The Original Projection

I love stories. Stories have been with us since the dawn of humanity and they continue to be told in modern day. They enrich us. They inspire us. They give our lives meaning. If we dare to dig deeply, we can find ourselves in stories - in every character. Some stories have been told and retold so many times, they are foundational structures of our culture, whether we know it or not.

During my conversation with Ronna Detrick, we shared our different interpretations of the story of Adam and Eve. Both our interpretations, while different, were 'out of the box,' not the accepted narrative. It's a good exercise to engage in conversation about stories and consider new ways of looking at them. Bible stories pose a particular challenge because if we know the Bible at all, we usually have preconceived notions about what they mean. We've heard them many times over through an already accepted interpretive lens. This is one of many forms of indoctrination/conditioning that we inherited from our culture and ancestors. If we could wipe clean the preconceived ideas placed in our minds, we may find something hidden that we've never seen before. Maybe even something that changes everything.

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is considered the story of humanity's fall from grace, also known as the 'original sin.' I'm not sure I could argue with the fall from grace part. It does seem like life was pretty ideal for all of Creation. But humanity was obviously not ready for the ideal. Maybe we needed to find it for ourselves, so we created a journey that made us leave and yearn to find it again.

In Genesis 3, there are two trees mentioned. The tree in the middle of the garden is not named, but is the only one whose fruit Adam and Eve are not supposed to eat. It is universally known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is also a tree of Life mentioned at the end of the chapter. The tree of Life represents eternal/unity consciousness. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represents duality consciousness.

We hear through Eve that God told them to not touch the tree in the middle of the garden (tree of knowledge) because if they do, they will die. This makes perfect sense because in duality consciousness, there is life and death. But God leaving Adam and Eve to themselves saying, "Don't touch," is akin to a parent placing a jar of cookies on the counter and saying, "Don't touch." It's going to happen. The only question is, was it intended?

As expected, they both eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, Eve going first, then Adam. The very curious Eve was convinced by the serpent that this tree's fruit was not going to cause death, but would rather make them like gods. That’s enticing. And since God put the animals there in the first place, why wouldn't the serpent be trustworthy?

It turns out that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was like some kind of mad awakening trip because that's what happened. Adam and Eve's 'eyes were opened' and their reality shifted as they could now experience good and evil, light and dark. They felt the human emotions of fear and shame for the first time, hiding in their naked vulnerability. Why were they afraid and ashamed? Where did those feelings come from? There is literally no context for them to judge their condition in this way, yet they did. Was it guilt? Was it fear? Whatever was at the root of their feelings, neither of them liked it.

When God confronted them with the inquiry, "Did you do what I told you not to?" neither Adam nor Eve could stand in their own accountability! They both projected blame onto others for their own decisions. For Adam, it was Eve's fault. For Eve, it was the serpent's fault. Had either of them said something like "I know you told me not to, but I did it anyway, and I take full responsibility for my actions," it might have landed differently, resulting in a different outcome. Obviously, the ideal consciousness of the garden had been altered, if not shattered. There were victims now. And victims couldn't stay in Eden where the tree of Life flourished.

Perhaps this is the point in the story where Adam and Eve became human. And perhaps humans simply can't be trusted with the tree of Life until we have integrated within ourselves the good and evil that we see and project onto the world. Perhaps we need to live through many lifetimes outside the garden - experiencing joy and suffering - until we remember our Divine Truth and truly embody it, standing in our sovereignty and raw authenticity, without fear or shame. Perhaps we need to lay down our desire to “be like gods" and step into our true God nature. "Here I am! The good and the bad. The light and the dark." Such is the hero's journey.

The Eden story ends in a way that is rarely told. After Adam and Eve exited the garden, "He [God] placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Notice that there is no chain link or electric fence installed with a "None shall pass!" sign. No. That's not what happened. This so-called banishment included angels and flaming lights so that God's beloved humanity could find its way back. But we can only return at a consciousness that matches the tree of Life. Or put another way, our journey is to the realization of eternal/unity consciousness, but through the shadows of the world we live in now.

This is the spiritual path -- finding our way through the light and the dark, within and without. Evolving through personal integration, not skipping steps. Embodying the authentic life with no projection and no victimization. Awakening to Truth. It's an arduous path, the narrow gate. Many are called and few make the choice. But the light is always on saying, "Come home."

© carol saunders 2022

“He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24