The Power of the Symbol

Adam and Eve's departure out of the Garden of Eden was an act of mis-creation, a step away from GOD's KINGDOM, and once they discovered the rush of the "I" in action, other steps followed until there was no turning back. The symbol of the snake was the temptation to view the Tree of Life as the Tree of Good and Evil. Duality replaced the ONENESS that reigned before. 

Adam and Even and their off-spring only thought they had been expelled, when in fact they never departed from Heaven. The snake was the symbol that catapulted us from the SPIRIT level down to the ego plane, but while we were able to turn our back on GOD, HER PRESENCE is always with us. The HOLY SPIRIT is our GOD-connection who holds the key to catapult us back to the SPIRIT level with the help of the symbol.

No matter what events and people may come our way, there is always the WAY that connects us back with HEAVEN. Where we saw conflict before, the HOLY SPIRIT opens the door for co-operation; where lust led us astray, love heals us. And were we feared dark magic, we now awaken to GOD's miracles instead. The snake that climbs the rod points us the WAY towards a holy vision. The choice for GOD is always near-by. 

The Symbol of the Snake

The Tree of Life and Death by Berthold Furtmeyr is a remarkable display of the story of Adam and Eve. It shows Adam slumbering in the Garden of Eden with the snake climbing up the Tree of Life, while two women were distributing the fruit to others: Eve from the Tree of Death and Maria Ecclesia, the mystic Bride of Christ, from the Tree of Life (see below).

What really got me about this picture was the snake as a symbol of the phallus climbing up the tree. Indeed, it displays Adam as being driven by a subconscious force. We think we are the master of our destiny while from a divine perspective we are still asleep. We have to respect the force of the phallus until the day we wake; before that, we simply have no choice.

While the snake in motion displayed as a phallus is a symbol of our human struggles, the erect snake is often displayed as a symbol for enlightenment. I recall a movie about the Buddha where he sits lost in meditation, and as it starts raining, a cobra moves up to him and covers his head from the rain, hovering over him in an erect pose. That's indeed the symbol of enlightenment, displaying the dissemination of the life force through the erect body into the brain rather than losing it in the act of ejaculation. Well, it is not really lost. but it takes both yin and yang during the sexual act to become one. Whereas enlightenment transcends both. Just as the bible says, when your two eyes become one, your body will be filled with light.

The last symbol that in a sense combines both cases is the symbol of the snake that bites its own tail and forms a circle. This could be called the symbol of the Tao. The Tree of Life and Death displays duality, Taoism transcends good and evil. The circle encompasses yin and yang, subconscious and conscious. The circle may not represent our notion of holiness, but it is whole. From a divine perspective all aspects of life are "perfect", may they be subconscious or not, male or female, enlightened or not.The circle comprises them all and that is Taoism.

Recognize the Symbol

You can never choose except between God and the ego.
A Course in Miracle

Do you remember the scene in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere wanted to show his love to Julia Roberts as he offered her an apartment and some money under the implicit premise that she would now be his girlfriend, but to his surprise she turned him down. Confused and angry he said to her "I never treated you like a prostitute", to which she replied "you just did." After a little soul searching he realized that he wanted to be her knight in shining armor, so he proposed marriage to her and the fairy tale ended like every good fairy tale does.

Everything you do, say and perceive is a symbol. Most of the time we do what we do subconsciously, yet everything we do or say always has a meaning. Angel and devil sit side by side on our shoulder so sometimes things happen with mixed intentions, but we can always zoom deeper and deeper until the choice becomes very clear: Is our intention of God or is our special interest at it again?

A spiritual traveler spends a lot of time with gestures, words and meanings of things. We do not claim that we are any better than anyone else but we have learned the hard way to think twice about every symbol that comes our way. My favorite quote is, " How can I know what I want to say before I have said it?" Never be afraid of anything you do or say. Even if you do something in a half- hearted fashion, even if you say something in bad taste, you can always try better next time around. The next opportunity for certain will come your way because this Universe was created just for you to find your Self. Just like billionaire Edward Lewis discovered that he wanted to marry his pretty woman, when the choice between ego and God comes out in the open, it really becomes a no-brainer.

Blinded by the Light

I was chatting with my neighbor on a bright day when I suddenly noticed how she had a hard time seeing me with all that sun light in my back. My neighbor is tiny in comparison, so I took one step towards her and managed that way to cover the sun with my body. It really must have seemed to her that I am a creature of the light. The irony is that she always completely dressed in black and only drives black luxury vehicles. In contrast, our house is white and over the garage there is a massive sun woven into the wood. The contrast between us couldn't be any starker.

I had to smile when I became aware of the sun theme that day because at work I face exactly the same situation. My office faces south, so in the afternoon the light is streaming into the glass building with an amazing intensity. Not that my colleagues would notice because everyone else has their blinds rolled down whereas I keep mine open. The downside is that visitors who come for a visit in the afternoon are literally blinded by the light until I either roll down the blinds or cover the light with my body by walking up to them. My commute is also devoted to the sun theme. I live to the west of the city Boston, so in the morning I drive into the rising sun while in the evening I drive into the setting sun.

