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Category Archives: Practical
Wikihow’s 12 practical steps
The Wikihow pages have an item on ‘How to Follow Shintoism’. Not sure who’s compiled it, though there are seven monikers. Some of the ideas are pretty wacky: learning gagaku or dressing up in white kimono doesn’t seem practical or … Continue reading
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Solitary Practice: a Ten-Step Guide
The Green Shinto Ten-Step Guide to Individual Practice What can someone do in a practical sense who is sympathetic to Shinto but isolated from other practitioners? In other words, how can the solitary Shintoist follow their faith? In a previous … Continue reading
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Wake up!
Last summer I attended an inspiring talk by Graham Hancock (author of Fingerprints of the Gods). Looking through his webpage, I came upon a wonderful interview with Tim Freke, author of The Jesus Mysteries, who speaks of awakening consciousness. … Continue reading
Posted in Animism, Misogi, Practical
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Summer solstice
For the summer solstice celebration last year I went to the Meoto rocks near Ise where I participated in the morning misogi done in the Pacific. It is timed to coincide with sunrise on the year’s longest day, and … Continue reading
Posted in Ise, Misogi, Practical, Purity and pollution, Rites and celebrations
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Waterfall misogi (takigyo)
It seems there’s a boom in mountain asceticism. This month’s Kansai Scene had a piece on experiencing shugendo (see here). This morning Japan Today writes of a three-day programme on Mount Mitake, about an hour from Tokyo by train. Cold … Continue reading
Posted in Practical, Shugendo
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Experiencing shugendo (mountain asceticism)
There’s a short article on shugendo in this month’s Kansai Scene, which can be read online here. It’s of particular interest because it describes an opportunity for foreigners to experience this Shinto-Buddhist blend of mountain asceticism for themselves. Shugendo dates … Continue reading
Posted in Mountains, Practical, Shugendo
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Ofuda (talisman)
The ofuda is the equivalent in the house of ‘the spirit body’ (goshintai) in the Shinto shrine. The word literally means an honourable tag or tablet, and it is usually purchased from a shrine. It acts as a symbol of … Continue reading
Posted in Practical, Shrine items
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Spiritual exercises: misogi, furitama and chinkon
The Japanese Dutch Shinzen Foundation published the following account of three spiritual exercises: misogi, furitama and chinkon from An Actor Adrift by Yoshi Oida (London, 1992 ISBN 0 413 67080 5) Copyright © 1992 Yoshi Oida & Lorna Marshall Chapter … Continue reading
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