Aminism

[*oonagh*]

is animism part of the shaman's path? i know *nothing* about this and am quite curious.
thank you <g>.

[Shanti]

Animism can be part of any path!
I am an atheist but also an animist and animatist. :toofless:
I believe 'everything' may have spirit and all has non physical energies.

All an animist means is that you believe there is 'more to the physical than its physical state', thats it. Oh not counting humans! Animism pertains to things or beings non-human. :)

It can mean you believe animals have a spirit or an essence of energy.
It can mean rocks have spirit or an energy!

Its very flexible.

Many people have animistic/animatistic beliefs and dont even know it!:toofless:

[BearDancing]

:boing:wahoot....great answer Shanti..........

[*oonagh*]

ahhh...okay.

but, humans are different?
and, non-energy? doesn't everything have energy?

[Shanti]

ahhh...okay.

but, humans are different?
and, non-energy? doesn't everything have energy?
Humans are excluded from the defining of animism. If you believe humans are more than there physical make up, thats not animism or animatism.
But if you believe your dog is more than just its physical make up, thats animism or animatism.

As to what that more than the physical is, thats for you to define.

Here is animism and animatism in more detail. Both are a philosophy. Neither are a religion. But either can fit into almost any religious belief system.

There are two styles of belief in animism:
One) A belief that natural objects are inhabited by spirits.
Each rock, tree, and cloud may have its own unique spirit. Individuality in spirit as well as in the material world.

Two) All things in nature may be thought of as having the same spirit. The belief here is a ‘part of the whole’ ideals. All are a part of one divine entity. This version of animism was characteristic of many Native American cultures.

In both forms of animism, the spirits are thought of as having identifiable personalities and other characteristics such as gender. A belief in a powerful, mature, or protective, personality. The spirits may be benevolent, malevolent, or neutral. They can be lovable, terrifying, or even mischievous. They can interact with humans and can be pleased or irritated by human actions. As such, people must be concerned about them and will likely try to avoid displeasing them.
"Mother nature" is an example of giving a persona to the concept of nature spirit/s.


The second is Animatism:

It is a belief in a non physical essence or force or power or whatever you want to call it. For those who hold this belief, the power is usually impersonal, unseen, and potentially everywhere. It is neither good nor evil, but it is powerful and dangerous if misused. It is something like electricity or "the force" in the Star Wars movies. This Star wars analogy is commonly used to describe this force, so don’t laugh at me for using it because I already did that!!

Among the Polynesian cultures of the Southern Pacific Ocean, this power is called "mana". For them it is a force that is in all objects, plants, and animals (including people) . Some things or people have more of it than others and can be potentially dangerous. For example, a chief may have so much of it that he must be carried around all of the time. If he were to walk on the ground, some residual amounts of his mana may remain in his footprints to harm ordinary people if they later stepped on them. Volcanoes were thought to have varying amounts of mana and thus they had different levels of the threat as to their ability to destroy.



Both….
Animatism and Animism may seem to be the same thing. In fact both beliefs are often found in the same culture. You can even have the two beliefs combined in one object. To some people, a tree may have a individual spirit and also hold a impersonal force.

[*oonagh*]

fascinating! thank you.

[Shanti]

fascinating! thank you.
Your welcome. Now that I am awake, my brain is working much better. :smile:

[BearDancing]

Shanti, awake or sleepy your brain always seems to be working at its peak... or better than most may i say............:uhhuhuh:

[Voluspa]

I disagree that humans are excluded from animistic belief. Humans are animals, and just as natural as any dog or tree. You are right in saying that many people have animistic beliefs without realizing it, however. Even Christians have animistic beliefs. The belief in the soul, angels and demons are all animistic in origin.

[Shanti]

I disagree that humans are excluded from animistic belief. Humans are animals, and just as natural as any dog or tree. You are right in saying that many people have animistic beliefs without realizing it, however. Even Christians have animistic beliefs. The belief in the soul, angels and demons are all animistic in origin.
Its philosophical science that has excluded humans from the definitions, not me. :weirdsmil

I have no prob accepting that we are just animals and nothing different or special from all the other animals out there. :smile:

[Voluspa]

Well if you're saying that believing in a human spirit doesn't make you an animist, then I agree with you. I'm simply saying that human spirits are included in animism.

[green aventurine]

:boing:wahoot....great answer Shanti..........

I agree, I found your posts very helpful, Shanti, especially to clarify my own thoughts. I was wondering if there was anybody on this site that was into the kind of things I was and thought in the way I did. I also liked your new thread on the non-theistic forum.