HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE By Jim Paredes
Sunday, February 24, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I’d write about something different for today.

This being the time of the year when we both celebrate the wonderful, historic and inspiring events that took place on EDSA 22 years ago, and at the same time gnash our teeth and curse ourselves for what we’ve done with the golden opportunity years after, it is only fitting that I devote some space to this event that is indelibly part of our being the people that we are.

As I am writing this, I am taken back to a time in 1986 a few months after EDSA. Cory was installed president. I had just written Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo a few months earlier and still had not shaken off the high that came with the critical and commercial success of the song.

I wanted to do more stuff like it; I wanted to write not just the usual pop songs about love but songs with non-traditional themes, those not always associated with the current music played on radio. I wanted to write songs about current history.

I called award-winning writer Joey Reyes and asked if he was interested in collaborating on a song project for an album my friends Danny, Boboy and I were recording then. The vision I had was a song about EDSA in the style of Don Maclean’s American Pie, which was poetically cryptic and full of allusions. At that time, I remember being so mesmerized with Maclean’s musical narrative about the history of rock and roll. I wanted a song that would describe the events, people, movements and the zeitgeist that would describe our own recent history similar to that Maclean style, but in Pilipino.

Joey and I both agreed that the song should cover the breadth of pre-EDSA history up to the revolution itself. Below is what Joey came up with, lyric-wise. Try to identify which persons, places, movements or phenomena are being alluded to. Transport yourself to the time when events were unfolding dramatically during the sunset years of the desperate Marcos era and meander about up to the time the dictator was flown out to Paoay and on to Hawaii by helicopter. Try to recall the characters, the headlines, the spirit of the times. Now read Joey’s poetry and see how much you can identify.

Here are a few hints: There’s a US president alluded to, and a former priest turned rebel, an exile in Utrecht, a building that collapsed, “The True, the Good and Beautiful.”

Okay, that should help you get situated. The text below is very rich in historic allusion. Anyone who can decipher everything is a real history whiz.

If you want to listen to the music as sung by APO, you can go to http://apojim.multiply.com/music and look for the title below.

Kung Sino-Sino, Kung Saan-Saan

Words by Joey Reyes, music by Jim Paredes

Performed by APO Hiking Society

I.

Hawak kong peryodiko

Na kung saan bawat tao

Minakinilya lang ang halaga

Siyang tula ang sandata

O silang may tapang kumanta

Ang dating sinusumpa’y ginawa ng bida

Iniwan ang kapilya niya

Sa bundok siya ay nagtago na

Walang altar kung saan siya nagmisa

Nagsilabasan ang hantik

Pati bundok mukha’y inukit

Nagsayawan kami hanggang umaga

REFRAIN

Kung sino-sino

Kung saan saan

Kaaway kaibigan

Kilala ko sa pangalan lamang

Silang alamat, multo at talino

Bumubuo ng aking kasaysayaan

II.

Pati dagat pinatuyo

Ngunit nang templo’y gumuho

Kami napipi sa madugong ganda

Ngunit langit ay nagdilim

Nang kalapati’y paslangin

At sa kalye ang luha ay bumaha

Mula sa pula niyang libro

Natuliro na lang si Pedro

Iniwan ang bukid at siya’s sumama

Sumabog ang entablado

Sinabayan ng delubyo

Binihag ang mga matatanda

REPEAT REFRAIN

III.

Pati ilaw sa gintong telon

Hinugis ng munting alon

Ngunit sabi di yan ang totoo

May babaeng napaiyak

At luha naming pumatak

Tuyo na ang kamay ng babaeng pilato

Nagpainom si Pandora

Ngunit tumutol ang iba

Kaya naghikab na lamang ang demonyo

Sinimulan sa kandila

Liwanag niya’y nakagiba

Nag-alsabalutan ang tatlumpong balo

REPEAT REFRAIN

IV.

Bumalik na si Gabriela

Hindi itak ang dala niya

Kundi ulan may sinag na dilaw

Nakita ko sa may pintuan.

At siya’y napangiti lamang

Habang namulaklak ang bagong araw

Lahat sila’y nakatingin

Bibit ng ibon ang sakitin

Nilunod ng sigaw ang ating awit

Pati sila’y sumayaw na rin

Sa sari-saring tugtugin

Ang awit palang ito

Likha namin

* * *

The Tapping the Creative Universe (TCU) workshop begins its 38th run this March, fresh from a successful Sydney run last January.

Last week, I suggested to those who are in transition in their lives and paralyzed by inertia to just “jump and the net will appear.” If it doesn’t, what may happen is you may discover that you can grow wings!

This workshop will awaken your awesome creativity, which may have been dormant these past years, and give you on experience of unlimited joy, power and achievement. If you are in-between dreams, relationships, careers, lives, or feel that parts of you are stuck, this is the workshop for you.

