Animism as Foundation for Spirituality

The remarkable thing about the Sumerian text for the Person of theWAY is not only its antiquity, but also how it reveals the ancients’ understanding of Wisdom and their cosmology that surpassed primeval Animism.

Wayism is very much rooted in the higher-energy philosophy and mystical aspects of Animism. The concept of the Energy Ecology of our existence, is of primary importance.

It is amazing that humans knew, already more than 5,000 years ago, that everything is energy. All living beings have souls, and souls have minds, and all beings are interconnected by the flow of energies we all share.

We consider Energy Ecology and some other aspects of ancient Animism as the primeval spirituality of Butterfly Path and teachings of theWAY. We believe that anyone today who follows the true, basic (unelaborated) principles of Animism is on the advanced spiritual Path toward evolving their soul into a spiritual being, as per the ideals of Butterfly Path.

Animism, as the most ancient religion and worldview of humans since our founding, did, of course, morph into interesting and colorful religions and strange ideas (which we ignore). But its basic principles are the foundations upon which all spirituality was built.

Animism encompasses beliefs that all material phenomena have agency. Because all that exists are Energy structures, there is no clear-cut distinction between the soul, spiritual and physical worlds.

However, there are clearly three distinct types of energy: material energy, soul energy, and spirit energy.

Animism believes that soul, spirit, and mind energies exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, and large structures or natural bodies.

Animism, with its belief in the inherent spiritual essence of all things, serves as a fundamental cornerstone of human history and ancient spiritual practices. However, modern religions had distanced themselves from it, and in our perspective, they had also sacrificed their soul in the process.

Let’s briefly examine the fundamental beliefs that underpin Animism.

We firmly believe that Wayism and our mysticism are deeply connected to this timeless wisdom, recognizing that everything is made up of energy, and that this energy is vibrant and interconnected, encompassing the entire fabric of creation. This brief tour through Animism will add to the student’s understanding of how profound the ancient text of Sumer is, even though it is only a few cryptic lines.

We always knew that Animism is the primordial spirituality which recognizes the presence of a living soul in all beings, animate and inanimate. It is the oldest form of religious expression, dating back to the upper Paleolithic era, and it is still practiced by many indigenous cultures around the world.

Animism is based on the idea that everything in nature has a soul, and that humans can communicate with them through rituals, offerings, prayers, and dreams. In animism, the interconnectedness, and interdependence of all life forms are respected, fostering harmony and balance with the natural environment.

Animism is also the origin of all mystical paths. It is the awe-inspiring knowing that all living beings have indwelling souls and have soul-energy bonds with one another, us included. It is also the reverence that all energy beings have a right to exist — we are not their superiors, but their kin.

We are interdependent on the energy ecology which we inhabit. We share and honor, we celebrate and cherish, and we thrive by the grace of the living community on Earth.

To understand and converse with other energy entities, in our minds, we endow them human-like traits; we anthropomorphize them, and that enriches the relationship. The concept makes its way also in how we speak, saying deities, plants, and animals are people too.

We are here as servants to nature. We are part of nature. Like all living beings, we are all here to enjoy and benefit from nature, of which we are a small part.

However, we must know that junior souls on the Path have the capacity to hurt the parts of nature that other beings rely on, and we have a responsibility to guard against our own powers of destruction. For example, in modern times, we destroy the soil, water and air, and we wage chemical warfare against other beings, and the price we pay is the loss of our soul and our microbiome, which results in health problems and general madness — it is instant karma.

Animism is a worldview that recognizes the existence of souls in all living things, from plants and animals to rocks and rivers. Animists believe these souls are part of a cosmic cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, known as samsara. According to this view, eating is not a violation of the sacredness of life, but a way of participating in the natural flow of energy and matter. We all eat one another’s body and their souls rejoin the samsara cycle, but we do it with respect, gratitude, and consideration.

While in the incarnate state as souls, we live with the indignity of having to kill to eat. We favor eating the young (baby plants and soft meat) and the reproductive organs (flowers and seeds). Nothing of what we eat, but butter, honey, and synthetic petrochemical food, were not alive as entities with soul, before. That is normal. It is what it is.

When we eat, we free the souls of the beings whom we consume from their physical forms, and allow them to continue their journey in the cycle of samsara. Therefore, Wayists eat with respect and gratitude. Respect and gratitude is also why we return food waste to nature, to maintain the balance and harmony of the ecosystem. Wayists also respect the autonomy and rights of all living beings, and do not harm them or exploit them for more than an animalistic survival of our organic body.

Animism and Mysticism are two related but distinct spiritual traditions. Animism is the belief that all living entities have a soul (which junior soul writers confuse with spirit), and that they can communicate with us, and all souls come from the divine source of Soul Energy Domain. Animists typically follow a soul-mysticism in that they strive to a direct and personal experience of souls in nature. They will use observation and meditation, but also natural entheogenic chemicals to help their brain-mind and soul-mind connect with souls in plants and animals. Junior students on the Path may confuse the soul entities in nature with spirits. They tend to use the words soul and spirit as if they are interchangeable, as if they mean the same thing.

The Wayist is on a spiritual path — in pursuit of attuning to spiritual beings and evolving our soul into an immortal spiritual being. On Earth, spiritual beings do not live in plants or animals other than in humans, because those bodies (plants and animals) are the domain of soul beings.

Ours is Spiritual Mysticism, pursuing a direct and personal experience of the spiritual divine through attuning our energies to that of our Tara or divine guide, sometimes using meditation, prayer, or contemplation to accomplish the goal.

We see in animism a foundation for Soul Mysticism which will lead to Spirit Mysticism, because it fosters a sense of connection and reverence for all living beings; we are all energy beings. Some Animists may focus more on the rituals and practices that honor the souls of nature, while Wayist mystics seek a transcendent state that goes beyond the Material Energy Domain and the energies of Soul Domain — we seek to connect and become one with energies of Spirit Energy Domain.

Wayism is the natural next level refinement of Animism in the sense that it adds the Spiritual element which Animism did not have. That which modern writers of Animism refer to as soul or spirit as if it is synonymous, is a symptom of how junior souls on the Path understand life. They think of life as soul beings, as if all the universe is all about their world, their fears, and survival, and their emotions and personal needs, and their ability to control, manage, and advance their happiness on earth. Many seek mind blowing visions or changed brain-mind chemistry to experience calm. And that is exactly how it must be, and it is good for junior students on the Path.

Most religions serve soul needs. They cast their ideas, their God, and their path in soul terms. Their gods are like them, only more powerful — they are tribalistic, power-seeking, needful of being worshipped, capable of violence and promising to annihilate all nations who do not accept the believers as the rulers of Earth.

Wayism is the understanding that, rooted in animist foundations, the purpose of human life is to sanctify (make spiritual) the human soul, so it can evolve into a transcendent spiritual being in the Domain of Spirit Energies. We are here to learn to be like our spirit-deities: beneficent, helpful, compassionate, simple, and humble. We, too, will be exceptionally powerful energy workers and healers. Like our deities, and God the Father and God the Mother of our Heaven, we too will be beneficent by nature, incapable of inflicting harm or violence.