TTOA QUESTION FOR REFLECTION – LESSON 10
What teaching(s) did you learn in this lesson do you need to reflect on more or apply or work more diligently on implementing on your own personality, mentally, emotionally, metaphysically, or other wise to emulate human Lady Aset on Her path?
In reflecting on this lesson, I came to a better understanding about the nature of the struggle between Higher consciousness, as represented by Aset, and the ego consciousness, as represented by Ra. Like Ra, the ego personality paints an illusory image of who one is in “tangible,” worldly terms, in such a way that is very thorough and convincing. Yet a spark of intuition, apart from the ego personality, suspects that there might be something more to oneself, and this is the early stage of the awakening to Higher consciousness.
Like Aset, the spiritual aspirant must nurture and cultivate this spark of Higher consciousness (lest it fade away) through regular devotion, listening to the teachings, meditating and reflecting on the teachings. However, ego consciousness, if nothing else, is formidable and unwilling to readily release control as illustrated by Ra.
Aset puts forth the example that gaining Higher consciousness requires khak ab (a repudiating heart) towards all that the worldly egoistic personality offers—realizing it is only an illusion—as well as antet begag and an chen (relentless pursuit without stopping). Yet, even still, armed with this powerful spiritual arsenal, the ego personality, like Ra, will try to dissuade the aspirant.
Aset simply makes the request of Ra: “Djed n-a ren k.” (“Tell to me your Divine name.”) When She is unable to get a straight answer from Ra, She realizes that He must be immobilized before asking Ra His Divine name again. What struck me about this was a realization that Aset was asking Ra His Divine name—the key word being “asking.” In fact, She had to ask several times before She was successful, but at no time did Aset ever demand or threaten Ra to give Her His Divine name. Thus,asking is the first step to receiving.
It was when Ra realized, after great suffering, that only Aset could save Him from Himself, that He allowed Aset to penetrate and openly examine Him. Perhaps this is how the aspirant should approach their own ego personality that, after all, has forgotten its true identity and, therefore, clings to illusion. Upon reflection, Aset was firm yet patient, persuasive and purposeful in Her dealings with Ra, realizing that He must relent to Her or die.
All too often, due to years of social and traditional religious conditioning, we have come to believe just the opposite—that we will die without the ego personality and cease to exist to all that we have come to believe that we are. But there can be no true life in an illusion, therefore it benefits the ego personality to relent to the will of the Higher self where it can be Set in motion to serve the greater good of Eternal life.
Many times the aspirant will impatiently storm the gates of Anrutef, thinking to defeat the ego, only to find the grip of the ego consciousness tightening. It is perhaps the nature of the ego personality to resist when pushed rather than persuaded. Certainly the myth of the struggle between Heru and Set demonstrates this. Perhaps the better approach would be to ask “have we suffered enough?,” and “are we truly ready to openly examine the Divine regions of Higher consciousness and end the struggle within?” It comes down to a willingness to surrender the ego personality because, in the end, there is no choice. I believe this to be the matnu (Divine lesson) of the story of Aset and Ra. To emulate human Lady Aset it takes patience, persistence and purpose.
Dua Aset!
Htp,
Shems Heryt
