Previously...on LOST

Not really.

But I did come across something that I found to be very interesting. And it's from Wikipedia, so it has to be good. It has to do with Edgar Cayce.

For those unfamiliar with Cayce (March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) (pronounced Casey) he was an American psychic (or not, if you don't believe psychics exist) who was quite famous in his day. There are more than 300 books written about Cayce, and there still exists today an organization he founded known as the Association for Research and Enlightenment. The most famous book on Cayce is one I read about thirty years ago called Many Mansions, and I highly recommend it. Cayce is arguably the seminal authority for the notion of the "collective unconscious" (a concept that might explain the whispers).

He said some wild stuff, but never seemed to take himself too seriously. He warned his more devout followers not to take everything he said on faith. Sound familiar?

Anyway, Cayce was arguably most famous for his prophecies about the lost city of Atlantis. Get it? The "Lost" city of Atlantis...an island that disappeared.

Hmmm...but wait, it gets better. While there are many, many parallels between Cayce and LOST, two jumped out at me:

Atlantis: The Cayce readings spoke of the existence of Atlantis, a legendary continent with an advanced technology whose refugees peopled ancient Egypt as well as pre-Columbian America. Cayce's description of Atlantis has much in common with that of Ignatius L. Donnelly. According to Cayce, Atlantean society was divided into two long-lived political factions—a "good" faction called the "Sons of the Law of One," and an "evil" faction called the "Sons of Belial." Many people alive today are the reincarnations of Atlantean souls, he believed, who must now face similar temptations as before. It is said Atlantis suffered three major destructions, one of which was the deluge. According to the readings, a major source of turmoil was the Sons of Belial's desire to exploit the Things, sub-humans with animal appendages and low intelligence, and the movements to protect and evolve them by the Sons of the Law of One. The final destruction was the overcharging of the crystal which caused a massive explosion.

* Egypt: Next to biblical times, the most significant era for the "life readings" was a pre-dynastic Egyptian civilization consisting of Atlantean refugees. Cayce purported to have been an Egyptian priest named "Ra Ta" who built a spiritually-based healing center (the "Temple of Sacrifice") and educational institution (the "Temple Beautiful"). His diagnostic readings and narratives about the past and future were supposed to be a continuation of his ancient work. This civilization also built monuments on the Giza plateau, including the Great Pyramid, and left records of Atlantis in a "hall of records" located somewhere beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza. These readings bear a close resemblance to books by AMORC founder H. Spencer Lewis.

Let's review:

Atlantis was divided into two factions- a "good" faction and an "evil" faction who ultimately go to war against one another. Jacob and the Man in Black? (Though I have come increasingly to believe that Jacob is really the evil one.)

Atlantis had advanced technology whose refugees peopled ancient Egypt - technology is really what brought Dharma to the island; it's what crashed the plane, in a manner of speaking. And the Egyptian connection is obvious. "Cayce purported to have been an Egyptian priest named "Ra Ta" who built a spiritually-based healing center (the "Temple of Sacrifice") and educational institution (the "Temple Beautiful")."

Some of the people alive today are the reincarnations of Atlantean souls, he believed, who must now face similar temptations as before - multiple time lines? Is this how we will come to understand Adam and Eve?

Atlantis was destroyed by the overcharging of the crystal which caused a massive explosion - is this why the island is now at the bottom of the ocean?

Cayce also mentions crystals repeatedly as an energy source unique to Atlantis. Atlanteans used the crystal "to rejuvenate their bodies and were able to live hundreds of years while maintaining a youthful appearance." Richard Alpert?

Cayce ultimately foresaw massive destruction (California falls in to the sea, Obama presidency if mankind couldn't reconcile its inherent contradictions (free will v. fate?) - perhaps this is the inspiration for the Valenzetti Equation?

Answers? Nah. There are no answers to LOST, at least not yet. But if, like me, you want to crack the mystery that is LOST, perhaps Cayce offers more insights than any other source I have discovered to date.