Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Basic Palmistry Part II

Palmistry, also known as Chiromancy, is the art of telling a person's fortune by looking at the lines and bumps on a person's hand. However, since the 1920s, the art of Chiromancy has come a long way.

Chirognomy is a related science in which hand shape; finger shape, fingers, nails and the texture and consistency of the flesh are examined in order to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the personality.

Dermatoglyphics is the study of ridge patterns and formations found on the fingertips and palm itself to detect and diagnose inherited diseases. However here we are dealing with what I would call the Romany Reader Basics of the Art.

In an earlier New Age Notebook called Basic Palmistry I identified the major lines and mounts of the human hand. In this article we are going to examine other kinds of markings and characteristics that are common indicators of personality, temperament and fate.

Bubbles and Loops - Bubbles and loops that occur on life lines, heart lines and fate lines indicate significant episodes in your life or a life that is broken by many odd experiences. Strong clean lines without bubbles are always preferable if you are looking for a serene and quiet life.

Broken Lines - These usually indicate that a life will be disrupted in an upsetting manner. A broken lifeline can mean an early or tragic life. A break in the head line can mean a period of insanity or mental illness.

Crosses and cross-hatching: These marks on any mound or area of the hand often represent stressful influences, events or people. Usually the influence is a significant or important relationship. The deeper the line the more traumatic or life-defining the experience is said to be. The nature of the event is determined on which mound you find the cross or cross-hatching.

For instance, if you have a lot of cross-hatching on your Mound of Lower Mars you may encounter a lot of war or violence in your life. Crosses and cross-hatching on your Mound of Apollo can indicate troubles with career, confidence and success. On the outer edge of the hand, just below the little finger and the Mound of Mercury such marks are said to indicate how many children are in your future. If horizontal lines or cross-hatching occurs on your thumbs or fingertips it is a sure sign that you are under too much stress.

Attachment lines: These are lines that occur above the heart line and wrap from the side of the hand and extend out beneath the little finger. This is supposed to indicate the number of significant relationships or attachments you will have in your life.

Healer Stigmata: a long horizontal line that is crossed by three shorter lines indicates this. It is a symbol of natural healing abilities and usually occurs on the mound of Mercury just below the little finger.

Squares: If you find a square on your hand it means that you are a teacher or natural born leader and meant to enlighten others. The area of interest where you will excel is indicated where it is placed on a mound. For instance, a square that is found on the mound of Mercury indicates a career in teaching or education. A square found on the Mound of Venus below the thumb can indicate a nurse, doctor or healer.

Feathery light lines: These can be found all over the hand and are usually an indication of failing health. If the lines travel up from the wrist to the little finger it can indicate a chronic disease or disability.

X's: X's found anywhere in the palm usually indicate travel. If it is found on either of the Mounds of Upper or Lower Mars or on the plain of Mars it means traveling as a result of war or a military career. An X on the mound of Venus (below the thumb) means relocating for love and on the mound of Jupiter an X can mean relocating for reasons to do with career advancement.

Triangles: Triangles anywhere on the palm indicate a decent upbringing and emotional or intellectual strength. This once again depends which mound the triangle is found on. For example: a triangle found on the Mound of Venus indicates emotional strength and understanding when it comes to love. A triangle found on the mound of Saturn beneath the third finger indicates incredible physical and emotional endurance during times of trouble.

The Ring of Solomon: This is a line that circles the base of the Jupiter finger (index finger) and is found in the hands of those who are said to be psychic. It is also believed to represent royal blood or ancestry.

Stars: A star-shaped hatching of lines can mean that you will enjoy especially good fortune wherever that star is located. For instance if you have a star on your Mound of Venus, it can indicate fame. A star on your Mound of Mercury can mean success at relationships. Wherever you find a star on your hand, you are most likely to find good fortune unless it is located on the mound of Saturn beneath your third finger. In that case, it means a life of arrogance and pride without the prizes. Palmistry, also known as Chiromancy, is the art of telling a person's fortune by looking at the lines and bumps on a person's hand. However, since the 1920s, the art of Chiromancy has come a long way. Chirognomy is a related science in which hand shape; finger shape, fingers, nails and the texture and consistency of the flesh are examined in order to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the personality. Dermatoglyphics is the study of ridge patterns and formations found on the fingertips and palm itself to detect and diagnose inherited diseases. However here we are dealing with what I would call the ?Romany Reader Basics? of the Art.

