 2006, taking over for Charles Thomas Cayce, the grandson of Edgar Cayce.
The $7.5 million renovations were funded by donations to the C.R.E.A.T.E. campaign, an initiative to raise $30 million toward the extension of the Cayce message of hope, health and healing. The A.R.E. plans to continue the campaign until it raises $20 million for program support and $2.5 million for endowed scholarships and programs.
The Old Hospital for Enlightenment, previously white with blue shutters, was given a makeover with freshly painted green shingles. Now known as the Health Center & Spa, the historic building sits on top of a hill overlooking the campus.
Two sweeping stairways invite visitors inside the modern interior, decorated with ocean tones and light furniture. The Health Center & Spa offers massages, hydrotherapy and holistic therapies, among other options.
On the porch, visitors can have lunch from the new Cayce/Miller Café, accompanied by an ocean view. At the Gibbons House, a historic beach cottage directly behind the spa, you can enjoy a week-long Cayce-based wellness retreat.
Attached to the new Health Center & Spa, the de Laski Education Center houses the school of massage, which was constructed in 2012. The "vault" holding the Cayce readings sits on the first floor.
The school of massage, which has graduated 18,000 students from 21 countries, occupies the second and third floors. The fourth floor is home to Atlantic University, a nationally accredited online university that offers master's degrees in transpersonal studies.
Originally founded as a four-year university in 1930, Atlantic University was forced to close two years later during the Great Depression. The university, which reopened in 1985, has 25 faculty and about 205 students.
The renovated buildings give the campus a more modern feel. No new construction or remodeling had been done since the million dollar visitor center opened in 1975. The visitor center holds the second largest metaphysical library in the world as well as the gift shop and bookstore. On the third floor is a room where visitors meditate overlooking the ocean.
The visitor center's dark, aging interior contrasts the campus' glistening remodeled structures. While the center might lack fresh paint and ocean-toned colors, members and staff brighten the mood. The nearly 100 workers at the A.R.E. are cheerful and appear happy to be at work.
The A.R.E. owns two publishing companies: A.R.E. Press, publishing Cayce-related materials, and 4th Dimension, publishing books topically related to Cayce's work. Books are sold online and in the gift shop, and donated to the Prison Outreach Program, a program that provides free books for prisoners.
Inmates from across the country send letters requesting books that will provide lessons related to the Edgar Cayce readings on the wellness of the body, oneness of God, purposefulness of life and the spiritual nature of humans. The program is fueled by volunteers and donated books.
The Prison Outreach Program receives on average 650 letters per month, more than any other A.R.E. department. It serves nearly 10,000 prisoners and 1,000 prison libraries nationwide.
Why Virginia Beach?
Edgar Cayce was born in 1877 in Hopkinsville, Ky. At an early age, he discovered he had the ability to undergo a self-induced trance and psychically answer questions regarding life, health and wellness. His fame for these trance "readings" became so widespread that in October of 1910, The New York Times published an article on his psychic powers, acknowledging his uncanny ability to "diagnose difficult diseases while in a semi-conscious state, though he has not the slightest knowledge of medicine when not in the condition."
It is said that the tiny ocean resort of Virginia Beach was unknown to Cayce before a reading named it as the ideal location for his hospital. It would be on a hill overlooking the Atlantic. He envisioned the building standing tall, like a lighthouse, shinning as a beacon of hope for those seeking wellness.
Cayce moved his family to Virginia Beach in 1925 and opened the Hospital of Enlightenment four years later. Morton Blumenthal, a wealthy New York stockbroker and grateful recipient of Cayce's readings, funded the nearly $200,000 project.
Atlantic University opened in 1930, offering courses toward a liberal arts degree in addition to graduate classes. Tuition was $475. A year later, Cayce created the Association of Research and Enlightenment. That same year, his hospital closed after falling victim to the stock market crash.
Soon after he moved to Virginia Beach, he gave a reading on its fate. In 1932, he foresaw that Virginia Beach would become one of the fastest-growing resort communities on the East Coast. By the late '70s, his prediction had come true.
Cayce's reading helped encourage land developer Jacob Laskin to develop Virginia Beach and build what is now Laskin Road, a major gateway to the Oceanfront. His 1932 prediction also said that within 30 years Virginia Beach would help Tidewater become a major East Coast seaport, surpassing New York and Philadelphia. By 1956 the tonnage coming into the port outweighed both major cities, according to a 1982 Virginia Beach Sun article.
Although his predictions for Virginia Beach were correct, many others did not come to fruition. Among these were prophecies that China would be converted to Christianity by 1968 or that a death ray responsible for the destruction of Atlantis would be discovered in 1958.
