Study and Development

I am researching for my second solo-authored manuscript, “Nation (Re)branding for Sustainability and Sovereignty,” which argues that one way to create a prosperous and sustainable nation is to have a clear image or (re)branding of the nation that the government and people support, while having this image tied directly to a national production or industry. This focuses on the way that the government can regulate while industry creates products that reflect this new/old national identity for domestic consumption and international export. This is done always with sustainability and sovereignty in mind to protect the country’s market and resources. This theory is especially useful for developing countries and countries in dire need of a change nationally and internationally and open to new ideas of development.

My on-going research that will lead a third solo-authored book will be on Spirit Realm Studies. Spirit Realm is mostly tied to the belief that our world is shared with forces and energies we cannot readily identify or explain but may have access to for answers. Spirit Realm Studies engages in the growing recognition of indigenous practices (particularly from Asia) to understand and address the complex and challenging issues in our known realm and beyond. My work examines the Spirit Realm and Medical Fields (physical and mental). One form of Spirit Realm practices seeks to break away from what is considered normal healing to look at alternative options that are not commonly discussed in academic settings nor acknowledged in health services. We ask why have these indigenous beliefs been kept out of academia and mostly ostracized in the medical fields. Aside from presenting indigenous understandings, we also introduce how science have come to study and interpret the spirit realm.