What is Animism?
 
The Latin animus means “the rational soul, intelligence, consciousness, and mental powers” and the feminine anima means “soul, living being, mind, and breath”.
 
If you collect all the words for soul from all the languages around the world, almost all of their roots simply mean “breath”, insinuating that the soul and spirits in general are invisible and intangible. In the 1670s, the term anima mundi, meaning “soul of the world”, was used to describe the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers Pythagoras and Plato who believed the world and the universe itself was infused with an animate soul.
 
In 1866, English anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Taylor popularized the already existing term animism from the Latin anima combined with the suffix -ism (attached to words associated with practices, beliefs, doctrines, worship, etc). He defined animism as the “theory of the universal animation of nature.” Animism became the go-to term for anthropologists to describe and define the beliefs of non-Christian and prehistoric indigenous peoples.
 
Animism is the belief that everything has a spirit and a consciousness, a soul, from the tiniest microorganism on earth to the great planets in the heavens to the whole of the universe itself. Animistic faiths usually contain a belief in rebirth & reincarnation either as another human, or an animal, tree, or star. Anything or one can be an ancestor and in a way this is true as even scientists will tell you every single thing in the universe is created from the same space dust — all matter gets recycled and reused.
 
Spirits of place (genus loci) are thought to be either the actual soul of the land or a soul who has come to reside in a hill, stream, or grove as its guardian and benefactor. Animism is usually viewed as more primitive with polytheism being seen as more advanced (think Stone Age vs. the Roman Empire), but as many modern religious scholars have discovered there is more natural harmony and more earthly wisdom within animism than almost any world religion.
 
<3
 
http://sarahannelawless.com/2017/04/23/everthing-you-need-to-know-about-animism/

I really adore this man! He is so … genuine!

Pope Francis ~
“It is not ‘progressive’ to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.”

“It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person. In a way, the traditional. Notion of God is outdated. One can be spiritual but not religious. It is not necessary to go to church and give money — for many, nature can be a church. Some of the best people in history do not believe in God, while some of the worst deeds were done in His name.”

“How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”

“If our hearts are closed, if our hearts are made of stone, the stones find their way into our hands and we are ready to throw them.”

“The corrupt man is the one who sins but does not repent, who sins and pretends to be Christian, and it is this double life that is scandalous. The corrupt man does not know humility, he does not consider himself in need of help, he leads a double life.”

“We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.”

~~ <3

Native American Code of Ethics

Love this!  <3

The Native American culture is highly spiritual and places a great emphasis on the respect for Mother Earth, Father Sky, Grandfather Sun and Grandmother Moon as well as all living and non-living objects.

  1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.
  2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.
  3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
  4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.
  5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.
  6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.
  7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.
  8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.
  9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.
  10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.
  11. Nature is not for us, it is a part of us. They are part of your worldly family.
  12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.
  13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.
  14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.
  15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self, all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
  16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.
  17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others, especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.
  18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.
  19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.
  20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

There are countless paths, each with its own landmarks, its own route. Meditation unfolds in a sequence, but the specific experiences and their order vary from person to person and from method to method. In devotional meditation or prayer you may be filled with intense love, or with great pain of separation, or with the presence of the Living Spirit. If on the other hand you meditate using a one-pointedness technique, such as concentration on the breath, you may first experience agitation, then quietness, a deepening silence, more immediate awareness of smaller units of thought, and finally the silent space and emptiness that exists beyond form. In still another approach to meditation, say a movement method like t’ai chi, your first experiences might be of balance, harmony, or flow with the earth, the air, and the surroundings. It is not possible to chart a single path, or to say that every individual will have the same experience. The paths of the heart, the mind, and the body each traverse different terrain to the same goal.

Ram Dass

<3

The Depression Demon took a good hard swipe at me, so I went outside to wander under Sebastian, letting his willowy branches surround me. Then I headed over to one of the Apple Trees and wedged myself in a fork of two large branches, and listened to the Bees and marveled at the blossoms, and watched some Turkey Vultures cruise the sky. It was almost sunny, but mostly not, and rain fell very softly. After awhile, I moved over to the herb garden, though the bright yellow Dandelions called first, so I popped some flower heads into my mouth, then munched on some mustard greens (hot! love it!), and chased it with some Oregano, and Thyme, then Rosemary, then back to the bright yellow Dandelions. Some of the Dandelions had transformed into Faeries, so I blew them into the breeze.