TCU will be held from March 10 to 14, and concludes on March 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. at 113 B. Gonzales, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. The fee for the six-day seminar is P5,000.

Those interested can get a copy of the syllabus by calling 426-5375 or 0916-8554303 or send e-mail to emailjimp@gmail.com and I will be happy to respond.

HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE

Sunday, February 10, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. — Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604-531 BC)

I am watching CNN as I write this and I am riveted by the showdown between two likeable Democratic nominees who both could make great American presidents. I am in awe of how much effort they have put into campaigning to be where they are today.

When I think of how much they want to be president, I marvel at what I imagine is the daily sustained effort they have to put in to make this happen. Everything they do counts toward a vote or the loss of one. I count in my head how many handshakes, conversations, speeches, personal appearances, photo ops each candidate has had to go through and will continue to muster if they are to be their party’s candidate and win the election.

This is an article in praise of the seemingly insignificant small efforts that make up the stuff of life. Often, we only see the big, broad strokes, forgetting that the mighty oak begins its life as a tiny acorn and it takes a while for it to be the majestic tree we admire and appreciate.

Very often, we are on the lookout for the big deal, the shining moment, the headline news or the big extravaganza in our lives. We are addicted to the gigantic, the dramatic, the “life-changing” event, person or thing that will move us. In fact, many times, we ignore the small stories because there is no story but the big one, the one that rivets our attention and makes us go, “Wow.”

It’s amazing that, to many of us, the only significant things, events or people that count are those that can stimulate us or affect our emotional state in a palpable way. And their value to us is all about how intensely they can do this. If they do not, they are not really of any importance to us. Perhaps this is one of the neuroses of modern times.

The continuous onslaught of titillation and stimulation from the media that arouses awe, fear, anger, elation, laughter, tears and other “peak” feelings has made of our lives a frenzied madness. We feel alive only if we feel all or some of these. Otherwise, we climb the walls out of restlessness and boredom. We find that we are uncomfortable with silence and non-activity. It’s as if life and the world have stopped and, during those moments, we can get not only antsy and bored but seriously prone to depression.

When this happens, we forget that the big picture is literally comprised of tiny pixels, that a forest consists of many trees, a symphony is composed of many notes, and to know, appreciate or love anything is to know and embrace its intimate details.

In my own life, my schedule is sometimes so tight and I am so totally immersed in “big” things. At such moments, I speed up and get a high feeling the wind on my face. But when my schedule suddenly lightens, I feel a big letdown. I know I still have to perfect the art of adjusting from 100 KPH to 5 KPH.

Sometimes, I do it well and sometimes I fail miserably. But when I succeed, I notice that it is all about paying attention to the details in one’s situation or action, no matter how fast or slow life is.

When I think of all the different roles I have played in my life — father, husband, friend, teacher, APO member, photographer, Filipino, migrant, etc. — I measure my success by how much I learn about each one through long periods of time. The more details I pick up regarding a particular role, the more competent I feel and the more I seem to care about it.

I think of my experience being a dad to my three kids. One thing I have learned is that I cannot claim to be a good father if I am not there to spend time or pay attention to my children. I can claim to love my children “generally” but that profession of love is meaningless unless I spend time with them and every small and big effort that entails.

It’s all in the details, a lot of which involve the undramatic and mundane business that fatherhood entails — listening, giving advice, earning money, and showing up daily as a reasonable, functional, exemplary adult role model. And, as every father knows, that requires acts of discipline and efforts big and small. All these mundane moments fly in the face of the notion that the main meaning and purpose of life is supposed to be the great job, the prestigious award, the big salary, the moments of glory, the dreams and ambitions we strive to achieve.

In large measure, life is comprised mostly of the moments in between the big events when nothing important seems to be happening. And to one who thinks that “real living” has to be about the big song-and-dance routine or the shining moments when one’s emotional cup runneth over, the in-between times may seem as exciting as watching paint dry. It takes a certain sensibility to be able to appreciate such moments that are not about doing or achieving anything. More aptly, they are about simply allowing things to just be and appreciating them as they unfold.

The in-between times are no different from the way Miles Davis describes music. He says that music is not just about the notes but the rests, or the silence moments between them. Without the silence, music would just be continuous noise in different keys. The silence makes the music elegant and artful. They are inextricably coupled to produce the wonder of music itself!

People who practice Zen and other meditative practices point to the moment between inhaling and exhaling as a blink of time so subtle that if one is aware of it, one is probably in the moment. I believe that it is our tiny, largely unrecognized, unappreciated but sustained efforts that really count. It is those moments when we just seem to be plodding on that hold up the sky, so to speak, and that make everything, especially the big things, possible. The daily grind consists of small acts of perseverance which I know are as important as the end goal or the ambition achieved.

