The Pillar of the God

Isuzu River is the bounds (kekkai) between the sacred ground of Naigū of Ise Jingu and the outer world.

Isuzu (五十鈴) means fifty bells. I think it’s a very Shinto-ish name. Bells signifies the harai, purification. The Shinto maiden dances with bells in her hands. The metallic sound of the bells clears off the evil spirits or negative energies. Not just one bell, but to have many bells to create multiple sounds is the key to harai.

In ancient Shinto, the kazutama(the spirit of numbers) of 3 and 5 is called “annanai”. Annanai means “to help one another”.

The number 50 is bigger than 35 and I sense that it means “perfection.” The Isuzu River is a river that purifies perfectly.

On November 3rd, a ceremony was held for the newly built Uji Bridge that runs on top of Isuzu River. The day before the ceremony, one of our reader took a photo of the new Uji Bridge (shown ). On this photo, you can see a Divine Pillar descending from the heavens. The love from the nation and the efforts of the priests of Ise Jingu are felt by the gods. The gods are making a move.
This photo shows that the divine energy is filling this bridge.

The next kekkai after the Isuzu River is the Miya River. Around a thousand years ago, the priests were strictly told not to pass this river. A visit to the outer world passing Miya River was considered unnecessary for the priests of Ise Jingu. As long as they serve the god of Ise, they were to dedicate their lives to stay inside the sacred ground of Ise Jingu all year around.

I certainly hope the priests of today remain in the same spirit.
The God of Ise is roaring like a thunder. It is time for the priests of Ise to brace oneself so he doesn’t get blown away.

The line between Ise and Hakusan, the center of Japan, is starting to glow.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live

Don’t add any negative energy onto yourself

From a reader:
Daughter: “Mom, I want to go to Tenmann-gu(Osaka) before my college entering exam.”
Mother: “Sure. But don’t use the word please let me pass, ok?”
Daughter: “I know mom. I’m going to write, I will pass!! on the Emma.”

Comment:
This is a proper attitude to pay a visit to a shrine.
The true function of a shrine is to reflect your own thoughts like a mirror. In the mythology, when Amaterasu-Ohomikami’s grandchild Ninigi was going to the World of Reality, Amaterasu gave her a mirror. She said, “Think of this mirror as me, the sun goddess. And keep this on your altar. This will guide your path with light.”

This means: To look at yourself in the mirror once in a while, to check on your actions. Are you truthful to yourself? Have you done anything wrong? If you keep doing this, your path will be guided with your own light and things will go well.

The shrine where god reside = mirror = reflecting back to you. This is what actually happens at a shrine. So if you had said “Please let me pass the exam!, what comes back to you? You are asking a wish to yourself.

When you are asked so many wishes from others, wouldn’t you feel stressed? It’s the same thing when you are asking yourself so many wishes. It’s only adding a minus energy to yourself. You are strangling your own spirit.

So when you say “I will pass the exam”, you are proclaiming. And proclamation will return you a very good plus energy. It’s active rather than passive. You are energizing your own spirit by saying so. If you are able to exhibit your real ability, you should be able to pass. The only reason you don't pass is when you couldn’t exhibit your real ability. When you are asking/begging to pass, the added minus energy might make that happen. Don’t depend on others for your fate.

This applies to other matters like work or health. If you paid to get a healing session, you are only adding minus energy onto yourself. You might be relieved and feel safe that someone got rid of your karma or evil spirits, but in truth, it’s the other way around. You are not set free but only strangling yourself.

At a shrine, it is best to offer your gratitude and nothing else. When you do this, the gratitude energy will come back to you, and you will start to feel grateful for everything.

There is no need to ask for personal desires. Good luck will come to you even you don’t ask for it, if you are acting on goodness. This is one of the secret of this world we live in.

Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live