Emotional Intelligence

What Is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. It is generally said to include 3 skills: 1. Emotional awareness, including the ability to identify your own emotions and those of others; 2. The ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problems solving; 3. The ability to manage emotions, including the ability to regulate your own emotions, and the ability to cheer up or calm down another person. Does Emotional Intelligence Exist? To test whether EI exists, Peter Salovey, David Caruso, and John D. Mayer developed a number of ability measures of EI. Dr. Caruso had trained in intelligence research and had joined their group in 1995. Their team wanted to see if we could measure emotional intelligence abilities, if they improved with age (a characteristic of intelligence generally), and if EI abilities together formed a cohesive intelligence. If all of those conditions were met, EI arguably would be an intelligence. One sort of test question they developed asked test-takers to identify the emotions expressed in a photograph of a face: for example, to know that sadness might be indicated by a frown. Another kind of question asked people how emotional reactions unfold. For example: George was sad, and an hour later, he felt guilty. What happened in-between? (Choose one): A. George accompanied a neighbor to a medical appointment to help out the neighbor. B. George lacked the energy to call his mother, and missed calling her on her birthday. High EI test-takers recognize that alternative B, the missed birthday phone call, would better account for George's change in mood from sadness to guilt. The ability to answer such questions correctly seems to improve as children grow older. In addition, such questions cohere as a group: People who do well at some items tend to do well on others as well. For these reasons and others, EI is now believed to exist and is considered by many to be an established intelligence. What Emotional Intelligence Is Not Emotional intelligence is often claimed to be many things it is not: journalistic accounts of EI often have equated it to other personality traits. Emotional intelligence, however, is not agreeableness. It is not optimism. It is not happiness. It is not calmness. It is not motivation. Such qualities, although important, have little to do with intelligence, little to do with emotions, and nearly nothing to do with actual emotional intelligence. It is especially unfortunate that even some trained psychologists have confused emotional intelligence with such personal qualities. Groups of widely studied personality traits, including motives such as the need for achievement, self-related concepts such as self-control, emotional traits such as happiness, and social styles such as assertiveness should be called what they are, rather than being mixed together in haphazard-seeming assortments and named emotional intelligence . Is EI a Better Predictor of Success than IQ? EI plays a huge role in detemining how we lead our lives and how successful we are. It expands our notions of intelligence, it helps us predict important life outcomes, and it can be used to help people find the right work and relationships for themselves

37 IMPRESSIVE LAKE BAIKAL FACTS

We will start our list with some little-known Lake Baikal facts. But this … no words. You just need to keep reading.

1. Currently there are no active volcanoes on Lake Baikal.

2. On Lake Baikal about a hundred gas (“mud”) volcanoes were found.

3. Fishermen and local residents, as well as representatives of the scientific community many times have observed glowing orbs on the lake, and a lot of these observations were made especially in the vicinity of Cape Rytii.

According to local residents local spirits live in these areas and you shouldn't go there.

Scientific opinion: there is no direct evidence, but these are probably methane emissions, which can ignite spontaneously in air.

4. In the photographs taken from space on the ice of Lake Baikal were found dark rings with a diameter of 5-7 kilometers, which appear in the same places, but not every year.

Scientific opinion: it is possible that under those rings at the bottom of Lake Baikal there are gas (“mud”) volcanoes. The emitted warm gas rises to the water surface forming by its movement an underwater cyclone, which is warmer than the surrounding water and creates such circles. Indeed, the ice in such circles is thinner and is more saturated with water than in other areas on Lake Baikal. Besides, the ice inside these dark circles appeared to be literally packed with micro cracks – perhaps gas escapes into the atmosphere through them.

5. From time to time on Lake Baikal and in the rivers flowing into the lake there is mass mortality fish (cisco, whitefish). In other cases, mass mortality of sockeye salmon was recorded that washed ashore.

It would be possible to link it to industrial pollution, but in places where fish and sockeye salmon die there are no industries. 

Scientific opinion: in the Lake Baikal region mass emissions of natural gas have been documented many times, which could be the reason why animals die.

This fact is also important to consider for the travelers who go around places of potential emissions to reduce the potential danger exposure.

Lake Baikal. A sacred place (a worship of spirits)

6. Deep manned submersibles “Mir” found at the bottom of Lake Baikal huge amounts of gas hydrates.

Gas hydrate is a solid compound of gas and water. One cubic meter of gas hydrates, when slightly warmed up, can produce up to 160-180 cubic meters of natural gas! That’s why gas hydrates are called the fuel of the future.

And only on Lake Baikal gas hydrates were found at a shallow depth and in a freshwater reservoir.

7. Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world; it is about 35 million years old (according to other sources – 25 million years old).

Usually freshwater lakes quickly get “overgrown” with silt, sometimes even in a matter of a few decades – and thus disappear. But not Lake Baikal!

8. Lake Baikal – is a new and emerging ocean.

Of course this is not exactly a fact, but rather a scientific hypothesis. But at this time, all the observed facts, including the movement of the earth plates (Lake Baikal is situated on the edge of the titanic Siberian platform), which lead to the expansion of the boundaries of Lake Baikal, imply exactly that.

9. The mountains around Lake Baikal are in constant motion: they go up or down.

The biggest speed of movement, +2.7 centimeters per year belongs to the North-Muya ridge.

10. Lake Baikal experiences around 2000 earthquakes per year.

A large number of earthquakes is a direct consequence of the movements of huge plates of the earth. In reality, major earthquakes are not as common happen on the lake.

11. Lake Baikal experiences earthquakes that fall outside of the scale of earthquakes.

Tsanaskoe earthquake in 1862 – formed Proval Bay on Lake Baikal –it was more than 10 points (M > 7 points): 200 square kilometers of land which was home to more than 1,300 people, went under water.

In 1959, an earthquake of 9.5 points lowered the bottom of Lake Baikal by 20 meters.

12. Lake Baikal experiences some real storms, the wave height of which that reaches up to 4-5 meters!

13. From Lake Baikal only one river flows – the Angara.

14. In its place of birth in Lake Baikal the Angara River has a width of 1 kilometer.

15. About 544 different watercourses flow into Lake Baikal (rivers, streams), some of which are seasonal.

16. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake on earth. Its depth is 1,642 meters. According to other sources – 1637 meters.

Wish tree on cape Burhan of Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal

17. Lake Baikal has the thickest bottom sediments (silt) in the world – 8500 meters!

These sediments have started accumulating about 65 million years ago – even before the emergence of Lake Baikal.

Baikal Sea.  Burhan cape of Olkhon Island 

18. If we calculate the depth of Lake Baikal from the top of the mountains surrounding Lake Baikal down to the solid bottom of the lake, it will be equal to 12,977 meters!

For example – the deepest trench in the ocean – the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean has the depth of only 11,022 meters and the highest mountain on earth – Mount Everest (Qomolangma) has the height of only 8,848 meters.

19. The water level in Lake Baikal is at 456 meters above sea level.

20. Lake Baikal holds 20% of all freshwater on the planet.

If every person in the world would spend 500 liters of water per day, then the available capacity of Lake Baikal would last for all of humanity for 40 years.

21. Lake Baikal has the purest freshwater water on the planet.

22. The water of Lake Baikal is the most transparent of all freshwater lakes.

In some areas of the lake you can see the bottom of it at a depth of 40 meters!

23. From space you can observe the bottom relief to a depth of 500 meters.

24. Water in the Lake Baikal is completely renewed approximately every 383 years.

25. The area of Lake Baikal is about equal to the area of the whole country – Belgium.

26. In the waters of Lake Baikal live 1455 animal species (endemic), which you will not find anywhere else.

Of course, this number will increase with each new study of the lake. Just species of fish that are found exclusively in the waters of Lake Baikal there are currently 27. For example, a gourmet Baikal cisco.

27. Ice on Lake Baikal in many places is completely transparent.

Baikal. Winter landscape with transparent ice near the shore in Goloustnoe

Huge open spaces and strong winds blow away the snow from the ice surface, and weak mineralization of the water makes the ice surprisingly transparent.

It feels as if you are about to fall through, but it is actually so thick that you can drive over on trucks, and at one time on the ice in winter people even laid rails.

28. Because of the transparency and ice and absence of clouds in the winter, the water “blooms” directly under the ice!

Baikal algae, which are only found in this lake, can actively develop even under the ice.

29. In winter the ice of Lake Baikal develops cracks, which can reach up to 30 kilometers in length and up to 3 meters in width.

Cracks in the ice enrich the water with oxygen, allowing the fish to breathe.

Ice on Lake Baikal 

30. On the shores of Lake Baikal there are many grottoes.

When Lake Baikal freezes in winter, the waves create amazing icicles in grottoes.

 Baikal. Sunset view from the ice grotto on the island of Kharantsy

31. Lake Baikal almost always has perfect weather

In summer the water in Lake Baikal is cold and basically doesn't evaporate, and incoming clouds warm up on the slopes of the mountains surrounding Lake Baikal, and get scattered.