Yes, I am a creature of the light, a light worker, but please don't equate that with good versus evil. At work I have noticed that I am very much part of a "good cop, bad cop" arrangement. Yes, I am the good cop, but tough choices unfortunately have to occur no matter what. This is part of life, so if you are not willing to take them, someone else will have to do it. Lord Krishna showed Arjun the way to enlightenment on the battlefield in the Bhagavad Gita. I now have understood that I have to step up to the plate and swing the sword on occasions myself. That is part of our spiritual evolution as you will probably find out for yourself as well. Along the Tao there is no good and evil, everything just kind of makes sense. Unfortunately, sometimes tears are buried in the laughter.

Yes, I am literally a light worker. This is apparently the part of the movie set that I have signed up for. Whenever I receive sad news, have to make tough choices or have to deliver difficult messages, it either rains in Boston or it is foggy. Rain and clouds are my personal symbol of darkness. It doesn't have to be that way. Believe it or not, but I have actually met my spiritual counter-part who sits on the opposite side of the globe and as it turns out, she is energized by the opposite weather patterns. My soul sister receives the strongest energy connections when it rains or pours. This all makes perfect sense. All colors of the rainbow are God and it is the interaction of sun and rain that creates this magnificent spectacle.

The White Buffalo Woman

I was on my way to a conference room to practice a presentation with some other colleagues. To my surprise I reached the room a couple of minutes early and I was just about to sit down when I noticed the art on the wall, it displayed a white buffalo. 'Wow', I thought to myself, 'didn't my sister-in-law just yesterday talk about the white buffalo story?' Unfortunately I couldn't really remember the story so I decided I would just quickly go back to my office and google the expression. I found a story of a white buffalo women who was revered by the Sioux tribe but unfortunately couldn't gather much more as the meeting was about to begin. When I arrived back in the room people had already gathered and soon after our trial run started. All the presenters were male, but we had one woman who had joined the discussion for the first time. She was in charge of the conference where this presentation would be held and wanted to see how it was progressing. As we were talking she quietly took notes but found also enough time to work on some other projects she had brought into the room. As she was looking up towards me I couldn't believe my eyes, there she was, sitting right below the white buffalo painting. It was as if she and the buffalo had merged at that magical moment: 'the white buffalo woman', I thought to myself.

It turned out that the group was surprisingly contentious. While this meeting was supposed to be a discussion of our final presentation, some still wanted to make changes and there was even a heated discussion going on what exactly the conclusions of our talk should be. I kept relaxed throughout the meeting and just listened to the suggestions of our moderator. She did everything right, helped us with titles, encouraged us to have different opinions and was even humorous about the whole thing. The white buffalo did her magic in this meeting. It is amazing what power psychological power ancient symbols still have in todays society. C. G. Jung would have enjoyed this meeting very much.

The World as a Symbol

He is an aggressive growth manager with a bullish outlook on the economy and markets. At 7:30 am, just as the Europe expert with a bearish outlook is pulling into the parking garage at work, he is exiting the building. The two cars meet at the gate and the Europe expert smiles at him and says "Wrong direction my friend". The growth manager barks back "I'm out of here, Europe is killing me this morning".

Do you see the highly symbolic meaning of this exchange? The bearish Europe expert reminds the portfolio manager that he is heading in the wrong direction, implying symbolically that he has the wrong positions in his portfolio, while the portfolio manager, subconsciously or consciously already indicates that a change in his portfolio is coming up, represented by his statement "I'm out of here".

The world is a symbol. If you see somebody walking hunched over, you symbolically see that the weight of the world is on his shoulders. I think everyone would agree with that statement. Yet, the jump that the world is a giant stage where everybody agrees to participate in supplying a symbolic mutual learning opportunity is something perhaps few would subscribe to. Yet, it is true. 

Most live their lives with their open, and often subconsciously hidden agenda, while behind the scene there is an invisible Force that manages to move them around like puppets in a theater. Once you have seen this Force in action, you will know what the Tao is all about. And at this time you cannot help absorbing and celebrating every voice, every image and situation as a voice from the 'beyond' that helps you understand who you really are. It is like the earth is reaching out to you and saying "dance with me here and now" and as you merge with it, you manage to live in the Now.

The Cross

I went to church on Christmas eve and have to admit that I was offended by the huge cross hanging above the altar; the sad image of Jesus Christ being crucified. Why does this image have to be the chosen symbol of Christianity? Why don't we chose the image of the early Christians, the fish, instead? I understand why the church has a vested interest in choosing the cross, since it captures the idea that the Son of God has taken our sins away by being crucified. The Son of God who reigns in Heaven, much in contrast to us mortal sinners. Well, this message seems in contrast to everything Jesus stood for. There is no hierarchy amongst us children of God. Jesus might be thought of as an older brother, but he is still very much our equal before God. The flip side of this perspective, however, is that you have to accept your Sonship. I hope you are ready for this big step.

 The cross is an ego symbol and a very dark one at that. It stands for the mortality of our body. Just think of the subconscious fear it holds in store for you if even the Son of God can be killed. Read 'A Course in Miracles', the alleged channeled message of the risen Christ. This Jesus was embarrassed by the message of the crucification. No, humanity is ready for a new chapter, the promise of love and abundance. The fish symbolizes abundance. Wherever Jesus cast his net, schools of fish were lining up to be caught by him. You will find out for yourself, wherever you go, the Tao bends backwards to shower you with affection along the Way. Now is the time that you start walking in his foot steps, or even better, that you start walking your own unique Way.