From Dysmenhorrea: Wala-Sa-Pana-Nasa-Indian in Writing

January 18 2008 1:13 pm; January 21, 2008 9:05 am

In Golf, Wala-Sa-Pana-Nasa-Indian means:

It’s not on the club.

It’s not on the golf ball.

It’s not on the course.

It’s not on the weather conditions.

It’s not on how you hit the golf ball.

It’s all in you.

Everything else follows and then you have that stroke.

In writing, Wala-Sa-Pana-Nasa-Indian means:

Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP]

Feeling nauntog ba dahil maraming syllables and feeling mo computer or robot ka bigla? If yes, ako rin nung unang pinabasa ito ng aking sister dearest na si Gnomie. Wait lang po, explain natin para maintindihan pero intermission muna.

Intermission

Dun sa mga may alam, lalo na yun mga nasa real world of working jobs kung saan ang NLP is being used for HR and corporate communications, join na lang.

Dun sa mga pinoy na mahina sa Filipino na nagbabasa nito, mag-aral pa kayo para maintindihan niyo. Pasalamat po kayo di ako nagbibikol o rinkonada. Mahiya kayo sa Copra brown balat niyo that smells like Dr. Jose Rizal’s gasgas na fishy fish kung di kayo marunong mag-Filipino.

Back to Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Core idea:

Individual’s THOUGHTS, GESTURES, WORDS interact to create his/her perception of the world.

This is why in writing you “write what you know”. What you know is what you call your perception of the world--- even if you’re writing about an alien world.

This is why you find yourself writing of your Self [as an individual] or the Immediate Self like families, amigos, enemigos, etc and experiences and whatever.

This is why your poem, story, essay, novel, chuva unfolds according to your perception of the world.

The individual’s perception of the world is what you call the person’s MAP, like mapa of the world.

You base your writing according to this map.

And for your writing to have a direction therefore make sense, you have to have that map. Now, most of us have maps that are works-in-progress. The responsibility of someone who writes is to learn so that the MAP will be made whole and will make sense to the person reading it.

Di maiintindihan ng taong nagbabasa sa yo kung ang mapa mo ay parang kinayasan ng bangag na manok.

You learn through experience AND vigilance in reading, writing and especially critical feedback.

That’s why in UP’s Creative Writing Program, we are required to understand:

What we write

How we write

Why we write

Where is what-how-why you write in Philippine Literary History

You especially try to study literary theory, history, and criticism to answer the above because it’s not applicable or acceptable to simply say:

I write about (what) because I want to eh

I write this (way) because I want to eh

I write because I want to eh

Naku, magsosolo ka sa Ivory-Tower-Earth sa mga sagot na ganyan. It’s your version of “I Am Legend” na walang happy ending.

And if what you’re writing is not in Literary History, much more in Philippine Literary History, then bongga ka Dudong and Diday!

Yun lang nga, dapat alam mo pa rin what it is you’re writing so that when asked, you don’t answer with the replies above and by default consigned your writing to X-Files “the truth is out there”.

So that when people don’t get what you’ve written, you don’t sing that song, “David Duchovny why won’t you love me…I’m gonna kill Scully!”

Mind/Body (Neuro) and what we say (Linguistics) interact together to form our perceptions of the world or maps (Programming).

Our writing is largely based on how we are as people--- thoughts, gestures, words—and these are shown in what is produced by our writing.

In our writing, we show our view of the world that is filtered by our experiences, beliefs, values, and assumptions.

It doesn’t matter what [topic] we’re writing on, our individual NLP’s will influence and appear on the written text.

In short, the author is always in the text. It may mean confessional— in the sense that you are writing according to your perception of the world and that perception is you.

Now, if you’re a small-minded person because you have a very minute perception, then your texts would likely be ripped apart in exasperation and you will be Angelica-Jones-In-ABC 5-Shall-We-Dance-offended

But, if you have schizo-abilities--- meaning you can perceive the world from more just one tiny perception--- then you just might join the ranks of amazing writers who really are crazy and hope that you don’t end up killing yourself.

Each person’s map of the world determines feelings and behavior. Therefore, impoverished--- and unrealistic--- maps can restrict choices and result in problems.

We act and feel based on our perception of the world rather than the real world. And in the real world, there is more than one perception. For example, some people write that a stone is a stone and to some a stone is dried elephant dung.

Impoverished perceptions would lead to something like this:

Stone-Perception: I’m telling you this is a stone! This is hard-core. That’s shit.

Dried-Elephant-Dung-Perception: You’re wrong! This is a stone!

Stone-Perception: No, you’re wrong! I’m right!

Dried-Elephant-Dung-Perception: You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m right!

Hence the war of stones/dungs began and they will be writing stones/dungs for the rest of their lives. And what do you know, what they were really writing about is the “rose”, like the flower or maybe Getrude Stein’s “rose” or Stan Rice’s “rose” or God as “rose.”

