Animism 1:1 - “Everything Has a Spirit”
What It Is
Native American animism is a deeply spiritual belief system that permeates the worldviews of many indigenous cultures across North America. Central to this belief is the idea that everything in nature—whether it be animals, plants, rocks, rivers, or even the wind—possesses a spirit or consciousness. This view of the world is holistic and animates not only living beings but also inanimate objects and natural forces, creating a sense of deep interconnectedness among all elements of the environment. While Native American cultures are incredibly diverse, this animistic perspective is a common spiritual thread that binds many tribal traditions.
At the heart of Native American animism is the belief that all things, from humans to animals to the landscape itself, are alive with spiritual energy. In some cultures, this spirit is referred to as "Manitou," particularly in Algonquian languages, but each tribe has its own name and understanding of this life force. This understanding leads to a profound respect for the natural world, as every part of creation is viewed as having its own consciousness, purpose, and sacredness. As a result, there is no strict divide between the human world and the natural world; instead, humans are seen as one part of a larger, living system that must be honored and maintained.
This interconnection between the spiritual and natural worlds is not just a philosophical stance but is actively reflected in the daily lives and rituals of Native American people. To live in harmony with nature means to maintain balance within this web of life. Disturbing nature—whether by overhunting, damaging the land, or disregarding the spirit of animals or plants—can upset this balance and create disharmony, not just in the environment but within human societies as well. Thus, balance and harmony are essential elements of the Native American spiritual path.
Reciprocity and respect form the foundation of interactions with the environment. Many tribes practice rituals before activities like hunting or gathering, offering prayers or gifts to the spirits of the animals or plants that they are about to harvest. These rituals signify a deep recognition of the interdependence between humans and the rest of nature. For example, after killing an animal for food, a hunter may perform a ceremonial act to honor the spirit of the animal, showing gratitude and ensuring that its spirit is respected. This act of reciprocity emphasizes the belief that humans are not separate from nature but are instead reliant upon it for survival in both physical and spiritual ways.
Within many Native American traditions, shamans or medicine people serve as the bridge between the human and spirit worlds. These individuals are believed to have the ability to communicate with spirits, whether through dreams, visions, or altered states of consciousness often induced by sacred plants like peyote. Through these interactions, shamans gain insight and guidance from the spiritual realm, which they then bring back to help their communities. This shamanic practice is not only for healing but also for maintaining spiritual balance, both for individuals and for the tribe as a whole.
Animals, in particular, hold great spiritual significance in Native American animism. Many tribes believe in totemic animals—spiritual guardians or ancestors who guide and protect. These animals are revered not just for their physical characteristics but for the spiritual qualities they represent. For instance, the eagle is often seen as a symbol of wisdom and vision, while the bear might represent strength and healing. Each tribe has its own set of totemic animals, and these animals are often invoked in ceremonies and rituals as powerful spiritual allies.
The land itself is also viewed as sacred. Native American animism emphasizes the idea that certain places—such as mountains, rivers, forests, or even specific stones—are imbued with spiritual power. These sacred sites are often the focus of ceremonies, pilgrimages, or other religious practices. They are treated with deep reverence, as they are believed to be the dwelling places of powerful spirits or ancestors. This belief fosters a deep environmental ethic, where the natural world is to be protected and preserved rather than exploited or dominated.
Additionally, Native American animism teaches that life operates in cycles. Life, death, and rebirth are viewed as parts of a continuous cycle, with no true beginning or end. This belief is symbolized by the circle, which represents the ongoing cycles of nature, including the changing seasons and the natural process of birth, growth, and death. Ceremonial structures, such as the sweat lodge or the medicine wheel, often incorporate circular designs to reflect this spiritual understanding of the world.
