In our Hindu culture, this way of relating to the world has never been considered strange or symbolic—it is simply how life is understood. Trees, rivers, stones, mountains, and the sun are not viewed as inert matter but as living presences, worthy of reverence and relationship.
We perform puja to trees not because they are “useful,” but because they are alive, generous, and ancient. We thank rivers not as resources, but as mothers who carry, nourish, and cleanse. The sun is not merely a celestial object but a sacred being whose light sustains all life. These practices are not metaphors; they are expressions of kinship.
For many of us, reaching out with the hand, the heart, and the inner eye is not a rejection of reason, but an expansion of perception. Long before modern narratives insisted that only humans possess sentience, our traditions taught attentiveness, gratitude, and communion with the living world.
So when you speak of touching and knowing with the hand of the spirit, I hear not fantasy, but remembrance—of a way of being that still lives quietly in many cultures, despite centuries of being told to forget.
As I wade through my collection of emails... I do wish your posts were little cakes, I would eat them. Always tasty, filling, and a treat. Even if I get really behind, even if I don't comment, I can't NOT read your posts! Thanks, GM. We carry on, for the Earth, for her trees, waters, and beauty... on. xo
Beautiful Gavin. Certainly a lot to ponder. I often consider similar thoughts when I'm traveling through the canopy. What a gift I've been given to be able to play in their arms.
Thank you for this deep exploration of applied animism. Your work resonates powerfully with what's unfolding here in southern Ecuador at Finca Sagrada. What you describe philosophically, we're discovering operationally, but I had never put what we're doing through the lens of animism until the field brought us together. Powerful ideas here for transformation.
Your analysis of those 7,000-year food forests as "high-tech" compared to modern civilization's "low-tech" extraction resonates deeply. We're attempting something similar—creating regenerative systems that will teach the region for generations. Our tree island experiment tests whether consciousness recognizing itself in one location (the mountain collaborating in its own healing) can spark recognition elsewhere, a process which you coin beautifully as "applied animism."
Your piece articulates the why beneath regenerative work through a lens that reconciles the animism of the past with our new understanding of interconnection through quantum physics. We don't need to learn anything new—we can remember who we really are and appreciate with fresh eyes those in the past who knew in their own way. The Kuntur Wachana project is one experiment that demonstrates the how—what happens when animistic consciousness becomes restoration methodology.
I will definitely be looking at our little community hear with a fresh set of eyes and very curious what the rest have to say when I introduce animism into our conversations. I look forward to the book!
Knowing you are doing what you are doing on a community scale gives me hope for the future. Thank you for that.
The simple rituals of animistic respects to beings that feed us, shelter us and inspire our senses completely shifts the perspective of those choosing those traditions. It offers a comprehensive transformation to the consciousness of humans and how we relate to nature, and all with one simple shift in perspective. It is definitely a leverage point that sends out powerful ripple effects (if not just talked about but lived in earnest).
I admire your mountain regeneration endeavor. This is a sacred task I would love to give my gifts to make a reality, but I feel called to heal lands here on Turtle Island (we are looking for land up north).
I really appreciate your genuine presence, really reading what I put together above and speaking from the heart. Substack is (sadly) becoming more and more twitter/tiktok-like with people's attention spans diminishing and the "notes" being more the focus than in depth articles and essays.
If you guys like hot peppers, squash and amaranth I have some fun heirlooms in my collection I could send your way as my gift to your community.
Dear Nature Brother to the North, I'm speechless. I will have to come back and back and back again to this post (it's so much more than a post.) Your photos are spectacular, as always. That stone being from Fairy Creek jumped right through the screen. Your dedication to the plants and stones, and animals does not go unnoticed by them, which I am certain of. I'm sure they're all whispering with delight to each other, "Here comes Gavin! And Johrey! :))
Thank you for sharing my writing. Sleeping Turtle Rock will be pleased. 🐢
Signed, Little Crone, your Nature Sister to the South XO
I means the world to me that you got so much out of this "post". It started out as a reasonable length post (for my standards haha). Though the more I dug into my library, the more a symphony of voices spoke to me that wanted to be heard on this subject. The "post" quickly morphed into a sort of mini-online book, and now here it is. :) It is gonna be quite a task distilling this down into something that can fit into a book that already has 35 chapters written for it!
So glad the photos resonate with you, I know you see the spirit in these beings so you see a layer some are not. I am grateful and honored to be able to give these beings a light of awareness in our human family and to give them a voice to be heard in some small way.
Your writing speaks vividly to the being and personality of our kin so I am glad to be able to share it.
Wishing you peaceful winter walks decorated with the crystalline art of the forest Fae and filled with the loving whispers of your tall rooted friends.
Wishing you and Johrey the same, Gavin! I'm planning on being even quieter than ever, spending time in the snowy woods and by the Pond, with Mr. Wise and Sleeping Turtle Rock as my companions. Oh, and the Fae too, of course! This is my favorite time of year (minus the holidays). I love the long dark nights. XO
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment sister.
I am grateful to know there are others out there like you that look to our tall elder rooted kin with love and reverence.
I honor your conscious choice to live and embody this knowing and way in a time when dominant cultures would attempt to pressure you into conforming into their insane and self-destructive human elistist ways.
Thank you for being true to you in the midst of this storm that is the fall of modern western civilization.
Thank you, Kindred One. This is a very beautiful love song that the world desperately needs. All Blessings to you and your loved ones.
What you describe feels deeply familiar to me.