In an earlier New Age Notebook called Basic Palmistry I identified the major lines and mounts of the human hand. In this article we are going to examine other kinds of markings and characteristics that are common indicators of personality, temperament and fate.

Bubbles and Loops - Bubbles and loops that occur on life lines, heart lines and fate lines indicate significant episodes in your life or a life that is broken by many odd experiences. Strong clean lines without bubbles are always preferable if you are looking for a serene and quiet life.

Broken Lines - These usually indicate that a life will be disrupted in an upsetting manner. A broken lifeline can mean an early or tragic life. A break in the head line can mean a period of insanity or mental illness.

Crosses and cross-hatching: These marks on any mound or area of the hand often represent stressful influences, events or people. Usually the influence is a significant or important relationship. The deeper the line the more traumatic or life-defining the experience is said to be.

The nature of the event is determined on which mound you find the cross or cross-hatching. For instance, if you have a lot of cross-hatching on your Mound of Lower Mars you may encounter a lot of war or violence in your life.

Crosses and cross-hatching on your Mound of Apollo can indicate troubles with career, confidence and success. On the outer edge of the hand, just below the little finger and the Mound of Mercury such marks are said to indicate how many children are in your future. If horizontal lines or cross-hatching occurs on your thumbs or fingertips it is a sure sign that you are under too much stress.

Attachment lines: These are lines that occur above the heart line and wrap from the side of the hand and extend out beneath the little finger. This is supposed to indicate the number of significant relationships or attachments you will have in your life.

Healer Stigmata: a long horizontal line that is crossed by three shorter lines indicates this. It is a symbol of natural healing abilities and usually occurs on the mound of Mercury just below the little finger.

Squares: If you find a square on your hand it means that you are a teacher or natural born leader and meant to enlighten others. The area of interest where you will excel is indicated where it is placed on a mound. For instance, a square that is found on the mound of Mercury indicates a career in teaching or education. A square found on the Mound of Venus below the thumb can indicate a nurse, doctor or healer.

Feathery light lines: These can be found all over the hand and are usually an indication of failing health. If the lines travel up from the wrist to the little finger it can indicate a chronic disease or disability.

X's: X's found anywhere in the palm usually indicate travel. If it is found on either of the Mounds of Upper or Lower Mars or on the plain of Mars it means traveling as a result of war or a military career. An X on the mound of Venus (below the thumb) means relocating for love and on the mound of Jupiter an X can mean relocating for reasons to do with career advancement.

Triangles: Triangles anywhere on the palm indicate a decent upbringing and emotional or intellectual strength. This once again depends which mound the triangle is found on. For example: a triangle found on the Mound of Venus indicates emotional strength and understanding when it comes to love. A triangle found on the mound of Saturn beneath the third finger indicates incredible physical and emotional endurance during times of trouble.

The Ring of Solomon: This is a line that circles the base of the Jupiter finger (index finger) and is found in the hands of those who are said to be psychic. It is also believed to represent royal blood or ancestry.

Stars: A star-shaped hatching of lines can mean that you will enjoy especially good fortune wherever that star is located. For instance if you have a star on your Mound of Venus, it can indicate fame. A star on your Mound of Mercury can mean success at relationships. Wherever you find a star on your hand, you are most likely to find good fortune unless it is located on the mound of Saturn beneath your third finger. In that case, it means a life of arrogance and pride without the prizes.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Basic Palmistry Part I

Palmistry is an ancient art and one that has many systems of interpretation. It is also an intuitive art that is easily learned just by learning a few basics about the symbolism that is represented by the lines that run across the palm, the mounts (or fleshy parts) of the palm and the structure of fingers.