Specific tribes express these animistic beliefs through unique practices. For example, the Lakota Sioux use the Sacred Pipe as a symbol of the unity between the physical and spiritual realms. During pipe ceremonies, the smoke is believed to carry prayers to the spirit world, and the pipe itself is treated with the utmost respect, as it is considered a living being with its own spirit. Similarly, the Hopi people honor Katsina spirits, which represent everything in the natural world, from animals to celestial elements. These spirits are invoked in rituals and ceremonies to ensure balance and harmony within the community. The Iroquois, on the other hand, believe in a Great Spirit known as "Orenda," which is the life force that flows through all living things, and they emphasize the importance of maintaining balance between humans and the environment through agricultural ceremonies and other rituals.
In conclusion, Native American animism is a belief system that views the natural world as alive, interconnected, and sacred. This worldview fosters a deep respect for nature, with an emphasis on living in balance and harmony with all living things. Through rituals, ceremonies, and daily practices, Native Americans honor the spirits of the earth, the animals, the plants, and the elements, recognizing that all things are connected in a web of life that is continually in motion. This animistic perspective offers not only a spiritual understanding of the world but also an ethical guide for living in harmony with nature and respecting the sacredness of all creation.
When It Started
Native American animism is rooted in the ancient spiritual traditions of the indigenous peoples of North America, and it has been an integral part of Native American culture for thousands of years. These beliefs predate European colonization and were passed down orally through generations, primarily in the form of stories, songs, rituals, and ceremonies. The historical understanding of Native American animism is closely tied to their worldview, which holds that everything in nature—whether living or non-living—has a spirit or essence that deserves respect and reverence. While the specifics of animistic beliefs and practices vary across tribes, many common themes emerge, such as the interconnectedness of all life, the sacredness of nature, and the importance of maintaining harmony with the environment.
Before the arrival of Europeans in North America, indigenous peoples had complex spiritual systems that incorporated animism as a fundamental principle. These belief systems were not codified in written texts, but were instead transmitted through oral traditions. Creation stories, often the bedrock of Native spiritual practices, reflect animistic principles. For example, many tribes believed that the world was created through the efforts of spiritual beings or animal ancestors who endowed the land, animals, and people with their essence.
One example of a creation stories that reflects these beliefs comes from the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) people. According to their story of creation, the world was formed when Sky Woman fell from the heavens onto the back of a giant turtle, which became the earth. Sky Woman gave birth to twins, who shaped the land and filled it with animals and plants. This story not only highlights the animistic belief in the spiritual nature of animals (such as the turtle) but also illustrates the interconnectedness of all beings in creation. The earth itself, formed on the back of a turtle, is viewed as a living entity that continues to sustain and nurture life.
Similarly, the Lakota Sioux tell of the White Buffalo Calf Woman, a sacred figure who brought the Sacred Pipe to the people, along with the teachings of respect for all living things. The pipe ceremony, still central to Lakota spirituality, honors the spirits of animals, plants, and the earth. "With this pipe, you will walk upon the earth; for the earth is your grandmother and mother, and she is sacred," White Buffalo Calf Woman is said to have told the Lakota, expressing the deep respect for the earth and its living essence. The story also reinforces the belief that humans are part of a spiritual relationship with nature, bound by sacred agreements of reciprocity.
For Native Americans, animism was not just a philosophical concept; it was a way of life. The idea that all things have a spirit informed how they interacted with the world around them. Everything, from hunting and farming to making tools and building homes, was done with reverence for the spirits that inhabited the natural world. In many tribes, rituals were performed before major activities, such as hunting, to ask for the blessing of the animals' spirits and to ensure that balance was maintained between humans and nature.
One powerful example of this can be seen in the hunting practices of the Plains tribes . The buffalo, a central figure in the lives of many Plains Native Americans, was considered a sacred animal. Tribes like the Lakota and the Blackfoot performed elaborate ceremonies to honor the spirit of the buffalo. They believed that the buffalo willingly gave itself to the people to sustain them, and in return, the people offered prayers of thanks and respect. In such communities, humans were seen not as masters of the animals but as fellow creatures who needed to live in harmony with the natural world. The hunter's role was not to dominate but to collaborate with the spiritual forces of nature, taking only what was needed and giving thanks for what was received.
