Educational articles

Olesė Kekienė / Photo by V. Makovskaja

I have always had a strong sense of intuition, the ability to "read" people, but I couldn't explain where this intuitive knowledge comes from, so I started to analyse and deconstruct what I see and feel.

Visual anthropology, which studies images in the culture of society, is able to identify patterns of human behaviour by studying people's object environment, their appearance and their choices. And those objects always tell the truth about his values and motives. There are no coincidences. The body, movement in space, breathing, voice, words, rhythm of speech, choice of objects or clothing - all these are a pattern of how a person thinks. I observe the details of behaviour, the appearance, and I feel when the pattern of consistency is broken. If a person is controlling, he will tend to be controlling everything, appearance too: shirts buttoned to the last button, hair neatly combed. If a person has a spontaneous nature, it will definitely show in their appearance.

Objects, clothing, and appearance are forms of information. They help us understand who we are building a relationship with, whether we feel a connection with that person, whether our values align, and if we are on the same path. We communicate through our appearance and say: "This is important to me, these are my values, motives, and goals." And then we look for people with whom we want to be. Appearance is directed toward the future, aiming to attract a certain circle of people whose environment we want to be in. It is an invitation to communicate.

But first, we should create a relationship with ourselves, to know ourselves through our object environment. Put the things in your home, wardrobe or handbag into three groups: 1) things that relate to my dreams; 2) things that are important to me as memories; 3) things that I just like. Try to analyse: 'Why did I choose them? What qualities do I like about them? What do they symbolize for me? What state of mind do they transmit?" The answers may surprise you. Then you will know if you want to continue conveying those states and meanings further, who you want to communicate with, what you want to create. You are the creators of your everyday life - through your thoughts, your words, your actions. You can create a positive state of mind through objects, through appearance - through the material and colour of clothing. Clothing is like architecture for the body. It can change the rhythm of breathing and the sense of self, creating a non-aggressive relationship with the environment.

Excerpt from the radio programme "Future Gene". Host Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė