For us western and westernized/colonized people, the concept that a symbol within an alphabet as having a deeper meaning may be beyond our usual understanding of what we considered to be the alphabet’s only purpose—to convey various sounds of language. In order to recognize that the Philippine baybayin symbols may in fact contain deeper meanings we have to become aware of how our Westernized thinking gets in the way of...
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(This is the section on Reflection on the Baybayin Symbols of Bahala taken from the Bahala Meditations. The other sections are on contemplation and the sounds) In my inquiries into other great religions of the world, indigenous spirituality of American Natives, and ancient ones of Europe and the Middle East, I have encountered Universal wisdom and truths and many names for the nameless, yet many-named Divine. One of the most resonant...
Read MoreI have been working on this since the summer of last year. I am pleased to announce a panel presentation and discussion event: Baybayin Revival among Filipino AmericansThe purpose of the forum is to bring together Filipino and Filipino Americans, those on the forefront of exploring baybayin through the contexts of history, filipino identity, artistic expression and spirituality, so that they can briefly share their work about baybayin...
Read More(some people call this Bathala Meditations) These meditations are simply personal forays into Filipino spirituality. The bulk of the content is a collection of contemplations on the transcendent, deeper meaning of saying Bahala ka da, Bahala Na, Hala, Di Bala, Bathala and Bathala Nawa. A small part of the content is a brief study on the baybayin symbols of Bahala/Bathala. The third part is a brief explanation on how to chant Bahala or...
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