Blogpost # 8 Psychostition! (bonus blog)

You mind beh Trixeh

               This article is a bonus out of request, today we will delve into the Psychology of Superstition. Why do have these beliefs? how do they keep popping up? In what way to they affect us in the long run? And most importantly, why are they so damn important to us Filipinos?! I have clearly stated in one of my blogs about how Superstitious Filipinos are and how these superstitions regardless of what age we're in will continue to evolve. So now we take a look into it's role and effects in our minds.

I find it funny how I stumbled upon the familiar word "Placebo" when researching about this. One of the articles I researched on named "The psychology of superstition" written by Sarah Albert on the website www.WebMD.com claims that the core idea of a superstitious belief is to want more control, or more certainty on something. This could be why some people wear lucky shirts, shoes, charms etc. To work for a better day. Ms.Albert says that we certainly do gain a better sense of confidence and security from this way of thinking. A passage on her article says:

"there is a positive placebo effect -- if you think something will help you, it may do just that. "There is a tremendous amount of power in belief," he says. If the outcome is a matter of pure luck, beliefs don't really have any impact, however, when your performance is a key factor in an outcome, superstitious thinking might give you an extra boost."

There, we see it again. The "P" word, I have stated countless times that the power of human belief is the most powerful of all human abilities. Often times, we use positive superstition to give us an intangible and irrational edge when it comes to achieving something far beyond what we perceive achievable. Like say: Using the faces of our crushes as wallpapers to increase the chance of developing a relationship with them. 

                 While reading further I stumbled on another article that this time, shed some light unto the possible origin of a superstition. The articles name is "Psychology Professor Says Superstitions All About Trying to Control Fate" Written by students from "Kansas state university" (perhaps they chose to remain anonymous) and readable on the website www.newswise.com. 

The article is most probably an interview with between students and a psychology professor named Don Saucier (what a saucy name). Like in the previous article, he says that Superstitious beliefs are used by people in an attempt to control their future. He says that "People believe in superstitions to try to restore some prediction and control to their world" because being unsure about the future can cause discomfort among individuals. According to Don Saucier regarding the possible origin of Superstitions,

"any behavior could be a superstition if a person associates that behavior incorrectly with a positive or negative event that follows."

For example, Lets assume your a good DoTA player. You picked a character to start of the match and your team is confident. However you lose..very badly. The team is in low spirits after the loss, then you decide to play again using the same character and you lose again. Without any thought to whether the teams tactics were wrong or not. It's common for some people to assume that every time they play a certain character, it brings bad luck to the team. This of course could work the other way around if you win while always using one specific list of characters.

This could be a reason for why some athletes wear the same shirt to a game without washing it. They came from a winning game and they believe that the T-shirt still contains its luck from the previous game. 

To conclude, we Filipinos have a tendency to have rather assuming characters. Many of my relatives read horoscopes and often believe them because they coincidentally do happen. And after one good prediction, they tend to cling to it with the belief it will happen again. Having Superstitious beliefs is not a bad thing, if it works for you it works, just don't panic the next time you read a horoscope that says "You will experience excruciating pain like never before"

Blogpost # 4 Philippine Mythology

Tales from the Albularyo...

In the tale of the Powers of the Philippine mind. It's important to take a backseat and peer into the mythologies of our Ancestors. Mythologies exist in EVERY single culture around the world, if our species started out as snooty know it all Atheists, then history would undoubtedly be so boring I wouldn't even bother caring about it. Mythologies served as early explanations to unanswerable questions, and without the need to be rational people used their imaginations to find an explanation to things. This phase of history shows the various richness that cultures around the world had in terms of imagination. As Albert Einstein said "Logic can take you from point A to point B but imagination can take you anywhere"

When we look into the mythology of the Philippines it's important to note that unlike most other myths, like our current government, there is no completely unified belief system. Greeks, Japanese, Norse Mythology and others had this sense of consistency with their stories but this was because most provinces had already become conscious about the existence of other provinces and now had a centralized form of leadership, this would lead to following one specific culture. However the Philippines on the other hand still lived in various tribes and would have their own standpoints about the world and its creatures, disregarding Mindanao because they were a Muslim province for a very long time, so it's safe to assume that many tribes in Mindanao already followed the Islam faith. 

