Book Excerpt: My Inner Guide to Egypt: Musings

Here is an extract from the book My Inner Guide to Egypt: Musings of a Setian Priestess, by Judith Page:

Introduction

This not my autobiography, it is a collection of reminiscences and events of my many travels in Egypt. The events are personal and how I viewed things both as a child and also as a grownup. Whilst writing up these vivid memories, I have also included background notes covering the ancient times that help shape Egypt both ancient and modern and went on to shape me.

Whether it was my destiny, or as we say in Yiddish ‘bershert’, in any case I was very fortunate to meet some remarkable people along the way. Without ever ‘meeting with remarkable people’ as G. I. Gurdjieff stated in his book by the same name, I would not be me, the person I am today.

Sometimes, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time, other scenarios were carefully planned, but at the end of the day, each moment was, and continues to be a stepping stone. Some of these remarkable people continue to be in my life, whilst others have gone on to the big field in the sky to continue on their own adventures.

But let it not be said that in order to climb that ladder towards excellence, one has to also invest one’s self ~ nothing is ever for ‘nothing’. Whatever you take out of that spiritual pot, you also have to put back in. Life is an investment.

Apart from the ‘living’ that came into my life, I called upon the words of the great writers who blazed that magical path that led to the questioning. Yes many things, facts have to be taken as verbatim, but others are meant to test your ability to reason.

The error most visitors make when visiting Egypt is that they are impressed by the visual impact, this is all part of the illusion the ancients’ had in mind. The people of this land did nothing by halves, everything had to impress, but there was a dual sense, that of the sacred and symbolic. I have attempted to introduce this into my observations without making the findings heavy and off-putting. Like every ancient place, there is a history.

I am of the opinion that the Egyptian civilisation did not evolve out of the indigenous people of ancient Khemit. They seem to have developed from the 4th millennium BCE, starting in the Uruk (modern day Iraq) period from Mesopotamia and the Gerzean culture of Prehistoric Egypt (circa 3500–3200 BCE). Yes it is a fact that Egypt–Mesopotamia relations were the affairs between the civilisations of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the Middle East.

Influences can be seen in the visual arts of Egypt, in imported products, and also in the possible transfer of writing from Mesopotamia to Egypt and generated ‘deep-seated’ parallels in the early stages of both cultures. A high-level of trade between ancient Egypt and the Near East throughout the Pre-dynastic period of Egypt, during the Naqada II (3600–3350 BCE) and Naqada III (3350–2950 BCE) phases existed. These were current with the Late Uruk (3500-3100 BCE) and Jemdet Nasr (3100–2900 BCE) periods in Mesopotamia. The main period of cultural exchange, particularly consisting in the transfer of Mesopotamian imagery and symbols to Egypt, is considered to have lasted about 250 years, during the Naqada II to Dynasty I periods. I would like to given an example.

This to me is too much of a coincidence.

As with this subject area selective reading is recommended and I trust that the book list at the back, although very personal, is a guide, a sign post if you like.

I have, as mentioned, just concentrated on Egypt, even though I have had amazing experiences in other parts of the world, but as I had my first brush with Egypt as a child, so I draw on this land as my launch pad.

The many years, I ventured to and from Egypt served to act as a sponge as I soaked up pertinent information to enable me to write the many books as an aid to all those who either wanted to experience the workings of the many temples in Upper and Lower Egypt in the flesh, or from the safety and comfort of their easy chair.

I began with the idea of getting my memories, thoughts and ideas down, but I have ended up by wanting to share the adventure… that isn’t over yet!

You can view My Inner Guide to Egypt on Amazon.