“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The golden rule is a universal idea that spans almost every religion. You can find references to it in Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and countless others. Mark Boyer, a per-course faculty member in the department of religious studies at Missouri State University, says universal concepts within world religions exist far beyond just the golden rule.

Boyer’s recently published book, titled “An Abecedarian of Animal Spirit Guides: Spiritual Growth through Reflections on Creatures,” examines the concept of animals as spirit guides and explores how humans can integrate the attributes of sacred animals into their own spirituality.

An A to Z overview of animals and spirituality

While Boyer’s area of expertise is the New Testament, his background in world religions and his passion for discovering universal concepts inspired him to study the spirituality of animals.

“Almost every religion has animals within it that function as spirit guides or sacred animals,” said Boyer. “You don’t realize how many animals there are in sacred literature until you start paying attention to them.”

Boyer’s curiosity led to research that resulted in an abecedarian — an alphabetically-arranged book that begins each chapter with an excerpt from a sacred text, such as the Quran, the Bible or the Rig Veda, followed by an explanation that incorporates other references from other religions and concludes with a prayer and a question for journaling or meditation.

For readers of the abecedarian, Boyer hopes the book will raise their awareness of the connection between animals and spirituality.

“Most people do not think of animals as a spirit guide or as a way to spirituality,” said Boyer. “My hope is that people will say, ‘This aids me in my life quest and the way I live my life.’”

Universals touch, awaken spirits

Universals, according to Boyer, are not just simple concepts that appear in a variety of religions. Universals unite us as human beings.

“There are these deep themes that exist within all human beings,” said Boyer. “They’re what enable us to understand each other and plug into each other, to feel compassion and to learn from each other.”

These universal themes of humanity are what Boyer strove to echo in his book.

“That’s why in just a single entry, you’ll find quotes from a variety of sacred texts,” said Boyer. “If you drew lines between them, they would go around the globe. There’s something about animals as spirit guides that is universal.”

In order to experience these universals, says Boyer, we must go beyond a surface-level living.

“A universal is something that echoes within all humankind — if we’re paying attention to it,” said Boyer. “If we’re living our lives on the surface, then nothing’s going to be known and nothing’s going to happen. I’m talking about deep down where we’re touching our spirits. Universals touch spirits — and maybe even awaken them.”

Boyer’s next abecedarian will investigate the significance of various sacred trees in world religions. His book can be purchased from Wipf and Stock Publishers and Amazon.

For more information, contact Boyer at (417) 836-5474.