"Let's put our hands together..."

"Let's put our hands together..." is an expression we use when we want to share our appreciation of someone's accomplishments.  We give them our applause.  Clapping is also a way that we can gain the attention of another.  We clap loudly in the kitchen to scare the dog away from the cat's food.  In this day and age, we can clap to turn on or off a light.  I sometimes use the sound of a good sharp clap above my head to align the main chakras or energy centers in my body.  It brings them abruptly into balance and coherence.

Aside from the seven main chakras of the body, there are numerous chakras in our hands and feet.  There is a tiny little chakra at every knuckle, one at either end of every bone in our skeleton.  And since our hands have so many bones, nearly thirty in the hand and wrist, this results in lots of potent energy centers all giving to and receiving from the world.

Some of you may have seen the graphic depicting the sensory receptivity of our bodies.  This shows a little person with big eyes, lips and tongue, extending out from his body are gigantic hands.  It helps us to understand just how much of our perception of the world around us is generated through our hands.

The Chinese meridian system of the body shows how energy travels through our bodies.  Meridians are shown as pathways of energy running from top to toe and passing through an organ like the liver, the lungs or the kidneys.  Each of these meridian lines has a number of points along the way.  For example, K-27 is the 27th point on the kidney meridian.  Several of these meridians begin or end at our fingertips.  When we place our finger tips together, either in thought, or in prayer, it feels good.  It connects some of the circuits of our meridians.

Something that I have enjoyed doing since childhood is to hold my finger tips up to the full force of the water coming from the shower head while bathing.  I also do this with my toes and with my lips and gums and the teeth in my mouth.  This stimulates the nerve endings there, activating the meridians that travel up and down, revitalizing my whole body and many of my organ systems.  And quite often the other end of a meridian, either coming up from or going to the mouth and toes, is located in the fingertips.

We 'drum' our fingers when we are thinking.  We sit at our desks and fold our hands to quiet and center ourselves.  We snap our fingers to keep time with a beat in the music.  We put our hand on a freshly skinned knee.  It brings the intention and the healing power of our whole body quickly there.  We shake hands in greeting and to show the other that we mean no harm.   

We touch our loved ones lightly to make contact with our finger tips.  Hoofed animals use their noses for this, but we use our fingers to convey our love.  With a hand on someone's shoulder, or holding hands with another, we put the love in.  Our hands and arms extend out from the area of our hearts and express our love.  We give hugs, pulling our loved ones in close, so our hearts can touch.  Our fingers and hands are beautiful tactile extensions of our love.

And then in solitude, while in meditation or in personal ceremony or prayer, we connect our fingertips together or cup our hands, one resting inside the other, or press our palms lightly together, connecting the circuits of our own heart's energy, feeling the love.

So, let's put our hands together for just a moment now and feel the flow of this love within.
As we enter into the last month of the first quarter of this new year, I give my love to you all with best wishes for a joyous, love-filled and blessed rest of this year.

© Josephine Laing 2018