About Goddess Ma'at Seba
​
Greetings, my name is Goddess Ma’at Seba, and I am a Motivational Healer, Reiki Master, spiritual guide, author, and facilitator. I was named after the Goddess Ma’at of Kemet (ancient Egypt), a Neter (Goddess/God) who represented the attributes of Truth, Harmony, Balance, Justice, Right Order, Reciprocity and Universal Law. Seba, my last name, is a derivation of the Kemetian word “saba” or “sebos” which means “teacher” or “One who teaches”. Using “Goddess” in conjunction with my name, for me does not denote the same meaning as the Kemetic meaning for Goddess Ma’at. Being a goddess is to be a woman that embodies the Spirit of God within herself, she has an energy and presence of love and peace all around her, and she emanates an energy of ancient wisdom. The white garment that I wear called “GodIs Wear” by GodIs Designs. The garments reflect the humility and Spirit of God within a woman, as well as an acknowledgment that she has been called by God to be a servant of God, irrespective of her religious beliefs. I do not identify with any specific religious persuasion; however, I do adopt the best of what they each have to offer and transcend that consciousness into an all-inclusive spiritual foundation. The name Ma’at was spiritually given to me, and I fearfully rejected it for over a year because I understood the responsibility of carrying the name of a deity, and I did not feel that I could uphold that. After a year and a half of refusing the name, I had a very mystical experience, which was a confirmation to me to accept the name. Soon thereafter I was “tested” with a scenario which gave me the option to lie (the main attribute of Ma’at is Truth) or tell the truth. If I lied, the only person that would ever have known would be me (and God), and if I told the truth I faced serious legal ramifications. I chose to tell the truth. As a result, everything worked out smoothly, and to my benefit. I had passed my test! There have been tests since then, but none as nerve wracking as that one. So, my name comes with a heavy responsibility, one that I do not take lightly but that am honored to aspire to and work towards being a reflection of.
My Journey
Along my spiritual journey, my life has taken many twists and turns. It has been one of pleasure and pain, faith and fear, wisdom and ignorance, health and sickness, order and chaos, all intertwined with spirituality and mysticism. As far as I can remember, I have been spiritually guided through all of my life’s challenges. My childhood was loving and stable. I attended good schools, my family vacationed together, and we all, including my three awesome children, worked at our family-owned soul food restaurant and later, our health food store. In contrast, in my early adult life, some of the things that I experienced were cancer, three injury accidents, numerous illnesses and surgeries, divorce, a near-death experience, homelessness, severe depression, and the loss of a child. These were some of the greatest and most painful challenges (lessons) that I have experienced and had to grow, elevate, and heal from. Initially, I was very bitter and resentful of those experiences, but now I have a clear understanding of the meaning of life, what it is about, and a different perspective on what life’s experiences are really for. Ultimately, I realized that those experiences strengthened me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, and they were necessary for my calling. What I found to be interesting is that I had no spiritual teachers, nor did I travel to any sacred sites. I read some spiritual books and attended several spiritual gatherings, but there was no one that I could go to for guidance on the things that I was experiencing on all levels: mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I was basically forced to go to the only place that I could find that seemed to have the answers: within. My connection with the Divine has never led me wrong and has guided me since childhood. This spiritual connection has led me down my ongoing spiritual path that has been very mystical and constantly changing, unfolding into new experiences and lessons.
​
Some of my experiences seemed to be obviously interconnected for an immediate purpose (e.g., meeting someone at a gathering and connecting with them to assist me personally or in business) or for a purpose that I knew was yet to come. Others seemed to be just that: an experience with no apparent connection to anything that was going on in my life. However, everything, everyone, and every experience in life has a reason, serves a purpose, and is a lesson whether it is obvious to you or not. Sometimes my experiences are to provide me (and/or another person) with emotional healing. Some are for me to be an example or lesson to others, and some are for me to give a person a message or an answer to some life challenge that they are having. Whatever the reasons, all of my life’s experiences or paths ultimately lead me to one grand and divine purpose: to knowing and loving myself.
