Animism is alive and well in south-east Asia: what can we learn?

Animism is also very heavily incorporated in traditional Chinese religions, as well as Taoism, and Buddhism. Many Buddhist monks are consulted because of the belief they possess the ability to see into the future. Many Chinese make pilgrimages to particular Wats or temples to get trinkets, or amulets for luck. Omens and numbers are still a part of everyday life.

Feng Shui, an age old practice based upon cosmic and geographic dimensions is widely practiced throughout the region. Many will not purchase a new residence without seeing if the location and features are suitable according to Feng Shui consultants. These concepts also seem to be religiously upheld by other indigenous cultures where for example, it is not considered lucky to live at the top of a "T" intersection. In addition, many people including politicians consult the calendar to determine the best dates to do certain things.

While travelling around the region, one will not fail to notice the hexagonal mirrors placed on top of many doors to scare away evil spirits, hear stories about parts of the road that should be avoided due to spirits at night, be invited to pay homage to particular spirits, and be told many stories about the supernatural.

Asian life is much more affected by Animistic rituals than many would openly admit.

However, given that Animism has so much influence upon life, and there is so much interconnectivity and similarity in beliefs with other indigenous peoples all around the world, which are not in any way related to each other, either culturally or genetically.

Is there something we can learn?

Although Animism subscribes to the belief that non-human entities like animals, plants, geographical features, and other inanimate objects, or phenomenon possess some form of spiritual prowess, there is something deeper than that here.

Animism has an elaborate moral ecology and human-environment relations concepts that most other philosophies and religions miss out on. The world of Animism is shaped by the interaction of the material, natural, and spiritual worlds. All entities mutually exist, and with common origin are the same thing. Thus the individual cannot be separated from the rest of the world, both in the material and spiritual sense. As a consequence, past and present are linked through social and natural actions, and cosmic phenomenon.

The moral code of Animism is based upon a sophisticated sense of sustainability. It's about maintaining the environmental status quo and complying with the wishes of the spirit of the earth, which could be metaphorically the earth itself.

This provides a meaningful outlook towards the environment towards the environment, where destruction of the environment equates to destroying the spirits. This philosophy is not too far away from Nobel Prize winning environmentalist James Lovelock's GAIA hypothesis which sees the earth as a living entity.

In addition, from the point of view of understanding the potency of our natural resources, much folklore and knowledge about flora is very quickly disappearing, as the jungles and rainforests are being cleared.

As the author and quantum physicist Nick Herbert espoused, Animistic beliefs encapsulated quantum theories of existence long before the discipline of quantum mechanics was devised. Quantum theory dismissed the duality of mind and matter, where Animism provided some of the answers to our contemporary problems, which we overtly dismiss today, but sub-consciously subscribe to.

We of the 21st Century cannot claim any monopoly on wisdom, and in the past, Animist philosophies may perhaps may help us gain deeper insights.