prof. Siddharthan

Mass Counseling session being inaugurated by Mz.Lillykutty Leon, Head Mistress, St.Joseph's H.S, Punnapra. Seated on the dais are Rev.Fr.Xavier Kutiamssery corporate manager of the schools of Diocese of Alappuzha, and Prof. Siddharthan.

Definition of Emotional Literacy

Introduction
Emotional literacy is the ability to read one's own emotions from moment to moment for the purpose of ensuring appropriate responses to the problems of living.
There is more to emotional literacy than mere reading of emotions, though.Emotional literacy is for improving behavior. The common practice for improving behavior consists of either imparting of information or worse still, of giving of advice. Both are ineffectual in most, if not all, cases. The reason for this is the hidden source of behavior. This source has remained hidden for so long that there is no word for it in English. It is doubtful if there is any word for it in any language. ELM-Kerala will be much obliged if the reader could comment on this point. Well, we have coined a word for this hidden source. That word is enhavior.
The word 'behavior' is made up of two Medieval English words: 'be' which meant 'thoroughly' and 'have' which meant, 'act or hold oneself''.The word 'behavior' thus stood for overt changes in a person. Overt changes can be seen by others. But others cannot see the source of these overt changes. That probably explains how the source has come thus far without a word designating it.
Like the word 'behavior', 'enhavior' too has two parts: 'en' and 'havior'.'En' means, 'to cover' or 'to make', as in the words, 'encircle' and 'enable' respectively. Hence, 'enhavior' means, to make to or cause to, act or hold oneself.
Enhavior is not a simple thing. It is a complex psychophysical reality having three types of components. They are body sensations, emotions and thoughts. Emotional literacy demands the capacity to witness all the three of them.
The opposite of witnessing is immersing. Witnessing and immersing are the two modes of mind spoken of even in the Rig Veda(1.164.20)"Two birds beatiful of wing, friends and comrades, perched on the self same tree, one eats the sweet fruit, the other looks on without eating." This "dwa suparna " mantra can be found in some Upanishads too: eg., Mundaka Upanishad.
Witnessing is not simple awareness of some object. It is awareness with equanimity.Awareness means keeping the object of observation always in focus. It means continously monitoring what is going on.This must be done in the case of body sensations, emotions and thoughts.This is posible only if the second component is also present.The second component, equanimity means maintaining a balanced mind. That is to say, not reacting to the object observed either positively or negatively.If one is reactive, one would be filled with either desire or aversion. In both the cases one will have lost the status of a neutral observer.Then the mind will remain agitated;and the agitation may keep mounting.The person's responses to "the questionings of the world,to borrow an expression from Sri Aurobindo, will become inappropriate then. When responses are habitually inappropriate the person shall end up a loser.
Emotional Literacy Frames
The theory and practice of emotional literacy can be understood best with reference to seven emotional literacy frames, fashioned in the shape of equilateral triangles.These frames represent, certain concepts that are fundamental to the theory and practice of emotional literacy, in their essential relationships.
1.Structural Analysis: Consists of the following terms: 1.Relationship 2. Identity 3. Rationality 4.Goal. These terms are represented by the base, left hand side, right hand side and the apex of the equilateral triangle, respectively. This analysis is an attempt to answer the question, 'what is man?',.

The numbers 1,2,3 and 4 will be used herein under to mean Relationship etc., in that order. Structural analysis is so called because it desribes the fundamental features that have gone into the making of man. Hence it could also be called a philosophical description of man. It is worth noting that this description has assimilated into its frame Aristotle's definition that man is a rational animal. Also it contains in its fold the possibility of finding out why man does not, as a matter of fact, lead a rational life.
This frame was originally sugggested by Rev.Fr. George Kandathil, the father of Transactional Analysis in India.And came to be known as GK Frame. But now, Fr.George has moved away from his original formulation by substituting 'Development' for 'Rationality'. For emotional literacy the original formulation is the best, so we stick to it, beseeching Fr.George's forgiveness.
2.Functional Analysis: The terms of functional analysis are concrete as opposed to the abstract terms of structural analysis. Relationship thus becomes Communication, Identity becomes Selfimage, Rationality gets changed into Reasoning, and Goal becomes Goal Orientation.
3.Clinical Analysis: The terms of clinical analysis show what all can go wrong with a person. These are not nomenclatures of pathology but the most elementary generative factors of pathology that can be met with in almost all people.The theoryof emotional literacy assumes that what ever could be discovered in a person as having an abberant quality could be seen as mere explications of these four terms. The terms are: 1.Mechanistic 2.Reactive 3.Blaming 4.Goal Defect. Innumerable disfunctional features can be derived from these four terms.
4.Training Analysis: Trainings are meant for betterment. Training analysis shows the universal frame for betterment. Whatever capacity building could be done shall be elaborations and details of betterment represented by the four goals listed here. They are:1.Improving Intimacy 2.Enhancing Self Esteem 3.Bettering Awareness 4.Steadying Goal Progression.
5.Ideal Analysis: Eric Berne had theorised in his Games People Play that autonomy will be characterised by the release of three qualities or attributes, namely, spontaneity, intimacy and awareness. Ideal analysis shows the charecteristics of an ideal person, a person who is without any blemishes whatever, in one word, immaculate. Trainings are for the purpose of taking a person a bit more near to the ideal. In the order of the Structural Analysis, the four terms of Ideal analysis are: 1.Intimacy 2.Spontaneity 3.Awareness 4.Autonomy.
6.Enhavior Analysis: The three terms of enhavior are1.Body Sensations2.Emotions3.Thoughts. Thought could be called, in the context of enhavior,'motive'. The elements of enhavior means that any stimulus will give rise to body sensations which in turn will evoke emotions and thoughts. These have a way of creating mutual reinforcements which will heighten their energy level. When the energy reaches a certain level it will erupt out in behavior. That explains why intellectual inputs in the form of

information or advice seldom helps in bettering behavior. Because the organism is charged with high negative energy, the energy has to find a way out.What is wanted is not the so called self control which is only a mastery of appearances. If one is to have true internal mastery, one has to remain a witness to the three elements of enhavior.
7. Presentation Analysis: Provides a frame work for evaluating presentations by trainers. It may be called 4i frame as all the terms of this analysis begins with the letter ' i '.The first term is,'informative' which is a matter pertaining to the dimension of Rationality . The second term is'interesting', which is of Relationship. The third term 'insightful' is of Identity.'Inspiring' is the fourth term, and it is of the dimension ' Goal '.
The implications of these frames for promoting mental health through emotinal literacy mass counseling sessions is great. But that needs a lot of elaborations of the concepts mentioned above. Our plan is to do it as we go along.