Licauco, voice of reason on life’s mystery; 84

Jaime Licauco —Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — Former Lifestyle columnist Jaime Licauco, who died on May 15 at the age of 84, always wrote with an understanding of life as a great mystery.

The former professor and well-known parapsychologist drew admirers as well as skeptics, including those who eventually accepted his views which he articulated with sensibility and reason.

Licauco wrote over a dozen books, including “Soul Mates: Karma & Reincarnation” (1996), “Exploring the Powers of Your Inner Mind” (2005), and “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Ghosts” (2011). All these were further explorations from his column “Inner Mind” which he began writing for the Inquirer’s Lifestyle section in 1987.

The nontraditional topics he tackled in his column at first polarized readers of the paper who described it as “heretical” although it also won over its share of followers.

In his New Year’s Day column in 2013, Licauco recalled the early days and noted how he changed the name from “Inner Mind” to “Inner Awareness.” His last column for the paper came out on Jan. 25, 2022.

Viewing reality

“[My] column tackled a wide variety of topics, including mental powers, alternative healing, psychic phenomena, spirituality, reincarnation, paranormal phenomena, and everything else that mainstream or orthodox science and the Christian religion normally ignore or consider unreal and nonexistent,” he wrote then.

Licauco recalled how, in the beginning, some individuals ridiculed him and criticized the column, labeling it “a waste of space.” Despite this, he soldiered on, submitting his columns regularly and gaining a loyal following who appreciated his take on topics few writers wrote about in mainstream media.

He tried to show alternate ways of viewing reality and the universe at large—“that our view of what constitutes reality has been unnecessarily restricted by what science and religion consider to be real and true.”

‘Power of his mind’

In a bit of levity, Licauco wrote how his column “had survived the predicted end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012, and three editors of the Lifestyle section.”

In an announcement on his death posted on social media, Licauco was described as a devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend… who lived a long and meaningful life guided by wisdom, humility, and a deep love for research and explaining the unknown.”

It added that he would be remembered for “his strength of character, gentle spirit, and the quiet legacy he built through the generations he nurtured and inspired.”

His grandson, actor David Licauco, said his grandfather was “the wisest man he knew—always chasing greatness, always sharing his wisdom.”

In an interview he gave at the wake for his lolo held earlier this week, David recalled a childhood memory involving Jaime and a piece of cutlery.

“He held a fork in his hand and just stared at intently. Using just the power of his mind, he was able to bend the fork. As a kid, I found that truly amazing. I used to ask him, ‘Lolo, show me how you did it.’”

Jaime Licauco, who was born on July 25, 1940, is survived by his four children and their families: Sophia L. Eggleston and husband Steve; Jolan Alexander C. Licauco and wife Eden, David’s parents; Jaime Raphael Licauco and wife Timmy; and Jason.

In his Facebook post, David wrote: “Thank you for the life talks, the lessons, the power of your mind. I’ll hold them close, always. Rest easy, Lolo.” —with a report from Inquirer Research