One moment at a time … and being NOW.

Now is the sound of the river, the song of birds, the whisper of trees, and the soft hum of bees. Now is the flames of warmth in the wood stove and my beautiful Lucy enjoying the warmth as much as I do. Now is fuchsia pink emerging on a spindly tree that looks dead most of the year framed in the sliding glass door, and neighbored by the Ben & Molly, the Holly Couple. Now is the stalks of Elephant Garlic growing by inches, and the Grape Hyacinths, and the orchid colored bell flowers (I don’t know what they are).

Now.
This moment.
And reminding myself I am not perfect, and I can make mistakes. The world will not end, and nor will I.

Love is all that matters. Love is everything.

<3

“Look at what he’s done to me already. I think of him every time I have a drink. I think of him every time I decide NOT to have a drink. If I even meet a man who drinks or if  I see a bum on the street or smell bourbon, his face is the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Oh God, and if I’m around someone who’s had too much, I can’t stand it. I disconnect.”

“My life is filled with reminders of him. His apologies and his phony, wheedling charm, his boo-hooing when the booze got to him. ”

“There are laws for everything except the harm families do.”

… D is for Deadbeat- A Kinsey Millhone Mystery by Sue Grafton

This describes ‘it’ well, whether it is ‘he or she’.  Smell cannot be reasoned with. Smell always triggers. My trigger is beer and wine (which also masks harder alcohol like vodka). The slurred tone in the voice. The mood swings. The loud voices which easily escalate into yelling. The hard laughter with the dark edge.

So many tiny details that can trigger a flight response before the mind even registers why.

Time does not diminish this …. it worsens, deepens.

Running away from it never works.

Instead … acknowledgement must occur. Awareness.  Use this pain to help others. Share the stories. Show that while it feels isolating, there are others who understand … show that YOU understand. And then cast such bright Light in other areas of your life, that it bathes your soul. Spread that Light. BE that Light.

Be Love.

<3

We moved back to California in 2007 in a moderately ‘well off’ financial condition.  Due to a family situation, by 2012 our most of our life savings had been whittle away and there was no income for five years of full-time-working, seven days a week.

Fate, timing, whatever you want to call it … intervened. My Mom had suffered a brain aneurysm, and I had been traveling to Oregon to stay with her. On a walk with a friend up on the mountain, she pointed down into the valley at an abandoned house. After a long, complicated series of events, we took the gamble of losing even more of what was left of our savings, and began the new journey.

Living in the country is very hard on finances, but we moved here primarily to be near my Mom. If we had not done this … we could have far more easily recovered by simply leaving the prior situation and living in our giant motorhome.

It was the right choice, but still it has been complicated. Our income hovers in the ‘legal’ poverty region, but we are better off than we were in California.

We’ve …………… maintained, always living on the edge, but … still … not crashing.

It is amazing what becomes unnecessary when life becomes frugal. I’ve realized that so many things are just junk. The more money there is, the more wasteful one can be.

Many people in this community struggle financially. And one thing has becoming astonishingly clear: The less that some people have, the more generous they are!  I’ve been witnessing this phenomena consistently. And people who are farmers/gardeners are extremely generous! There is also a lot of ‘sharing’ that goes on.

Being ‘poor’ financially does not mean being  unhealthy. It is quite possible to purchase organic products and eat healthy foods.  In fact, often it is less expensive because less ‘junk’ is purchased, which is more expensive (pound-for-pound).

It is stressful … there is no escaping that.  But so is living in a city, or working in cubicles. There are many things that are stressful.

Whatever happens … happens. We just do the best we can. We need to be here for my Mom, so we work with what we have to make that happen.