In some systems, the right hand represents who you are today and the left hand, everything that you were born with when you came into this world. For "palmistry on the run" though it is best to read the hand that the person writes with, as that would be considered to be dominant hand.

In palmistry, the hand as a whole is divided into three different sections. The Fingers represent the mind and the higher self. The middle of the palm represents day-to-day life and the conscious mind. The lower half of the hand represents primal instincts, health and basic drives of the subconscious. Palmistry is all about proportion, symmetry and distortions of what would be considered to be a perfectly formed hand.

You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their thumb and fingers. The thumb has three phalanges. Its tip represents will power. A club shaped thumb indicates criminal tendency. Pointed or long tips indicate creativity and intelligence. The middle phalange represents logic. The longer the phalange, the more efficient and strategic the person. The fleshy part at the base of the thumb is called the Mount of Venus, which represents empathy, emotion, grace and compassion. The fatter and fleshier this part of the hand is, the more sensitive and compassionate the individual.

The index finger correlates to the planet Jupiter and indicates good fortune and career. The middle finger is related to Saturn and limitations and restrictions in life. The ring finger is called the Apollo. It relates to self-expression and intelligence. The pinky finger belongs to the planet Mercury, which is about your ability to communicate with others and sustain relationships. The longer and straighter the finger, the more good fortune a person can expect to have in these areas. All these fingers have their own mounts, which are located on the palm right below each one. The more developed or pronounced these fleshy mounds are beneath the finger, the more developed that trait is in a person.

The Mount of Jupiter below the index fingers represents ambition, leadership, religion, honor and love of nature.

The Mount of Saturn below the middle finger represents sanity, sobriety, wisdom, introversion and karmic events such as good or bad luck.

The Mount of Apollo below the ring represents confidence, creativity, impulsiveness and extroversion.

The Mount of Mercury below your little finger has to do with ability to sell yourself, communication, quickness, connection as well as writing and mathematical abilities. Sometimes the Mount of Mercury will be feathered with short vertical lines that are called Lines of Affection. These sometimes indicate the number of deep emotional connections or significant relationships in a person's life.

Right below the Mount of Mercury (below the little finger there are two more mounts. About half way down is the Mount of Upper Mars, which reflects your temperament: if this mound is fleshy then the person tends to be more courageous or war-like. Below that, near the base of the hand is the Mount of Luna (also known as the Mount of the Moon). This mound reflects such qualities as generosity, warmth and imagination. If it is over pronounced it can indicate a tendency to madness.

Below the Mount of Jupiter (follow the index finger downwards) lies the Lower Mars, which deals with aggression, hostility and capacity for evil. The center of the palm is called the Plane of Mars. If the plane has a dip in it you are calm, cool and collected. If it is raised or flat you are more likely to display a bad temper.

The Heart Line cuts laterally across the upper palm between the mounts of Jupiter and Mercury. Loops, bubbles, cuts and breaks in this line indicate relationships and episodes occurring in a person's love life.

The Head Line is normally positioned and can cut across the palm or curve downward. It is an indicator of intelligence and mental health. An optimum Head line runs straight, is deep and has a long extension almost to the other side of the palm. This more the headline curves downward towards the list, the less control the individual may have over his or her emotions.

The Life Line usually circles the thumb and begins under the mount of Jupiter and extends to the wrist. It encircles the Mount of Lower Mars and Venus and in most cases ends at the base of the hand. This line indicates major life events as well as the health of the subject. The longer this line is, the longer the individual will live.

The fourth main lie on the palm is called the Line of Fate (also known as the Line of Faith. This line runs vertically from the middle of the base of the palm and up towards the middle finger. It is an indicator of material and financial strength. The deeper, stronger and less broken the line, the more likely the person is likely to be successful. It also indicates a serious, business like nature.

The line of Apollo is a vertical line that is found on the upper part of the Mount of the Moon. It has been called the line of the Sun, and the line of Brilliancy, and to it has been ascribed the gift of great artistic talents, wealth and fame. Not every hand possesses this line.

The line of Mercury has been variously called the line of Health or the line of Liver. It is found either on Mount of Mercury or the Plain of Mars. If there is no line you are probably blessed with excellent health. Strong markings in this area indicate troubles with health.

