In a reading given on January 25, 1940 for a twenty-nine year old insurance rate clerk, Edgar Cayce described a past life as Asmen-n, an Atlantean of the Law of One group during the period of the first destructive forces:
Before that the entity was in the Atlantean land, during those periods of the first of the destructive forces. There we find the entity was in a state of turmoil because of the activities of the sons of Belial, and with those of the daughters of the children of One. For the entity had disputations, - being physically in love with one of the sons of Belial, and yet giving in its service, giving in its activities with the children of the Law of One.. Hence disputations, and the giving away to fleshly desires arose. Leave these far from thee in the present. For know, while they arise in thy experience in the present, there is the healing which comes in Him and the knowledge of His presence abiding with thee, that taketh away the DESIRE even for those weaknesses of the flesh. The name then was Asmen-n. (1968-1)
This initial reading provided a glimpse into a past Atlantean incarnation marked by turmoil, temptation, and betrayal so common amongst the followers of the Law of One during the early phases of Atlantis at the time of the first destructive forces that fractured the continent. A follow-up reading provided much greater detail of the personal challenges of Asmen-n along with a fascinating overview of the socio-political context of that period:
We find that in those periods there was not a laboring for the sustenance of life (as in the present), but rather individuals who were children of the Law of One - and some who were the children of Belial (in the early experience) - were served by automatons, or THINGS, that were retained by individuals or groups to do the labors of a household, or to cultivate the fields or the like, or to perform the activities of artisans or the like. And these were those activities through which much of the disturbing forces grew to be factors to be reckoned with, between the children of the Law of One and the sons of Belial. For, these were the representation of what in the present experiences would be termed good and evil, or a spiritual thought and purpose and a material thought or desire or purpose. Hence, the entity entered the experience as of the children of the Law of One, or of the one purpose. (1968-2)
This background lays out the highly structured society consisting of the Law of One faction, the Belials, and the lower class of workers who were regarded as "automatons, or THINGS" - like objects or machines of production, less than human. The status and treatment of the lower class caused much friction and debate between the Law of One and the Belials. Generally speaking, the Belials wanted to keep the lower class in its place to be used and abused as they desired. Many within the Law of One sought to support and uplift the lower class, a theme that resonates in modern times during the Industrial Revolution when social justice and class consciousness was a major issue.
But there was another, more personal level to the story of Asmen-n. She was in love with a Belial who had his own agenda. The readings use the term "debauchery" to describe his activity:
There we find that the entity, as has been indicated, was PHYSICALLY in love with one of the children of the sons of Belial. Hence there were disturbing factors, by the desire and the attempt to influence the entity to refrain from associations with the children of Belial. For - as would be compared with the present - the association would be as of a young girl or person with those who were given to debauchery, or to the satisfying alone of the appetites of every nature, or the material experiences as might be indicated in the present. These brought the disturbing forces throughout the experience; yet there were the eventual associations - or conjugations - with the son of Belial. Thus there was the taking on of the physical desires, the physical reactions which were at variance to the teachings and the innate expressions of those who had been the companions and associates of the entity. (1968-2)
Her readings went on to describe the situation in her twentieth century life where she was involved with a man said to have been the same Belial that caused her so much misery in Atlantis. She would have to decide whether to repeat the same mistakes or not. She was encouraged to consider the relationship from the standponit of Ideals - a spiritually oriented approach to life discussed in many readings. Unless both parties had the same spiritual ideals, there would be problems again in the relationship. They were still working out karma from Atlantis.