This is the first in my Album "Kami". Kami is a Shinto term which means spirit. In principle human beings, birds, animals, trees, plants, mountains, oceans - all may be In Shinto kami. According to ancient usage, whatever seemed strikingly impressive, possessed the quality of excellence, or inspired a feeling of awe was called kami. Kami can refer to beings or to a quality which beings possess.
So the word is used to refer to both the essence of existence or beingness which is found in everything, and to particular things which display the essence of existence in an awe-inspiring way.
But while everything contains kami, only those things which show their kami-nature in a particularly striking way are referred to as kami.
Kami as a property is the sacred or mystical element in almost anything. It is in everything and is found everywhere, and is what makes an object itself rather than something else. The word means that which is hidden.
Not all kami are good - some are thoroughly evil.
As Benedictine Oblate contemplation is part of my nature and I would like this Album to reflect that.
