The Tree of Life in Genesis Was a Magic Mushroom
This episode has been used to illustrate the consequences of disobedience, the dangers involved in intellectual inquiry, and even the inherent evil of women (since it was the woman who first ate from the Tree of Knowledge). These are absurd interpretations based on willful misrepresentations. Kabbalah - the Jewish mystical tradition - fills in important gaps left in the written text so we can decipher it correctly. The rabbis explain that the “sin” of the first humans was not that they ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Rather, it was that they ate from the Tree of Knowledge before eating from the Tree of Life.[1] They explain that God wants us to investigate, probe, experiment, and understand the world around us but always with the spirit of humility, which is the essence of the fruit growing from the Tree of Life. From this perspective, the true meaning of the story is that knowledge without humility brings death to the world.
I believe this misreading of the Genesis creation myth has: 1) created an artificial dichotomy between religion and science, which has led to tragedies ranging from the imprisonment and death of Galileo to the current anti-science movement; 2) perpetuated a misogynistic worldview that demonizes women and attempts to keep them dis-empowered; and 3) fostered a “dominator” culture that seeks to exploit the natural world for the acquisition of obscene amounts of wealth.[2] It is vital that we correct misconceptions related to this creation story and publicize the biblical imperative to integrate humility into the pursuit of knowledge, which would naturally lead to (among other things) an increased sense of responsibility and stewardship. To do this, let’s explore what humility means in this context and then discuss how it might be effectively combined with science.
First, humility starts with the recognition that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. This aligns with the Gaia Principle that says the planet is one gigantic and integrated system with organic and inorganic elements interfacing to create a unified, living entity. We are never alone because there is a vast web of interconnections that frames our existence. Therefore, our decisions reverberate throughout all of creation. This idea was visualized thousands of years ago by the classic Taoist paintings that portray rivers flowing from mountains shrouded in clouds, moving through vegetation and mist, past a tiny person fishing, and then out the bottom of the canvasses. According to ancient Chinese tradition, we are a very small part of a universal, life-affirming stream called Tao, and things go well if we live in harmony with this flow, but disruption, chaos, and hurt arise when we push against the flow and attempt to dam up and redirect the Tao for our own selfish purposes.
Second, as the name of the Tree implies, humility is gained through the art of truly living. It comes from completely diving into life, putting ourselves out there, making mistakes, looking foolish, loving, losing love, getting hurt, getting dirty, getting clean, exploring, creating, learning, and forgetting. Living is an immersive experience that involves and engages all the senses. It includes the antiseptic air of the laboratory and the swill of the mud-hole. It is not aloof. It’s about discovering and applying concepts. It’s about peeling off old paradigms and gracefully slipping into more effective ones. Humility is about going to bed at the end of each day knowing we haven’t nearly plumbed the depths of anything yet – and looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow, celebrating how truly small we are and how much more there is to discover.
Finally, humility is about answering the question raised by Robert Macfarlane in his book, Underland – “Are we being good ancestors?”[3] Are we thinking several, hundreds, or even thousands of generations into the future or are we only thinking about ourselves? We are not divorced from those living in a future deep time in the same way we are not disconnected from those living on the other side of the planet, or the other side of the universe. Interestingly, the notion of quantum entanglement captures this dynamic nicely. Quantum mechanics teaches that two particles (e.g., photons) once entangled will always be connected regardless of the distance between them. Change in one instantly creates change in the other. It is what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.” And anything that spooked Einstein should probably give us pause too. Ultimately, it means we are not only responsible for the space around us, but also for the time in front of us.
This returns us to the original question: How should humility be integrated into the scientific process? More to the point, how can we direct the pursuit of knowledge in a way that flows with the Tao, activates our full participation in the moment, and replaces the compulsion for exploitation with the spirit of stewardship? The answer: Slowly, one encounter and one person at a time, weaving points of view and disciplines together in a way that balances the dispassionate distance of the observer with the active participation of the seeker and fosters a sense of responsibility to those not yet born.
