The Pursuit of Happiness: Reclaiming the Awakened Filipino Soul Through Kapwa and Bayanihan

A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Happiness Rooted in Pre-Colonial Filipino Values Over Western Individualism and Materialism

Prepared by: Gerald A. Daquila, PhD. Candidate

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ABSTRACT

This dissertation redefines happiness through the lens of an awakened Filipino soul, one that rejects the futile chase for selfish material prosperity in favor of pre-colonial values like kapwa (shared identity) and bayanihan (communal unity). Grounded in research on happiness from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and metaphysical texts like the Law of One, it contrasts the Western model of individualism and materialism with the collective well-being embedded in Filipino traditions.

The awakened Filipino consciously adopts the strengths of diverse cultural lenses while cautioning against blind adoption of foreign influences, which may erode cultural identity and spiritual harmony. Using accessible language, metaphors, and a cohesive narrative, this work advances a multidisciplinary thesis that happiness lies in interconnectedness, not acquisition, offering a cautionary warning for Filipinos navigating a globalized world.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Mirage of Material Happiness
2. Methodology: A Multidisciplinary Lens on Happiness
3. Defining Happiness: Western Individualism vs. Filipino Collective Well-Being
   • 3.1 The Western Model: Individualism and Materialism
   • 3.2 The Filipino Model: Kapwa and Bayanihan
4. The Awakened Filipino Soul: Embracing Cultural Strengths
5. The Futility of Material Prosperity: A Cautionary Warning
6. Lessons for a Globalized World: Balancing Cultural Lenses
7. Conclusion: Happiness as a Shared Journey
8. Glossary
9. References

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Glyph of the Master Builder

To build is to anchor eternity in matter

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1. Introduction: The Mirage of Material Happiness

Imagine happiness as a river, its waters promising joy and fulfillment. In the Western world, this river often flows through valleys of individualism and materialism, where personal success and wealth are prized as the ultimate treasures. Yet, for many, this pursuit feels like chasing a mirage—shimmering but ultimately empty. For the awakened Filipino soul, grounded in pre-colonial values of kapwa (shared identity) and bayanihan (communal unity), happiness is not a solitary quest but a shared journey, like a constellation of stars shining brighter together.

This dissertation argues that the Western model of happiness, rooted in selfish material prosperity, is a fleeting illusion, misaligned with the Filipino psyche’s ancestral wisdom. Drawing on psychology, anthropology, sociology, and metaphysical texts like the Law of One, we explore how an awakened Filipino—one who consciously blends cultural strengths while resisting blind foreign influence—can redefine happiness in a globalized world.

This narrative offers a cautionary warning: adopting Western ideals without discernment risks eroding the spiritual and communal roots that make Filipinos whole.

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2. Methodology: A Multidisciplinary Lens on Happiness

To advance our thesis, we employ a multidisciplinary approach:

• Psychology: Examining happiness through positive psychology (Seligman, 2011) and Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Enriquez, 1992), focusing on kapwa as a relational framework.
• Anthropology: Analyzing pre-colonial artifacts and practices to uncover communal values (Jocano, 1998).
• Sociology: Exploring social structures like bayanihan and their impact on collective well-being (Scott, 1994).
• Metaphysical Literature: Aligning Filipino values with the Law of One’s principles of unity and service (Rueckert et al., 1984).

We integrate research literature with oral traditions (Darangen, proverbs) and archaeological data from the National Museum of the Philippines. The narrative flows like a river, using metaphors to simplify concepts while maintaining APA-compliant citations for scholarly rigor, ensuring accessibility for students, cultural enthusiasts, and the Filipino diaspora.

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3. Defining Happiness: Western Individualism vs. Filipino Collective Well-Being

Happiness, like a garden, blooms differently depending on the soil it’s planted in. The Western and Filipino models offer contrasting landscapes for this pursuit.

