Ricardo Romero-Weeks 1-7

Blog #7

            What is reality? We tend to believe that our state of being is unannounced to us; that we had no control as to why we do what we do. We try to answer this by producing scientific theory or even religious beliefs. It is in our very nature to try and find answers to the un-explainable. The most “intelligent” people have developed these theories to explain these questions but as Robert Lanza expresses in his article The American Scholar-A New Theory to the Universe these things are all subjective. We as biological beings have merely attached meanings and developed thoughts in order to explain these mysteries.

            For century’s people have made their own conclusions as to what the world is, century after century, it changes. It is very inconsistent because for example people use to believe the world was flat, now even though all we see is pictures we believe that is a sphere. We as human continue to think that we can explain everything; that there must be an answer and that we are all a result of something greater than ourselves. However we need to be okay with the unexplainable. Something’s may just not have answers and their entity is a realm of its own, such as the bug in Lanzas articles. Our realities our own, and we can dictate/prescribe what we want to them.

           

 

References

Robert Lanza. “The American Scholar – A New Theory of the Universe.”

Blog #6

            Western American and European culture has been a dominant force in the world since the imperialistic rule of the United States began. The United States for the past fifty or so years has been implementing their ideals on the world and who ever has inhabited their own. One of the most egotistical manipulations the U.S. has done is the take over of birth giving. Something that is as sacred as life has become monopolized by the government and health care industry. Mothers were manipulated to give birth in these hospitals in the form of propaganda tactics.

            There are various methods of birth as well as various methods to produce motherly kinship. In the articles for this week we discussed these methods of birth in other parts of the world as well as so societies standards of parental figures. Valverede’s article was one that had a deeper impact to myself, I felt as if I could put myself in her shoes. She very vividly depicts her life experiences with her mother and questions her relationship. She isn’t really her mother in her head other than the biological tie. Putting into question societies standards of what it means to be a mother.

            These articles very much link together in order to produce a critique of the societal standards that we live in. Who deems the right to dictate the types of birth we conduct for ourselves? Why must there only be one way? Why are these other cultures methods seen as barbaric?

Works Cited:
Valverde, Kieu Linh Caroline. "My Mother Not My Mother." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Blog #5

            Wifi has become an essential part of our lives, its everywhere. It has become a natural instinct for people to ask for the codes to access the Internet. What is the Internet? Where does it come from? Who owns this Internet we are all so found of? Or is it a force of nature? The fact of the matter is that people don think to question whether or not these things that bring them joy are really doing harm to them. It is just like sweets one or two every once in a while is okay, however to much can cause you more harm then it feels.

            In the articles assigned to us there was a very direct call out to the industries that allow for there to be a massive digest of Wifi ands its harmful radiation. One in particularly disheartening was the Wifi in Schools article by Cindy Russell. Here you see the explanation of the ways in which people let other individuals become subject to harmful environments, unannounced to them. In the other articles it is also mentioned that this is often a result of the demand that people have to enquire faster Internet connections. The higher gigahertz used for Internet routers causes there to be a higher EMF radiation, which our human bodies are accustomed too. Thus it creates a harmful sometimes-morbid environment for people to inhabit. 

            It is not surprising to me that these kinds of things happen. I feel that anything that is out of sight is too often out of mind for many of the people benefiting. The media has so much power over us it is scary to even think of the control they have over the human population.

Source:

Russell, Cindy. “Wi-Fi in the Schools: Are We Playing It Safe With Our Students.”

Blog #4

            There is much more than meets the eye when we think about the world around us. We tend to forget that we aren’t the only things on this planet, and we are just as much a part of the ecosystem. Through many of the spiritual belief systems being able to communicate with the natural world around us is essential. Evident in the article We Are Not Alone by John Broomfield it exemplified that Shamans help uphold with the balance between the various realms. However one point in particular that is pivotal within this article is the fact that we as humans forget that we are just part of nature, the ecosystem that is this world. We have this belief that because we are able to have greater cognitive functions as opposed to other animals that we are superior. However this is just a made up concept, such as race, it’s a social construct.

            The importance of these spiritual practices I feel is pivotal for our survival on this earth. Even the Vietnamese people see the importance of it with the practice of Len Dong as made evident by Karen Fjelstad in ““We have Len Dong Too”: Transnational Aspects of Spirit Possession.” These people see much of the importance in completing their practices even though there is a great stigma behind the beliefs. We tend to forget that even though scientific methods are concrete, it does not mean it has all the answers. There is still much that has yet to be explained and to even then why be it so wrong not to know the answer? Why must our society have to know everything with factual evidence as and deem the un-explainable as fake?

I added this for this week because it seems most relevant to the over arching topics.

Broomfield, John. "“We Are Not Alone” The Shamans Of The World Tell Us."Collective

Evolution. N.p., 14 Nov. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Fjelstad, Karen, and Thị Hiền. Nguyễn. Possessed by the Spirits: Mediumship in

Contemporary Vietnamese Communities. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program Publications, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell U, 2006. Print.

