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Celtic Tree Of Life Tattoo
In Revelation the tree again appears in the middle of the garden (taking the entire Bible as a spiritual symbolic journey of self discovery and improvement (spiritual growth) - also called regeneration), which provides then that the leaves are for the healing (which is that the truths which can be understood) are able to be applied to one's spiritual life for the betterment of our character, if you will "healing" our innate selfish tendencies. It takes a whole cycle of self-discovery and rejection of our negative self, to see the tree of life back in the middle. The nature of the tree, or quality of the tree, is dependent on our inner state. It is described as the tree of life, when our will is focussed on what is good and true (spiritual truths or truths of faith), yet as the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when our will is focussed on mere natural memory knowledges and a 'seeing is believing' attitude. The result of us relying and living our life according to our own understanding is that, from that moment (the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) on, we are to rationally consider what to believe and filter with our natural understanding, rather than accepting what is good directly in our will, which was depicted of the Most Ancient people by Adam. Eve then represents a separate will being given to us, and the two (will and understanding) are separated. According to the doctrine of Swedenborgian's worldwide, belonging to various independent organisations, the first twelve chapters of Genesis are a symbolic retelling of ancient truths. In his large exegis Arcana Coelestia (see AC Potts), Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) expounds on the symbolism and underlying spiritual meaning of both Genesis and Exodus. The symbolism regarding the tree of life, according to Emanuel Swedenborg, reflects the perception of our mind (or spirit, which is the same thing according to Swedenborg's phylosophy). As the tree (perception) is in the midst of the garden (representing our mind), it represents that part of our mind, which is the will (or heart). Thus knowledge of good is absorbed by our will and immediately applied to life (in the case with the tree of life). A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist. The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. The concept can be broken down still further, with the Manifestation as the roots and trunk of the tree and his followers as the branches and leaves. The fruit produced by the tree nourishes an ever-advancing civilization. Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting to heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree. According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree. According to others, however, the tree of life concept is distinct from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, if only because eating from the latter leads to death and not life, and because it is mentioned in Genesis that there exists a distinct tree of life in the Garden of Eden (although humans are barred from entry to the Garden by the time it is mentioned). The Abrahamic religions are Semitic in origin, and not Indo-European- which might serve to explain the lack of a cosmological tree idea in any of them, as well as in most Semitic cultures. The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science (see tree of life (biology)), religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas. A tree of life is variously;