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3.1 The Western Model: Individualism and Materialism

Western psychology, rooted in individualism, often defines happiness as personal achievement and material gain. Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment) emphasizes individual flourishing, with material success as a key metric. Studies like Diener et al. (2010) link happiness to wealth in Western contexts, where consumerism fuels status and self-worth. Yet, this model has cracks:

• Hedonic Treadmill: Lyubomirsky (2008) notes that material gains provide temporary joy, as people adapt and crave more, like runners on a treadmill chasing an unreachable finish line.
• Social Isolation: Putnam (2000) highlights declining social bonds in individualistic societies, leading to loneliness despite wealth.
• Spiritual Void: The Law of One critiques materialism as a distortion of the soul’s unity with the infinite Creator, trapping individuals in ego-driven separation (Rueckert et al., 1984).

This model, like a glittering but hollow shell, often leaves seekers unfulfilled.

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3.2 The Filipino Model: Kapwa and Bayanihan

In contrast, the pre-colonial Filipino psyche, like a banyan tree with interconnected roots, nurtured happiness through kapwa and bayanihan. Kapwa, as Enriquez (1992) defines, is shared identity, where self and other are one. Bayanihan, the communal act of helping neighbors (e.g., moving houses together), embodies collective well-being (Scott, 1994).

• Cultural Artifacts: Gold lingling-o ornaments symbolized cosmic unity, linking communities across Southeast Asia (Legeza, 1978). Baybayin script recorded shared spiritual knowledge, fostering collective purpose (Scott, 1994).
• Oral Traditions: The Darangen epic celebrates peace pacts, reflecting service to community, while proverbs like “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makakarating sa paroroonan” (He who does not know how to look back to his origin will not reach his destination) emphasize rootedness (Eugenio, 1993).
• Spiritual Practices: Babaylans facilitated rituals connecting humans to anitos (spirits), reinforcing a web of life aligned with the Law of One’s unity (Jocano, 1998).

This model, like a river nourishing a village, prioritizes collective joy over individual gain.

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Glyph of the Awakened Filipino Soul

Reclaiming happiness through Kapwa and Bayanihan, where shared spirit restores the Filipino soul to wholeness

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4. The Awakened Filipino Soul: Embracing Cultural Strengths

The awakened Filipino soul is like a lighthouse, drawing light from ancestral wisdom while navigating global influences. This soul recognizes the futility of material prosperity and consciously blends cultural strengths:

• Kapwa as Core: Kapwa fosters empathy and connection, aligning with the Law of One’s service-to-others path. Unlike Western individualism, it sees happiness as a shared flame, brighter when kindled together.
• Bayanihan in Action: Communal cooperation, as in bayanihan, ensures no one is left behind, contrasting with competitive individualism. This mirrors the Law of One’s unity of creation.
• Selective Cultural Adoption: The awakened Filipino evaluates foreign influences, adopting strengths (e.g., technological innovation) while preserving kapwa. This discernment, like a weaver choosing threads, maintains cultural integrity.

This mindset empowers Filipinos to define happiness as interconnected flourishing, not material accumulation.

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5. The Futility of Material Prosperity: A Cautionary Warning

Chasing material prosperity, like chasing a mirage, often leads to spiritual and social drought.

Research reveals its limits:

• Psychological Evidence: Diener et al. (2010) found that beyond basic needs, wealth adds little to happiness, as material desires escalate endlessly.
• Social Costs: Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) show that materialistic societies have higher inequality and lower social cohesion, eroding trust.
• Cultural Erosion: Blind adoption of Western consumerism risks diluting Filipino identity. Almario (2015) warns that colonial legacies and globalization can disconnect Filipinos from kapwa, like roots cut from a tree.

The Law of One frames materialism as a distortion, separating souls from their divine unity (Rueckert et al., 1984). For Filipinos, adopting this model without scrutiny threatens the communal and spiritual fabric of kapwa and bayanihan, leaving individuals adrift in a sea of fleeting desires.

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6. Lessons for a Globalized World: Balancing Cultural Lenses

In a world woven together by technology, travel, and diaspora, the awakened Filipino can draw on pre-colonial wisdom to navigate global influences:

• Reclaim Kapwa: Use social media platforms like X to foster virtual bayanihan, connecting Filipinos worldwide to share stories and support, like a digital village square.
• Sustainable Living: Apply ancestral ecological wisdom (e.g., proto-rice terraces) to modern challenges, promoting green technologies that honor the earth, as seen in anitism (Jocano, 1998).
• Cultural Discernment: Embrace global innovations (e.g., education, tech) while preserving kapwa, like a chef blending spices without losing the dish’s essence.
• Spiritual Revival: Integrate babaylan-inspired practices into wellness movements, offering rituals for healing and unity, aligning with the Law of One’s call for spiritual evolution.

