HandTales News Winter 2008, The Art of Receiving
When we receive deeply,
we are receiving not just from
an individual but
from spirit itself.
~ Sobonfu Some
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Introduction to Fingerprint Analysis: Assessing and Claiming your Life Purpose
Jan. 21, 28 and Feb 4
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Investment:$75
Hand Analysis Intensive Course 1st Step to Certification
Feb 27, 28 and Mar 1
Burlington, VT
Investment: $650
Discounts and financing available.
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Life Purpose Retreat facilitated by the top trainers at LifePrints and the International Institute of Hand Analysis
March 19 - 22
on the Northern CA Coastline
Retreat~Lodging:$1495
$100 off if deposit paid by January 15.
Next Trip to California:
March 17-31
Do you want a private session or to host a Hand Reading Circle? Contact me soon to schedule.
May the silence embrace you
on the darkest day of the year.
Light a candle in celebration
as the light returns.
Bright Spots On a Dark Day
On Receiving
Most religious traditions emphasize the selfless act of giving. Around the holidays, we often give more than we can afford. Our parents instilled the spirit of giving early on. Even scientists have studied the positive effects on the brain when we give.
Shall we reverse the thinking for a moment? What if your greatest gift was your willingness to receive fully and freely?
Many of us can receive only when there is no other choice. In 1976, I had an assignment to the Philippines as a health and nutrition consultant. Various mishaps landed me in the Manila airport in the middle of the night with little money and no place to go. My seatmates, a Pilipino man and his daughter, offered me a bed that I shared with his sister-in-law in a tiny hovel of a home and a ride to the airport the next day as I was traveling south to my assignment. Just last winter I was very sick and living alone. Not used to asking for help, days passed before I reached out. My friends were mad at me, but came forth with generosity I felt I did not deserve.
These personal stories hold some key lessons in our reluctance to receive. Not surprisingly, learning to receive unconditionally is a major challenge for many of my clients. I have their stories to back up my theory that we HAVE ISSUES WITH RECEIVING FULLY AND FREELY. There is a power dynamic and the pressure of cultural expectation in the act of giving. Feelings of shame and guilt are evident in our reluctance to receive. This piece I am writing is a tribute to my clients (and me) who have made progress in the ability to receive and is inspired by an article about receiving ~ Open Hands, Open Heart ~ in the December 2008 Issue of Ode Magazine (see resources), one of my favorite publications.
Take your receiving temperature. Spend a few moments answering these few questions and try these tips on for size during this Holiday Season.
Gauging your ability to receive:
1. Premise: Receiving empowers the giver.
How does it feel to do something for someone, to give something special to someone? Pretty good, right?
How easily and gracefully do you accept a compliment?
How good are you at asking for help?
How open are you to allowing someone to do for or give to you even if it is not exactly the way you would do it or what you wanted?
Tips:
Next time someone gives you a compliment. Simply say thank you.
Next time someone offers you help, let them know it’s appreciated and say yes, only if you really need it. Saying no sometimes works just fine. But you have to know the difference between feelings of not deserving the help and feelings of gratitude for the generous offer when the timing is right.
Encourage your children to give to you and to others. This is not an expensive proposition. A homemade gift or discarded toy is the best. At the same time, teach them how to receive unconditionally.
2. Premise: Receiving is an intimate act.
Can you imagine perfect reciprocity?
Do you dream of the day when you will find the perfect partner who can give you everything you secretly desire?
Is this picture your silver screen version of life ~ as long as it is removed enough you have permission to imagine?
Tip:
Trust is the second most common issue I encounter with my clients. Saying yes to a partner, surrendering our control can be a frightening proposition, especially if our relationship track record is not all that rosy. This is a chicken or egg deal. You know that.
We give and give and give which often translates to control, control, control in order to avoid risking rejection and naked vulnerability. And the opposite is true. There are those of us who take and take and take to fill the void and to control control control. The reasons and the results are about the same. Not the best formulas for a healthy give and receive relationship.
You are not going to get anywhere until you intimately engage in receiving and surrendering. This takes practice and willingness to feel the fear of rejection and just keep on asking, saying yes. Pretend you are in school and these are your required courses for a more meaningful connection to partner, life and spirit.
3. Premise: The Winter Season is a perfect time to learn about receiving
You give every day by doing. How good are you at being?
How easy is it to surrender to the dark, the silence, the not-knowing what is going to happen when you stop?
I live in Vermont now. For the first time in 20 years, I am experiencing the endless nights, adjusting to the struggle between the daylight of doing and the void of darkness and cold. Do I turn on the TV, read and read, and find other distractions or can I write poetry, face my shadow, face my fears, remain in silent isolation for a short time? Can I surrender to the smallness of me? In inching toward this, I find a bigger spirit and grander meaning. Now it is your turn.
In Winter ~ a time of hibernation ~ we need to honor and value our receptivity to the dark, the unknown and the unexplored parts of us in relationship to something greater than us. Starting on December 22nd, the light begins to return. So be grateful for this short time and practice being, just a little!
Sobonfu Some, a teacher from the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso , believes that we receive from an abundant source that can offer us whatever we need. To repeat her wisdom, ~ when we receive deeply we are receiving not just from an individual but from spirit ~.
Paying it forward and random acts of kindness are essential in our quest to be human and connected. The value of giving is taught to many of us early on and infused in who we are as humans when we are at our best. The art of receiving may be the hardest class here at Earth University, but perhaps the most important one.
May this season offer you many lessons in giving and receiving.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Join me in celebrating the mystery of our lives
in sync with nature!
Join me in celebrating the mystery of our lives
in sync with nature!
Come join us in 2009.
1. Join our handtales blog In Your Hands; exploring the power and magic of our hands. We want your ideas whether you are a hand analyst, palmist or simply a seeker of the truth.
2. Your Fingerprint Decoder Fingerprint Analysis Just want an accurate read on your fingerprint pattern? You have come to the right place.
3. Accurate reporting on your soul journey LifePrints Report Receive an accurate 15-25 page report on your Soul Journey based on your fingerprints.
Two for one private session offer extended through December 31st. Save almost $200. Contact me at janet@handtales.com
Recommended Resources
A Magazine for Intelligent Optimists:
Ode Magazine: Home office, Rotterdam, Netherlands and US Offcie, Mill Valley, CA.
Janet Savage, MHA
802-279-8554
www.handtales.com
janet@handtales.com
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HandTales news is brought to you by Janet Savage, Master Hand Analyst.This is a quarterly publication inspired by the natural rhythms of the seasons. Look for each issue around the equinox and the solstice.
Certified in 1999 by the International Institute of Hand Analysis, Janet is now on the faculty. She has read thousands of hands in a variety of settings, for individuals from 4 to 80 years old and for groups who want to experience the magic of hands. With a Masters in Public Health, she brings 30 years of experience in the areas of health and career counseling, leadership development and teaching to her practice. She helps her clients through major life transitions and to feel more planted in who they are meant to be on this planet.
A gardener and nature lover, Janet believes that the natural world can be our teacher and can help us to re-discover our natural rhythms.
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