That's Lam-Ang, he's our less-gay version of He-man

Philippine Myths differ from the Northern and Southern and sometimes from province to province.
As proven by the Article "Creation Myths in The Philippines" written by D.L Ashliman and readable on the website www.pitt.edu

"The water was the kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan...

 In the beginning there were no people on the earth. Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds" 

In this Article, it shows various different tribes all with their own origin stories of how the earth was made. The first tribe is unspecified, the believed that the earth was made by a great God who came from the Sea and created the living beings of the earth. I can assume they came to this conclusion because they lived very close to the sea, or they did many activities that involved sea faring.

The story is from the Igorots, who believed that a spirit came down from the sky cut many reeds and gave to them all the gift of speaking, these reeds then became us human beings. From this I can speculate that this tribe resided close to swamp like areas since reeds are normally grow in wet and grassy terrain. It's very common for tribes to form mythologies based on their locations or any activity that they particularly specialize in. The Spartans of Greece praised the God Ares because they were a warrior breed of Greeks, while the Athenians worshiped Athena because their city specializes in everything else the Spartans never cared about.

Though the Philippines was pretty much ignored for a very long time by the Europeans until one of their explorers lost his head to a man wearing a thong and a wooden shield, we can't dodge the fact that our Myths share an interesting similarity to myths from various other cultures. I quote from the article "Ancient Philippine Creation Myth: Malakas and Maganda" Written by Frederick Alain Docdocil found on the website www.bakitwhy.com

" the bird furiously pecked at the bamboo until it split in half. Out of one section came a golden-bronze colored man, named Malakas (Strong One) and from the other half came a similarly hued woman, named Maganda (Beautiful One)."

This tale has been told to us from the very start of our Grade school lives. Most of the time, my teachers would say how similar it was to the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Though both stories are generally different, we can definitely agree that they do have their similarities. Mankind started with a man and a woman, both were formed from a resource of the earth, and both started a generation of legends in their respective cultures. 

Yes...we Filipinos were born white...

 

 

Blogpost # 7 Faith of the Filipino

Jesushammad bless you

The Philippines is the only major Christian country in Asia, asides Christianity we are also home to plenty of Muslims. I don't care if you are from either or if you don't believe in any because what this blog is focused on is the power of Filipino faith, not specifically faith in any religion but the very core of "faith" itself.

Philippines is a very Religious country, several branches of Christianity all celebrate their individual fests with high regard and respect. Despite our certain tiffs with each other, we get along pretty well in contrast to what some people think. Even the Muslims and Christians co exist peacefully. Both faiths and all their branches have a very important role in the Philippines as this encompasses every single topic that I have blogged about so far. Placebo, Superstition, Mythology, Optimism, Shamanism. Well...maybe not the monsters part but you get the point. 

From our travels to Baguio (and sometimes on other occasions) I think we have all seen those signboards that say "Faith healing seminar" etc. I'm generally a skeptic person but from what I've heard, there have been people cured by the powers of their faith. This is all too similar to the Placebo effect, maybe their minds, because of the power of extreme belief, they actually manage to cure themselves. And this has happened not only in Christian circles, but on Shamanic and even modern doctors experiences.  According to the article "Spiritual Healing - Psychic surgery uncovered" written by  Clifford Sawhney found on the website www.lifepositive.com 

"Since those uncertain beginnings, Alex has become a full-time medium and spiritual healer, traveling worldwide 300 days in a year since 1990. He has visited over 60 countries including the USA, Britain, many European nations and Australia. In a 30-year span he has healed over a million people."

The article writes about a Spiritual healer named Alex Orbito, he's been famous for curing people with nothing but his bare hands. There have been many people who have done the same with the use of prayers, and if this kind of method works for someone without having any negative effects. I think it's an absolute Godsend. 

