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Reclaiming Paradise: Homesteader Peter Baldwin Teaches How

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Peter Baldwin
Peter Baldwin
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The Biblical story of Adam and Eve has been one that has been taken quite literally. The traditional interpretation of Christian churches stems from the Bible's Genesis' Chapter 2, where God was said to have created Adam (man) from the dust of the ground and then created Eve (woman, meaning from man) from his rib. The Hebrew term for rib has been reported as being ti, which has the dual meanings of rib and also life. So, the question becomes, without a wife, would Adam have come to have a life?

Furthermore, just for fun, its interesting that a female child is born with 2 "X" chromosomes and a male is born with one "X" and one "Y." Interesting. It would make a neat story to ask what happened to that left leg of the "X"? What could it have become?

Interestingly, the creation of humankind was told twice in the initial chapters of Genesis. In Genesis' Chapter 1, verse 27, it blatantly says, "And God created humanity, male and female created he them." Thus, we were created in the image of God, both female and male. There was no separation of the sexes in humankind or in Nature. Adamah had always had a life and a wife. But, I guess it's like bringing forth the beauty and flavor from the mix in order that it could be savored. Thus, Eve evolved. Is She the evolutionary force? As Goethe says, "The Divine Feminine leads us forward." Is this the reason She is a threat to the current power structures? Is this the reason so many stories occurred in ancient times of virgin Mothers who won the wrath of the Man against Her person as well as Her son? Think of this in terms of the babies reportedly killed by Herod when the virgin birth of Jesus Christ supposedly occurred. (see http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentpeople/a/JZ-Herod-The-Great.htm)

Even today, imagine letting go of years of conditioning by the culture in media, schooling, and working towards turning your culture upside down. This is the jist of the story. It's about turning over the power structure by becoming unconditioned by it! Thus, the likes of Jesus Christ are MORE than revolutionary. They are Evolutionary. They truly let go of the old and bring forth the new!

Returning to the Old Testament. Are Genesis 1 and 2 contradictory stories? Perhaps they derived from different places and times? Perhaps it makes no difference".the point is how we have come to interpret and what has been focused upon in the stories that is important. These are the stories we tell ourselves consciously and unconsciously. They are ingrained into our sense of reality and drive our belief systems and behavior. This is why stories like this are important. They are a part of our conditioning, no matter what we think of organized religion and books such as the Bible. Thus, they need to be explored, debated, researched and opened up to alternative interpretations. They also need to be understood in the context of the historical period in which they were written.

Furthermore, we need to be more conscious about how the story affects us. The story and its interpretation is SO engrained we don't even realize it has an effect. The philosophies inherent in our rational brains make no difference. These stories operate on a much deeper level. Indeed, they operate on a level that psychiatrist Carl Jung would call the "Collective Unconscious." As long as it lies unconscious, the more it will control our behavior without us knowing it. We have to wake up from this hellish dream we are living.

Ultimately, the Genesis story leads into a scene where Eve entices Adam to eat an apple that causes him, and her, to see that they were naked. This apple could be interpreted as the fruit of self-awareness (knowledge), which also led to a self-judgment on the part of a particular subsection of humanity regarding nakedness (i.e., shame). In historical timing for the telling of this story, it would have been around the time that hunting -- gathering cultures alongside nomadic herdsmen were diminishing into agricultural settings. It was written during the time of agriculture's beginnings, where "man had to work by the sweat of his brow." Historically, this is the "Fall". (For a great read on how the Biblical story of Cain (agriculture) and Able (nomadic herdsmen and hunting/gathering) fits into this, read Daniel Quinn's Ishmael. While different from what I'm focusing on, I believe Quinn is on the same track as I am.)

As it is with all myths, the story of Genesis plays itself out over and over in time and space. And, how it plays itself out is a function of how we perceive it. Do you remember a time when you started covering yourself when someone walked in on you naked? That's the "Fall!" As God questioned, "who said you were naked?" Who could that snake be if not your own mind operating in relationship to the world? Aren't thoughts snakelike hissing about in your mind taking you here, there and everywhere?

But, this ultimately goes deeper and speaks to our being ashamed of who we are by Nature. In more simple and concrete terms, we don't accept who we are. Our alienation from Nature is alienation from the Self. Not accepting who we are makes us vulnerable. We need the "Man" to rule over us. Thus, Adam (read corporations) rules over us! And we welcome it.

Is it time for a divorce, ladies? Do we truly need the Man's job markets for diminishing pay and benefits? Can we make our own way?

Another aspect to the "Fall" in the Book of Genesis entails the notion that because of Adam and Eve's eye opening experience, the couple was doomed to a life of servitude and hard labor. Thus we work for hours on end for the objectives of "Man" for diminishing pay and benefits. This is the fate of the labor class. All labor is the movement of the inner world into the external. Thus, I conceive this article. Conception is labor and is a feminine function. My writing is my labor. And the words enter into your eyes and you conceive a reaction. Thus, my labor is a part of a delicious and dizzy dance of yin and yang through which conception occurs at dizzying paces. This labor is not in pain. It's pretty joyful.

Yet, there is the pain of labor. "And ye shall labor in pain" is more than a curse on women in childbirth. It's a curse on all of us who work subservient to the now corporate masters. Perhaps its time we divorced the old Adam and gave birth to a new one? Or do we continue as such:


child labor: Taken from Yahoo stock images

Be you man/boy or woman/girl"it doesn't matter. This is a matter of the Psyche, i.e., the Mind or Soul. This is, ultimately, Eve. Who is master of our minds, our Souls, if not the educational system run by government and corporations to prepare us for diminishing pay and benefits? Is this picture what we want for future generations? Is the wasteland that you see in the picture above reflective of the wastelands of our minds?

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Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon. (more...)
 
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