Published Nov 26, 2012 – Manila Standard Today

In November, we celebrate Environmental Awareness and Clean Air Month to ensure that environmentalism becomes “a way of life.” This awareness campaign of the government is the result of Proclamation 1109 on Clean Air Month in 1997, Republic Act 9512 on National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008.

Air in Metro Manila has long been classified as polluted.  We breathe in toxic elements that are airborne. Our cement jungle deprives us of clean, fresh air that comes from lush, green vegetation.  This crowded city no longer provides us the natural negative ions that our body system needs to attain good health. Apparently, the battle against pollution seems to have a foregone conclusion.  It is increasing and it is now up to individual initiatives to find alternative solutions to the polluted air we breathe.

Health awareness

When my wife lost her voice in the 90s, together we embarked on a journey in search of wellness.  I decided to study mental health under De La Salle’s guidance and counseling program.  For practical reasons, I shifted to the child and family life Ph.D. program at Miriam College while my daughter studied at the Ateneo.  But by the time she graduated from college, I was only half-done with my study.

In 2004, still focused on wellness, I proposed to write on quantum healing for my dissertation, partly because of our experience with Bukas Loob sa Dios charismatic community and Pearl’s research on metaphysics.  As there was no metaphysicist at DLSU, I dropped the proposal upon the advice of Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. But Pearl and I continued to explore Eastern homoeopathic medicine as an alternative to wellness. She underwent acupuncture in Chinatown and on her own practiced acupressure. In the framework of quantum physics and acupressure practice, she managed her wellness for 16 years and enjoyed good health.

But on May 10, this year, she suffered a mild stroke. After 17 days of confinement at San Juan de Dios Hospital, she was allowed to come home. Then, Ester Ocampo, auntie of our caregiver Maret Luceno, introduced her to the MetroWaki high potential therapy, which makes use of a regulated stream micro vibration of negative ions.

My study on the existence of quarks and atoms made it easier for me to appreciate the importance of the negative ions that revitalize the cells in our body systems. These negative ions, according to MetroWaki Harrison Plaza supervisor Anton Llanto, help increase our natural immunity and counters the effects of the positive ions that induce acidity.

Meridian of wellness

Pearl’s years of research on Chinese medicine and acupressure helped her understand the role of micro electric vibration.

She says, “My more than two months free therapy at the MetroWaki wellness center at Harrison Plaza has reawakened my interest in acupuncture. The idea that the body possesses an unseen energy stream has been the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine for a very long time. Stimulating specific sites in the meridians has been shown to be effective in blocking pain signals also healing disruption of energy flow. Stimulation can be done through heat, massage, direct electrical stimulation and tapping…

“According to the book ‘Instant Emotional Healing’ when certain crystals are activated, they vibrate and bend. Then they snap back to their original shape thereby causing an electric charge. This is known as the piezo electric effect.  Supposedly, calcium in the bones provides the mineral crystals for the piezo electric effect. Related to this, geobiologist Joseph Krichvink and his colleagues at the Caltech Institute have interesting findings regarding the effects of the electromagnetic field on humans. Magnetite which is the crystallized form of iron responsive to both geomagnetic and electromagnetic fields is found mostly in the pineal gland in the center of the brain…

“I read somewhere years ago that wishes which are written in pencil which has magnetite increases the chances of the wishes being granted. This is due to the power of magnetism.  Grabhorn in “Beyond the Twelve Steps” details the importance of thoughts. Thoughts come to the brain through the pituitary which secretes a hormone that flows into the pineal gland. Let us remember that magnetite is found in the pineal gland responsible for activating different frequencies of thought. The higher frequencies of thought are not limited beliefs. The higher thought frequencies utilize the emotions; they bring in more understanding; they literally awaken human beings to their divinity.”

Health equipment

Through an experiment in physical wellness through micro vibrations, Pearl and I experienced physical improvement benefits.  After two months of ionized treatment, our high blood sugar normalized.  She manifested smoother skin and I noticed my age spots disappeared and was able to flex my arthritic finger without pain.  Encouraged by the effects of the negative ions, we bought a MetroWaki air dehumidifier-ionizer and water purifier-ionizer for healthier lifestyle. Aileen Gutierez, my FEU MBA student, told me that in Japan, dehumidifiers and water ionizers are ordinary household appliances.  MetroWaki consultant Romy Libatog also confirmed that in the Philippines more and more urban households are using ionization equipment.