Texts written from impoverished perceptions about the real world are so unbelievable, because the author is writing it according to her/his/its perception and that perception is just unbelievable.

As I’ve discussed with the cat, even if there are aliens or whatnot in your story, the task is to suspend that disbelief of the reader so that they would be moved to believe what’s happening in the story.

That even if it’s fantasy, it reads real.

This is why I always ask the text, “Where are you taking me?” Texts from impoverished perceptions would take me straight to screaming or drinking then laughing.

And in good poems, stories, essays, novels, chuva--- I don’t ask anymore. I’m in the text already and I’m taken where the narrative is going. The last time that happened, I was reading Jeffrey Ford’s “Bright Morning”.

In my Ma’s case, it was when I lent her a copy of Paulo Coelho’s “The Zahir”. She said she read it one sitting in the airport because she couldn’t put the book down. She loved it so much that Egg bought her whatever Coelho books there were in Malaysia.

I had joked to Ma, “When you’re done with those, I’m going to lend you Kahlil Gibran.” And I ended up laughing because I remember giving my Comm 1 students Gibran’s “The Good God and Evil God” as reading exam in one of their tests.

Yep, they were forced to think beyond their crushes and jowas and ek-ek materialistic issues. And what thoughts came out! Example: These Gods are stupid for calling human beings stupid. I am not stupid!

And after, we gain other perceptions on certain things.

An unbelievable written perception feels like its being rammed down your throat because it’s rushing you to believe the unbelievable. Or it’s just being too coy. It’s like my stumbling into a kinky sex story recently and saying to the text, “You’re telling me to believe that having sex with my brother is good? YUCK! Kadiri naman perception nito!” I would find that believable from V.C. Andrews’ “Flowers In The Attic” series because the reasons were understandable and it’s not even a matter of “good”.

From impoverished perceptions, there is no movement in writing. This is why we all try to write outside our comfort zones. When I heard what the Litcritters in Dumaguete were asked to do by Ian Casocot, I laughed so much and said, “Ayos sa assignments ah!”

Twiggy was asked to do a story on the importance of God and saints in our lives.

[Twiggy had likely said, “What importance?!” so obviously he’s not into God and saints.]

Justine was asked to write a chauvinist story.

[Justine is a feminist. To write a chauvinist story would likely give her a heart attack.]

Rjok was asked to write a reality-based story with a housewife as a protagonist.

[Rjok writes high fantasy, sci-fi AND is into feminism too.]

As for me, hell I’m writing CNF aren’t I? And that’s so outside my comfort zone. It’s better and safer to hide behind short fiction. No stones/dungs thrown my way that way.

But see, with NLP, there is really no wall between author and text.

Flashback:

Nung kabanggaan ko pa ng ulo ang mga super-ulo ng mga atheists at pretty boys sa Department of Philosophy sa UP, pag hiniritan ako ng “Perception mo lang yan!”:

Ibig sibihin-- naku, mag-isip na ko.

Ibig sabihin, sobrang bulag ko at bilib ko sa persepsyon ko na di ko nakikita mga butas ng argumento ko.

Ibig sabihin rin, puno na ang kausap ko kasi wala akong kwentang kausap. Yun bang ang kitid ng pag-iisip at mala-mais na kausap kasi walang pagbabago sa diskurso. Sobrang kitid at bulag na di makita kung ano ang pinaggagalingan ng persepsyon ng kausap na tao.

Ibig sabihin, puro ngaw-ngaw.

Ibig sabihin, umiling ako para maalog yun utak ko, mag-isip, matawa sa sarili dahil nahiritan sa katangahan at sabihin, “May punto ka dun. Isipin ko muna ha? Para maintindihan ko.”

Baguhin ang dapat baguhin sa sarili. Mistulang kadenang reaksyon yan: pag nabago ka into a Higher Being, mababago ang Beings ng mga tao sa palagid mo into Higher Beings rin.

Kung hindi, ano ang saysay ng buhay mo sa pamilya, jowa, barkadoodles o mundong ito?

Kung hindi, mahihiritan ka pa ng, “Magsolo ka sa earth!“

Naku, ilang beses rin akong nasabon ng “Perception mo lang yan!“

And solusyon: palawakin ang persepsyon. Para kung saan ka man mapadpad at sino pa man ang kausap mo, matuwa sa iyo at sa pinagagawa mo. Para pag nagsulat, maiintindihan ang perspesyon na ipinamamahagi ng kuwento mo.

Para di lang isang klaseng kuwento o pagkukuwento ang naisusulat mo.

Pitik:

At ang sabi nga nun mga matatanda, “Ang language puedeng matutuhan. Ang insight na nasa text, naku, good luck sa prosesong duguan.”

No to myopia in perception. Let’s all heighten our consciousness para di lang sex, drugs, love, rock and roll or reggae ang writing.

Para: WORDSTARS!