Pratima Shah

   In today's time an individual barely finds the solitude to talk to himself/herself. Man today is surrounded by people all the time and amidst this gathering man talks of the benefits of solitude and realizes the power of solitude. The biggest tragedy is that today's individual prefers to live alone when in a crowd and seeks company when alone. How can a person with a family, friends and relatives be alone? Why not? Many of us are alone despite of having people around them. In distressing times an individual feels like getting free from all the ties that bind him/her to people. He/she seeks time to talk to the self. But most of the times when we talk to ourselves we talk about relations, work, money, career etc. But we do not try to know ourself; we do not speak to ourself.    Being in solitude means you need to speak to yourself about the way you feel, the emotions that rise in you and the issues that need to be seriously addressed. One needs to discover each and everyt

"To be or not to be" is a dilemma faced by most of the individuals. But connecting it to a life of a woman it can have a plethora of meanings for every woman. Women - whether working or home makers, come across many a situations in life when they need to pick up options - in the form of individuals, opinions, choices or anything in which they are confused. Despite of being educated and independent when it comes to their immediate family it gets rather tough to take decisions. Women do not have the freedom to get real. If they get real they are many judgements, criticisms and what not which they have to face. They are even warned and threatened with ultimatums from the immediate family. Despite of being surrounded by their clan, I have often found women remaining untouched by what is going around them. In the deepest corners of their heart they are lonely. They know they do not belong to that place where they are in but carry on with the flow of life by bearing the identi

   If the education system is augmented with emotional intelligence (EI), it will dazzle robotized teaching. This will be of great benefit to the teachers. Sooner or later robotized teaching is going to be deprived by the propensity for human teaching due to the limitations of artificial intelligence. But this rosy picture can be marred if there is no timely reintroduction in the teaching done in classrooms. In this age of artificial intelligence teachers need to take a break from their general inertia and sloppiness. A dramatic transformation is required in teaching and thinking.    The worst isolating factor for any teacher is when there is a minus of emotions from intelligence or say knowledge minus wisdom. As teachers we must first teach the students to create emotions first and then promote intelligence. It is a major challenge for any teacher to develop emotional intelligence along with intelligence. But if done, we are on the path of fulfilling the basic aim of education an

 The duel that constantly goes on between our intelligence and our emotions is very tiring for each one of us.  We are so much hurt by our ebbs and tides of our own emotions that at times we feel crushed under its weight. The logic and intelligence of a person remain steady when the person experiences strong intense feeling towards something. We relate our thoughts to the brain and feelings to our heart. The emotions that arise from our heart are very intense. When roused with emotions - be it the emotion of anger or be it the feeling of loving someone a lot; it is all very intensely felt by the person. When offended or neglected by our dear ones we feel shattered. As a learned friend told me during a conversation that " dil to bas khoon ka pyaasa he" because the function of the heart is to pump blood and keep us alive. It is the brain that does the thinking part and rouses emotions in us. To be aware of our thoughts and our feelings we need to be watchful over our activi

   Being emotional is a basic human trait with which we are born. Some are balanced, some are over emotional and some are not at all emotional. The last category of not being emotional at all is a huge risk the person has taken for living life. Not being emotional and being practical and rational always is an invitation for a flood of miseries within. Nor can you enjoy the present moment nor can you have practical options always. What is the need for us to be so practical that we forget ourselves when we look at the person whom we love with all our heart but be practical by letting the person go? Why displaying one's emotions is wrong when deep inside it is ripping you apart? Is life a facade? Can't one be emotionally balanced and even understand the situation and take a practical approach when required. Is it always necessary to dry our emotions in the fiery storms of life and make ourselves stone hearted? Who is at harm in this? It is the person who has decided to stay pr

All around us we hear things like 'be positive', 'be strong', be practical' and so on. There are umpteen number of people around us who read and watch stuff that relates to positive thinking /attitude. But is life only about positivity? Don't we learn the most from the negative incidences from our life? The hype which these market of motivational speakers have created is making all run into the rat race of being positive/practical. No one likes to talk on negativity. It is shunned off as if it holds no value and as if life is a bed of roses without it. But where there is darkness there is light too. Why don't we understand that if there is night it definitely leads to yet another beautiful day? If there is yin there is a yang also. These are the experiences that shape us. But still we want to discard them. Why is it not possible to remember them for the lessons which they have taught us? It is not possible for any one of us to remain positive all the whi

If one is healthily assertive it is rather easy for the person to change one's life with reference to your work, relations, appearance and many other areas of life. Living an assertive life also helps you to remain healthy. There is a reduction in your stress levels and you find more energy at your disposal and there is a great positive impact on your overall immune system. As you behave assertively you start going against your old, non assertive patterns of your behavior which were deeply rooted within you. By being assertive you take control of your life and there is less of frustration and helplessness in you. Being assertive is very different from being aggressive. It has a strong association with your sense of self-worth. Once you embark on the journey to being assertive, the journey itself will give you the clarity and sensitivity required to being assertive. Follow these rules to stay away from the barriers: Have your quiet time. Risk vulnerability. Be open to your