32. In winter in the water of Lake Baikal a special ice is formed, “whispers” that looks like needles of up to 1-2 centimeters, floating in the water.

33. On the shores of Lake Baikal cedars of around 550 years old were found.

Cedars continued to bear fruit even at this age.

34. The length of navigable waterways on Lake Baikal is 1200 miles.

35. Baikal according to one interpretation means “rich lake”, to the other – the “big sea”.

36. Baikal is on the list of “World Heritage of UNESCO.”

37. The distance from Lake Baikal to Irkutsk is about 65 kilometers.

              India & Russia - Friends through thick and thin. 

“Even a child in India if asked to say who is India’s best friend will reply it is Russia because Russia has been with India in times of crisis,” - Indian PM Narendra Modi

Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components: politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism co-operation and space. Here are a few points that show the solidarity between India and Russia.

•Russia currently is one of only two countries in the world (the other being Japan) that has a mechanism for annual ministerial-level defense reviews with India.

•In 1971 Bangladesh war USSR(Russia before 1991) had signed the treaty which backed India unconditional Military support over western aggression.

•The Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was a treaty signed between India and the Soviet Union in August 1971 that specified mutual strategic cooperation. The treaty was a significant deviation from India's previous position of non-alignment in the Cold War and in the prelude to the Bangladesh war, it was a key development in a situation of increasing Sino-American ties and American pressure. The treaty was later adopted to the Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of Friendship and cooperation in 1972.

•India is the second largest market for the Russian defense industry. In 2004, more than 70% of the Indian Military's hardware came from Russia, making Russia the chief supplier of defense equipment. Below shown is the Sukhoi Su-30MKI jointly built by Russia and India,

•About 20 Russian Institutions, including leading universities and schools, regularly teach Hindi to 1500 Russian students. Apart from Hindi, languages such as Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Urdu, Sanskrit and Pali are taught in Russian Institutions.

•The Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive governmental mechanisms that India has had with any country internationally. Below shown is IRIGC conference, 2012.

•India is the largest arms buyer in the world and over 68% of its defense equipment are imported from Russia.

•India and Russia have several major joint military programs including:     BrahMos cruise missile program, 5th generation fighter jet program, Sukhoi Su-30MKI program, Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft.

•More than 10 nuclear reactors are being build by Indians with the help of Russia. Currently 2 are working and others are proposed and will be completed in upcoming years. Shown below is the Construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in 2009,

•Reverse-trade or at least opposite to what conventional perception is :) The 2nd top exported item from India to Russia is Electronic components. And, top most imported item from Russia is gems, precious metals, coins worth $1.1 billion.

•India's 2nd Lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 is a joint lunar exploration mission proposed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA). Below shown is GLONASS on which India and Russia have both signed agreements for the cooperation and use.

•The first Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita was published in 1788 by decree on the orders of Catherine the Great.

•Bollywood has many fans in Russia. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev once commented "Russia and India are the only countries where satellite channels broadcast Indian movies 24/7."

•According to a 2014 BBC World Service Poll, 45% of Russians view India positively, with only 9% expressing a negative view.

“Broad, wholesome and charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth for all of one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain

The great Mark Twain was spot on when he said that we cannot broaden our horizons without travelling and experiencing new places and cultures. And this is exactly what we at Tvam believe in, therefore we are organising the Youth Leadership Program which is a unique exchange program created to build and nurture future leaders with students visiting Russia in a lifeskill-cum-travelling tour. The participants will not only gain an experience of a lifetime and learn invaluable life-skills but will also be awarded with a fellowship from International Confederation of NGOs in partnership with the United Nations which is sure to help them in the future.

For program details please see the link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2uLFj37-46eTVFvczRXRjRYb1U/view?usp=sharing

For registration, please see the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1L_xsDxnp97Lh4gxzeuXTH6fBTEkUzLD717JV4FG_jms/viewform

My experiences at the One Asia Youth Council Mongolia

 It was a heart warming experience for me to be there, to be with bright men and women from different parts of Asian continent. The warm reception at the Chingis Khan airport is almost unforgettable for me. Around 60 - 70 young people greeted me with claps and slogans. Mr Ayush, who is the president of Mongolian Youth Federation was present to welcome me to Mongolia. I was sent to my hotel in a car and a young girl accompanied me to the hotel. She remained my guide in Mongolia for the entire event. The entire city of Ulaanbaatar, was decorated with the flags of different Asian countries to welcome the foreign delegates. The landscape captured my eyes, as well as my heart as I was driven to my hotel. From Chingis Khan airport to the Chingis Khan hotel, I had a royal reception followed by a royal lunch, which was again followed by a royal stay.