Asides faith healing, a more important aspect in the Faith of Filipinos is the belief that there would always be a better tomorrow under the mercy of God/Allah. I can't recall all the typhoons we have been hit by and all the prayers I have heard asking for Gods guidance, mercy, love etc. This faith in their religions has allowed people to think positively despite their odds. Several Churches my family know have mobilized aid via Donations to the victims of Yolanda. According to the article "Surviving the Typhoon" Written by Jesse Hyde found on the website www.Deseret News.com

"One of the sisters suggested they pray. They huddled closely together, bowed their heads, and with the rain dripping down their chins, asked God to make the water stop. And then, in what Sister Smith could only describe as the greatest miracle of her life, the sea stopped rising."

The article describes a tale about a group of nuns during the Typhoon in Tacloban who did everything they could to survive and help others. Once they ran out of options, for sure they knew it was over so they began to pray. Miraculously..the rain stopped. Whether or not this was extreme coincidence or it truly was the act of an all powerful God, we cannot doubt the bravery these women displayed as a day later, despite having no contact with other missionaries, braved their way through the chaos of a land that had now become lawless. Despite the gunshots, despite the danger, they did what they could to help people and according to them they did this because they were "Guided by the Spirit and their survival instincts".

These events have inspired faith in so many people, as I said in my very first post. The power to believe is mankind's greatest ability. Regardless of the faith you believe in, hold on to it. Strengthen your beliefs. When all is lost and all sense of rational and logical options go down the drain, believe. Human beings have known to go against impossible odds because of this, it is a key to our tenacity and will to live. So to conclude this 7 part blog post, I would just like to say...

†God bless†

Blogpost # 6 The Power of a Happy Juan

A little smile goes a long way

During Typhoon Ondoy, some people would actually take pictures of them smiling while doing all sorts of ridiculous things while being soaked in the rat shit infested waters they were swimming in. After the Hostage massacre, a few police officers took pictures right next to the bus as if it were a tourist destination. Happiness has it's good and bad effects on us but we cannot doubt that being happy and optimistic is very crucial for mankind to survive and keep striving forward. Tragedies have happened but we keep looking forward for a better tomorrow, many unfortunate people who live in the slums have excessively slim chances of getting any higher a social position than the ones they are currently stuck at. Yet many of them still strive to get an education to help their families and someday break free from the chains of poverty (how poetic).

I've been in many exposure trips in highschool to know that no matter which slum area I had been in, it never looked like the miserable dump that most people imagine it to be. It's bustling with activity, children playing, parents working and everyone is happy. Amazing isn't it? Though there is one key component on keeping the morale of these people so high, According to the article "What makes Filipinos happy?" by Reynaldo C. Eltugu Jr. found on the website Manilastandardtoday.com

"Filipinos are always laughing, because we have entertainers everywhere. We have singers, dancers, movie stars and comedians. Having earned accolades on international stages, many of them are world-class artists."

Several times in my life I have bashed the media of the Philippines for being manipulative and lacking in values. However I cannot forget that without these charity shows, these amusement channels the Philippines wouldn't be as happy as we were before. As of current my mother is pregnant yet she still works around our house to clean things and arrange our messes. Normally a woman of her state would be considered depressed, and I can't deny that there are some moments where I feel sad for her for breaking her back to work so hard. Yet when she gets on the sofa with our baby sister and watches those game shows like "Game Ka Na Ba?" or "Eat Bulaga!" she's happy as a clown! smiling and laughing all the way to jokes I can't understand or don't find funny at all! This is a miracle, while researching I have actually gained a new respect for these TV shows and our entertainers, we are a talented country with so much to root for. If only our politicians were as fun...

You will always be remembered good sir!

There's an old quote that goes "Laughter is the best medicine" and there have been many occasions where simple happiness had cured people of extremely dangerous diseases. In Dale Carnegies book, he mentions that a friend of his was diagnosed with cancer. On his last days he wanted to live off his life in ways he never could. He ate dangerous foods, he partied hard as he could, he did everything he always wanted. Then as if touched by God, his cancer was lifted. It taught him (and me) the value of happiness in our lives. There is really no need to worry as worrying never does anything to the human mind but add pressure. According to the article "Happiness improves health" writteb by Ed Deiner found on the website www.Sciencedaily.com

"Laboratory experiments on humans have found that positive moods reduce stress-related hormones, increase immune function and promote the speedy recovery of the heart after exertion. In other studies, marital conflicts and high hostility in married couples were associated with slow wound healing and a poorer immune response."

