Just posted this in my sensei's Shinto page and the Jedi Realist page. Posted here instead of Miscellaneous because I think it will get more views. Thought it was relevant to the Jedi as well, so I'll share this..
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Reflecting on the uprightness and longevity of the sacred evergreen, it is not difficult to see the sanctity of giving of gifts during the holiday season. By decorating it with tinsel, ornaments, and most importantly, with a star on the top, we are truly experiencing the decorated tree as a yorishiro, housing the sacred noumenal presence of the Kami.
As the tree is upright, crowned with a star, we are reminded of the vertical connection between heaven and earth. As it descends, the reach of the tree, and by extension, the vertical reach of the Kami, is extended ever so slightly outwards in a horizontal direction.
The tree "decked with spirit" and adorned with gifts has it's limits though. While the presents reach out further from the center of the tree, indicating distance from the Great Center, they represent the mobility of the Spirit, and points back to us and our curious place between the vertical and horizontal relationships.
Watching the light of the Kami descend and densify from spiritual light to material delight, we see how the this light is given to us to be spread around through gift giving. This portability shows us that although we may be "stuck" or bound to these relationships between heaven and earth, and self and other, we are actually free to determine the quality and direction of that relationship.
In this way, we touch not only on Shinto and Christmas, but we empower ourselves to empower those around us with the highly contagious consequences of Joy and Cheer. Remaining grounded in this primordial expression of awareness of the noumenal, we offer this light yearly on the eve of the New Year to truly and deeply connect ourselves to each other and the world around us.
May you kindle warmth in your hearts as well as your hearths,
Jacob from Colorado
The Force is with you, always.
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