The Realms of Intelligence as Applied in a Fast Changing World
“Quo vadis?" Syndrome (Where are you going?)
Dr Abe V Rotor
At this point I will give you an exercise, workshop style, to really find out where you are going. Imagine yourself as a sailboat in the sea. This will take five minutes. On a one-fourth piece of bond or pad paper draw yourself as a sailboat faced with the realities of life. Express yourself in relation to what you think and feel, your plans and dreams, with your surroundings and environment. Show your values such as self-confidence, courage, direction and purpose, etc. Use your vivid imagination.
The next five minutes will be devoted to the evaluation of your drawing. Exchange papers and score according to these criteria. Use Scale of 1 to 10 (1 is very poor, 5 fair, 10 excellent).
1. Size of the Sailboat
“I saw myself very small, I can get swallowed up by the sea. I don’t stand a chance in a storm.” (testimony of a teacher) Note: You can be a Gulliver
2. Size of sail over boat
“I’ve grown too heavy, too big. Material things… comfort zone… That’s it - my sail is small I can’t move fast. I’ve been left behind” (From a businessman)
3. Other boats
“I am afraid to be alone. I need someone to talk to, to play with. I am not a Robinson Crusoe. But I love competition. A weekend is boring if I miss my team.” (Jimmy, basketball player)
4. People
“Siyempre naman, boat yata ako. What are boats for? I carry people, as many as I can.”(Ka Tacio, barangay leader)
5. Destination
“I’ve been a drifter all along. I did not even know what course to take. I felt lost all the time until I shifted to law. I ended up a businessman.” (Alias Atorni)
6. Creatures all
“What a beautiful world – colorful coral reefs, seaweeds, crabs, starfish, coral fish. I can spend a whole day here, painting, diving or just to while away time like the birds in the sky, and dolphins riding the wave. Who says it’s lonely out here? Look there’s a sea gull perched on my sail.” (Manny de Guzman, painter)
7. Sky, sea alive
“Beware of doldrums, they are a prelude to disaster. The eye of a storm is calm. So with life. Catch the wind, ride on the wave, if you want to reach your destination.” (Quoted from a homily at UP Chapel,
8. Artistry
“Spontaneous art exudes natural beauty. It is art in the fundamental sense. And what is the impact of the drawing? (AVR)
9. No wasteland
The whole paper must be filled up - the sky, water, land. Potential opportunity is lost when we do not catch it. Opportunities in life come but once. Capre diem. Seize the moment.
Add the scores of all the eight criteria. Now add twenty (10) points, to make a perfect score of 100. The bonus represents providence.
Return the papers to the owners. Analyze your strength and inadequacies. Continue working on your paper with new input as I play the violin for you a Filipino composition, “Hating Gabi” by Antonio Molina. Make your work a masterpiece and treasure it as a daily reminder to ponder upon.
Awareness builds values, or awaken those values which have been lying idle or dormant in our sub-conscious mind.
But we can only become fully aware of ourselves and our potential for goodness if we know what our faculties are, and how we are going to use them. What are these faculties?
Multiple Intelligence (The 8 Realms of Intelligence)
All of us are endowed with a wide range of intelligence which is divided into eight domains. It is not only IQ (intelligence quotient) or EQ(emotional quotient) or any single sweeping test that can determine our God-given faculties. Here in the exercise, we will explore these realms. With a piece of paper (1/4) score yourselves in each of these areas. Use Scale of 1 to 10, like the previous exercise
1. Interpersonal (human relations)
Sometimes this is referred to as social intelligence. Leaders, politicians excel in this field. “They exude natural warmth, they wear disarming smile,” to quote an expert on human relations. Name your favorite person. I choose Nelson Mandela, Condolezza Rice and Henry Kissinger.
2. Intrapersonal (inner vision self-reflection and meditation) Priests, nuns, poets, yogis, St. Francis of
3. Kinesthetics (athletics, sports, body language, dance, gymnastics)
Michael Jordan excels in this domain. Now think of your idol in the sports world, or in the art of dance. Lisa Macuja Elizalde is still the country’s top ballet dancer.
4. Languages or linguistics
There are people who are regarded walking encyclopedia and dictionary. The gift of tongue in the true sense is in being multilingual like Rizal.
5. Logic (dialectics, Mathematics)
Marxism is based on dialectics which is a tool in studying and learning. Likewise, this realm includes the intelligence of numbers – math, accounting, actuarial science, etc. This is the key to IQ test. Einstein,
6. Music (auditory art)
Mendelssohn, Mozart, Chopin, Abelardo, Cayabyab, Lea Salonga – name your favorite. Beethoven is one of the world’s great composer, yet he cannot dance. I like to listen to Pangkat Kawayan play Philippine music.
7. Spatial intelligence (drawing, and painting, sculpture, architecture, photography)
The great artist, Pablo Picasso, was robbed in his studio. Hog-tied, he carefully studied the robber, the way an artist studies his model. After the incident he sketched the face of the robber and gave it to the police. The police made a 100 arrests but never succeeded in pinpointing the culprit. The sculptor Rodin wanted his subject to look as if it is melting. What could be a better expression of poverty for his masterpiece, The Burghers of
8. Naturalism (Green Thumb, Relationship with the Natural World)
There are people who are said to have the “green thumb”. Their gardens are beautiful even with little care. There are those who can predict weather, and tell you if the fish bites, or it is a good hunting day. They pick the reddest watermelon, fullest macapuno nuts, just by feel and sound. Good doctors, I suppose have the green thumb too.
What are your top three? Can you see their relationships? Relate them with your strength. On the other hand, in what ways can you improve on the other realms?
Make full use of your strength. And remember there are early and late bloomers. Nothing is too late to be able to improve on one’s deficiencies.
Maybe you lack a good foundation to explore your talents in a certain domain. But why don’t you catch up? Do you recall late bloomers who succeeded in life?
Fly, fly high and be happy like the birds. Just don’t be Icarus.
Reflect on the following:
1. Your strength and you weakness
2. Your “idols” and models
3. Resolution and affirmations
x x x
Reference: Light from the Old Arch, V Rotor (UST Publishing House) 2001
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