Introduction

Hilot diagnostic procedures come in a variety of techniques, all of which need to be done respectfully and in acknowledgement of the multiple planes of existence like the spiritual realms. In this essay, I will review the ones that were taught to me as part of online hilot training, such as tawas sa papel, orasyon, kilubansa healing with the elements and names, and pulse readings. Afterward, I will re-summarize what I found valuable in terms of diagnostic procedures, and whether these procedures can and should be adapted or adopted into the current times we live in.

Tawas

The overview of Tawas was helpful, as I also regard “divination” as communication with the spiritual aspects of humans or with spirit beings. However, what intrigued me was the understanding of individual selves– that the Lower Self contained the Physical, Mental, and Emotional, and the Higher Self contained the Astral, the 7 Souls, and the Monad. It is very similar to my own understanding of the 3 Selves from the Bikol/Bisayan Creation Story, where when the human was created, they received a Self from Tubigan (Underworld), from Kawayan (Middleworld), and from Languit (Upperworld). Tubigan gifted the humans the Ancestral Self (sometimes a reincarnated soul of an Ancestor) and the Soul that connects to all the collective wisdom of our ancestors and that when that Soul matures and the body dies, they return with the Ancestral Self back into the flow of the Ancestral Realm to guide the lineage. Kawayan gifted the humans the Physical, Emotional, and Mental Selves, and upon death those energies return back to the kawayan, to the Earth of the Middleworld. Languit gifted the humans the Astral Self and the Monad, connecting to the collective wisdom of all humanity and of different beings. The Astral Self has the capacity to reincarnate outside of one’s bloodline, and the Monad connects to all of Creation and to the Source. When I am working from my 3 Selves model, it also fits into my astrological understandings (the South Node is the Underworld Self and the North Node is the Upperworld Self, and everything else in the chart is the Middleworld Self) and what kinds of healing I can channel for the client, as well as what spirit guides to call on for assistance.

Orasyon

I loved, once again, the mention of the Angono Binangon Petroglyphs in relation to the Orasyon. I also agree with how prayers and orasyon are connected to the Middleworld Self of the Physical, Mental, and Emotional by re-aligning those parts through cleansing and balancing them, since my understanding of Emotion is that it is the energy that helps connect and flow the Physical and Mental. If that energy gets stuck, both our Mental and Physical selves suffer. Prayers and Orasyon, especially paired with herbs and/or stones, re-aligns all three selves together. For example, I channeled an Orasyon libro/book from my Lola Colo (great-grandmother of my father, and mother to my grandfather in the Estrella lineage). In the libro, I’ve written down different parts of the body in alphabetical order as well as different sicknesses, and what negative emotion each is attached to. Then in the libro, there is written the opposite emotion, and the type of plants/herbs to help with the physical sickness and also to help bring about the positive opposite emotion. If the client comes to me and it is clear they have a rash on their stomach, for example, the instructions are then to create an oil based on those herbs to help with rash (hops, plantain) and with the stomach (peppermint, sage). I then counter the negative emotions (irritation, attention-seeking, dread, close-mindedness) with the positive emotions (peace, understanding, self-love) by writing a prayer or writing down the words in the preferred language of the client on a piece of cloth, which I then soak with the blessed oil made for the stomach rash, but I also give them the oil in a bottle by itself. I advise the client to put the cloth on the hurt area, or rub the oil on the rash, while saying the prayer or orasyon at least once a day. Because I did not have access to a lot of Filipino medicine, the herbs I wrote down in the book are mostly European herbs and the associations for the body parts and illness I got from the writings of Louise Hay. I am excited to add more Filipino herbs to my knowledge.

