See God        (face to face)

     The idea of God dictating in language is as unlikely as the idea that the sun might come down and light the candles on your birthday cake. There are two facts that make language a breakthrough technology for our kind (primates). First, symbols such as words are both useful and necessary for the teaching, learning, and application of the skills and knowledge that our species acquires; secondly, these organisms that we reside in remember far better than they see. The phenomenon we would call God, does not share our limitations or needs. God is direct. God does not work with symbols. That is our primitive, albeit highly effective, way of doing things.

     When our ancestors wrote about our losing our place in Eden because we had acquired knowledge of good and evil, they almost got it right, but not quite. It was the acquisition of knowledge of all kinds that resulted in our loss of innocence. Our memories or knowledge, both individual and societal, gave us the ability to think, form language, and as a result take the long, hard road out of Eden. We weren't kicked out, we thought our way into a different kind of existence. We learned to identify, attribute meaning, discover predictable patterns, create strategies for security, comfort and survival, and away we went. We abandoned the beautiful Rift Valley and colonized the planet. We traded stillness and awareness for knowledge and thought.

     The good news is that each and every one of us can choose this paradise experience at any time. We have the ability to liberate our awareness from our endless chain of thoughts and the knowledge that produces it. We can instantly be free of all fear and desire. We can experience the incredible lightness and love that are lost in the tumult of our consciousness, and we can be irradiated by the brilliance and infinite perfection of the phenomenon we call God. We only need to be perfectly still, free from emotional residue and thought, and buoyant in our goodness and joy. This is how each of us can return to Eden.

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