“And the LORD ÒGod commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest therof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17.
I have contemplated the meaning of this verse often. I have asked myself, “What tree is this, and where would it have been found, how could the act of eating of it have caused the experience of death, and how can we overcome such an act and be returned to the garden in which we were created?”
It seems to me that Adam, and Eve, knew nothing of morality prior to eating of the tree. I believe that the act of eating of that tree and the knowledge thereof is something that each of us does of our own free will each day. This act is the application of morality to the world that we perceive; it is the judgment of some person, place, thing or action as being either “good” or “bad”. It is in this willful act that we ensure our own death and our ejection from the garden.
Consider that there are actual forces that exist in creation the purpose of which is the creation and the destruction of things. These forces exist in harmony and balance just as they were created. These energies are the perfect creation of a perfect creator. Who are we to judge the “good” or “bad” in them; could it not be possible to see the beauty and harmony in the perfect creation; the beauty of the garden itself?
This does not mitigate our responsibility in choosing which forces we partake of. In so doing, however, we must recognize that a choice for good in our reality might be a choice for evil in the reality of another. To love and respect each human being, in my opinion, is to also to love and respect the perspective in which they perceive the world.
This conclusion leads one to something of a quandary though. How are we to know which actions to take if everything is relative? Perhaps one can choose to act according to the inner compass that we find by seeking out the guidance of our spiritual self. Every inspired spiritual teaching seems to point to the concept that the source of all things lies within, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21.
Therefore, one might choose to base one’s action on the “Word of God” that comes from within. It is in learning to have trust and faith in this perception that we gain mastery over ourselves and freedom from the “fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”.
In contemplating this, I have found that my experience of Love for all people and indeed all that I perceive has expanded to encompass my consciousness. It is only in those times that I experience a limited perception of self that I come to the place of self hate that is then reflected in a judgment of the good or bad in the world around me.
Perhaps freedom from self-judgment and Love of all is the gateway by which we may return to the garden.
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