In Search of a Spiritual Theory-of-Everything
The one where I attempt to weave together Animism, Buddhism and Conscious Evolution.
I’ve noticed three particular threads of my spiritual thinking that feel distinct from one another, my kind of ABCs of spiritual philosophy, and I’ve been trying to find a way to weave their wisdoms together into a more cohesive philosophy. This essay is me trying to do that. I don’t know yet if I’ll succeed or where it will lead.
A is for Animism. Animism is a spiritual perspective that sees spirit (sacredness, God) alive in all living things. The spiritual quality of everything is innate and intrinsic, and life itself is sacred. The spiritual and the material are inseparable from one another.
B is for Buddhism. I’m using the term “Buddhism” as a stand-in for a particular spiritual orientation that is 1) not only found in Buddhism, and 2) not found in every practice of Buddhism either. That spiritual orientation is one of seeing material reality as illusory flux, and choosing instead to focus on training the mind towards peace through non-attachment to the external world.
C is for Conscious Evolution. Consciousness is, in my best definition of it, the awareness of the ability to choose. Evolution is a process of learned growth and refinement towards…
