His Spirit Is Willing
/The Amen Vibration, Volume II
by Richie Quirino (Echad) published in 2017
Fallen Petal – Artwork by Renooji – world renowned clairvoyant visual artist and guru from India.
Although Richie Quirino said he had read about one such mystical path among numerous others, the Rosicrucians, I was an active follower for several years, dutifully reading the monthly mail order booklets and carrying out the lesson plans outlining various procedures and techniques with the goal of enhancing my personal power and conducting out-of-body forays onto the astral plain.
Eventually, I dropped the Rosicrucians when I realized this was a mystical path that taught its members how to manipulate other people through various surreptitious means not unlike witchcraft. Let me be clear, this is not to imply that Quirino subscribed to this kind of manipulation, I am certain. Other readings further informed me about the dangers of astral traveling without the guidance of an inner-master, so I decided to wait for the call of such a guru whose radiant-image would eventually become my spiritual guide during meditation.
The Amen Vibration, Volume II is an ambitious book with a dual personality, alternating between references from the Holy Bible, Eastern religions, Philippine faith-healing and the hard sciences, namely the field of physics and, most importantly, Quirino’s personal mystical journey toward enlightenment. In the third chapter, Quirino mentions many local groups offering pathways to enlightenment or spiritual healing in which astral travel or out-of-body experiences are promoted. One session which was held in 2014 with an anonymous healer in Varsity Hills, Quezon City, enabled Quirino on his third session, to astral travel to far-off destinations.
My view about these seeming healing sessions is that there are dangers lurking within the astral realm involving invisible entities, like monstrous creatures, that can cling to an adept’s back if he/she is not accompanied by a spiritual guide or guru. The other danger is that one’s silvery umbilical cord can be severed causing the death of the astral traveler. Not to be an alarmist, but casual astral traveling is fraught with hazards Quirino does not mention, if he is aware of such concerns.
Richie Quirino (center) in a state of Samadhi after being initiated by Brod Boy into the Hindu Shakti Path in Lucban, Quezon, in May of 2015. Beside him are other initiates from the ashram called, Sahasrara, The Thousand Petaled Lotus or the Crown Chakra situated above one's head.
He shows the commonality of sacred words invoked in Christianity and Eastern philosophies such as AUM, OM, HU, HUM, AMEN. As a general observation, there is too much emphasis on the minutiae of historical and/or scientific references spread throughout the entire book that sometimes requires a specialist’s appreciation. It isn’t clear to whom the book is addressed -- a lay versus an academic audience. But because this work has no index, except for brief in-text references as to the sources of quotations, the target is most likely a popular audience.
Within the chapter, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’” Quirino reports his initiation by Filipino Master Brod Boy into the Brotherhood of Christ Consciousness. His narrative is riveting about what is revealed to him by Brod Boy’s examination of his Akashic Records, which is a record all human beings have of their past lives. Light plays an important role in his initiatory experience during which he had an out-of-body experience. It reminds me of the extremely credible reports of Carlos Castaneda’s experiences cited in his classic anthropological research into the initiation of a shaman in the book, Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge.
Quirino later reported another experience called the Expanding Light Meditation, which was a practice Master Brod Boy taught Quirino to make him realize that one’s body is really made of eternal light and sound and thereby potentially becoming one with God. Quirino laid out a step-by-step procedure which would allow the adept to be immersed in white light that would eventually energize and cleanse one’s aura.
Quirino noted that his master has changed his practice over the ensuing years since his first initiation. He informed me of the following details: “In 1976 Brod Boy initiated me into the practice of a Hebrew/Judaic/Kabalistic daily discipline. In 1992, he changed my practice to Egyptian Arcane likened to what the Hieroglyphic depictions of Pharaohs in standing and sitting postures are seen as doing. In May of 2016 he changed my practice for a third time to the Shakti Path, a Hindu form of achieving Samadhi. Samadhi can be attained either temporarily, or if permanently it means that the individual no longer goes through the reincarnation cycle.”
Richie Quirino's guru, Brod Boy (third from left ) and Quirino (fourth from left ) after being initiated into the Egyptian Arcane spiritual practice in Mount Banahaw in May 1992.
The remainder of this chapter dealt with scientific tangents about notable figures as Tesla, Einstein, and subjects such as bio-luminescence and iridescence. I would surmise that the scientific discoveries he has cited from over the 20th century help explain paranormal phenomena as reported by mystics and persons such as himself, who have experienced events that defy conventional notions of how the world works and what is matter. Within the rubric of our civilization’s abuse of Light and Sound, Quirino cites the harmful effects of electro-magnetic frequencies or EMF radiation and how they are imperiling human existence on earth.
The chapter, “The Uni-Verse,” focuses most of its 38 pages on a discussion on sound and music as regarded through the ages by sages, scientists and philosophers. The claims made by many such as musical scientist Donald Hatch Andrews of Johns Hopkins University, who had performed many experiments on sound, observed that “All things in the universe, including you and me, are nothing more than a mass of vibrating waves.” He goes on to say, “The more we try to pin down reality in electrons, the more it vanishes under our finger tips. The Universe apparently is composed entirely of music. The human spirit is the ultimate reality of life on earth, and the spirit of the universe is the supreme reality.”
