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“Life is fellowship or ‘connectivity’; death is loneliness, in the sense of disconnection, dis-integration. Loneliness is the fate of those who fail to realize connectivity, who fail to find their place in the whole. Living properly means making it possible for others to live with you. The ancient civilizations call this ‘justice’—in the Egyptian language, ma’at. Justice refers to life in harmony with the connective structures that make community possible, both with one’s fellows and with the gods. The great mystery of this connectivity in the eyes of the Egyptians was that it transcended death and promised immortality.” Jan Assmann, author of The Mind of Egypt “The aim of the Amduat (passage through the gates) is that the reader becomes conscious of the guiding function of the inner Sun god or of the ‘inner great human.’ The Amduat, written 3,500 years ago, contains in a nutshell the knowledge necessary to reunite the individual soul with this inner guiding light.” —Theodor Abt and Erik Hornung, authors of Knowledge for the Afterlife: The Egyptian Amduat—A Quest for Immortality In The Twelve Gates, clinical anthropologist John A. Rush describes death rituals in various cultures, centering on ancient Egyptian rites and practices. Innovatively interpreting the ancient Egyptian philosophy of death and resurrection and applying it to how we live today, The Twelve Gates invites us to examine our feelings about death and reevaluate our lives in the light of this ancient wisdom. The author details his experiences preparing for his own death, including a painful tattooing process inspired by the ancient Egyptian Books of the Dead. He then guides us through the ‘Twelve Gates of the Underworld, symbolic ritual stages during which we can figuratively experience death and rebirth. The book includes a set of full-color divination cards as an aid in passing through each of the Gates, with instructions on the ancient Egyptian rituals that ease the way toward a peaceful, conscious death. & Spirituality/Mythology a chee Frog, Ltd. Berkeley, California www.northatlanticbooks.com o Mersestoai751 US $26.95 / $34.95 CAN ISBN 978-1-58394.

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