Anthropomorphize- to give human traits or form to anything non-human.  One of the major causes of misconception when dealing with Spirit comes from our wanting Spirit to be like us (humans), behave like us, or reason like us.  Why do we do this?  It’s much easier for us (and takes much less work on our part) if we don’t have to leave our “human bubble” of perception.  In other words, we are trying to fit something really big into a box that is quite small in comparison.  This can present a problem for people trying to interact with Spirit, because as humans we generally can’t comprehend well when interacting with the enormous and faceless Universe (we like names, faces, places, times, etc.).  So, why does it matter if you anthropomorphize? Also, if you shouldn’t anthropomorphize, but you can’t make sense out of the Oneness all at once, what can you do?

When you anthropomorphize Spirit, a whole host of problems arise, and generally you get a result similar to Greek Mythology, with Gods and Goddesses killing, raping, and full of vengeance.  One problem with this is that it distorts your understanding of the Divine.  It leads to questions like “Why does God, allow evil to exist?” and ” If God, is all loving why is there an eternal place for those who are deemed unworthy of that love?”  This shows a fundamental misconception.  The Oneness ( Spirit, the Universe, God, whatever term you wish to use) does not “allow” things, it just is.  It is a mass consciousness that contains all the information of all existence (at least as far as we can hope to imagine), but in the concept that it is the puppeteer of the world is just misconception. 

So, what can you do to connect with Spirit, that mitigates these issues?  My best answer is shamanic journeying, and you don’t have to be a shaman to journey.  The reason this method of connecting with Spirit doesn’t have as much trouble with this misconception is because it allows you to (at least at first) have your cake and eat it too.  In a journey you connect with your helping spirits, which are really just “facets” of the Universe.  In other words, you can interact with one “face” of the Universe without being overwhelmed by all of it at once.  In my opinion this makes it easier to not anthropomorphize because helping spirits usually present as animals or plants.  However, they can be humans, angels, mystical beings, or even gods/goddesses so it isn’t a “fool proof” system.  Journeying is a fairly large topic, that I’ll probably cover in a later post, but I’m definitely not an expert on the subject. 

God doesn’t want you to do X and not want you to do Y.  The Universe is totally comprised of energy, and that energy has a flow.  Nature is always in this flow, because it does not have the ability to choose a different course.  We as humans have free will, therefore we can choose to move against this flow.  However, when you move against the flow, it requires energy from somewhere.  Just as you cannot sail a boat upstream without a power source to overcome the flow of a river.  When you take energy in this way, someone or something else becomes depleted.  If a person is depleted they will also tend to take energy in this way, to restore their own depletion (at least if left to their own devices), creating a cycle of taking and depleting.  This is where the “do’s and dont’s” come in, not because of an arbitrary list of rules.  It’s not right because it’s a rule, it’s a rule because it’s right (and by right I mean good for all living things).  It’s not until we are willing to step outside our bubble and go to Spirit, instead of insisting that Spirit come to us, that we can see it for what it really is.