Sikodiwa: Revisiting Filipino Indigenous Wisdom for Personal and Shared Well-Being

by Carl Lorenz Cervantes

Researcher and lecturer Carl Lorenz Cervantes explores the timeless wisdom, ancestral worldviews, and spiritual tools of Filipino psychology and culture—and offers Indigenous ways of knowing for all readers, Filipino and non-Filipino alike.

Drawing from folklore, language, ethnography, and personal story, Sikodiwa is a mind-opening exploration for readers of Braiding Sweetgrass and Fresh Banana Leaves

Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa Those who do not honor their roots will never reach their destination.
—Filipino proverb

For centuries, Filipino lifeways were presented to outsiders through the distorted lens of colonization—and the oppression, exploitation, and denigration suffered by Filipino ancestors are well-documented. Here, Carl Lorenz Cervantes draws from Filipino folklore, language, and culture to reorient toward an Indigenous one that rejects being seen as a passive object in history. That reclaims Filipino identity, storytelling, and liberation on Filipino terms. And that embraces a powerful We are the descendants of our colonized ancestors, but we are also the grandchildren of the revolution.

Rooted in Indigenous Filipino worldviews, Sikodiwa offers a vital exploration

reclaiming and restoring Indigenous worldviewsCosmic Defining Indigenous through the lens of creation myths Navigating processes of decolonization and the vagueness of cultural identityDeep Folk healing, native spirituality, and deep, mystical realitiesCultural navigating the complexities of identity and reconnecting with our most authentic selvesReclaiming Challenging stereotypes about Filipino cultural valuesTowards Kapwa: Understanding shared identity—and learning how it manifestsRevolution and fate: Applying cultural frameworks and existential tools to self-help practices
Cervantes also shows how we can apply vital cultural frameworks to our own self-help and empowerment practices, from learning to use existential tools like Bahala na (letting go of burden) to understanding the inherently collective meaning-making of Kasaysayan (history). A vital contribution to a more inclusive world psychology, Sikodiwa uplifts Indigenized ways of knowing—and offers a timely and inspired path toward collective consciousness, cultural authenticity, and embodied well-being.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting as a white western women who has many Filipino colleagues and have visited the country. It gave me many insights into the cultural background and some more in-depth explanations on things I have become aware of - for example lip pointing and tree spirits. I hope it finds a wide audience. Thanks to North Atlantic books for the ARC.

[Freya Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a brain spa where you get a thorough massage that hits the right spots! I could listen to this man yap all day and never get bored.

Carl’s reflections on Kapwa and the ways our individual selves diverge from our sense of community, or shared humanity, clearly illuminate many of the conditions and attitudes we carry as Filipinos. As someone born and raised in the Philippines, I recognize the struggles Carl describes with striking familiarity. His personal anecdotes, paired with grounded research, feel deeply resonant. I find myself marveling at how this book calls me back into alignment with Kapwa. The tone is subtle, yet it lands with precision, biting exactly where it should. This work hits uncomfortably, and powerfully, close to home.

P.S. This should be a required reading for my students in Filipino Psych :)

Also, Appreciate the way it was written. It doesn’t read like a tedious textbook. It reads like someone is just yapping in a Ted Talk. :)