In the Jewish Tradition it is Yahweh. In English it is God. In Spanish it is Dios. In Islam it is Allah. In Christian tradition it is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. In pagan traditions it is Goddess or Great Mother. For the American Natives it is wording that translates to Great Spirit. Left-brainer, atheists may not believe in any god but they may believe in a Cosmic Intelligence that underlies the laws of physics and atomic existence in space and time.

And for the Filipino the Great Divine is called Bathala or Bahala. Even before the coming of the West the natives of the Philippine islands have had a spirituality and awareness of the Nameless-Many-Named-I-Am. By coming to rediscover the use of Bahala, so many more Filipinos today, cut-off and unaware of their spiritual roots, can come to discover and know that ancient traditions of the Philippine Islands have always carried Universal Wisdom.

I have embarked on that journey of rediscovery and reconnection. Did I need to change my religion to deepen my spirituality? I didn’t. Because where there is Truth there is connection… and universality. And thus, my Christian spirituality and my Filipino spirituality are connected. My meditations on Bahala are part of that journey.

There are three sets of exercises here.

1. Contemplation over the baybayin symbols that form the word Bahala.
2. Finding renewed meaning in saying Bahala Na
3. Saying Bahala or Bahala Na as a prayer/meditation entry point or as a spiritual chant.

Click here to download an old PDF version of the Bahala Meditations.

You can try these exercises to find out if they fit in with your personal search for finding faith in Something Greater and for deepening your spiritual journey.For those of you Filipinos who are seeking a closeness to God and at the same time, a Filipino spiritual practice in your soul's journey, you will find that using this Holy name in Filipino can help you to settle into prayer and meditation and, if it works for you, deepen your spiritual practice.

Practicing this in your own way will help you when you make intentions of awareness in the now, forgivness and compassion, letting go and releasing, and even for healing sessions. The effects of any meditation, prayer and spiritual chanting can be profound and moving. For a Filipino one on Bathala... it is truly a gift for the Filipino on a lakaraan para sa pagbabalik loob niya (return journey to one's Self).