The hand is the part of the body that most often is used symbolically. We find it already in prehistoric drawings in caves such as Gargas and Pech Merle in France as well as in other continents such as South America and Australia.
The hand expresses actions and feelings that can be either positive or negative depending on the circumstance. In Semitic cultures, the hand represents power and very quickly it was used as a symbol for royal power. To touch then something with the hand is a magical act. We can also find this in the West, where it was believed that the king of France could cure his subjects by simply placing his hand on them.
There is also a distinction between the right and the left hand. In Ancient China for instance, the right hand would mean the way of action, whilst the left hand would lead to the way of non-action. In the west, the right hand would be seen as the way of the just whilst the left hand would lead people to the wrong path.
Now you take the floor: what do you associate with the hand?
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n jst not to miss this
i love u paulo… love u lots
i m writing for d first tym here… bt somehow my heart says i should ..
the hindu mythology talks of d 3 verbs.. “knowledge” (saraswati), “power n money”(lakshmi), n eternal bliss (govinda) residing in d 3 parts of hand… d fingers, d palm n d root..
also hand so named “kar” in hindi translates to the verb meaning “to do”
one more view is dat the right hand is ur past n d left ur future. just thoght of a reason.. may be cuz time is balanced by our actions.
another hindu view talks bout the hands representing male n female counter parts.. i tried to make sense out of all this on reading paulo’s blog today. may be its harmony n d wonderful blend of energies being symbolised by the mere part of body we keep stresing all d day..
d last evening i met wid n accident n have hurt my right hand. i was bitter n sad cuz i hv n important exam to write in next 3 days n d doctors say i need a minimum 2 week rest.. m sad bt maybe now is the tym to rest those beautiful 2 little hands of mine who have given me sm of d most satisfying times of work n keep my mind in action.
thanks for rekindling my faith in myself..
lotsa love to all
The first thing I think of is hands playing the piano or guitar and bringing music to life. I think of holding hands, of a mother cradling the head of her child with her hand. Another image that comes into my mind is of a person giving their hand reaching out to save someone in difficulty.
I met a mystic a few years ago and she prayed over me and placed her healing hands on my head. It was a powerful moment. I can remember being overcome with emotion and crying and then silent for a long time. We shook hands as if a bond was formed.
with love Angela (Starlight my space)
Dear Thelma,
Yes, that is the painting I had in mind, these two hands almost touching, almost sculpture in its power, young man’s in its vulnerability and old’s in its power and force.
Romans might have conquered Greeks by arms, but Greeks conquered them by culture. In this painting I can also see great sculptures (Laokont) that has nothing to do with creation, on the contrary !
Thank you !
Love
Luce
Thank you again.dear Thelma!you are such a inspiration for me!
When I was a child, I went to one cinema in Bukarest names Luceafarul,a whole week every day ,to see the film Michellangelo Bonarotti with Charlton Heston!
What a fascination!
Love,
Mirela(the woman in elevator)
I think about the beauty of the hands of Indian dancers, moving with such a grace and perfection…
Love,
Rossana
http://www.artunframed.com/images/michelangelo/5901.jpg
Dear Luce, here is the ..Creation of Adam. I mixed up above the names but this is the painting I had in mind. Sorry . Thank you.
LOVE,
Thelma.
I am another left handed and in my early years I had some problems.
My first teacher let me learn to write with left hand, two years later another teacher came and she made me change the hand so I learned to write with right hand !
Result now is that I am using both hands almost equaly !
My associations :
- The Hands – novel of Ranko Marinković, about duality in every person
- Michelangelo, The Sistine Chapel: “The Creation of Adam”
Love
Luce
Thank you all.
Dear Are [¨Αρη a Greek name. The God of War!] bAREthoughs thank you.
Beautiful jewels and photos from Norway and nice photo of you. Why don’t you go to http://www.gravatar.com and have it here in the Blog, with your comments?? I wish your ring will bring the Magic in your life.
LOVE,
Thelma.
The helping hand is always held out to everyone constantly.
Hi Paulo, nice interview :-)…Felicitations.
About hands…without our hands we can’t do anything or feel anything or create or show our strength or kindness. The sense of touch is intimately associated with our hands and through the action of our hands our feelings show.
I’m sure you know this poem which is called ”Footprints in the sand”…even thought it refers to the feet, by the end of it you realize that its the hand of God that carries us in times of difficulty…
One night I dreamed a dream.
