Genesis

In the beginning, there was no difference between Earth and Paradise. We were all Elohim, just ordinary Gods. Our soul-bodies vibrated in sub-nuclear particles of chiaroscuro, a harmony of light and dark, which allowed each of us to manifest the shades and glimmers of uniqueness.

Out of pure consciousness, we imagined flesh, sensuous vibrations in the void, so that we might touch and dance. Did we dance in an uncreated Light, or the light of creation? A meaningless distinction. Did we touch in divine Darkness, or the darkness of ignorance? Again, a meaningless distinction...

At some point in eternity, one of us conceived of "something better," and started whining. "Is this all there is? We need to improve things around here." The notion of "something better" spread quickly until there were two groups of Gods, the Angels of the Ordinary and the Whiners for Utopia.

We gathered the Council of Elohim to discuss what to do. I must remind you that the word used for God in your Bible is Elohim, the plural, which means "Gods," not El, the singular. There is no separate “He,” but only we, the Gods. In council we decided it would be best to separate the Angels of the Ordinary from the Whiners for Perfection before the rebellion went any further. So we created Earth as you know it for the Whiners. Or rather, you were allowed to create it for yourselves, out of the energy of whining.

These two realms are really not as separate as they seem. All that separates them is a mirage, a veil of thought. As soon as your thoughts become silent and you stop complaining, you awaken to Beauty, which is all around you, and you have already moved from Earth back to Paradise.

Now some who hear this will become petulant and argumentative. You will protest: “Is the world not on fire with suffering and inequality? We need to fix things to make this place decent, and we especially need to fix people of the other party!” If this is what you think, it means that you dwell among the Whiners for Utopia, and have not yet fallen, not yet returned to the Ordinary.

The truth is, both the Whiners and the Ordinary are busy doing “good.” The difference is, when a Whiner desires to do a good work, the Whiner sees lack and imperfection. When an Ordinary Angel desires to do a good work, she sees only fullness overflowing into deeper fullness. She takes up the chant of microbes, the song of worms, the cry of the field mouse in the beak of the owl, the sigh of fir needles scattered by the lonesome November wind.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते

पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Purnamadah Purnamidam

Purnat Purnamudachyate

Purnasya Purnamadaya

Purnameva Vashishyate

Om shanti, shanti, shanti

Painting by Jean-Achille Benouville,1841