FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY

• Religion


  Came from the Latin "religare", which means to bind back
• For centuries man has tried various means to bind himself to God, to enter into a union with the infinite and the Almighty
• Altered States of Consciousness (ASC)


  It is not waking, neither is it sleep, neither is it half-sleep, though it most resembles half-sleep. But it still differs much from half-sleep because of the realism of the experience
• Light shift in consciousness (without realizing it)


  • People in Quiapo standing glassy-eyed around a fast talking seller of goods, remaining there for 5 to 10 minutes, utterly fascinated
  • Women fighting, aiming planks at each other, lunging at each other and only held back forcefully by neighbors, so thoroughly angry at each other as if the rest of the world did not exist
• Self-induced ASC


  Brought about in oneself by suggestions of relaxation and concentration on an image
• Other-induced ASC


  The help of another person to help them relax and concentrate
• Other-Induced ASC with Religious Healers

  1. The healer makes the patient stand in the middle of the room and speaks to them

  2. The patient is made to look into a pitcher of water where they see a dark form which gets clearer and clearer
• Self-Induced ASC : Mediums

  1. All begin with a prayer, followed by a silence during which the medium undergoes certain body spasms while the spirit enter into her

  2. In this state and mostly with closed or half-closed eyes, she proceeds into a long discourse

  3. Another woman puts her hand on the medium's forehead and, after a few spasms in the medium's part, pulls her out of the trance
• Spirit of the Glass


  When working properly, especially deep at night in half-lighted room, the glass seems to move by itself. The real mechanism is "myokinetics", tiny movements of fingers laid on the glass so tiny that in the tense atmosphere they go unnoticed
• The harm that comes from unawareness of ASC, from mistaking the voice of the unconscious to be the voice of God, can be harmful even to religion
• A great contribution of ASC to the spiritual life lies in its ability to open a person to God and His gifts, thus bringing about human development at its fullest
• Filipinos are rich in possessing a tremendous mental power, which is the ability to shift easily their state of consciousness
• What Filipinos have is not a mysterious paranormal, supernatural, unmanageable something but a real power, controllable, researchable, normal