The Spirit in All Things

Do you ever wonder what has spirit and what doesn't? Surprisingly as a spiritual person, I never consciously thought about it until some years ago. I've always recognized the aliveness of the natural world around me--it's easy to perceive that animals, plants, birds, insects, and trees have life. If they didn't, they'd die! And I've helped many a mosquito and house plant on their way into the hereafter, albeit the latter unintentionally. But what about stones, rivers, oceans, and stars? Are they alive, and do they possess a spirit or consciousness?

I believe they do. Many of us with beloved pets feel pretty sure our animals are picking up what we're putting down, and vice versa. And as my meditation and spiritual pactices have expanded over time, so have my beliefs around the intelligence and inspiritedness of the natural world. I feel a connection to the entire cosmos, and it was a centenarian Moreton Bay Fig tree that found my last home for me. My current one was confirmed by a large, squawky group of ravens in the trees overhead when I was speaking to the prospective landlord. "Yes, this is the one, pick this one!" was the clear message to me (and there has never been another raven gathering since I moved in). Without exception, when I am in need of a message from the universe, an emissary from the world of nature will arrive right on time.

Believing in the spirit of ALL beings isn't a new idea; in fact it's an ancient one, tens of thousands of years old. Early indigenous peoples were aware of and tuned in to the greater world of spirits; in fact, these were crucial, reciprocal relationships that ensured their survival. It was the world of Western science and organized religions that, when it came along, discouraged this connection between humans and the larger world around us. For a long time such beliefs went underground in the mainstream of modern Western culture, but they never really went away. If they took time to think about it, I believe most people would acknowledge not only some belief in the world of spirit beyond humans, but an emotional connection to at least some of them as well.

As a doctoral student in transpersonal psychology pursuing a sub-concentration in ecopsychology, I study and think a lot about our human relationship with the natural world. Right now I'm exploring ecologically conscious communities and what I might imagine an ideal one to look like. Tbh, I'm struggling with the topic. There are more than 1000 ecovillages across the globe, and they seem to be doing good work seeding the consciousness of a sustainable lifestyle. But they're not perfect, and they're all small in the big picture of 8+ billion people on the planet. What I wrestle with is how to take those critical sustainability concepts and apply them more broadly in order to effect enough positive change to save Gaia and ourselves. I can't help but think that if people tuned in more consciously to the spirit of the natural world, their empathy would expand, and they'd choose differently, at least some of the time. I know I interact differently with nature since I started perceiving everything to have a spirit (and it does the same with me). Believe it or not, I'm even trying to give mosquitos a pass.