In a love relationship, the true test is not necessarily the fabulous, expensive gift that can bring your partner to ecstasy. I believe it is more about the little, sometimes too-subtle-to-notice efforts that show devotion and a silent but intimate love. It could be a soft touch while sleeping, an embrace for no reason, or the quiet but attentive listening while a lover talks of everyday things. There is a line in the song What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? That to me points out a silent moment in a lover’s mind that says a mouthful.

I want to see your face,

In every kind of light,

In fields of gold and

Forests of the night;

And when you stand before

The candles on a cake.

Oh, let me be the one to hear

The silent wish you make.

To feel alive, we need not go for the big holiday, or the wild adventure. A reliance on the large, the elaborate or the intense to make us feel good is no different from an addict’s need for a shot in the arm to get to addict heaven. We have heard of kings and powerful people who have taken their lives because they felt it was meaningless or they were simply bored.

True living is in the details.

* * *

“Have you lived 1,000 days, or have you lived the same day 1,000 times?”

The Tapping the Creative Universe (TCU) workshop begins its 38th run this March, fresh from a successful Sydney run last January.

This is a workshop whose main aim is to awaken your awesome creativity that may have remained dormant these past years, and give you the experience of unlimited joy, power and achievement. If you are in-between dreams, relationships, careers, lives or feel that parts of you are stuck, this is the workshop for you.

TCU will be held from March 10 to 14, and concludes March 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. at 113 B. Gonzales, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. The fee for the six-day seminar is P5,000.

Those interested or can get a copy of the syllabus by calling 426-5375 or 0916-8554303 or send e-mail to emailjimp@gmail.com and I will be happy to respond.

HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE By Jim Paredes
Sunday, February 3, 2008

Then it’s the blue ones who can’t accept

The green ones for living with

The black ones tryin’ to be a skinny one

Different strokes for different folks

And so on and so on and scooby dooby dooby

Ooh sha sha

We gotta live together

—Sly (Stewart) and the Family Stone

Okay. This article may turn out to be quite nerdy and bookish, but I think you’ll find it interesting. I’ve been wanting to write about Spiral Dynamics but have stopped myself from doing so. In truth, I am intimidated by the topic because I thought that in order to do it justice, I would need a lot of print space. Furthermore, it is a complicated topic with lots of nuances and I will surely fall short of giving it the clarity it deserves.

But I was able to read a very short summary recently in thinkarete.com which showed me that it is possible to discuss Spiral Dynamics in broad, simplistic strokes.

Spiral Dynamics is a very engaging theory put forward by Don Beck, Chris Cowan and Dr. Clare Graves.

According to the SD people, Spiral Dynamics is “a map to the nature of human nature. It is a point of view and a way of thinking better about differences in leadership, learning, management, social structures, economics and virtually every other area where human coping strategies have an impact.”

Basically, SD posits that people and cultures evolve and pass through different stages of development. Not everyone is in the same place at any given time. In short, different strokes for different folks. SD color-codes these stages for simple discussion. As you read on, think of societies, institutions, world events and people throughout history that fit the descriptions. For this article, I will discuss just a few of these stages represented by colors.

Red. The world is viewed through tribal sensibility. Societies like these are clannish, always feel threatened and are always stuck in survival mode, ready to defend themselves and kill, if necessary. Nature, diversity are adversaries. There is a need for control. It’s them against us. Dictatorship or autocracy is the preferred political system. Justice is defined as “an eye for an eye” at best. If you could compare this stage to a child’s development, it would be the “terrible twos,” as in, “I’ll blow you up if you piss me off.”

Blue. This is a mindset that posits a higher power ruling over good and evil. Society’s rules are based on beliefs anchored on what it considers as sacred texts that are interpreted literally. Spiritual life is mainly about mass religion with a very traditional bent. Think of the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments, the Koran, the Talmud. It is absolutist, dogmatic, unwavering, and yes, quite non-rational. The fundamentalist stance is the only view that is valid. Rules are paramount and rigidly followed. Capital punishment is part of the justice system.

At this stage, adherence to religion as described by SD people is “mythic membership” and obedience to it is everything. For example, “blue” sensibilities killed Galileo for saying that the world revolved around the sun. In today’s context, institutions or societies that reject evolution or the scientific method are largely “blue.” In the local context, certain “blue” groups vote monolithically during elections.

Orange. The dawn of the individual, and the pursuit of personal ambition are what this is about. This probably had its first seeds in the Renaissance. Think of pioneering and expanding. In its early stages, it was expressed in an ugly way through colonialism. Now it’s about Wall Street.