The arrival of European colonists in the 15th and 16th centuries had a devastating impact on Native American societies, including their animistic belief systems. Europeans, largely influenced by Christian theology, had a fundamentally different worldview that viewed humans as having dominion over nature. European settlers and missionaries often misunderstood Native American spirituality, dismissing it as paganism or superstition, and many actively sought to suppress it. Forced assimilation policies, such as the establishment of boarding schools, further eroded traditional practices and beliefs.
Despite these efforts to undermine indigenous culture, Native American animism survived. Many tribes continued to practice their traditions in secret, passing down stories and rituals through oral history. For example, the use of sacred spaces like the Bear Butte (in modern-day South Dakota) and the Black Hills continued as places where the Lakota, Cheyenne, and other tribes honored the spirits of the land, even as external pressures mounted to suppress their practices. These places remain central to their spiritual practices today, and many continue to perform ceremonies there as they did for centuries.
Even in the face of hardship, Native Americans found ways to incorporate their animistic traditions into new contexts. Black Elk , an Oglala Lakota holy man, described his vision of a spiritual journey where he saw the interconnectedness of all life. His words offer a poignant expression of the animistic worldview: "The earth is all-powerful. When I look at the earth, I can see that it is a circle, for everything on it is a circle. The trees are a circle. The birds make their nests in circles. The sun is a circle and comes and goes in a circle. Everything tries to be round." Black Elk’s vision emphasizes the animistic belief in cycles and circles, which represent the endless flow of life, death, and rebirth. His reflections illustrate the Native American view that life’s spiritual essence is interconnected and cyclical, encompassing all things in nature.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Native American animism has experienced a resurgence, as many indigenous communities seek to reclaim their spiritual and cultural heritage. The American Indian Movement (AIM) of the 1960s and 1970s, for instance, marked a turning point in the fight for Native rights, including the protection of sacred lands and religious freedom. Alongside this political revival, many Native American groups have revitalized traditional practices, including ceremonies, storytelling, and rituals that reflect their animistic beliefs.
Today, many Native Americans continue to practice their animistic traditions, blending ancient customs with modern life. For example, the Navajo people still perform Blessing Way ceremonies, which invoke the spirits of nature to bring balance and harmony into a person’s life. Similarly, the annual Sun Dance practiced by Plains tribes like the Lakota is a powerful spiritual ritual in which participants pray for healing, renewal, and the well-being of their communities, while honoring the spirits of the natural world. As the Lakota medicine man Fools Crow once said, “We believe everything is alive, not only man and animals. But also water, earth, sun, moon, and things you would consider dead. We try to show respect for these things.” This respect for all living things lies at the heart of Native American animism and remains a guiding principle for many today.
Where We Relate
“Undefinable and Expansive” also teaches about the “Great Spirit,” but refers to it as the Wholly Spiritual Universe. While neutral in itself, it is the direct manifestation of what we call “God.” It represents and lives through it, and nothing exists outside of it. Just like rivers, wind, and mountains, humans are a part of this “Spirit” energetic life force, including all animals, plants, and materials.
We agree that everything has a spirit. While this spirit is everywhere and generalized, it becomes more isolated and focused as it manifests in a particular being. We refer to this focused state as a “Soul,” which is “birthed” into a physical form. As the spirit becomes more focused, it expresses more specific frequencies, forming unique combinations of attributes and characteristics, which become a personality with distinct motivations and reasoning. Therefore, we agree that everything is “alive,” participating with its unique role, while human consciousness perceives an additional dimension that separates it from the obviousness of this connection. Everything lives and breathes in one way or another, all reliant on this spirit for its existence.
We agree that because of this union, we are able to communicate with and honor our source through all its manifestations. Since its entire reality is eternal, it is usually not concerned with the specific loss of “life,” but more with the loss of a unique expression, which humans often provide in abundance. Of course, we agree that humans must live in balance with nature and be in harmony with the life around them. However, we also affirm that human “free will” remains unified with the same source all of nature does, adhering to a divine plan beyond our perception. While we must attempt to maintain balance, we must also trust in a divine order we cannot fully comprehend.
