Neo‑Shinto thought tends to treat kami less as a collection of separate, anthropomorphic deities and more as manifestations of a single, pervasive sacred reality. Kami are understood as expressions of a universal divine principle or cosmic consciousness, the creative force through which the absolute discloses itself in the phenomenal world. In this view, the many kami resemble distinct colors refracted from one light: diverse in appearance yet grounded in a single, underlying sacred essence. This shift does not deny the traditional plurality of kami, but philosophically reinterprets that plurality as the differentiated play of one immanent divinity.

Within this framework, kami signify the sacred dimension inherent in all existence rather than remote beings who stand apart from the world. Nature, human beings, and cultural forms are all seen as permeated by this divine presence, so that the boundary between the human and the sacred becomes more porous and fluid. Religious life, accordingly, emphasizes awareness of and alignment with this ever‑present kami reality, rather than mere propitiation of external powers. The divine is both transcendent, as the absolute source of all things, and immanent, as the living depth of every phenomenon.

Neo‑Shinto interpretations also link this universal kami‑principle to the inner dimension of the person. The notion of a “True Self” is framed as the realization of the kami‑essence within, so that spiritual practice becomes a process of uncovering the deepest stratum of one’s being as continuous with cosmic consciousness. Personal transformation and ethical refinement are thus not separate from the life of the kami but are direct participations in it. To recognize the True Self is to recognize that the same creative, sacred force that animates the cosmos also animates the human heart‑mind.