Mga Susi sa Pagkataong Pilipino

This blog means to explore the baybayin at the levels of symbolism. This is a subjective experience that also allows one to notice nuances and new things about the various Filipino words that they form.

In my own lakaran(journey), the baybayin has given me gifts that can be described as healing with regards to my Filipino identity. It began in the 1980s, when I was studying and discovering student activism at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, i was also introduced to a deep longing for something still quite elusive to me—my professors and fellow students revealed to me the search for the Filipino identity.

I was a young balikbayan in the 1970s, so in college I was surprised at how powerful this longing was in me. Today I can simply say that this longing has grown deep within me ever since. And I have found many kalakaran (co-journeyers) along the way. Baybayin can be a compelling tool in pagbabalikloob (journey to deepest inner Self) and decolonization (recovering from colonial mentality).

Baybayin came to me at a time after a few years of studying world religions and finding in all the Universality of Spiritual Wisdom. It also came at time when I had been doing cyberactivism on behalf of Filipina Identity online through newfilipina.com, was finishing the artwork and prose poetry for babaylan.com, was deepening my yoga and meditation practice, and was also learning about Sikolohiyang Pilipino and the Filipino spirituality movement. Together these occurrences brought me to the small meditative work of the Bahala Meditations.

I am great reader of books. I have my own library of a many books, and have given boxes and boxes of them away to schools in the Philippines. But despite the wonderful discoveries and knowledge that can come from books, in the end not all knowing comes from intellect and reasoning or from written words. There exists within us all the ability to connect with the essence of all things through the intelligence of dreams, metaphorical understanding, and intuition.

The Kapwa connection goes beyond our 5 senses, and the 2 dimensions of time and space.  We are all connected to each other from Within and this includes a bond with each other, our ancestors, the cosmos—whether through our DNA or through complex systems that might someday be explained by quantum physics and string theory…

Pakikipagkapwa means that there is Sacred Interconnection between all beings, all creatures, all of Creation and between worlds.

Where does baybayin come in? By my own experience and the sharings of others, I have witnessed that baybayin can be a key experience to learning intangible things about our Filipino ancestors, Filipino values and deepest inner self.

Can baybayin bring deep slumbering inner knowledge to life for you? It may be worth being drawn in.

Please also see Intro 2 | Shifting One’s Perception and then the Holistic Approach posts.