Aesthetic intelligence: the incredible ability to find beauty in simple things

Why do some people find something extremely beautiful and for other people that same something has no beauty at all? There are many times where someone finds beauty where another person cannot. That is basically aesthetic intelligence: perceiving beauty where others see nothing.

It is not easy to describe the concept of beauty. Many thinkers and philosophers have tried it with more or less success. Is it an aesthetic pattern? A combination of color and shape? A feeling? Or is it a spiritual joy? The Italian psychotherapist and philosopher Piero Ferruci, with his theory of aesthetic intelligence, proposes a better understanding of what beauty is from the reflection on ugliness. and the effects it has on us.

Violence against animals, child abuse, wars, disasters and damage to nature. It is often necessary to deal with destructive ugliness to understand what beauty is and to stop it being understood as something superficial, sentimental or ambiguous. Whatever beauty is, it seems to possess extraordinary soul-healing power.

Aesthetic intelligence is a way of understanding beauty

At this point the question often arises as to why some people find something extremely beautiful and for other people that same something has no beauty at all. There are many times where someone finds beauty where another person cannot.. That is basically aesthetic intelligence: perceiving beauty where others see nothing.

aesthetic intelligence differentiates three main components that define the degree of aesthetic perception. Basically they are the range of aesthetics, the depth of experience and the ability to integrate beauty. These three variables occur in different ways and degrees in all of us.

The range of aesthetics

Those who possess a broader aesthetic range can experience beauty in more situations. For example, there are people who do not find beauty only in music, they can also find it in poetry, in a movie, a landscape, the decoration of a house or the sound of rain on the roof.

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They are people capable of perceiving beauty in the thousand simple situations of everyday life. This way of understanding beauty is not common to everyone and perhaps from this fact derives the trivialization of beauty in general terms as something relegated to the physical appearance of people.

The depth of experience

The experience of perceiving beauty also varies from one person to another. To experience beauty can vaguely “touch” someone who recognizes it, but it hardly affects them. She experiences it as something “external” to him and does not influence him in a significant way.

However, The same beautiful quality of something can move something very intense inside other people.. There are moments where beauty permeates our entire being, overwhelms us and instills in us feelings that are difficult to explain due to their intensity. We don’t know how to explain how it makes us feel. It is a very intense emotion of joy.

The ability to integrate beauty

The ability to integrate perceived beauty explains why there are beauties that “touch” and beauties that “change.” We talk about integrate beauty when beauty not only touches us, but also changes us: Alters our thinking:

“After experiencing it, beauty continues to work within me, influencing the way I relate to others, act in the world, even my relationship with the planet I inhabit. I see and feel the connections that an experience of beauty. It is manufactured in all sectors of my life.”

-Piero Ferruci-

The experience of beauty enriches our lives

In the concept of aesthetic intelligence there seems to be a clear differentiation. People with A narrower aesthetic range also has a poorer, more restricted world and a less flexible personality.. There seems to be coincidences between this type of people and their ability to adapt to new environments and circumstances; they have more problems handling changes.

On the contrary, people with A wide aesthetic range develops more curious personalities, more inclined to learn and embrace new ideas and projects. and they have a great capacity to wonder and enjoy learning. They are much more flexible with circumstances, with other people and with themselves. They have a greater ability to relate to others, greater self-esteem and a much more intense vital spirit.

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For many people, surrounding themselves with beauty is something vital and necessary for happiness. Piero Ferruci in his book Beauty to heal the Soul ensures that The deprivation of beauty can generate depression, restlessness, inexplicable aggressiveness and a deep sense of futility.