Egypt: Land of Mystery, Majesty, and Magic

~Ken Marx

IFGT’s Trip to Egypt 2021

When the wheels touched down in Cairo it was sometime in the noon hour…Cairo time.  Despite numerous admonitions from my fellow travelers, I found myself calculating ‘body time’:  approximately 6:00 a.m., meaning I’d pretty much pulled an all-nighter on the plane.  Perhaps that’s why the immediate feeling I had from those first moments (and throughout our nearly two-week stay in Egypt) of a relaxed comfort struck me.  Welcome as it was, this feeling was not what I either anticipated or would have been consistent with my usual manner of being vigilant/on guard, especially in such an unknown environment.  And so began the most amazing, life-changing trip of my life!

IFGT President and Founder, Maryann Miller and IFGT Video Manager and Art Director, Sondra Moore, upon arrival in Cairo.

It wasn’t until we assembled in the Cairo airport that our new ‘family’ gathered for the first time as we were spread out in different parts of the plane, and some flew separately.  The usual jostling through baggage, visas, customs (made seamless by the tour company, Power Places Travel, staff!), and suddenly we were on the bus and receiving a warm welcome from our tour leader, Theresa Weiss, and our amazing Egyptologist and guide, Emil Shaker.  The exhilaration of being somewhere completely new to me (both the country and the continent) eliminated any sense of fatigue and the accompanying sense of comfort was delightful-what a nice way to start a relationship with a new place!  The mass of humanity that is Cairo and the nearly inseparable Giza (otherwise undetectable but for crossing the Nile) was both dizzying and energizing.  And then, amidst the freeways, traffic, people, and other buildings suddenly appeared the pyramids at Giza ensuring we wouldn’t forget where we were and why we had come.

Rather than sharing a moment by moment or even day by day account, I’d like to shift into sharing what I experienced and learned.  However, here is a summary of the places we went and saw:

• The Great Sphinx at Giza
• Pyramids and tombs at Saqqara
• The Egyptian Museum
• Temple of Isis on Philae
• Temple of Sobek and Horus at Kom Ombo
• A local, rural village
• Temple of Horus at Edfu
• Temple of Khnum at Esna
• Luxor
• Temple of Man at Luxor
• Valley of the Kings
• Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
• Temples of Karnak
• Temple of Hathor at Dendera
• Temple of Osiris at Abydos
• The Great Pyramid at Giza

Most of these sites were expertly coordinated by Theresa and Emil so we were either completely alone or had significant space to ourselves.  The ability this afforded Emil to not only share knowledge and information, but also invoke the energy of these magnificent places was extraordinary, and for me personally, often incredibly energetic.  I’ll share a few examples.

We sailed a couple of hours before sunrise from our beautiful boat, the Nile Lily, docked in Aswan a short distance to the island of Philae to experience the Temple of Isis.  Simply doing this early in our trip and at that early hour provided a sense of intrigue and mystery. But as I began to climb the steps leading to the Temple and we slowly walked to the sanctuary, my legs began to tremble, and I had an unmistakable feeling of something I can only describe as a change in energy overcome me.  I remember having to almost force myself to keep walking and my breathing was altered. This wasn’t a frightening experience, just remarkable, especially since I privately held some skepticism until then as to whether there were really any such things as “power places”.  Well, if seeing is believing, experiencing is knowing!

We went into the sanctuary and the ‘energy’ phenomenon persisted.  There, our group of 20 or so were able to simply stay in the darkness and meditate or experience whatever each of us did.  I believe some chanted OM several times and those vibrations brought their own palpable energy as well.  In what became a repeated pattern I experienced, as we left the sanctuary and gathered near the Nile to watch the sunrise, there was a sense of peace along with excitement and joy.  We marveled at the sunrise and one of our group noted how the sun and its reflection in the river resembled the Ankh.

I had several other ‘energetic’ experiences: at Saqqara, Dendera and most notably inside the Great Pyramid. At the risk of wearing out my welcome in this newsletter, I’ll share some of the experiences in the Great Pyramid.  Theresa and Emil had arranged for our group to have access to this site without any other visitors and even ensured the normal guards didn’t accompany us inside.  This happened around 5:00 p.m. after all the general tourist access had ended. It was at the end of a day which started very early since we flew that morning from Luxor back to Cairo and then took the bus ride to Giza.  We had a few hours to relax or nap, but I didn’t sleep.  So as the bus carried us from the Mena House to the top of the Giza plateau, I was feeling tired and a bit down; was the “Grand Finale” going to be a dud because I was so tired?

The bus dropped us off at the base of the Great Pyramid and I quickly felt a change begin.  No amount of looking at pictures or even seeing the pyramids from the hotel campus prepared me for what it felt like to be next to this incredible structure. In addition to the surrealism of standing next to one of the Wonders of the World, the massiveness of the Great Pyramid surprised me when I saw it that close.I saw the two openings which I’d read about in Paul Brunton’s captivating book, “A Search in Secret Egypt.”  We entered through the modern-day entrance and made our way through the initial tunnel. Some members of our group couldn’t make the climb, and others became claustrophobic, so I estimate the final number of us inside at 12-15.  We made our way through the tunnels and passageways (some of which were less than four feet high) to the Queen’s Chamber. This is the smaller of the two large chambers and upon my initial entry it seemed unremarkable, i.e., there were simply bare walls and ceiling.  We each found a place along the walls, and Theresa invited us to feel the energy and gently let us know that ‘things’ may come up, advising we “just let them”.

