The Garden of Eden is a symbol of life the way God intended it to be. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve knew who they were in God. They were aware of their belovedness which was their original blessing. Their belovedness was enough in the Garden of Eden. They did not need anything else. This is why they were content in Eden, in harmony with God, themselves, one another and nature.
When Adam and Eve refused to accept their status as God’s beloved creation they expelled themselves from the Garden of Eden. This led to the development of the false self. The false self came into existence after the fall. It was created when the original blessing of Adam and Eve was contaminated by original sin. The false self is Adam and Eve trying to survive outside the Garden. And very quickly they discover that they can’t! When Adam and Eve put themselves outside the garden they lost the experience of their belovedness, their original blessing. Their original blessing created their true selves; their original sin created their false selves.
Like Adam and Eve we too struggle to survive outside the Garden of Eden. Our false self has us look for happiness in the wrong places, the wrong things and the wrong relationships. Because of the false self we overly invest in accumulation, achievement and the need for approval. This investment is the main reason why many of us end up exhausted, dissatisfied and with a battered self-esteem. If we have any hope of finding some of the harmony which existed in the Garden of Eden we need to claim our belovedness, our original blessing.
Claiming our belovedness involves the acceptance of unconditional love. We need to find a way of accepting the truth that we are loved and lovable as we are. Accepting the truth that we are loved and lovable as we are, leads to deeper self-acceptance and a release from the pressure to accumulate, achieve and be attractive.
More and more people are turning to some form of contemplative practice to help them claim their belovedness. Contemplative practice is a form of prayer that allows us to receive, to be, to let ourselves be loved, to accept the gift that has already been given to us. It requires us to make some time for silence. In silence we are able to hear the still small voice within us. This voice assures us that we belong to God and that God is pleased with us as we are. This is why silence can be a homecoming to our own deepest belonging. It certainly helps to bring us back to the Garden of Eden!