The inner child and “tree of life” have always fascinated me in one way or the other. These two symbols are very enigmatic and mysterious. These two symbols touch my psyche and imagination time and again. Every time I had dived deep into the meaning of these symbols, I have found something very satisfying and peculiar to me. Their interpretation had always awarded me. For me these symbols are means to relate to life. What a life if it is not related to? Relatedness and connected is the eternal urge of man. My inner sense and urge says me that
these are only ways or symbols by which meaningful relationship with life and “unknown” can be achievedPersonality archetype
Every person has its own way or style finding meaning in life or being related to life. Some relate to life through nature, some through beauty, some through music, some through literature, some through mythology, some through love and some through lust and sex, some through drugging, addiction and alcoholism. Every person finds his own relatedness in life by uninterrupted flow of libido or archetype pattern of behavior. The ways by which we enquire and find relatedness in universe is in fact our archetype. The archetype by means of which, we try to establish meaningfulness and relatedness with our surrounding, society and Mother Nature. That is the in fact dominant archetype of our psyche. That archetype is trying to find its way through our personality. Our future potentialities lay hidden and latent in that. Our personalities are shaped by our dominant archetypes. It is just like the collected water of rain on a mountain that is finding its way into the valley or the embryo of the seed seeking its fulfillment of being tree.
Child and tree archetypes
The child and tree are two eternal archetypes. There are many similarities between archetypes of inner child and Adam and Eve. Both archetypes represent the nakedness, the naivness, innocence and beauty of life and nature. Both characterize spontaneity of nature and life. What is naked is innocent and what is innocent is beautiful. What is beautiful is nakedness. Nature is naked it does not clothes or covers itself. It has no shame to cover up. It is we that cover the nakedness of nature. Nakedness is no problem for inner child and Mother Nature. Nakedness was no problem for Adam and Eve before eating fruit from tree of knowledge and evil The Adam and Eve used to stroll in Garden of Eden in naked state and totally oblivious to gender of each other. They were simply persons not male and female. There was no awareness whether one is female or male. God was willing and pleased to see them naked. Even today Nakedness is no problem with God. Nakedness is problem for the modern masquerading man that has covered this nakedness and manipulated this nakedness in a very beguile manner. Nakedness was problem only with Adam and eve after eating “forbidden fruits” from “Tree of knowledge of good and evil”. It was the knowledge of “Tree of knowledge of good and evil” or
the consciousness of gender of each other that filled the hearts of Adam and Eve with guilt and shamefaced shamefulness.When Adam and Eve were childlike there was no shame or guilt feeling in them. Innocence was playing on their faces. When they attained the knowledge of good and evil nature of things, the shame and guilt crept in their minds. Duality is birth of ego. Duality is birth of life. Duality is knowledge of self. Duality or polarity is foundation of human life. What is duality? Duality is a sense of a different self or identity/ personality from God. God has forbid Adam and eve to eat the fruits of “Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil”. Serpent, the symbolic representation of the eternal irresistible urge or libido allured/duped and seduced Eve to eat the fruits. This was to happen at maturity and even this happens when girl and boy attain adolescence age. The Satan or serpent was to beguile Eve sooner or later.
The woman/ Eve were caught in the net of wiles of manipulative, meanness and wickedness of snake. By deception snake seduced the Eve making her blind with his spell of seductiveness. The snake seduced Eve to be immortal like tree of life Almighty. Eve in turn seduced man to eat the same sweet fruit. Thus both Adam and Eve were exiled from Garden of Eden for disobeying the commands of God.
Nakedness
The most natural and enigmatic thing on earth is nakedness. Nakedness is part of the mother nature of the inner child and Tree of life. The only difference is that Man is conscious of nakedness but inner child or Adam and Eve were not conscious of the nakedness. It is not shame for them. When nakedness is covered it becomes shame. It is shame for man who has covered this nakedness. The man is in constant danger and fear that what he has covered may be unnaked and unmasked at anytime and any moment. The fear of being naked constantly whirls in his mind.
It is very surprising that that The Adam and Eve only discovered their nakedness once they had eaten fruits from the “Tree of knowledge of good and evil” and in turn felt ashamed. Before the happening of this event they were neither ashamed nor shameful. The mythological story of Adam and Eve prior to their eating of forbidden fruits represent unity of life and nature and after eating fruits, the second phase of their life represent diversity of life and splitting of mind leading to psychosis and its subsequent diseases as beautifully said by R.D. laing,” life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent.”
