Remembering Egypt

Even for a flaky tape, this one asks you to swallow an awful lot. The program begins with some footage of Egypt, while voiceover narration describes the great pyramids of Egypt and the flourishing of Egyptian culture, traditionally thought to be around 2,500 B.C. First surprise: Egypt actually reached its zenith around 10,500 B.C., which, all historic and scientific claims to the contrary, was when the prophet Edgar Cayce (then known as Ra-Ta) had the Great Pyramid at Giza constructed. The first half of the video describes Cayce's exciting life in ancient Egypt: a busy boy, he was not only responsible for the Great Pyramid (which was not constructed as is commonly thought by a complex system of ropes and pulleys and basic mechanics concepts- the huge blocks were simply levitated), Cayce also founded the great library at Alexandria. The upshot of the story is this: during his time as ruler of Egypt, Cayce created what was basically a utopian society- all members were equal and each was devoted to self-improvement. Right. The second half of program allows you to join in the fun, by asking you to fall into a relaxed state of self-hypnosis, and visit your earlier self in ancient Egypt. (We were all there, don't you remember?) During our time-tripping, we are supposed to stop off at various periods in our former lives: periods of "adjustment," "inner/outer purification," "meditation," etc. These journeys will help us see our current conditions more clearly. Throughout the second half, which has a lot of nice Egyptian footage (which you'll miss because you're supposed to have your eyes closed), the narrator keeps repeating "don't analyze, just take it all in." My guess is that if people see themselves sitting on the veranda sipping mint juleps with King Tut in days gone by, it's not because they're having a mystical experience, it's because they did too much acid in the '60s. Not recommended. (Available from: A.R.E., 67th Street and Atlantic Ave., P.O. Box 595, Virginia Beach, VA 23541.)