When our meridians get clogged, acidity sets in and the road to disease and un-wellness becomes a pathway in the big city.  There is an alternative technology that recaptures the natural elements, like the negative ions that make our cells healthy in the big city where we live.

The World Bank has been looking to the East for environmental solutions; there is technological health innovation in Asia; the therapeutic machines of MetroWaki are made in Japan and a Malaysian company operates wellness centers in the Philippines.

MetroWaki CSR

MetroWaki’s 30-minute daily treatment is offered free because it does not pay for media advertisements.  I look at this as an innovative corporate social responsibility that benefits those who cannot afford to buy the machine or avail of the treatment at top hospitals in Quezon City and Makati City. It allows those who experience positive results to personally spread the wellness good news; it does not do hard sell by “dragging the customer” to the wellness center.

•••

Congratulations to manager Marian Credo, marketing in-charge Joan Marie Cordovan and staff on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Jollibee Branch in Vito Cruz corner Taft Avenue. As member of Happyplus, I enjoy the efficiency of cashless payments and other loyalty benefits of Jollibee.

Reflection Paper

Dr. Emiliano T. Hudtohan

December 5, 2012

Ateneo Graduate School of Business

Rockwell, Makati City

Introduction

Congratulations to the Ateneo Graduate School of Business for bringing us together to address Green Innovations and Competitive Advantage.

My reflection is an appreciative inquiry. It is intended for personal action and collaborative action research among us who are consciously and, more importantly, viscerally challenged by Professor Panahon’s presentation on green business.  The challenge involves a shift in our ‘inner space’ and a new behavior we bring to our ‘outer space’. The challenge touches the innermost quarks and ions of our bodily system and urges to address the planetary survival of the earth in our galaxy.  The graphic warning of Professor Panahon, taken from Rio + 20 briefing says it all.  We are squeezing dry the planet earth. Visually, if this orange were the earth, we can peel it, slice it and eat; we can virtually preserve it; or consume it and make sure the seeds are planted back to the earth for more oranges.

Time Line

I ask myself and I ask you:  How much time do we have to change?  Chronologically, Erwin Laszlo sees 2012 as the maximum limit of Chaos Point.  Thus, this conference is a giant step forward for the Philippines to awaken and reach a Decision Point.  The promptings of Professor Panahon qualitatively and quantitatively tell us that we must take action now to take the triple bottom line seriously.  Yes, to  economic gain; yes, to concern for people as precious capital and yes, to total care for the environment which is the platform of our existence.

Culturally, Catholic Philippines must assert a new theocentric view as the fourth dimension of business.  There is a call, in the words of William Blake:

To see the World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,

And Eternity in an hour.

Blake, an 18^th century British poet, through symbols and metaphors teaches us today the transcendental meaning of ecology in nature:  To see the [Earth as an Orange] and hold [sustainability] ‘in the palm of [our] hand’.

There is a call to see our civilization in the evolutionary time line of the Alpha moving toward the Omega, as Teilhard de Chardin sacralized the whole of creation and our human existence.  Today, the Asian Social Institute ventures to add a fourth P to the business triple bottom-line if Profit, People, and Planet. The fourth P is prayer, our asset of the oldest Catholic nation in Asia.

The challenge to Catholic universities like the Ateneo, De La Salle University and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas is to provide an encompassing theological perspective not only on Green Innovations and Competitive Advantage, but likewise the greening of the Earth and the galaxy so that all of His creation will sing the glory and wonder of the Intelligence has been embedded in our civilization

The call for ‘sacralizing the earth and the galaxy’ is a call for a Human Race Church as envisioned by Br. James Ebner, FSC and AQAL theorist Ken Wilber.  Beyond competitive advantage, the global business awaits a massive partnership among business sectors, civil societies, and governments.

It appears that the impact of business management on educational institutions over the past decade or so has successfully transformed ‘charitable’ schools into efficient institutions with excellent bottom-line results so that schools are run professionally like a business.  It is about time, and the time is now, for Philippines educational institutions to return the favor by infusing into business corporations the transcendental values in management and governance to complete the 4-P bottom line.

In educational management circle, Laura Nash,  Newstorm,  Naughton, Dyck and Neubert are including ‘spirituality’ as legitimate management concern.  I understand De La Salle University and Ateneo are in collaborative partnership in bringing to the Philippines Catholic social teaching gurus.

