Day 9 of the Zen of Spirit journey begins with spiritual exercises and the direction to just be ordinary — breathe in and breathe out. We walk to the train station, we pass gardens and trees lining a river. There is a sign pointing the way to JR — Japan Rail that is. Beauty speaks to us all around. We are on our way to Izumo Shinto shrine.
On the train we make many friends. The children laugh and play with us, smiling for our photos and listening to our earphones as Steve Beimel sings them a Japanese song. One young girl’s name is Now — how appropriate!
We reach the entrance gate to the Shinto shrine. Shinto is the indigenous Japanese religion. John Morton and our group stop for a blessing of this place, bringing joy and Light here and the energy of renewal.
We walk the paths and gardens, John Morton points out a building he calls “Prana Japan.” We see the sacred rope, massive in size. We see the old temple building which only the priests can enter, and the newer temple where public ceremonies are held.
We wait in the lobby of the information building. As one, we move into spiritual exercises without being asked to, chanting our tones silently. This creates a sacred space and is, for many of us, the highlight of this temple visit.
We enter the public temple. A Shinto priest performs a ceremony, sending our prayers to the Shinto gods. A Shinto temple maiden performs a sacred dance.
The Shinto priest asks John Morton to participate. John kneels, bows and claps, and we follow along. We drink the sacred sake from the priests and receive amulets. We enter the courtyard to the old temple to see this ancient building more closely. No photos allowed.
Off to lunch and then back on the train to Matsue. We make more friends on the train.
In Matsue, we visit the scenic castle district. We see a display of bonsai trees, Paul Kaye has 2 favorites, of course.
Next we board boats and gently cruise the castle moat. Much laughter as the already low roof of the boat lowers even more as we travel under bridges. We practically lay on the floor of the boat to pass under one bridge. The boat captain’s outfit is a funny mix, with a traditional Japanese hat and clothing and a modern day ear and microphone set like you’d see in a music video. It is a pleasant and peaceful journey down the river.
Here’s the “Haiku of the Day” from Scott Ringer:
Under the willow
I am experiencing
all of me just now
Next we enter Matsue castle, one of only 12 castles remaining in Japan. This castle dates from the early 1600’s. It is basically a samurai fort to defend the area. Samurai helmets and swords are on display. We climb up a steep staircase, many levels, to the top of the castle where we are just in time to see a beautiful rainbow. It’s is a Light filled moment to end our day of touring.
We return to our hotel by cab. We bathe and dine, and then enjoy our final evening of sharing with John Morton. The Traveler is so present as participant after participant shares their learning and their appreciation of our Zen of Spirit journey. John takes questions for over 3 hours until our sound man, Phil Danza, cannot stay awake any longer. Off to bed and sweet dreams of the Traveler inside of us, as us.
And the journey continues….
