Who is Shemsu Sesen?

Where do I start? 

Well, my daytime name is Keith Payne.  Shemsu Sesen is my pen name for Em Hotep!  I am a writer with a background in Information Technology, Corrections, Law Enforcement, and Education.  I have a B.A. in Sociology, and have completed all of the coursework for an M.A. in the same (pending thesis). 

I am a contributing writer and blogger for Heritage Key.

My interests are history, religion, philosophy, neurohacking, parapolitics, exo-biology, and emerging physics.  I have at different times been a devout Evangelical Christian, Gnostic Christian, Freemason, Rosicrucian, Thelemite, Non-Denominational Discordian, Agnostic, Pantheist, and Democrat.  I am still a Democrat.  Hell, for all I know I might even still be a Freemason but I can’t be sure.  They stopped updating me on the Grand Conspiracy to Control the World when I let my dues lapse a decade ago, so I am guessing that I am once again an average schmuck.

But I do know that I am now a very happy and content practicing Buddhist.  I am fond of saying that I never converted to Buddhism, it was what was left after ruling out everything else.  I practice the Nichiren school of Buddhism and am an active member of Soka Gakkai-USA.

My original interest in Egypt revolved around the connections between Egyptian mythology and Judaism and Christianity.  This interest led me to spend a month in Egypt in 1997 as an undergrad taking a travel course on religious history.  That interest grew into a broader fascination with Egyptian history and culture and its role in the foundations of what would become Western Culture.  I abhor fundamentalism of all types, including academic, and am convinced of neither the veracity nor the spuriousness of the many claims and criticisms opened by these lines of pursuit.  I would define my stance as being cautiously open minded.  In other words, I approach the many intriguing theories about all things Egyptian the same way I approach theories about UFOs, or for that matter, the promises of my elected representatives.

I am happily married to a beautiful and creative woman who is into music, Yoga and dance.  I have no kids, just a dopey Basset Hound and a little black cat that hasn’t aged in fifteen years.

My name, Shemsu Sesen, is ancient Egyptian for “Follower of the Lotus” and refers to the Lotus Sutra, which is central to the beliefs and practices of Nichiren Buddhism.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

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