those who journeyed through land of dead. She was often painted

on inside lid of sarcophagus, protecting dead until he or

she, like Ra, could be reborn in their new life.

In Book of Dead, Nut was seen as a mother-figure to sun god

Ra, who at sunrise was known as Khepera and took form of a scarab

beetle (at noon he was Ra at his full strength, and at sunset he was

known as Tem (Temu, Atem) who was old and weakening):

The gods rejoice greatly when they see my beautiful appearances from

the body of goddess Nut, and when goddess Nut bringeth me

forth.

She was also called on to help deceased in one of spells of

Book of Dead:

There were many festivals to Nut through year, including

'Festival of Nut and Ra' and 'Feast of Nut'. But, despite being a

protector of dead, she was a personification of sky - a cosmic

deity - and no temples or specific cult centers are linked to her.

She was thought to be mother of five children on five extra

days of Egyptian calendar, won by Thoth - Osiris who was born on

the first day, Horus Elder on second, Set on third, Isis on

the fourth, and Nephthys last born on fifth day. The days on

which these deities were born were known as 'five epagomenal days

of year', and they were celebrated all over Egypt:

1. Osiris - an unlucky day 2. Horus Elder - neither lucky nor unlucky 3. Seth - an unlucky day 4. Isis - a lucky day, "A Beautiful Festival of Heaven and Earth." 5. Nephthys - an unlucky day How to pray to Nut. Let her as mother of us all help us remember we

are all brothers and sisters in this world. Let Nut come into your life

and teach you to love your brothers and sister as yourself for we are

all one.

References: Ancient Egyptian Books of Afterlife, The Hornung, Erik 1999 Cornell

University Press ISBN 0-8014-3515-3 Gods of Egyptians, The (Studies in Egyptian Mythology) Budge, E. A.

Wallis 1969 Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 486-22056-7 Traveler's Key to Ancient Egypt, The West, John Anthony 1995

Theosophical Publishing House, ISBN 0-8356-0724-0 Valley of Kings Weeks, Kent R. 2001 Friedman/Fairfax ISBN

1-5866-3295-7

About the Author: Judi Singleton publishes both the free edtion and the

paid edition of Jassmine's Journal you can subscribe at

What is ‘self'? Self is core, essence of who we are. Can you really change and alter ‘core', ‘center'? Can you change it successfully and permanently and be actually happy with it? As human beings, we need more to evolve and not to merely improve. Evolution firstly requires us to be accept who we are and to learn to love ourselves for that. The quest for self-perfection has nothing to do with ‘Self' and our own satisfaction. Ironically enough it has everything to do with society and norm, their demands to make you force fit in to pattern of mediocrity.

Our society has a malaise of perfection, it conditions in us a dissatisfaction with what we have and a blind craving for whatever we don't have. While we are growing up, we are made to realize that we are less than perfect in one way or other. It usually starts with sibling comparison. "Why can't you be like your brother/cousin/ so and so" , or that column in your report card marked with red that says: ‘Improvement is required/ Can do better". Mothers would openly deplore their daughters' lack in looks department. From quest to better grades, competition turns towards landing a better job, bigger car, house and better looking spouse. Aren't Parents supposed to love you unconditionally, to accept you what you are?

Thus initially our well-meaning parents perch us on treadmill of perfection and we take it from there onwards. Spouses specially women do perfect job of nagging their husbands into doing better , becoming some one else. Although it is ‘personality' or ‘self' of spouse that they fall in love with and not potential of change or flexibility. Thus on all fronts and being pressurized from all directions; we struggle to improve, to escape from what we are! We struggle to get accepted, become better adopted to society's standards and in other words become another ‘stereotype'.

We always want to become someone else, fit into some standard defined by society. And society keeps on raising bar, placing it higher and higher. In quest to ‘become' someone else, we become ‘something else'. It is so because process of change and improvement is also one that of alienation; from ‘core' ‘self'. In pursuit off improvement, we often get estranged from who we really are. In our obsession with ‘I have to' ‘I want' ‘ I need to'; we have forgotten what it is like to simply be ‘I am'.

Thus ‘self improvement' in actuality is merely a negation of ‘self' and ‘Self' needs affirmation and not negation, if we ever need to find happiness and contentment. . Others would still criticize your physical features, you ideas, ideals and attitude towards life, but it doesn't matter. So put away that self-help manual. Tear a page out of book, make an airplane with it let it fly. This time when you look at mirror; instead of deploring your lack of a bigger bust, give yourself a big hug for who you really are and what you actually have.