Reading Shapes & Symbols

This is the section that I find the hardest for me, simply because sometimes I see so much and also I see very little. I am used to certain sorts of tawas/communication like using cards, or stones, or bawwot, to clarify the visions I get, so I think it’s just a matter of practice to gain confidence in being able to see the shapes and symbols, and then being able to understand what the spiritual selves or spirit world is trying to communicate with them. I also really appreciate learning the way that Apu Adman and Lakay conduct Tawas sa Papel in person and long distance, and I definitely want to keep practicing Tawas sa Papel in the future so that it becomes a habit like how I use the cards or the bawwot. In addition, my understanding of the 7 energy centres is that these are the points in the Middleworld (of the Physical, Mental, and Emotional Selves) that also anchor and connect to our Underworld and Upperworld Selves, and so if we are in person, we need to ask the elements of the Middleworld (fire with the candle, water with the oil, earth with the tree/paper, and wind with our breath) to deliver the message to us from these energy centres. When we do long distance, we ask the elements to carry the message using the birth date and name, as these are also connecting anchors, like the energy centres, to our Underworld and Upperworld Selves.

Kilubansa Healing

I also remember reading the website Mysterio delas Felipinas about a decade ago, as that was probably the first time I’ve ever read about Kilubansa. I recently found this prayer on the Internet as I continued to research this Diwata: “O Kilubansa, hari ng pangagamot, ako ay pakingan. Seta, Eto, Gerom, Latos, Gesa, Seta, Seta!” For me, Kilubansa contains the meanings of “curve, rafter, land, and people”, which has the teachings of how the land and people are connected, even if we can’t see it plainly through a straight line. It is maintaining that connection, tending to the beams or rafters that connect all of us, that is the heart of healing. The Kilubansa Diwata manifests to me as a spirit that helps to understand the connection and balancing of all things, especially of the people with each other and with the land.

The Names & Elements

My understanding of the Kilubansa teaching of the elemental parts of a name is through my own understanding of the 3 Selves. Like I wrote above, our name and birth date connect us to all our different Selves. The birth date is the moment we manifest into the Physical world and all our different Selves are bestowed upon us, from the Upperworld, Middleworld, and Underworld, and so our astrological birth chart is formed at that moment. Our name-at-birth carries the gifts of our Underworld and Middleworld Selves, and any new names afterward hold our Upperworld gifts. The Diwata Kilubansa and our ancestral baybayin/guhit reveal the connection between our Middleword and Underworld Selves, and the medicines they have for us. For example, the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air are of the Middleworld, and when we understand what is the elemental make-up of the names of our ancestral lineages, we understand the gift the Ancestors are providing from the Underworld to the Middleworld. We anchor the Underworld/Ancestral gifts even further into this world or the Middleworld through knowing which energy centres in the body they can manifest through, and which directions in the Middleworld they can be found if the body travels in that direction.

Pulse Reading

Like the Orasyon, the Pagpupulso to me is very specifically about the Kawayan or Middleworld Self (Physical, Mental, and Emotional) and how they are all connected. If the 7 energy centres are the body’s connection to the Underworld and Upperworld, then the pulse is the body’s connection to understanding the selves of the Physical, Mental, and Emotional, and how they can be re-aligned with Orasyon and herbs. From the basic understanding I have of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the connections between the organs and the seasons and colours, it shows again the way of Diwata Kilubansa in how the people are connected to the land and to each other. I deeply appreciate this way of reading the pulse, and being able to learn it and practice it on others, so I can understand more of how to support their healing and growth.

Conclusion

I found all of the techniques taught in this unit extremely valuable, as for me it’s like learning a new language or a different type of communication. Even if I don’t practice the language a lot, and so I may not be fluent like other people, it will still be useful if I come across someone who speaks that language and I know some basic ways to communicate. Secondly, I’m not sure how adaptable these procedures are to materialistic and secular-type people, as so much of it is based on understanding that there is more than the Physical Self, and also even more than just the Emotional and Mental Selves. However, to modern day animistic, pagan, or spiritual people, these procedures will make a lot of sense, and I would even do them on my own parents (who are spiritual Catholics). In conclusion, Hilot Diagnostic Procedures in this day and age are valuable and feasible, as long as the client is accepting that the procedures are based on planes of existence and selves beyond just the physical, mental, and emotional.