6 for six intuitive intelligences

what's your pratibha?

Last week, we explored the inner wars: the quiet battles we fight within ourselves. This week, let’s take one step outward.

Step 1: Choose
Think about the conflicts
— visible or invisible, spoken or simmering beneath the surface —
that exist in one of your closest relationships
(a friend, a partner, a sibling, a parent, ________ ).

Pick one. Make it specific.
Hold it gently in your mind.
Ready? Read on.

Step 2: Reflect
Lately, I’ve been learning about the concept of pratibha:
a term in Hindu philosophy often translated as intuition.

With the necessary caveat that I am no expert in this area of knowledge,
I’ve come to understand that pratibha doesn't just refer to a general "intuition,"
but rather to six forms of intuitive intelligences.

Six, often unacknowledged, ways in which we move through the struggles of everyday life.

Innate Talent (Sahaja Pratibha - सहज प्रतिभा)
You’re just naturally good at this.
You can sense when ________ is about to get defensive
and shift your approach before things spiral.

Experience & Practice (Abhyāsa - अभ्यास)
You've earned this intuitive intelligence through lived experience.
Years of navigating tough conversations with _______
have taught you how to speak so they’ll actually listen.

Knowledge & Learning (Śāstra-jñāna - शास्त्रज्ञान)
Your intuition has been built through scholarship.
You have studied active listening or nonviolent communication or ________
and use these techniques when tensions flare.

Inspiration & Grace (Daivī Preraṇā - दैवी प्रेरणा)
You believe that your intuition comes from an inexplicable power.
Before a hard talk with _________, you pray, meditate, or pause to center yourself;
trusting in something bigger to carry you through.

Emotional State (Bhāva - भाव / Manas - मनस्)
Your intuition is informed by emotion.
The ability to adapt your response to _______ based on both your emotional states,
is your intuitive superpower.

Social & Cultural Conditioning (Saṁskāra - संस्कार)
You are extremely aware of how larger social and cultural systems shape your actions.
Your critical analysis informs how you engage with ________.

Step 3: Apply
Return to the conflict you chose in Step 1.
Which of the six intuitive intelligences are you already skilled at using
to navigate conflicts with a loved one?
Which ones do you want to develop?

You can mix and match.
You can invent your own category.
The point is to not to take our intuition for granted.
And to reflect on the various ways in which our intuitive intelligences are shaped.

What’s your pratibha?