Ananya Dhall_HRLP003_Self Leadership_May 2012

Eyes as the window to our soul

"Silence is the language of god

all else is poor translation"

Rumi

Ancient theologists, philosophers and scientists believed that the "mandoria" (as shown above), holds the geometric key to the crossing of the two worlds, being the product of two overlapping ellipses. Today, this is believed to be nothing more than a metaphor for the eye as a prospective bridge between the inner world and the outer world. 

Today , Anil Sachdev in his series on self-leadership, helped me revisit the utilization of metaphors to drive home a point in mythology, religion and history. And as far as metaphors go, this one was quite fascinating and inspirational!

I've often heard of eyes as the 'window to the soul' in convoluted poetry or  elaborate prose, but never before had it made me think- so what? how does that affect me? what can I do with it?

Having researched micro-expressions and non-verbal communication, I already knew the degree of importance facial expressions, gestures, eye contact and body language can have in communication and expression. I even to a certain extent was aware of how I use hand gestures, facial expressions and eye contact when I communicate with others. But I only knew of how I use these to enhance and reinforce what I say with my words. 

Never before had I voluntarily tried to communicate so much to another person, (who frankly, wasn't even such a close friend before today), without using my words. Never before had I thought I'd be successful at it. Never before had I thought I'd be amazed by its power. 

The easiest and most common way in which we humans connect with our outer world is our sight. Before we hear other's speak, before we taste what we eat, before we touch or feel, we see. It's no point of wonder that the speed of light is the fastest in the world. But it is a point to be noted, that light is also the most powerful in the world. What we see, and how we see it affects how we think, what we do, and what we feel about our outer world. 

Considering our sight and eyes are such a powerful force, it should be important to harness this energy and master this ability. That's exactly what we tried to do today. 

We learnt the importance of both observation and expression through sight. As we tried to narrate an impactful story to a stranger through our eyes, we learnt how hard and yet how easy it can be to articulate ourselves through our eyes. Without any prior knowledge about the person's past, it is quite hard to let preconvieved notions; about what we think would be their impactful story; taint our deduction. I was totally focused on my partner's eyes as I tried to assimilate what he was trying to say. It was hard because although I could understand whether the story made him happy or sad, whether it was a positive one or a negative one, I couldn't understand what had really happened.

It was also easy because I noticed that no matter how hard either of us tried to consciously portray and express our story in a certain way, what we really felt about it was easily given away by our eyes. They always say that the only way to judge if a smile is real is if it travels to the eyes. I couldn't agree with it more. 

We can always deliberately control our actions, our words, and our expressions. But no matter how hard we try, we fail to control our eyes. Its the best and most effective channel of communication.

As we moved along and added on facial expressions and gestures to our narration, I further realized how easy it can be to recount an entire incident or story without actually using any words. The more you add words to your story, the more chances there are of misinterpretation and loss in translation/comprehension. But when you communicate with your body and senses, the more you are in touch with your inner world, and more accurately you're able to express it. 

So, where does this leave me in an MBA program? Besides 3 hours of discovery and stimulation, what did I really learn? 

I learnt how important it can be to harness this energy that our eyes derive from our inner world, or our "I" as we so passionately speak about. In human relations, we talk of empathy, group influence and leadership,emotional intelligence, need for control and belongingness. As noble citizens of this world we talk about compassion, building social relations, helping others grow and develop, and supporting one another. How do you think we can do that in the most rudimentary form? By effectively using our eyes for expression and observation. The more we use our eyes in our efforts to unite our inner world (I) with our outer world (other people and environment), the more successful we shall be at being true to ourselves and working towards a greater good for others. 

Communicate through your eyes, for silence is the language of god, and all else is poor translation!