So not only does happiness take a psychological effect on people but according to this article, it has a biological effect on us as well. From my childhood growing up, I started observing my grand mother and grandfather from my moms side. Grand pa was always cranky and often kept his emotions to himself, he was naturally an introvert and often did not speak that much. Grandma on the other hand was always laughing always happy and would normally come with us to malls, parties etc. It's sad to see that now Grandpa is beginning to develop Alzheimer's and cannot even remember most of his children anymore. And grandma, though she is suffering certain health problems because of being over weight. Is still fun as ever.

Most of us Filipinos are generally very happy, I can't disregard that and normally it doesn't really take that much effort to bust our funny bones. We've been recognized as a happy people, a race of daredevils who laugh in the face of death. And this is a good thing (in my opinion) after all, when death looks you in the eyes they only way you can not lose to him is to smile and tell him "I'm ready".

That's the spirit brother!

Blogpost # 5 Similar Mythical Creatures

We've got Vampires and Centaurs too...

A rather important part of Philippine mythology are the creatures that inhabit it's mystical plain. Most legends across the world would always have one as a character whether or not he would make a particular influence on the main Character of the legend. In relation to Philippine superstition and mythology it's rather intriguing to note that up to this day, some killings found in rural provinces are still attributed to these creatures. And they aren't just being passed on by some woman in a sowing circle. For some reason they occasionally wind up landing on the news papers...

To this day, sometimes when it would rain during a sunny day, my mother would tell me that a tickbalang couple just got wed. Tikbalangs according to myth are said to be the reasons why Typhoons happen. Because of their playfulness they would often run at incredibly fast speeds that are fast enough to cause heavy winds to tear down houses. They say if you felt a gush of wind come out of nowhere, a Tikbalang just ran by to mess with your head.

According to the article "Legendary Humanoids - Tikbalang, the Demon Horse" Written by Lon Strickler, found on the website www.phantomsandmonsters.com 

"Since horses only arrived in the Philippine archipelago during the Spanish invasion, there is a theory that the image of a half-horse, half-man creature was propagated by the conquistadors to keep the natives afraid of the night."

 Without a doubt, one of the coolest pics of it I have ever seen

Horses certainly weren't native to the Philippines and it would definitely be questionable when someone were to find out about this. This could be a good explanation as to why they are so similar to the Greek "Centaur" a half human half horse, only this time the lower torso has the Horse features while the upper half has the human features. Further on in the Article it states that the Tikbalang also could have possibly been a half man half bird appearance very much like the Japanese "Tengu"

Among all the creatures in the Lore of Philippine Mythology, none has been more influencial, more frightening and more badly depicted by the media as the "Aswang".  I quote from the article "Legendary Humanoids: Aswang, Shapeshifting Vampire" Written by Lon Strickler, found on the website www.Phantomsandmonsters.com

  

"The creature is described as a combination of vampire and witch and is almost always female. One key feature of the aswang is its bloodshot eyes. The aswang is an eater of the dead and a cannibal" 

The Aswang is a monster that has the ability to shape shift into different animals and commonly feeds on baby fetuses dead or alive. Like the article states, with the ability to shape shift into many different animals, the taste for human flesh and it's various supernatural powers, one can say that it's definitely very similar to the vampire.

Very much like the Tikbalang, it's highly possible that the aswang was used as a method of crowd control and the belief of the existence of this creature was extremely effective in it. The legend of the werewolf was made so that a scientist could grave rob dead bodies to continue his research in human anatomy, so it could have been a fear factor technique used here as well. 

Regardless of the intentions of making these beasts, they definitely had a large effect on the way many people back then and now would think when venturing alone in the provincial forests...

HOLY SH** KILL IT WITH FIRE AND AIDS!!!