He did not foresee that the Great Depression would force him to close his hospital. It would become a hotel, nightclub, lodge for army nurses, Masonic lodge, and summer theater all before being repurchased by the A.R.E. in 1955.
Cayce's Virginia Beach predictions could be called a psychic vision, a stroke of luck or an educated guess. Nonetheless, 85 years after its construction, his hospital still stands, maintaining its original promise to aid those who suffer with health issues and to keep scientific records of Cayce's work for further scientific research.
Todeschi
Todeschi's involvement with the A.R.E. began at age 15 after he read the story of the young psychic and became involved as a volunteer. After receiving his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he took a finance job in a local bank but continued involvement with the association.
After working as the assistant to the vice president at a large bank in Colorado, his passion for the A.R.E. compelled him to move to Virginia Beach. He began his employment at the association working in the finance department.
Today, his contributions to A.R.E. have reached far and wide. Todeschi's book, "Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records," has been sold worldwide and translated into seven languages. Although he is the first non-family member to head the association, he follows closely in the Cayce footsteps. Much like Cayce, Todeschi is an avid dream interpreter and strict follower of the Cayce diet.
"I used to have terrible allergies," Todeschi said. "But I don't have them anymore."
June Bro
June Bro moved with her husband in 1943 to work with Cayce after her mother-in-law received a series of readings from him. Bro assisted Cayce after his son and manager of the A.R.E., Hugh Cayce, was drafted for World War II. Lively and newly married, she was 23 when she received her first reading.
"He unbuttoned his shirt, loosened his tie, unbuckled his shoes and lay down," Bro said. "It was not a big deal, and his suggestion for me was very beautiful. It was that easy."
Cayce's reading suggested that instead of pursuing a career as a concert pianist, Bro should save her talent for home life and help with her husband's vocation.
"I thought I was going to be a great musician," she said.
Out of her respect for Cayce's work, she listened to the advice and temporarily abandoned her musical dreams. Bro dropped out of the Chicago Musical College where she had a scholarship to earn her master's degree. She built a home with her husband, Harmon, and together they raised five children.
"He gave me direction and understanding and taught me that life opens up continually."
Bro remembers Cayce fondly, describing him as a talented artist, fine photographer and lover of people. She remembers his green thumb and love of fishing.
"He was a people person. He loved to talk to people," she said. "He was also a huge tease."
But she also remembers the suffering he felt as sacks of letters arrived at his house. The mail was streaming in, but Cayce was already booked for readings for the next two years. For many people, Cayce was their last hope.
After her five children were raised, Bro returned to school and graduated with a ministerial degree from Andover-Newton Theological School and a doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary. As an ordained minister, she dedicated much of her life to serving others as a pastoral counselor. She has been a research assistant at Harvard, taught on six campuses and held numerous workshops in cities across the country. Although her love for music stayed with her, much of her life work shifted toward helping other people.
At the age of 90, she released her first piano CD called "Soul Soundings." Now, three years later, Bro continues to write "The Art of Living," a column for the A.R.E. magazine Venture Inward. She credits her longevity and health to the Cayce diet.
"I always say that she was Edgar Cayce's greatest accomplishment," said Randy Griffin, a retired iron worker who spends his time at the A.R.E. studying the construction of the Great Pyramids.
She leads an informal talk at the A.R.E. every Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Impact on Virginia Beach
The A.R.E. center has its international headquarters in Virginia Beach, with regional headquarters in Houston, Texas, and centers across the U.S. and in 37 countries. Last year its annual operating budget was nearly $9 million, according to Todeschi, who says the center attracts people from Europe, Japan, Egypt, Ecuador and Australia.
According to a 2012 financial statement, the A.R.E. had total revenue of just below $8.2 million. With more than 25,000 members, nearly $3.3 million, or 40.1 percent of the income, came from member donations. The next largest sum, almost $2.6 million, came from tuition as well as conferences, health services and tour fees accounting for 31.6 percent of the income.
Membership contributed 11.9 percent of revenue, or $970,000. Sales rang in at around $869,000, 10.6 percent of income, with the remaining other income totaling roughly $479,000, or 5.9 percent.
Last year the A.R.E. hosted 31,527 visitors, mostly travelers coming for multi-day conferences, the holistic health center and spa, or the expansive metaphysical library. The Wyndham Virginia Beach and the Holiday Inn Express hotels offer discounts and other free amenities to A.R.E. members.
Mayor Will Sessoms, in his grand opening speech in June, regarded the A.R.E. as "a welcoming lighthouse for fellow travelers on a spiritual journey" to Virginia Beach.
"I truly believe that this wonderful organization is a community asset, and a community asset that we should all be very, very proud of and supportive of," Sessoms said. "The A.R.E. draws a lot of people to Virginia Beach and we're very thankful for that."
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