i don't have time to read everyone's replies, but look forward to it
slightly off-topic-ish -
G I Gurdjieff (think of him what you may, i'm not here to debate him) insisted that the "ancient egypt" we know of nowadays is a different, "newer"
egypt to a previous (lost) one... & hints that it was responsible for much of what came later... possible, i guess, considering movement & depth of
desert sands through time
a huge novel of ancient egypt by norman mailer called "ancient evenings", had me pondering & speculating wildly about life after death, reincarnation,
occult rites, initiations & knowledge... that maybe certain cosmic energies (we don't know or understand) could somehow be drawn, focused &
concentrated at certain times to manifest death then rebirth...
sounds crazy i know... but i, for one, don't think we/life are merely a bunch of earthly matter somehow thrown together & successfully quirked into
physical existence
considering the ancient egyptians felt there were many composite parts forming an individual, & seemed obsessed with their care & attention in life
AND death... gotta wonder if there was in fact something much much greater to their knowledge of life & the cosmos
so yea, just a few of my ponderings, i thought i'd add
S&F OP

edit on 17-7-2011 by pattonisit because: (no reason given)