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Our civilization seems to suffer from an enormous
preoccupation with "evil". In all its forms. The physicians
do not talk of health. They talk of diseases. The insurance companies
make millions by offering protection from all sorts of bad luck.
The politicians keep ramming the national debt right down our
throats and pockets. The stockbrokers talk of hedging our bets
in order to cover our loses. The priesthood, of all denominations,
talk of the countless sins we commit, which will no doubt result
in the impending end of the world. Any minute, now.
I am healthy. I carry no life or health insurance.
I have no debts - national or otherwise. I do not hedge against,
nor do I expect to sustain any loses. I expect the world to continue
unfolding itself as it should, without any interference from
the malcontent priesthood.
I don't belong.
According to those who wish to treat the Bible
as a compendium of historical facts, it's all Adam's fault. He,
with a little assistance from the luscious Eve, ate the apple.
One lousy apple and - bingo - the world is all to pot. Any god,
who would take it out on the present 6.5 billion people, give
or take a few far-eastern countries, is not a god I wish to have
anything to do with. With or without insurance. For crying out
loud! I could understand an evening of debauchery in a greasy-spoon-joint
at the local all-night Eden-Eats, or even one oversized and overdressed
double-cheese Big-Mac with all the trimmings... but (symbolism
notwithstanding) an apple?!
I don't belong.
One allegory leads to another. Once Moses
got his message across about the complexities of the creative
process, he endeavoured to explain the problem of dualism. Adam
is not the first monkey that is endowed with human traits.
Adam is representative of a soul descending from the "inner"
realms, and being encased in a material form. (Moses called it
'skin'). For as long as Adam remains innocent, i.e. for as long
as he cannot distinguish between good and evil, rather like little
children, his consciousness is unaware of the duality of the
reality (world) he entered. We, every one of us, are an Adam,
or an Eve, as we enter this world. Our soul, the integral and
individualized quantum of the Infinite Reality (referred to by
some as God) enters the tiny human form at the moment of birth.
Perhaps at the first breath. [In Greek "pneuma", from
pnein, to breathe, translates as: breath, spirit or soul.
In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit.] People often confuse
the soul with the body it inhabits. This confusion leads to multiple
murders being inflicted by the defenders of life, on those who
wish to accord a woman the right to chose what to do with the
body she inhabits. The woman's soul, or the one still in abeyance,
in waiting, is of no interest to them. They defend an unfinished
biological construct. They seem unaware that no one is for
abortion. Many are for free will of the soul inhabiting the woman's
body. The immortal soul decides what to do. Not the body. The
body, left to itself, is preoccupied with exactly the same demands
as the body of any animal. It wishes to eat, digest, defecate,
procreate and sleep. That's what bodies do - they are set on
automatic. Strangely enough, particularly at an early age, many
animals also like to play. Stranger still, because it is a characteristic
of a soul. Children like to play. I am pushing 65. (I wrote
this article some years ago!) I like to play.
I still don't belong.
So what happened to Adam? Since the size of
his body is not defined in the Bible, it is not unreasonable
to assume that Adam, regardless of his size, was born (created)
a baby. God would need less clay, and the job would be faster
- the Creator only had one day. The physical size is, however,
of no consequence. The Bible deals with the states of consciousness
(souls) which inhabit the body, not with the bodies themselves.
The soul, therefore, found itself encased in a very uncomfortable
enclosure. Just imagine! You're roaming the spiritual realms,
and suddenly (time doesn't exist in the spiritual realms), you're
trapped inside a little hairless monkey. You scream. You send
messages the only way you know how: direct perception. It doesn't
work. The mother gets some slight idea and coddles you and you
feel an ephemeral whisper of love. It reminds you of home. But
it is not the same. "Help!" you repeat this time adding
a touch of thought-waves you just became aware of. Since you
don't yet know human communication, the shout comes out rather
like Aooooooow!!! You, the baby, are desperately trying to say:
"I don't belong here!"
Nor do I. None of us do.
This is not our home. It is not our domain,
our kingdom. It is our school. Temporary. And lessons begin quickly.
We watch and observe. Our parents, in fact all the grownups,
worry. They are all afraid of just about everything, particularly
of tomorrow. They forgot that before they became encased in physical
envelopes they roamed the realms where all was Light, all was
Good, all was... One. They forgot all that. Instead they divided
everything into two components. Into black and white. Up and
down. Fat and thin. Good and bad. Good and... evil? They never
stop judging! And they feed us, the newcomers, the very same
diet. It tastes like rotten apples. Why can't they understand
that the Infinite Reality is One? That there is no good and evil.
That God and Good are one and the same. That there is only one,
single Source. That we all are indivisible, indestructible, immortal,
joyous, wondrous parts of It.
That that is where we belong.
***
"...we are strangers on the
earth, without permanence,
and our days are like a shadow lasting a night,
blown away by a wind."
Jonathan Eibschutz
1690 - 1764
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