My Notes: Animism - Assessing The Spirit Of All Things
I've recently started taking a few courses on Druidry and I thought I would start posting my notes on the blog.
Assessing the spirit of all things is a practice in animism that involves looking beyond the physical form to understand the essential essence of an object, place, creature, or even a societal movement. Rather than seeing a world of "mundane" objects, this practice invites a "way of thinking" that recognizes everything as being part of a spiritual community.
Assessing the spirit of all things involves the following dimensions:
1. Understanding the Essential Essence
Assessing spirit means investigating the "soul" or core nature of what we encounter. This includes:
Natural Entities: Assigning spirit to flora, fauna, and places to better revere, celebrate, and protect them.
Human Creations: Evaluating the essence of music, literature, and art.
Societal Shifts: Looking at the "spirits of our time" (or zeitgeist), such as the "industrial revolution," the "artificial intelligence-age," or the "adverse climate-age".
2. Determining Ethical Value
A primary reason for assessing the spirit of things is to determine the good or harm they may cause. By analyzing the essence of a situation or technology, you can ask ethical questions, such as:
How "good or bad" is this thing, and for how many people or natural entities?
Does it enhance or hinder the ability to live a flourishing life?
What duties or responsibilities are assigned to us in response to these things?
3. Informing Proportional Action
The ultimate goal of this assessment is to enable a person to "re-act and pro-act to them properly and proportionately". This process helps a person:
Refine their own soul by making more rational and authentic responses to the world.
Align their behavior with the concept of honour, which involves lifelong growth and adjusting habits based on deeper consciousness and connection.
Avoid acting in "bad faith" and instead build an essence of life rooted in truth.
4. Deepening Focus and Focus on Relationship
Assessing spirit is a tool to bring deepening focus to our thoughts. It moves the practitioner away from the "cult of the individual" toward a rapport with the "Earth Community," recognizing that human life is not the "chief seat of life on Earth".
Assessing the spirit of things is like evaluating the "vibe" of a room or the underlying intent of a conversation; it requires looking past the surface level to understand the true nature of what is being presented so you can respond with wisdom and integrity.
