The idea of hand analysis often conjures thoughts of a fortune teller or psychic who is able to tap into powers and read the palm of a person, arriving at knowledge that is personal and explicit. While this may or may not be the case, the hands are a map of the nervous system. As such, the hands reveal insights not of personal idiosyncrasies, but of more general behavioral tendencies and overall temperament.

What's the difference between hand analysis and palmistry?

Although looking at your hand may not necessarily reveal secrets of the future, it can help you to understand your personal style. The difference is critical. Consider the life line as an example. This is a palmar crease that has been related to basic energy levels. It does not represent how long we will live. Rather, it represents our general vitality and zest for life. The indication is of quality of life, not quantity.

Our hands tell us something about our functioning today. In viewing the hands as a rough map of our nervous system organization -- and by deciphering the legend -- we learn to understand how we are wired to deal with life's obstacles and what types of experiences could help to alter that wiring into a more constructive organization.

Why can the hand can tell us about our personality?

Early on, when we are still developing inside our mother, we are a mass of cells growing exponentially in complexity. We grow from a single fertilized ovum into a group of undifferentiated cells. Continuing to multiply, these cells sort themselves into three basic layers: the endoderm, the mesoderm, and the ectoderm.

The ectoderm, the outermost layer, becomes the brain, nervous system, and sensory apparatus. This means that the skin and brain are formed at the same time. If there is an impact on development (and there is always an impact on development -- that is part of being human, for we all have little coding errors), it shows up in the brain as well as the hands.

This is why doctors always check the hands of a newborn. It is why forensic psychiatrists work to establish hand print screening tests to identify such populations as those people running a higher risk of presenting symptoms of schizophrenia as young adults. Serious medical conditions, basic temperaments and even more specific personality traits and behavioral styles that are dependent upon brain and nervous system organization can be evidenced in the hand.

When there is an impact on the developing fetus during the time the ectoderm is in critical stages of development, there can be visible effects. A skilled observer can notice significant features on the palms of the hand, soles of the feet, as well as the ears and other distinguishable body parts.

Over thousands of generations, people who have been interested have noticed that certain markings or features of the hands tend to show up more commonly when certain behavioral traits are present. At various times the summed average has been taken, producing a broad variety of texts. There has been a reluctance to rely on these historical documents, or on the more modern day palmistry theory, when scientific inquiries are made. Naturally, there have been some remarkable scientists, such as Charlotte Wolff, who have done just this.

How can hand analysis be helpful?

While there does seem to be compelling evidence suggesting that the hand is indeed useful as a rough map of the nervous system and the way the brain is wired up to deal with life's obstacles, it wouldn't have to be true for an analysis to be helpful. This is because hand analysis is often most helpful as a tool of self-exploration, a trigger to intuitive thought processes. It is the individual who has the greatest potential to understand the self and the strengths and weaknesses that give definition to one's life.

If a system of thought is fun, interesting, and can help you to explore your more private side, then so much the better. Really, it is the act of self-reflection that can remind us that we are strong inside and that we have worth separate from the evaluation of others. We have worth and importance because only we are who we are.

What other practices can help us learn more?

There are many ways to think about who we are and what we need. Journaling, dream analysis, name analysis, and personality tests such as the Meyers-Briggs are just a few. By tuning in and staying aware of our personal style, we can do the best job of helping ourselves to be healthy, strong and happy. We all have limitations, but by understanding our strengths and weaknesses we can make the most of what we have to work with.

By understanding that we all have basic needs, we also recognize the common threads that bind us together in a web of social interactions. By understanding where we are individually in meeting those needs, we can recognize the limits we have and the conditions we place on the interactions we take part in.

By looking at the almost universal presence of both a head line and heart line, we can recognize that we all have thoughts and feelings. We can also look at the more specific shape of those lines and realize that the emotional style or mental outlook that we have been building throughout our many experiences is unique to us, but still subject to change. In fact, in as little as three months the lines in our palms can change as a result of our changing experiences. Although fingerprints remain constant, just as our core self remains fairly constant, the finer details of outlook and expectations are always changing.

Every morning, we wake up with a new brain. Every day that we are alive, we have experiences that shape who we will be tomorrow. By looking at our hands and the way our lines change, we can remember this. We can remember the power of personal choice and the importance of self-exploration.