“Their Eyes Were Watching God”
Spiritual awakening is the process of recognizing our essential goodness, our natural wisdom and compassion. In stark contrast to this trust in our inherent worth, our culture’s guiding myth is the story of Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden. We may forget its power because it seems so worn and familiar, but this story shapes and reflects the deep psyche of the West. The message of “original sin” is unequivocal: Because of our basically flawed nature, we do not deserve to be happy, loved by others, at ease with life. We are outcasts, and if we are to reenter the garden, we must redeem our sinful selves. We must overcome our flaws by controlling our bodies, controlling our emotions, controlling our natural surroundings, controlling other people. And we must strive tirelessly—working, acquiring, consuming, achieving, e-mailing, overcommitting and rushing—in a never-ending quest to prove ourselves once and for all…. Feeling that something is wrong with me is the invisible and toxic gas I am always breathing.
-Tara Brach, PhD Radical Acceptance
Photo Credit: Goblin State Park Hoodoos
http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/goblin_valley/goblins4_l.html
Spirituality Without Borders: Reflections on Spiritual Practice 
I agree wholeheartedly with Tara Brach. As a woman of African decent, I believe the original sin was the belief we were “sinful,” separated from our creator. Being a descendant from Africa, from a black woman, it seems we (Blacks) women have taken the blame of the so called “original sin,” and it has followed us, and our children. I will not accept this anymore, and I accept my original goodness.
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I am very grateful to you for engaging with this, Diana. It’s good to be with you here.
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