UDJA Sebai MAA and Sebai DJA.
Please find below my audio assignment.
IMPORTANT TEACHINGS PRESENTED
1) Why Shetaut Neter?
In general, every human being, either consciously or unconsciously, is looking for bliss, a permanent state of happiness, turning away from pain and sorrow. However, they are looking for it in the wrong way, leading to multiple disappointments, exposing them to many ups and downs in life, and they become to believe about the transient nature of happiness.
Shetaut Neter offers an authentic path to assist people in their quest towards fulfillment. There are many reasons why someone should continue on this path.
One of the main reasons is that it offers a teaching allowing us to attain a different kind of fulfillment, one that is transcendental and everlasting. It is a full path of spiritual evolution covering all three aspects of religion: from understanding of the myth to ultimate mystical experience. The type of fulfillment hereby expressed allows us to transcend the ups and downs in life not to go by them.
A second reason relates to our ARIU, our spiritual make up, which may make us more attune to the type of teaching offered by Shetaut Neter. It is as if, unconsciously, we feel compelled to adopt a particular philosophy and, during the process, we feel passion and attachment. If the desire and attachment is not there, then it will be very difficult to follow the path and attain the highest goal.
A third reason is related to the integrality of the teaching. It is a holistic philosophy addressing not only the mind but also, offers way of purifying all other aspects of our personality. It is a very balanced approach for spiritual disciplines. In our goal to attend abiding peace, we need to work on all aspects of ourselves to find the proper balance meaning, spiritual evolution is not done through a straight line but, implies going forward and backward. Sometimes, it is necessary to stop working on a particular aspect of ourselves to develop other aspects that are less spiritualized and if not addressed, will constitute a barrier to our growth. Sometimes, within one aspect of the personality, we can evolve and also face setback and at this point, we need to go back and correct what needs to be corrected to move forward. In totality, by penetrating the teaching, the spiritual path looks more like a spiral along the many forwards and backwards until we reach our highest goal, which is spiritual enlightenment.
Another reason we can offer is related to its longevity. In fact, the physical evidence of the teachings goes as far as 10,000 BC making it the first and foremost among all mystical philosophies.
The point is not say Shetaut Neter is the best path to attain the highest spiritual goal as this probably depends on cultural relationship and the person’s ARIU but, among other things, the main reasons for its consideration are based on its authenticity, its holistic aspect as well as its practices that have been traced as far as many millenaries.
2) About the Pre-requisites for the teaching.
The purification of the personality is a very important aspect of Egyptian yoga in order that we become a proper vessel for the study and practice of the teaching otherwise, our spiritual evolution will stall. Particularly, our spiritual evolution needs to be done in a balanced way, and shall encompass all aspects of the personality. According to the teaching of Shetaut Neter, we have the following aspects of our personality represented by the divinities:
– ASAR which is the SOUL, our highest SELF that needs to be resurrected because of fetters of the personality
– ASET, representing the Intellect and Wisdom, which needs to guide us along the path.
– SETH, representing our Ego, ignorant to our higher nature as human being that leads to the feeling of separation with the rest of creation.
– HERU, representing our spiritual aspiration, our redemption. It is the path toward harmonization and balance in time and space.
– Nebethet. Desire to be human being, to be attached to worldly affairs.
The integration and balance of the above aspects in a systematic way is required for us to dissolve the ego personality and attain NEHAST, which is enlightenment.
3) How the integrated process works
The teaching not only needs to be understood but, also needs to be practiced. That is the purpose of the process of personality integration leading to the spiritualization of all aspects of our personality. In that sense, Shetaut Neter includes:
– Development and control of our WILL impulses through meditation.
– Purification of the emotions through devotion to the divine, including in practicality, singing, chanting, etc. Another key aspect of the devotion, and which is more difficult, relates to the recognition of the divine in others and to learn to serve it.
The purification of the emotions implies getting rid of the personal element and avoids feelings of resentment, developing instead understanding that most people are acting according to their ARIU and for that reason; we become projections of their emotions. The devotion is about developing our inner strength so that we remove negative emotions within ourselves instead of projecting them towards others. Generally, the expression of positive feelings such as love and compassion for example needs to be done without any desire for gratification.