The council was organised by the Asian Youth Council, the World Association of youth in partnership with Mongolian Youth Federation and the government of Mongolia. There were delegates from different parts of Asia who represented their country at the prestigious forum. The main objectives of the forum was to bring the young people together to exchange ideas for the betterment of youth of Asia. The forum also aimed to help young people build good relationships with each other. Harshit was the only Indian at the prestigious meeting.

Banner of One Asia youth Council near Chingis Square

The aim of the General Assembly was to foster relationships between delegates from member countries, promote inter-country dialogue and provide a platform for delegates to develop a proposal for submission to the SDG Working Commission on Youth’s Role in the future Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals that have been identified by the One Asia Youth Council General Assembly, which are :

1. End poverty in all its forms, everywhere

2. End Hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent actions to combat climate change and its impact

14. Conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

THEME: Youth’s Role in the future Sustainable Development Goals

Sub-topics

 · Education

· Employment

· Health and Gender

· Youth’s Role in the SDGs

· Youth Policies and Programmes for achieving sustainable development Additional Sessions:

· Youth Entrepreneurship and Business Leaders Conference

· North East Asian Conference for Regional Cooperation As the global community transition from the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), significant consideration needs to be given to youth’s role in shaping and achieving these future targets.

 Despite significant progress in many Asian countries towards achieving the MDGs, significant gaps remain, in particular relating to youth issues. As young people aged between 10-24 years account for 1.8 billion of the world’s population, the input of young people is essential to devising sustainable and targeted measures to foster more inclusive practices of decision-making and deliberation on sustainable development issues. The 2015 Assembly was built upon the 2013 AYC Assembly theme of Youth and Peace: Strengthening Peace, Stability and Development through Education, by addressing the causes and challenges to achieving peace, stability and sustainable development and defining Asian youth priorities for the future SDGs.

OBJECTIVES

 · Development of an Ulaanbaatar Declaration of Asian Youth Priorities in SDGs

· Development of a proposal for submission to the SDG Working Commission on Asian youth priorities to feed into the intergovernmental process the for development of SDGs

· Development of an action-oriented Action Plan for future AYC collaboration and activities

 · Strengthen connections between participants, share knowledge and experiences

 · Improve youth involvement in decision-making processes

Paying homage to the great Chingis Khan at the Chingis Square, Ulanbaatar

My experiences in Mongolia

The event began on  19th May 2015. A cultural program was organised for all the foreign delegates at the Parliament House of Mongolia. The wonderful event was followed by the speech of President of Mongolia. In his speech the President of Mongolia encouraged young people from across the Asian continent to share their ideas freely so that Mongolia could learn from them. He further said that around 40% percent of Mongolian population is young, thus exchanging ideas to form policies for young people is crucial. In his speech the President also told us about what Mongolia can offer to the world in terms of minerals and fresh water. The speeches of dignitaries were followed by a lunch in the parliament house and group discussions.

Many people were curious to know about my life coaching profession. They were curious to know about India as well. While the discussions were going on, I was able to get media attention. I must say that our Prime Minister's visit has made a positive impact on Mongolian people.

Some of the questions that were asked to me were :

a) What does India offer to the world in terms of the potential of youth?

answer. India is the youngest nation of the world. We are 1.2 billion people and 50% of our population is aged between 18 - 25. 65% of our population is between 18 - 35. Our young people are skilled and can speak good English. We have huge work force that is serving the world in so many ways and lot of people from around the world can make use of it.

b) What kind of profession attract Indian people?

answer. Mostly, Indian young people aim to be in good engineering colleges and then they want to top up their engineering qualification with Business administration degree. There is a tough competition to be in good engineering college or a Business school. Engineering and business administration is followed by medical profession, many young people aspire for it. Joining the defence forces is also very popular amongst the Indian youth.

c) Does government of India supports the young people to become self employed or to be business entrepreneur?

answer. Yes, there are effective policies that support young people to start their own ventures however most young people prefer to take job experience before starting their own business and they use their own money as well as bank loans to start their business. Not many people make use of government schemes due to lack of knowledge, trust and also because of the complicated processes of the bureaucratic system

d) Are their people who do not have sex relation with their wives in order to practice Yoga?

answer. Yes, there are some people in India who do not have sex relationship with their wives after few years of marriage. Thereafter, both husband and wife practice some form of Yoga. These days, percentage of such people is not very high.

e) What is Yoga? Why do some people in India stay single and do not marry.

answer. Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means - 'Union'. The purpose of Yoga is to help mankind achieve union with their source. It is a science and it demands discipline. One of the discipline of Yoga is abstinence from sex. Some people in India relate with yoga so profoundly that they choose to follow the discipline of abstinence from sex throughout their life. Yoga is not just about abstinence from sex, it is about making an effort to realize our true potential and be free from the attachments and fears that bind us to this relative existence. There are other disciplines such as truthfulness, non-violence, cleanliness of body, mind and speech which should be practiced to achieve the main goal of Yoga - i.e. 'union with our source or union with God'. However, there are very few people who follow yoga so diligently. Most  people follow the discipline moderately.

f) We are told that condition of women is bad, rapes and domestic violence is very common in India. Can you tell us more about that?