I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I need You most, You leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
Ah the hands…such lovely tools of love. To touch another is powerful. The heart meridian runs right along the little finger…interesting
Thanks Thelma! I am an Christian, but i think the best of all religions are right, the nice part.
I have been sad latly, done a lot of work the last year and invested all my money in writing storyies, poems, songs, draw, painted, maked art and nature photos to make sonething realy new. so today I tried the womans way, learn of my best friend, not my future wife. So I bought a diamond ring put it in my right hand, and feel very happy, maybe it is magic, my muscles are calm. Since I am norwegian, I wanted a Norwgian design bought it from http://www.signatursmykker.no
I think this is strange, anyone heard of this before ?
love Are
Grandma’s misshapen hands could hold a cigarette. Her daughter’s hands were large and knotty from years of waitressing. The day my boyfriend drove away, his mother slipped her hand underneath my loose top and stroked the smooth skin on my back for a very long time. My babies’ hands were tiny miracles that explored my throat and cheek while they nursed. Their father’s hands roam every part of the changing tableau of me.
The Hand, I associate with the Soul Mate. I don’t know why this is – I don’t know where I got the idea, if I read it somewhere, or if it was just some notion that I developed on my own – but I have always had in my mind this idea that I would recognize my “Soul Mate” by his hands. Hands are sacred, magical. The Magician in the Tarot deck raises one hand to heaven, the other he lowers toward the earth in a gesture that represents his ability to connect the divine and the material realms. Hands are candid, honest – hands do not hide truths from us as do other parts of the body.
When you look at a person’s hands, you see – I see – the real person, as they truly are, not the mask that they wear as a public face. Our hair, we cut and style and color. Our face – well, there is no end there to the things we might do to it to make it prettier, more handsome, more presentable. We also, at least to some degree, have the ability to control the expression on our face. But the hands do not lie. And it does not matter if you have a manicure, or paint your nails, or even have fake nails applied – these are just the nails: look at the back of the hand, the pattern of the veins that show through the skin, the crevices in the knuckles, the palm upturned and open. Every little line and crease, every little bump and bulge tells a story. The size and shape of the palm, the distance between the fingers when outstretched, the shapes of the fingertips, bulbous or pointed, the fingers themselves, stubby and round or long and slender…. It is an intricate landscape and one that never seeks to hide the true essence of the individual whom it represents.
Sometimes I see people’s hands and they make me gasp, a quick and spontaneous intake of breath initiated by a sight of beauty. Some hands are sublime, regardless of what the person looks like who is wearing them. Other hands frighten me and cause me to shrink back in hesitancy and suspicion. The person whose hands they are may seem perfectly normal, completely harmless, but the sight of their hands is like a neon sign, flashing: DANGER, BEWARE. Hands that make me want to run away. I think, what have those hands done that this person is unwilling to tell, that maybe no one knows but themselves? This is why I look at a person’s hands, even when I don’t give a great deal of regard to physical appearances otherwise. Hands tell the truth of the matter, they reveal the essential nature of the person behind the mask of physical appearances.
But, all this aside, for whatever reason, I have just always imagined that there would be this person who would come into my life – a “Soul Mate,” “Twin Flame,” whatever term you like: the companion to my soul – and I would recognize this person by his hands alone. Sometimes I imagine this “line-up,” like the kind they have when a witness is called in to identify a criminal from a group of suspects. Except, this line-up would be different. All the “suspects” would be wearing hoods and oversized black tunics, with large sleeves, so that even the form of their bodies would not be revealed. Then, all would be asked to line up in a row against an equally blank backdrop, and requested to hold out their hands for the person behind the mirror to see. And I would be the woman standing on the other side of that mirror, peering through, and, in an instant, all would be revealed: I would know who the man was that I had been waiting all my life to meet.
It is a rather silly idea, I know, but it is one that has stayed with me, as I say, for many years. And if someone asked me, even today, “How will you know your Soul Mate when and if you ever meet him?” I would respond, “I will know him by his hands, surely.”
