Atlantis Part 2 - The Law of One and the Sons of Belial

Posted on Facebook by Samoa Lualima

The great conflict within Atlantis was not simply about technology, wealth or political power. At its heart was a spiritual struggle over how humanity should use the extraordinary knowledge and powers it had developed. The readings repeatedly describe two opposing influences within Atlantean society: those who followed the Law of One and those associated with the Sons of Belial. These represented two very different ways of understanding life and the purpose of human power.

The Law of One taught that behind all life there is one Creative Source. Humanity was therefore not truly separate from God, from nature or from one another. This was not intended merely as a religious belief but as something that had to be expressed in everyday relationships. “Ever has been, ever will be, the law of One the same.” The practical meaning was then given: “Love ye in your daily experience. Apply ye in your daily activities the love that ye would have the Father show thee, in thy relationships to thy fellows.” (497-1)

Because all people came from the same Source, the Law of One also opposed the idea that some groups were spiritually more valuable than others. Atlantis had divisions between different classes and levels of society, yet the deeper spiritual teaching was that “all are of one source - One!” (333-2). If this principle were truly understood, then the way one person treated another became part of that person's relationship with the Creative Forces. Service to another person was therefore not separate from spiritual development.

Against this understanding arose the influence associated with the Sons of Belial. The readings describe a gradual movement away from the Law of One and toward a philosophy increasingly centred upon material satisfaction, physical desire, personal advantage and power. There were “withdrawings from the Law of One” and the establishment of the influence associated with Belial (263-4). Atlantis therefore did not suddenly become corrupt. The change developed gradually as people began changing the purpose for which their knowledge and abilities were being used.

The difference between the two paths is described particularly clearly in one reading. The followers of the Law of One were opposed by those who worshipped “the satisfying of physical desire” and those who worshipped “ease and pleasure in the material world.” (640-1) The problem was not that physical life or material comfort was inherently wrong. The problem arose when material desire became the ruling purpose of life and spiritual principles became secondary.

This imbalance became increasingly serious because Atlantis had already reached an extraordinary level of material development. Poseida was described as possessing a very advanced civilization, yet “the application towards material surmounted that toward the spiritual.” (38-1) Humanity was learning how to control powerful forces in the world around itself without developing the same ability to control selfishness, pride and desire within itself.

Even spiritual knowledge began to be used for material purposes. The readings describe people exploring “the laws that pertained to spiritual forces for the aggrandizing of selfish motives in material bodies.” (524-1) This was one of the most dangerous developments in Atlantis. Spiritual knowledge was no longer always being sought for wisdom, healing or service. Some sought spiritual and natural powers because of what those powers could provide materially.

The conflict was also much more complicated than simply dividing Atlantis into good people and bad people. Even those associated with the Law of One could become tempted by power. One individual connected with the Law of One became involved with the powers associated with the stone, and this eventually led toward “self-indulgences, self-aggrandizements” and destructive consequences (528-14). The reading therefore gives a very important instruction: “KNOW THYSELF.” (528-14)

This suggests that the real dividing line between the Law of One and Belial existed not only between groups of people but within each individual. A person could believe in spiritual principles while still being tempted by recognition, pleasure or power. A person could sincerely wish to help others while also wanting personal advantage. The possession of spiritual knowledge did not automatically remove selfishness from the human personality.

Another Atlantean experience describes an individual as being “torn between two opinions.” Material concerns drew the person toward Belial, while spiritual desires drew the person toward the Sons of One (524-1). This gives the story a much deeper meaning. The struggle of Atlantis was also the struggle within human consciousness between material desire and spiritual purpose.

As the Belial influence became stronger, the desire for power apparently extended beyond material possessions into attempts to control other people. Some Atlanteans possessed knowledge of mental forces, and the readings describe efforts in which one might “control another by the mental being” (428-4). Such use of knowledge opposed the deeper principle of the Law of One because spiritual development required respect for the individual soul and its freedom.

The same pattern appears repeatedly throughout the Atlantis readings. Knowledge could be used constructively or destructively depending upon the motive of the person using it. One individual who travelled from Atlantis to Yucatan possessed knowledge of “the inmost forces in nature itself,” but when these abilities became associated with “self-indulgences,” destructive consequences followed (568-1).

The alternative repeatedly given in the readings was service. Abilities were not intended merely for personal advancement. One reading explains that what a person possesses should be used as “aid or service to another rather than to self.” (220-1) This simple principle seems to contain much of the difference between the Law of One and the Belial influence.

