The sacred doesn't have to be far away and out of our reach. Japanese culture, for instance, can open our eyes to the little treasures in our daily life, says Galina Pembroke.

Often we look for the sacred beyond us, restricted to exotic or faraway places, mountaintop shrines and desert pyramids. We also have a tendency to view it as stuck in time: the moment the Red Seas were parted, rather than our ongoing relationship with the divine force doing the parting. Yet the sacred isn't limited. We choose what we make sacred. Depending on culture and philosophy this can include a damaged ornament, a meal on our plate, or the daily visit from our postie! The true definition of sacred and our experience of a life rich with its gifts, is limited only by our vision.

Wabi Sabi Wonders

What is sacred? "Official" dictionary definitions differ slightly, but they all agree that for something to be sacred it is worthy of, or regarded with, religious worship, and/or respect. When we seek the sacred we seek the spiritual. The terms have connotations so similar they are nearly interchangeable. To find one is to find the other. We can look high and low, waiting for the sacred to call to us. All the time it is in front of us, in objects long regarded as inferior. Within these exists the sacred. This is the concept of wabi sabi, a Japanese aesthetic philosophy that celebrates the simple and handmade, especially the flaws. Wabi sabi takes a spiritual approach towards objects. Flaws are regarded as sacred, as an opportunity to open our soul to a new view of what can have spiritual importance.

More than just the appreciation of unpretentious arts and crafts, wabi sabi is a uniquely joyful way of viewing and contemplating the world. As Leonard Koren describes it in Wabi Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers, wabi sabi is "the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete." It is no coincidence that the first practitioners of wabi sabi were Zen Buddhist monks and tea masters.

Today we have wabi sabi pottery. These handmade, gloriously flawed (by design) objects d'art look pleasingly "pre-owned" right out of the box. Wabi sabi regards the imperfections in these one-of-a-kind creations as enhancements. Western culture unconsciously imitates this aesthetic with prefaded jeans and "distressed" furniture. We savour recycled and retro. We have, many of us, cultivated a taste for beauty, wabi sabi -style. With Leonard Cohen (himself a Buddhist) we sing, "There's a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." Wabi sabi teaches us that rain and ice may crack and erode the new and the beautiful, but the crumbling marks they leave behind are the signature of water, the life giver. It teaches us to look up into the sky and see that the cloud itself is the silver lining.

Just as wabi sabi asks us to change how we view things, it also asks us to change how we approach life. "Material richness, spiritual poverty" are keywords in wabi sabi. While acknowledging the joys inherent in objects, wabi sabi challenges us to change our relationship with things, to nurture non-attachment. Endless pining over and questing for things is detrimental to finding the sacred. This is not to say we can't enjoy both material and spiritual. Yet placing material longing before spiritual seeking is contrary to the philosophy. Practised correctly, wabi sabi lets us enjoy balance. Within this balance, we enjoy satisfaction with the material while developing the spiritual.

Like balance, simplicity is also at the heart of wabi sabi. The wabi sabi tea ceremony is simplicity exemplified: fetch water, gather firewood, boil water, prepare tea and serve. Still within this simplicity is something deeper, something more. Through the view of wabi sabi, we understand that simplicity is rich with subtleties. According to Leonard Koren (not to be confused with Cohen), the tea ceremony, "became an eclectic social art form combining, among other things, the skills of architecture, interior and garden design, flower arranging, painting, food preparation, and performance."

Wabi sabi beckons us to consider transcendence in the everyday. To look beyond what our eyes see. With wabi sabi we examine the nuances and magic of camouflage. Nothing is as it appears. As we recognise that substance and importance are within every "thing" we find substance and meaning are in everything.

Sacred Nourishment

Of all the life's ingredients, food is among the most inherently symbolic. From birth we experience a mother's love from milk and spoon feeding. As children we continue to associate love through the food provided for us. Yet as adults something changes. As we become providers we abandon the joy of providing for ourselves, and with this we discard the potential vitality and deep emotion of preparing, serving and eating.

Ritual is essential to embracing the sacred elements of food preparation. The first step in ritual is recognising its necessity. This acknowledges the importance of eating. We have rituals around food because rituals are offerings. In Western society, Thanksgiving is the most familiar ritual food offering. Why wait until Thanksgiving to celebrate our harvest? Ritual recognises that all meals are a harvest and worthy of our respect and care. This view, scarce in modern times, can be found. "All food preparation is a ceremony," writes Sandra Ingerman, in Medicine for the Earth-how to transform personal and environmental toxins. More importantly, she says, "Give thanks for the life sacrificed so that you might live." Though unspecified here, within the book's context she seems to mean both animal food and plant food.

Reflecting on our food during preparation allows us to honour it. Preferably this should be done in a mental and physical environment free of negativity. Taking a brief time to clear unfavourable thoughts from your mind and carefully cleaning and clearing the preparation area creates a strong foundation for an open, receptive mind. Through these conditions we can contemplate as we culinary-create. Blessing the food - an expression of gratitude - also fosters a higher spiritual state.