There is one other thing that I associate with the hand, that again I cannot explain: it is a strange habit that I have had since I was a child. I grew up spending much time roaming about in the forest, often alone, or with a pet or two, and always for me the forest was a magical place. The tress themselves had spirits. Some of them I gave names to, and even talked to, much as one might go and “talk to” the figure adorning a shrine – almost like a prayer to the Divine. Somehow I developed this habit: as I was walking through the forest, I would pass a tree – not every tree, and not every day, just sometimes, certain trees – I would reach out, of a sudden, and smack the palm of my right hand flat against the trunk, removing it just as quickly as I had put it there. Almost like a handshake, but something more. Something like making a connection on some very deep level, but also like a show of reverence, and, at the time, a plea, like asking for a blessing, the way that one might ask the blessing of the Keeper of a Door in passing through it. It makes no sense whatsoever on a rational level, but the impulse to do this – and an “impulse” it is, it is never planned – this impulse overtakes me and in passing by some tree, I reach out my palm and smack it flat against the trunk. The motion is quick, instantaneous, and yet somehow deeply meaningful to me.
So that is what I think of when I think of hands.
Hands are the visible description of ‘free will.’ They represent the choice that we all have. As Jesus once said the ‘Kingdom of God is at your hands, rejoice.’ At whose hands? Yours and mine. We can both physically steer a ship into the turbulant waters or the calm waters…both destinations are done by our hands.
When my father died and he lay in the casket. I viewed his face and body without emotion. But then when I touched his hands that were coarse through the many years as laborer and felt his calluses, I cried. Tears flowed from me because at that very moment I knew that all his decisions in life had impacted my own life; for better or worse. I was in gratitude to his hard work as laborer for without his strong hands our family would still be in Mexico.
So the hands for me are the physical manifestation of ‘free will’ and choose.
Thanks Paulo,
Ramiro
:))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKKlhYF53w
Dear Asif, we have the same traditions in Christianity, about the right hand and the .. right place.
The left hand of the ..Heart, but also the … Left Parties in ..Politics. ;]
LOVE,
Thelma.
I just think of working
hand is a way of connection u say hi u say buy u shake hand u talk with hands u love with hands and u can hate with hands u hug with hands and u feel with hands,,,,,
interesting subject HAND
I am also left handed and so is my brother. I associate my hands as an means of communication in so many ways, to greet, to bid farewell, to express myself when I cannot find the words, as an extension of my arms to hold onto someone I love. To stroke an animal to bring comfort to it and at the same time to myself. To be able to express my thoughts through the amazing invention of the internet. To clasp them together in prayer. To wipe away tears of sadness and joy. To live life.
I associate the hands with a nice full body massage!!
any givers??
;)
I think it is important in some speciall activities with which Hand you Give and with which Hand we Recive!
I love to Give and to Recive!
To recive is very important(we do it naturally as children).To give have the same importance(we do it naturally as parents or Teachers)It is like the waves of Sea,or like the Waves of LOVE.
I love Hands who Tuch me,that’s why I love to Tuch with my Hands.
Love,you All
Mirela(the woman in elevator)
Islam signifies the importance of hands in several ways. The right hand and left hand has got instruction for use based on purpose:It is advised to eat using right hand, shaking right hand with others instead of left. On the day of judgment, those who will be blessed will get book of their deeds in right hand.It will be nice to know such distinctions from other religions and cultures.
Thanks
Minhas maos, servem para cozinhar,lavar, passar, acariciar, apertar outras maos,massagear, orar, acender a vela para meu anjo da guarda,dar uma maozinha para quem precisa, mostrar o pai de todos para aqueles que me enchem o saco, acenar,usar aneis, selar meu compromisso com meu esposo, comer, ir ao banheiro, fecha e abir uma porta, vestir-me, usar as duas maos nas estremidades da boca quando grito, tapar a boca quando nao quero falar, tapar os olhos quando nao quero ver, protejer os olhos quando quero ver melhor, tapar os ouvidos, usa-las como concha quando quero ouvir melhor, comer unho como agora, acusar alguem, gesticular, tatuar o seu vizinho na mao direita com o nome do meu marido. Paulo as minhas maos significam Vida sou feliz por te-las:)
association on hands represents not only a gesture of holding hands but is a symbol of unity, togetherness and respecting the other person.
Healing: The healing power can be felt anywhere in the body, but very often starts in the hands before the power streams through the arms, and into the body. The energy center is circular, bout 1 inch wide, in the middle of the palm.
Feeling, touching, explore: Skin, textures and everything in nature.
Caresses: Children, spouses, sweethearts, old people – Love and care.
Crucifixion: I have experienced the crucifixion and the tremendous pain starting in the palm of the hands and running up my arms. Some people say that Jesus was tied to the cross by the wrists and by the upper arms, in addition to the nails in the palm of his hands. My experience is that he was hanging with his arms to the sides almost above his head.
