Year of the Rabbit

[Azmaria Dei]

Its times like these that I feel that America (in general) has a very boring culture.

boring? with 200+ years of US persecution of people that are different? salem witch hunts, trail of tears, mormon prosecutions/executions, japanese concentration camps... it's certainly a varied past that has given rise to a fat and oblivious US population... and that's a lot of metaphysical energy that gives rise to a different sort of spirit inhabiting areas.

but i digress... the most spiritually aware places i've been have been England and Japan. both countries also drive on the left side of the road as well... i don't think that's coincidence either...

that's not to say that i don't love the US - i do. but i'm glad to be able to meet people that don't share the same world views as the people greeting you in wal-mart and escorting me out of best buy because i wear a long coat in the middle of winter...

/rant

[Matt Thorn]

boring? with 200+ years of US persecution of people that are different? salem witch hunts, trail of tears, mormon prosecutions/executions, japanese concentration camps... it's certainly a varied past that has given rise to a fat and oblivious US population... and that's a lot of metaphysical energy that gives rise to a different sort of spirit inhabiting areas.

Hey, Azmaria said it, not me, and she's a member of the armed forces. (^o^)

but i digress... the most spiritually aware places i've been have been England and Japan. both countries also drive on the left side of the road as well... i don't think that's coincidence either...

Yet most Japanese consider themselves irreligious. Capital "G" God is nowhere, yet the lowercase "g" gods are everywhere. They have Shinto birth celebrations, "Christian" weddings, and Buddhist funerals. People from monotheistic societies have a hard time wrapping their heads around Japanese spiritualism, yet the Japanese hardly think about it at all.

that's not to say that i don't love the US - i do.

Presumably you wouldn't be wearing that uniform if you didn't. It's easy to wave the flag; not so easy to join the armed forces in a time of war. (-_^)

but i'm glad to be able to meet people that don't share the same world views as the people greeting you in wal-mart and escorting me out of best buy because i wear a long coat in the middle of winter...

/rant

Amen.

[RattleHornet]

In Japan, there are eight millon gods.
Every grain of rice have seven gods.

It's too many!

[Azmaria Dei]

that's one point where my spiritual beliefs line up with the general Japanese - everything has a spirit/kami and YES there are 7 of them inside of each grain of rice. with that many spirits to talk to and to look over them, it's no wonder they're a country of perfectionists that make some of the world's best electronics. and the energies streaming off of the mountains and into the valleys is quite beautiful. ^_^ but there's nothing quite like home - and my home will always be Missouri. the trees there are friendly and smile upon you and every leaf will dance and laugh. ^_^