#konko

[milkboydotnet]

[chasinggoldenlight]

A Brief Timeline of Me and Konkokyo

2010 - All of the questions I’ve ever had pile up and I finally pray and make peace with the belief that Christianity isn’t for me even though I held respect for Jesus and continued to pray for God (I can go more in-depth on this another time). 

2015 - I meet my friend, Luna, who introduces me to Konkokyo and visit the　Shirokane and Shiba Churches in Tokyo. I didn’t know much about Konkoyou at the time, but Luna was kind about answering my general questions.

2016-2017 - I do more research on the history of Christianity and other religions. I begin to think more deeply about Jesus, cultural appropriation, and what it meant for non-Jewish people to declare someone the “Messiah” and refer to the Hebrew Bible as the “Old Testament” after meeting a Hebrew Bible scholar.

2017 - I move to Japan and work full-time. 

2018 - After years of therapy, I began to form genuine emotional connections with people around me and started to pursue spirituality on an emotional and personal level rather than just an intellectual one. I started to listen more to practitioners of Buddhism and Shintoism and how various philosophies showed up in local social work projects. 

2018-2021 - I earnestly researched and sought teachers and resources on Christianist, Zen Buddhissm, Tibetan Buddhism, reiki, paganism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, culturally-sensitive witchcraft/magick, regional folk magick, and a wide range of spiritual beliefs. I think Sadhguru, Dogen, and A Course in Miracles had a particularly major effect on me. I would still recommend lessons from A Course in Miracles’ (ACIM’s) workbook to anyone if they asked me today! They’re very good meditations and you can read them here: https://acim.org/workbook-lessons-overview/workbook-table-of-contents/

2021 - After various events and changing jobs, I decide to ask Luna about Konkokyo again. I realized there were three Konkokyo churches in the town I was moving to -- my first time living in an area with Konkokyo churches since leaving Tokyo!

December 31st, 2021 - I decide to visit the one church in my area with a homepage. I called ahead of time, but they were very nice to me even though I my cellphone signal was TERRIBLE. I ended up making it in time for the New Year’s ceremony. I didn’t understand much of what was going on, but the atmosphere felt right and I decided to keep going!

January 2022 - February 2022 - I kept going to the same local church and learned more about Konkokyo from various English books, toritsugi (divine mediation with the minister -- I’ll write more about my personal experiences with that another time too!) , and in-depth conversations with the ministers. My favorite phrase in daily life is still “With Kami-sama” (With God/the Divine Parent).

Late February/Early March 2022 - I end up making plans to move back to America and with the help of the ministers, my visit to the Main Church in Konko-cho, Okayama is planned!

March 27th, 2022 - After travelling to Tokyo, Osaka Kyoto, Nara, and Hiroshima, I finally made it to Konko-town with just enough time to visit the current Konko-sama for the first time and have toritsugi. That first day I was pretty nervous and didn’t know what to expect! I ended up receiving lots of help and even delicious ramen! I slept well at the Tosaya Inn before waking up for morning prayers with other believers and Konko-sama at 3:45 in the morning. I had a dream that night that also made me feel more at home/at peace in Konko-cho.

March 28th, 2022 - I started the morning with a DELICIOUS breakfast at Tosaya, where I was staying. I visited sooooo many places thanks to the kind work of several people (I’ll see if I can name names in the future! I’m so grateful for all of your help and haven’t forgotten!) We took our time visiting and praying at several places, including the Founder, Konko Daijin-sama’s birthplace. I cried after toritsugi there and had genuine, personal spiritual encounters at each place. On top of that, I also got to speak with the founder of Bodaiju, a community outreach project in Konko-cho. We spoke about so many things regarding mental health and social work, and I felt renewed motivation to pursue a degree in that field!

After a long, enriching day, I once again slept well at Tosaya.

March 29th, 2022 - I had toritsugi again with Konko-sama and visited several sites once again. I cried tears of gratitude and release. I have so many feelings about Konkokyo and its history that I want to share here -- that’s a whole other post though! :) 

I left Konko-cho and received gifts that I will be forever grateful for. While traveling, both my heart and stomach were filled :P

I’m now back in America and about to start my new job as an administrative assistant as a substance abuse clinic. I felt a little lonely after leaving Konko-cho and meeting so many amazing people, but in my heart it is truly a “see you again” rather than “goodbye” :)

Please look forward to more posts on my personal relationship with Konkokyo as as I learn and grow!

[karisville]

konko church // international district, seattle, washington

[livingwithkami]

—————————————————————————————————— This page will periodically be updated with new books and resources. If you have a recommendation (add or remove), please email me at...

 The reading list has been updated and broken links fixed. Namely, the list of Japanese shrines with English sections have been fixed (66 links!!) Please feel free to reblog and share!

[shintosprout]

Hi

Hi. I am a Shinto sprout - so I’m new to Shinto.

I’ve decided to make a blog/eshrine mostly for myself about my Shinto journey.

I’ve been on a spiritual journey for a few years now and I think I’ve found a spiritual home in Shinto. I’ve also stumbled upon Konko, too, which as a belief makes total sense so I want to add that in the mix, too.

The main kami I look to is Ame no Uzume no Mikoto Sama. I feel like she has so much to teach and offer - I feel her blessings in my life already. Susanoo no Mikoto Sama and Tsukiyomi no Mikoto Sama are also kami I look to that I also feel has a lot to teach and offer. But I’m just getting to know both (as well as learn more about Tenchi Kane no Kami).

So...that’s me, really!

[unfamiliarworld]

[notsomuchofascholar-blog]

Just some side stuff i did while playing around with my photo editing program :o 

[milkboydotnet]

Konko Church of San Francisco 90th Anniversary Part 1 of The Sound of Kibi on YouTube