A conversation with a psychic

Do you believe in extra sensory perception? Or that the lines on your hand decide your destiny? Or whether there is such a thing as destiny?

I admit, I am a skeptic.

I met a psychic on Saturday night. Consciously, I would never ever have approached one or would have very strongly turned away if one approached me. But intense exhaustion and melancholy combined made me give in to her coaxing. Or as my mother cares to explain it: hypnotism. But that's a story for another day. I do acknowledge that psychics have a way to tell when a person is vulnerable and they can definitely read faces really well. So this woman started telling me things about my past and started moving on to the future. Here's a snippet from our conversation...

Psychic: "You have been in a bad relationship before."
Me: Not really.
Psychic: "There is a lot of loneliness in you. You smile, but lot of the time you're sad inside."
Me: Un-hnn...
Psychic: "The loneliness is gonna be there for a long time"
Me: Gee...thanks!
Psychic: "For a nominal fee...of 100$...I can do a searching to find out where the block is"

AHH! SNAP!!!

There it was. The clincher.

This conversation definitely shook me up for a bit. Of course, the woman was after money so she sugar coated the beginning and gradually got me down in the dumps so I would shell the hundred to "remedy" the block in my love life. Good sense prevailed and I got the hell out of there. Then I started questioning the credibility of palm reading or chiromancy. How is it possible that the lines in my hand or the vibrations in my energy dictate my life? Or is it that my stubborn optimism makes me deny whatever I dont like hearing?

Chiromancy or Palmistry has been practiced since the 15th century. It's the concept of telling your future by observing the lines and patterns on your palm. The authority hand for men is right and for women is left. Many years of research later, palmistry cannot still be called a science. Though the patterns in your hand can definitely tell your character, there is no proof that they can predict your future. For example, whether you will be making a million dollars or if you will find the love of your life? So even though there is no credibility associated with this pseudoscience, why do so many people spend their hard earned money on it? What gives palm-readers the authority and encouragement to actually make professions out of it?

Here's my take. At the root of palmistry is a human being's burning need to know the future. What spawns this off? Insecurities, emotions, sadness, the need for hope and faith. Humans always need reassurance, that's just how we are designed. Some of us find it within ourselves (as in, we have our own garages) and others find it elsewhere...friends, spouses, lovers, psychics....etc. In my case, I was being plagued by various questions of life and anyone who could even remotely shed light on the answers was God sent. (Again, a story for another day would be how come I believe in God, but not in destiny and palm reading?) So I could have chosen to believe the psychic or I could have chosen to live my life and learn my own lessons.

I chose life! I dont want to lose my present in anticipation of the future. I'll deal with my future when I face it. But I am not blind to it either. I am aware that every single action of my present will affect my life ahead. So I attempt to infuse it with positivity.

And as Alan Kay said -- "The best way to predict the future is to invent it"

Love & Peace :)
~Amrita Rajagopal