– Purification of our actions through MAAT principles of truth, virtue and order. We should consider the events of life as elements of practices and be aware to strive to apply MAAT principles for every action. More importantly, we need to raise ourselves so we become detached of outcome of our actions: we do according to the principles even when it is not convenient to us.
– Control of our mind and reason faculty through WISDOM meditation. This includes two aspects:
o A lower aspect involving control over our basic negative tendencies including anger, greed, passion, attachment to worldly things. In that capacity, we manage to have control over most of our personality.
o A higher aspect involving the discovery our higher SELF, the causal aspect affecting the mind and to manifest it. In that sense, we become aware of the source of our thoughts and become master of those. In the lower sense, we can be a righteous person but not necessarily in control of the source of our thoughts. So, without awareness of the causal aspect of our thoughts, we can’t have full control over our mind.
In essence, the purification of all aspects of our personality leads us to move from egoism to SELF less action and more importantly, to understand, we are not the DOER but the conduit. The key is not to develop more ARIU and be able to be detached in order to become better vehicle by progressively reducing and ultimately removing personal desire in the outcome of our actions.
4) Importance of reincarnation
Depending on our ARIU, we reincarnate in time and space. Therefore, our Karma directs our future actions. It has two aspects: an impulsive one driving us to do actions; also, a compulsive way whereby we become its slave and not able to control ourselves. In a more practical way, our ARIU directs us to type of friends, to our environment, type of activities we involved in. At the end of life, it becomes our witness based on the principle of we reap what we saw. Depending on our actions, we can either rise in the level of creation or go down. The ultimate goal however, is to be able to transcend our karma through following the path of MAAT and the practice of the Shedy disciplines, leading us to enlightenment.
ABOUT HOW I AM IMPLEMENTING THE TEACHING
One of the key important aspects of the teaching is the need to practice. Currently, I am trying to implement the following:
– Daily meditation based on Om Amun Ra Ptah.
– Purification of the emotions. Particularly, I am working on purifying ANGER in both aspects: one, when I am the victim of it, I am trying to remove the personal resentment and develop instead, understanding and compassion towards the other person.; secondly, when I feel anger, it is important I take the time to understand the main reason behind it and try to remove the personal resentment and express the key point that needs to be said. By doing this practice, we evidently feel the forward and backward aspect as said on the teaching. In fact, quite a few times, I feel having made progress to realize that I fall right at the beginning.
In a professional environment with internal competition, I try as much as possible to rely on objectivity with open mind and avoid being too attached to a particular idea but be focus to the problems at hand for resolution.
– Control of thinking and faculty of reason learning how to express myself without necessarily having a desire towards the outcome as well as not trying to seek for adhesion of others. It is learning about taking responsibility for my thinking as well as understanding that other people may have their own and that both can be right in their sense. It is learning to be detached in regards to the adhesion or agreement on the expression of my thinking. It is important in listening to others and has the detachment necessary to have proper understanding.
– Practice Spiritual strength. Also, I am working among the awareness of the five obstacles to spiritual development and the way to develop the strength to overcome them. Basically, that includes reinforcing the will to practice the teaching, set daily routines to constantly learn about the teaching to reinforce my desire and attachment, at the same time try to understand worldly affairs in the context of the teaching and avoid as much as I can to see things among personal beliefs and desires.
– Daily worship. I am learning about the daily worship particularly, how to pronounce the four great truths and the related songs so I can start practicing them soon. For now, I mentally repeat them every morning with the goal of moving toward full application particularly in the morning and at night.
– Control of speech. One area I am trying to practice is the speech in a sense to avoid negative words as well as trying to respond in detached ways when having to deal with negative words from others. Some other times, in that sense, the option is just not to say anything at all.
I would say the main practice among other things is to create an environment where I constantly have the teaching available particularly to balance when I see I am getting caught in egoistic tendencies. Overall, it is a process where I am learning to see the world in the light of the teaching and not particularly with my own desire. Reinforcing the devotion to the divine is an essential part of what I am doing at this point.
