#divine spirits

Since today is a Bittersweet and a Passion post day, you guys get a Lore post. This time, it's about one of the Divine Beings. We'll be back with more excerpts tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the new chapters!

Japanese Mythology & Deities

The world of the Divine Spirit, the Gods in our lives (12)

KODAMA- The Tree Spirits

KODAMA are spirits in Japanese folklore that inhabit trees. The term is also used to denote a tree in which a kodama supposedly resides. The phenomenon known as yamabiko, when sounds make a delayed echoing effect in mountains and valleys, is sometimes attributed to this kind of spirit and may also be referred to as "kodama".

These spirits are considered to nimbly bustle about mountains at will. A kodama's outer appearance is very much like an ordinary tree, but if one attempts to cut it down, one would become cursed, etc., and it is thus considered to have some kind of mysterious supernatural power. 

The knowledge of those trees that have kodama living in them is passed down by the elderly of that area over successive generations and they are protected, and it is also said that trees that have a kodama living in them are of certain types of trees. Some say that when old trees are cut, blood could come forth from them.

Kodama is also seen as something that can be understood as mountain gods. They can take the form of a monster, a beast or a man, and  there is also a story that a tree spirit who fell in love with a human took human form and went to meet her.

It's a tree spirit (KODAMA) familiar from Ghibli's Princess Mononoke. Not only in forests, but also in residential areas and cityscapes, trees and plants are being burned and cut down due to human worries about "bad sunlight" and "danger". Which is the real danger?

Isn't it the human being who no longer feels or fears the presence of the spirits of trees and plants in life and nature?

I have nothing but respect and gratitude to Mr Miyazaki for continuing to send such a message. But it seems that most people only see film and reality as two different things. In an interview, he said: 

"I want people to go to real mountains and forests and feel nature directly, instead of watching my films in a clean room. You have to know that beauty is not the only thing in nature: you have to get muddy, you have to get hurt, you have to see all the insects and animal droppings and dirt.”

日本神話と神様たち

神霊の世界·暮らしの中の神々 (12)

木霊（こだま）～木の精霊

木霊（こだま）は樹木に宿る精霊である。また、それが宿った樹木を木霊（こだま）と呼ぶ。

また山や谷で音が反射して遅れて聞こえる現象である山彦（やまびこ：日本の山の神·妖怪）は、この精霊のしわざであるともされ、「こだま」と呼ばれることもある。

この精霊は山中を敏捷に、自在に駆け回るとされる。木霊は外見はごく普通の樹木であるが、切り倒そうとすると祟られるとか、神通力に似た不思議な力を有するとされる。木霊（こだま）のある木の知識は、その土地の古老が代々語り継ぎ、守るものであり、また、木霊の宿る木には決まった種類があるともいわれる。また、古い木を切ると血が出るという説もある。

木霊（こだま）は、山の神ともいえるものとされている。妖怪や獣、人間の姿をしていることもあり、人間に恋をした木の精が人間の姿になって会いに行ったという説もある。

ジブリの「もののけ姫」でもお馴染みの木霊(こだま)。森林だけに留まらず、住宅街や街並みに至るまで「日当たりが悪い」「危険だ」諸々の人間の煩悩により、どんどん焼かれ切断されて行く樹木や植物。本当に危険なのはどちらでしょうか？

生命や自然にやどる木霊（こだま）の存在を感じること、恐れることが無くなった人間たちではないでしょうか？

そういうメッセージを発信し続けている宮崎氏には敬意と感謝しかありません。でも、殆どの人たちは映画と現実を別物としてしかとらえていないようです。あるインタビューで彼は語る：

Twin Flames are light workers. They are one soul in two human bodies. It can happen to anyone, who wakes up to it.

What do Twin Flames do? A lot of people think that just being a Twin Flame is just about unconditional love. It’s not. That’s just part of the journey. It’s about stepping into power. To raise the world to higher vibrations. Vibrations of unconditional love. 

How do we do this? Well, we spread love. We must love ourselves, and love others. Does this mean not having healthy boundaries? No. You need to have boundaries. There will be people and beings that will try to hurt you. You do not owe them the time of day. If someone is not willing to change do NOT waste your time on them. Please.

To love yourself is one of the hardest things to do. I still struggle once in a while with it myself, but that’s also part of being human. There will be times where it seems like it’s impossible, like it’s insane, and you may have days where you’re just down and out. It’s okay. It’s completely okay. It’s all part of the journey, to take care of yourself. Put yourself first.

Yes, you can have a mental illness and be a Twin Flame. 

No, not everything that happens to you in your life is a “Lesson”. You can have lessons without being hurt. IE; you being sexually harmed, or without consent is not a “Lesson”. It took away your free will. You do not need to forgive and forget the person that did this to you.

Yes Twin Flames “Fight”. But it’s not an abusive relationship. It is unconditional love, so if you’re in an abusive relationship, and think that is your twin, that is not your twin. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not going to be 100% peaceful. It’s not, it’s a rough journey. Fighting is common, having disagreements is common, but an abusive relationship is not a twin flame relationship.

There are guidelines out there, of people telling you this and this and this of how a Twin Flame relationship is supposed to go. Yes it does help, but there are no rules. Not everyone’s journey is the same. There can be wildly different points of views of this.

Only you can figure out who your Twin Flame is. Sure, there are readers out there who will read for you if the person is your Twin. But that’s also an outside influence. 

Twin Flame relationships can be same gender, different gender, or neither gender. I want that stigma gone that Twin Flame relationships are only heterosexual. 

The whole DM and DF thing is about energies. Yes, you can be a DF, but you will still carry some sort of DM energy within. You need to. You can also possess too much of either energy. You can also switch energies. You need to learn how to balance these two energies within yourself to truly find balance.

Confirmation isn’t everything. Do not obsess over a number or synchronicity if you start seeing them. Yes it’s super exciting! Yes you can and probably will see it often! But do not make your day into focusing around these things.

Your Twin does not have to be a certain religion or follow a certain spirituality. They do not have to believe in any of this. Do not force the person into it, they will eventually figure it out on their own. It’s up to them to put in the work themselves. You cannot force it.

You don’t have to be in a sexual relationship with your Twin. Yes, you can be, and it doesn’t have to be simple penetration. There’s more to it than that. There is a such thing as astral sex, but not everyone experiences it, or has to. You do not have to have the urge to be sexual with your Twin. You can just exist. Be romantic. All of that, without being sexual.