Filipino Psychology Is a Transpersonal Psychology

This paper makes the argument that the burgeoning field of Filipino psychology (formally known as Sikolohiyang Pilipino), which draws its concepts and frameworks from the everyday indigenous experience of Filipinos, is fundamentally transpersonal. By surfacing the implicit psychology embedded in language, folklore, and customary behavior, various cultural notions related to personhood, growth, and healing are seen to encourage a holistic approach that recognizes the self as a part of larger consciousness and culture. Of particular interest is the concept of kapwa (shared identity), central to the understanding of Filipino psychology, that acknowledges the interrelationship of self, other, and the world. Interdisciplinary overlaps that make the academic connection between Filipino psychology and transpersonal psychology stronger are also pointed out, especially Jaime Bulatao’s “Filipino Transpersonal Worldview” and Sikolohiyang Pangrelihiyon (Religious Psychology). The humanistic goal of self-actualization is seen here as the fullness of kapwa, toward a shared kaginhawaan (comfort and stability). This paper aims to contribute to the global understanding of the human experience—not in the sense that it becomes a universal psychology, but rather in the sense that it is a contribution to the international potluck of ideas, which is what the indigenous psychology scholars call “cross-indigenous psychology.”