A Caring Consciousness

The 21^st century has been hailed as the century of women.  Rightly, so.  Carroll Gilligan’s feminine voice is heard by men and women today in advancing the ethics of care in opposition to Bentham’s utilitarianism, Kant’s Rights, John Rawl’s Justice, and Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue ethics.  Christine Page announced the return of Mother Earth, a Gaian concept of caring for the earth and more, the galaxy where the earth is part of the whole system.  Gilligan and Page are asking our civilization to shift to a feminist mode in viewing our survival.  Biologically, the women are advance in this regard but it does not mean that mean cannot be feminine in care.

Philippines is no stranger to gender equality.  Sociological studies have empirical shown that we are a maternal society.  As we allow our women and our feminist capabilities, I believe we can more forward to a faster pace of greening.  Maybe, Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarian approach to The Wealth of Nations will eventually be rewritten as The Health of Nations, with feminist care and compassion.

A 2025 Vision

The call to partnership and global collaboration will spell out the difference in caring for the earth.  Erwin Laszlo says, “There are many things that differentiate people in the year 2025: religious beliefs, cultural heritage, economic and technological development, climate, and environment.  But a new consciousness enables them to agree on principles that truly matter:

1. It is immoral for anyone to live in a way that detracts from the chances of others to achieve life of well-being and dignity.
2. It is better to exercise responsibility trusteeship of the human and natural sources of wealth on this planet than to exploit them for narrow and short-term benefit.
3. Nature is not a mechanism to be engineered and exploited, but a living system that brought us into being, nourishes us, and given our awesome powers of exploitation and destruction, is now entrusted to our care.
4. The way to solve problems and conflicts in not by attacking each other, but by understanding one another and cooperating in ways that serve the shared interest.”
5. The universal rights… in the 20^th century – apply to everyone in the world, and deserve to be respected above and beyond considerations of personal, ethnic, and national self-interest.

His latest book, Worldshift 2012: Making Green Business, New Politics and Higher Consciousness Work Together is ‘a frightening but calm’ description of world scenario.  But his redeeming statement is that we make or break our future now by making a choice.  I began this reflection with an orange metaphor for a green consciousness; I end by tossing this orange into your hand.  It’s your choice.  What do you do?

Pupils and Their Parents Prefer Bible Study Introduction
this report cites what top performers in catechism and their parents say about the bible, mass, rosary, the sacraments and the commandments.

Method
In my study, I tried to get the pupils and their parents’ ideas on what learning activities they prefer [inside and outside the classroom]. The campus ministry questionnaire (CMQ) was a supplement to the published catechism syllabus, De La Salle Modyul ng Katesismo for Grade I to Grade VI.  The CMQ was also meant to identify activities that would make catechism classes more pupil-centered and bible-centered.

In 2005, the CMQ had eight open-ended questions which were developed in coordination with BAMCREF Director Luisa Lacson in 2005.  These questions were then reviewed for completeness and were translated into Filipino by the catechists themselves.  Our respondents were the 17 Grade VI pupils Dona Carmen Rivero Donato Awardees who were considered model students by the catechists.  The awardees were chosen based on their financial profile, personal character and discipline, catechism achievement test, six-year catechism program under BAMCREF and active participation in religious activities. We included their parents as respondents because we felt that were the ones responsible for their academic success,  morally upright. conduct, and  Catholic upbringing.

Results
1. Pupils and parents who responded to the survey preferred activities related to bible study and bible prayer meeting.  They prefer this activity over attending mass and praying the rosary.  The CMQ survey showed that both pupils and parents are interested in the Word of God.  Pupils and parents ranked bible study ranked first, mass is second and rosary is third.
2. Pupils ranked personal prayer of thanksgiving, petition, forgiveness and praise higher than formula prayers like Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.  Their parents preferred formula prayers over personal prayers.  However, both pupils and parents prefer prayer of petition over prayer of thanksgiving, forgiveness and praise.

3. For activities related to catechism, ‘serving others’ was ranked first by the pupil respondents. Serving others included volunteering to teach catechism, helping in recollections/retreats and serving in camping activities.  Combining catechism with the ‘performing arts,’ was ranked first by their parents.  The arts include drama, dance, and painting and drawing.  While the pupil respondents ranked ‘film viewing and story telling’ as third preference, their parents ranked this category second.  Pupil respondents ranked ‘competition,’ [like sports and quiz] fourth; their parents rank this category second (tied with film viewing and story telling.)

