Thursday, October 23, 2014

The Day When the Snake Found its Way

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
"You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
(The Story of Adam and Eve)

If our consciousness is the force that is aware of what is happening to us, as well as the decision what to do next, then what exactly is the ego? Is it the voice in our head? Is it the feeling of the "I"? Could it be the snake that whispers to step away from God's Path? I have never found a convincing way of setting up this question. What exactly is it when we talk about the ego? Is this force just deluded or is there a desire inside of us that wants to deliberately walk away from God? 

While I can't get my arms around the problem statement, the solution to the problem is actually quite simple. We are in charge - we are holding the reigns despite our thoughts and emotions. When the cart is drifting away from the Way, we can counter-balance. If the insight of the snake is to create, to become artists and scientists, to be "like God" as the snake puts it, then why not? Isn't that what our world was made for?

We are creators, so let's create something, but let's do it according to God rules. We can step away from competition, mistrust, scheming, and fear. We can embrace love every step of the Way. While we perhaps will never be able to shut up the voice in our head, and likely will never be able to leave behind some negative emotions, it is very much in our power to line up our ego drive with the Way. That's what it means to be a Tao traveler.

Re-read the story of Adam and Eve. Couldn't the snake's advice be an invite to become business men, professors, doctors, politicians, parents, teachers, scientists, spiritual travelers, artists or story tellers, or whatever else it is you consider your mission? The world that you and I perceive was created as a virtual reality show with the sole purpose to complete our soul longings and return Home. Create, design, teach and invent to your heart's desire just make sure that love follows you every step of the Way. 

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