Our wood stove keeps us warm, the river sings, the trees whisper, the birds entertain, the flowers dazzle, the herbs nurture. We have shelter, running water, and half the year we have a functioning septic. When we don’t have a septic, we use a grey water system for dishes and laundry and sink baths, and we use buckets that get poured into deep holes with ashes in place a toilet that uses 2 gallons of fresh water for flushing.  And before the next winter season, the compost toilet will be installed.

We are a lot better off than many people. Shelter, land, running water, good food, wonderful friends, and a solid community.

Now, if we could just get a few days of sunshine! 😉

<3 <3 <3

Root Chakra (bold is my addition)

Merry Meet :)))))) Almost all of you are probably familiar with your chakras, they are energy centers that our energy flows through. When properly maintained, they can go a long way to helping our overall health and well being. The root chakra, is one of the most important ones for staying grounded in your day to day life. When this chakra is out of balance we can experience issues with feeling secure, worrying, anxiety, self-confidence, hyperactivity, carelessness, and trusting those around us. It can also make you feel extremely tired all the time which just that alone can have huge effects on our emotions. When our root chakra is balanced you will feel healthy and fit, grounded, centered and confident in who you are.

The root chakra or Muladhara, is located at the base of our spine and really is the foundation for our energy flow. The Root Chakra is associated with the color Red and the element Earth. It’s responsible for our heat and circulatory system. Spiritually this chakra helps us maintain our connection with our Mother Earth.

It’s funny but I’ve noticed on myself and many others I’ve worked with that more often than not, this is the chakra that gets unbalanced first. I can tell right away when it’s off now as I will start worrying about everything and bustling about not getting anything done. :)))) So while I try to maintain all my chakras regularly, this one probably gets the most attention for me. As the foundation for our energy, it’s really important to always make sure this chakra is doing well.

How many of you when you are worried or nervous go on house cleaning sprees? Maybe it’s just me but I’ve always noticed that I do that and I usually feel better after. The reason is that cleaning your house not only is a great physical activity but also just clearing clutter is grounding. This activity helps to balance your root chakra. Other activities that will help balance your root chakra include, grounding, yoga, meditation, gardening, and basically any type of physical exercise.

There are also a lot of foods that can be helpful. Most root based vegetables like carrots, potatoes, parsnips, radishes, beets etc will help; as will protein rich foods like eggs, meats, beans, tofu, and peanut butter. Are you one that likes spicy things? Bring on the cayenne pepper, hot sauce, horseradish, chives and anything else spicy because those all will help as well. Perhaps that explains my addiction to hot sauce? LOL :))))

For gemstones you want to go with gemstones that are good for grounding like hematite and onyx. You can also use red stones such as red jasper, rose quartz etc. :))) Below I put an affirmation to help you work with this chakra.

Affirmation: I am grounded, and it is safe for me to be who I am.

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

http://wiccanmoonsong.blogspot.com/2017/

THE CELTIC TREE ORACLE 

 by Liz and Colin Murray
 The Willow in the tree alphabet stands for the female and lunar rhythms of life. She is water-seeking, thriving from preference on the damp margins of lakes and streams or across the low-lying water meadows. Water and the tidal movements of the sea are governed by the pull of the moon. The moon in its monthly rhythms is female, contrasting with the male sun’s daily and yearly turnings.
In several ways, the Celts held women in higher regard than we do today.
On the material level, women were property owners, and whoever controlled the property controlled the marriage. Women of all types and appeared in the Celtic pantheon, the spiritual strength and life-giving qualities given by both female and male recognized equally.  There were many colleges of Druidesses – learned women and teachers – respected especially for their gifts of seer-ship, often expressed through dreams, or night visions.

<3

http://www.thegoddesstree.com/trees/Willow.htm?utm_source=Moonsong+Daily+Magick&utm_campaign=919cf96f16-Moonsong+Daily+Magick+May+21%2C+2012&utm_medium=email

“We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be –the mythologized epitome of a savage ruthless killer – which is, in reality, no more than a reflected image of ourself.”
― Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf“

“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
― Francis of Assisi

Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality

“Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals.”
― Theodor W. Adorno

“We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.”
― Albert Schweitzer
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HJR 69 … we sink deeper into the malignant darkness :(

Sending Love and Compassion to ALL living creatures <3 <3 <3