Handling Grief

Pain and suffering are maladies that have plagued humanity for many ages. Pain is something we are confronted and how we deal with that pain, can help to define our Character. Suffering, on the other hand, is as much an effect of pain as pain is the effect of a previous cause.

If you were in an accident and it led to your being hospitalized, there would be pain, but the subsequent suffering could be mitigated by how well the physicians and hospital staff and you deal with the injuries. If handled properly, the pain would go away and the suffering could be held to a minimum.

Sometimes, illnesses or injuries, are so overwhelming that pain and suffering are recurring to the person. Trying to manage such pain and trying to limit the amount of personal suffering can almost become a full time job.

The injury that leaves no visible mark but cause widespread suffering is personal loss. It is the unwanted gift that keeps on taking. Taking our time, our emotions, our happiness.

While we may not experience physical pain from loss, we do, experience emotional suffering from loss and this can be so intense that physical pain would almost seem like a welcome change in relation to this intense feeling.

Personal loss of our loved ones, however, is not a 2-way street. The individual who passes away, is freed from the bonds of mortality. and ascends to the spirit world. There may have been pain at one time for them, but that has long since passed and there is no suffering for them.

For those left behind, they remain to pick up the pieces after someone they cared deeply about, has left their physical lives. They must slog through the day to day life, trying to fill a void that really cannot be filled.

If we could feel, even for a moment, what our loved ones experience where they are now, we would know no suffering only happiness. We would know, in that moment, that there is no reason, to grieving beyond what is a normal period of mourning.

That in knowing their better state, we could move out of our depression and honor them more appropriately by living life to its fullest.

This does not mean we cannot feel sadness and mourn, if these emotions are in you, the best way to move past them is to allow to express themselves and once expressed, let them go.

Grief is not the enemy, because it is normal. Unreasoning grief and suffering, on the other hand, is the enemy because it is not helpful. It only adds to the suffering, making things worse.

If our grief is born out of loss of loved ones, then we need to think "Is this what my loved ones would want me to be experiencing right now? If positions were reversed, would I want others to experience what I am experiencing right now?" The answer would be obvious.

We can handle the pain of grief, but we do not have to accept the suffering caused when we allow this emotion to flow but we refuse to let it go.

Approaching Aten

While there have been individuals and groups over the ages who have sought Aten, not all of them sought Aten through His chosen mediator: Akhnaten. The reason we direct all people who love and seek Aten to the presence of Akhnaten is because the only way to approach Aten is through Akhnaten.

You cannot embrace a Supernova, not without being incinerated in the process. From our vantage point, we see the life giving rays of Aten. If for some reason, we were in close proximity of Aten, we would be unable to withstand the sheer power and force of the presence of Aten.

The only way a person can approach Aten is to approach the Servant of Aten: Akhnaten. Through Him we know the Will of Aten, through Him, we take refuge in the Compassion of Aten. Through Him, we are brought to the presence of Aten in safety and in peace.

Through Akhnaten, we never need to speculate about what Aten is, or what He wants of us, it is always very, very clear.

Approaching Aten is only made possible for us through the compassion of Akhnaten.

Atenism is hope for all people

Orthodox Atenism reaches out to those whom society has turned away. Whether it is lepers, the homeless, the mentally, emotionally or physically challenged, those suffering with incurable diseases and any other instance where people cry out to a world that no longer cares - Aten and Akhnaten cares so very deeply. There are no words to describe how just much they care!

Atenism offers those who have given up hope, the hope they long for, that Aten loves them, and their serenity and joy is only a heartbeat away.

Atenism is for all people.

Take refuge in Aten through His Son Akhnaten.

Orthodox Atenist View on War

The main tenet of Atenism is "Love God and Do No Harm". War seems, on the outset, to be the antithesis of this sentiment. Many people who demonstrate for the end of war do so with the best of intentions, if not the clearest of foresight.

Atenism believes in the fullest understanding of "To Do No Harm" which is not unilateral pacifism as some believe, but what is the wisest course of action to eliminate evil, and bring an end to cruelty and suffering in the world.

In a malevolent and violent world that seeks to subjugate the innocent and that takes great joy at the suffering of all life, there is a need for a corrective process of military action in such cases. Never to create further suffering of the innocent but to bring an end to the machinations of the wicked. In a world that embraces evil, military action is a necessity to save the very lives of the innocent. It is dependent on who is waging war and if their motives are pure. If not, then such militarism is deemed evil and a blight on humanity.

Question: Is Atenism sun worship?

No. Aten is the One God of the Universe. Transcendent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent. Aten is beyond the bounds of human conception or understanding on any level. The only way in which humanity can even come close to a basic understanding of Aten is through symbolic representation. The image of the sun above our world is not just a sun but it represents life and sustenance. All life on our planet is sustained by the life giving rays of the sun and without the sun, life on this planet would cease to exist. But this is a symbol for the life giving power and care in which Aten gives all life on this world, it does not mean Aten is the sun. If this were so, we would have to ask, why only this sun? and not the countless other suns in the universe, what about the other worlds in the Omniverse (the collection of all universes and planes of reality), doesn't Aten watch over them as well? The answer is "Of course". Aten creates and sustains all things. It is that, for us, we are centered on life in the here and now. Aten is with us always and sustains us in each and every moment.

Whether it be the physical sun in the sky, or an artistic representation of the sun and the life giving rays, these are gifts given to humanity so that we may try to comprehend that which is incomprehensible.

Sun worship, as in viewing the physical orb of the sun as a sentient god would be paganism just like if a person were to bestow godhood to the moon, or a planets or a cloud, a mountain, a rock, tree or shrub.

Question: I have never heard Atenism. Is it made up?

No. The reality of Atenism can be found in the ancient records of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Orthodox Atenism is this same religion in the modern day. All its material, that is not the stuff of ancient records is either produced by, and sanctioned by Akhnaten Himself. Meaning Atenism is as far away from being fabricated as you can get.

Simply put: No other religion in existence can claim to be governed by the exact same person who established that religion - except Orthodox Atenism.

Is Atenism a cult?

No. To elaborate on this answer, we should spell out what the term "cult" actually means. The word cult has two meanings:

The word is an abbreviation of the word "culture" and means the beliefs of a community of like minded individuals. By this standard, every religion is a community of like minded individual who believe the same things and would, by this definition, describe them as a "cult".

The word is a derogatory term used to describe disreputable and dangerous religious groups that use manipulation and intimidation to trick individuals into joining them. In some instance, these groups do not allow their members to contact family and some have ended in fatal consequences.

If, what is meant in the question, was the first definition, then the answer would have been "Yes" since all world religions would fit in this category. If what is meant is the second definition, then the answer is an emphatically and unequivocal "NO". Orthodox Atenism is a world religion that only has the welfare of its fellow brothers and sisters in mind. It does not use manipulation, intimidation or trickery to reach seekers, nor does it have any intention for taking advantage of these persons by trying to acquire their money. (There are tithes but these are part of the faith and individuals who research the faith are never committed to give anything they do not wish to or what they simply cannot afford.) Our faith would encourage its members to stay in close ties with their loved ones and would never encourage them to disassociate with family and friends, and as far as the final part of the definition that is a horrific concept and one that Atenists have no understanding or association with.

Atenism is about "Loving God and doing No Harm" the very definition of these destructive cults is in opposition to the principles of Atenism because all they seem to cause is harm, to the seeker or to their families and friends.