The second lesson we learn from the story about the tree of knowledge of good and evil is that the mindset of knowledge of good and evil is the cause of the divisions in the world, and is the enemy of oneness and love. It doesn’t take long for us to see the effects of knowledge of good and evil in the world today. Religion, which is often the most prevalent and ostentatious definer of good and evil, is the cause of so much division (and even hatred) in the world.
What can you learn from this story about the tree of knowledge of good and evil? First, the tree is a symbol of how you perceive yourself and experience the world. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represents an illusionary unconscious perception in your mind. You view reality through the prism of good and evil, and therefore cannot perceive the union that you share with all.
Unaware of God, each person became the center of their own world, and just like that, selfishness was born. Whatever was good was now determined in the absence of awareness of love. Good became defined by the egoic conscience seared in guilt that sought to preserve its sense of self, and longed for recognition, approval, and significance by how it stood out from others.
The tree’s emphasis on knowledge of good and evil is deliberate. Gaining knowledge implies being able to learn something and store it in your memory. The word knowledge also meant to perceive, discriminate, judge, and to know by experience.
Out of nowhere there suddenly appears a talking serpent. The Hebrew etymology for serpent signifies twist or spin and stems from an onomatopoetic (coming soon to a spelling bee near you) word for hiss or whisper. It suggests a twisting, spinning, or moving whisper, and later became the word for enchanter.
According to the story about the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed their extraordinary union with God. While inhabiting distinct physical bodies, they must have perceived their oneness because their sensory perception was based on spirit rather than the physical elements. They were as one, naked and not ashamed because they enjoyed a blissful awareness of God (Love).