​
I have had experiences such as being the founder and facilitator of an African Diasporian history and study group, co-founder of a martial arts academy, a model, and the founder and facilitator of a spiritual support group for African Diasporian men. I am also a practitioner of several alternative healing modalities. I facilitate motivational healings, served as co-founder and co-facilitator of a co-ed spiritual support group, work with other spiritual teachers and healers who are powerful in their own right, and have a prison ministry where I regularly hold sessions with the men about personal development, spirituality, health, nutrition, and much more.
​
In approximately 1992-93, I had a very mystical experience, which is when I received my calling from the Divine. I was not totally clear at that time what my calling would entail, and even to this day, it is still unfolding. During the experience of my spiritual calling, I had to endure great personal sacrifices and much emotional pain. Because I was in such a state of fear and doubt and did not trust the Divine to assist me through these challenges, I had to learn the true meaning of surrender and faith. I have learned that when you give your life over, via a sacred contract with the Divine, to a life of selfless service to humanity, it comes with a heavy responsibility. “When much is given, much is expected.” I learned about surrender and faith through some life challenges that made me face my greatest fears. I lost three cars, my home, my job, I could not draw unemployment or public assistance, and my children and I ended up moving in with my family. What has been ironic is that several people in my spiritual circle who have sacred contracts on their lives as well have had similar experiences where they experienced great personal sacrifices, causing them to learn surrender and faith.
​
In contrast to the sacrifices, fear, and pain, I have had so many powerful spiritual experiences, such as being blessed with a spiritual community (family) with a powerful spiritual sisterhood as well as powerful spiritual brothers, watching relationships heal, finding forgiveness after divorce, witnessing miracle healings, discovering my latent talents and gifts, as well as an inner strength that I could not have conceived of attaining. I have also been given some Spirit-inspired writings that have been and will be helpful towards the spiritual transformation and elevation of those who have read them. The most recent aspect of my spiritual journey has been with a program that took four years to develop and has profoundly changed the lives of the participants; it is called “Relationship First Aid.”
​
Relationship First Aid is a facilitated or self-guided format designed to promote mental, emotional, and spiritual transformation. It took four years to develop this program, and it is a compilation of ancient Egyptian teachings, spiritually inspired writings, esoteric healing information, and my personal teachings. Before I began to teach this information, I first applied it to my own life, in which I experienced dramatic results.
​
It was only at the end of the four-year development of this program that I truly realized how profound this information was. I understood that I was given the keys to the gateways of both heaven and hell (both are states of consciousness or states of mind). By that, I mean that when a person is happy, loving, or peaceful, they are in a consciousness or mindset of what heaven (if it were a physical place) would be perceived to feel like. Examples of that consciousness include looking into the eyes of your lover, acquiring a new home or car, admiring breathtaking scenery, or seeing your newborn for the first time, etc. These are happy, loving, or blissful moments—heavenly moments. On the other hand, if you lost your only source of income, were physically violated, a loved one died, or are in insurmountable debt, this mindset or consciousness is like hell. Other hellish mindsets include intense fear, anger, guilt, jealousy, depression, or resentment.
Through the teachings and tools compiled to develop this program, I incorporated them into my life, which has allowed me to learn, and continue to learn, many life-transforming things, such as:
-
The answers to the two questions that ultimately every person asks themselves:
-
“Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” (or why was I born)
-
How to not become angered, resentful, guilt-ridden, or jealous by anyone or anything
-
How to manifest or attract what I want, not what I do not want
-
A clearer understanding of what “being spiritual” means
-
How to allow everyone to find their own path and not seek to control anyone or any situation
-
How to remain peaceful in the midst of chaos
-
How to not be anxious, angry, or fearful of global events (e.g., war, terrorism, diseases, potential catastrophic weather or earth changes)
-
How to avoid getting into arguments with anyone
-
How to not judge
-
How to forgive
-
How to love myself
-
To know myself
I have learned much more than this, but these were the most obvious life-changing lessons. The paramount lesson was about relationships—what they are and why we need and seek them. A relationship is defined as the evidence of one’s ability or inability to relate (to connect or associate, as in thought or meaning; to show sympathetic understanding and awareness) to another. Over the doorways of the Egyptian temples was the symbol representing the axiom “Know Thyself”. “Self-knowledge is the basis of true knowledge” (Stolen Legacy; George G.M. James), sums up the core of our life’s theme. The only true way to know oneself is through interactions or relationships with others. “The eyes can see everything in the world except themselves”. Furthermore, not only do we learn about ourselves by relating to others, but we also learn about ourselves via our other relationships. We relate to the Divine, nature, religion, our bodies, money, food, sex, etc. For instance, the way we relate to our body gives us insight into what and how we think about ourselves. Does it define us or not? If you were to lose a limb, lose your hair, become overweight, have a facial disfigurement, or have a sexual dysfunction, does that stop you from being the best person you can be? Or do you let that challenge debilitate you because you define yourself by your body parts? Another example of a relationship is with money. Does having or not having money define you? Can a person who is poor or wealthy still not be a loving, righteous person? To analyze the way we relate to everyone and everything without judgment is the greatest step toward spiritual elevation. Know that everyone and everything is connected and serves a divine purpose.
