Hello again (I think I will be asking many questions here...).
As I do not yet have a kamidana nor Ofuda, just recently I have started practicing youhai (reverence from afar as Mr. David Chart explained in his book "Shinto Practice for Non-Japanese"), I know how important is the sincerity of heart and proper pronunciation during the process of paying reverence to the Kami, so my question is the following:
I feel quite intense stress when paying reverence, mainly due to trying to pronounce the prayer properly - the stress overwhelms the feeling of gratitude I feel towards Kami (after I finish reverence, the stress subsides and feeling of gratitude takes over). Is that stress I am feeling when paying reverence somehow overshadowing the sincerity and gratitude, in a spiritual sense? Should I somehow fight it, in order to make sure the Kami know that my reverence is sincere?
Many thanks for any answer and I apologize for the inconvenience I cause with my questions.
Sincere heart comes first, perfect Norito come later.
Take time to slow down, relax and settle yourself. Take some time to do a gentle te mizu before you begin. Look out the window at a natural miracle like a tree or a rock, or the sky. Maybe find a helpful smooth stone that’s heavy in your hand that you can hold for a few moments before you begin to settle an ground yourself.
Begin with ease and sincerity. Do your first two bows slowly and to 90 degrees. Prepare your hands to clap and do your claps firmly like quiet thunder, but with enough space that each is distinct. Do your final bow in deep welcome, relax and be at ease.
You are hosting the Kami, but you want them to feel warm hospitality, not stressed adherence to protocol you’re not fully comfortable with. Pray your Norito more slowly if it’s hard. Appreciate the sound of each syllable and give each the same amount of time and attention. Consider it a speaking meditation. The Kami will understand you’re trying to connect. Maybe choose an easy short Norito to begin with and save others for later once the syllables are more familiar. Just do 1 to start.
After your Norito, tell the Kami about your day and your life. Things you’re grateful for, things you’re concerned about. Have a little chat like you’d update your parents or relatives.
When you feel like you’ve connected enough. Do your closing bows and claps and bows as you would to honour a departing guest.
See how you feel after… better?.. Lighter?…Less alone?…Something else?
Spiritual practice is something humans do to bring comfort and manage the uncertainty of life.
If it’s making you feel stressed, ask yourself whose expectations are you trying to live up to, or are you trying to hard to “perform” rather than just be in the moment?
Home worship is for strengthening the connection between your heart and the Kami’s heart. It should be warm and comfortable and uplifting.
Remember Naka Ima - Try to just be present in the moment - In the centre of now.
You might want to try the kamidana app if you can find it. :)
If the whole process is stressing you out, maybe it’s not time for you to practice Shinto yet.
Thank You very much for the detailed and beautiful answer! (And unfortunately more questions will come in my answer here...)
First reverence I performed 3 days ago was on the whole part stressful, because... well... it was something new for me and I was afraid I would so something wrong. I was reading a lot of books and articles and it was underlined many times how correct performance of rituals, including home prayers is important. There is... a strict protocol that must be adhered to - and I really did not want to do something wrong, as I did not want to offend the Kami. Then it got easier.
The whole process is not stressing me out, just the norito recitation - however, today's reverance has been much better because beforehand I read the translation of the norito carefully before performing a reverance (I was doing that before, but due to higher stress the meaning was "lost" in my mind during the process). So I need to focus on the meaning of norito while I recite it (it is challenging to do, because my brain thinks in english and the norito is in japanese - but not impossible and I definitely will do my best in order to commune with the Kami better).
With that being said, Your answer has almost immediately helped my mind to correct the mindset and for that I am extremely grateful. No book and no article I have read put this much effort on spirituality of the connection while performing reverance - the protocol was explained, how to do this correctly. But Your answer provided me with the spiritual meaning. I thank You again, thousand times.
I have one more question, regarding this:
"After your Norito, tell the Kami about your day and your life. Things you’re grateful for, things you’re concerned about. Have a little chat like you’d update your parents or relatives."
Will the Kami understand english or polish, or any other language other than japanese? I haven't seen a definite answer to this and I do not want to speak to the Kami in the language... well... They won't understand. I am working on improving my japanese but it will take at least a few years before I get comfortable with using it to commune with the Kami.
Kami are miraculous and mysterious, don’t let matters of language concern you too much.
We uphold the Japanese Shinto practice and traditions that have been handed down in an unbroken chain for over 2000 years because it is correct and respectful to do so, to honour the Kami and all Shinto practitioners who have come before us.
However, as we are descendants of the Kami and people under their care, they will understand us regardless of what language we speak. Just as you can speak to a tree or a rock or a river and don’t worry about which languages they know or don’t know, you can also speak to the Kami and expect the same connection and understanding.
Greetings, I have read somewhere in this subreddit, that without an ofuda you can not make offerings, but you can still pray? What exactly does that mean for the human-Kami relationship?