I believe that our hands are the powerful asset of our body.
With our hands we are able to hold the people we love, able to protect them, able to touch them able to build the strongest chain with them! And i think the most important is we are able to fight with them! Fight for our rights, fight for our beloved ones and able fight our fears. They are a symbol for what we are and what we feel!
Love and respect,
Marcel
An open hand is a sign of embrace and a deadly weapon. A closed hand is a symbol of power and also a deadly weapon.
hands are an extension of love
they shape and trace the contours
they are an expression of life
-dancing, playing, writing, communicating,drawing, painting,cooking, gardening-
Hands. Hands across the sea, are a welcoming. As is a handshake. A stroking of a partners back or hair, is a show of affection. A pointed finger to the lips, is a signal to be quiet. In gathering of arms or a laying down of arms we use our hands. In language for the deaf hands are used. So perhaps our hands are for us to physically speak.
The warrior of the light
Is able to fight
To archive what is right
The warrior of the light
Is very bright
Using his power to do whats right
The warrior of the light
Never goes to a gunfight
Some words is what he is going to write
The warrior of the light
Is looking into the candle light
With his hands he is going to write
The warrior of the light
He has the clear sight
He follows the starlight
The warrior of the light
Is doing his word fight
Writing in the moonlight
The warrior of the light
Writes his words in the northern light
Wants every body to be safe in the night
The warrior of the light
Feels what is right
His heart doesn’t have to fight
The warrior of the light
Is doing alright
Because peace is in his sight
©2009 AREthoughts (Are Nakrem)
This material is protected by copyright law. Without explicit authorization, reproduction is only allowed in so far as it is permitted by law or by agreement with a collecting society.
I am also left-handed. I think being left-handed has given me the ability to always work around barriers and be flexible about things. I find that there is always more than one solution to any problem. The answer is rarely no. I believe that I figured this out by always having to adapt to the world being built for right handed people. One early example would be to turn the scissors upside down to be able to cut paper left-handed.
The warrior of the light
Is able to fight
To archive what is right
The warrior of the light
Is very bright
Using his power to do whats right
The warrior of the light
Never goes to a gunfight
Some words is what he is going to write
The warrior of the light
Is looking into the candle light
With his hands he is going to write
The warrior of the light
He has the clear sight
He follows the starlight
The warrior of the light
Is doing his word fight
Writing in the moonlight
The warrior of the light
Writes his words in the northern light
Wants every body to be safe in the night
The warrior of the light
Is doing alright
Because peace is in his sight
©2009 AREthoughts (Are Nakrem)
This material is protected by copyright law. Without explicit authorization, reproduction is only allowed in so far as it is permitted by law or by agreement with a collecting society.
Hands? Love… giving.
We can, of course use our hands in two different manners: out of love, out of hate. But for me, hands stand for love.
But also: respect – we always pay respects if we meet a new person or an old aquaintance or a friend by shaking their hand.
~*~*~*~
Jessica – You are left handed. I am also! :) Greetings to “my world”. Hehe…
Love,
L.L.
A song from Umberto Tozzi.
La mano…oggi voglio scrivere tutto ciò che mi passa per la mente di getto…
Una mano…5 dita: pollice, indice, medio, anulare, mignolo.
Pollice…mi viene in mente la storia dell’evoluzione umana: i primati avevano il pollice opponibile che agevolava le loro acrobazie sugli alberi: ecco perchè l’uomo vive in terra, nessun pollice opponibile gli è stato concesso…frutto dell’evoluzione!
Indice: il mio dito preferito da “rosicchiare” :)) esso serve a tenere il segno quando si legge o meglio si studia!
Medio: è il dito più cattivo se viene usato contro qualcuno…strano che si dica in medio stat virtus!!
Anulare: mi rifiuto di tenerci un anello! Meglio essere scaramantici…
Mignolo: non si tratta del nome di un nano di Biancaneve ma del pargoletto della mano che se ti fai male lì non lo reggi!
La mano è anche come un foglio di carta, all’occorrenza ci scrivi numeri o indirizzi!
Da una mano si può capire anche il tipo di lavoro che uno fa: calli per duri lavoratori e unghie perfettamente curate per principesse ma quanto è bella una forte stretta di mano…io a volte ho una sensazione quasi viscida quando stringo la mano a chi non mette nessun tipo di forza!
Dalle sue linee si può leggere il passato e il futuro ma l’argomento in questione è un pò fuori moda!