The tools and principles used in the Relationship First Aid program address issues that affect you on all levels of being: mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Several products are also offered to serve as additional tools to complement the program's format.
​
This program has proven its effectiveness, which is why it guarantees transformation when the tools and principles are consistently incorporated into one's life. It has been tried and tested, first by myself with personal testimonies, as well as the testimonials of participants.
​
At this point in my spiritual journey, my calling is to teach others how to develop harmonious relationships. It seems that I have always been a mediator and motivator, resolving conflicts and then creating more balanced and peaceful environments within homes, businesses, organizations, friendships, and relationships. However, the most important relationship that a person should intensely and passionately pursue is the relationship with oneself. “Know Thyself”; “To know Thyself is to know God and the universe.”
Love, Peace & Blessings,
Goddess Ma’at Seba
My Name Sake
Goddess Ma’at (pronounced Ma-aaht) is a personification, a concept of pre-dynastic Kemet (ancient Egypt) dated back to approximately 3500 B.C.E., which is credited with establishing harmony and social order for thousands of years. She represented Truth, Harmony, Balance, Justice, Right Order, Reciprocity and Universal Law. Her concept was multi-dimensional in that the laws of Ma’at established and maintained order on all levels of creation and being, cosmically, socially, politically, religious and spiritual etc. Ma’at is a “Ntr” (pronounced Neter) which means “Divine Force” as well as “nature”. In Kemet they were monotheistic and believed in a Supreme Force, and that force was a feminine energy known as “Mut-Em-Ua” or the “Great Mother”, their God was actually a “Goddess”. The Kemetians (Egyptians) did not worship many gods, they honored and worshipped the many attributes of the Great Mother which were the “Neters” or “Neteru”. Some of the Neteru were: Ptah, Amun (or Amen), Nun, Shu, Geb, Nut etc.
Ma’at represented cosmic (universal) as well as earthly (spiritual) laws and every part of Kemetian society from the religious to the political and social aspects were based upon the order of Ma’at. Ma’at is usually symbolized as a woman with outstretched wings and an ostrich feather on top of her head. An ostrich feather as her symbol was used because our ancestors understood the concept of the spiral and the concentric circle or cycles. Ostriches run in a concentric egg-shaped circle, which mirrors the movement of the planets, which follow an elliptical orbit.
