New Graduates
Ka’at Ib: New Graduates
The drive to feel successful is universal and is a deeply embedded notion in human psychology. Our problem is not this fundamental drive for success, but rather the criteria that we use to determine whether we are a success or a failure. We are conditioned to see our successes and our failures based on very specific criteria that are set by the system, rather than our own set of criteria based on informed choices and spiritual values. The result of this conditioning leaves us feeling empty and alone, despite our perceived level of success.
What is success? Success, as defined by general society, is determined by material wealth, prestigious employment, and outward appearances or status. Doctors and lawyers are successful because they have jobs that are respected and well-paid. A man who has a middle-management job with a beautiful wife, two children, and an active social life is also seen as successful. An inner-city youth is a success if he attends college and graduates. A woman is seen as successful if she lands a husband with a high-paying job or has a high-paying job herself.
It is interesting to notice that the criteria for determining success seem to change depending on an individual's perceived status in society. While the parents of a young Black child in the inner-city hope that their child will not become a drug dealer but will attend college instead, the parents of a young White child in the suburbs hope that their offspring become surgeons. While the dreams of these parents differ, the context in which they dream is constant; while individuals set the bar of success at the height that is perceived as reasonable or attainable within their particular circumstances, the fact remains that everyone is playing by the rules of the system has set for us.
It is difficult for the average citizen of modern society to assess the effects that this system has on the individual; just as a frog will never know the joy of hopping until he climbs out of the water that has surrounded him since his birth as a tadpole, we will never see the negative aspects of the system in which we live until we step outside of its grasp and experience another way of living. Before industrialization, mankind lived with nature instead of exploiting it, and "getting ahead" meant saving extra seed to plant during the next farming season or producing more food than one could consume rather than a madly competitive drive to obtain more material (money, objects, etc.) than your neighbor. Success was once defined by integrity, values, and personal qualities rather than by the number of degrees one holds or the amount of money one collects every two weeks.
We have been trapped by the system. We have been brainwashed into thinking that we must walk towards success through their prescribed channels. We find ourselves passing through the system's schools and universities without questioning why we need their so-called education because we have collectively accepted their mode of assessment of worth and prestige. We must obtain a college degree so we can get an adequate job so that we can feed our families and provide the same education to our children, so they can work and provide for their families... the cycle is endless. We fail to see that the modern educational system is not educating us, but rather training us to join their workforce, which, in turn, perpetuates the system that only benefits those who are controlling it. Meanwhile, while we carry advanced degrees and drive fancy cars, we are not happy or satisfied; while everything in our lives may scream for success, we feel empty inside. While we are respected in our careers, our families are falling apart. Our souls suffer because we forget that we are more than our careers, cars, and material possessions.
The modern educational system provides nothing to nourish or educate our inner selves. Because the churches and mosques are mere extensions of the same system, we cannot find true peace and comfort within their walls. We are nothing but robotic slaves, and while we know that something is amiss, we cannot identify what we are missing: we have it all, but we are not happy or comfortable with ourselves. If we want to solve this problem, we must admit that we are mere pawns of the system. We must have the courage to see that the system sees us as nothing more than worker ants and that it cares nothing for our personal values or spirituality. We must reclaim the power over our lives and realize that this system is not providing what we want or need. We must realize that true success is not determined by a career, diploma, or material wealth.
What, then, makes a person truly successful? According to the temples of Thebes and Memphis of Kemet (Africa), true success resides in our internal accomplishments and spiritual understanding. Having a doctorate degree or a lot of gold is irrelevant, as this life is just a mere snowflake in a blizzard. Running after money and material possessions is useless, as these things are only valuable in this lifetime; concentrating on developing personal qualities and spiritual understanding, however, helps ensure one's continuous existence and thus is infinitely more valuable and worthwhile than money, degrees, or worldly pleasures.
Students at The Earth Center have understood this reality. Most come to The Earth Center seeking something more than what the system has offered to them, but not fully understanding why they are there or for what they are searching for. The spiritual life is a demanding one, and those students who manage to make it through the first level of initiation come to understand the necessity of such an education.
Because Initiation into the spiritual realities of existence is a demanding education that requires tremendous change, discipline, humility, and integrity, once the pilgrim is qualified to graduate from the primary levels of the Initiation, he is eligible to receive his adult name. Essentially, the Initiate is re-born into this world as a conscious being who has chosen and promised to uphold the spiritual laws that are vital for the preservation of not only the self but of the world as a whole. This graduation (and spiritual re-birth) is perhaps the most important event of a young Initiate's life!
The Earth Center is proud to announce that a new generation of Initiates has graduated! We would like to announce the birth of the Ha-Sati generation (meaning: "the rise of the guardian). These new Initiates have made it through the rigorous and demanding education of M'TAM, and are now continuing on their journey towards their becoming.
New graduates include Marrwho (Aaron Smith), Zemoonita (Elesha Foster), Menzeba (Lolita Robinson), TaoAishat (Devon Hampton), Mahawa (Abigail Barga), Matiati (Adrienne Thomas), ZemHepee (Delia Tyson), and Khefira (Kaila Tsutakawa). These eight initiates are now certified Ka'at Ibi instructors and junior Ankhkasta Healers and are continuing their M'TAM education. Congratulations to these Initiates, as reaching this spiritual milestone is proof that these individuals are on their way to becoming truly successful human beings.
