Our way of life had best, of course, suit the society that we inhabit. This often means donning the garb of the land and concealing unpopular beliefs. Why is it that so many of us, then, are not content with observing our devotional practices in a purely private context? Why should we expose our system to public scrutiny, at all? How do we know that we shall not wake up one day on the wrong end of a persecution if we do not conceal a faith that has been vilified by Abrahamists for many centuries? It comes down to the fact that our society is at least a nominally free one, and professes a respect for basic human rights. If there were ever a time to use every means at our disposal to develop a joyous unfoldment of our observances, it is here and now. In a civilization that prides itself on free access to information; we can "reality check" our subjective responses to the Neters' work with in-depth physical evidence, expert historical analysis, and many an inspired study from the philological and philosophical authors who go over man's heritage with a fine-toothed comb.

The House of Life and the House of Books should be as well stocked as we can proudly make them. Since there are so many other components to Egyptian religion than the written word, we are well reminded that overly dwelling on intellectual speculation is not healthy. The spiritual/mental/emotional ecology of our faith informs us that the most important problems are the ones that have the fairest claims on our time and attention. With the exception of scheduled morning offerings and wisdom study, questions of theology are usually best contemplated when the day's work is done. As we shift our focus from the necessities of social and economic obligations to the essential luxury of recreational mystical contemplation, we can take a more blissful attitude in our investigations than those whose agendas are less holistic or balanced. Members of sects that are naively, obsessively mental usually come up with the most pessimistic prophecies. As Sri Rajneesh once said, such people have altogether missed the substance of life.

Rev. Moss once pointed out that it is often human nature to wish to circumvent firm, limiting declarations of principle, and the more one discloses about his/her values and methods, the more one runs the risk of rivals exploiting this information. One of Lord Thoth's names is Inscrutable One. Sometimes, we may not know how a stage prestidigitator, musician, or comedian arrived at his contributions to our delight. Even if these things were carefully explained, many would not comprehend them. We practice a religion that takes intuition and the unseen world more intelligently into account than most. We have all had experiences where a hunch, feeling, or premonition turned out to be more reliable than the so-called "reason" of those who had sought to keep our behavior within narrow expectations regarded as more fitting (for their comfort).

I personally find it rather awesome how penetrating the Egyptian mind was, and still is. I have always needed native Egyptians to give me hints as how to proceed upon my path. Their deep regard for fairness has never left them, and for this they are due a high degree of respect. This is why I do not forge ahead with any innovations that would present a general affront to their sensibilities, or cause them to be less generous with their guidance. This makes the subject of traditionalism understandably touchy. As Truth marches forward, it should not do so with any undue callousness toward those who gave it its chance in the world. Thus, my own ideal is to achieve a sufficiently perfect understanding, conduct, and articulation of Ma'at that I may explain our ways to those who might possess a valid interest in them, and be content with having put those folks first.