...people are also part of nature and have spirits, they can’t hide when nature fights to balance itself...Ch. 1
She listened with fervor as he talked about his tribe’s communion with the Spirits of Nature and her own spirit became unshackled from all her imagined and unimagined demons of dogma. Ch. 6
"Maybe, I’m being romantic, but I like the notion that if we do have spirits they become all the stars in the universe. We’re all star children, anyway." Ch. 6
Her dreams were like enchanted fantasies, as if guided by the fragile spirit of a delicate fairy. Ch. 12
"...I hate not being able to understand what spirituality is, but I instinctively feel its existence. It’s a life force that permeates everything." Ch. 12
...she never wavered from her belief in the Spirits of Nature. To her mind, the spirits were not god-like or creators. They were simply a supernatural thing that existed in all flora and fauna like some multi-dimensional essence that kept all physical matter in balance within time and space, which could be influenced by the vibrations of positive thought and prayer chanting. Ch. 17
“The spirits are with her. Be quiet, don’t touch or disturb her. She’s between life and death now.” Ch. 20
Blurry images began returning to her awakening mind, passing in rapid motion. Stars, representing the uncountable souls of every living thing that had ever lived, flashed within the neurons of her brain. All this pure, mental energy, a manifold manifestation of multiple spirits, echoed inside her physical body. She tried to understand what her mind was going through. Was it some enigmatic craziness or a sign that her own spirit was defective? Did she actually have a personal spirit? Can spirits be defective? There were enough things broken in her life without having a broken spirit as well. Not a good thing. Ch. 20
Leyla shivered. “Cheeta, are you afraid…do you think all of us will die?”
“Used to be, not anymore,” she answered, reiterating the words Keela had said to her. “We’d just become non-existent, pre-birth nothingness. Our bodies would turn to ash and blow away in the wind.”
“That may be right for our physical bodies, but never our spirits,” Leyla replied pensively. “I like to think there is a spiritual life after you die, in a place like a heaven, another dimension or something else—just different. Maybe I’m just being romantic, but I like the notion that our spirits become all the stars in the universe. We are all like star dust anyway.”
Cheeta agreed. “The indifference of nature only applies to the physical world, not the spiritual world. Fate and the future belong only in the realm of our spiritual destinies.” Ch. 20
Nastya’s eyes moistened. “I can’t see any spirits, but I feel as if they exist. Can you be spiritual and not religious?”
Cheeta took Nastya in her arms. “Yes,” she answered. “Fear and hate bring a belief in gods and religion; love and security bring a belief in spirits. I will always love you, Nastya—and your spirit.” Ch. 21
Scene depiction from "Not So Brave"