The Egyptians wrote some of the first holy books, one of them is called the “Book of Coming Forth by Day” erroneously called “The Book of the Dead” written approximately 5,000 years ago. In the “Book of the Coming Forth by Day” in the chapter called the “Papyrus of Ani”, are found the “Negative Confessions” or the “Admonitions of Ma’at”. The belief was that when a person died their heart was weighed on a balance scale and if it was as light as a feather (feather of Ma’at) then the individual was admitted into Paradise or “Amenta”. During the weighing of their heart, the person was to recite the confessions of which there were originally 147 and were considered to be the “Keys to Paradise”. This is also where the biblical 10 Commandments were copied from approximately 2,500 years ago. Listed are 42 of the original 147 Negative Confessions, and five of the 10 Commandments are highlighted:
-
I HAVE NOT STOLEN
-
I have not acted in violence
-
I HAVE NOT KILLED
-
I have not done wrong to humankind
-
I have not been unjust
-
I have not caused pain
-
I have not desecrated holy places
-
I have not lied
-
I have not wasted food
-
I have not spoken evil
-
I have not committed sodomy
-
I have not caused the shedding of tears
-
I have not sown seeds of regret
-
I have not been an aggressor
-
I have not acted guilefully
-
I have not laid waste the plowed land
-
I have not entered into a conspiracy
-
I HAVE NOT GIVEN FALSE WITNESS
-
I have not been wrathful and angry without just cause
-
I HAVE NOT COMMITTED ADULTERY
-
I have not brought forth my own name for honors
-
I have not polluted the earth
-
I have not caused terror
-
I have not spoken in hot anger
-
I have not turned from words of right and truth
-
I have not uttered curses except against evil
-
I have not initiated a quarrel
-
I have not been excitable or contentious
-
I have not been prejudiced
-
I have not been an eavesdropper
-
I have not spoken overmuch
-
I have not committed treason against my ancestors
-
I have not wasted water
-
I have not done evil
-
I have not been arrogant
-
I HAVE NOT BLASPHEMED THE ONE MOST HIGH
-
I have not committed fraud
-
I have not defrauded temple offerings
-
I have not plundered the dead
-
I have not mistreated children
-
I have not mistreated animals
-
I have not polluted myself
​​
Ma’at has been a well-kept secret, I believe, because her concept is also meant to establish order within oneself first. Once order is established within oneself, harmony, balance, and inner peace then follow. Ma’at is a spiritual discipline that, when incorporated as a daily ritual, the person will develop into a strong, intelligent, spiritual, self-guided critical thinker. This person will not be able to be emotionally, mentally, or spiritually dominated, controlled, or coerced into unjust or unrighteous behaviors. Nor will their consciousness allow them, through their actions or inactions, to condone any activity that leads to social or moral decadence, cause harm towards another person (regardless of race, religion, beliefs, etc.), or damage to the earth and nature. Thus, creating peace, order, and harmony individually and socially on a global level.
​
In regards to Ma’at as a spiritual discipline, one of the iconic symbols of Ma’at is the scales. Her symbology is visible within our court system as a blindfolded woman holding a balance scale. The scale is reactive; it will not move until something is placed on one pan, which will react again when something is placed on its other pan. Its reaction does not define what is “right or wrong,” “good or bad” (and those are relative terms); its only purpose is to find a balance point between two things. It plays favoritism to no one and nothing; it is completely neutral and devoid of emotion. Ma’at is also associated with the spiritual law of “Cause and Effect,” which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In essence, one's thoughts and actions are what set the wheels of the law of Cause and Effect into motion, thus creating or dissolving Karma, which is also associated with Ma’at. Karma is essentially a reaction to an action; as with the scales of Ma’at, it is not “good or bad,” just a reaction. For every cause, there is an effect; for every effect, there is a cause. With that understanding, a person’s actions always have a reaction, in direct proportion to the energy and intent of the action. Meaning, when a person acts in love, the reaction will be to receive that exact proportion of love. If one acts in hate, they will receive that exact proportion of hate. So, when a person chooses their actions, when they understand that they are operating within the laws of Ma’at, they will also understand that their decisions and choices come with a reaction that engenders a responsibility, not only to themselves but to everyone else. No one is on this planet by themselves, so everyone’s decisions and choices ultimately affect everyone else.
The concept of Ma’at is so vast that to rightfully do her justice in thoroughly explaining all aspects of her would take volumes. In my very brief explanation of just one aspect of her, I have not really even scratched the surface of her complexity. To extensively learn more about her will take a little work and a lot of research because it is not easily accessible. However, the foremost credited African scholar that I know of who has extensive documentation about her is Dr. The’ophile Obenga.
Once you understand the laws and principles of Ma’at and incorporate them into your life daily, you will be armed with the tools to a life of fulfillment, happiness, pleasure, and abundance. The laws and ways of Ma’at are the keys to heaven and hell; both are a state of mind or consciousness. You alone choose by your thoughts, decisions, and actions, which key you will use at any moment and in every situation in your life, so go forward thinking Ma’at, speaking Ma’at, and living Ma’at.
​
To Thine Own Self Be True.