Unexpected "Effect" of Incense

(December 26, 2008, No.12)

Hello! This is Dragon.

I have loved “Incense” for a long time. I am a man, but I enjoy its fragrance? I love perfumes as well.

When my brother Aniki and I were talking about incense, Kamisama joined in our conversation.
I would like to introduce the story.

G: Guardian deity, Kamisama
D: Dragon (Younger brother)
A: Aniki (Channeler, older brother)


Hidden “Effect” of Incense.

Aniki: Ah, Dragon. Did you buy incense? It is nice, isn’t it?

D: Yup. It is nice. I love incense. I could burn it forever.

Aniki: Indeed. I love it as well. Ah, wait a minute, Kamisamas is talking…

D: Oh! What? (I sit up straight. It is pretty strange, but I am getting used to this situation…)

G: Dragon. Do you know why you feel good when you burn incense?

D: Ah? Of course, because it smells good! ….but it seems like you are indicating something more…

G: Ha, ha, ha. Very good. The effect is more than just the smell.

D: Hmm? What do you mean?

G: Incense existed from ancient times. For instance, why do we have the incense stick?

D: Ah! This is my guess, that the incense stick was used at funerals. It might be to hide the smell of the dead body.

G: Boo….

D: Wow, I was confident about my answer.

G: Ha, ha, ha. Don’t people use incense for Buddhist service not just for funerals?

D: Ah, I see. Then why do we burn incense….

G: The answer relates to guardian gods.

D: Ah? Guardian gods? What happens when we burn the incense…????”

G: They are pleased.

D: “Wow Guardian gods like incense? In other words, they can smell incense?

G: Of course.

D: Wow!!!, I am really surprised … guardian gods love the smell also.

G: Indeed. For instance, what would you do if you were a guardian god and somebody burned incense in this room?

D: Ah, I will stay here for a long time?

G: Indeed. Rather, other guardian gods will gather in this room.

D: Oh! Great! I am happy!

G: That is great. Gods like clean places or beautiful Ki (energy).

D: Indeed. Then I should continue to burn incense

G: Yes, you can do that. However, be careful. There aren’t just good guardian gods.

D: Wow! Not only good guardian gods? There are bad ones?

G: There are. All kinds of gods exist.

D: Wow, that is scary…

G: We will talk about it some other time. There are many good guardian gods, so continue to use incense. If there is a good one next to you, your luck may increase.

D: Okay, I bought a lottery ticket, so I will burn incense next to the tickets!

G: Ha, ha, ha! Do what you want. Don’t have high expectations.

D: I see. If guardian gods like incense, do they like perfume as well?

G: Of course! As I said before, it is easy for guardian gods to gather together in a good environment. I can say the same thing to a person. If a good person is good, then guardian gods can easily help him.

D: Then I will be a good person! I will burn incense!

G: Hang in there. (^∇^)


End.

Ah! The answer was unexpected and it surprised me. What about you? (Dragon)

If you want to get better, faster then do this....

(December 25, 2008, No.11)


G: Guardian Deity, Kamisama
D: Dragon (Younger brother)
A: Aniki (Channaler, Older brother)

Hello! This is Dragon. I caught a cold!

On a chilly night I went to the movies wearing a light jacket. I caught a cold because of this.

When I called by brother, Aniki, yesterday and told him about it, Kamisama said this to me.

"Dragon, if you want to get better, do this …..”

Before I go to bed I want to tell you this story.

The hotline with the god…

G: Dragon, how are you? Are you feeling alright?

D: Ah, can you tell? I have a little fever…. I caught a cold.

G: It will be okay; you will get better but do you want to get better faster?

D: Yes, I don’t want to call in sick. I want to recover within seconds. [Cough, cough.]

G: I understand. Then let’s teach you a special secret.

D: Oh! Great! Please teach me!

G: Okay. By the way, Dragon, what are you thinking now that you caught a cold?

D: Ah? I am pissed off (shit!)

G: I understand. However; you’re not going to get better thinking like that. I am sorry.

D: Ah? Then what do I need to do? Should I think like “Yahoo!”

G: Yes! Right’s right!

D: Wow!!! Should I really think “yahoo!”? Are you sure?

G: Yes. When you get sick, Dragon, be grateful.

D: Grateful? I have never heard of anything like this! How can I be happy!

G: Don’t you want to get well faster? Then be happy. Think that it was great that I got a cold!

D: Hmm. I understand it as positive thinking, but I am not convinced….

G: If you think positively, it is good for you mentally. But do you understand that it will also influence you physically?

D: Hmm, honestly I can’t imagine that…

Love your cells…

G: Dragon, what are you made of?

