2008 Leaders Debate - Analysis of Hand Movements & Gestures

Federal election time is here again in Canada. As usual I'll be observing and commenting on the party leaders' hand movements and gestures during their English language debates.

Report on the October 2 Leaders Debate:

This debate was rather painful to watch. Powerful individuals seeking the office of Prime Minister of Canada, but each with hand movements and gestures that were very negative, weak, deceptive, or all three.


Stephen Harper (Conservative)

Harper's hand movements and gestures have improved dramatically since the last election in 2006. He rarely used the (very negative) extended index finger gesture anymore - Far different to watch than last election.

His hand movements and gestures continued to show distinct personality weaknesses, however. His thumbs fell inside the hands easily and repeatedly (showing broken will, and not thinking for himself), and the left hand was held dominant when clasping his hands and interlacing the fingers (showing self-limiting attitudes and behaviors).


Stephane Dion (Liberal)

Dion's hand movements made it clear in the opening few minutes that his entire position on this election debate is "We have a plan." Each time he mentioned "the plan", his hands were being held about 10 inches apart as if he was holding a ball (shows a single or core issue).

When clasping his hands with fingers interlaced, Dion positioned his left hand on top, or dominant (self-limiting attitudes and behaviors).


Jack Layton (NDP)

Layton once again showed very scripted and practiced hand movements and gestures. He rarely moved any finger on its own, but rather kept them together and extended with open hands. Normally this would be considered a very positive and powerful way to gesture, but that is certainly not the case when it's just an obvious facade. Occasionally his fingers could be seen to move in natural gestures, and more than once that natural gesture was the extended index finger with the thumb contracted inside the hand (shows rampant Ego and placing blame on others, with no acceptance of personal responsibility).


Gilles Duceppe (Bloc)

Duceppe's hand movements and gestures were by far the worst of all the 5 debating leaders. His resting hand position was frequently held with fingers interlaced and left hand dominant (self-limiting attitudes and behaviors), and one of his most common gestures was waving and pointing the extended index finger (rampant Ego, placing blame on others, and no acceptance of personal responsibility).


Elizabeth May (Green Party)

May was the only party leader whose hand movements and gestures were basically natural and honest, rather than practiced and scripted. Unfortunately they were not strong and positive gestures. Everything from the "patting on the head" gesture (condescending or treating others like children), to the extended index finger being pointed at others. On the plus side, when she extended her index finger she usually had the thumb extended with it (still shows rampant Ego, but at least with some acceptance of personal responsibility).


Conclusion:

Based solely on their hands, the debate winner was clearly Jack Layton, with Elizabeth May running a distant 2nd. Layton's gestures may have been practiced and scripted, and also weak and without personal responsibility, but at least an effort to use positive hand movements was there. If he continues to use positive hand positions and gestures, perhaps the strength and integrity usually shown by his hands will spread to the rest of his life and personality, and not remain just a facade.

I suppose it was inevitable...

For the first time ever, I was stood up by a client tonight. The event was already booked and an additional reader hired. I got to the location and was told by the client that we weren't needed anymore to do palm and tarot readings. I don't believe it's just me when I think that she could have let me know in advance by returning the phone message left with her sister yesterday, even if she didn't receive the 2 confirmation emails send previous to that.

Oh, well - A couple hundred dollars I'm out of pocket, not to mention the hours put in. Time for a policy change. From here on in I guess I'll have to take a non-refundable deposit for private parties and events where another reader is also booked.

How Long Can the Construction Noise Continue?

The best laid plans of mice and men...

After the scaffolding came down, I thought for sure the construction noise would quiet down for awhile. No such luck. They're still at it with concrete saws, sledgehammers, and other heavy machinery. Until the noise level gets down to a reasonable volume, there will still be delays on correspondence and website updates.

Back to Work II

So it's taking longer to catch up on correspondence and website work than originally thought. For the last 4 days we've had heavy machinery right outside our door. 4 days of backhoes and bulldozers, and at least 1 more day to go. Too loud to hear myself think...

Back to Work

OK, so it's back to work for me now. Taking most of June off was one of my best decisions ever. Feeling far less burned out, and ready to get back into some research projects. The construction/restoration work is still going on, so there's still not too much quiet time to think clearly here, but at least the scaffolding has finally been taken down so now some sunlight gets in.

Email correspondence and website updates will be caught up over the next few days.

On Vacation Until July

Well, the construction/restoration work here is getting closer to completion but is still ongoing, which means still very little quiet time for work, emails and website maintenance. Rather than getting completely burned out trying unsuccessfully to keep up, I'll be taking time off until July. I'm even going on an actual vacation with a trip to Tofino. (My first travel holiday in over a decade.)

Through June I will only be working at corporate events that have already been booked. I'll do my best to catch up and keep up with the email questions, but most website maintenance, link requests and directory updates will have to wait until early July for a reply. Holistic Cheirology students will continue to have student support available throughout June, but new enrollments will have to wait a bit longer.

See you in July!

Extra Horizontal Lines on Fingers

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about the meaning of extra horizontal lines on the fingers, especially on the baby finger.

The easiest way to understand these lines is to think of each horizontal line as a 'challenge' or 'block' to be overcome, and each vertical line as a 'breakthrough' or 'advancement'. The baby finger represents all forms of communication with others, so the extra line is an added communication challenge the person faces.

You'll need to look at the bone length of each phalanx. The base segment (proximal phalanx) shows basic forms of communications, things like psychic/intuition and 'body language'. The middle segment shows languages, including mathematics and music. The tip segment shows the communications initiated by the individual (they thought about it, put it into language, and then took action). When bending the finger you will see which segments are long or short. The longer the segment, the more active that aspect of communication is for the individual and more natural talent to develop.

By bending the finger you can also see exactly where the horizontal lines are in relation to the joints. Normal position for the lines is exactly opposite each joint (except for the base knuckle).

Once you compare the joints and horizontal lines, you can see which one segment has the extra line crossing it. That form of communication skill is where the added personal challenge is. (Low on the segment is early life, high up is late in life.)

When vertical lines cut through the horizontal ones, it shows that challenge has been successfully overcome.

Months More of Work Delays Ahead

The ongoing construction/restoration work here has become far too disruptive to continue attempting to keep up with writing and blog posts. Monday through Friday is pretty constant noise and dust now, which makes it impossible to think clearly for long or get any regular work done.

I've already had to stop teaching private students here because of all the construction work, and will not be doing any hand readings at my home until this is all done. No new students will be able to start the Holistic Cheirology course until then either. Working at other locations is no problem, so I am still available for corporate events and private parties. My tai chi classes for seniors are also happening Tuesday mornings at the Guildford Recreation Center in Surrey.

All the construction work is scheduled for completion sometime this Spring, so expect very few new blog posts or website updates until late March or April.