First, we must address the stance, attitudes, and behavior of the investigator him or herself. I think it’s reasonable to ask whether the scientist, or any pursuer of knowledge, is fully committed to the art of living or are they trapped in narrow, constricted ways of engaging with the world around them. Is there a cello leaning against the lab table? Are carabiners and climbing ropes stashed under the lectern? Is Slam Poetry Night on the social calendar? Quantum physics has shown us experimentally that no object or process exists in and of itself. Rather, what is perceived is a concrescence of many possibilities into a final state through the interface with an observer, and I believe that, "who the observer is," makes a difference. Meaning, that what the person sees in that moment, and the conclusions he or she draws from the observation, will depend on what they bring to the experience. Therefore, any curriculum or course of study that is designed to prepare an individual to conduct research, or engage in any field of science, should also include instruction on how to live fully and provide opportunities for personal exploration and growth.
The second pathway is probably harder. How do we instill a sense of responsibility for a person we’ve never met (or hasn’t even been born yet) and a place we’ve never visited (and likely never will)? We feel responsibility for what we love, and we love what we know. The Hebrew term for the Tree of Knowledge is Eitz ha-Da’at. At the surface, da’at means knowledge, but more deeply, it means connection and melding into one entity. It is the Hebrew term used for sexual intimacy when two flesh become one. Intellectual inquiry must involve a melding with the subject in a way that transcends physical distinctions and divisions, joining the observer with the observed. We must take on the roles of both the lover and the loved. Intellectual seekers must attain entanglement with everything in existence, not just what’s in their personal spheres of perception. It means, sooner or later, letting go and allowing oneself to merge with the experience; dropping the role of the impartial observer and plunging into the immersive, overwhelming sense of wonder that accompanies true discovery. And then coming back out the other side as the "scientist" again.
But what about magic mushrooms? What have they got to do with all of this?
God knew that self-awareness would bring death to humans because self-awareness had already brought the taste of death to God. Kabbalah teaches that before the world was created, there was only Oneness - an undifferentiated unity. Dimension was not yet even a concept. There was no big vs. small; light vs. dark, narrow vs. wide, etc. But then for a reason (and in a way) we are literally unable to comprehend, God Almighty decided to formed a space "fenced-off" from this crushing unity that would allow for the creation of a world apart, with dimensions. The creation of our multi-faceted world during the Six Days of Creation proceeded within this sphere. Now, there existed a "God of a created world" and a "God of the encompassing infinity." But it was still only one God, and while this God was busy in the created sphere, this God was also fully connected to the encompassing infinity - and vice versa. But this God knew that humans would not have this inherent connection between these realities so an antidote that fostered a link was needed - the Tree of Life.
This Tree of Life had to provide a direct pathway to the wider, unified Oneness that is the context (and true reality) of our created world and the psilocybin molecule provides this connection every time one consumes it. I believe God provided the antidote in the form of the magic mushroom. There is not a more powerful and positive homage to the Tree of Life than to identify it as the psilocybin molecule. The psychedelic experience provides an experience of eternity by connecting us to the unknowable, encompassing field outside of created existence. It shows that life does not stop at the borders of our bodies and minds - or even at the edge of the physical universe; that it even continues past the death event. This experience imbues our activities with deeper, more meaningful purpose that transcends the grasping, ape-like brutality that often characterizes our behavior.
How do we persuade a worldwide, human population of about 8 billion to benefit from this largesse, thus breaking free of the destructive cycle of death? The simple answer is, we can’t. We can’t force this down people’s throats. That would just be a big ego trip. And not everyone is going to want it anyway. First, there is a group of people who greatly benefit from how the world currently operates and are not that interested in changing its parameters. They feel they have nothing to gain by changing the situation. Second, there are folks who are so sunk in the coarseness of their thinking and behavior they will never realize a desire to break free from it. As the saying goes, “The unrefined person cannot recognize his or her own coarseness.” But since Gordon and Valentina Wasson brought back reports of a fungal sacrament taken by native peoples in Mexico in 1957, the notion of using a mushroom as a vehicle for spiritual and medicinal exploration has slowly gained traction, until today, we have ongoing research into its positive effects and governments are starting to decriminalize (and even legalize) “magic” mushrooms.
Those native peoples in Mexico obviously heard God's message about the Tree of Life loud and clear - and remembered it.
[1] Schneersohn, Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber, The Tree of Life, Brooklyn, NY, Sichos in English, 1998, p. 65
[2] Partnership 101, Eisler, Riane, https://rianeeisler.com/partnership-101/
[3] MacFarland, Robert, Underland, New York/London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.
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