Orange, in truth, can be very exploitative. Academia, pragmatism, liberal democracy, capitalism, science are held in high esteem. Prosperity and economic progress are the ideal. The industrial revolution was an “orange” project. In this setup, there is a lot of skepticism about anything unexplained by science, which means that religious institutions have limited power over society. It’s a secular, modern world.

Green. Think of globalization, environmentalism, pluralism, multi-culturalism. This can be a mindset of humaneness and sharing. There is a lot more openness. There is universal concern for human rights, conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, etc. Compassion and rehabilitation are necessary elements of justice. Morality and meaning are relativistic and situational. Spirituality is more about the personal experience of God as oneness with everything than rituals of organized religion.

To be sure, there are many more shades of color, and their value systems and worldviews overlap and merge at certain points between adjacent colors.

The stages or colors mentioned above are part of what SD calls the “first tier.” There are more stages after these, and the system is open-ended. More on this later.

But meanwhile, here’s the rub. People at any specific stage or color are convinced that theirs is the true perception or worldview.

As a result, each color probably looks at all the others and feels quite offended, or even aghast at what it sees, especially because their worldview does not comply with their own. For example, green may perceive orange as crass, power-hungry capitalists motivated solely by greed and profit, and condemn orange people as destroyers of the planet.

On the other hand, orange will look at green with scorn as tree-hugging New Age hippies who would rather save the blue-tailed moths, do yoga or look at crystals than get a job and be productive members of society.

Blue gazes at everything it sees and, in one fell swoop, it condemns everyone but feels sorry for them since they are all destined to go to hell because they do not subscribe to the God which blue worships.

Meanwhile, red does not see any value in discussing anything. It looks at everyone and says, “F___ you! I’m blowing your *ss up.”

I am being simplistic here, but you get the idea. And even if, as they progress, these stages seem to allow a wider latitude for tolerance, none of them are open enough. Why? Because the basic flaw shared by all first-tier colors is that they have an “either/or” relationship with the others. Either you see it my way, or it’s the highway. No single color, not even green, can appreciate fully the validity of other perspectives.

Here is where the second-tier stages come in. The second-tier stages are composed of consciously evolved worldviews and perspectives that “transcend and include” (Ken Wilber’s term) all the previous colors mentioned. In this higher tier, for the first time, it is possible to hold multiple perspectives. As Ken Wilber lightly put it, “No one is smart enough to be 100-percent wrong.”

While I present these stages in an offhand, almost caricature-like manner, it is important to state that, aside from their pathologies, each stage has its virtues. And the second-tier stages do a better job of seeing this than first-tier perspectives.

Where did second-tier thinking come from? The answer has to be “from the first tier,” since we all necessarily pass through each tier to get to the next. Today, more and more people have the surplus energy, time and resources to explore their inner selves and so are more open to second-tier thinking.

How, then, do second-tier people see the world? For one, they have no problem seeing the need to take care of the environment and having a prosperous economy, which, in the eyes of the green group, may seem mutually exclusive. They also appreciate the need to use power and aggressive action when needed, yet do not “lose it” by being excessive. In other words, second-tier people have infinitely better-thought-out responses to any given situation.

To reach second tier (yellow to turquoise) demands a more conscious, deliberate approach to everything. It means becoming more accepting, less judgmental, holistic and integrated in approach, and consciously taking charge of one’s evolving — all the while taking into account the diversity and stages of development one may find himself in.

Thus, the need to curb global warming (primarily a green concern), for example, may involve the orange reliance on science boosted by blue’s view of the holiness of life as described by sacred text. The second tier does a marvelous job of managing all this better than any color or stage at the first tier.

Spiral Dynamics is such a fascinating subject and there are many sources to explore. Read Dr. Clare Graves, or try Ken Wilber’s many books on how to live an integral life.

Watching the Davos discussions last week on CNN, as world leaders talked about terrorism, the global economy, the environment and the Middle East, I felt that, to get out of the mess the world is in and to get us to a better place, we truly need new consciousness and leadership. Tony Blair scored when he said “idealism is the new realism now.” He also said that politics today is not about being left or right, but being open or closed.

For the new world to come to fruition, it must first be imagined. Old stories and myths must be set aside and new thinking must come in. Second-tier consciousness may be the arena where this will happen.

* * *

Okay. It’s time to walk the talk!

Change won’t happen unless you decide to really do it. Break that inertia and sign up.

“Tapping the Creative Universe,” the cutting-edge creativity workshop, will have a run in Manila from March 10 to 14, concluding on March 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. at 113 B. Gonzales, Loyola Heights, QC. The workshop fee is P5,000.

For reservations, call 426-5375 or 0917-8554303 and ask for Ollie. If you want to know more about the workshop or would like a syllabus, write to emailjimp@gmail.com.

Don’t wait too long. Seats are limited.