foresight/ insight

The ancient Chinese mind contemplates the cosmos in a way comparable to that of the modern physicist, who cannot deny that his model of the world is a decidedly psychophysical structure. The microphysical event includes the observer just as much as the reality underlying the I Ching comprises subjective, i.e., psychic conditions in the totality of the momentary situation. -Carl Jung

When I went into seclusion at the beginning of the New Year, one of the three books I brought with me was the I Ching or Book of Changes. It is 3,000 years old- the symbols even older, up to 5,000 years old- and, according to the translator of my book, has been used throughout this time "by seers, rulers and laymen alike to find solutions to problems of love and marriage, military strategy, career and matters of state."

I discovered the I Ching through Anna, who was amused by her mom's use of the book until she herself secretly took it from Mrs. H.'s shelf in their old manse in San Miguel, Bulacan, studied it, and used it to get answers to some questions. She was surprised by the uncanny relevance of the answers and decided to even ask it, "How will Voltaire do in life?"

We were in Baguio or Sagada sometime in the mid-90s when she shared the answer to that question with me. She may already have been AIESEC LCP, though I was not yet Kule EIC.

I felt a bit upset by this, but her reading of the solid and broken lines- the hexagrams- felt so right, so consistent with my truest, most private beliefs at the time that irritation quickly turned to wonder and amazement. The answer made such an impact on me that I still keep the piece of paper on which Anna wrote it. For more than a decade I've seen the reading come true or, more probably, I've chosen paths to make it come true.

There were several other instances when I've used the I Ching. I would borrow one of Boojie Basilio's English translations and toss peso coins to create the lines. When he saw that I was one of the few colleagues who didn't laugh at him for this practice, he gave me the simple translation that I keep with me today.

Like Jung, I use the ancient text mainly as a psychological tool to tap into the unconscious whenever I have mental blind spots or emotional knots: not so much to gain foresight, as for insight. The way the hexagrams work for me is similar to the effect of an interesting painting or a good line from a book or a song: they provide a structure around which random observations, thoughts, and feelings can wrap themselves and be seen more clearly by the conscious mind.

One of the most important principles of the I Ching is that one's circumstances are always changing- it's similar to the Filipino belief in the "gulong ng palad" (wheel of one's palm), whereby what goes down in time goes up, and vice-versa. One must therefore learn to adapt and be flexible, like our bamboo that bends and rises with the changing strength and direction of the winds.

touchstone

It's a New Year- a new decade- and what better way to start it than by touching base with one of history's greats, Apolinario Mabini. He was known as the Brains of the Revolution and- because at around age 31 he lost the ability to move his lower limbs because of polio- the Sublime Paralytic.

It's great how many role models we have who correspond to the different facets of our own selves. There's Bonifacio, the person of action, and Rizal, the Renaissance man. Mabini would correspond to the lawyer- perhaps also the political scientist- in everyone (his writings, in range and tone, are similar to contemporary essays by MLQ III and Philippine Commentary bloggers).

Mabini has become the inspiration for literature, such as the Rosales Saga of F. Sionil Jose, and for art, such as the 1964 Angel Cacnio painting to the right showing his capture by American soldiers in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija.

He died at a young age of 39- so many of our national heroes died young, perhaps because they were still passionate and idealistic: the years had not yet altered their pure vision for the country.

I think it's also wonderful how our ancestors make their presence felt everywhere, as ordinary miracles.

After visiting the tomb and looking around the museum of Mabini in Tanauan, Batangas, I joked to my knowledgeable guide that they must be related. And he revealed that indeed they are!

Here is my picture with Mabini shrine caretaker Vergel John Mabini Ceniza, a great-grand nephew of the architect of the revolutionary government- Mabini looks amused at the efforts of his grand-niece (Vergel's aunt) to take our picture using my iPhone. Vergel has an uncanny resemblance to his great grand-uncle (the latter was always single, so they are among his closest living relatives).

More pictures in the Perelandran Frontier blog here.

Below is a short version of Mabini's Decalogue- a sublime set of commandments uniting love of God with love of country- as helpful a life map in the 21st century as in his all-too-brief, but blazing, lifetime:

DEKALOGO

I. IBIGIN ang Diyos at Karangalan higit sa lahat.

II. SAMBAHIN ang DIYOS ayon sa budhi mo.

III. LINANGIN ang sarili mong kakayahan.

IV. MAHALIN ANG BAYAN sunod sa Diyos at Karangalan.

V. PAGPUMILITANG lumigaya ang bansa una kaysa sarili.

VI. SIKAPIN SA BAYAN MO ang Kasarinlan na kagalingan mo rin.

VII. HUWAG KILALANIN ang kapangyarihan ng di-halal ng bayan.

VIII. PAGPUNYAGIANG magtatag ng Republika at di ng Kaharian.

IX. MAHALIN ANG KAPWA gaya ng pagmamahal sa sarili.

X. ANG KABABAYAN ay ipalagay na kaibigan, kapatid at kapalad.