In our Hindu culture, this way of relating to the world has never been considered strange or symbolic—it is simply how life is understood. Trees, rivers, stones, mountains, and the sun are not viewed as inert matter but as living presences, worthy of reverence and relationship.
We perform puja to trees not because they are “useful,” but because they are alive, generous, and ancient. We thank rivers not as resources, but as mothers who carry, nourish, and cleanse. The sun is not merely a celestial object but a sacred being whose light sustains all life. These practices are not metaphors; they are expressions of kinship.
For many of us, reaching out with the hand, the heart, and the inner eye is not a rejection of reason, but an expansion of perception. Long before modern narratives insisted that only humans possess sentience, our traditions taught attentiveness, gratitude, and communion with the living world.
So when you speak of touching and knowing with the hand of the spirit, I hear not fantasy, but remembrance—of a way of being that still lives quietly in many cultures, despite centuries of being told to forget.
As I wade through my collection of emails... I do wish your posts were little cakes, I would eat them. Always tasty, filling, and a treat. Even if I get really behind, even if I don't comment, I can't NOT read your posts! Thanks, GM. We carry on, for the Earth, for her trees, waters, and beauty... on. xo
This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. You are an excellent writer.
So excited to discover this publication!
Beautiful Gavin. Certainly a lot to ponder. I often consider similar thoughts when I'm traveling through the canopy. What a gift I've been given to be able to play in their arms.
Gavin,
Thank you for this deep exploration of applied animism. Your work resonates powerfully with what's unfolding here in southern Ecuador at Finca Sagrada. What you describe philosophically, we're discovering operationally, but I had never put what we're doing through the lens of animism until the field brought us together. Powerful ideas here for transformation.
Your analysis of those 7,000-year food forests as "high-tech" compared to modern civilization's "low-tech" extraction resonates deeply. We're attempting something similar—creating regenerative systems that will teach the region for generations. Our tree island experiment tests whether consciousness recognizing itself in one location (the mountain collaborating in its own healing) can spark recognition elsewhere, a process which you coin beautifully as "applied animism."
Your piece articulates the why beneath regenerative work through a lens that reconciles the animism of the past with our new understanding of interconnection through quantum physics. We don't need to learn anything new—we can remember who we really are and appreciate with fresh eyes those in the past who knew in their own way. The Kuntur Wachana project is one experiment that demonstrates the how—what happens when animistic consciousness becomes restoration methodology.
I will definitely be looking at our little community hear with a fresh set of eyes and very curious what the rest have to say when I introduce animism into our conversations. I look forward to the book!
In kinship with all our relations,
JT
JT,
Grateful to cross paths with you brother.
Knowing you are doing what you are doing on a community scale gives me hope for the future. Thank you for that.
The simple rituals of animistic respects to beings that feed us, shelter us and inspire our senses completely shifts the perspective of those choosing those traditions. It offers a comprehensive transformation to the consciousness of humans and how we relate to nature, and all with one simple shift in perspective. It is definitely a leverage point that sends out powerful ripple effects (if not just talked about but lived in earnest).
I admire your mountain regeneration endeavor. This is a sacred task I would love to give my gifts to make a reality, but I feel called to heal lands here on Turtle Island (we are looking for land up north).
I really appreciate your genuine presence, really reading what I put together above and speaking from the heart. Substack is (sadly) becoming more and more twitter/tiktok-like with people's attention spans diminishing and the "notes" being more the focus than in depth articles and essays.
If you guys like hot peppers, squash and amaranth I have some fun heirlooms in my collection I could send your way as my gift to your community.
In solidarity and with respect,
-Gavin
Dear Nature Brother to the North, I'm speechless. I will have to come back and back and back again to this post (it's so much more than a post.) Your photos are spectacular, as always. That stone being from Fairy Creek jumped right through the screen. Your dedication to the plants and stones, and animals does not go unnoticed by them, which I am certain of. I'm sure they're all whispering with delight to each other, "Here comes Gavin! And Johrey! :))
Thank you for sharing my writing. Sleeping Turtle Rock will be pleased. 🐢
Signed, Little Crone, your Nature Sister to the South XO
Dear Barbara,
I means the world to me that you got so much out of this "post". It started out as a reasonable length post (for my standards haha). Though the more I dug into my library, the more a symphony of voices spoke to me that wanted to be heard on this subject. The "post" quickly morphed into a sort of mini-online book, and now here it is. :) It is gonna be quite a task distilling this down into something that can fit into a book that already has 35 chapters written for it!
So glad the photos resonate with you, I know you see the spirit in these beings so you see a layer some are not. I am grateful and honored to be able to give these beings a light of awareness in our human family and to give them a voice to be heard in some small way.
Your writing speaks vividly to the being and personality of our kin so I am glad to be able to share it.
Wishing you peaceful winter walks decorated with the crystalline art of the forest Fae and filled with the loving whispers of your tall rooted friends.
Wishing you and Johrey the same, Gavin! I'm planning on being even quieter than ever, spending time in the snowy woods and by the Pond, with Mr. Wise and Sleeping Turtle Rock as my companions. Oh, and the Fae too, of course! This is my favorite time of year (minus the holidays). I love the long dark nights. XO
So much gratitude for you!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment sister.
I am grateful to know there are others out there like you that look to our tall elder rooted kin with love and reverence.
I honor your conscious choice to live and embody this knowing and way in a time when dominant cultures would attempt to pressure you into conforming into their insane and self-destructive human elistist ways.
Thank you for being true to you in the midst of this storm that is the fall of modern western civilization.
Thank you Gavin. This comment really moved me. And the feeling is so mutual!!!