Answer. Yes, we are facing this challenge, but people around the world are also facing this challenge. However, women in India are getting educated, they perform better in academics than boys and many of them are successful entrepreneurs. The CEO of Pepsi, Indira Nooyi is from India. Our ex President was a woman. The head of Congress party, which is one of the main political party of India is a woman. Currently our foreign minister is a woman. The good news is that the young people have started to talk about sensitive topics quite openly in India, and they want to change things. India or any other country cannot prosper until the condition of women improves.

My interview by the Mongolian National TV

Likewise, there were many other questions that were asked by different media houses. One thing is for sure, that all of them wanted to know about India. I remember one episode while I was having coffee with one of my dear friend in a cafeteria some girls came to me and initiated conversation with me. 'Oh! we know about India, we have seen that movie - Slumdog Millionaire', they said. It wasn't really nice to hear that all that these women knew about India is the infamous dharavi slum of Mumbai. Is India a poor country? they asked me. My reply to them was Yes and No. However I told them about the bright side of my country, about the chadrayaan( Satellite that India sent to the moon) and mangalyaan (Satellite that India sent to the Mars) . They heard me with amazement. I also told them about the IT sector and competent doctors. But India is a hot country, isn't it? Many people over there wanted to know this. Fortunately or unfortunately these people do not know that much about India as much they know about New Delhi. I said yes New Delhi is a hot city of India but do you know that the second coldest place on earth is in India, and the temperatures over here can go down till -50 degree? This surprised many people in Mongolia.

My profession helped me to get closer to the people of Mongolia and many of them made a choice to share their heart with me. As in India, so in Mongolia - It is not easy to talk about personal matters. There are so many great things about the people of Mongolia. They can go out of their way to help you. If they like you then they just give their heart away. Most people in Mongolia were cautious of the fact that I was their guest. They would repeatedly say to me - 'you are our guest and it is our duty to take care of you'.

With the foreign delegates outside the Parliament house, Mongolia

In Mongolia, I also got the opportunity to do a life skills workshop with the young members of the Rotract Club. A young lady, Soyombo invited me to the famous Department store of Ulaanbaatar to do the workshop. It was a heartening experience to interact with the young, energetic and motivated people of Mongolia.

Workshop for the members of Rotract Club at the Department Store, Ulanbaatar

The One Asia Youth Council was a platform to meet with so many young people from around the continent. For the first time in my life I met Kazak nationals. They were so sweet and kind towards me and were curious to know about India. They told me that although Kazakhstan was the third nation of the world to have a nuclear bomb, they have opted to discard it. The Russians wanted to know about India and its culture, there were young boys from Afganisthan and they were so fluent in hindi that many Indians would be awed. The most interesting episode was to meet Gilbert from Philippines. After he heard that I am from India, he greeted me with namaste and started talking with me in Hindi. Gilbert is studying doing a masters degree to study about Indian sociology. I was the only delegate from India and it was a humbling experience indeed.

The forum organised a group discussion to form policies to execute the 17 goals as described above. I shared some of my ideas on the challenges faced by the youth. Many young people liked my idea that the youth should not be judged and they should be treated with empathy and respect. Youth does not like advices and lectures and every individual has a unique potential, the elders should be the facilitators and not the advisors for their welfare. On the second day of the meeting we also learnt about what Mongolia can offer to the world in terms of business opportunities. Netherlands in investing the most in this country. I could not see much Indian investment except some bajaj motorcycles and Himalayan products. Nevertheless, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has an art of living centre in Mongolia as well. I also saw, Mandala yoga over there.

Another moving experience was to go to my friend's Suren's house. She is a very bright girl, who is studying clinical psychology in New Delhi. Her father is a monk, but lives with them in their house. I taught some yoga and pranayam to their family members and they loved it, especially Suren's father. He was so thrilled with the breathing exercises. I also explored the country side of the great country and it was a breathtaking experience.

With Suren's family after the yoga session

My journey in Mongolia ended after 10 days but the memories are going to be with me forever.