While we may not entirely agree that spirits are separate individuals, disconnected from the Wholly Spiritual Universe, we do agree that each is a conduit of the divine, which has taken on every name and form. It does so because the only thing it can be said to “yearn” for is our attention, recognition, and love. We agree that everything is divine, not only because it has made itself into things, but because we have. We have accepted ideas that made its presence appear to be physical, and it is all Spirit; therefore, it appears we can communicate with it. Agreeing that when one is willing to see, they would recognize signs in all things. While symbols require interpretation, they represent specific things, just as specific frequencies can be named and given personal attributes.
We agree that all plants and creatures are based on specific frequencies that develop genetic characteristics and represent particular archetypal qualities. These can provide assistance in specific areas, which can be evoked and channeled to the level of human perception. We agree that every group of people is given someone who thinks and processes the world differently and is made to recognize these unseen aspects of reality, offering the people gifts of communication with the Wholly Spiritual Universe.
We also recognize that many plants have been provided to induce different levels of consciousness, making it possible for everyone to discover greater depths of their own being. We understand that for those few designed to think differently, it naturally opens “doorways” of communication, guidance, and abilities considered out of this world. We recognize that this answers many questions people ask, including explaining cosmic principles and functionalities at a symbolic level relatable to the time, distorting Spiritual truths into physical forms.
We recognize that physically focused beings easily misunderstand such communications, anthropomorphizing the Spirit with human attributes, desires, and needs. People feel guilty and obligated to appease spirits as if they are angry parents, without knowing how, insisting that their favor can be won with material gifts and sacrifices. We agree that, like any neutral thing, one can learn to use Spirit and harness its abilities to work in their favor. While its properties are not as obvious as wood or water, activities like trance dancing can manipulate weather or animal migration patterns because they are unified with Spirit and adhere to its movements.
Why It Seems
Many look at the physical world and see physical things, while some see deep within and yet still entertain its images, recognizing the layers that manifest as shapes and forms. The movement and illumination of its energy swarm together, forming constructs of consistency, always moving and breathing into what you have already decided to see.
In the same way science tells us everything is made up of atoms and molecules, and theorizes even smaller components, shamans argue that this is spirit—energetic frequencies associating themselves with perception, bringing density to elements. While many combinations of things exist, spirit runs through all pieces and remains whole. Humanity has been an endeavor to develop an impossible perspective on reality, branching through dimensional depths, each requiring a conversion of particular attributes to be possible. Individuated consciousness converted the awareness of spiritual objects’ liveliness into knowledge of opposition, transforming it into the physical.
This knowledge appeared to transform a living and breathing energetic Spiritual Universe into a physical one of dense properties. Human perception believes it sees the world the same way nature or many animals do. However, an aspect of what makes something “human” is perceiving the natural spiritual world as if it is full of physical things.
Humans represent a perspective of the universe that not only possesses wisdom and knowledge that nature does not obviously possess, but a requirement that their sensory perception distorts the reality into something it is not. There are many simple things humans cannot see, revealing a limitation in their perception. The sensory perceptions only convey the information they are designed to perceive, discarding the rest.
What someone might point out as the edge of a particular aspect of nature is merely the edge of their perception, not necessarily the edge of the actual aspect of nature. If we could perceive this same aspect without sensory limitations, we would be unable to distinguish the edge of where it begins or ends. While we see density points that are said to be the objects we believe in, we would also recognize the energetic connection of all things, even in spaces we currently perceive as empty.
It is by this holographic energetic system that all things are possible. However, it requires a form of perception that determines the degree to which it will appear. Within the system itself are all degrees and levels of everything and everyone, but perception’s choice is actually a decision for things to remain as sensory perceptions offer. Therefore, those who are able to think differently can recognize aspects of the same existence beyond what most humans are designed to recognize. Many mind-altering substances heighten perceptions, making additional depths recognizable.
