Greetings!
I am listening to a radio show with EA, and they are talking about how humans have separated ourselves from other forms of life.
( [url=http://youtu.be/oDeM1GvJ-bc]- YouTube)
I believe everything’s sentient, although not everything has what we’d consider a “personality” - a particular cup of coffee will be more of the over-arching spirit Coffee than the individual Mr Joe Coffee, birthed when he was poured into the cup at 19:15 hours and deceased due to digestion by 20:10… but yeah, everything.
Then again, human personality can be affected by physical brain trauma, and also, people who receive major organ transplants have been widely recorded as acquiring some of the characteristics of the person the organ was taken from, so we probably have more in common with Mr Joe than we like to think!
Anyway, yeah - animism’s the common description for this, and that’s why I like to make my own tools most of the time, the act of making them imbues them with my intent which then forms their personality. Grimoires and stuff used for magick have very distinct personalities.
I agree that everything is sentient, I’ve felt that way since I was little kid. Carrying rocks around in my pockets because I liked their energy. Talking to my houseplants, scolding house-spiders for running through high traffic areas. Asking the wind or rain to behave while I finish my out door chores. I’ve found many magical tools while wandering around in nature, sage and many other wild herbs always harvested with thanks and carefully dried for later use.
The first time I read the Buddhist belief “respect all life” I felt it made more sense than any other statement.