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.