ONE THING THAT all human beings have in common is that we come into this world the same way: weak, vulnerable to our surroundings and victims to our environment. From the moment we come into the world as babies we have no choice but to learn from those who are in front of us. To learn the basics such as walking, talking and eating we carefully watch and learn as we are guided. As we become older, we begin to pick up the nuances of how to interact with other people and how to behave in our society, but we do not learn from simply being told this is what you do and don’t do.

We learn the same way as we picked up walking and talking, we learn from watching those who are in front of us, family, friends, teachers, etc. It is in the nature of the human being to copy, not to create. Even the ideas we come up with that seem new are all inspired from something or someone who came before us. As each individual walks through life, it is then inevitable that whatever is presented to us will somehow shape our becoming. However, when we look at the world around us today there are so many options as to which direction to take that it is no wonder some spend their whole life trying to find their way.

Just as we look to those with more experience in a certain field or trade to learn from, we go to the elders of our communities for guidance and leadership. When thinking about how to live one’s life, it makes sense to go back and look to the origins of humanity and investigate the way of life, structure and values that were upheld. Once this is done, one can begin to model one’s own life after that.

One who truly wishes to begin this process of investigation can do so at The Earth Center through the education offered at the M’TAM School of Kemetic Philosophy and Spirituality.
In this education there are three courses offered.

Sounnt (Traditional Healing): One will learn about the body, how it functions, how certain ailments affect the body and how to heal and preserve the body through usage of traditional herbs and remedies. One will also learn the misconceptions fed to society through modern medicine and gain insight through the perspective that tradition presents us with.

Kaat Ibi (Traditional Meditation): This course offers the spiritual aspect of the education. Through this course one will learn the origins of meditation, what it means to really meditate and why it is something that we do. One will also learn about the traditional Kemetic Cosmogony, creation stories and gain a deeper understanding of oneself through learning the values we once lived by. There is also the technical part of the meditation where one will learn different breathing and stretching exercises all designed to aid in strengthening the mind, body and overall awareness.

Medu Myeet (Hieroglyphs): The cornerstone of the education. It offers the philosophical aspect of the education and history from an authentic Kemetic perspective. The course also addresses some of the modern conspiracies that plague our society and hinder our growth. The technical aspect of the Medu gives the initiate the opportunity to learn the first language given to humanity. One will learn to read, write and express concepts in the Medu which help in strengthening the mind not only through the sounds and vibrations one makes through speaking it but also through clear and concise communication.

All of these courses provide an education like no other. It is an initiation. All of the information presented has been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, not through textbooks. It truly strengthens the individual because it challenges you to take an honest look at yourself and what you have been exposed to throughout your life and then leave behind all that may hinder your growth while on a challenging path towards quality.

In the Spring of 2009, 10 new initiates came to the Earth Center school in San Diego and began their journey. From the time they began until the day they could stand and say they completed the first level of their initiation, they were met with many challenges. There are adjustments in life that one must make and in doing so one will be faced with resistance. This can come from family, friends, people you have never met before and especially from yourself. Though there can be many ups and downs, it takes confidence to walk this uphill journey and that confidence comes from knowing that you are doing the right thing in taking on the traditions and values of our ancestors. Only eight out of the 10 that began completed the first level of the initiation process. Now they have the tools to move forward in honoring the traditions that came before them.

The Ziaweet Generation consists of eight members. It is the challenges that each group of initiates have gone through and will continue to battle together that makes a generation. When students begin this education, they are told from the beginning that it is an uphill journey that no one can complete for them. They are also told that even though no one can take the steps for you, there will be those that take the steps with them. The students that start the journey together, that struggle and grow together, they become closer to each other than their own siblings, they become family. This is what makes a generation. Whenever a group of people come together to accomplish something, there must be a commonality that they all share that holds them together, therefore enabling them to accomplish their goal. Each generation, made up of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, share with each other the goal of pursuing a quality life, the goal of struggling to incorporate the 77 Commandments or the Divine Code of Human Behavior in their everyday lives. As a generation, initiates challenge each other to shed their illusions about the world that had been exposed to them prior to beginning their education at the M’TAM School of Kemetic Philosophy and Spirituality.

As M’TAM students, our re-introduction into the culture of our ancestors and the values they lived by requires an increasing amount of honesty and humility. It is honesty on a level that many of us have been conditioned not to function with. It is with the help of our generation that we learn to function with a level of honesty that brings honor to ourselves and to our ancestors. It is only with the help of those that care about us that we are able to honestly see the corruption we carry. Modern society trains us to lie to ourselves and tricks us into believing that our flaws are acceptable and that they should be tolerated by those who love us. This only breeds mediocrity in society. In a society based on the improvement of an individual’s quality, those who love us are hard on us because they want us to be better than what we are.

The meaning of Ziaweet comes with an obligation for all those who have graduated prior to this generation. Ziaweet means, “those that learn by watching.” As each generation is responsible for setting the model for conduct and behavior of all the generations that come after, then it is the burden of all generations that have graduated prior to the Ziaweet to ensure what they learn from watching their hat tenee (elder students) is in alignment with the 77 Commandments and our pursuit to re-create the Divine Model in our world.

This reinforces the responsibility all graduates of the M’TAM School have towards the rest of our brothers and sisters. This responsibility does not end at the doors of our schools. We M’TAM graduates have an obligation to live honest lives, to represent ancestral values to humanity. We must be the model that others can look to for how to conduct themselves and behave in a way that reflects a commitment towards living a quality life. It is our mission at The Earth Center: to unite humanity in this commitment to quality. We congratulate the Ziaweet generation in completion of the first level of their initiation and we welcome them in joining us in our mission.