Eden

Interior of Iroquois Long House

A benighted group of religious fanatics are searching for the true Eden of the Bible. I cannot imagine what this would serve, but I do not suffer from that particular brand of insanity. Those who cannot stop obsessing on a preposterously perfect heterosexual world of one necessarily monogamous couple are still working out childhood trauma in my opinion.

I have been rereading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. It can be read for free on line, despite attempts by publishers to prevent this. The book is required reading for any resident of the United States who wants to be mindful of the broader truth of the formation of the country.

Zinn's research on native cultures in the Americas should satisfy the avid Eden-seeker, with the possible exception of the Eurocentric Mormon. The Eden of the undiscovered Americas was widely peopled by communal folks who were progressing into nonviolent, agrarian societies, grounded in deep ecological traditions and practical awareness. The snake in the tree of this Eden was a composite of European explorers, who raped and pillaged this Eden into the shape of Roman Catholic, diseased and warring Europe.

I suggest the Eden seekers put away their archaeological tools and simply practice their passion. I suggest they strip down and get earthy. I suggest they curl up together in a large group inside a long house or a wigwam. Rather than trying to look for the external Eden, I suggest they look for the lost Eden within their own bodies and minds. If they can get there, they may discover healing love, peace and liberation.