The Five Senses & Synesthesia

 

In the previous article, we mentioned the senses. Let us process that.

Every human being has 5 sensory organs that carry the stimulus to the brain to produce an emotion and thereafter a feeling when it gets processed through thought. 

These 5 organs are responsible for the sense that we feel - 

1. Visual - What we 'See' through our 'Eyes'

2. Auditory - What we 'Hear' through our 'Ears'

3. Olfactory - What we 'Smell' through our 'Nose'

4. Gustatory - What we 'Taste' through our 'Tongue and Oral Cavity'

5. Tactile - What we physically 'Feel' through our 'Skin'

Any stimulus that is generated external to our bodies is received by the receptor cells of these organs and transmitted to our brain through the pathway of nerves or nerve cells. These pathways reach the Amygdala first, before they reach the pre-frontal cortex. And that's the reason our first reaction to everything external to ourselves is always Emotional.

That is something you cannot control. What you can control however, is how you choose to respond to these external stimuli. This is done by thinking, understanding and evaluating your choices of actions to be taken based on the situation and the time.

So respond... Do not react!!

Synesthesia

One additional thing I'd like to talk about here is the ability known as Synesthesia! This condition takes all the above and mixes it up. It is a rare ability in which our sensory organs experience each other. When you have the ability of synesthesia you are able to experience some of your senses through the non-respective sensory organs. This may be due to cross wiring of the nervous transmissions. 

For example, you hear shapes, you see tastes and so on. This is immediate and automatic and does not take any effort. It is more like a sixth sense and I'm sure it would be an interesting experience. Please be aware though, that this is not a disease or a disorder. It is, like I mentioned earlier, an ability that certain unique individuals are blessed to have!

Oh Emotions!!

 

Emotions! What really are they and why are they so up and center in our lives?

The truth is that emotions are an inseparable part of human lives and aren't something you can ignore. But does one really understand what emotions really are? Let's discuss...

If you were asked to list out the emotions that you feel in a regular week, you'll be surprised to find that you may be able to list out a paltry list of very general emotions. And its not just you! Most people would sail in the same boat as you. 

Our experience with emotions has been a pretty long one and we know what these emotions do for you and to you. However, when listing them specifically we often fall short.

The reason that we are unable to identify emotions apart from these general ones is because we are really unable to identify the intensity in which we experience those emotions and identifying what to call them. So we end up listing - happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed, and so on...

Being able to identify emotions or being aware of one's emotions is just one part of the entire process of "Being Emotionally Intelligent", and beginning from now, as we end this year, I will try to demystify the concept of Emotional Intelligence and help you understand the importance and significance of it, through this series of articles

I'll leave you with the components of Emotional Intelligence, to think about before we begin the journey - 

So, in a nut shell, Emotional Intelligence is defined as our ability, 

1. To be Self Aware of our Emotions

2. To Manage our Emotions

3. To Understand People

4. To Manage our Relationships

More on the way!!