Adam, the race of Man, could reach for either the Tree-of-Life, or the Tree-of-Knowledge,
with the former representing original creation, the past, and the latter symbolizing his earthly experience, his future. In times of fear, ordinary men still return to a desire for the Tree-of-Eternal-Life rather than face the hardships of pursuing their creative future via the Tree-of-Knowledge.
The two aspects of biological and psychological evolution are now reflected in contemporary notions of the conscious and unconscious, and in religion’s ideas of spiritual and carnal man. From this viewpoint the idea of man’s true essence refers not to a past state of biological crudeness, but to a future state of psychological refinement.
One possible description of the general basis from which one might act, in regards to the attempt to abandon all of the past, and push forever into the Future/Now, would be to say that one might become engaged in agreement without commitment.
Another aspect of this is in that ordinary men spend their lives attempting to come to grips with their induced maps, while those of the Work spend their living spending their lives. The willful agreement to the necessary flow, of all forces, while secretly committed to naught but one’s own Awakening.
The objective study of oneself within the Work is the unknown realization of a patient freely offering himself, symptoms and all, for the therapist’s consideration.
J.