Category: News

Image description: Against a dark green background, there is a variety of bodies and skin tones intertwined with plant life and glittering stars.

Hawak means “a torso” or “the stalk of a plant” in Bikol, and “to hold in one’s hand” in Tagalog. As the title of the game, hawak implies our body’s physical connection to the land, and the power we hold to enact change.

This is a free weekend mini-retreat that takes place at Biblioterre (169 Chem. Parent, Alcove, QC J0X 1A0) on Saturday July 29 and/or Sunday July 30. The goal of the retreat is to offer a space/time where people can lovingly connect with their bodies and the land through creative play — specifically by testing out a “game” called HAWAK created by Lukayo Bito’on (there may be opportunities to try other games and to play mini-games). We will be centering and prioritizing Filipinx peoples and experiences, but this gathering is open to all.

Maximum participants: 20
(All minors need to be accompanied by an adult.)

Registration deadline is Friday, July 14th, 2023 but I will be accepting late registration until the day before the retreat. Late registration means we cannot guarantee assistance with transportation, accommodations, food, and other access needs.

The retreat would start with a collaborative opening ceremony that discusses indigenous stewardship, the land, and the stewardship of our bodies. I would also share some cultural pieces from my own ancestry and teachers. Participants would then introduce themselves to each other using games, and that would lead into a larger game where we arrange the schedule of the day together by organizing the main pieces of the agenda into the time left that we have at the retreat. The agenda pieces would include bodywork practices, creative/creation rituals, and playing games. We follow this agenda we’ve co-created, and then have a collaborative closing ceremony.

Click this link for more information and to register.

Hello lovely Patrons!

2020 has been a rough year for many people, which is why your generous monthly patronage has been so appreciated during these times. Here’s an update as to what your donations were used for by my elders and teachers.

Nanay Myrna Pula of the T’Boli people (in Southern Philippines) has

• been able to support dream weavers
• facilitated the passing down of cultural knowledge to the youth, either directly or through connecting them to teachers, like kudyapi musicians
• been part of meetings on women and combating injustice
• been part of meetings on indigenous rights for the use of indigenous medicines

Image Description: A group of representatives from different indigenous tribes in the Philippines, standing gathered around tables, in regalia, holding up documents/certificates.

Image description: Nanay Myrna Pula teaching a group of youth from her tribe, while they wear their regalia.

Uncle Noah B. Heart (Efren Estrella Junior) has been integral in the Manila Bay Feeding Program during the pandemic outbreaks in the Philippines, of which he got an award. He is also beginning work on a feeding program for vendors in Quiapo Market.

Image Description: A group of volunteers with my Uncle Noah in front of bags of items collected for the Manila Bay Feeding Program.

Image Description: My Uncle Noah wearing a medal and holding the award for “Hero of the Year”, a specific award to folks who did work for the people during the outset of the COVID-19 outbreaks.

A community of elders and teachers among the Manobo and other indigenous peoples in Mindanao of Southern Philippines (who have been displaced by earthquakes, the pandemic, and other circumstances) are working together to build gardens, community kitchens, town halls, and shelters for numerous families. They have also been receiving emergency rice and foodstuffs from donations.

Image Description: A sign, with some of the words reading “Food support and Aid Response to Pandemic Crisis” and “Because we care”. There are plastic bags filled with food, and people picking them up.

Image Description: The plot of land and shelter built on the land, at the start of building some of the gardens and other structures.

Thank you all for your patience as I mourned and worked through grief, theft, and injury in the last month or so. In the meantime, I’ve also been doing a lot more healing work with clients / community members, and I’m part of a spiritual art show!

This means that I will no longer have a regular schedule for my Patreon and instead will try to update whenever I can, with at least doing a post per week (2 patron-only posts and 2 public posts per month).

As for the art show, here are the details:
187 Proudly Presents: 13 OFFERINGS
OPENING NIGHT
WHEN: November 23, 2018
WHERE: 187 Augusta Ave, Tkaronto/Toronto
TIME: 6 – 10 pm
FEE: PWYC / suggested $10
A co-creative project conjured by 13 healers, lightworkers, brujas and artists. Photography, poetry, music, altars, and art. Along with 12 other healers, I will have an altar and photographs set up to express my practice and identity as an artist-healer. There will also be some presentations of my poetry and music.
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/253115705556588/

Stay tuned, as I’ll be starting up a workshop series in December on undoing anti-Blackness and settler colonialism in Filipino/Pilipinx communities, self-accountability, and spiritual trauma work! Below are some of the titles for the spiritual mental health series (feel free to suggest more if you feel inspired):

*The Soul Wound: Decolonizing Trauma*
Based on works by Grace Nono, Eduardo Duran, and Renee Linklater, this workshop will explore both Western and non-Western approaches to healing trauma, or “soul wounds”/ “wounds of the spirit”. Lukayo will also be drawing upon their background in peer support, co-counseling, and somatic experiencing trauma counseling, as well as traditional healing practices of Bikol and general Filipino peoples. The goal of this workshop is to explain non-Western approaches to trauma while not discounting the available Western avenues of healing. The first hour will be a go around and check in with all participants, creating group guidelines together on healing and sharing space. The second hour will be a discussion and sharing with each other on soul/spirit wounds, where they come from and how colonization/racism/heterosexism/cisgenderism creates and perpetuates them, their effects on our lives, and Western and non-Western approaches to healing. The third hour will introduce some techniques folks can practice on their own.

*Protect Your Spirit: The Daily Effects of Capitalism and Colonialism*
This workshop is very similar to The Soul Wound workshop, with the first hour for check-in and guidelines, and the last hour for techniques. However, in the second hour we delve into the concept that Capitalism and Colonialism are personal and systemic demons that are haunting us. What kind of things do they whisper to us, causing pain and uneasiness? How do they force us to compromise our own values and needs? What are the ways we can build resistance to them and peace for ourselves and loved ones even as they seem to be in every aspect of our lives? The goal of this workshop is to focus on somatic, psychological, and/or spiritual techniques and sources of strength and resilience against the daily effects of Colonialism and Capitalism, while shielding ourselves with knowledge and self-forgiveness.

*Grounding: Managing Anxious Energy*
This workshop is very similar to The Soul Wound workshop, with the first hour for check-in and guidelines, and the last hour for techniques. However, in the second hour we delve into the concept that “anxiety” is a form of energy that gets trapped inside us, thus causing harm to our body and spirit. What are the ways this energy enters or grows inside of us? How does this energy get trapped? How do we release it without causing further harm and distress to ourselves and others? The goal of this workshop is to focus on somatic, psychological, and/or spiritual techniques and strategies of grounding and mindfulness that builds on folks’ already existing strengths and practices.

Hey folks, though I’ve healed from my injury, two recent deaths last week in the QTBIPOC communities I’m a part of requires me to have time away from posting. I also took down the Musings Monday on transmisogyny in nonbinary communities I posted earlier because it still needs a lot of revisions. If you were one of the folks interested in giving me feedback, just message me and I’ll email it to you.

I hope to be back next week or the start of November at the latest. I’m so grateful for the new patrons that have signed up recently!

Diyos Mabalos for your patience and understanding.