Con le mani puoi creare le ombre sul muro: a volte vengon fuori anche animali preistorici!
Con le mani fai molte cose, scrivi, ti vesti, mangi, accarezzi, senti il caldo e il freddo, quante bruciature nel forno! Io ho cambiato anche le impronte!
Prima si diceva ai ragazzini che una mano usata in modo sbagliato…li faceva diventare ciechi!!!
:))
Le mani sbagliano…le mani ammettono di aver sbagliato…le mani fanno le cose giuste…le mani pregano anche!
Hands are unique and I asocciate with them help, caring and loving.
We can use them to harm people or we can use our hands to make someone comfortable. Hands are always in motion and showing most of the time emotions which we are sometimes not aware of!
Hands
I asked my 12,5 year old dauther -
who immediately replied:
“Holding hands & holding light” (in the means of hope)
My son who is almost 5 answered: “Stop-sign!”
For me hands are wonderful tools*
Thanks for making me aware
Beautiful spoken Karen, I agree
Love
“What shall I call them?..two sweetblosoomingapple-boughs that have one shadow on the ground;or the two strings that made one sound where that wise harper’s finger ran.”(W.B.Yeats)
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rodn/ho_08.210.htm
The hand of God, by Rodin.
Leonardo da Vince’s Creation of Man, famous painting.
Our hands.. we play the piano and express our inner self with them.
Our hands reveal our inner emotions!
Palmistry, Chirology [Χειρολογία], both with Greek roots: Our destiny ‘engraved’ in our palms and shape of our hands and fingers.
The first .. movement we make to … touch our beloved’s hands and ..soul!
The healer’s hands. The transmission of energy.
The baby’s little hands with the ..fist and ..tender nails! Growing older our .. nails become a .. beast’s nails!! ;]
One of the five Senses, but our Soul is ..’touched’ by LOVE and the hands of our Soul caress our love, because there is no.. space.
LOVE,
Thelma
Las manos son la parte que nos acerca o nos detiene, con ellas ,la mas fina de las armas para modelar y la unica que tiendo para amar.
Las manos somos nosotros , los demas tienen PATAS.
asi pues dar la mano tendria que ser el principio de algo no una mera formalidad, es todo un mundo que continua con el abrazo y despues con la caricia.
Un saludo para todos .
Beautiful and true Sido66.
The Hand is the most powerful manifestation that we are the only creatures in this world who have the power to manifest God.
Connecting this to the question of Peace – when we want to be at peace with another person, we offer our hand, we shake hands, or we embrace the person and our hands touch, support and protect them in this one gesture.
We caress with our hands, and “give people a hand” when we help them.
We can also pull the trigger of a gun and kill with our hands.
Our hands can therefore belong to God or the Devil, and it is for us to choose.
As you have said Sido, “my fingers: an extension of my heart.”
Let us find peace in our hearts, no matter how hard it may be, and “open” our arms and hands wide so that we may embrace our enemies one day, and touch their hearts with love and peace.
Karen xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The hand represents the power to transform. To lend a helping hand. In indian culture, the right hand is used to perform any sacred task such as giving/receiving money or eating while the left hand is associated with unclean things like washing your derriere. :)
Is a very sensitive part of body, I remember moments when me and my friend just hold each others hand, and feel so close .The hand is a spy, because one easily might notice many information from the gestures made by a person. The hand is a natural tool, we use for so many things. And is one of the biggest differences between humans and animal.
the Devon village where my mother lives now, has a house where ‘the stroker’ used to live…
someone whose hand used to stroke the ill –
so he had “healing hands”
personally i associate hands both with palmistry as they appear to hold imprinted the secreat knowledge of one’s future…
or i think of etiquette in Muslim culture – the eating of food with the right hand; the taboo of using or greeting with the left hand.
we do welcome strangers with hand shakes…
and later this is allocated for men only, whilst women are kissed in greeting.
I love “hands”:joining,peace,caress,give,receive,cards,energy,the hand of Fatma,Love,ring,help,friend.
I don’t have anything as poetic as sido66 but hands, in my opinion, are the second most expressive parts of our body, with our eyes the first. Right now, I’m throwing my hands up in horror, because I think my hard drive is fried!
I open my hands to welcome you, I open my hands to give you my love.
One hand to receive you and one hand to give you :a share of love.
At the end of my hand, my fingers: an extension of my heart.
For love, and His love
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