Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, February 10, 1999, Page 21, Image 21

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FEBRUARY 10, 1999 • Œlie ^Indiani» COb^nier
BLACK HI1TORY MONTH 1999
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The Mystical Temples Along The Nile: Part Two
B y M arilyn H ull and W ynne
B oylan
We continue our spiritual
journey o f the Nile temples at
Karnak:
K arnak
The beauty o f this once majestic
civilization can be visualized within
the remains o f the temple at Karnak,
dedicated to the god, Amon Ra (the
source o f life). It is within this temple
that one becomes connected with
their own inner power as the th ird
ch ak ra, the pow er cen ter located at
the solar plexus, becomes activated.
It is the gift o f knowing and becom­
ing empowered from within that one
realizes their sense o f connected­
ness with all that was, is and ever will
be. The individual defines oneself
through the context o f their con­
nectedness with the All.
However, there is a danger that
lies inherent within the development
ofone’sow n power: the correspond­
ing activation o f the personal ego.
The candidate’s challenge is not to
eliminate the ego. Ego is our anchor
in the physical world. The success­
ful candidate learns to submit this
ego to the service o f God rather than
the service o f self. W alking through
the columns within the hypostyle
hall, some o f the most enormous and
elaborate in Egypt, you can sense
the struggle this discipline must have
presented to the initiate. Certainly
you can still sense the presence o f
those who lost the battle.
Dandera and Abydos
The fourth chakra, the heart cen­
te r, is represented by two temples:
Dendera and Abydos. This is be­
cause love takes two forms: per­
sonal love and love ofG od. Personal
love in its pure form is honored in the
temple at Dendera. This temple is
dedicated to Hat-hor. Hat-hor, the
goddess depicted as a beautiful
woman with the ears and horns o f a
cow, is the goddess o f romantic and
maternal love. Abydos, the temple
dedicated by the pharaoh Sety I to
the god o f the underworld. Osiris,
expresses the love ofhum ankind for
God.
Abydos was once known to be
the destination o f spiritual pilgrims,
much like Mecca is known today.
The pilgrim demonstrated love for
God through the sacrifices endured
along the way. Once one o f the most
beautiful temples in Egypt, it is now
closed to the public in all but the
most rare situations. One can expe­
rience it only through books, the
most memorable is A bvdosbv Omm
Sety.
The essence o f Abydos is de­
picted in one particular relief: A pic­
ture o f Sety I offering a miniature o f
Maat, goddess o f justice, to Osiris
In doing this, Sety I vows eternal
fidelity to justice for all Egyptians
during his reign. Abydos represents
the idea o f altruistic love, dedication
to the highest good o f humankind.
Together, Dendera and Abydos rep­
resent both o f the highest aspects o f
love available to humans.
Saqqara
Saqqara stretch es across the
desert for eight kilometers. Located
here is the step pyramid o f Zoser,
designed and built by Imhotep, an
ancient architect, physician and high
priest. Saqqara is said to be pro­
tected by the green hawk-headed
god, Sokar. It is here that one gains
their understanding of the fifth
c h a k ra , also know n as the th ro a t
c h a k ra . This center, when activated
by the one’s life force energy, allows
one to speak their inner truth and
w alk their chosen path with courage
and perseverence.
TheSphinx
The monument o f the Sphinx is
associated with the sixth c h a k ra ,
also known as the third eye. It is with
this eye, esoterically located just
above the bridge o f the nose, that
one sees the future. This associa­
tion is sensed as one quietly watches
the Sphinx in its unceasing gaze over
the horizon, and somehow over the
eons. Due to its fragility, the Sphinx
is well protected and cannot be ap­
proached by the visitor. One must
gain appreciation o f it from a dis­
tance, which is best done in the early
morning before the daily cadre o f
tourists arrive.
In person, it is evident that the
head is too small to be proportional
duce water erosion was at least
10,000 years ago, again adding cred­
ibility to the theory.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Even to the casual tourist, it is
obvious that the Great Pyram id o f
G iza is not a tomb. The Book o f the
Dead, the instructions for the after­
life, cover the walls o f a tomb. The
walls o f the Great Pyramid are blank.
Funerary processions were an es­
sential part o f the burial in Ancient
Egypt. The stone passagew ays o f
the Pyram id are too narrow for a
sarcophagus to pass through.
Instead, the Great Pyramid was
the final test o f the initiate. This is
where the initiate w agered their
spiritual life itself against their years
o f spiritual training. If they suc­
ceeded, they would know God. If
they failed, they would know eter­
nal existence w ithin a now dead
body.
S u ccess d ep en d ed upon the
initiate’s ability to raise the kundalini
(Above)The defacement o f the Great Sphinx is in part due to erosion
by the wind and in part to the cannon o f the mamlukes who used it
for target practice.
(Above right)The Avenue o f the Sphinxes connects the two-mile
walkway between the Temples o f Karnak and Luxor.
(Below right) Saqqara, the step pyramid o f Zoser.
with the rest o f the monument. Some
believe this is evidence indicating
that the head was recarved from the
o rig in a l. E gypt abounds w ith
sphinxes as an art genre. None o f
these hundreds o f other examples
exhibit this same lack o f proportion,
an observation that lends credence
to the theory.
Mystery schools teach that the
Sphinx originally was carved with
the head o f a woman on the body of
a lion, a possible allusion to Sekhmet,
the goddess o f war. This design was
thought to reflect the era in which
the Sphinx was created, when femi­
nine energy blended with the power
o f the lion: the cusp between the
ages ofV irgo and Leo nearly 12,000
years ago. Recently, erosion marks
found on the sides o f the Sphinx
have been reclassified as water ero­
sion.
G eologists date that the last time
this region was wet enough to pro-
(life force energy) to the seventh
c h a k ra , the crow n c h a k ra . They
would be placed w ithin the black
granite sarcophagus around which
the Pyram id w as initially co n ­
structed and which is still there.
The stone cover would be sealed
in place, elim inating both light and
air. For three days, the initiate re­
mained inside. If they succeeded in
m astering the use o f their crown
chakra, they could escape into al­
ternate dim ensions, the spiritual
realms. If they could not, they would
suffocate.
The Prom ise F or Today
The Ancient Ones have prom ­
ised that these initiations will con­
tinue to take place, orchestrated
from beyond our third dimensional
reality. They are open to all, whether
or not you can travel to this ancient
land, our true homeland. W ith right
mind and open heart, Egypt will
come to you.
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Steve Bradley Band
Thursday, February 11 • 7:00 pm
Valentine’s Dance with X Angels
Friday, February 12 • 7:00 pm
Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Concert Series
KKJZ 5th Birthday Bash with Rick Braun
Sunday, February 14 • 7:00 pm • $20 admission
Arthur Moore Four Blues Band
Thursday, February 18 • 7:00 pm
Paul Delay Trio
Thursday, February 25 • 7:00 pm
Songwriters in the Round • Craig Caruthers
Sunday, February 28 • 7:30 pm • $7 admission
All ages welcome • No charge except where noted
February Music
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