There are many Minor Lines that don't appear in every hand but one of the best known is the Girdle of Venus that starts between the Mounts of Jupiter and Saturn and ends around the little finger. This line looks like a loop circling three of your four fingers and its presence is supposed to indicate beauty and luck in romance. The hand is filled with all kinds of markings, lines, feathers, stars, and crosses --each with particular meanings.

As a rule of thumb (no pun intended) any time you find a marking on a mound, it usually indicates that something special is going on in that department of your life. Next month's New Age Notebook will go into more detail about the meanings of these symbols in the hand.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Cultivating the Spirit

Water is the most impressionable natural element. Throw a pebble in a lake and watch the ripples. A slight breeze will send a wave of vibration through even a puddle. Water is sensitive to heavenly energy as well. The heat and light of the sun cause fluids to rise and fall in trees, creating the seasonal changes. We all know that the moon determines the ocean's tides. Lumberjacks find it difficult to control logs on a river during the full moon, as the logs tend to get washed ashore. However, during the new moon, logs flow towards the middle of the river. Similarly, the moon controls the tides of blood in the human body, causing menstruation to synchronize with a particular phase of the moon and affecting the thinking and dreaming of both men and women.

This impressionable quality of water allows us to see and know the world. Water forms a transparent film through which light enters the eyes. It transmits sounds through the inner ear. As mucous and saliva, it allows smell and taste. Without water to help carry messages across the synapses, there would be no sense of touch. When the whole body moves like water, as in the practice of Taiji Quan, we cultivate sensitivity and permeability to the qi of heaven and earth. We becomes aware of what the Lakota Indians call the wochangi, "the spiritual influences of nature."

To move like water is to return to the source of being. Mankind evolved from a watery environment. The human embryo looks like a fish during its early development. The first crawling movement of an infant is an undulation, like a tadpole learning to swim. According to most religious traditions, water is the first element (in both importance and order of creation). "God breathed over the face of the waters." Brahma, the world creator, floats on a lotus in Vishnu's abdomen. In the Buddhist Lankavatara Sutra, the "universal mind" (alaya-vijnana) is compared to a great ocean.

Perhaps the most important message of water is change itself. "Everything flows," said Heraclitus, "You can't step twice into the same river." The human body, like the body of the earth, consists mostly of water and is therefore in a state of constant flux. The intellect creates an illusion of permanence; we freeze the changing processes of life into concepts. But for health of body and mind, we must learn to flow with life, to ride the currents. We discover that the Buddhist principle of "impermanence" presents not a reason for despair but an opportunity for more sensitive and intelligent living. Taiji Quan can help us to, in the words of the Diamond Sutra, "Awaken the mind without fixing it anywhere." Through Taiji Quan practice we discover that "Go with the flow" is more than a metaphor. It is a spiritual practice and a way of life.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Remote Viewing

Remote viewing is a fancy name for telepathy or clairvoyance, the alleged psychic ability to perceive places, persons, and actions that are not within the range of the senses. If a "beacon" is used to send psychic images, it is said to be telepathy. If no beacon is used, then it is clairvoyance. The term seems to have been invented by physicists Dr. Russell Targ and physicist/scientologist Dr. Harold Puthoff to describe their work with alleged psychics for the U.S. government in a project known as Stargate.

Remote viewing is a kind of psychic dowsing. Instead of a twig or other device, one uses psychic power alone to dowse the entire galaxy, if need be, for whatever one wants: oil, mountains on Jupiter, a lost child, a buried body, a hostage site thousands of miles away, a secret meeting inside the Pentagon or the Kremlin, etc.

Ingo Swann and Harold Sherman claim to have done remote viewing of Mercury and Jupiter. Targ and Puthoff reported that their remote viewing compared favorably to the findings of the Mariner 10 and Pioneer 10 research spacecraft. Isaac Asimov did a similar comparison and found that 46% of the observation claims of the astral travelers were wrong. Also, only one out of 65 claims made by the remote viewers was a fact that either was not obvious or not obtainable from reference books (Randi 1982).