Blog #3

            Indigenous practices or even any practice that strays from the norm of Christianity is stigmatized and deemed as an irrelevant practice that many people dismiss. It is shown very much in the way our societies racial hierarchy has plagued our communities. Many Asian American people struggle the same as many of the people from Latina/o decent do, more in particular Asian Americans who come from rural communities such as Vietnam. We see that the society in which we live in today has become very strict on our norms and what is deemed as normal. Anything that deviates from the major religious views or even what is seen on sitcom television becomes the enemy of the white supremacist and people who uphold Christian superiority.

            However out of these oppressive factors that have been put into place within our society are often marginalizing women of color more in particular than any one else. Women are already marginalized for being women but if you place the color of their skin on top of that they become marginalized once again. The way our U.S. systems built is to appease the white men in power and does not benefit others who are a displaced.

            The article “Fucked Up” even speaks of the atrocities against being different and what is normal, as well as linking with the other article by Esaki called spiritual war where he speaks of the issues of what can be classified as real to our rational world. Which brings me to the question of why so many people find indigenous people to be so inhumane? What can be done in order to make sure that these practices can be taken seriously? I feel as if there is not anything needed to be done by our marginalized communities however with the constant oppression taken place one must seek other routes of progression.

References:

Esaki, Brett J. "Attack on the Spirit by the “Rational World” (and Spiritual Recovery from It)".

Haydock, Shana B. "I Would Always Rather be Abnormal than Holistic". DSM: Asian American Edition. 45-53

Blog #2

            Shamanism seems to be very widespread throughout various cultures, in different means of expression. One of the cultures that it seems to be a prevalent demonstrator of this practice is the Hmong people, however various cultures participate in similar practices. Many people from this culture tend to have had more experiences of spiritual consciousness, which can also be referred to as mediums, people who bridge our world with the spiritual. The way in which people can figure out whether they are worthy to be able to communicate with spirits and reach the level of Shaman is by having gone through their own experience of spiritual tribulations. Some might experience this in the form of sickness such as the Shaman who visited our class and spoke on his own experience.

            There seems to be a large population of mediums in California, which I feel is due to the fact that many have gone through many trials and tribulations. This seems to be a triggering experience, which I feel is caused by much of the oppression faced by the refugees in this country. For example the many Hmong people that came over during and after the Vietnam War did not also realize much of the marginalization they were going to face coming to the United States. Could it be that these stressful experiences of assimilation or acculturation with the constant dehumanization by the U.S. American society is inducing people to face these spirits in order to help them deal with their issues? Though it is something that has more of a mental affect it can still be considered as a life changing experience that needs to be resolved and what better way than for spirits to help.

I feel that these issues are very prevalent in multiple society which is tends to be the cause for many of the mental issues in various marginalized communities. I attached this image because it reminds me of the solidarity Chicano Culture has with Vietnam and though we are unique we still face similar issues.

Karen Fjelstad and Lisa Maiffret. "Gifts from the Spirits: Spirit Possession and Personal

Transformation among Silicon Valley Spirit Mediums." Cornel Southeast Asia Program 2006.

Kim, Chongho. "Korean Shamanism: The Cultural Paradox. Aldershot, Hants, England:

Ashgate, 2007. Print.

"The Pa Lor Story - The Journey between Two Worlds." 2008. California Asian Directory. 07

Apr. 2017.

Blog #1

For the first week there was nothing but odd experiences for me pertaining to the relevance of this course to my life. I had always had an interest of the Spirit Realm in my life growing up, whether it was through cartoons or random realizations of occurrences. This week we began talking about Dr. Valverde’s near death experience and used it as a pivotal basis for this course to connect to the greater topics of spirit realm. When speaking of her experiences it reminded me a lot of my brother’s experiences when he was in the hospital. My brother was hospitalized after being hit by a car, which resulted in needing open brain surgery causing him to fall into a coma. During this time we did not know if he was gong to make it, however he managed to pull through. Once he was out we asked him of his experience and if he could remember anything or if there was any dreams? He answered yes, with very vivid details as to what was happening. He describes it very similar to Dr. Valverde’s experience, though at the time we thought that it was induced by the medication thus invalidating his spiritual experience.

Now after reading and beginning to understand more about whether these experiences can be real or as I figured to be subjective. Certain things cannot be explained by science and this western mindset. We want to know facts and look into anything that cannot be explained however if it can’t be figured out, it is regarded as being unreal. We have souls, whether it is a just an amount of energy in our body or just a figment of religious/spiritual belief. So for us to have an out body experience during NDE cannot be completely ruled out. However why must we continue to look for answers? I feel that our society needs to learn to be okay with not knowing, instead of letting the though of insecurity dictate the quality of life we have.

My first initial fascinations with the spirit realm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmru0W29ijs

Contzen P, Shashi K.R., “Near Death Cases Desegregating Non-Locality/Disembodiment via Quantum Mediated Consciousness: An Extended Version of the Cell-Soul Pathway.” 2016. Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research.