Inorder to liberate ourselves from the pangs of the "RELIGION THREAD" that turned into a propagandaic Christian-centric and Christian-exclusive thread of James307, I would like make this a thread of our different "paniniwala".
What's the purpose? It is not to vilify James but to get back our humanity that is suppressed within his own version of Christianity. As a visual artist myself, I'd say that it is ok to express and explore ourselves.
Growing up with an Ilocano father, there's many pamahiin from the usage of "fire" to "burn" the bad energy coming from the funeral service (he would burn a rolled-up-ball of newspaper and with his hand motion as if "washing" his body from the fires - I asked him as a curious kid, he said:
• it is for burning the fires of the negative energy attached to our body and emotion
I shrugged it off as superstition. THen I've read many stories of our katutubo wherein before cutting down trees, they would offer food for the spirits or the "anito". At that young age I also dismissed it as "superstition".
Growing up in a quasi-hardcore Notre Dame of Manila in an all-boys school, I was primed to be a priest. Then coming here to the USA, I did my researches of the Summa Theologiae and took one year of seminarian...
Then I goofed off...hehhe
30 some years later...now that I have delved into meditations of the taoists and buddhists...and later with the Hindus. I have been practicing rare Chi Kung and Nei Kung standing and sitting meditations from the TEmpley Style Tai Chi Chuan, it has been healing me. And my father too who was once a victim of a stroke that led him towards partial paralysis. Tai Chi softened the blow and had him do tai chi with me in the hospital for one month.
He is now back to normal...and both of us as visual artist have been practicing it everyday. For 15 years on me...now my 13 year old son also have been doing this since he was 5 years old to alleviate his ADHD symptoms. He does his everyday too...
At any rate, due to these wonderful experiences, I've gone deep into the taoist traditions and experienced epiphany, realizing that all of us are the same. And the same Ilocano "superstition" that I have previously dismissed eons ago, does make sense already now that I am a student and practitioner of internal energy and meditations.
Now I am looking into the native American traditions and meditations as well...
Thus this thread is for us, our own personal quest towards spirituality. I consider myself as a very loosely-defined Catholic who now practices taoism, buddhism, hinduism and reading up on kabbalah and islam.
One thing I've noticed are the wonderful unique expressions of different cultures that are compatible with Christ's message of oneness. Sans the politics and of the usual "MY RELIGION IS BETTER THAN YOURS", let's hear it from different "paniniwala" and experiences.
Let's not compete and rather share it....after all, we're all the children of God.
PEACE. Kapayapaan mula sa puso. (and yes that goes to you too James307 as I promise not to derail and hijack your RELIGION THREAD)
I have many tai chi experiences that I will share later...pertaining to the martial arts. As I am also a student of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do previously and the many FMA (kali/escrima/arnis) that led me to boxing.
What's the purpose? It is not to vilify James but to get back our humanity that is suppressed within his own version of Christianity. As a visual artist myself, I'd say that it is ok to express and explore ourselves.
Growing up with an Ilocano father, there's many pamahiin from the usage of "fire" to "burn" the bad energy coming from the funeral service (he would burn a rolled-up-ball of newspaper and with his hand motion as if "washing" his body from the fires - I asked him as a curious kid, he said:
• it is for burning the fires of the negative energy attached to our body and emotion
I shrugged it off as superstition. THen I've read many stories of our katutubo wherein before cutting down trees, they would offer food for the spirits or the "anito". At that young age I also dismissed it as "superstition".
Growing up in a quasi-hardcore Notre Dame of Manila in an all-boys school, I was primed to be a priest. Then coming here to the USA, I did my researches of the Summa Theologiae and took one year of seminarian...
Then I goofed off...hehhe
30 some years later...now that I have delved into meditations of the taoists and buddhists...and later with the Hindus. I have been practicing rare Chi Kung and Nei Kung standing and sitting meditations from the TEmpley Style Tai Chi Chuan, it has been healing me. And my father too who was once a victim of a stroke that led him towards partial paralysis. Tai Chi softened the blow and had him do tai chi with me in the hospital for one month.
He is now back to normal...and both of us as visual artist have been practicing it everyday. For 15 years on me...now my 13 year old son also have been doing this since he was 5 years old to alleviate his ADHD symptoms. He does his everyday too...
At any rate, due to these wonderful experiences, I've gone deep into the taoist traditions and experienced epiphany, realizing that all of us are the same. And the same Ilocano "superstition" that I have previously dismissed eons ago, does make sense already now that I am a student and practitioner of internal energy and meditations.
Now I am looking into the native American traditions and meditations as well...
Thus this thread is for us, our own personal quest towards spirituality. I consider myself as a very loosely-defined Catholic who now practices taoism, buddhism, hinduism and reading up on kabbalah and islam.
One thing I've noticed are the wonderful unique expressions of different cultures that are compatible with Christ's message of oneness. Sans the politics and of the usual "MY RELIGION IS BETTER THAN YOURS", let's hear it from different "paniniwala" and experiences.
Let's not compete and rather share it....after all, we're all the children of God.
PEACE. Kapayapaan mula sa puso. (and yes that goes to you too James307 as I promise not to derail and hijack your RELIGION THREAD)
I have many tai chi experiences that I will share later...pertaining to the martial arts. As I am also a student of Bruce Lee's Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do previously and the many FMA (kali/escrima/arnis) that led me to boxing.
Comment