We have discussed ear cups and ridges in earlier newsletters.You may recall that people who do not have an inner ear ridge (anti-helix) will have an ear that may resemble a spoon. In face reading this means that they are often very creative and imaginative but they may believe that their subjective world view is also the universal view of reality.

In the workshop, the feedback we received from one lovely lady who has this kind of ear, helped me understand how this quality can affect a person's day to day living. She explained how she seldom felt a need to share her perspective or viewpoint because she thought that it was just too obvious. She said that she was always surprised when she discovered how different her perspective was from the other person's. She confessed that since she just naturally expected that everyone saw the world as she did, there was no real point in discussing her interpretation or understanding and so she just kept it to herself. 

Discovering that we each have our own unique take on life allows us to not only be more tolerant of different viewpoints but it also allows us to appreciate our own uniqueness. When we appreciate our own perspective enough to share it with others, we suddenly discover how valuable our contribution can be. This delightful person's honesty  gave me, and all of  the participants, a much deeper understanding of what this feature really means.

The vertical lines on the upper lip appear when a person has experienced an overwhelming life event or situation. I am always touched by this mark because it reveals a type of life depth and an inner wisdom that can only be acquired when someone has survived a tragedy. Many times when reading someone's face, there is no time for the person to validate the reading. I am often left wondering what was the life experience they survived that could have been so painful or traumatic that it would leave this mark.

Another one of  our incredible participants shared that at age 10 her father died and her mother was "absent". This brave lady confessed that she was a victim of abuse for years. She knew her life had been hard and she honestly thought that she had experienced a really rough life. But, she went on to explain, she really didn't begin to grasp the meaning of true survival until her 7 year old son was diagnosed with cancer and she could not tell him that he was going to live.

When we learn to read faces, we will often see these marks of grief, loss and pain. We may never know what that person went through, but it is important to not lose sight of the fact that there is a painful experience behind every survivor line. As in this case, when the owner of such a mark is able to articulate what happened, it touches our humanity  as we hear what is sometimes their almost heroic story of survival. 

 One of our participants, a very  bright and professionally  oriented woman volunteered this insight on the last day of the workshop. She said," I took this workshop because I thought it would help me in my business by giving me a better read on my clients. However, I discovered last night that I was wrong." She continued, "As I was working on the class assignment of doing a reading of my own face, I discovered a deeper awareness of who I really am."  "In fact," she went on to confess, " I don't think this new job I have been pursuing is the right one for me."

She had taken the class to get a better understanding of others only to be confronted with a deeper and more honest understanding of herself. One of the things that face reading has taught me is that there is no substitute for achieving greater self awareness and self acceptance.

" I have no special gifts," is what I say at almost every presentation I give, " and every one of you can learn to read faces just as good as I do." While that statement is true, I have to admit that teaching face reading has  been an enormous gift for me. The privilege of sharing the better part of three days in this past workshop, with its intense interactions and in the pursiut of self discovery with the other participants, left me with a profound sense of gratitude. Seeing the excitement of the class as they mastered this powerful tool for connection was a life validation for both me and Ann.

One of the main points that I hope to make  is that face reading is not really about being able to tell someone all about themselves. After all, we already know who we are and don't need anyone to tell us. The real gift in face reading is in the making of deep life connections. I feel that in sharing this recent workshop, I made ten new friends for life. While it has been said, " An unexamined life is not worth living", a well examined life is pure gift. Yes, I admit it, I have been gifted.