Pearls of Wisdom

Pearls of wisdom and advice

Personal counselling helps this gemstone consultant provide better services to her clients A full-time gemologist, Abhijita Kulrestha believes that becoming a neuro-linguistic practitioner last year was one of her best decisions. It added value to her worldview and also gave her insights into human behaviour, which help her professionally.

Mass Communication graduate Kulrestha's life took a turn when she met her husband Arnav, and she got into astrology and gemology. "My husband and I are very spiritual people, and we decided to hone our knowledge of astrology and give it new direction," she says. After pursuing a course at the Gemological Institute of America to help her husband in the business of gemology, she began to feel the need to-help her clients further. "It's easy to tell people what gemstones are good for them, but sometimes they need more," she found.

That's when she decided to go for a year-long degree in NLP from the National Federation of Neuro Linguistic Programming in Florida. She feels she is now able to reach out to a larger set of people by supplementing her practice with neuro-linguistic skills. She explains, "Clients are battling traumas, financial worries and health problems. At times, they need a listening ear, and I provide specialised counselling services such as introspection and confidence-building so they can restart their lives."

At first, she says, people show resistance, fear and uncertainty. So she begins by talking to them for an hour to make them feel comfortable confiding in her. Once trust is established, she works on their weaknesses and gUides them through their problems. Results take time but Kulrestha feels one has to be patient.

"This part of my job keeps me alive, motivated and gives me a great sense of accomplishment," she says. -Sindhuja Balaji