
Apr 30 • 31M
The Soul of Japanese Wayfaring Poetry
Where the Mindful-Heart Blends With Great Nature
A 'dreaming-while-awake' journey exploring poetry, deeper reality, the inner life, Nature connection, contemplative practice, and some of the "practice-hints" offered to us by Wayfaring poets of old.
In this podcast episode of The Poet’s Dreamingbody, I explore three Shinto concepts that are at the root of Japanese spirituality and poetry: tama (soul, spiritual presence), kokoro (heart, heart-mind, or translated as “mindful-heart” by scholar Thomas Kasulis, author of Shinto: The Way Home), and kotodama (“word-soul”, “word-spirit”, or the spiritual presence within words) — a term that influences not only the wide array of expressions of Shinto spirituality but also Shingon Buddhism and the formation of the martial art of Aikido.
SOUNDSCAPES FOR EPISODE
“Kokoro” / from Tenkawa: Pilgrimage of the Sacred Sound 1 by Hiroki Okano
Forest Yearning / Bronwyn Kirkpatrick