Targ and Puthoff, whom Randi refers to as the Laurel and Hardy of psi research, were not put off by the fact that Swann claimed he saw a 30,000 ft. mountain range on Jupiter on his astral voyage when there is no such thing. It is hard to imagine why anyone would have faith in such claims. If I told you that I had been to your home town and had seen a 30,000 ft. high mountain there, and you knew there was no such mountain, would you think I had really visited your town even if I correctly pointed out that there is a river nearby and it sometimes floods? Swann, in a lovely ad hoc hypothesis, now claims that astral travel is so fast that he probably wasn't seeing Jupiter but another planet in another solar system! There really is a big mountain out there on some planet in some solar system in some galaxy.

The CIA and the U.S. Army thought enough of remote viewing to spend millions of taxpayers' dollars on "Stargate." The program involved using psychics for such operations as trying to locate Gaddafi of Libya (so our Air Force could drop bombs on him) and the locating of a missing airplane in Africa. The mass media, ever watchful of wasteful government programs, did not exhibit much skepticism regarding remote viewing. Typical is the reporting in the Sacramento area. TV news anchors Alan Frio and Beth Ruyak led their nightly Channel 10 program on November 28, 1995, with a story on "exciting new evidence" that remote viewing really works. The same story had appeared that morning in the Sacramento Bee in an Associated Press article about "Stargate" by Richard Cole. "A particularly talented viewer accurately drew windmills when the sender was at a windmill farm at Altamont Pass," Cole wrote. The "talented viewer" was Joe McMoneagle, a former army psychic spy and part of the Stargate project. Cole based his claim on the testimony of Dr. Jessica Utts, a statistics professor at the University of California, Davis, who was hired by the government to do an assessment of "psychic functioning." Channel 10 interviewed Dr. Utts, who confirmed that there is good reason to believe that Joe McMoneagle does indeed have psychic powers. Utts coauthored several papers with physicist Edwin May, who took over the remote viewing program of Stargate from Puthoff in 1985. So, she was not a disinterested party.

CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said: "The CIA is reviewing available programs regarding parapsychological phenomena, mostly remote viewing, to determine their usefulness to the intelligence community" (Cole 1995). He also notes that the Stargate program was found to be "unpromising" in the 1970s and was turned over to the Defense Department. At one time as many as sixteen psychics worked for the government and the Defense Intelligence Agency made them available to other government departments. One of the psychics, David Morehouse, was recruited when he took a bullet in the head in Jordan and started having visions and vivid nightmares. He's written a book about it (Psychic Warrior) and it is sure to be better received by true believers than Mansfield's disclaimer.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-73) saint and mystic

The Jesus of your spirit is inside you now.
Ask that one for help, but don't ask for body-things...

Don't ask Moses for provisions
that you can get from Pharaoh.

Don't worry so much about livelihood.
Your livelihood will turn out as it should.
Be constantly occupied instead
with listening to God.

Rumi, Mathnawi II:450-454

~~

Listen for the stream
that tells you one thing.

Die on this bank.
Begin in me
the way of rivers with the sea.

Rumi - Coleman Barks - from "Say I Am You"

~~

You've no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You.
Nothing seemed right.

What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the Ocean.
Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient.

It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these.

So- I've brought you a mirror.

Look at yourself and remember me.

- Jalaluddin Rumi
~~

Longing is the core of mystery.
Longing itself brings the cure.
The only rule is, Suffer the pain.

Your desire must be disciplined,
and what you want to happen
in time, sacrificed.

Rumi - The Essential Rumi - Coleman Barks

~~

Oh! Supreme Lover!
Let me leave aside my worries.
The flowers are blooming
with the exultation of your Spirit.

By Allah!
I long to escape the prison of my ego
and lose myself
in the mountains and the desert.

These sad and lonely people tire me.
I long to revel in the drunken frenzy of your love
and feel the strength of Rustam in my hands.

I'm sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the sheikhs and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.


