If only Eve hadn't been so seductive and able to persuade Adam to eat the apple, we wouldn't be in this "mess." If only Adam hadn't been so spineless and weak willed, we'd still be in the Garden of Eden. And who (or what) was that snake anyway? And why a tree? Why not a blueberry bush or a strawberry plant?

The Book of Genesis, the very first chapters of that thrilling novel that communicates to us the Word of God, weaves a spellbinding tale about Creation. Our creation. The step-by-step process of the manufacturing of our reality.

Over the centuries man has made various interpretations of the biblical text. Many civilizations have used different creative forms, from basic, literal translations to wildly, symbolic meanings, in an effort to truly understand the messages brought forth in the Bible. But can we interpret this book literally? Or are the lessons so abstract that we must reach deep into archetypal symbology to decode the answers? What if we approached the puzzle from the middle of the road (as Buddha suggested) and use both literal and symbolic translations? What if.........

Each and every soul ever produced by the Source is as perfect and POWERFUL as the Creator itself. So what happened? Where's the perfection and where's the power and--can we get it back? Well, let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago.........

Adam and Eve may very well have been a specific man and woman, but they also represent the separation of the male and female energy from the Source of pure energy for the manifestation of the dense, physical reality. The two main characters of this story represent each and every one of us, who for multitudes of reasons have chosen to exist in this dimension. We were each formed in perfection and blessed with the opportunity to experience the uniqueness of the third dimension reality. We walked in grace, along our spiritual path of development, until we reached the "point of karma."

The snake in the tree (aka, "Satan" and other villainous titles) has always gotten a "bad rap" in this story, regardless of what interpretation was used. No matter who is doing the storytelling, the SNAKE represents all that is bad and evil. Perhaps it would be more rational to say the snake represented the negative polarity of our dual existence. You could go further to say this negative energy is the impetus to our growth, but let's stretch our awareness just a little further.

No matter where you travel on our little planet, there is a universal symbol for Kundalini energy, which is--the snake. This life force energy exists in all of us and is always activated at one level or another. Through the development and enhancement of this life force we experience the initiations necessary for our growth and existence. So let's say Eve (with the infinite creative intuition of female energy) began to feel the first stirrings or awakening of the Kundalini energy. She was in the early euphoric stages of realization and greatly urged her mate to participate ("eat of the fruit") and indulge in the thrill seeking complexities of our duality. However, Adam (with the infinite rational logic of male energy) chose to decline, at first, and remain in the blissful state of balance and wholeness.

Kundalini energy, once consciously activated, becomes stronger and more powerful. Its energy can emanate from one human to another, enlivening the dormant state of this life force in others, especially those in close physical/mental/emotional proximity to the fully activated being. And so, as Eve, "played and conversed with the snake," Adam observed and eventually became "seduced or persuaded" (activated) to partake of the "fruit."

The portrayal of Adam's actual act of eating the fruit (or apple) represents the "point of karma," that specific moment in our development when we chose to give up our perfect state of balance, to relinquish our power, and become fully integrated with the physical dimension. It is at this point we began to incur our karmic debts, and so begins the seemingly endless cycle of physical reincarnation.

So, great!! Once we were perfect, and for any millions of reasons we chose not to be perfect, and now we're stuck here! So how do we get back home? God promises repeatedly throughout his Book that we may return to our Creator. All of the great Masters, Jesus included, endlessly taught us we could travel the path home. But how? Where's the map?

Let's go back to the TREE in Adam and Eve's story. Why was the life force (Kundalini/snake) wrapped around the trunk and branches of a tree? Couldn't it have just as easily coiled up under a bush, or writhed and wiggled through a strawberry patch? The Tree of Knowledge or rather, the Tree of LIFE is the map of our path home. The mystery schools, closely held religions and magicians have had access to, understood and practiced the principles of this knowledge for thousands of years (even before the first publishing's of the Bible). This map is known as the Caballah, or Kaballah, or Qaballah. There are 22 intrinsic paths of initiation that lead us back to enlightenment and power. The paths are formed into a trunk (or middle pillar) with branches, looking much like a tree, with its roots sinking deep into the earth and its branches lifting to the heavens. The fruit of this tree is KNOWLEDGE.

These are wonderful times we live in. The closely held, secretive knowledge concerning the Kaballah is being made public. The books are out there. The classes are out there. And the people with the knowledge are SHARING it!!

So, the wondrous Author of the greatest novel on earth, truly did know what it was talking about. Our creation, our demise and the map of our path home are all laid out in a simple story about a man, a woman, a snake and a tree, that has survived for thousands of years.

© copyright Teri Robison August 5, 1995