Week 10 - Miguel Flores

I came into ASA 189B not knowing what to expect because all I know, from the title of the course that it is going to be about the Spirit Realm, but that's it. Over the span of  10 weeks, I learned  the sociopolitical issues of alternative healing and the clashing of Western Medicine with Spiritual Healing and beliefs. A discussion that was well talked about in class is how every issue can be rooted back to corporatization and privatization of the health industry. It was a rude awakening for me and for others too to discover different exposé that uncovered the real truth behind corrupt systems happening within our health care system. The mere fact that so-called experts decide whether or not  an illness is considered an illness just astounds me. I thought I knew everything about the health care industry, boy I was wrong! This course really put into perspective realities that I do not hear or see everyday, it was enlightening to learn about these things and to discuss these issues with a group of people who are open-minded and welcoming of the ideas that were being talked about in class. What I really liked about this class was that there was no definite topics to talk about because we can go on a tangent and discuss our personal experiences that relates to the issue. 

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Overall, ASA 189B has been a roller coaster ride. A series of ups: spiritual empowerment, self-discovery, and enlightenment and a series of downs: coporatization, privatization, corrupt health care systems, and Western Medicine's suppression of cultural beliefs and alternative healing.  From this ride, I became more open and aware of the issues happening around me and through this course I hope to share my knowledge to others who may be skeptics or unsure what Spirit Realm is all about. 

To sum up what I stated above into a single sentence it would be: "You're about to ride the roller coaster of your life, hold on tight, but fear not Prof. Valverde got your back."