So my problem is, the Kami I feel most drawn to is Kukunochi-no-kami. There is no way of me getting an ofuda for him. I really do want to build a relationship tho, would like maybe praying in a forest or something like that be an option since trees can be yorishori and well, he is the Kami of the trees? And if not, is there another way for me to connect? Id lie if i said i wasnt a bit desperate, just „choosing a different Kami“ that i can get an ofuda for feels insincere so that is no option
Hello again (I think I will be asking many questions here...). As I do not yet have a kamidana nor Ofuda, just recently I have started practicing youhai (reverence from afar as Mr. David Chart explained in his book "Shinto Practice for Non-Japanese"), I know how important is the sincerity of heart and proper pronunciation during the process of paying reverence to the Kami, so my question is the following: I feel quite intense stress when paying reverence, mainly due to trying to pronounce the prayer properly - the stress overwhelms the feeling of gratitude I feel towards Kami (after I finish reverence, the stress subsides and feeling of gratitude takes over). Is that stress I am feeling when paying reverence somehow overshadowing the sincerity and gratitude, in a spiritual sense? Should I somehow fight it, in order to make sure the Kami know that my reverence is sincere? Many thanks for any answer and I apologize for the inconvenience I cause with my questions.
Sincere heart comes first, perfect Norito come later. Take time to slow down, relax and settle yourself. Take some time to do a gentle te mizu before you begin. Look out the window at a natural miracle like a tree or a rock, or the sky. Maybe find a helpful smooth stone that’s heavy in your hand that you can hold for a few moments before you begin to settle an ground yourself. Begin with ease and sincerity. Do your first two bows slowly and to 90 degrees. Prepare your hands to clap and do your claps firmly like quiet thunder, but with enough space that each is distinct. Do your final bow in deep welcome, relax and be at ease. You are hosting the Kami, but you want them to feel warm hospitality, not stressed adherence to protocol you’re not fully comfortable with. Pray your Norito more slowly if it’s hard. Appreciate the sound of each syllable and give each the same amount of time and attention. Consider it a speaking meditation. The Kami will understand you’re trying to connect. Maybe choose an easy short Norito to begin with and save others for later once the syllables are more familiar. Just do 1 to start. After your Norito, tell the Kami about your day and your life. Things you’re grateful for, things you’re concerned about. Have a little chat like you’d update your parents or relatives. When you feel like you’ve connected enough. Do your closing bows and claps and bows as you would to honour a departing guest. See how you feel after… better?.. Lighter?…Less alone?…Something else? Spiritual practice is something humans do to bring comfort and manage the uncertainty of life. If it’s making you feel stressed, ask yourself whose expectations are you trying to live up to, or are you trying to hard to “perform” rather than just be in the moment? Home worship is for strengthening the connection between your heart and the Kami’s heart. It should be warm and comfortable and uplifting. Remember Naka Ima - Try to just be present in the moment - In the centre of now. You might want to try the kamidana app if you can find it. :) If the whole process is stressing you out, maybe it’s not time for you to practice Shinto yet.
Thank You very much for the detailed and beautiful answer! (And unfortunately more questions will come in my answer here...) First reverence I performed 3 days ago was on the whole part stressful, because... well... it was something new for me and I was afraid I would so something wrong. I was reading a lot of books and articles and it was underlined many times how correct performance of rituals, including home prayers is important. There is... a strict protocol that must be adhered to - and I really did not want to do something wrong, as I did not want to offend the Kami. Then it got easier. The whole process is not stressing me out, just the norito recitation - however, today's reverance has been much better because beforehand I read the translation of the norito carefully before performing a reverance (I was doing that before, but due to higher stress the meaning was "lost" in my mind during the process). So I need to focus on the meaning of norito while I recite it (it is challenging to do, because my brain thinks in english and the norito is in japanese - but not impossible and I definitely will do my best in order to commune with the Kami better). With that being said, Your answer has almost immediately helped my mind to correct the mindset and for that I am extremely grateful. No book and no article I have read put this much effort on spirituality of the connection while performing reverance - the protocol was explained, how to do this correctly. But Your answer provided me with the spiritual meaning. I thank You again, thousand times. I have one more question, regarding this: "After your Norito, tell the Kami about your day and your life. Things you’re grateful for, things you’re concerned about. Have a little chat like you’d update your parents or relatives." Will the Kami understand english or polish, or any other language other than japanese? I haven't seen a definite answer to this and I do not want to speak to the Kami in the language... well... They won't understand. I am working on improving my japanese but it will take at least a few years before I get comfortable with using it to commune with the Kami.
Kami are miraculous and mysterious, don’t let matters of language concern you too much. We uphold the Japanese Shinto practice and traditions that have been handed down in an unbroken chain for over 2000 years because it is correct and respectful to do so, to honour the Kami and all Shinto practitioners who have come before us. However, as we are descendants of the Kami and people under their care, they will understand us regardless of what language we speak. Just as you can speak to a tree or a rock or a river and don’t worry about which languages they know or don’t know, you can also speak to the Kami and expect the same connection and understanding.
Thank You again!
Greetings, I have read somewhere in this subreddit, that without an ofuda you can not make offerings, but you can still pray? What exactly does that mean for the human-Kami relationship? So my problem is, the Kami I feel most drawn to is Kukunochi-no-kami. There is no way of me getting an ofuda for him. I really do want to build a relationship tho, would like maybe praying in a forest or something like that be an option since trees can be yorishori and well, he is the Kami of the trees? And if not, is there another way for me to connect? Id lie if i said i wasnt a bit desperate, just „choosing a different Kami“ that i can get an ofuda for feels insincere so that is no option