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, Self Help, Indigenous

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[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. :)

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

so intriguing how much relied on linguistics - some of the tagalog parts were stuff i already knew but the concepts of surwano was new to me, and the stuff i learned were interesting! very conversational while being in depth

[Wynette Aplasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to Filipino psychology/folklore. I finished this book with a strong urge to learn more about Philippine folklore.

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

literally yup

[Dessylyly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It struck me how intuitive the concepts are here; sometimes mistaking it for the author stating the obvious but which may, in fact, be non-obvious to those coming from a different background.

This is a beautiful exploration of the Filipino way of being through a more scholarly lens. Tagalog everyday words I grew up with (kapwa, sarili, loob...) as symbols and a gateway into learning more about our psyches. Basically the felt vs cognitive experience.

It so happened that this book found its way to me during a personal period of spiritual starvation having been a decade since I chose to disengage with my Catholic upbringing and ten years on finding the world so devoid of meaning and empathy and so dissonant with what used to be intuitive to humans. And so I flirted with the idea of going back to Catholicism just to feel something, even if only for the rituals, only to find I still couldn't disentangle it from its colonial history and all the conservatism etc. etc.

Cervantez offers a more empowering outlook on this: see the indigenised elements of Christianity we still practice today back home and observe how it all feels right to the Filipino heart. We've taken what speaks to us. And beyond the religion debacle, there's more: reevaluating Filipino attitudes that have been demonised in recent times the further we engage deeper with foreign, capitalistic systems; ways of out crises through pakikiramdam and pakikisama and which eventually, hopefully, turn to makikibaka. Yes, it does read more like a self-help rather than a deep dive into the world of Filipino psychology but without the trappings of the usual self-help books on how to be more loaded :)))

[Neriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for any Filipino to understand our collective psyche, and collective possibilities

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm half-Filipino born in New Zealand. My dad's from Negros Occidental, the same province as Carl's mother and I spent a few years in the Philippines when I was a child in the late 2000s. I would consider it a highly formative time of my life. I've been aware of Filipino psychology for about a year but haven't tried delving into it much until now. I am really glad to have discovered this book. It is very inspiring and validating with respect to the cultural differences and particularities I recall from my youth and how my culture has shaped me to this day. It serves as a great primer and entry into Filipino ways of becoming on its own terms.

My favorite part was reading this part of the book and how it hit me.

The act of loving is called pag-ibig, and ibig refers to sincerity. The phrase ibig sabihin refers to something a person really wants to say (saloobin), a truth from the deepest self (kalooban). The friend is kaibigan: it is ibig (sincerity), with the prefix ka (connection, like the English co-) and the suffix -an (participative action, such as in chasing games, habulan, or hiding games, tagu-taguan)

I've heard the words countless times and said it myself and never really thought about the meaning on a fine level. Admittedly my grasp of Filipino and Hiligaynon isn't strong although I can still understand both at a conversational level. The language thesis is observational but having just finished reading Leonardo N. Mercado's The Filipino Mind before this, I feel a deep appreciation for how considerate and empathetic our languages are in accounting for participants in a conversation and the direction of the action towards them. A friend is literally a participatory connection of love with someone else.

The ways of thinking and relating in here just make sense to me, even when they have their downsides either due to misuse or incompatibility with different cultural paradigms. The author is only a couple of years older than me and it felt good to read observations paralleling mine. I am not tapped into other Filipinos diasporic experiences but I've always felt a shared sense of kapwa long after I moved back to NZ and Carl's work feels like a call to action for me to carry forth my roots and the wisdom I've always intuitively known but never had the language or perspective to express. This book has allowed me to better reflect and appreciate the experiences of both my father in adapting to a new life and my relatives back in the Philippines.

I will read any book Carl chooses to write in the future; consider me a budding fan for life. I feel like he is doing very important work for people like me.

[Trees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew I was off to a meaningful journey when I first read, “I pray you have a safe journey. Return safely home.” right from Sikodiwa’s intro.

None of the existing beliefs that were mentioned have surprised me, for they are rooted in the culture and the lifestyle of Filipinos (and it is my lived experience!). However, I believe that the transformation lies within the confrontation and interrogation of these beliefs. The book embodies and emphasizes the value of connecting to people through language which made the exploration more significant and rooted to memory and collective experience.

It has been exciting to interrogate my existing beliefs and explore more questions and ideas on culture, heritage, history, faith, spirituality and the Filipino identity in precolonial and postcolonial Philippines.

“Culture is invulnerable because we are alive, and so long as humans continue to interact with their physical and social environments, culture persists.”

To explore the culture with respect, grace, and nuance have been an absolute joy.

[Fatma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me about 6 weeks to finish this book. I felt like it was a book that I needed to take my time with and absorb.

Incredibly written, well researched non fiction book. I learned a lot from this book and will probably continue to use it as a reference. The passion of the author/researcher really shows through.

I do not have any Tagalog lineage and so a lot of the Tagalog translations / sentences did not hit home with me. Although I find their use in this book important. I couldn’t help but say within me - I wish there was a Bisaya version, I wish there was a Bisaya version.

Overall, a must read for all Filipinos. I really commend the author and this important piece of work that he has produced.

[mariel ⭒.ೃ࿔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOOO NECESSARY! this book combats the idea that indigenous wisdom is solely meant to remain in the past, and fights imposed notions of western supremacy. I ended up writing about this for my Advanced Filipino language final and think that contextualizing well-known cultural like utang na loob and hiya in kapwa and a tayo mentality over a kaniya-kaniya one helped to reframe my view of Filipino values. a WONDERFUL reminder that liberation begins when we consider the collective and attempt to break out of the systems not meant to serve our mental health, our wellbeing, and the love for ourselves and others. the reminder to come home to ourselves in the introduction already got me, I think this is essential reading for those in and beyond the Filipino diaspora !!!!

[arabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lot to unpack! i’ve always loved sociology and learning about the process of culture. though the earlier parts were a bit more technical in terms of linguistics and setting the Filipino context, i absolutely adored the latter chapters. so much thought-provoking discussions regarding Filipino culture, the self, the concept of kapwa, and spirituality.

also, the last line felt like a hug. great read!

[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.

[aries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sikodiwa surprised me in the ways it broadened my understanding of the world: it challenged & reoriented my conception of decolonization, Catholicism, & ancestral wisdom. must read for anyone, Filipino or not, there are universal truths to be discovered or re-visited. May we reconnect with our intuitive ways of being & return to kapwa

[Sybyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨4.4 stars✨

Read this whilst taking a Sikolohiyang Pilipino course—goated.

[Nica Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

a warm hug and a firm handshake in book form.