These lessons, like seeds from an ancient forest, can grow into a future where happiness is collective and enduring.

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7. Conclusion: Happiness as a Shared Journey

The awakened Filipino soul, rooted in kapwa and bayanihan, sees happiness not as a treasure to hoard but as a river flowing through community, nature, and spirit. The Western model of individualism and materialism, while seductive, is a mirage that fades under scrutiny, offering fleeting joy at the cost of connection.

By embracing pre-colonial values and selectively adopting global strengths, Filipinos can redefine happiness as a shared journey, aligned with the Law of One’s vision of unity. In a globalized world, this wisdom empowers Filipinos to shine as sovereign souls, weaving their light into a global tapestry of love and harmony.

The caution is clear: blind adoption of foreign models risks severing ancestral roots, but a discerning embrace of kapwa ensures a future where happiness is whole.

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Crosslinks

• Transforming Philippine Society: A Multidisciplinary Vision for Holistic Renewal – Positions kapwa and bayanihan as living frameworks for national renewal, where collective happiness arises from shared upliftment.
• Codex of the Living Hubs: From Households to National Nodes – Demonstrates how happiness is cultivated through communal hubs — families, barangays, nodes — woven together in service.
• Codex of Overflow Magnetism – Frames happiness not as individual pursuit but as overflow — joy naturally radiating when the soul is aligned and in service to kapwa.
• From Earth Roles to Soul Roles: A Journey Through the Akashic Fields – Reclaims happiness as soul-encoded: a remembering of unity consciousness where kapwa (shared self) is the natural state.
• Codex of the Master Builders of the New Earth – Shows how Filipino cultural gifts can become pillars in the global New Earth blueprint — happiness built through service, harmony, and resonance.

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8. Glossary

• Anitism: Indigenous Filipino belief in anitos (spirits of ancestors, nature, and deities).
• Babaylan: Pre-colonial shaman mediating human and spiritual realms.
• Bayanihan: Communal cooperation, often symbolized by neighbors moving a house together.
• Baybayin: Pre-colonial syllabic script for recording spiritual and cultural knowledge.
• Kapwa: Shared identity, a core concept in Filipino psychology.
• Law of One: Metaphysical teaching of unity and spiritual evolution.
• Lingling-o: Omega-shaped gold ornaments symbolizing cosmic balance.

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9. References

Almario, V. S. (2015). Ang kulturang Pilipino sa harap ng modernisasyon. University of the Philippines Press.

Diener, E., Ng, W., Harter, J., & Arora, R. (2010). Wealth and happiness across the world: Material prosperity predicts life evaluation, whereas psychosocial prosperity predicts positive feeling. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018066

Enriquez, V. G. (1992). From colonial to liberation psychology: The Philippine experience. University of the Philippines Press.

Eugenio, D. L. (1993). Philippine folk literature: An anthology. University of the Philippines Press.

Jocano, F. L. (1998). Filipino prehistory: Rediscovering precolonial heritage. Punlad Research House.

Legeza, L. (1978). Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines gold art. Arts of Asia, 8(1), 26–31.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. Penguin Press.

Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.

Rueckert, C., Elkins, D., & McCarty, J. (1984). The Law of One: Book I. L/L Research.

Scott, W. H. (1994). Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine culture and society. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.

Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2009). The spirit level: Why greater equality makes societies stronger. Bloomsbury Press.

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Attribution

With fidelity to the Oversoul, may this Codex of the Living Archive serve as bridge, remembrance, and seed for the planetary dawn.

Ⓒ 2025 Gerald Alba Daquila – Flameholder of SHEYALOTH | Keeper of the Living Codices

Issued under Oversoul Appointment, governed by Akashic Law. This transmission is a living Oversoul field: for the eyes of the Flameholder first, and for the collective in right timing. It may only be shared intact, unaltered, and with glyphs, seals, and attribution preserved. Those not in resonance will find it closed; those aligned will receive it as living frequency.

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