Spirituality of Being dDeaf

Are you happy being deaf? How come? This is probably the fundamental question to the whole deafhood process.

The way you answer both questions above is your own deafhood process. The more you delve into thinking about being deaf and mediate on it, then should you consider it something spiritual being deaf? Huh? No . . . well . . . hmmm . . . maybe yes . . .

People have signed to me, “Yes, I do feel spiritual being deaf.” But what do they mean? Should we use the word, spirituality, to denote all those emotions and experiences being deaf? Probably not. Our answers, clear and vague, are part of the dDeafhood discourse. This blogsite is one of the places where the discourse on the dDeafhood concept within the prism of spirituality, can begin.

it is the beginning . . . .

. . . silence . . .

. . . Here is the second question of the blogsite, Spirituality of Being Deaf.

Q2 - Are You Happy Being Deaf? How come?

If you say no, delve into it why. If you say yes, how come? If you feel both yes and no, how come you have mixed feelings? Are you embarrassed being deaf, then look into why you felt that way. Are you feeling proud being Deaf, then should you keep this pride in check? Your answers, in all shades, probably do revolve around the spiritual process of being deaf.

If we feel protective over us being Deaf, our own dDeaf children, and our dDeaf schools, should we impose those feelings onto others? Should we impose our feelings being Deaf on other (deaf) people? Should we impose our feelings being human on others? In order for a pluralistic, diverse - multilingual and multicultural - world to operate in harmony, our answers to the above should be resoundingly NO!

Every one of us live on the only ship we have. This ship, namely the Planet Earth, is our only home, very precious. Yes, there are much beauty and ugliness about that ship. Peoples and nations agree and disagree, sometimes violently, with one another. Our ship rocks from one side to another in its circular journey into the future. Billions of people, in guise of religions and other practices, have hope for ourselves, humyns, in our future. Deaf people are very much passengers, as for every one of us, on our Ship of Destiny. Who are the stewards of this ship? Who should lead in healing and maintaining our precious habitat? Native indigenous peoples like the Aboriginals or the Native Americans? Politicans and heads of state of countries all over the world? Deaf peoples? The answer is - EVERY ONE OF US!

To quote one of our sages, Paddy Ladd.

From Ladd, Paddy. (1993). The DeafHood Papers, Volume One. From Garreston, M. (Ed.) Deafness: 1993 - 2013. A Deaf American Monograph. Silver Springs, MD: National Association of the Deaf. pp. 69 - 72.

(Q1) What is Being dDeaf? Do you have strong feelings being (with the) dDeaf? If so, what are they?

- the vigiliant feelings you have for the deaf schools you grew up at? What about those who attended mainstreaming public schools? The proud feelings of attending Gallaudet University, and those feelings never attending there? The growing dread and fear of losing your hearing or celebrating it? The discomforting feeling when seeing or approaching a signing person in public, or the natural fascinating draw one feel toward signers? The disappointment culturally deaf people later in life had realizing not being born to deaf parents or graduating from a deaf school? The satisfying feeling finding out that your own child is deaf or the opposite - abhorrent gloom finding out one’s baby is deaf? The slowly realized feelings of a proud bilingual CODA adult or a deeply embittered non-signing CODA? The death knell feelings to deafness if signing and deafness are to be eradicated from the face of the earth?

. . . All of the above, and in the between, are psychological and spiritual issues associated with dDeafhood - being (with the) dDeaf.

This blogsite has begun its journey of transformation. Next posts will be in form of asking questions. Spirituality of Being Deaf will continue with question #2 on the next post.

. . . while being silent, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . think being deaf . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . silence . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . Ephphatha . . .

. . . be opened not only our ears or mouths but our Eyes anD HANDS . . .

. . .

. . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . . Spirituality and Deafness?

. . . Insane? . . . Impossible? . . . Incompatible? . . . Possible? . . . Sure? . . .

. . . This site is a new technological vehicle, the blogsphere, for a brand new topic to be discussed. Spirituality and Deafness? It is a totally new concept for most, if not all, of us, both deaf and hearing people. For hearing people, they might be, at worst, unable to contemplate this concept. For deaf people, they might produce various known and unknown responses until once looking and contemplating into this, IT is, of course, inside you.

. . . The spirituality of all deaf people’s life journeys is as diverse as it is for every human being on earth. Diversity is also how we define it.

. . . The spirituality of being deaf lies within the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual journey of deafhood for everyone afflicted and associated with hearing loss, all over our large globe. Yes, Deafhood as an concept is new and exciting. After people realize that the deafhood concept is not necessarily a deaf nationalistic ideology, we will eventually agree that the pride AND the shame of being deaf are both equally dDeafhood issues. The deafhood processes of a proud Deaf person and of a born-deaf non-signer are the two, however poles apart, examples of the journeys of our dDeafhoodism.

. . . let us begin with silence . . .