Sometimes the "unmoved mover" in me sits back and notices patterns in my life and the lives around me. Yesterday it hit me again: We humans seem to be addicted to drama and pain. Why do we perpetuate the cycle of pain?

I don't believe that we humans have to learn though pain. I think we chose it. That's what that whole Adam & Eve & the apple thing was about. The "fall of man" was a conscious (or not-so-conscious), human choice.

I grew up in a culture that taught that the fall of Adam made me "less-than", that up until that point, God and man were really good friends. But when Adam and Eve sinned against God, then the whole concept of punishment happened.

We learned that we had to be punished for our sins. We became naughty, bad, sinful.

If it is the case, as I believe, that Bible stories are not only historical but are also metaphors for our lives here in the 21st century, then what does that mean? Am I still being "punished" for Eve's "sin," thousands of years later?

Whenever I hear the word "sin," I think of the French word "sin" which means "without." To me, "sin" is the ridiculous idea that we are without God, or separated from God, in any moment. To "sin" is to act in a way that suggests that I am separate from God.

How could I sin against my brother if we are truly one? I can't. How can I sin against God if we are truly one? It's impossible.

When Jesus of Nazareth came and said that he was here to save us from sin, what he meant was that he was here to dispel the idea that we could EVER be separate from God.

So what about "original sin?" I think that Adam and Eve set the human race on a course of consciousness evolution. I think that Adam and Eve had an agreement with God that this would happen and that by "sinning", they were fulfilling their mission.

Adam created a point of departure for the human race. For thousands of years, we would attempt to return to the garden. Billions of people would live their lives in order to create this moment for you and for me to recognize the Truth:

The garden is here, waiting to be recognized for what it is. God is here, waiting to be recognized for what It is. The I Am is here, waiting to be recognized for Who and What It Is.

Jesus, Buddha, and others recognized, actualized the Truth of thier Being.

Now it's your turn and mine.