D: Ah? The body? Muscle, bone structure, blood?

G: Tell me what’s deeper than that?

D: Ah, a cell?

G: Yes. It is a cell. When a person is sick the cells are weak. If the cells are weak, they need to get stronger.

D: That is why I need to be happy? If I am happy, the cells get stronger?

G: Yes, it will get stronger. ‘Joy’ releases healing power more than anything else. It is occasionally reported in the news that 'laughter' makes the immune system stronger. That is true. Dragon, if you are happy, the cells are happy. And when the cells are happy, they feel your love.

D: Love my cells?

G: Yes. For instance, when there is a backache, love your back’s cells.

D: How do I love them? Should I say “I love you?”

G: Of course. It is important to think that way, but do something for instance put a blanket on your back, apply a compress or be gentle with your posture.

Okay then, Dragon when do you think someone loves you?

D: I am happy. I feel thankful.

G: Indeed. Cells think that way too.

D: But they are my cells?

G: Ha, ha, ha. You call the cells your own, but do you really think they are? When you act do you consider your cells?

D: Hmm, No, honestly not. I don’t even think about my cell’s existence.

G: Dragon, I have been telling you this but think about existence. The cells are you, “Dragon” and that is equivalent to the one universe. Therefore; do things that make you and your cells happy.

D: Indeed, ･･･ I think I understand. I will thank the cells always. Although it is likely that others will consider this strange.

G: Ha, ha, ha. Just send love to the cells; you don’t need to verbalize it.

D: Yes. Then I will think positively when I catch a cold.

G: More than thinking about it, express the happiness.

D: Hmm? Like I did?

G: From the bottom of your heart jump up and down with pleasure. And, love your cells more seriously. Only you can be nice to your cells. The body will be activated if you do and the recovery speed will increase.

D: Is it so-called self healing? Ah, by the way, does a person with a fatal disease recover this way?

G: Happiness is strong to overcome even cancer, though I don’t want to exaggerate. However; it’s not necessarily effective in all people because some choose to be sick.

D: Ah? Is there a person who dares to get sick?

G: Yes. Before being born the person decides that his challenge is this lifetime will be “sickness.”

D: Ahhh….. Indeed…….. a great person….

G: I will tell you a story after you recover from your cold. Let's review this story. When you get sick the next time, what will you do?

D: I will be ecstatic!

G: And?

D: I will love my cells!

G: Indeed! Your recovery speed will be far faster.

D: Thank you very much! Then, for the time being, my cells are telling me that they need rest, so I will go to bed! After that I will feed them with special food!

G: Okay. I will pray for your fast recovery.

End.

Please take care of yourself and love your body.

Ah! Kanji “Gojiai” which means "love myself" (to take good care of myself) shows what just Kamisama said …. (We say "gojiai kudasai" to a sick person.)

Dragon

A hidden message delivered through intoxication

(December 24, 2008, No.10)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I am like most Japanese who are non-religious. We celebrate all religions. How are you spending your day?

Well, due to the holidays, most people drink in celebration on holidays. Therefore, today’s topic is “A hidden message in gap.”

Each person handles alcohol differently. Therefore the behavior can range from laughter to anger and so on.

When I get drunk, I tend to speak non-stop. The other day, I said something to my friend that hurt his feelings. (Now I regret it.)

Personally, I wanted to ask Kamisama why I acted this way. (･Θ･;)

Let’s start the conversation. By the way, this conversation came about from the original discussion about god’s hierarchy.

A question about Kamisama’s life…

D: Well, sorry if this question sounds funny,but Kamisama, do you drink alcohol?

G: Yes, I drink.

D: Really! Seriously?

G: Not only do the gods drink alcohol, they also eat food, smoke cigarettes, fall in love and have sex.

D: Wait a minute ･･･ I am shocked to hear that gods do that.

G: Ha, ha, ha. It is true. Just like man, gods like to do these things as well.

D: Ah, it is so… Then, where do you buy your food?

G: I don’t buy the food. I make my own.

D: Ah…, homemade?

G: Yes, if you want to do that.

D: Ah? How else do you get your food?

G: Dragon, you may not believe this, but we get anything we want just by thinking about it. Food and alcohol materialize instantly and it is possible to travel to places in no time.

D: Wow….!? I am Jealous…

G: Certainly, it is a wonderful world. However, because of this, gods can choose to be born as man.

D: What? Why do you want to be born as man? You are god?

G: Some choose to stay as gods, while others choose to be born as man. The reason is that gods want to experience the joy and hardship of being human to cultivate the soul.

D: Training to cultivate the soul.… Hmm, if I were a god, I would stay as a god forever.