Discussion
The 2005 CMQ survey showed the importance of bible study.  This confirms the same finding of the De La Salle Institutional Testing and Evaluation Office (ITEO) survey conducted in 1992.  In that study, the parents requested that their children be provided a copy of the Bible so that they become knowledgeable of the Word of God.  The CMQ survey shows a wider cohort interested in studying the bible – both pupils and parents were unanimous in ranking bible study as number one priority.  At the joint CEAP-ECCCE national congress in 2000, Arch. Leonardo Legaspi, OP, DD pointed that modern catechesis need to “stress on the communitarian dimension of faith-education through family and BECs.”

The CMQ parent respondents were between ages 30–50.  They were most likely exposed to the Catholic renewal movement which established in the Philippines in 1969. It has been observed that the renewal movement has a special preference for personal and communal prayers and a strong interest in the Bible.  For example, in 1996, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Malate, where De La Salle University and Aurora Quezon Elementary School under BAMCREF catechists belongs to, established the Kapatiran Kay Kristo, basic ecclesial community engaged in weekly bible study and prayer meeting.

Personal prayers in contrast with formula prayers appear to have a reflective-cognitive content accompanied with a profound sense of connectedness with the Almighty.  Instead of a routinary recitation of Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be in a five decade rosary, a short spontaneous prayer brings the human spirit to a sacred moment. According to Arch. Legaspi, there is a shift from overly doctrinal to experiential catechesis.  He said there is a world-wide phenomenon of a new search for the divine, for God.  The need for a personal experience and relationship with God is confirmed by the pupils and their parents in this survey who find it important to learn to formulate their own personal prayers.

The Grade VI CMQ respondents were looking for opportunities to share their time and talent. They mentioned involvement in programs that reach out to others, like teaching catechism and doing volunteer work.  Other desired activities include peer group discussion, recollection, and camping. I believe before the graders finish elementary schooling, our catechists in coordination with the other teachers, should prepare them for Christian leadership.  A doable goal is to have a well trained prayer leader capable of lifting everyone’s aspiration to God in assemblies and public gatherings.

Performing arts
The arts, specially performing arts, may be used as channels for religious experience. Ms. Lachica, St. Scholastica’s Grade School principal, revealed in a interview that their religion classes have  interdisciplinary modules for special events.  This means all academic subjects including art, music, physical education and Filipino are involved in promoting gospel values under a common theme.  She revealed that their ‘infusion approach’ to value formation makes sure that all curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities are anchored to and integrated with religion as the core subject.

The Dennis Mills, a Protestant pastor, integrates the Bible learning by making language arts the venue for learning to read, write, speak and listen. He believes that “the teaching of all subjects as part of the total truth of God, thereby enabling the student to see the unity of natural and special revelation.”  He advocates a bibliocentric curriculum that extends to all areas of the life of the pupils.

It is of prime importance that the graduating elementary pupils are prepared as Christian leaders.  Class organizations identify who the leaders are.  Catechists need not re-invent the wheel of leadership.  All they need to do is supplement, complement and coordinate with other teachers and fill-in the leadership gap.  The graduating leaders need to be introduced to the dynamics of human leadership and servant leadership this early.

As growing adolescents, they need to relate with their peers.  The critical incident survey question related to peer group, the response of Grade IV pupils differ significantly from those of Grade VI pupils.  The very young adolescents represented by Grade IV pupils prefer to consult their parents if they are faced with a choice to join a fraternity.  Grade VI pupils would rather consult their barkada, rather than inform their parents that they are being recruited to join a fraternity.  Grade IV pupils continue to uphold the authority of their.  By the time they are in Grade VI, as young adults they begin to assert to assert their independence and lean on their peers for support.

Conclusion
In Philippine public schools, the possibility of a bibliocentric curriculum is a challenge.  The catechists should be able to run a biblical track on key topical areas of the Basic Education Curriculum 2000 of the Department of Education.  This means that all curricular and extra-curricular subjects (recollection, camping, volunteer outreach work, fine arts, singing, drama, dancing, story-telling, film viewing, etc) are fertile grounds for cultivating the Word of God.

What kind of learner do we have in the Third Millennium?  The profile of the grader today is someone who is exposed to Music Television (MTV) showing images in quick succession; virtual games (military combat, car racing and space exploration); cyber chat with video camera at internet cafes; cable (global) television at home; and mobile cellular phone access. Every catechist is challenged to address issues related to the use of technology in the Third Millennium.  The CMQ survey has articulated pupil and parental preferences.  The time is now to address their needs to become truly human and in the process become true followers of Jesus Christ.  Let’s get them and their parents anchored to the Word.