The more that you read, the more things that you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss
It’s summertime here and one of my favorite activities is to sit in the swing on my back patio in the late afternoon shade and read. So far this summer I’ve completed, from cover to cover, two good books. This is quite an accomplishment since I tend to either start a book and let it sit waiting to be finished, hoping to absorb the information by its presence, I guess, or use it as a reference and read tidbits here and there and never read it in its entirety.
Both books were of basically the same title: “Your Life is in Your Hands”. The first book was written by Mark Seltman and published in 2013 and the full title is: “HAND BOOK Your Life is in Your Hands”. I’ve enjoyed and admired Mark’s wit and wisdom these past few years on his blog and in his comments in various hand reading communities around the internet. His insights into people and their hands show his years of experience in actual practice reading real people from all walks of life and in all kinds of settings.
You won’t learn how to become a professional or even an amateur palm reader from reading this book, but you will definitely come away with an inside look at a day in the life of being a palmist. Here is one palmistry book you can breeze through without feeling you have to memorize lists of info and detailed charts to come away with a good grasp of what palmistry is about. His wit will bring out an audible smile or an actual “Oh!” as he states the obvious.
“Notice the crooked middle finger on Donald Rumsfeld’s left hand. I’ll bet he’s cranky.” ~ Mark Seltman
Seltman has developed a system which utilizes four basic archetypes (Intuitive, Practical, Thinking and Feeling). These categories are then divided into easy to recognize characters or sub-types.
One of the things I always say to my palmistry students is that the most important and valuable thing you can bring to reading hands is your life experiences. The more you understand about the patterns and cycles of human behavior and the more you can use your wisdom and empathy to express and interpret the combination of features in a person’s hands, the better and more real and accurate the reading will be. Mark has rolled up his sleeves and has immersed himself in the life work involved to master the language of the hands. His book is a joy to read!
“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.” ~ Dr. Seuss
In hindsight, I frequently judge a book I’ve read by the condition it’s in when I’ve made it through. (oops, okay, I do take good care of borrowed books, really I do, dear librarian friends) I fold corners, sometimes a bottom corner, too, if both top corners are already bent. I underline and highlight and make notations. Sometimes I push hard at an open book’s center flattening it out and open, so I can see a page as I pass by where I’ve placed it, my reading glasses lying on top. If it’s summer, there might even be a flower petal, an insect wing, or a four leaf clover pressed inside.
Some books are just too beautiful to allow the cover and pages to get marked or worn in any way, but I had to give in and bend corners in this next book I’m about to review. I love the artwork! Yes you can judge a book by its cover! The aforementioned book’s cover is filled with photos of people and their hands and the book also contains snapshots of individuals. Kay Packard’s new book published this year has a cover that tells you right off that you are about to embark on a journey of your soul by way of your hands. Cover artwork is by Wendy McKeller.
The second book I read is written by Kay Packard. Kay is also someone that I admire, and that I’ve had the privilege of exchanging concepts and ideas in the subject of hand reading through this magical medium that brings the entire world to our fingertips and makes connections that once were not easily possible. We have also enjoyed long telephone chats and getting to know each other better.
I’ll confess here that in my last conversation right after receiving this beautiful book I blurted, foot completely inserted into mouth, that I probably wouldn’t read it cover to cover as I didn’t want to influence or accidentally pull anything into what I was currently writing in my own book. I collect palmistry books more than I actually read them. I prefer psychology, science and biology books for better understanding hands and the people attached to them. Well, after that faux pas I had embarrassed myself into taking the time to read it cover to cover and I’m so glad I did. This awkward moment became the inspiration to read both of these books by the same title and then review them for you. Hopefully it will also reveal my reddened cheeks and sincere regrets. Reminder to self, think, think before you speak.
“Your Life is in Your Hands, Practical Palm Reading for Purposeful Living” is written in a very warm and conversational tone. You feel like Kay is right there with you guiding you gently with her compassionate descriptions and how to look for these features in your own and loved ones hands. She gives you a look at both sides of how the types of lines, fingers, and hand shapes may play out in day to day life in their positive as well as their not so positive or shadowy ways. Each section ends with a few pages that include assignments to look for certain qualities in your hands and your self and space to journal a bit about what you discover. Along with the guidance and keywords, mantras are included.
“Derived directly from the markings, the mantras are intended to uplift you into realizing your highest potential.” ~ Kay Packard
I would highly recommend Kay Packard’s book for both beginners and experienced palm readers alike. It’s written with the student in mind, but there are many new perspectives, new choices of words or phrases, and insights that are refreshing for anyone at any level studying hands. It is written from the heart with great compassion and understanding of humanity. Especially interesting to me was how she divided the heart line or emotion/relationship energy into opposites so that you could see how you could be irritated by the behavior of the person with an opposite characteristic but in reality there is nothing negative about the other person’s behavior or your own. I love her use of the term “non-negotiable” regarding bits of our personalities.
Palmistry is definitely a fine tool to guide one on their life path for engaging their sense of self and purpose. It is also a guide on our journey to self authenticity and for insight and understanding into others. The numerous folded page corners of these two books tell me that I have added a number of wonderful tricks to my trade, tools to my tool box and new perspectives. I’m hoping to finish the last few chapters of a book I’ve had in the pile for a couple of years (at least) now. It’s a fascinating book and topic (about psychopaths) and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned from this rapidly emerging breed of humans and how it fits into hand analysis. I’m so glad I folded page corners and kept notes as I read. My own version of CliffsNotes.
If you’d like to obtain these books or to learn more about Mark Seltman and Kay Packard, check these links for more information:
Mark Seltman: http://www.markseltman.com
Kay Packard: http://www.academyofhandanalysis.org
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