References to the idea that the universe is composed entirely of music is echoed elsewhere in the book, on page 99, as it quotes author Corrine Heline from her work, The Cosmic Harp, which is about the phenomenon of Music of the Spheres. Heline stated, “The universe we know is a mighty cosmic harp whose twelve zodiacal strings resound with continuous Song of God. Each constellation vibrates its own keynote, and the majestic ensemble creates the Music of the Spheres. This music changes each month as the Sun passes from sign to sign. Nature responds in complete harmony with the cosmic symphony, consequently beauty and harmony are fundamental to her existence.
“Aside from Quirino’s own experiences with Master Brod Boy, his citation of several Filipino healers from Pangasinan to Mindanao as reported by local scholars is important.”
Quotes from Dr. Cyril Scott about what Plato and Aristotle said about music are quite valid and recognized by educators worldwide, including my own family. Plato said musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul…imparting grace and making the soul of him rightly educated, graceful.” Nothing new here, but it bears repeating.
And lastly in this chapter is a reference to Russian-born Madame P. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, which is the “synthesis of science, religion and philosophy, who states in her two-volume work, The Secret Doctrine, Cosmo-genesis and Anthropogenesis,…that our present civilization that took thousands of years to develop, is in reality the 5th root race; meaning that previous root races self-imploded because these highly advanced beings did not utilize Light and Sound the right way.” It is unclear what using Light and Sound the right way means. Quirino cites the supposed existence of the Lost Continent once inhabited by the 4th root race as evidence of the sunken Lemuria, located in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines. This claim is not supported by any empirical evidence. Quirino informed me that his Master Brod Boy also subscribes to the Lemuria story.
In the third chapter, “Land of the Morning Child of the Sun Returning,” Quirino takes his cue from the first lyric of the Philippine National anthem, Lupang Hinirang or Chosen Land, to discuss how God has blessed the Philippines. Quirino claims that, “Among students of metaphysics, Filipinos are reputed to be the direct descendants of the inhabitants of Lemuria, the lost twin of Atlantis that self-destructed.” Quirino continues, “Some believe that this is why the Philippines is the home to a multitude of faith healers and soothsayers, musicians, poets, writers and artists of all kinds who deal with ethereal realities and the unseen.”
Within this chapter, Quirino cites a great many healers, most of whom are Filipinos, but mentions one with whom most readers of the Philippine Daily Inquirer are already familiar, Dr. Jaime T. Licauco, a leading authority on paranormal studies in the Philippines. Licauco references an important book by Dr. Lawrence LeShan, The Mystic, the Medium and the Physicist. I’ve read this work and found it to be quite credible because of LeShan’s explanation about how healing takes place between healer and patient. Other healers too numerous to mention are cited in the remaining pages of this chapter. For the reader interested in learning about these healers, this book can serve as a valuable reference.
The fourth chapter, “The Amen Vibration,” is a reiteration of much of the science of light and sound behind paranormal phenomena mentioned in earlier chapters.
In conclusion, I find Quirino’s book to be a revelation in regard to his initiation experiences, information about which is hard to come by within popular publications. Quirino could be a lot more skeptical about The Lemuria claim though. Aside from his own experiences with Master Brod Boy, his citation of several Filipino healers from Pangasinan to Mindanao as reported by local scholars is important.
The book is not an easy read but it’s worth the time devoted to sifting through a sometimes overwhelming amount of data culled from Quirino’s 40 years of study of the mysteries.
Quirino is a 1980 cum laude graduate from Berklee College of Music in Boston with a Bachelor’s Degree double major in Professional Music and Audio Recording. His first and unpublished book, The Amen Vibration was written in 1977. What followed were three books on the history of jazz in the Philippines namely: Pinoy Jazz Traditions, which garnered the 2004 National Book Award; Mabuhay Jazz in 2008; and Contemporary Jazz in the Philippines in 2011. The following year he wrote an unpublished book about his parents entitled Remembering Carlos and Liesel. Quirino is currently working on The Amen Vibration Vol. 3 and E.S.P - Essays Songs Poems.
In the Philippines hard copies of The Amen Vibration, Volume II can be obtained from the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Archivo Gift Shop, and on Sundays only from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Makati's Legazpi Village Organic Market from Mara Pardo de Taveras' food outlets. Soft copies as E-books can be ordered for free from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IBooks and Google. You can connect to the author via email: amenrcq@gmail.com or amenrcq@yahoo.com
Collis H. Davis
Collis H. Davis, an African-American independent filmmaker retired in Manila, has just completed a 95-minute historical documentary, “Headhunting William Jones.” He was video-director with Richie Quirino on “Pinoy Jazz: The Story of Jazz in the Philippines.” www.okara.com.
E-mail: chdavisjr@pldtdsl.net .
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