Some Atlanteans continued to live according to this principle even while witnessing the misuse of the great powers around them. One individual associated with the powerful crystal technologies saw these abilities being turned toward self-indulgence but continued to regard their own responsibility as “a duty of love and of service for its fellow man.” (813-1)

The Law of One therefore did not teach that power itself was wrong. It taught that power carried responsibility. Knowledge of nature, technology, healing, consciousness and spiritual forces could become tremendously constructive when motivated by love and service. The same knowledge could become destructive when motivated by selfishness.

This is why one reading gives the warning, “Do not make self a part of any that bring curses. Rather those that bring blessings to many.” (240-2) The purpose behind an ability was ultimately more important than the ability itself.

The readings also repeatedly warn against using divine or spiritual abilities for personal glory. One Atlantean experience emphasized that human relationships should remain “in accord with the divine, rather than using the divine for SELFISH motives,” whether those motives involved “fame, fortune, power, or BODILY pleasure.” (115-1)

The struggle between the Law of One and the Sons of Belial can therefore be understood as two different directions for human development. One path sought unity, love, spiritual growth and service. The other increasingly sought material satisfaction, personal advantage, domination and self-gratification. Both existed within the same highly advanced civilization, and both had access to extraordinary knowledge and power.

The real difference was how that power was used and what motivated its use.

Atlantis therefore presents a powerful spiritual lesson. Greater knowledge does not automatically make humanity wiser. In fact, the greater the power humanity possesses, the more important spiritual development becomes. Knowledge magnifies the intention of the person using it. In the hands of those motivated by service, it can become a blessing. In the hands of those motivated by selfishness and domination, the same knowledge can become destructive.

The deepest battlefield in Atlantis was therefore not the land, the temples or the political institutions. It was the human heart. The civilization had learned to command extraordinary forces, but it had not completely learned to master the desires within human beings.

The Law of One offered a simple answer: power should be used in love and service to others. The Belial influence increasingly turned that power toward self.

As that division grew, the conflict would eventually move beyond ideas and philosophy. The tremendous technological forces possessed by Atlantis would begin to be used destructively, setting the stage for the upheavals that followed.

A.R.E. Meeting for 8/10/26

Leader: Greg

Six Cayce pupils with a growth mindset worked on the chapter of Opportunity. We read the “Faith Helps Us Grasp Opportunity” section and “Opportunities Found in Fellowship.”
 
Experiment 1: Do not let fear of failure deter you from doing acts of love or service which are in keeping with your spiritual ideal. Approach life with a boldness that is not afraid to appear foolish. Seek opportunities to risk. Affirm: "I am capable of doing well all that comes to me to do." 
 
Experiment 2: Make special efforts to help others through opportunities for growth which you yourself have recently experienced. Do not be "preachy" but rather be supportive and help others have faith. Begin to pray regularly for such people. Call, write a note or offer in some loving way to be with your friend in his or her time of need. 

Atlantis Part 1 - The Civilization of Atlantis

Posted on Facebook by Samoa Lualima

Atlantis is presented as a civilization of extraordinary development, far beyond what we usually imagine when thinking about the ancient world. The readings describe Atlantis at a time when its people had reached a very high level in science, technology, social organization, mental development and the use of natural forces. One reading refers to Atlantis as being at “the height of the then known civilized forces” (8-1). Another describes Poseida as reaching “even a higher state of application of material things” than the present day (38-1).

Atlantis was therefore not described as a simple or primitive society. It had rulers, temples, teachers, priests, scientists, engineers, record keepers and people who specialized in different areas of knowledge. There were organized systems of government and social classes, and some readings describe Atlantis as maintaining relationships with other countries and lands. In Poseida, for example, individuals served the country in its relations with other nations, suggesting that Atlantis existed within a wider world of contact and communication (234-1).

One of the strongest themes is the Atlanteans' knowledge of the hidden or unseen forces of nature. The readings repeatedly speak of “universal forces,” electrical forces, vibrations, energy, light and powers that could be applied to physical life. Some Atlanteans became powerful through the application of these forces, although the readings constantly warn that such power could be used either constructively or destructively (240-2).

The civilization also appears to have developed forms of energy that sound strikingly modern. One reading describes an Atlantean who was able to generate a force later compared with “electronic energy” (270-15). Another speaks of teaching connected with the “transmission of thought through ether” (187-1). These descriptions suggest that the readings viewed Atlantis as a civilization deeply interested in the relationship between energy, consciousness and matter.

