When my escapade with the ViaHero Project team happened in December 2016 I was blessed to meet another friend that would go alongside my cosmic journey. Like Jodelyn who I met accidentally at Quezon Memorial circle the eventuality of meeting Reiner was also synchronicity at it’s finest.
We also met at QC Circle. He was also from PUP. And this guy had the skills to at least impress me. Best of all he was a drifter. I made him come with me in Majayjay Laguna. Little did I know that this guy was a bit of a pain.
When we rode the van going to Majayjay, I started resting my eyes as to conserve my energy for it was early in the morning. But Reiner went on and on telling all this interesting and some not so interesting stories. I even went as far as putting a towel on my face for him to realize that I wanted to rest but he kept on going. And so that quality, at least for me, made him ROGUE. You should try hearing out his stories – it will push you to your limit.
When we arrived at the foot of Bukal Falls mountain at around 9 am, I shyingly bought beer at the nearby store. I just thought that it would be nice to have a icy cold beer in the morning then hike after. True enough it was the perfect combination. It gave me the boost I needed to go up the short trail mountain. But as we went on, I started gasping even though the trail was just a 15 minute climb. No one would even consider it as an authentic mountain climb but my body was experiencing withdrawal since I quit smoking two weeks prior. But I pushed myself more. I bought a 300ml lambanog and started chugging it up. It felt like gasoline in my mouth. It was too strong that the locals immediately laughed at my drunken situation. And when everyone settled down, me and Reiner started conversing with two of the elders. I initiated the talks about the supernatural since we were near Mount Banahaw, a sacred mountain. It was relieving to hear such stories of traditional tales about shamanism and the paranormal. It is a REALITY in that place. Those elements are very much present in that frequency that I felt that I had immersed inside their world.
One story goes that a man going home late at night peed on one of the trees. Whilst he and his friend went on their way, the man’s face started to blacken. With his friend fled in terror, the man didn’t know what was going on. And when finally the man arrived home, his wife and children wasn’t able to recognize him and the family locked themselves in the house horrified on what their father has become. Weeks went on and the family was worried that their man-of-the-house has yet to come home. They hired a local shaman to track the man and found him in the woods naked, still with a blackened face. The shaman then rinsed the unconscious man in the river and then man came to his senses. And when finally the man had rested he told the family what happened.
The man thought that he has already lived for many years and that his life with his family has already been done. He described seeing beings that were far from the creatures living in our own. And that everything in that world had only the hue of gold and no other else.
With my intoxication meter going haywire, our discussion sent more shivers down my spine. But by the time the sun starts to set, the elders had to go home. And as they said their goodbyes, I went to my tent and rested.
I awoke at about 10pm shivering inside the tent. I heard loud noises outside but is was not something from the Twilight Zone. It was the ViaHero team merrymaking. I heard my name several times. They didn’t know that I was already awake. Apparently, the team was perplexed by my relationship with their member Jeka.
Jeka and I became friends for a short time during my stint in an independent film group in 2007. We weren’t close we just had one drink then that was all. After almost 10 years, she suddenly popped into my Facebook feed greeting me a happy birthday to which I replied let’s have a drink. Weeks after we saw each other and surprisingly she has also started her own journey. I shared to her my thoughts and my shamanic practice and it enticed her. From then on, she became part of my circle and I made her meet my guide.
I went out of the tent not to clear things out to the group but to have more drinks. It was really fun overhearing them talk and seeing how confused they are at the thought that our relationship was not beyond a romantic one. It was a fun night indeed.
The morning after was the main event. It was time for the gift giving. And among the hundreds of people who crowded the event, I got fond with the little girl named Anne. She was always smiling and she liked her candy. I even snuck up a little more chocolates just to make her even happier. She followed me from time to time and played at my back while I was busy giving supplies. We didn’t talked much. We just smiled and we just naturally knew what it meant.
My journey in Majayjay was a mixture of a lot of things. There are many more that happened behind the camera but this is all that I could remember. I would be honoured if you would take time to view the documentary that we made in Majayjay Laguna and share you knowledge with us!
Grow wings and fly!