Hej-Ptah

It has been quite a while since my last posting. Many things have happened since then. Chief among these has been my enrollment in an initiation class at the M’Tam School of Kemetic Studies presented by The Earth Center.

I am studying under Master Naba Lamoussa Morodenebig, A Dogon Spiritual Master and Kemetic Priest. He has been authorized by the elders of Kemet to open an ancient Mystery School here in the U.S.

The Mystery Schools have been hidden since the destruction of the schools at Thebes and Memphis and the burning of the library at Alexandria. At that time, the masters went into hiding. They preserved the sacred papyrus and traditions intact. They maintained the language and culture that is the original legacy of all of humanity.

It is a great privilege to have the opportunity to study with Master Naba and his elder students at The Earth Center. It is also a tremendous challenge.  Studying the sacred teachings requires that we be "de-programmed" from the conceptual thought patterns and cultural biases of non-indigenous culture. Letting go of our previous patterns of thought is very difficult.

I have always considered myself to be living on the margins of western culture. I always believed that I never really embraced the western way of thinking. This was a result of my upbringing. My Father, a Methodist Minister, has always been a believer in independent thinking. My Mother is a militantly free thinker and taught me and my siblings any spiritual practices that she could learn including Hatha Yoga and Transcendental Meditation, among other things.

Both of my parents worked very hard to find the truth of themselves and to improve society as a whole. They also worked to raise my sisters and brothers and I to be good people and to contribute to humanity in the form of our talents and gifts.

This is the foundation that is the basis for my coming to The Earth Center, but even with my unconventional up-bringing, I was not prepared for what I have begun to learn.

I had no idea how my thinking has been holding me back from accessing the knowledge and training that I have been seeking all my life. I have come to find that the challenge is not in understanding the information that is presented to us in the lectures. The challenge is in making that information a part of our every day lives.

There are so many things that we in the west take for granted as being true and natural. All of these pre-conceptions are challenged by the initiatic process. As I approach the completion of my first semester of Medu and Ka-at Ibi training, I realize that I have been treating my initiation with great disrespect.

A person in my position here in the west would normally be going to business school to get an MBA. If I were to do this, I would certainly be spending a significant amount of my time studying, attending classes and doing homework. I would very likely be involved in a study group with my class mates. I would be spending several hours a day on homework and reading. I would attend classes in the evening or on the weekend.

All of this would cost me thousands of dollars per semester.

In contrast, the initiation that I am receiving at The Earth Center is a bit less expensive, on the order of $500 per class per semester. A Business School will easily be ten times that for the whole program per semester (which may consist of several classes). M’Tam initiation is a bargain.

More importantly, M’Tam initiation will transcend death. The value of an MBA would last me 20 years.

I have come to realize that my life must fit into the initiation process instead of the initiation process fitting in to my life. Dedication to spiritual development is what I must be about. There is nothing in the world of the living that should take precedence over this.

That is not to say that the world of the living is unimportant.

Everything that I do while alive has implications for my spiritual future. It is the responsibility of the living to advance ourselves spiritually while alive. We must do this by living in harmony with our ultimate purpose. The purpose of all human beings is to preserve life. This means preserving life in the world of the living.

I must, therefor, ensure that the physical needs of myself and my family are met in such a way that we have time for spiritual pursuits. This is a difficult task in western society because most of us are slaves. I realize that I too am still a slave and until I am able to purchase my freedom, I will have to run my life under the dominion of my slave masters.

My first responsibility after my spiritual work and training is to purchase my freedom.