Blogpost # 2 Philippine Superstition

Very Superstitious...


                It's no secret that we have a tendency to be very superstitious people. Many citizens that live in provinces still keep much of their cultural heritage and still interact with the tribal cultures that live along side them. Provinces like Siqijor and Capiz are shrouded with mysticism with a variety of interesting hear say regarding the supernatural. However This blog will not be dealing with anything heavy on myth for now. Instead we will deal with us Filipinos in general and our superstitious tendencies.

From the slightest "tabi tabi po" to our wearing of red on Chinese New year to our disregard of wearing red on funerals. Whether or not you believe in these, your mother or your grandmother would probably endlessly tell you about them and set you up in a position to abide by it anyway. It's really no surprise that we as a population act this way.

A typical Chinese New Year sight

I read an article named  "Superstitious Beliefs of Filipinos" by Felix Fojas found on the website "felixfojas.worpress.com" the article states the various superstitions our Country has and the many others that were adopted from other Cultures. It lists examples from House building superstitions to the meanings of the moles in our skin. Examples from the superstitions listed from the "Money Superstitions" are would be to never pass money under a window because it would run from you. And never pay a debt at night. Early in the Article, Mr. Felix Fojas writes:
 
"Some of these superstitious are distinctly Filipino while others have been derived from other cultures. Some are amusing others appear downright ridiculous if not exasperating."
 
Remember that the Philippines is a melting pot of cultures in an Archipelago that was already shrouded with interesting legends. The Chinese traded with us long time ago and we had adopted many of their traditions, the Spanish converted much of Luzon and Visayas and while they did contribute to us Catholicism, the religion in itself has it's fair share of superstitions. Let's not forget the Japanese and our very own Muslim Denizens of Mindanao.
 
Superstitions don't exactly stop with old folk ways passed on by oral tradition. Just like our culture, they seem to find a way to adapt to modern society. When I was in fourth year high school people were really desperate to enter their dream schools. Someone told me that there was a chapel somewhere in Katipunan where, if you were to offer a hard boiled egg on its altar you would pass the UPCAT...Many years later I'm now laughing my ass out as I am typing this. What makes it funnier is that, during that point in time, I actually believed it. Despite the fact that I wasn't planning on taking the UPCAT I still wanted to give it a shot.
 
The point of that small tale was that, up to date, out of desperation, faith, etc. People tend to look to superstitious beliefs as a medium of comfort or as a simple conclusion to a coincidence that occurs frequently. I read an article named "Superstitions" by Michael Tan found in the website www.Inquirer.com, they article is about how superstitious beliefs now hold a place in human tradition. It talks about modern superstitions and how they will keep on evolving over time regardless of our age. I quote from a passage in his article:
 
"Superstitions are powerful because culture is mobilized to propagate them...any Chinese will recount stories about freak accidents and even deaths that occurred during that month, as proof that this is indeed a month of hungry, malevolent ghosts roaming the earth and looking for victims."

We've reached this modern way of thinking where everything must have a certain threshold of rationality to be passed as acceptable evidence. Yet, so many of us, whether we believe it or not still pass around these superstitious beliefs while unconsciously letting them take psychological effects on our minds or even influence our daily lives.
 
Many of us would dismiss these as old wives tales or just outright ignore them, however we can definitely acknowledge that a large chunk of our population holds them in high regard and sometimes live by these superstitions as a guide. There are negative and positive side effects to these but the main thing I would like to acknowledge is that they still affect many peoples livelihoods.

 

Blogpost #3 Philippine Shamanism

                    
Spiritual Mind power 

             Not too long ago my own Aunt was cursed by a Shaman. According to her, she witnessed frequent headaches, an extreme loss in appetite and saw her own fingers changing in sizes. Of course going to a doctor would've been the smartest choice but according to her, she knew her own body and this was not something any doctor would be able to rid so easily. Strangely enough, after 1 week she was healthy as an ox again! As if nothing happened (save for the amount of weight lost).  Now of course I'm extremely skeptical about this. I was never there during the occasion and everything I heard was from the account of my relatives in Baguio.

