198 The Atlantis Encyclopedia
Navel of the World
The original and most important mystery religion of Atlantis, at least some of
its rituals, such as initiation, were performed in selected caves representing Mother
Earth’s womb. The name, “Navel of the World,” appears to not only refer directly
to its central spiritual tenet, but was also an early title by which Atlantis itself was
known; modern parallels are Chicago as “the Windy City,” a characterization of
its loquacious politicians; New York as “the Big Apple,” representing ultimate
material success; Paris as “the City of Lights,” for its bright gaiety, and so forth.
The leading cult-object of The Navel of the World was a large, egg-shaped stone,
known to Greeks as the Omphalos. The Navel of the World emphasized inner
illumination through spiritual experience, such as religious drama, in which actors
convincingly impersonated the gods, and other theatrical devices were used to
convince initiates that life was eternal, death but a momentary transition, not
annihilation.
With the destruction of Atlantis, practitioners reestablished themselves at
various, new centers in many other lands. Each of the different locations wherein
they headquartered the cult were known as Navels of the World. These included
the Aegean island of Delos, the Greek Delphi, Rome, Jerusalem, in the Azores
(Homer’s Ogygia, the “Navel of the Sea”), the Incas’ Cuzco (Peru), Easter Island
in the Eastern Pacific, and so on—wherever the Atlantean survivors resettled.
Their mystery religion fundamentally influenced Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism,
even early Christian mysticism, primarily through belief in the eternity of the
human soul, never in a static form, but through recurring cycles exemplified in
nature’s seasonal changes, a concept that resulted in the doctrine of reincarnation.
The purest survival of The Navel of the World religion was preserved in the
Eleusian Mysteries.Nawalam
A splendid island kingdom which perished in the sea during the deep past
after its survivors sailed to Sri Lanka. Tamil culture traces its origins back to these
immigrants, survivors from the lost Pacific civilization of Mu.
(See Mu)Nefydd Naf Neifion
A young prince who saved his royal family from a great flood that sank their
realm under the Atlantic Ocean in the distant past. He led them to Wales, where
they established a new kingdom, the first in the land. Nefydd Naf Neifion is the
local memory of culture-bearers from Atlantis arriving at the end of the Late
Bronze Age.