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Originally Posted by Euragios  Perhaps we should discuss this a bit deeper. I like the idea that everything has a spirit; a plant has a purpose, so it should have some kind of spirit. So why can't a rock have one too? I've never looked at it like this, but is a interesting point of view. So, what do you all think?  |
Traditional Indigenous Australians have that world view. So they view the earth, space, stars, everything as alive. The earth is mother to us. They say that even supposedly stationary rocks move, and are born, interact, and live, and constantly change, just in a different way, or rate to humans. Even sky, air moves, interacts and so on. Interestingly enough our culture even accepts that the particles of a rock are in a constant state of movement, as are the particles in air. Traditional Indigenous Australians see everything as being an expression of Dreaming, and that Dreaming influences and saturates everything. Each person and thing is related and connected through Spirit, Dreaming. Each member of society can be in effect a Buddha, a Pope, a Christ, or religious leader as each person learns their specific, complex, sophisticated connections as part of the whole expression, and can live according to fostering that connection as equally important parts, with differing roles, and can respect all else in the same manner.
So they see many cultures' present choices as blindly and ignorantly choosing to destroy ourselves, our expression, whilst naively thinking we are enhancing it. When they talk about their pain and sadness at mining and pollution etc, many can't actually understand it, as Traditional Indigenous Australians have nurtured that sense, where as many cultures ignore it. A bit like not using memory, or imagination, or muscles. The potential is there, but atrophies due to persistant, constant lack of use and denial.
There is evidence that their worldview has been around continually for 120,000 years, before the British, terrorist invaders mostly destroyed it in round 100 years. However, considering the incredible arsenal of brutal effort the British made in their attempt to totally anhilate it, it amasingly still exsists and persists in small pockets all over Australia. It isn't a situation that our culture likes to admit, let alone investigate. 40,000 years is embarrasing enough, as its nothing to be proud of... attempting to oblitherate such an amasing thing, the worlds longest ever continual culture.