Greetings Wayfarers and Fellow Travelers.
Welcome to The Luminous Procession, a poetic focus launching in earnest on the Lunar New Year 2026 (Year of the Fire Horse in East Asian tradition).
What is The Luminous Procession?
As with many things in my creative and spiritual life, the initial vision and eventual manifestation of anything I create is often inspired by a dream. The Luminous Procession is no exception.
I will share the dream that inspired this venture below (if it is of interest), but, for brevity’s sake, I will simply say that The Luminous Procession is an online “honden” (sanctuary) for poetry, reflection, perhaps even — at times — just a place to sit, to bask in the vibrations that pour forth from this humble corner of the Cosmos; a way to “wash off” a bit of the “red dust” of the world; a moment of solace in these times through which we are all living and navigating. / Frank Inzan Owen
Why join The Luminous Procession?
Much of the content that will be found on The Luminous Procession is free for readers to connect with, contemplate, and enjoy. However, if you would like to have access to subscriber-only content, be looped in about upcoming events, or you would simply like to support a fellow artisan-Wayfarer, your contribution is appreciated.
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THE DREAM: Entering the Mandara* of the Mountain
*mandara (Japanese transliteration of the Sanskrit word ‘mandala’): a geometric, often circular design used as a representation of the sacred universe. In spiritual traditions like Shugendō, and in the path I inherited from my late teacher — which I refer to as Dōjindō — the forest-cloaked mountains themselves are considered a mandara.
I am in a rural Japanese landscape. There are people walking ahead of me and behind me. Some carry walking sticks — part of the standard kit of any Wayfarer— while others carry paper lanterns.
As I walk with this group of silent travelers, I am filled with a deep sense of reverence and familiarity. Everything is known to me: the silhouette of the mountains in the distance; the pampas grass waving in the early evening breeze; the wooded hill ahead and the stone lanterns flanking the stairs that lead into a dark forest.
As we approach a bend in the path, I realize that the majority of the group is continuing onward, while others are stepping out of line; they are being “dropped off” to continue their own solitary journeys up the stairs.
I have a deep knowing that the path leads back toward town, while the stone stairs are an entrance to a hallowed place that “produces change in a person.” I have walked by this place many times before—even as a child—but I only ever glanced up the stairs, never venturing to see where they lead.
This time, the circuit is different. I know it is my time to step out of line and begin the climb. So, I do. I climb and climb, passing illuminated lanterns and ancient cypress and cedar trees. I notice stone figurines: faces, buddhas and bodhisattvas, an old married couple, a fox.
As I proceed onward through the corridor of trees, I see that ahead of me is an ancient torii gate — a classic border marker of the Shinto tradition that separates the sekai (the mundane world) from the shinkai (the sacred world of the Kami, the spirits). Passing through a torii gate is associated with purification, preparation, and entering more consciously into the inner domain where Spirit resides.
As I reach the first torii, I realize it is only the first of three gates. I take a deep breath, step through the first torii, and continue the ascent. As I pass through the third and final gate, I awake from the dream with the full knowing that my “poetic hiatus” of recent years is complete. The time has arrived for me to resume my decades-long practice of “painting pictures with words.”
I invite you to join me on this Luminous Procession.
