When Edgar Cayce (1877–1945) was alive and giving readings, one of his dreams was to open a hospital that could offer the many services and remedies that were recommended to the thousands of people who contacted him for help. He had always wanted to help people, and he found through his correspondence with those who had received his readings, that many of them were finding it difficult to either find the remedy ingredients that were recommended or to keep up with the regimen that was offered in their readings.

In 1928, Cayce’s dream of a holistic hospital came true with the opening of the Hospital of Enlightenment on a sandy dune in the heart of a small coastal fishing town known as Virginia Beach, Va.

Unfortunately, after a few years, the hospital was lost during the Great Depression. Cayce’s supporters were not deterred. Feeling the need to form an association to continue his great work, in 1931, Cayce and his supporters founded the nonprofit Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), which is still in existence today.

With a headquarters located in the same spot as the original Cayce Hospital, Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. provides body-mind-spirit resources for individuals to explore meditation, intuition, dream interpretation, prayer, holistic health, ancient mysteries, and philosophical concepts, such as karma, reincarnation, and the meaning of life.

The mission of the A.R.E. is to create opportunities for profound personal change in body, mind, and spirit through the wisdom found in the Edgar Cayce material.

A.R.E. does this with regions and centers throughout the U.S. and worldwide, and activities that include conferences, tours, regional activities, publishing, and study groups. There are opportunities that allow people to engage in self-study as well as gather with like-minded people for education and fellowship worldwide.

A.R.E. offers membership benefits and services that include a quarterly body-mind-spirit magazine, Venture Inward, and the Cayce Quarterly newsletter, plus exclusive access to the entire set of Edgar Cayce’s 14,306 documented readings in an online searchable database.

Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. also maintains an affiliation with Atlantic University, which offers continuing education classes and Master of Arts programs in Transpersonal Psychology and in Leadership Studies; the Cayce/Reilly® School of Massage—a leader in holistic education, wellness, and healthcare; and an onsite A.R.E. Health Center & Spa at its Virginia Beach headquarters, where many of the health readings remedies are offered in the renovated historic hospital.