Sikodiwa Reader: Selected Readings
My favorite essays 2023-2024
As 2024 ends, I look back at the work done so far. I started Sikodiwa in 2022, born out of my fascination with the psychology of the paranormal and occult. In fact, if you scroll back far enough on my Instagram page, you’ll see my early posts before my shift towards indigenous psychology. The more I studied the mysteries of consciousness, the more I realized how magical Filipino culture is—and by “magical” I don’t just mean “personally meaningful” or “wonderful.” I mean, literally, magical, as in filled with things both fascinating and terrifying: shamanic initiations, ancient spirits in urban spaces, Christianized folk magic, and so on.
I think many people don’t fully understand the actual fear I feel when faced with these realities. And I know that it’s culture-bound, but something about it is too real, yet so many of them think that “ancestral wisdom” is just love, light, and transformation. It’s a primordial principle that it’s from chaos that order is born. Birth is a bloody, messy, and painful process. Our heritage isn’t only the precolonial; it’s the literary subversions, revolutions, cooperative resistance, and so on. The force that orders confusion is the Magic itself. Call it “God” or “Infinite Intelligence,” whatever you like. We are part of it and so we are It, in the same way that fingers move, and that leaves grow from a tree. Tat Tvam Asi, the Hindu sages would say, “That Thou Art.” Or, as Alan Watts translated it, “You Are It,” in the context of an infinite game, created by its own players, who are so involved in the drama that they take it too seriously.1
Sikodiwa is a way of thinking. Its focus is human consciousness, studied through the lens of Philippine culture (e.g. language, myths, customs, etc.). I’m pleased that it reaches so many people around the world. It seems that so many of us are in the process of unearthing things which we truly value—spirit, heart, hope, and shared humanity—buried under layers of status anxiety, meticulously crafted fear propaganda, and institutionalized neocolonial oppression. Decolonization is a return to authenticity.
Selected Readings
Looking at the work published in the Sikodiwa Reader, I have selected some of my favorite essays so far, which I feel capture the intellectual and spiritual essence of Sikodiwa:
The Filipino Mind Goes Beyond the Self (18 September 2023)
The Psychology of Community and Revolution (2 October 2023)
How to Approach a Study of Spirits (19 December 2023)
Culture and Consciousness (8 January 2024)
Fixating on What Language to Use (22 January 2024)
Filipino Catholicism and Indigenous Psychology (25 March 2024)
The Danger of Too Much Nuance (8 April 2024)
Indigenized Queer Activism (4 June 2024)
Animist Practices in a Catholic Country (26 July 2024)
Towards Kapwa (18 October 2024)
Plans for 2025
Next year, 2025, we will be celebrating 50 years of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology), an indigenization movement within the local social sciences that began the discourse we are now revisiting. My work draws great inspiration from SP, but it’s not limited to this field: I also look at the work done in comparative mythology (e.g. Francisco Demetrio’s Encyclopedia of Philippine Folk Beliefs and Customs, Joseph Campbell’s concept of the “Hero’s Journey”), folk and East-West philosophy (e.g. Leonardo Mercado’s Elements of Filipino Philosophy, Alan Watts’ The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are), and transpersonal psychology (e.g. Jaime Bulatao’s “Filipino Transpersonal Worldview,” Ken Wilber’s “Psychologia Perennis,” Arne Naess’ “Deep Ecology”).
So, I’m very pleased whenever people from other fields (which are technically outside of my niche) reach out to me. I’ve given talks about creativity and ally-ship. I’ve spoken a lot about “decolonization” and “indigenization” even though, technically, these are just initial processes that get me to the work I’m actually doing. In any case, I’m happy to talk about them too, so that people can wear these critical lenses with an attitude that promotes playfulness and the reclamation of hope.
In the coming year, I will be re-grounding myself in my genuine fascinations. The Sikodiwa Circle will have a new set of lectures as we go deeper and deeper into cultural consciousness. Some upcoming topics include confrontative cultural values, how to indigenize psychotherapy, folk philosophy on setting boundaries, and more. You can become a member to attend these monthly lectures, and also gain access to hours of recordings of all previous lectures.
I will also be conducting an exploration of folk belief and practices. My research notes will be shared with members of The Sikodiwa Circle, and I may also do calls there for those who would like to participate in certain rituals. I will explain this project more soon.
Other things are in store, which will be revealed in time. Thank you for being part of this journey, and, if you find my work connects with you, I also thank you for trusting me to be your guide.
Mangyari nawa ayon sa loob ng Maykapal!
A.W. Watts, The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966)