            People in Baguio are naturally very superstitious despite being rather close to civilization already. I'm happy about this, it brings more color to it's society, however the tales of these mystical Shaman come about in all sorts of flavors. Some say that they are merely just pretenders, false doctors who have no way to prove their claims. Most people seek their guidance and powers to restore them back to healthiness others would often invoke their wrath on people who have wronged them in the past.

~Let Dolphie lead you into the trance of comedy~

            According to some sources, Shamanism is a method of practice rather than a religion. It's roots come all the way from Siberia, Tibet and several South East Asian Countries. A culture of trances built upon the belief in the existence of spirits. 

I was reading an article named "Shamanic Healing: We are not Alone" written by Bonnie Horrigan on the website www.Shamanism.org, Mr. Horrigan talks about how we all know about the connection between the mind and the body, however Shamanism speaks of the connection between our spirits, how we are "not alone". Shamanism has a great deal to do with Spirits, whether we're talking about the spirits of living people or the spirits of those who still walk the mortal plane, there is definitely a heavy belief in the existence of spirits. In addition Mr. Horrigan says: 

"But the shamans don't believe in spirits. Shamans talk with them, interact with them. They no more "believe" there are spirits than they "believe" they have a house to live in, or have a family. This is a very important issue because shamanism is not a system of faith."

Apparently I was wrong, they no longer believe in spirits because they can speak to them. They see these spirits as real physical beings. However because these spirits can only be seen through this trans state it requires strict shamanistic training to be able to commune with them.

                 In the Philippines, the Shaman is known by many names depending on the province or region. Albularyo, Mangangamot, Mangkukulam etc. His duty in his society is to be a bridge that connects the mortal world and the spirit world. They go through rituals that grant them these powers and in these rituals the Shaman would mostly burst into a fit of insanity, rage or get possessed by a spirit. While browsing for sources, I found an e-book named "Philippine Shamanism and South East Asian parallels" by Fransisco R. Demerito, S.J readable on the website asj.upd.edu.ph.

In the book, Mr. Demerito gives full descriptions of different shamanic traditions in several provinces of the
Philippines. He writes that Shamans in the Philippines and in most cultures act as a medium that connects the
multiple planes of existence that we live in namely; the Upperworld, Middleworld and Underworld. The rite
of passage of a Philippine shaman is very common to most, wherein they would have to be possessed by a
spirit first before they can acknowledge their powers. To support this, Mr. Demerito says:

"The exterior sign was that he communicated to them a kind of madness, or they pretended that he did, making many grimaces, rolling their eyes and becoming enraged at times, as we find some of the ancient Sibyls and Vestals."

               In the quote the reader hints "or they pretended that he did" indicating the possibility of these rituals having no real effects. However you have to put into question the amount of impact these rituals have on these people. The Shaman being the one who communes with the spirits, with the "Enkantos" and with nature itself is held in high regard by his people. Whether or not his powers are true, he still provokes a psychological effect of mysticism on his community.

               In relation with Placebos, lets remember that these people (usually) have no modern medical treatment and often trust only in the Shaman to act as a witch Doctor as well. Hunters would attribute their successes to the Gods or to the Shamans prayers. It's very much possible that rather than being the beacon that connects the spirit world and the mortal world. These Shamans can actually posses a much more vital role in this mystic society. He acts as a catalyst for the peoples strength in belief. In the previous article I stated that the power of human belief is the strongest of all his capabilities. The Shaman acts as a physical manifestation of these peoples beliefs. He/She is literally the only way for them to see the supernatural through him and through his actions.

"I have no idea where your Camera man went"

               
               In conclusion of this blog, I'd like to say that despite what we may think of them. We can't forget that the hopes and faith of many indigenous people are attuned to these Shaman. They play a vital role in their communities which provide their people with an exceptional strength in their beliefs. Proving once more the power of the human mind, if these truly are placebos that are at work within a Shamanistic society this further proves that the our minds are extremely capable of things we cannot imagine yet. However if these powers are indeed true yet rare...I would definitely risk life and limb to seek the source of this power.