G: Ha, ha, ha. Dragon, on a different subject, it doesn’t matter if you become a god or not. Just remember that there is a wonderful world waiting for you after you die. Except, Oops! Suicide is not good because it degrades soul’s rank!

D: What? Souls have ranks?

G: Yes it does. “Ranking ”is exactly as you understand it. However, I don’t want you to think that you can increase ranking by force. It goes up naturally. I will not talk in detail, but just understand that there is ranking for souls.

D: Hmm…

G: Anyway, there are similarities in god’s world to man’s but there is a huge difference in timing.

Does god like alcohol!?

D: Indeed... Let’s return to the story of alcohol… I love alcohol.

G: I know. I love it, too.

D: Oh! I am happy! Do you drink every night?

D: Of course! Having a drink after finishing a job feels great!

D: Indeed! Ah, I am pleased. Then, Kamisama, most the time when I get drunk, I talk a lot and then get sleepy, but recently I made an outrageous remark to a person…

G: Because of alcohol?

D: I didn’t mean to say those terrible thing… I apologized, but I still regret saying it.

G: Ha, ha, ha. It is okay now that you apologized. On other hand, there are many things you can learn from this behavior.

D: Indeed. What I learned is to drink in moderation.

G: Yes. It is okay to drink moderately if it is within the range of your capacity. However, since you have regret about your behavior, it was a good experience for you. So learn from the way you behaved when you were drunk.

The message from being under the influence of alcohol

D: A message? To whom?

G: Of course, a message is sent to you and the people around you.

D: Hmm, do I send a message when I get drunk?

G: Ha, ha, ha. Oh dear, yes, Dragon. For instance, some people are very happy and smile a lot when they get drunk.

D: I like a man like that. It is healing.

G: Indeed. Why do you think that man is a “happy drunk”?

D: Ah, I guess a depressed person?

G: True. Also, a serious person may tend to laugh while drunk. It brings to light the night and day gap between his sober and drunk behavior.

D: Indeed. The result can be that when a happy person gets drunk he may start crying and this impacts the people around him.

G: I agree. He can also be called a “Sentimental drunk.” Now, let's think about the meaning of the night and day gap. In a word, the gap is THE message.

D: Hmm, does that mean that a drunk person is conveying the message that he has a gap?

G: Yes. What else?

D: In other words, hmm…. If a person acts very happy when he drinks then we can call him a “happy drunk.”

G: Yes! Normally this person wouldn’t laugh but under the influence of alcohol, he becomes a very happy person. What else could we say?

D: Ah, this person has the desire to laugh and be happy every day but for whatever reason doesn’t.

G: Yes, that’s true! Most of the time, drunken behavior is the suppressed part of him which he wants to express but he can’t until alcohol is introduced. Of course, this is not the same for all cases.

D: Ah, I think I understand it very well. Alcohol usually helps a person become brave and do what he normally won’t do because it embarrasses him.

G: You don’t need to be embarrassed. Alcohol could have a wonderful affect of opening a part you that is confined and thus releasing it. By the way, Dragon, what do people say to you when you get drunk?

D: Ah? I wonder… People say that I don’t change much, but I become talkative.

G: What do you talk about?

D: Considerable things. I like to talk about philosophical subjects.

G: So, for instance, you have the strong desire to talk about deep topics. However; if you need alcohol…

D: For that purpose; this blog may be a release for me!

G: I hope it helps you. Anyway, what people say about your behavior when you are drunk is a very wonderful message. You should consider that your drunken behavior is that suppressed part of you.

D: Should I remind myself that and live accordingly?

G: It is up to you. Dragon, did you forget? What do you need to do if you want to know about life?

D: Ah, it is “existence”. I recognize that there is a gap. Indeed! I have a suppressed desire and need to recognize that existence.

G: Indeed. Suppression isn’t a bad thing and it isn’t necessary to change it. Man admits the existence of suppression. Now it’s up to each person to do something about it.

D: I see. By the way, what about a person who drinks excessively or someone who is an alcoholic?

G: What do you think, Dragon?

D: Well, maybe he is suppressing living or maybe he has a suicide wish.

G: It might be. That is very wasteful.

D: Indeed… What should people do who don’t drink alcohol?

G: Ha, ha, ha. It’s not necessary to get drunk in order to disclose a suppressed part of you. A person who won’t drink alcohol may choose something else such as “Karaoke” or “dressing up to make a fashion statement.” Anyway, if your friends tell you that you have a gap when you are drunk, that’s a good hint.

D: Yes, I understand! Thank you very much

G: You are welcome. Thank you.

End.

I love sake, so this story made me think a lot.

I wish everybody a happy holiday and good drinking. Dragon.