Grace, defined as a short prayer of blessing or thanksgiving said before or after a meal, is a simple means of showing respect and appreciation for our meal. The tradition of grace and blessing food is evident through different religions and spiritual traditions. Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhist, Jews and Native Americans all practise expressions of gratitude for meals. Some, such as Buddhists, also say grace after meals. The words expressed in grace vary widely dependent on tradition. A classic Hindu grace is an affirmation to the body, and begins with "I recognise you are the temple in which my spirit and creative energy dwell." Part of honoring the sacred in food consists of seeing the sacred in ourselves. In this way, we open ourselves to making every bite a divine experience.

Regardless of words used, the tradition of grace is one of contemplation and consideration. Great enjoyment comes through appreciation of food. This is pleasure seeking in a spiritual context. Unlike hedonistic pleasure seeking though, the joy that comes from appreciating every morsel of food is healthy and enhances our spiritual journey. Taking time to savour and consider our food shows an understanding of its value.

This is an expression of gratitude, which is another door to the sacred in the everyday.

Making Gratitude Meaningful

Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted--a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner

Gratitude is an essential part of the sacred. Through gratitude, we come to recognise the importance of that for which we are grateful, giving it deeper meaning in our lives. Gratitude teaches us that our experience is partly determined by our perception and emotions. This is spiritual, and also psychological.

Naikan is a component of Japanese psychology involving self reflection and gratitude. It is a Japanese word which means "inside looking" or "introspection." Naikan sees gratitude as anchored in spirituality, since reflection itself is spiritual. Some translate the term, with greater literary flair, as "seeing oneself with the mind's eye." Naikan uses self reflection to help us understand ourselves, our relationships and the foundational nature of human existence. The practice was developed by Yoshimoto Ishin (1916-1988), a devoted Buddhist belonging to the Jodo Shinshu sect in Japan.

Naikan is focused and simple. Though there are varieties of Naikan practice, at its core are three questions: the first asks the source of what we are grateful for, for instance a person or God; this is followed by asking ourselves what we gave to others; and thirdly, we ask ourselves what difficulties or troubles we have caused in the world. This last element has led to criticism of Naikan for contributing to guilt. But is this necessarily negative? Perhaps it is time to reconsider our view of this primary human emotion. Robert Emmons, PhD, author of The Psychology of Guilt, states that guilt can be healthy. "Naikan stimulates beneficial guilt," he says. "Psychologists tend to have a negative spin on guilt, you know. You shouldn't have guilt, it's debilitating and so forth. But it can be very restorative as well."We can practise Naikan in our daily lives, through asking ourselves Naikan's three core questions. In doing so it is important that we are as specific as possible. For instance, rather than saying "magazines", it is better to say what magazines and which articles within them. We can get more specific if we like and mention particular insights within the articles. Specificity forces us to focus and deeply absorb feelings of gratitude. The items mentioned can be those we generally take for granted or otherwise perceive as trivial. And the same applies to people. The postal carrier, who arrives daily, is as worthy of mention as a friend we haven't seen in years.

Naikan summons us to see beyond the surface of everyday items, events and people. Through appreciation, we give honour. Whether or not we make others aware of our reflection we are benefiting them, since our evolved view will become evident in our interactions. As important as how it profits others is how Naikan serves us. Naikan practice weaves the sacred into everyday. It is only appropriate that we are grateful in response.

The practice of Naikan calls us to make gratitude a way of living. As with our approach to objects and eating, this spiritual path delivers us into a sacred way of living. The challenge is daily, but so are the rewards.

Galina Pembroke is an internationally published freelance writer living in British Columbia, Canada's most westerly province.

Sources:
Nancy Walkup, "Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi, and the Tea Ceremony," http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/asian/wabisabi.html
Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley (1994).
Koren, Leanord. A Culture of Simplicity. Resurgence. Issue 203. http://www.resurgence.org/resurgence/issues/koren203.htm
Colbin, Annemarie. Mind Over Food. Foodandhealing.com: The website of Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D. 2004. http://www.foodandhealing.com/article-mindoverfood.htm
Sandra Ingerman, Medicine for the Earth - how to transform personal and environmental toxins. Random House. 2000
The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright (c) 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company
Marcia and Jack Kelley, Graces: Blessings in Different Cultural Traditions. http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~jdhatley/Graces.htm
Cultivating Gratitude: An interview with Robert Emmons, PhD. ToDo's Resource Library for Japanese Psychology and Purposeful Living, October 21, 2004. http://www.todoinstitute.com/library/public/cultivating_gratitude_an_interview_with_robert_emmons_phd.php#more
Naikan: A Method of Self-reflection. The ToDo Institute: Natural Alternatives for Mental Wellness. 2007.
How to Practice Naikan Reflection. The ToDo Institute: Natural Alternatives for Mental Wellness. 2007.
Krech, Gregg. Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection. Stone Bridge Press. 2002.