Udja
A good summary.
About your statement: “D. Herumachet (the Sphinx) has been proven to be the earliest recorded evidence of the practice of religion anywhere in the world.”
IT is important to distinguish what is meant in the teaching about the age of Ancient Egyptian Religion versus other religions in this period of human existence. What is meant is not that Ancient Egypt was the earliest religion for there is a possibility of other societies that may have had some notions of spirituality, that came before Ancient Egypt. What is being said is that Ancient Egypt displays the first mature and advanced religious system complete with philosophy, writing, monuments, customs, etc earlier than any other society or culture. So the difference is between the Great Sphinx, Pyramid Texts, Grand Temples, Ethics Culture Philosophy, Mysticism Philosophy, etc versus stone carvings on walls of caves or abandoned fire circles, etc. that may date to before the earliest recorded history of Kamit.
About your statement: “Even if I do not know who I truly am to the extent of being enlightened I know what I am not, the body. Therefore, there is a level of detachment from the world and a moving towards the Divine.”
Indeed, Enlightenment occurs in degrees; so this means that the more cleansing and purity of heart the more opening of mind – expansion, that leads to eventually expanding to the absolute awareness. But even before that the application of wisdom to a life of ethical conscience (MAAT) leads to benefits of enlightenment movement. Some of these are peace of mind due to developing fuller understanding of and confidence in the teaching even before it is fully experienced in fact. The partial experience itself is the movement in degrees. What is necessary is to learn the balance between feeling comfortable and relaxed with the teaching but also inspired and motivated to keep moving forwards. Some aspirants become complacent and stagnant at certain levels and this is one of the enemies of the spiritual aspirant, a subtle delusion of the ego that causes inertia in the spiritual movement, as if the “anti-god” Apep (principle of inertness/inactivity) were deluding the mind of the aspirant into thinking that everything is ok at any given level of spiritual aspiration. This can be though of as a “complacency trap.” Eventually, if there is stagnation, the aspirant will be met with challenges that will demonstrate otherwise and usually with a fair amount of suffering and with surprise that the level thought to have been reached was not after all and or that there are deeper issues that still need working out before the higher understanding and unimaginable even higher joy and peace can be experience.
“It takes a strong disciple to rule over the mountainous thoughts and constantly go to the essence of the meaning; as mental complexity increases, thus will the depth of your decadence and challenge both be revealed.”
-AEP
HTP