Nothing is, nor ever was, actually physical. Everything that seems to exist does so as spiritual energy, designated as imagery by our perception. While this means it is not real in the way it obviously appears, it is as real as its source. We are here to present the argument of how and why it has become the way it appears. Every aspect of every “Body” is the Wholly Spiritual Universe, set forth with a particular endeavor to make every form of perception a reality. Perceiving through sensory perceptions is an aspect of its design, meant to make its presence appear strictly physical.
With An Open Mind
Those able to perceive physical reality objectively can recall the presence of dimensional existences, even unknowingly applying symbolic representations of the characteristics of the literal experience. Each realm of depth offers a depiction of its origin, and when questioned about its emergence, it invites deeper inquiry, leading to the discovery of its source. In the beginning, nearly instantaneously when consciousness observed, what it perceived was the Wholly Spiritual Universe, whose only objective was to represent every step of the journey to full divine realization, returning to where it began.
When the purpose of developing physical constructs is seen objectively, it is far more likely to be recognized as serving a temporary purpose, even as each aspect manifests temporarily. Just as there are great cycles of life, there are great cycles of all existence. When observed, every layer appears to follow multiple circular patterns throughout its depths. The beginning and the end form a similar circular pattern, and this includes you.
If the totality of all existence inquired into its own nature, it would find you there, as it has. The observer within you is this omniscient presence, manifest with Spirit to reveal the great story of how it became complete. Without you, it would not be so. While time collapses within its perspective, its observation remains total. Physicality appears all-encompassing because, in order to make it possible, its interpretation was required in every area and direction. It is not true that every area is physical, but it is true that it is perceived that way. It is not because your transition from the spiritual into the physical actually occurred, but the adaptation to the perspective seemed traumatic.
On this dimensional journey, there will be many transformations between densities. All representations begin with the Spiritual Universe, which allows communication in every aspect of itself. However, the transition into physicality was one of definitions, where this knowledge shrouded everything, conforming it into the silent and the abandoned.
Before this transition, the essence we referred to as “God” communicated through all of its Spiritual Universe. It appeared to take on different personalities and characteristics because of how it moved through frequencies, and different combinations established different expressions with unique skills and abilities, expanding into complexity and detail.
How We Unite
While personalities are immense, within everything and everyone is the same essence, seeking communication and exploration from our unique perspectives. Humanity seems to have a consistent perspective amongst itself, while the diversity appears unseen and unnoticed. Yet, it is the decision to expand in a specific direction, developing its form of communication through the appearance of independence.
Humanity is only at the beginning of the endeavor of evolution into this expansive construct. It will seem to come and go throughout these densities as our focus shifts from physicality to spirituality time and time again. However, with each cycle, our decisions deepen and expand on particular aspects. As we develop our personal selves, we expand the universe; as we share what is within us, we bring it to the whole of who we are.
Human life has given us the idea that specific definitions of purpose are required, but the eternal purpose of our expansion is far less defined. The knowledge of human endeavor includes the concept of definitions. The same universe, without them, is free of confinement and allows communication and personality to flow in and out of all things. The knowledge of good and evil is the definition of oppositions, and it is almost impossible to bring together what has been designated as opposites. Therefore, union is through personal perception, where each of us learns to let go of what we define as persons and objects, and what we insist is animate or inanimate. It is there that we can give it permission to become alive again.
How It’s True
While reality might appear endlessly a certain way—currently physical—it does not change the fact that other perceptions can see it differently. It’s not just a mental adjustment in belief but literally experiencing it differently, literally communicating with it again. It doesn’t matter who you talk to or what you think speaks; it is all alive with the expression and soul of the totality of “God.” Our journey to discovering this, or not, is the presence of the decisions of our evolution. It is where we decide which dimensions to expand on and where to go within them.
Even though this concept derives from how things were, it has returned to awareness with the expansion of what we are conscious of. Before, we were not as articulate as humans, and as this awareness emerges again, we can now be both.
“Why They Are Right” (book series)
By Rev. Devan Jesse Byrne
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The author of The Statutes Of The Divinely Realized the essence of Undefinable and Expansive, here to coach spiritual people to discover their multidimensional reality beyond the veil.
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