I began to experience a familiar trembling and shaking in my limbs and then found myself ‘speaking’ (I was mostly mouthing the words so as not to disturb the others) although not in any language I recognized. But it felt like I was saying something purposeful, perhaps an incantation.  Some of my colleagues began whispering about images they were seeing on one of the walls, and although they were being quiet, it was disturbing my concentration, so I moved a few feet away along the same wall.  I sat down and out of nowhere a wave of grief overwhelmed me.  Again, so as not to disturb the others, I stifled the sobs that otherwise would have been loud, but tears streamed down my face and my eyes felt very warm behind my eyelids. Though my wife had passed away a little over a year ago, I hadn’t felt such deep grief in several weeks, and hadn’t felt a deep sadness that she wasn’t with me on this trip.  However, at that moment that suddenly shifted, and I felt an immense sadness that she wasn’t with me and had died.  Then, just as suddenly, the ‘thoughts’ I had were of her reassuring me she was ok and her being gone was ok, and that it was now time to “go upstairs”, which I understood to mean to the King’s Chamber.  And so I joined the others as we began the long ascent up the Grand Gallery into the low passage emptying into the King’s Chamber.

I entered this Chamber and walked immediately to the end holding what is referred to as the “sarcophagus” although the actual purpose of this granite box, like the entire Pyramid, is still unknown.  Several of us stood around the sarcophagus, some behind or to the side.  I took a space toward one end and lay my hands on the top edge. Quickly, energy rushed through me and I had an intense series of energetic surges, eyes rolling back, body trembles.  However, I was always cognizant of what was happening and was making conscious decisions not to resist what was happening.  While I was willing to see how this evolved, another member of our group whom I befriended (and is much more experienced/knowledgeable than me) gently placed his hands around my upper arms and guided me to a grounded state.  I felt calm, but in an altered state and soon met the eyes of another person in the group.  We held that mutual stare for an extended period and we may have had some telepathic communication.  The following day we spoke and shared what we experienced in those moments, and indeed, the ‘thoughts’ were similar. Generally, there was a sense of my being welcomed but also welcomed back…which is something I’d increasingly felt throughout the time we were in Egypt.

The remaining time in the King’s Chamber included other experiences that I won’t detail here.  But I did meditate for some time, using a new technique I learned in Georgia Lambert’s “Nature of the Soul” class referred to as “The Cave” meditation.  During this, I came to fix my concentration on a chosen object, in this case a sound.  I’ve attempted to hold my concentration on this sound many times before during meditations, but this time it seemed effortless to the point I wondered why I’d ever found it challenging.  I also realized that the “cave” I’d entered to in my meditation was, in turn, inside this King’s Chamber and the significance of that was profound at that time:  the King’s Chamber seemed to be “The Cave” for all of humanity. I’m not sure what this may, in fact, mean; however, it felt at the time to suggest the Pyramid served a much different purpose than the burial tomb commonly ascribed to it.

The time in the King’s Chamber ended with just me and one other person there alone.  The person with me was barefoot and suggested I remove my socks and shoes, which I did.  I became increasingly grounded in the sense that “normal” reality seemed to come back gradually, but the previous fatigue I’d felt on the way to the Great Pyramid was replaced with a highly energized and euphoric feeling.  I took several pictures and was the last person to leave the structure, descending the entire Grand Gallery and way outside barefoot, stunningly amazing!  Outside both Theresa and this stunning scene with the moon and Venus and was the last person to leave the structure, descending the entire Grand Gallery and way outside barefoot, stunningly amazing!  Outside both Theresa and this stunning scene with the moon and Venus awaited.  The evening finished with a dinner celebration of the day and the entire trip, as we bid farewell to Emil who was off to his next adventure. We had one final day to spend without a specific agenda, and Egypt shared one last magical experience, a sandstorm, which felt like a tropical storm that left a very fine, powdery coating everywhere versus the flooding we Floridians are used to!

While the sights and experiences were remarkable, what seems to have made the most lasting impression on me is the way The Ancient Wisdom came alive. Seeing this history from thousands of years ago transformed what I’ve studied from being largely intellectual, to something deeper-a ‘knowing’ and validation of the Truth in The Ancient Wisdom.  I’ll attempt to illustrate this using a scene engraved on the wall in the Temple of Osiris in Abydos that was particularly meaningful to me.

While the sights and experiences were remarkable, what seems to have made the most lasting impression on me is the way The Ancient Wisdom came alive. Seeing this history from thousands of years ago transformed what I’ve studied from being largely intellectual, to something deeper-a ‘knowing’ and validation of the Truth in The Ancient Wisdom.  I’ll attempt to illustrate this using a scene engraved on the wall in the Temple of Osiris in Abydos

As described by Paul Brunton in A Search in Secret Egypt, this picture includes the deity Sokar holding three items:  the flail whip, the shepherd’s crook, and the staff of Ptah.  Per Brunton, the whip represented discipline or control of the physical body, the crook control of the emotions, and the staff control over thoughts or the mind.  Brunton further described that achieving this ‘control’ of body, emotions, and mind was an aspiration of all the ancient Egyptian leaders. Hence, their typical depictions are without expression on their faces meant, at least in part, to convey the “calm confidence” they attained.  Reading this description created a moment of awe for me. Gaining an aware control of the physical, emotional, and mental bodies are key aspects of my recent training.  Seeing and learning that this general practice was highly valued by the ancient Egyptians has done several things in my life since then.  First, it resonated deeply and catalyzed the transformative experiences I mentioned earlier.  It has also initiated a rapidly growing fascination with, and thirst for learning more about, ancient cultures and The Ancient Wisdom. I now know that creating Calm Confidence is part of my Path, and likely necessary for my service and purpose to more fully manifest.  I know I’ve barely begun my learning adventure and can’t wait to see where this journey leads next.  I’m forever grateful to Theresa, Emil, my travel companions, Egypt and the beautiful people I met there, and of course, the IFGT for bringing this trip to my life.  Shukran!