Rumi - 'The Love Poems of Rumi' - Deepak Chopra & Fereydoun Kia

~~

Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.
Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.
Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.
Do it now.
You're covered with a thick cloud.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quiteness is the surest sign
that you've died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.

The speechless full moon
comes out now.

Rumi - The Essential Rumi - Coleman Barks

~~

The Morning Wind Spreads
The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.
We must get up and take that in,
that wind that lets us live.
Breathe before it's gone.

Rumi - 'The Essential Rumi' - Coleman Barks

~~

Everyone is overridden by thoughts;
that's why they have so much heartache and sorrow.
At times I give myself up to thought purposefully;
but when I choose,
I spring up from those under its sway.
I am like a high-flying bird,
and thought is a gnat:
how should a gnat overpower me?


Rumi - Mathnawi II, 3559-3561 - 'Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance' - Camille and Kabir Helminski

~~

I wonder
from these thousand of "me's",
which one am I?
Listen to my cry, do not drown my voice
I am completely filled with the thought of you.
Don't lay broken glass on my path
I will crush it into dust.
I am nothing, just a mirror in the palm of your hand,
reflecting your kindness, your sadness, your anger.
If you were a blade of grass or a tiny flower
I will pitch my tent in your shadow.
Only your presence revives my withered heart.
You are the candle that lights the whole world
and I am an empty vessel for your light.


Rumi - "Hidden Music" - Maryam Mafi & Azima Melita Kolin

~~

Happy the moment when we are seated in the Palace, thou and I,
With two forms and with two figures but with one soul, thou and I.
The colours of the grove and the voice of the birds will bestow immortality
At the time when we come into the garden, thou and I.
The stars of heaven will come to gaze upon us;
We shall show them the Moon itself, thou and I.
Thou and I, individuals no more, shall be mingled in ecstasy,
Joyful and secure from foolish babble, thou and I.
All the bright-plumed birds of heaven will devour their hearts with envy
In the place where we shall laugh in such a fashion, thou and I.
This is the greatest wonder, that thou and I, sitting here in the same nook,
Are at this moment both in ‘Iraq and Khorasan, thou and I.

Jelaluddin Rumi, in The Mystics of Islam, translated by Reynold A Nicholson

~~

Awakened by your love,
I flicker like a candle's light
tryin to hold on in the dark.
Yet, you spare me no blows
and keep asking,
"Why do you complain?"


Rumi - "Whispers of the Beloved" - Maryam Mafi & Azima Melita Kolin

~~

My heart tells me it is distressed with Him,
but I can only laugh at such pretended injuries.

Be fair, You who are the Glory of the just.
You, Soul, free of "we" and "I,"
subtle spirit within each man and woman.

When a man and a woman become one,
that "one" is You.
And when that one is obliterated, there You are.

Where is this "we" and this "I"?
By the side of the Beloved.
You made this "we" and this "I"
in order that you might play
this game of courtship with Yourself,
that all "you's" and "I's" might become one soul
and finally drown in the Beloved.

All this is true. Come!
You who are the Creative Word: Be
You, so far beyond description.

Is it possible for the bodily eyes to see You?
Can thought comprehend Your laughter or grief?
Tell me now, can it possibly see You at all?
Such a heart has only borrowed things to live with.

The garden of love is green without limit
and yields many fruits other than sorrow or joy.
Love is beyond either condition:
without spring, without autumn, it is always fresh.

Rumi - Mathnawi I, 1779-1794 - The Rumi Collection - Kabir Helminski

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Poetry

There is no difference in the destination,
the only difference is in the journey.

- Inayat Khan

I see now
that all creatures
have perfect enlightenment
- but they do not know it.

- Buddha

Until you become an unbeliever in your own self,
you cannot become a believer in god.

- Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Khair

The important thing is not to think much,
but to love much;
and so, do that which best stirs you to love.

- Saint Teresa of Avila

All the violence, fear and suffering
that exists in this world
comes from grasping at "self".
What use is this great monster to you?
if you do not let go of the "self",
there will never be an end to your suffering.

- Shantideva

In the pursuit of learning,
every day something is acquired.
in the pursuit of Tao,
every day something is dropped.

- Lao Tzu