Communication appears to have been particularly advanced. The readings describe people in Atlantis who managed communications between different lands and who worked with forms of communication “under the sea, the wires, the air currents, or what not” (587-3). Another reading describes the transmission of voice and the recording of images through vibration in terms compared with what later became television (813-1).

Transportation is described in equally remarkable terms. One reading speaks of craft that carried individuals from place to place and of technologies that could overcome what today would be called gravity. The same reading refers to the ability to obtain information at a distance and even to read inscriptions through walls (519-1). These abilities were connected with the use of powerful crystals and electrical forces.

The great crystals seem to have played a central role in Atlantean technology. They are described as concentrating light and other natural forces and then directing those energies for practical purposes. In one reading, great crystals stored or concentrated “motivative forces in nature,” and these energies were connected with guiding ships on the sea, craft in the air, transmitting voice and recording images (813-1).

Atlantis also possessed considerable knowledge of the earth itself. Some readings connect Atlantean technology with forces deep within the earth and with methods of directing energy into those regions. Other individuals are described as having strong interests in electrical forces, communications and “the innermost portions of the earth” because of their Atlantean experiences (615-1).

Healing and medicine were also part of Atlantean civilization. Some individuals associated with the Law of One served not only as priests or priestesses but also as physicians. One reading describes a priestess in Atlantis who functioned as both spiritual leader and doctor, working with universal forces for the body and mind (823-1).

Another fascinating description connects healing with sound, colour and vibration. Atlantean knowledge brought into Egypt is described as including something like “electron music,” in which colour, vibration and sound could influence emotions and physical conditions. These methods were said to be capable of helping people suffering from disturbances of mind or body (824-1).

The readings also portray Atlantis as a civilization deeply interested in human consciousness. Thought, emotion and spiritual forces were not considered separate from physical life. There are descriptions of psychological study, thought transmission, mental influence and the ways consciousness could affect matter. This seems to have been one of the great strengths of Atlantean knowledge, but it later became one of its greatest dangers when people began using mental and spiritual abilities to dominate others.

There were also impressive achievements in construction and architecture. Some rulers and leaders were associated with the erection of beautiful buildings and with knowledge of stone, marble, granite and mechanical lifting forces. One reading describes a period when “some of the most beautiful buildings were erected” and connects these achievements with advanced mechanical understanding (779-9).

Atlantis was therefore a civilization where science, religion and spirituality were not completely separated. Temples were centres of worship, but they were also connected with knowledge, healing, energy and the study of natural forces. The Law of One used temples as places where spiritual understanding and the laws of nature were studied together.

This combination is one of the most important features of Atlantis. The people were not simply developing machines. They were studying the relationship between mind, matter, energy and spirit.

Yet the readings repeatedly emphasize that high civilization does not necessarily mean high spiritual development. Atlantis possessed extraordinary knowledge, but many people gradually became more interested in material achievement, comfort, power and pleasure. One reading says that although Poseida had reached an extremely high level of material civilization, “the application towards material surmounted that toward the spiritual” (38-1).

This was the beginning of the great problem of Atlantis.

The civilization had learned how to control enormous forces, but it had not completely learned how to control the desires within human beings.

Some Atlanteans used their abilities to help others. Others used them to gain power, wealth, pleasure or control. The readings therefore constantly distinguish between the constructive and destructive use of exactly the same knowledge.

One reading explains that creative forces should not merely make life easier but should become something that benefits humanity, warning: “Do not make self a part of any that bring curses. Rather those that bring blessings to many.” (240-2)

This principle becomes the key to understanding Atlantis.

Atlantis was great not simply because of its technology. Its real importance lies in the fact that humanity was being given tremendous power and was being tested in how that power would be used.

At its highest level, Atlantis showed what humanity might achieve when mind, science and nature are understood together. At its lowest level, it showed what can happen when the same knowledge becomes separated from spiritual responsibility.

The story of Atlantis therefore begins with greatness.

It was a civilization of remarkable knowledge, communication, healing, architecture, energy and understanding of natural forces.

But hidden inside that greatness was the question that would eventually determine its destiny:

Would humanity use its knowledge in service to others, or would it use that knowledge for power over others?

That question leads directly into the next part of the Atlantis story — The Law of One and the Sons of Belial.