Animism encompasses the beliefs that there is no separation between the spiritual and physical (or material) world, and that souls or spirits exist, not only in humans, but also in some other animals, plants, rocks, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, including thunder, wind, and shadows.
Before all the fake religions existed and holy scriptures were created Animism is what all humans believed in on the planet Earth. Most tribal people who don't have any contact with the rest of the world and haven't been lied to by missionaries always see the world through animism. Most children 0-4 years old look at the world through animism before they're programmed and brainwashed by their parents and schools. Native americans saw the world this way before they were killed and slaughtered by european idiots.
Why have we fallen for the con of religion? What happened? Where did we go so wrong? Animism is the only true way of life.
>>965312
>there is no separation between the spiritual and physical (or material) world
>souls or spirits exist
If there's no separation between these two things and places, then how is it they are regarded as identical?
You're right but for the wrong reason: the correct conclusion isn't animism but materialism.
>>965324
*aren't regarded
>>965312
>Native americans saw the world this way before they were killed and slaughtered by european idiots.
actually they killed themselves far more and mostly died off from disease and alcoholism but nice try
>>965324
the spiritual world is hidden, therefore there is the illusion of separation
>>965342
>disease and alcoholism
>not caused by europeans
??
>>965354
>the spiritual world is hidden
How is this difference from "being separated"?
>>965367
It becomes hidden with age. Most children see into the spirit world and sense the magic in everything until he/she becomes traumatized by certain experiences, grows up, gets educated, etc. and eventually forget how to connect with it. The mindset of a child, the openness, willingness, excitement, lack of fear, and playfulness is what we all should be trying to achieve. It's what most teenagers/adults are missing.
I came from the Hinduism thread. I have a contribution from another religious/philosophical tradition in Neoplatonism.
Neoplatonism believes that the universe is a living being, and a god, possessing a soul (and intelligence). Also all the planets and stars. I'm not sure about inanimate objects such as stones but Proclus sure believed that divine influences reached as far as the extremities of matter, leaving no vaccuum, according to the saying of Thales that "the world is full of gods".
The main difference with Animism, I think, is that the Neoplatonist worldview is hierarchical. All things are in everything, BUT appropriately in each.
According to Proclus, while inanimate objects didn't have a soul, they were connected to the gods and to the whole by means of harmony and analogy, and had synthemata or tokens according to their leading deity. Proclus for instance said that the sunflower and the sunstone "worshipped" the sun because the sun was their leading god. But above the sensible sun there was an intellectual sun and so forth, forming a solar chain connecting the lowest bodily substances to the highest divinity. Likewise with all the gods.
>>965394
>most children see into the spirit world and sense the magic in everything
Or maybe they think everything is fun and games because they're kids. Their brains aren't fully developed, and they haven't yet gone through the bullshit that life throws at adults.
God, this is like the stoners that argue that LSD is anything other than chemicals fucking around with your brain.
